Fr. Robert Christian, O.P., a Dominican priest of the Province of the Most Holy Name of Jesus (Western Province), was recently interviewed by the Catholic News Agency.  He was asked about the new document on global finance issued by the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace.  Fr. Christian is the Vice Dean of Theology at the Dominican Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas in Rome (the “Angelicum”).

Expert downplays Vatican council’s idea for financial body

By David Kerr

After the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace made headlines this week by issuing a document advocating the creation of a global financial body, one expert in Vatican documents downplayed its authority and said that it is only meant to spur reflection.

“I’d say if it calls itself ‘a note,’” Father Robert Christian, O.P., told CNA Oct. 26, “it is simply a meant to prompt the consciences of people as they ponder issues that seem to be of importance to the Universal Church.”

“So you’d say this is not something that is meant to bind consciences but is meant to stimulate consciences to reflection.”

Giorgio La Pira was a charismatic and popular politician – the type of big city civic character who might seem familiar to Americans. What distinguishes La Pira is that this three-time mayor of Florence may well have been a saint. Governing in the 1950′s and 60′s he had an overriding concern for the poor, was a defender of the rights of workers and, later on, became an international apostle of peace. Moreover he was a Dominican tertiary who lived at San Marco and prayed with the friars, and it is also at San Marco that his tomb may be found.  His cause for beatification has been introduced. See this blog piece that gives an elegant summary of his life and reputation for sanctity.

In this episode of Word to Life, Fr. Gabriel Gillen, O.P., Fr. Thomas Petri, O.P and Fr. Thomas Showalter discuss the readings for the Thirty First Sunday in Ordinary Time.

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At his Wednesday audiences Pope Benedict XVI gave a series of short talks on the Apostles. In these catecheses the Pope is instructing Christian believers who want to have their faith confirmed and strengthened. The full collection of these talks may be found in The Apostles: The Origin of the Church and Their Co-Workers  by Pope Benedict XVI. This book makes a wonderful gift for a loved one and when you purchase any publication listed anywhere on Dominican Daily you also help support the Order of Preachers in the new evangelization. Below one of the Holy Father’s catecheses.

Today we take into consideration two of the Twelve Apostles: Simon the Cananaean and Jude called Thaddaeus (not to be confused with Judas Iscariot). We consider them together, not only because in the lists of the Twelve they are always mentioned next to one another (cf. Matthew 10:4; Mark 3:18; Luke 6:15; Acts 1:13), but also because there is not much information about them, apart from the fact that the New Testament Canon has a letter attributed to Jude Thaddaeus.

Simon receives an epithet that varies in the four lists: while Matthew and Mark describe him as “Cananaean,” Luke instead describes him as “Zealot.” In reality, the two qualifications are equivalent, because they mean the same thing: In the Hebrew language, in fact, the verb “qanà’” means “to be zealous, passionate” and can be said either of God, in as much as he is jealous of the people chosen by him (cf. Exodus 20:5), or of men who burn with zeal in serving the one God with complete dedication, as Elias (cf. 1 Kings 19:10). It is quite possible, therefore, that this Simon, if he does not actually belong to the nationalist movement of the Zealots, was at least characterized by an ardent zeal for Jewish identity, hence for God, for his people and for the divine law. If this is the case, Simon is in the antipodes of Matthew who on the contrary, insofar as publican, came from an activity considered altogether impure. Evident sign that Jesus calls his disciples and collaborators from the most diverse social and religious strata, without any preclusion.

He is interested in people, not in social categories or etiquette! And the beautiful thing is that in the groups of his followers, all, though diverse, from the zealot to the publican, coexisted together, surmounting the imagined difficulties: Jesus himself, in fact, was the motive for cohesion, in whom all found themselves united. And this constitutes clearly a lesson for us, often inclined to underline the differences and perhaps the oppositions, forgetting that in Jesus Christ the strength is given to us to compose our conflicts. And let’s also keep in mind that the group of the Twelve is a pre-figuration of the Church and prefigures therefore the Church in which there must be room for all the charisms, peoples, races, all human qualities, which find their composition and unity in communion with Jesus. In regard to Jude Thaddaeus, he is called thus by tradition, uniting together two different names: while Matthew and Mark call him simply “Thaddaeus” (Matthew 10:3; Mark 3:18), Luke calls him “Judas the son of James” (Luke 6:16; Acts 1:13). The nickname Thaddaeus is of uncertain derivation and is explained as coming from the Aramaic “taddà’,” which means “breast” and hence would mean “magnanimous,” or as an abbreviation of a Greek name like “Theodore, Teodoto.” Little is said about him.

Only John notes a request of his made to Jesus during the Last Supper: 

One of the earliest members of the Order of Preachers, Bl. Bartholomew of Vicenza (1201-1270, feast day – Oct. 27) was known throughout his life to be a holy friar, and able preacher, and an effective peacemaker.

Receiving the habit from St. Dominic himself, he gave himself over to his formation so that he might grow faithful in religion.  Immediately after his ordination, he was sent to Lombardy to preach against the heretics who were leading others away from the true faith.  He was so effective in this, that the Holy Father, Pope Gregory IX called him to Rome and appointed him Master of the Sacred Palace (the Papal Theologian), which is an office traditionally held by Dominicans.

