Servants of the Servant

VATICAN CITY, 18 FEB 2008 (VIS) - In the Holy See Press Office this morning, Cardinal Jose Saraiva Martins C.M.F., prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, presented the Instruction “Sanctorum Mater” for conducting diocesan or eparchial enquiries in the causes of saints.

  Cardinal Saraiva was accompanied by Archbishop Michele Di Ruberto and Msgr. Marcello Bartolucci, respectively secretary and under-secretary of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints.

  In his remarks, the cardinal affirmed that the aim of the document “is to contribute to ensuring that current norms for the diocesan inquiry of a cause of beatification and canonisation are applied with ever greater care”.

  The Instruction is divided into six sections, said Cardinal Saraiva, going on to explain: “The first draws attention to the need for a true reputation of holiness before beginning a process, and explains the duties and roles of the petitioner, the postulator and the competent bishop. The second part describes the preliminary phase of the cause which extends as far as the ‘Nihil Obstat’ of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints. The third section concerns the instruction of the cause. The fourth part concentrates on the gathering of documentary proof and the fifth on the gathering of proof from witnesses. Finally, the sixth section of the document outlines the procedures for the closing of the inquiry”.

  The cardinal then went on to consider the reasons for the publication of the document, pointing out that 25 years have passed since the promulgation by John Paul II of the Apostolic Constitution ‘Divinus Perfectionis Magister’, and of the ‘Normae servandae’ by the Congregation for the Causes of Saints. Since then, he said, “in some dioceses, certain provisions of the law have not always been understood and, consequently, not been put into practice with the necessary meticulousness, the which has sometimes made it necessary for the congregation to supply clarifications or to ask diocesan curias to correct errors”.

  Furthermore, he added, “dioceses do not always have access to specialised individuals with practical experience of the various procedures involved in a cause of canonisation”. For this reason, “it is evident that a practical document, such as this Instruction, was useful, indeed necessary”.

  “When the current legislation on causes of saints came into force”, said the cardinal outlining another reason for the publication of the present document, “an unfounded idea became widespread that the traditional methodology … had been substituted by some kind of historical-critical investigation”. And he identified the reason for this confusion in “the fact that the term ‘inquisitio’ used in Latin (the only official text) to designate the procedure of the diocesan phase of a cause of canonisation was translated in Italian as ‘inchiesta’ (inquiry)”. This Instruction, then, highlights “the importance of procedure” in causes of beatification and canonisation, “and accurately highlights the norms that must be observed”.

  Turning to the last reason for which the document was published, Cardinal Saraiva noted how, “in the move from the earlier legislation to that in force today, it was unclear to some people that a serious and rigorous verification of the fame of sanctity or martyrdom, undertaken in dioceses, is a prior requirement of absolute importance. Hence, a procedure must not be begin without irrefutable proof that the Servant of God … is held to be a saint or martyr by a considerable number of faithful, who invoke him or her in their prayers and attribute graces and favours to his or her intercession”.

  Thus far during the pontificate of Benedict XVI, there have been 20 beatification ceremonies during which 563 Servants of God were beatified (36 confessors and 527 martyrs), including 48 diocesan priests, 485 male and female religious, and 30 lay people, for a total of 509 men and 54 women.

  The prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints has presided at 31 ceremonies, 18 in Italy and 13 in other countries (Mexico, Portugal, Brazil, Spain, France, Poland and Austria).

  The canonisation ceremonies celebrated thus far during the pontificate of Benedict XVI number four (three in Rome and one in Brazil), during which 14 people were canonised (two bishops, four priests, five male religious and three female religious).

  The current total of saints and blesseds of this pontificate is 577.

Source: V.I.S. -Vatican Information Service.
Copyright © Vatican Information Service 00120 Vatican City

This devotion to Servant of God Pope John Paul II, the “Servants of the Servant” is meant to be a part of your every day walk in the Lord. Being a Servant is a way to grow ever closer to God and is great opportunity to transform ourselves and live and intense life of daily devotion.

