VATICAN INFORMATION SERVICE   
   YEAR XXII - # 029   
   DATE 10-02-2015   
      
   Summary:   
   - Publication of the Homiletic Directory   
   - Cardinal Robert Sarah presents the Homiletic Directory   
   - Telegram for the death of Cardinal Karl Joseph Becker   
   - Declaration by the director of the Holy See Press Office on the situation in   
   Ukraine   
   - Other Pontifical Acts   
   - Notice   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
    Publication of the Homiletic Directory   
    Vatican City, 10 February 2015 (VIS) - The Congregation for Divine Worship   
   and the Discipline of the Sacraments today published the Homiletic Directory,   
   which opens with the decree of Cardinal Antonio Canizares Llovera, prefect of   
   the dicastery on the date on which it was signed, 29 June 2014, Solemnity of   
   the apostles Peter and Paul. The text also bears the signature of Archbishop   
   Arthur Roche, secretary of the same Congregation.   
    "It is very poignant that Pope Francis wished to devote considerable   
   attention to the theme of the homily in his Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii   
   gaudium", writes the Cardinal. "Both positive and negative aspects of the   
   state of preaching had already been expressed by Bishops gathered in Synod,   
   and guidance for homilists was offered in the Post-Synodal Apostolic   
   Exhortations Verbum Domini and Sacramentum caritatis of Pope Benedict XVI.   
    From this perspective, and bearing in mind the provisions of the Constitution   
   on the Sacred Liturgy Sacrosanctum Concilium, as well as subsequent   
   Magisterial teaching, and in light of the 'Introduction of the Lectionary for   
   Mass and the General Instruction of the Roman Missal', this two-part   
   'Homiletic Directory' has been prepared.   
    "In the first part, entitled 'The homily and its liturgical setting', the   
   nature, function, and specific context of the homily are described. Other   
   aspects that define it are also addressed, namely, the appropriate ordained   
   minister who delivers it, its reference to the Word of God, the proximate and   
   remote preparation for its composition, and its recipients.   
    "In the second part, 'Ars praedicandi', essential questions of method and   
   content that the homilist must know and take into account in the preparation   
   and delivery of the homily are illustrated. In a way that is meant to be   
   indicative and not exhaustive, interpretive keys are proposed for the cycle of   
   Sundays and Feasts, beginning at the heart of the liturgical year (the Sacred   
   Triduum and Easter Time, Lent, Advent, Christmas Time, and Ordinary Time), and   
   also for the Masses of weekdays, weddings, and funerals. In these examples,   
   the criteria outlined in the first part of the Directory are put into   
   practice: typology between the Old and New Testaments, the importance of the   
   Gospel reading, the ordering of the readings, and the nexus between the   
   Liturgy of the Word and the Liturgy of the Eucharist, between the Biblical   
   message and the liturgical texts, between celebration and life, and between   
   listening to God and the particular assembly.   
    "Two appendices follow the main text. In the first, with the intention of   
   showing the link between the homily and the doctrine of the Catholic Church,   
   references are given to the Catechism according to various doctrinal themes in   
   the readings for each of the Sundays and Feasts of the three year cycle. In   
   the second appendix, references to various Magisterial teachings on the homily   
   are provided.   
    "This text was presented to each of the Fathers of the Congregation for   
   Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, and was reviewed and   
   approved at the Ordinary Sessions of 7 February and 20 May 2014. It was then   
   presented to Pope Francis, who approved the publication of the Homiletic   
   Directory. This Congregation is pleased, therefore, to make it available,   
   desiring that 'the homily can actually be an intense and happy experience of   
   the Spirit, a consoling encounter with God's word, a constant source of   
   renewal and growth' (Evangelii gaudium, 135). Each homilist, making his own   
   the sentiments of the Apostle Paul, is to renew the understanding that 'as we   
   have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, so we speak, not to   
   please men, but to please God who tests our hearts' (1 Thess 2:4).   
    "Translations into the principal languages have been undertaken by this   
   Dicastery, while translations into other languages remain the responsibility   
   of the concerned Conferences of Bishops. All things to the contrary   
   notwithstanding.   
    "From the offices of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline   
   of the Sacraments, 29 June 2014, the Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul,   
   Apostles".   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
    Cardinal Robert Sarah presents the Homiletic Directory   
    Vatican City, 10 February 2015 (VIS) - In a press conference held in the Holy   
   See Press Office this morning, Cardinal Robert Sarah, prefect of the   
   Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments,   
   presented the "Homiletic Directory" drawn up by the same dicastery during the   
   mandate of his predecessor, Cardinal Antonio Canizares Llovera. The cardinal   
   was accompanied by Archbishop Arthur Roche and Fr. Corrado Maggione, S.M.M.,   
   respectively secretary and under secretary of the Congregation.   
    "Often, for many faithful, it is precisely the homily, considered as good or   
   bad, interesting or boring, that is the yardstick by which the entire   
   celebration is judged", explained Cardinal Sarah. "Certainly, the Mass is not   
   the homily, but it represents a moment relevant for the purpose of   
   participation in the holy Mysteries, that is, listening to the Word of God and   
   the communion of the Body and Blood of the Lord".   
    "The Directory was not born without a reason. The aim is to respond to the   
   need to improve the service of ordained ministers in liturgical preaching", he   
   continued, noting that during the 2005 Synod of Bishops ordained ministers   
   were asked to prepare their homilies carefully, and basing them on adequate   
   knowledge of the Sacred Scripture. "This is the first fact to bear in mind",   
   he underlined: "that the homily is directly linked to the Sacred Scriptures,   
   especially the Gospel, and is enlightened by them". During the same Synod, it   
   was also requested that in the homily "the great themes of the faith and the   
   life of the Church should resound throughout the year", in order to "help   
   demonstrate the nexus connecting the message of the biblical readings with the   
   doctrine of the faith as expressed in the Catechism of the Catholic Church".   
   He added, "on the basis of these expectations, Benedict XVI in the exhortation   
   Sacramentum caritatis ... encouraged reflection on the matter".   
    The bishops returned to this issue in the Synod on the Word of God, and   
   Benedict XVI in the exhortation Verbum domini, while reiterating that   
   preaching appropriately with reference to the Lectionary was "truly an art   
   that must be cultivated", also indicated that it would be opportune to compile   
   a directory on the homily, so that preachers might find help in preparing for   
   the exercise of their ministry".   
    "The way was thus prepared and the Congregation initiated the project. A   
   further impetus to bring it to a conclusion was provided by the emphasis   
   placed on the homily by Pope Francis, who reserves 25 points to this theme in   
   his apostolic exhortation Evangelii gaudium: 10 to the homily and 15 to its   
   preparation".   
    "The homily is a liturgical service reserved to the ordained minister, who is   
   called upon by vocation to serve the Word of God according to the faith of the   
   Church and not in a personalised fashion. It is not a mere discourse like any   
   other, but rather a speech inspired by the Word of God that resounds in an   
   assembly of believers, in the context of liturgical action, with a view to   
   learning to put into practice the Gospel of Jesus Christ".   
    Among the criteria mentioned in the Directory, the Cardinal mentioned,   
   "first, the homily is inspired by the Scriptures inserted by the Church in the   
   Lectionary, or rather the Book that contains, for all the days of the year,   
   the biblical readings for the Mass; second, the homily is inspired by the   
   celebration of which these readings form a part, or rather, by the prayers and   
   the rites that constitute this liturgy, whose main protagonist is God, for   
   Christ His Son, in the power of the Holy Spirit".   
    "Obviously", he concluded, "the homily makes demands of he who pronounces it.   
   Therefore, the preparation of the homilist is of the first importance: this   
   requires study and prayer, experience of God and knowledge of the community he   
   addresses, love for the holy Mysteries and love for the living Body of Christ   
   that is the Church".   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
    Telegram for the death of Cardinal Karl Joseph Becker   
    Vatican City, 10 February 2015 (VIS) - Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro   
   Parolin has sent a telegram on behalf of the Holy Father to Fr. Adolfo Nicolas   
   Pachon, superior general of the Society of Jesus, for the death of Cardinal   
   Karl Joseph Becker, S.J., at the age of 86.   
    In his text, the Pope expresses his heartfelt condolences and recalls with   
   gratitude the late Cardinal's intense and exemplary service throughout the   
   years in the teaching and formation of the new generations, especially   
   priests; in theological research; and in the Holy See. "I raise fervent   
   prayers to the Lord", he writes, "so that, by the intercession of Mary Most   
   Holy and St. Ignatius of Loyola, He may grant the departed Cardinal the   
   eternal reward promised to His disciples, and I invoke for you and his loved   
   ones the consolation of an apostolic blessing".   
      
