Cardinal Marchisano's Visit

At 8:30 p.m., Francesco Cardinal Marchisano, the current President of St. Peter's Fabric, gave a conference to the PCF priests at the crypta. He talked about the beginning of the Pontificio Collegio Filippino (which was just dream by the Filipino Bishops, especially by the late Rufino Cardinal Santos, Archbishop of Manila) that became a reality in 1962 by the kind assistance of the then Secretary of the Roman Congregation for the Catholic Education Mons. Fransesco Marchisano who was personally involved in the preparation of the coming-to-be of the Collegio Filippino in Rome. Before the talk, Cardinal Marchisano joined us in our supper at the refectory where he enjoyed our food and company as ever. His very personalized talk lasted until 9:30 p.m. The pcf priests posed with him after a short prayer closing the night's historical affair.

Fr. Arlou Buslon (Talibon) and Fr. Giovanni Argarin (Libmanan) marked their priestly ordination anniversary today with silent prayer and thanksgiving. Yesterday, Fr. Rene Retardo (Tagum) enjoyed also his priestly ordination anniversary with his colleagues and friends. Happy Anniversary brother-priests!

Back to School

April 24, 2006

Today, PCF priests found themselves again in their respective classes after two-week Pasqua break. One could notice that they were no longer wrapped in heavy and thick clothing in going to school because spring time started already to creep in. For those who were already in the doctoral program, they continued their silent work on their thesis/dissertation in the library or in their own modest rooms. Also today until April 26, Msgr. Stude Santos and Fr. Nars Minion attended the meeting related to the spiritual, social, and cultural integration of migrants in the Italian society. This meeting was under the auspices of the Conferenza Episcopali Italiani. The meeting was held at the ancient town of Verona - the place where the comedy The Two Gentlemen of Verona by W. Shakesperean began and where the famous Romeo and Juliet took place.

Easter Season

April 17, 2006
Monday after Easter Sunday. It was Sr. Helen Pepito, OP (PCF Cashier) who was the first person being seen and greeted Happy Easter by a priest coming from a week of confession somewhere outside Rome. Then, Fr. Dodong Billones (PCF student-priests’ coordinator) descended from the stairs to join the rest of the OP Sisters at the crypta for the Holy Mass. At Rosminiane (where PCF priests take turns in celebrating the Mass for the sisters every morning) this morning, the priest before the Mass was informed by a Sister to include in the Mass the intention for the soul of Sr. Davidina who passed into her eternal rewards last Easter Sunday. During breakfast, Fr. Rector was happy to see Frs. Oscar Cadayona and Venus Suarez back from Holy Week Pastoral Minstry.

This afternoon, Frs. Richard Tan and Melchor Braga arrived from their Holy Week assignment. They looked very fulfilled and culturally enriched, not to mention the spiritual nourishment received without limits.

