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Benedict XVI, born Joseph Ratzinger, was a man of deep faith and unwavering conviction. He was a man who dedicated his life to the Catholic Church, serving as a priest, bishop, and finally, as Pope.
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His life began in Germany in 1927, where he was raised in a devout Catholic family. From a young age, he knew that he wanted to dedicate his life to the Church and at the age of 14, he decided to become a priest. He studied theology at the University of Munich and was ordained in 1951.
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The question has often arisen: why does God permit evil? If he is truly the God of all flesh for whom nothing is impossible, why would he for any reason, allow his own chosen nation and race, his consecrated people suffer the yoke of domination from the devil and marginalization from the seemingly ungodly. The prophet Jeremiah was amongst the few prophets who lived within a most tumultuous Israelite nation. His was at the peak of Israelite’s adamance and rebellion against Yahweh. Babylon had defeated the Assyrian empire. Despite this, Israel remained unrepentant. The continuous exhortations of the prophets fell on deaf ears. One would think, Yahweh could have made use of other means to bring back his people, but at the tail end of this cycle of sin, Yahweh declares that Babylon shall become the instrument of his wrath against his own people.
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When we speak of Christianity in this parlance, we limit our scope to the Catholic church. Having traced the history of Christianity, and presented in an adumbrated fashion, what we may call the state and its functions to humanity, it is apposite that we turn our efforts to an examination of how the social teachings of the church expects that the church is to engage in the affairs of a legitimate state. The interrogation here is: to what extent is the church supposed to peer into matters that strictly concerns the state?
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There are many yet to be told and told but known to the few stories about the gradual but heroic spread of our dear Christian faith in many parts of the world. How many incorrupt bodies like that of St. Philomena are yet to be discovered and how many hidden sacrifices against one's own people for the sake of the faith may never be known or are almost forgotten by the few that knew it. Yet we know, according to Marcus Garvey, that "a people without the knowledge of their past history, origin and culture is like a tree without roots."
The History of Christianity in Japan, like every other little beginning of Christianity, in need of some precious blood of Martyrs for seeds, had its share of martyrdom and persecutions. The tales of the 26 Martyrs of Nagasaki in Japan is quite known to many Catholics who are interested in the history of our Catholic heritage. Nevertheless, very few knows the story, struggles and rebellions of a Catholic Samurai, Shiro Amakusa in an effort to save the lives of tens of thousands of Christians. This struggle is now known as the Shimbara rebellion.
When the fullness of time had come (according to Saint Paul's letter to the Galatians 4: 4-7), "God sent his son born of a woman to... redeem us" from slavery to sin so that we may gain sonship with him, in order that we can call God 'ABBA' Father. While on the cross completing the mission for which he was born, he said to the disciple he loved "Behold thy mother". He shared not just his father with us but also his mother, so that like him we will be Children of God and of Mary.
The world population statistics as at the 16th
of July 2021, 9:05pm, shows that there are about 7.9 billion persons in the
world, made up of about 3.98 billion men and 3.91 billion women. Although the
number of men is slightly above that of women, but more men die early enough
than women as they approach the advancement of years.[1]
The imminent query is: if a woman is naturally a home maker, the backbone of
the home and by extension the society, and if a woman would by nature live
longer than her male counterpart, what then is happening to our society? Why is
the society sick from the absence of the womanness in our women? Where has the
home-making spirit in our women fled to? The heart throbbing question is: where
is the womanhood in our women? What are the recalcitrant problems besieging
motherhood? Do our mothers still realize that when they are feeding, nurturing,
soothing hurts, cleaning up the messes at home, they are doing the most
important jobs on earth, which is rearing the next generation[2]?
Or do they now see these menial tasks as below their dignity?
I think it would make quite some sense to begin this exploration of our topic from the role of women in the larger sphere of humanity.
The heated debate and seemingly apparent dichotomy between human freedom which plays itself out in some erroneous conceptions of the autonomy of reason in our world today, and the demands of the moral law which is an expression of divine wisdom, formed the basis for the encyclical of the holy father. He would state quite clearly that the autonomy of human reason by which man expresses his freedom of choice in no way suggests that man is the creator of moral norms. Rather, it suggests that man has been endowed with the rational and practical capacities to do the good and avoid evil. Bestowed thus with these capacities, man expresses his fundamental freedom- something which is more foundational, deeper and divergent from the freedom of choice in particular-singular acts, in what is aptly called a fundamental option.
INTRODUCTION
In the briefing paper which was the result of a research carried out by the Center for Reproductive Rights in October 2011, while trying to defend the position that women have a right to decide what happens to their body as regards abortion, stated that “International law guarantees women the right to the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health.[1]” While we seek to present some of the very many reasons why human rights are so vital in the church’s teachings, it is also important we understand that not only the church, but also the secular society, upholds the right of every human person. Although, this latter sometimes tends towards a dangerous humanism, the point remains that every human possesses an indispensable and fundamental right to life, association, religion, expression and so on.