At this point, it is important to remember that the Eucharist is the source and summit of our Christian life and any form of daily devotion must never interfere or replace the role of the Sacraments of the Church. What devotion through being a Servant is meant to do is be a part of our Catholic life in addition to the normal precepts of the Church and give those who chose to become members a resource and community in which they can further enrich their faith. Keeping in mind the key role of the Eucharist, it is important to recognize that, in a purely chronological respect, we spend much more time just living our daily life than we are engaged in “formal” worship in the Mass. Because of this, we have a tremendous opportunity to draw close to God by developing an intense life of daily devotion, and this is what the Servants hopes to offer.

A daily devotion must have the spirit of the “new evangelization” mentioned by John Paul II and should strive to let “God be most fully present in prayer”(Easter Mass 2003) and not ourselves. Membership and support of the Servants are outward signs of our response to the daily call to conversion. It is a way for us to individually, and in communion with others as members of a group, to live the life of holiness which is our particular way to embrace the “liberating force of God’s love.”(Veritatis Splendor #107). To some people on the outside, some of the simple things that we do (for instance carrying the rosary everywhere we go) might seem trivial. But to us, from grabbing it first thing in the morning to setting it down right before bed, it is a constant, physical reminder - and more so a connection - of our fellow Servants and more importantly, John Paul, Mary, and the Lord. Those mundane everyday actions that we all experience possibly become spiritually significant. For instance: the other day when I reached into my pocket to grab some money to purchase a coffee, I felt the rosary in my pocket. Instead of just the simple act of buying a drink, feeling the rosary centered me and gave the moment a new dimension. It got me thinking about the Lord for just a moment… and allowed me to look at the world through the eyes of Mary. I become more patient. More forgiving. I look at the person who prepared my coffee as a fellow child of God no matter how rude or unprofessional this young man happened to be. I attempted to smile and connect in a positive manner with the people around me. Now, I’m sure that some of you out there live in a manner that we all would be proud of all the time, but for me, being a Servant and having these devotions as part of my life really helps me live a life worthy of Christ. Our devotion to John Paul II is more than a “pious fan club” rooting for him to become a Saint. No. At our core, the Servants live out the belief that the “Church is a communion of saints…” (Catechism of the Catholic Church #960) and it is our desire to live a life more fully in the one family of God.

The Catechism teaches that “All Christians in any state or walk of life are called to the fullness of Christian life and to the perfection of charity.” All are called to holiness: “Be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” (CCC#2013) and so, as Servants, we strive to attain an ever increasing union with God through a life of charity and communion with our brothers and sisters in the faith. And we believe our daily devotions, our small acts of thanksgiving in the love of the Lord, assist us in our desire to nourish “the faith which works through love” (cf. Gal 5:6).

Being a Servant, as I live it, is more than following a set of rules. It is a total transformation of self based upon the Sacraments, prayer, and the group guidelines/principles in order to grow closer to God. It is my hope that my fellow members partake frequently in the Holy Sacraments of the Church, especially the Eucharist. I firmly believe in the old saying: “You are what you eat.” and we, as Catholic Christians have been given the incredible gift of the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist. This “strong food” as Saint Augustine called it actually consumes us. Every time we receive Communion we are transformed and strengthened in our life long journey to become “partakers of the divine nature”(2 Pet 1:4) and I ask for the intercession of John Paul to bring us all closer to our Merciful Lord and Savior.

VATICAN CITY, 14 FEB 2008 (VIS) - The Holy See Press Office released the following communique yesterday evening:

  “This evening in the cathedral of Coimbra, Portugal, Cardinal Jose Saraiva Martins C.M.F., president of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, presided at a Mass marking the third anniversary of the death of Sister Lucia dos Santos. Following the ceremony he announced that the Holy Father Benedict XVI, benevolently accepting a request presented by Bishop Albino Mamede Cleto of Coimbra and shared by many bishops and faithful throughout the world, has waived the five-year waiting period established by canonical norms (art. 9 of “Normae servandae”) and granted that, just three years after the death of Sister Lucia (known to the world as one of the three seers of Fatima), the diocesan stage of the cause for her beatification may begin”.

Source:
V.I.S. -Vatican Information Service.
Copyright © Vatican Information Service 00120 Vatican City

“What do you say when the pope’s assistant calls and invites you to an audience with his Holiness?

“Let me look at my schedule,” laughed organ transplant activist George Marcello, the former drug addict who had two liver transplants and spends his time promoting organ donor awareness in Canada.