It's good to digest the Easter Vigil Homily of the Holy Father here: "You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen, he is not here" (Mark 16:6). With these words, God's messenger, robed in light, spoke to the women who were looking for the body of Jesus in the tomb. But the Evangelist says the same thing to us on this holy night: Jesus is not a character from the past. He lives, and he walks before us as one who is alive, he calls us to follow him, the living one, and in this way to discover for ourselves too the path of life. "He has risen, he is not here." When Jesus spoke for the first time to the disciples about the cross and the resurrection, as they were coming down from the Mount of the Transfiguration, they questioned what "rising from the dead" meant (Mark 9:10). At Easter we rejoice because Christ did not remain in the tomb, his body did not see corruption; he belongs to the world of the living, not to the world of the dead; we rejoice because he is the Alpha and also the Omega, as we proclaim in the rite of the paschal candle; he lives not only yesterday, but today and for eternity (cf. Hebrews 13:8). But somehow the Resurrection is situated so far beyond our horizon, so far outside all our experience that, returning to ourselves, we find ourselves continuing the argument of the disciples: Of what exactly does this "rising" consist? What does it mean for us, for the whole world and the whole of history? A German theologian once said ironically that the miracle of a corpse returning to life -- if it really happened, which he did not actually believe -- would be ultimately irrelevant precisely because it would not concern us. In fact, if it were simply that somebody was once brought back to life, and no more than that, in what way should this concern us? But the point is that Christ's resurrection is something more, something different. If we may borrow the language of the theory of evolution, it is the greatest "mutation," absolutely the most crucial leap into a totally new dimension that there has ever been in the long history of life and its development: a leap into a completely new order which does concern us, and concerns the whole of history. The discussion, which began with the disciples, would therefore include the following questions: What happened there? What does it mean for us, for the whole world and for me personally? Above all: what happened? Jesus is no longer in the tomb. He is in a totally new life. But how could this happen? What forces were in operation? The crucial point is that this man Jesus was not alone, he was not an "I" closed in upon itself. He was one single reality with the living God, so closely united with him as to form one person with him. He found himself, so to speak, in an embrace with him who is life itself, an embrace not just on the emotional level, but one which included and permeated his being. His own life was not just his own, it was an existential communion with God, a "being taken up" into God, and hence it could not in reality be taken away from him. Out of love, he could allow himself to be killed, but precisely by doing so he broke the definitiveness of death, because in him the definitiveness of life was present. He was one single reality with indestructible life, in such a way that it burst forth anew through death. Let us express the same thing once again from another angle. His death was an act of love. At the Last Supper he anticipated death and transformed it into self-giving. His existential communion with God was concretely an existential communion with God's love, and this love is the real power against death, it is stronger than death. The Resurrection was like an explosion of light, an explosion of love which dissolved the hitherto indissoluble compenetration of "dying and becoming." It ushered in a new dimension of being, a new dimension of life in which, in a transformed way, matter too was integrated and through which a new world emerges. It is clear that this event is not just some miracle from the past, the occurrence of which could be ultimately a matter of indifference to us. It is a qualitative leap in the history of "evolution" and of life in general toward a new future life, toward a new world which, starting from Christ, already continuously permeates this world of ours, transforms it and draws it to itself. But how does this happen? How can this event effectively reach me and draw my life upward toward itself? The answer, perhaps surprising at first but totally real, is: This event comes to me through faith and baptism. For this reason baptism is part of the Easter Vigil, as we see clearly in our celebration today, when