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    Declaration by the director of the Holy See Press Office on the situation in   
   Ukraine   
    Vatican City, 10 February 2015 (VIS) - "The Holy See is following attentively   
   the situations of crisis in various parts of the world, including the eastern   
   regions of Ukraine. In the presence of an escalation of the conflict that has   
   claimed many innocent victims, the Holy Father Francis has renewed his appeal   
   for peace on several occasions. By these interventions, while inviting the   
   faithful to pray for those who have been killed and injured as a result of the   
   hostilities, the Pope also underlined the urgency of resuming negotiations as   
   the only possible way out of the logic of mounting accusations and reactions.   
    "Faced with differing interpretations of the Pope's words, especially those   
   of Wednesday 4 February, I consider it useful to specify that he has always   
   wished to address all the interested parties, trusting in the sincere efforts   
   of each one to implement agreements reached by common consent and invoking the   
   principle of international law, to which the Holy See has referred several   
   times since the beginning of the crisis. As St. John Paul II often repeated,   
   humanity must find the courage to substitute the right to force with the power   
   of law.   
    "The Holy Father joyfully awaits the 'Ad limina' visit of the Ukrainian   
   Episcopate, scheduled for the days 16-21 February. This will constitute a   
   further occasion to meet those brother Bishops, to be directly informed on the   
   situation of that dear country, to console the Church and those who suffer and   
   to evaluate together paths for reconciliation and peace".   
      
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    Other Pontifical Acts   
    Vatican City, 10 February 2015 (VIS) - The Holy Father has appointed Bishop   
   Jozef Gorzynski, auxiliary of the archdiocese of Warsaw, as coadjutor   
   archbishop of Warmia (area 12,000, population 711,800, Catholics 695,000,   
   priests 521, religious 413), Poland.   
      
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    Notice   
    Vatican City, 10 February 2015 (VIS) - No VIS bulletin will be transmitted   
   tomorrow, Wednesday 11 February, the 86th anniversary of the signing of the   
   Lateran Pacts and of the institution of Vatican City State. Service will   
   resume on Tuesday, February 12.   
      
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