The Toronto man got the call in 2000 while on a 769-day, cross-Canada walk in which he carried a torch to raise awareness.

“I thought it was my friend Billy pulling a prank on me,” he said.

The next year Marcello travelled to the Vatican where Pope John Paul II blessed his torch and his mission.”

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“VATICAN CITY, Feb. 12 (UPI) — A Vatican document calls for bishops to use “greater sobriety and rigor” when considering potential saints, the cardinal in charge of the process said.Cardinal Jose Saraiva Martins, head of the saints department, said that the aim is to guide bishops “in the new spirit introduced by Benedict XVI,” the Italian news agency ANSA reported. The document is scheduled for release next week.”
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  Participating in the press conference - during which the supplement to the “Index ac status causarum” will also be presented - will be Cardinal Jose Saraiva Martins C.M.F., Archbishop Michele Di Ruberto and Msgr. Marcello Bartolucci, respectively president, secretary and under-secretary of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints.

V.I.S. -Vatican Information Service.
Copyright © Vatican Information Service 00120 Vatican City

“VATICAN CITY, FEB. 12, 2008 (Zenit.org).- On the third anniversary of Pope John Paul II’s death, Benedict XVI will celebrate Mass for him in St. Peter’s Square.

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April 2, on the anniversary of John Paul II’s death, Benedict XVI will celebrate 10 a.m. Mass in St. Peter’s Square.”

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VATICAN CITY, 9 FEB 2008 (VIS) - This morning in the Vatican Benedict XVI received participants in an international congress on the theme: “Woman and man, the ‘humanum’ in its entirety”. The event was organised by the Pontifical Council for the Laity, for the twentieth anniversary of John Paul II’s Apostolic Letter on the dignity and vocation of women “Mulieris dignitatem”.

  “The relationship between man and woman in their respective specificity, reciprocity and complementarity is without doubt a central aspect of the ‘anthropological question’ which is so decisive to contemporary culture”, said the Pope, going on to mention the many documents the Church has dedicated to this theme, from “Mulieris dignitatem” to John Paul II’s 1995 “Letter to Women”, as well as the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith’s “Letter to the Bishops of the Catholic Church on the Collaboration of Men and Women in The Church and in the World”.

  “The fundamental anthropological truths of man and woman, their equality of dignity and their unity, the deep-rooted and profound diversity between male and female and their vocation to reciprocity and complementarity, to collaboration and communion”, said the Pope, “are based on the foundation of the dignity of each person created in the image and likeness of God, Who ‘created them male and female’ avoiding indistinct uniformity and flat and impoverished equality, as well as massive and confrontational difference”.

  “Hence, when man or woman seek to become autonomous and completely self-sufficient, they risk being trapped in a form of self-realisation that considers the overcoming of all natural, social and religious barriers as the conquest of freedom, when in fact it reduces them to a state of oppressive solitude”.

  The Holy Father highlighted the need for “fresh anthropological research which, on the basis of the great Christian tradition, brings together the latest scientific progress and modern cultural sensibilities, thus contributing to a deeper understanding of .. female identity”, as well as of “male identity which is also not infrequently the subject of partial and ideological studies”.

  Benedict XVI also recalled how at the opening of last year’s Fifth General Conference of the Episcopate of Latin America and the Caribbean he had mentioned “the persistence of a male chauvinist mentality, ignorant of the ‘newness’ of Christianity which recognises and proclaims the equal dignity and responsibility of women and men.

  “There are places and cultures”, the Pope added, “in which women are discriminated against and undervalued for the mere fact of being women, where even religious arguments and family, social and cultural pressures are brought to bear to uphold the inequality between the sexes, and where women are subject to acts of violence, … and exploited for the purposes of publicity”.

  “In the face of such serious and persistent phenomena, there is an ever more urgent need for the commitment of Christians to become promoters of a culture that grants women, in law and in everyday life, the dignity that is theirs by right”.

  The Pope continued: “God gave man and woman … a specific vocation and mission in the Church and in the world”. In this context he also mentioned the family, describing it as “a community of love open to life, the fundamental cell of society” in which man and woman “together play an indispensable role in life.