There is a striking approach to troubling events that can be observed in Mary. Mary seemed, according to the Bible passages, to be untroubled by the various issues that should have ordinarily troubled her. Look at the peaceful response at Gabriel’s message (Lk. 1:38), the peaceful pondering at Simeon’s warnings (Lk. 2:51), the calmness at Cana(Jn. 2:4), the submission at the Cross (Jn. 19:27) and the patience at the upper room (Acts. 1:14). Mary shows an attitude towards things that may not be referred to as abnormal but uncommon amongst the Children of Adam.
Have you seen a beauty today?
One that could capture God's heart
That comfortably in her womb, He chose to lay.
After the fall, which did God annoy
All creation awaited her coming
The second Eve and cause of our joy.
"But Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I have no relations with a man?” And the angel said to her in reply, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God. And behold, Elizabeth, your relative, has also conceived a son in her old age, and this is the sixth month for her who was called barren; for nothing will be impossible for God.” Mary said, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.” Then the angel departed from her." Luke 1:34-38.
We are presented with the wondrous witness of the Virgin-Mother of God, her witness is one of perfect faith!
Reflecting on the origins and spread of various Marian devotions such as the Franciscan crown and the Rosary as well as on her many apparitions, one recurrent theme was underlined, that is, Mary comes to the rescue whenever the chips are down, be it the chips of an individual or of the entire world. The underlying message is, also, the same, which is that true devotion to Mary is not just good for but is essential to our growth and witness as Christians.
It is no news that one of the titles of the Blessed Virgin reads as the Ark of the Covenant. First, we must make some exposition of what the ark is or was for the Jewish people. The Ark of the Covenant – the holiest object in ancient Israel is a wooden box made of acacia with a golden ornament and overshadowed by a carved cherubim; it ultimately signified God’s presence among his people. Within Solomon’s temple, the ark occupied the holy of holies. The ark contained within it the tablets of stone on which God had traced the Ten Commandments. It also contained a relic of the manna, the food God provided his people to sustain their journey in the wilderness; and again, the ark also contained Aaron’s rod, the symbol of his priestly office.
ONE SHEPHERD AND ONE FLOCK
Many have raised the question countless times as regards the salvation of those who existed before the coming of the one mediator between God and man (1Tim2:5), the man Jesus Christ. Scripture makes it lucid that there is no salvation in anyone else except in Christ, precisely it states: “for of all the names in the world given to men, this is the only one by which we can be saved.” What then is the implication of such over-bearing statement? Are we thus to understand that all who existed before the incarnation episode in human history are doomed forever? Sequel to that, are we also to suppose that any human who through no fault of his or her own, has not come to know or hear about Jesus, cannot attain salvation?
The most fundamental component of the Holy Rosary is the ‘Hail Mary.’ Analytically, it is the smallest unit to which the Rosary can be reduced before it completely loses recognition as the Rosary. The Rosary is essentially the ‘Hail Mary.’ However, the beautiful and powerful prayer of the Rosary sometimes unwittingly obscures the Hail Mary itself. Were the number of Rosaries some of us have said over the entire course of our lives reduced materially into straight-chained chaplets, with beads the size of peanuts, the length might encircle entire states. So, I believe that in a number of cases and without intending to, we say so many Rosaries that, without intending to, we lose sight of the Hail Mary with the attendant implication that our prayer life suffers a vitiation in quality and efficacy. This understanding is perhaps put in clearer perspective when we consider an observation by one of the former Spanish side’s finest coaches, Vicente del Bosque, concerning Sergio Busquets, a Spanish player of no mean legendary repute himself. He said “When you watch the game, you don’t see Sergio Busquets,
Hail Mary, purest amongst the pure, fairest amongst the fair
Why would the messenger of the Most high not proclaim the “Ave” to you, O Mary Most poor in Spirit?
When Jesus wanted to begin his ministry, he started by first proclaiming the words
“Blessed are the poor in Spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of God. Is it not evident that in you is found the epitome of “Poverty of Spirit”?
Poverty denotes a certain lack of security, a certain dependence on a higher or more secure source for sustenance. Who could compete with you, O Mary most poor, on the virtue of total dependence and trust in Divine providence? The readiness of the fiat testifies to this fact. You readily submitted when the future possible outcome, humanly speaking, is nothing but disaster and shame.
Benedict XVI, born Joseph Ratzinger, was a man of deep faith and unwavering conviction. He was a man who dedicated his life to the Catholic ...
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