Subject: VISnews120417
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VATICAN INFORMATION SERVICE
YEAR XXII - N° 75
DATE 17-04-2012
Summary:
- HOLY FATHER'S HOMILY ON HIS BIRTHDAY
- CONSTANTINE THE GREAT: RELIGION AND THE STATE AT THE DAWN OF EUROPE
___________________________________________________________
HOLY FATHER'S HOMILY ON HIS BIRTHDAY
Vatican City, 17 April 2012 (VIS) - Yesterday morning in the Pauline Chapel of
the Vatican Apostolic Palace, a Mass of thanksgiving was celebrated to mark
two anniversaries the Pope is celebrating this week: his eighty-fifth birthday
on 16 April, and
the seventh anniversary of his election on 19 April. The Mass was attended by
members of the College of Cardinals and by a group of bishops from the Pope's
native region of Bavaria.
In his homily the Pope recalled how on the day he was born and baptised the
liturgy "erected three signposts showing me where the road led and helping me
find it": the feast of St. Bernardette of Lourdes, the feast of St. Benedict
Joseph Labre, and
Easter Saturday which in the year of the Pope's birth fell on 16 April.
St. Bernardette grew up in "a poverty we find difficult to imagine", he said.
But "she could see with a pure and genuine heart, and Mary showed her a source
... of pure, living uncontaminated water, water which is life, water which
gives purity and
health. ... I believe we can see this water as an image of the truth which
comes to us in the faith; unsimulated and uncontaminated truth. ... This
little saint has always been a sign for me, showing me where the living water
we need comes from, the
water which purifies and gives life. She has been a sign showing me how we
should be. With all our knowledge and abilities, which are of course
necessary, we must not lose ... the simple gaze of the heart, which is capable
of discerning the essential.
And we must always pray to the Lord to help us retain the humility which
allows the heart ... to see the simple and essential beauty and goodness of
God, and to find the source from which the life-giving purifying water comes".
The Pope then turned his attention to St. Benedict Joseph Labre, who lived in
the eighteenth century. "He was a rather particular saint who wandered as a
mendicant from one shrine to another, wishing to do nothing but pray and so
bear witness to what is
important in this life: God. ... He shows us that, ... over and above what may
exist in this world, over and above our needs and abilities, ... what is
essential is to know God. He alone is enough". The life of the saint, who
travelled to shrines all
over Europe, "shows that the person who opens himself to God is not a stranger
to the world of men, rather he finds brothers. ... Only God can eliminate
frontiers, because thanks to Him we are all brothers".
"Finally there is the Paschal Mystery. On the day I was born, thanks to my
parents, I was also reborn with the water of the Spirit. ... Biological life
is in itself a gift, yet it begs an important question. It becomes a true gift
only if, together with
that life, we are given a promise stronger than any misfortune that may
threaten us, if life is immersed in a power which guarantees that it is a good
thing to be a man, and that the person is a benefit whatever the future may
bring. In this way rebirth
is associated with birth, the certainty that it is good to exist because the
promise is greater than the threat. This is what it means to be reborn from
water and from the Spirit. ... This rebirth is given to us in Baptism, but we
must continually grow
therein, we must ever and anew allow God to immerse us in His promise, in
order to be truly reborn into the great new family of the Lord, which is
stronger than all our weaknesses and all the negative powers that threaten us.
Tha
t is
why today is a day of thanksgiving.
"The day I was baptised ... was Easter Saturday. At the time it was still
customary to hold the Easter vigil in the morning, followed by the darkness of
Easter Saturday without a Hallelujah. This singular paradox, this anticipation
of light in a day of
darkness, can almost be seen as an image of the history of our own times. On
the one hand there is the silence of God and His absence, yet the resurrection
of Christ contains an anticipation of God's 'yes'. We live in this
anticipation, through the
silence of God we hear His words, and through the darkness of His absence we
glimpse His light. The anticipation of the resurrection in the midst of
evolving history indicates the path we must follow and helps us to continue
the journey".
"I am in the final stage of my life journey and I do not know what awaits me.