the sacraments of Christian initiation will be conferred on a group of adults from various countries. Baptism means precisely this, that we are not dealing with an event in the past, but that a qualitative leap in world history comes to me, seizing hold of me in order to draw me on. Baptism is something quite different from an act of ecclesial socialization, from a slightly old-fashioned and complicated rite for receiving people into the Church. It is also more than a simple washing, more than a kind of purification and beautification of the soul. It is truly death and resurrection, rebirth, transformation to a new life. How can we understand this? I think that what happens in baptism can be more easily explained for us if we consider the final part of the short spiritual autobiography that St. Paul gave us in his Letter to the Galatians. Its concluding words contain the heart of this biography: "It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me" (Galatians 2:20). I live, but I am no longer I. The "I," the essential identity of man -- of this man, Paul -- has been changed. He still exists, and he no longer exists. He has passed through a "not" and he now finds himself continually in this "not": I, but no longer I. With these words, Paul is not describing some mystical experience which could perhaps have been granted him, and could be of interest to us from a historical point of view, if at all. No, this phrase is an expression of what happened at baptism. My "I" is taken away from me and is incorporated into a new and greater subject. This means that my "I" is back again, but now transformed, broken up, opened through incorporation into the other, in whom it acquires its new breadth of existence. Paul explains the same thing to us once again from another angle when, in chapter three of the Letter to the Galatians, he speaks of the "promise," saying that it was given to an individual -- to one person: to Christ. He alone carries within himself the whole "promise." But what then happens with us? Paul answers: You have become one in Christ (cf. Galatians 3:28). Not just one thing, but one, one only, one single new subject. This liberation of our "I" from its isolation, this finding oneself in a new subject means finding oneself within the vastness of God and being drawn into a life which has now moved out of the context of "dying and becoming." The great explosion of the Resurrection has seized us in baptism so as to draw us on. Thus we are associated with a new dimension of life into which, amid the tribulations of our day, we are already in some way introduced. To live one's own life as a continual entry into this open space: This is the meaning of being baptized, of being Christian. This is the joy of the Easter Vigil. The Resurrection is not a thing of the past, the Resurrection has reached us and seized us. We grasp hold of it, we grasp hold of the risen Lord, and we know that he holds us firmly even when our hands grow weak. We grasp hold of his hand, and thus we also hold on to one another's hands, and we become one single subject, not just one thing. I, but no longer I: This is the formula of Christian life rooted in baptism, the formula of the Resurrection within time. I, but no longer I: If we live in this way, we transform the world. It is a formula contrary to all ideologies of violence, it is a program opposed to corruption and to the desire for power and possession. "I live and you will live also," says Jesus in St. John's Gospel (14:19) to his disciples, that is, to us. We will live through our existential communion with him, through being taken up into him who is life itself. Eternal life, blessed immortality, we have not by ourselves or in ourselves, but through a relation -- through existential communion with him who is truth and love and is therefore eternal: God himself. Simple indestructibility of the soul by itself could not give meaning to eternal life, it could not make it a true life. Life comes to us from being loved by him who is life; it comes to us from living-with and loving-with him. I, but no longer I: This is the way of the cross, the way that "crosses over" a life simply closed in on the I, thereby opening up the road towards true and lasting joy. Thus we can sing full of joy, together with the Church, in the words of the Exsultet: "Sing, choirs of angels ... rejoice, O earth!" The Resurrection is a cosmic event, which includes heaven and earth and links them together. In the words of the Exsultet once again, we can proclaim: "Christ ... who came back from the dead and shed his peaceful light on all mankind, your Son who lives and reigns for ever and ever." Amen!