Because of the differing needs of the Church, the following Pope, Innocent IV, appointed him to become a bishop on the Island of Cyprus.  Already having become a friend of St. Louis the King of France, Bl. Bartholomew renewed this friendship as St. Louis went through Cyprus on his way to Egypt during the Seventh Crusade (1248).  This friendship led to St. Louis giving relics of the True Cross and a thorn from the Crown of Thorns to Bl. Bartholomew.

After his transfer to his native Vicenza, Bl. Bartholomew built the Church of the Crown to house these relics.  Here he not only continued to preach the truths of the faith and free the local Church from the errors of the Manicheans, but he also established such a sense of peace that the people asked him to become their temporal ruler as well.  He rightfully declined, but this shows the great virtue that he not only had but also that he instilled in his people.

May we turn to him for intercession when there is unrest and discord, and may he help us in times of need.

O God, who madest Blessed Bartholomew, Thy Confessor and Bishop, wonderful in leading the enemies of the faith from the darkness of error to the light of truth, and in bringing back multitudes to peace and concord, grant, through his intercession, that Thy peace, which passeth all understanding, may keep our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with Thee for ever and ever.

On October 31, 2011 at 7:30PM, Washington DC’s young adults will once again flock to the Annual Vigil of All Saints at the Dominican House of Studies. The prayer vigil, a popular alternative to Halloween, includes readings, night prayer, a reliquary procession, & the Litany of the Saints.

Priests will also be available for Confessions.

Light refreshments will follow.

To see the flyer for the event click here.  See also a video of the Dominican Schola from a previous vigil.

Each week, a Dominican member of the Provincial Preaching Advisory board prepares this Preacher’s Sketchbook in anticipation of the upcoming Sunday Mass.  The idea of the Preacher’s Sketchbook is to take quotations from the authority of the Church–the Pope, the Fathers of the Church, documents of the Councils, the saints–that can help spark ideas for the Sunday homily.   Just as an artist’s sketchbook preserves ideas for later elaboration, so we hope the Preacher’s Sketchbook will provide some ideas for homiletical elaboration.

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Sketchbook

St. Augustine

While Scripture is spiritual in itself, nonetheless it often, so to say, adapts itself to carnal materialistic people in a carnal, materialistic way. But it doesn’t want them to remain carnal and materialistic. A mother, too, loves to nurse her infant, but she doesn’t love it so that it will always remain a baby. She holds it in her bosom, she cuddles it with her hands, she comforts it with caresses, she feeds it with her milk. She does all this for the baby, but she wants it to grow, so that she won’t be doing this sort of thing forever. Now look at the Apostle. We can fix our eyes on him all the more suitably because he wasn’t above calling himself a mother.

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The Catholic Artists Society and the Dominican Friars of St. Vincent Ferrer Church will celebrate the ancient and beautiful liturgy of Solemn First Vespers for All Saints, in Manhattan (Lexington Avenue at 66th Street) at 6.30pm on October 31st, 2011. Gregorian chant and polyphonic settings for vespers will be provided by the Schola Cantorum of St. Vincent Ferrer, under the direction of Dr. Mark Bani. Following vespers, Fr. Uwe Michael Lang will give a presentation entitled “Art, Beauty and the Sacred.” A native of Germany, Fr. Lang is a priest of the Congregation of the Oratory of St Philip Neri in London. He holds a doctorate in theology from the University of Oxford, was ordained to the priesthood in 2004, and worked in parish and school ministry until 2007. He has published various articles on Patristics and liturgical studies, including his book Turning Towards the Lord: Orientation in Liturgical Prayer, which came out first in German in 2003 with a preface by then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger and has since been translated into various languages. Recently, he has edited and contributed to the volume The Genius of the Roman Rite: Historical, Theological and Pastoral Perspectives on Catholic Liturgy (Chicago 2010). Fr Lang is a staff member of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments and Coordinator of the Master’s program in “Architecture, Sacred Art and Liturgy” at the Università Europea di Roma/Ateneo Pontificio Regina Apostolorum. In September 2008, he was appointed by Pope Benedict XVI as Consultor to the Office for the Liturgical Celebrations of the Supreme Pontiff.

The following article was written by Fr. Darren Pierre, O.P., Promoter for the Lay and Priestly Fraternities of St. Dominic, Province of St. Joseph.

Fr. Peter John Cameron, O.P., made an interesting analogy between music and language in a wonderful little booklet that Magnificat is putting out about the new translation of the Roman Missal. Just as the same melody may be played on different instruments, the same idea may be convened with very different kinds of language. A melody may be played on grand piano or an accordion, on the organ at a great Basilica or a child’s toy piano. The exact same notes may be played in each case and exactly the same pitches would be produced, but in the end the music will be very different. Our experience of music is determined not only by the notes but also by the instrument on which they are played. And, if the instrument is not fitting for the music, it will lose something and perhaps even sound silly. Twinkle, Twinkle little Star played on the grand organ or a Bach fugue played on the toy piano will simply not sound right. It doesn’t mean that one instrument or piece of music is better, but simply that they must fit each other. The same is true for language.

Language is far more than words strung together to convene information. There are deeper levels of meaning that come from the style or genre of everything that we speak or write. Different styles of language are used in different settings: one way of speech in a locker room, another in a court room—one in a cheering crowd, another at the bedside of a dying friend. Imagine writing a note to arrange a meeting between two people. It will be very different note if it is an office memo to arrange a meeting between colleagues rather than a love letter to arrange a secret rendezvous. Both may specify a place and a time to accomplish the same thing, but despite conveying the same factual information they will be very different letters. The language that we use needs to match the setting in which we speak or write.