However, I do know that the light of God exists, that He rose again, that His
light is stronger than all darkness, that the goodness of God is stronger than
all the evil in
this world. This helps me to continue with confidence. This helps us to
continue, and I would like to thank everyone who, through their faith,
continually makes me aware of God's 'yes'".
___________________________________________________________
CONSTANTINE THE GREAT: RELIGION AND THE STATE AT THE DAWN OF EUROPE
Vatican City, 17 April 2012 (VIS) - "Constantine the Great. The Roots of
Europe" is the title of an international academic congress to be held in the
Vatican from 18 to 21 April. The event has been organised by the Pontifical
Committee for Historical
Sciences to mark the 1700th anniversary of the battle of the Milvian Bridge
and the conversion of the Emperor Constantine.
The congress was presented this morning at a press conference held in the Holy
See Press Office, by Fr. Bernard Ardura O. Praem., president of the Pontifical
Committee for Historical Sciences; Claire Sotinel, professor of Roman history
at the University
of Paris-Creteil and a member of the Ecole Francaise in Rome, and Giovanni
Maria Vian, director of the "Osservatore Romano" newspaper.
"The conference", Fr. Ardura explained, "is the outcome of effective academic
cooperation with important cultural institutions such as the Vatican Secret
Archives, the Vatican Apostolic Library, the Italian National Research
Council, the Ambrosian
Library and the Sacred Heart Catholic University in Milan". It is also taking
place "with the cooperation and contribution of the European Union delegation
to the Holy See, the Lazio Regional Council and the Pontifical Lateran
University".
This congress is the first of two, the second of which will be held in Milan
in 2013 for the 1700th anniversary of the promulgation of the Edict of Milan,
which established freedom of religion in the Roman empire and put an end to
the persecution of
certain religious groups, particularly Christians. While the 2013 congress
will concern itself with what is known as the "Constantinian revolution",
tomorrow's event will focus on the environment in which Constantine lived and
on relations between
Christians and the Roman empire prior to the year 313. Participants will
"examine the relationship between religion and the State, the idea of
religious freedom in the empire, and religion from the point of view of the
emperor and the senate", Fr.
Ardura said.
One key area will be the conversion and baptism of Constantine himself, and
his attitude towards Christians following the battle of the Milvian Bridge,
which took place on 28 October 312 and led to the death of his rival
Maxentius. Contemporary and
later Christian historians, influenced by the narrative of Eusebius of
Cesarea, saw Constantine's victory as the result of divine intervention.
Fr. Ardura pointed out that "from a purely strategic-military viewpoint the
battle was not very important, but it soon became the founding symbol of the
new world which came into being when Constantine found Christianity. Indeed,
... the era of imperial
persecution against Christians was about to come to an end, giving way to the
evangelisation of the entire empire and moulding the profile of western Europe
and the Balkans; a Europe which gave rise to the values of human dignity,
distinction and
cooperation between religion and the State, and freedom of conscience,
religion and worship. Of course these things would need many centuries to come
to maturity, but they all existed 'in nuce' in the 'Constantinian revolution'
and therefore in the
battle of the Milvian Bridge".
For her part, Claire Sotinel explained that attentive and critical historical
analysis "facilitates our understanding of what happened following the victory
at the Milvian Bridge, helping us in the twenty-first century to reflect on
important issues
such as the interaction between religions and political power, the creation of
religious pluralism, and the possibility of coexistence among different
religions".
___________________________________________________________
Per ulteriori informazioni e per la ricerca di documenti consultare il
sito: www.wisnews.org e www.vatican.va
Il servizio del VIS viene inviato soltanto agli indirizzi di posta
elettronica che ne hanno fatto richiesta. Se per qualunque motivo
non si desidera continuare a riceverlo, si prega di visitare nostra pagina
dinizio:
http://212.77.1.245/news_services/press/vis/italinde.php
Copyright (VIS): Le notizie contenute nei servizi del Vatican
Information Service possono essere riprodotte parzialmente o totalmente
citando la fonte: V.I.S. - Vatican Information Service.