The following day, April 16, 2006, the Holy Father Benedict XVI delivered the Easter message today at midday before he imparted his blessing "urbi et orbi" (to the city of Rome and the world). * * * Dear Brothers and Sisters! "Christus resurrexit!" -- Christ is risen! During last night's great vigil we relived the decisive and ever-present event of the Resurrection, the central mystery of the Christian faith. Innumerable paschal candles were lit in churches, to symbolize the light of Christ which has enlightened and continues to enlighten humanity, conquering the darkness of sin and death for ever. And today echo powerfully the words which dumbfounded the women on the morning of the first day after the Sabbath, when they came to the tomb where Christ's body, taken down in haste from the cross, had been laid. Sad and disconsolate over the loss of their master, they found the great stone rolled away, and when they entered they saw that his body was no longer there. As they stood there, uncertain and bewildered, two men in dazzling apparel surprised them, saying: "Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, he is risen" (Luke 24:5-6). "Non est hic, sed resurrexit" (Luke 24:6). Ever since that morning, these words have not ceased to resound throughout the universe as a proclamation of joy which spans the centuries unchanged and, at the same time, charged with infinite and ever new resonances. "He is not here ... he is risen." The heavenly messengers announce first and foremost that Jesus "is not here": The Son of God did not remain in the tomb, because it was not possible for him to be held prisoner by death (cf. Acts 2:24) and the tomb could not hold on to "the living one" (Revelation 1:18) who is the very source of life. Like Jonah in the belly of the whale, so too Christ crucified was swallowed up into the heart of the earth (cf. Matthew 12:40) for the length of a Sabbath. Truly, "that Sabbath was a high day," as St. John tells us (John 19:31): the highest in history, because it was then that the "Lord of the Sabbath" (Matthew 12:8) brought to fulfillment the work of creation (cf. Genesis 2:1-4a), raising man and the entire cosmos to the glorious liberty of the children of God (cf. Romans 8:21). When this extraordinary work had been accomplished, the lifeless body was suffused with the living breath of God and, as the walls of the tomb were shattered, he rose in glory. That is why the angels proclaim "he is not here," he can no longer be found in the tomb. He made his pilgrim way on earth among us, he completed his journey in the tomb as all men do, but he conquered death and, in an absolutely new way, by an act of pure love, he opened the earth, threw it open toward heaven. His resurrection becomes our resurrection, through baptism which "incorporates" us into him. The prophet Ezekiel had foretold this: "Behold, I will open your graves, and raise you from your graves, O my people; and I will bring you home into the land of Israel" (Ezekial 37:12). These prophetic words take on a singular value on Easter Day, because today the creator's promise is fulfilled; today, even in this modern age marked by anxiety and uncertainty, we relive the event of the Resurrection, which changed the face of our life and changed the history of humanity. From the risen Christ, all those who are still oppressed by chains of suffering and death look for hope, sometimes even without knowing it. May the Spirit of the risen one, in particular, bring relief and security in Africa to the peoples of Darfur, who are living in a dramatic humanitarian situation that is no longer sustainable; to those of the Great Lakes region, where many wounds have yet to be healed; to the peoples of the Horn of Africa, of Ivory Coast, Uganda, Zimbabwe and other nations which aspire to reconciliation, justice and progress. In Iraq, may peace finally prevail over the tragic violence that continues mercilessly to claim victims. I also pray sincerely that those caught up in the conflict in the Holy Land may find peace, and I invite all to patient and persevering dialogue, so as to remove both ancient and new obstacles. May the international community, which reaffirms Israel's just right to exist in peace, assist the Palestinian people to overcome the precarious conditions in which they live and to build their future, moving toward the constitution of a state that is truly their own. May the Spirit of the Risen One enkindle a renewed enthusiastic commitment of the countries of Latin America, so that the living conditions of millions of citizens may be improved, the deplorable scourge of kidnapping may be eradicated and democratic institutions may be consolidated in a spirit of harmony and effective solidarity. Concerning the international crises linked to nuclear power, may an honorable solution be found for all parties, through serious and honest negotiations, and may the leaders of nations and of international organizations be strengthened in their will to achieve peaceful coexistence among different races, cultures and religions, in order to remove the threat of terrorism. May the risen Lord grant that the strength of his life, peace and freedom be experienced everywhere. Today the words with which the Angel reassured the frightened hearts of the women on Easter morning are addressed to all: "Do not be afraid! ... He is not here; he is risen" (Matthew 28:5-6). Jesus is risen, and he gives us peace; he himself is peace. For this reason the Church repeats insistently: "Christ is risen -- 'Christós anésti.'" Let the people of the third millennium not be afraid to open their hearts to him. His Gospel totally quenches the thirst for peace and happiness that is found in every human heart. Christ is now alive and he walks with us. What an immense mystery of love! "Christus resurrexit, quia Deus caritas est!" Alleluia!