  “From their conception, children have the right to a father and mother to take care of them and accompany them as they grow. For its part, the State must support with adequate social policies everything that promotes the stability and unity of marriage, the dignity and responsibility of the spouses and their right … to be educators of their children”.

  Benedict XVI concluded by invoking the intercession of Our Lady “to help the women of our time to accomplish their vocation and their mission in the ecclesial and civil communities”.

Source:

V.I.S. -Vatican Information Service.
Copyright © Vatican Information Service 00120 Vatican City

“The Holy See has announced the first World Apostolic Congress on Divine Mercy, beginning April 2, third anniversary of the death of John Paul II.”

Source

A mother contacted us and passed along this plea for intecession:

“please pray for my son connor; pope john paul has touched him and healed him before.  this is very werious.  an abnormal artery has been found in his brain.  on tuesday , we meet with the specialist.  he is 15, and a loving son and wonderful person.  he has had many health problems.  please pray for a miracle”

I ask that all members and friends of the Servants of the Servant call upon the intercession of our dear John Paul to heal this boy…. and join me in the prayer to JPII:

O Blessed Trinity
We thank You for having graced the Church
with Pope John Paul II
and for allowing the tenderness of your Fatherly care,
the glory of the cross of Christ,
and the splendor of the Holy Spirit,
to shine through him.
Trusting fully in Your infinite mercy
and in the maternal intercession of Mary,
he has given us a living image of Jesus the Good Shepherd,
and has shown us that holiness
is the necessary measure of ordinary Christian life
and is the way of achieving eternal communion with you.
Grant us, by his intercession, and according to Your will,
the graces we implore,
hoping that he will soon be numbered
among your saints.
Amen.

VATICAN CITY, 6 FEB 2008 (VIS) - In this morning’s general audience, held in the Paul VI Hall, the Pope dedicated his catechesis to the subject of Lent, which begins today with the rite of the imposition of the ashes and which, he observed, “is like a great spiritual retreat lasting 40 days”.

  “Today, as every year, we recommence the Lenten journey, stimulated by a more intense spirit of prayer and reflection, of penance and fasting”, he said.

  Lent, Benedict XVI continued, “helps us to rediscover the gift of faith we received at Baptism and encourages us to approach the Sacrament of Reconciliation, placing our commitment to inner conversion under the protection of divine mercy”.

  In today’s liturgy for Ash Wednesday, we are reminded that “we are limited creatures, sinners in constant need of penance and conversion. How important it is, in our own time, to listen to and accept this call! When he proclaims his complete autonomy from God, modern man becomes self-enslaved, and often finds himself tormented and alone. The call to conversion is, then, an encouragement to return to the arms of God the tender and merciful Father, to trust in Him, and to entrust ourselves to Him as adoptive children regenerated by His love”.

  The Pope went on to ask whether “achievement of success, desire for prestige and pursuit of luxury, when they completely absorb a person’s life to the point of excluding God from the horizon, truly lead to happiness. Can real happiness exist without God? Experience shows that satisfying material wants and needs does not lead to happiness, In truth, the only joy that fills the human heart is the joy that comes from God, because we have need of infinite happiness. Neither daily concerns nor the difficulties of life are able to extinguish the delight that comes from friendship with God”.

  Jesus’ invitation to take up the cross and follow Him may seem a “harsh” rule that “quashes our desire for personal fulfilment”, said the Holy Father, going on to highlight that, in fact, “the witness of the saints shows how in the Cross of Christ - in love given as a gift, renouncing the possession of self - is a profound serenity that is the source of generous dedication to our brothers and sisters, especially the poor and needy. And this also brings joy to us”.

  Echoing the Gospel, “the Church proposes a number of specific duties for the faithful on this itinerary of interior renewal: prayer, fasting, almsgiving”, said Benedict XVI recalling how his own Message for Lent this year had focused on “the practice of almsgiving”.

  “Like the disciples of Jesus Christ”, he concluded, “we are called not to idolise worldly goods, but to use them as a means to live and to help others in need, … in imitation of Jesus Who, as St. Paul says, ‘was poor to enrich us with his poverty’”.

Source:
V.I.S. -Vatican Information Service.
Copyright © Vatican Information Service 00120 Vatican City