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VISnews120417
VATICAN INFORMATION SERVICE YEAR XXII - N° 75DATE 17-04-2012
Summary: - HOLY FATHER'S HOMILY ON HIS
BIRTHDAY - CONSTANTINE THE
GREAT: RELIGION AND THE STATE AT THE DAWN OF EUROPE
Vatican City, 17 April 2012 (VIS) - Yesterday morning in the Pauline Chapel
of the Vatican Apostolic Palace, a Mass of thanksgiving was celebrated to mark
two anniversaries the Pope is celebrating this week: his eighty-fifth birthday
on 16 April, and
the seventh anniversary of his election on 19 April. The Mass was attended by
members of the College of Cardinals and by a group of bishops from the Pope's
native region of Bavaria.
In his homily the Pope recalled how on the day he was born and baptised the
liturgy "erected three signposts showing me where the road led and helping me
find it": the feast of St. Bernardette of Lourdes, the feast of St. Benedict
Joseph Labre, and
Easter Saturday which in the year of the Pope's birth fell on 16 April.
St. Bernardette grew up in "a poverty we find difficult to imagine", he
said. But "she could see with a pure and genuine heart, and Mary showed her a
source ... of pure, living uncontaminated water, water which is life, water
which gives purity and
health. ... I believe we can see this water as an image of the truth which
comes to us in the faith; unsimulated and uncontaminated truth. ... This
little saint has always been a sign for me, showing me where the living water
we need comes from, the
water which purifies and gives life. She has been a sign showing me how we
should be. With all our knowledge and abilities, which are of course
necessary, we must not lose ... the simple gaze of the heart, which is capable
of discerning the essential.
And we must always pray to the Lord to help us retain the humility which
allows the heart ... to see the simple and essential beauty and goodness of
God, and to find the source from which the life-giving purifying water
comes".
The Pope then turned his attention to St. Benedict Joseph Labre, who lived
in the eighteenth century. "He was a rather particular saint who wandered as a
mendicant from one shrine to another, wishing to do nothing but pray and so
bear witness to what
is important in this life: God. ... He shows us that, ... over and above what
may exist in this world, over and above our needs and abilities, ... what is
essential is to know God. He alone is enough". The life of the saint, who
travelled to shrines all
over Europe, "shows that the person who opens himself to God is not a stranger
to the world of men, rather he finds brothers. ... Only God can eliminate
frontiers, because thanks to Him we are all brothers".
"Finally there is the Paschal Mystery. On the day I was born, thanks to my
parents, I was also reborn with the water of the Spirit. ... Biological life
is in itself a gift, yet it begs an important question. It becomes a true gift
only if, together
with that life, we are given a promise stronger than any misfortune that may
threaten us, if life is immersed in a power which guarantees that it is a good
thing to be a man, and that the person is a benefit whatever the future may
bring. In this way
rebirth is associated with birth, the certainty that it is good to exist
because the promise is greater than the threat. This is what it means to be
reborn from water and from the Spirit. ... This rebirth is given to us in
Baptism, but we must
continually grow therein, we must ever and anew allow God to immerse us in His
promise, in order to be truly reborn into the great new family of the Lord,
which is stronger than all our weaknesses and all the negative powers that
threaten
us. That is why today is a day of thanksgiving.
"The day I was baptised ... was Easter Saturday. At the time it was still
customary to hold the Easter vigil in the morning, followed by the darkness of
Easter Saturday without a Hallelujah. This singular paradox, this anticipation
of light in a day
of darkness, can almost be seen as an image of the history of our own times.
On the one hand there is the silence of God and His absence, yet the
resurrection of Christ contains an anticipation of God's 'yes'. We live in
this anticipation, through the
silence of God we hear His words, and through the darkness of His absence we
glimpse His light. The anticipation of the resurrection in the midst of
evolving history indicates the path we must follow and helps us to continue
the journey".