The Holy Week

April 10-15

From Monday to Thursday, PCF priests who were in Italian parishes were communicating to one another through SMS that they were all well in terms of their ministry to hear confession and most especially in terms of their accommodation. They attended the local clergy’s Chrism Mass held in their Cathedral. Their liturgy, music, mass attendance, and food served afterwards were quite impressive. The hearing of confession in Italian parishes was until Easter Sunday, not like in the Philippines, the confession during Holy Week is good only until before the “Last Supper” on Holy Thursday. The beautiful experience with Italian parish priest and Italian faithful was culturally and liturgically enriching. Thanks, Msgr. Stude for such opportunities!

For those who remained in the PCF, 12 of them, led by Fr. Greg Uanan (Ilagan):
THEY RENEWED THEIR PRIESTLY VOWS DURING THE CHRISM MASS CELEBRATED BY THE HOLY FATHER AT THE BASILICA OF ST. PETER ON HOLY THURSDAY MORNING.

The Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI delivered this beautiful homily at the Basilica of Saint John Lateran during the Mass of the Lord's Supper. * * * "Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end" (John 13:1). God loves his creature, man. He also loves him in his fall and does not abandon him to his fate. He loves to the end. With his love he goes to the end, to the extreme: He descends from his divine glory. He strips himself of his divine glory and takes the clothing of a slave. He descends to the lowest of our fall. He kneels before us and offers us the service of a slave. He washes our dirty feet so that we can be presentable at God's table, so that we will be worthy to sit at his table, something that on our own we could never and would never do. God is not a remote God, too remote and great to be concerned with our trifles. Given that he is great, he can be interested in our trifles. Given that he is great, the soul of man, the same man created by eternal love, is not something small, but great and worthy of his love. God's holiness is not only an incandescent power, before which we must be terrified. He is the power of love and, for this reason; he is a purifying and regenerating power. God comes down and makes himself a slave, washes our feet so that we may sit at his table. In this is expressed the whole mystery of Christ. In this the meaning of redemption is made visible. The bath in which he cleanses us is his love ready to face death. Only love has that purifying force that removes our filth and raises us to the heights of God. He himself is the bath that purifies us, who gives himself totally to us to the point of touching the depth of his suffering and death. And he is constantly that love that cleanses us in the sacraments of purification -- baptism and penance -- he kneels continually at our feet and offers us the service of a slave, the service of purification; he makes us capable of God. His love is inexhaustible; he really goes to the end. "You are clean, but not all of you," says the Lord (John 13:10). In this phrase the great gift of purification is revealed that he offers us, as he wants to sit at table together with us, to become our food. "But not all"; there is the dark mystery of rejection, which with what happened to Judas is made present and must make us reflect in fact on this Holy Thursday, the day in which Jesus gives himself to us. The Lord's love knows no limits, but man can put a limit to it. "You are clean, but not all of you." What makes man filthy? The rejection of love, not wanting to be loved, not loving. Arrogance, which believes it has no need of purification, which closes itself to God's saving goodness. Arrogance does not want to confess and recognize that we are in need of purification. In Judas, we see the nature of this rejection in an even clearer way. He judges Jesus according to the categories of power and success. For him, only the reality of power and success exist, love does not count at all. And he is avid: Money is more import than communion with Jesus, more important than God and his love. In this way, he becomes also a liar, he plays the game of double jeopardy with truth; he lives in lies and loses the sense of the supreme truth, God. Thus he is hardened, makes himself incapable of conversion, of beginning the confident return of the prodigal son, and throws a destroyed life away. "You are clean, but not all of you." The Lord warns us today in the face of that self-sufficiency that puts a limit to his unlimited love. He invites us to imitate his humility, to trust in it, to let ourselves be "infected" by it. He invites us to return home no matter how lost we feel and to let his purifying goodness raise us and makes us enter the communion of the table with him, with God himself. Let us reflect with one more phrase from this inexhaustible Gospel passage: "I have given you an example" (John 13:15), that "you also ought to wash one another's feet" (John 13:14). In what does washing "one another's feet" consist? What does it mean, specifically? Every good work for the other -- especially for one who suffers and one who is little appreciated -- is a service of washing of the feet. The Lord calls us to this: to come down, to learn humility and the courage of goodness, as well as the willingness to accept rejection, trusting however in goodness and persevering in it. But there is still a more profound dimension. The Lord removes our filth with the purifying force of his goodness. To wash one another's feet means, above all, to forgive one another tirelessly, to always begin again, though it might seem useless. It means to purify one another by enduring each other mutually and accepting that others endure us; to purify one another, giving one another mutually the sanctifying force of the Word of God and introducing ourselves in the sacrament of divine love. The Lord purifies us and for this reason we dare to sit at his table. Let us pray that he give all of us the grace to be able to be guests one day and forever at the everlasting nuptial banquet. Amen!


At the Coloseum in the evening of the Good Friday, the Holy Father led the Way of the Cross 2006. The Meditations and Prayers were composed by Archbishop Angelo Comastri, Vicar General of His Holiness for Vatican City, President of the Fabric of St. Peter's Presentation .

A Few Words Along the Way

In making the "Way of the Cross," we are struck by the certainty of two things: the destructive power of sin and the healing power of God's Love. The destructive power of sin: The Bible never tires of repeating that evil is evil because it hurts us: Sin is self-punishment; it carries its own retribution. A few texts of Jeremiah clearly make this point: "They went after worthlessness, and became worthless themselves" (2:5); "your wickedness will punish you, and your apostasies will convict you; know and see that it is evil and bitter for you to forsake the Lord your God; the fear of me is not in you" (2:19); "your crimes have made all this go wrong, your sins have deprived you of all these favors" (5:25). Isaiah is equally insistent: "Therefore thus says the Holy One of Israel: because you reject this word, and trust in oppression and deceit, and rely on them; therefore this iniquity shall become for you like a break in a high wall, bulging out, and about to collapse; its crash comes suddenly, in an instant; its breaking is like that of a potter's vessel that is smashed so ruthlessly that among its fragments not a shard is found for taking fire from the hearth, or dipping up water out of the cistern" (30:12-14). And, voicing the deepest convictions of God's People, the Prophet cries out: "We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a filthy cloth. We fade like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away" (64:6). The Prophets likewise denounce the hardness of heart that leads to appalling blindness and prevents us from perceiving the gravity of sin. Let us listen again to Jeremiah: "For from the least to the greatest of them, every one is greedy for unjust gain; and from prophet to priest, every one deals falsely. They have treated the wound of my people carelessly, saying 'Peace, peace,' when there is no peace. They acted shamelessly, they committed abomination, yet they were not ashamed, they did not know how to blush" (6:13-15). Jesus entered into this history ravaged by sin, and took upon himself the burden and brutality of our sins. When we look upon Jesus, we see clearly the destructive power of sin and the sickness of our human family. Our own sickness! Yours and mine! Yet -- and this is the second certainty -- Jesus countered our pride with humility; he countered our violence with gentleness; he countered our hatred with the Love that forgives. The Cross is the event which enables God's Love to enter into our history, to draw close to each of us, to become a source of healing and salvation. Let us never forget: from the beginning of his ministry Jesus had spoken of "his hour" (John 2:4), of the hour "for which he had come" (John 12:27). It was an hour which he joyfully welcomed, when, at the beginning of his Passion, he cried out: "The hour has come!" (John 17:1). The Church treasures this memory, and in the Creed, after professing that the Son of God "became incarnate from the Virgin Mary and was made man," she goes on to say: "For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate; he suffered death and was buried." For our sake he was crucified! Jesus, at his death, embraced the tragic experience of death as it had been fashioned by our sins; yet, in his death, Jesus filled death itself with Love, he filled it with the presence of God. By Christ's death, death itself was vanquished, for he filled death with the one power capable of canceling the sin that had spawned it: Jesus filled death with Love! Through faith and baptism, we have access to the death of Christ, to the mystery of the Love by which Christ himself tasted and conquered death ... and this in turn becomes the first step of our journey back to God, a journey which will end at the moment of our own death, a death experienced in Christ and with Christ: in Love! As you begin this "Way of the Cross," let Mary take you by the hand. Ask her for just a bit of her humility and docility, so that the Love of Christ Crucified will be able to enter your heart and re-create it after God's own Heart. God bless you on your way!