"I am in the final stage of my life journey and I do not know what awaits
me. However, I do know that the light of God exists, that He rose again, that
His light is stronger than all darkness, that the goodness of God is stronger
than all the evil in
this world. This helps me to continue with confidence. This helps us to
continue, and I would like to thank everyone who, through their faith,
continually makes me aware of God's 'yes'".
CONSTANTINE THE GREAT: RELIGION AND THE STATE AT THE DAWN OF EUROPE
Vatican City, 17 April 2012 (VIS) - "Constantine the Great. The Roots of
Europe" is the title of an international academic congress to be held in the
Vatican from 18 to 21 April. The event has been organised by the Pontifical
Committee for Historical
Sciences to mark the 1700th anniversary of the battle of the Milvian Bridge
and the conversion of the Emperor Constantine.
The congress was presented this morning at a press conference held in the
Holy See Press Office, by Fr. Bernard Ardura O. Praem., president of the
Pontifical Committee for Historical Sciences; Claire Sotinel, professor of
Roman history at the
University of Paris-Creteil and a member of the Ecole Francaise in Rome, and
Giovanni Maria Vian, director of the "Osservatore Romano" newspaper.
"The conference", Fr. Ardura explained, "is the outcome of effective
academic cooperation with important cultural institutions such as the Vatican
Secret Archives, the Vatican Apostolic Library, the Italian National Research
Council, the Ambrosian
Library and the Sacred Heart Catholic University in Milan". It is also taking
place "with the cooperation and contribution of the European Union delegation
to the Holy See, the Lazio Regional Council and the Pontifical Lateran
University".
This congress is the first of two, the second of which will be held in
Milan in 2013 for the 1700th anniversary of the promulgation of the Edict of
Milan, which established freedom of religion in the Roman empire and put an
end to the persecution of
certain religious groups, particularly Christians. While the 2013 congress
will concern itself with what is known as the "Constantinian revolution",
tomorrow's event will focus on the environment in which Constantine lived and
on relations between
Christians and the Roman empire prior to the year 313. Participants will
"examine the relationship between religion and the State, the idea of
religious freedom in the empire, and religion from the point of view of the
emperor and the senate", Fr.
Ardura said.
One key area will be the conversion and baptism of Constantine himself, and
his attitude towards Christians following the battle of the Milvian Bridge,
which took place on 28 October 312 and led to the death of his rival
Maxentius. Contemporary and
later Christian historians, influenced by the narrative of Eusebius of
Cesarea, saw Constantine's victory as the result of divine intervention.
Fr. Ardura pointed out that "from a purely strategic-military viewpoint the
battle was not very important, but it soon became the founding symbol of the
new world which came into being when Constantine found Christianity. Indeed,
... the era of
imperial persecution against Christians was about to come to an end, giving
way to the evangelisation of the entire empire and moulding the profile of
western Europe and the Balkans; a Europe which gave rise to the values of
human dignity, distinction
and cooperation between religion and the State, and freedom of conscience,
religion and worship. Of course these things would need many centuries to come
to maturity, but they all existed 'in nuce' in the 'Constantinian revolution'
and therefore in the
battle of the Milvian Bridge".
For her part, Claire Sotinel explained that attentive and critical
historical analysis "facilitates our understanding of what happened following
the victory at the Milvian Bridge, helping us in the twenty-first century to
reflect on important issues
such as the interaction between religions and political power, the creation of
religious pluralism, and the possibility of coexistence among different
religions".
Per ulteriori informazioni e per la ricerca di documenti consultare il
sito: www.wisnews.org e www.vatican.va Il servizio del
VIS viene inviato soltanto agli indirizzi di posta elettronica che ne
hanno
fatto richiesta. Se per qualunque motivo non si desidera continuare a
riceverlo, si prega di visitare nostra pagina dinizio: http://212.77.1.245/news_services/press/vi
/italinde.php
Copyright (VIS): Le notizie contenute nei servizi del Vatican
Information Service possono essere riprodotte parzialmente o totalmente
citando la fonte: V.I.S. - Vatican Information Service.
--Boundary_(ID_j60I3zeC6aFUMrEzMQOJMA)--
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