+ Angelo Comastri

Opening Prayer
The Holy Father: In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. R. Amen. Lord Jesus, your Passion is the whole of human history: a history where the good are humiliated, the meek ... assaulted, the honest ... crushed, and the pure of heart roundly mocked. Who will be the winner? Who will have the last word? Lord Jesus, we believe that you are the last word: in you the good have already won, in you the meek have already triumphed, in you the honest have received their crown, and the pure of heart shine like stars in the night. Lord Jesus, tonight we walk once more the way of your cross, knowing that it is also our way. One certainty lights up our path: the way does not end at the cross but continues beyond, to the Kingdom of Life, to a torrent of joy, the joy which no one can ever take from us![1] Reader: O Jesus, I stand in sorrow at the foot of your cross: I myself have helped erect it by my sins! Your goodness which offers no resistance, and allows itself to be crucified, is a mystery beyond my grasp; it leaves me profoundly troubled. Lord, you came into the world for my sake, to seek me out and to lead me the Father's loving embrace:[2] the embrace for which I long! You are the very Face of beauty and of mercy: that is why you want to save me! Within me is so much selfishness: come to me with your boundless love! Within me is pride and malice: come to me with your meekness and humility! Lord, I am the sinner needing to be saved: I am the prodigal son needing to return! Lord, grant me the gift of tears, that I may discover anew freedom and life, peace with you, and in you, joy.

--- --- --- FIRST STATION Jesus is condemned to death V. Adoramus te, Christe, et benedicimus tibi. R. Quia per sanctam crucem tuam redemisti mundum. From the Gospel according to Matthew (27:22-23,26) Pilate said to them: "Then what should I do with Jesus who is called the Messiah?" All of them said: "Let him be crucified!" Then he asked: "What evil has he done?" But they shouted all the more: "Let him be crucified!" So he released Barabbas for them; and after flogging Jesus, he handed him over to be crucified. MEDITATION We know this scene of condemnation all too well: we see it played out daily! But one question troubles our hearts: why does God allow himself to be condemned? Why does God, the Almighty, show himself clothed with weakness? Why does God let himself be attacked by pride, insolence and human arrogance? Why does God remain silent? God's silence pains us, it is our testing and trial! But it is also what purifies our hasty judgments, and heals our thirst for revenge. God's silence is the soil in which our pride dies and true faith springs up, a humble faith, a faith which does not challenge God, but surrenders to him with childlike trust. PRAYER Lord, how easy it is to condemn! How easy to throw stones: the stones of judgment and slander, the stones of indifference and neglect! Lord, you chose to stand on the losing side, on the side of the ignominious and the condemned![3] Help us never to cause pain to our vulnerable brothers and sisters. Help us to take a courageous stand in defense of the weak. Help us to reject the water of Pilate, which does not cleanse our hands but sullies them with innocent blood. + All: Pater noster, qui es in caelis: sanctificetur nomen tuum; adveniat regnum tuum; fiat voluntas tua, sicut in caelo, et in terra. Panem nostrum cotidianum da nobis hodie; et dimitte nobis debita nostra, sicut et nos dimittimus debitoribus nostris; et ne nos inducas in tentationem; sed libera nos a malo. Stabat Mater dolorosa, iuxta crucem lacrimosa, dum pendebat Filius.

--- --- --- SECOND STATION Jesus takes up his Cross V. Adoramus te, Christe, et benedicimus tibi. R. Quia per sanctam crucem tuam redemisti mundum. From the Gospel according to Matthew (27:27-31) Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the governor's headquarters, and they gathered the whole cohort around him. They stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him, and after twisting some thorns into a crown, they put it on his head. They put a reed in his right hand and knelt before him and mocked him, saying: "Hail, King of the Jews!" They spat on him, and took the reed and struck him on the head. After mocking him, they stripped him of the robe and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him away to crucify him. MEDITATION In Christ's passion, hatred was unleashed: our own hatred, and the hatred of all humanity.[4] In Christ's passion, our evil recoiled before goodness, our pride exploded with resentment in the face of humility, our depravity was outraged by God's radiant clarity. And thus we became ... God's cross! We, in our silly rebellion, we, with our foolish sins, have made a cross of our own anxiety and our own unhappiness: we devised our own punishment. But God takes the cross upon his shoulders, our cross, and he confronts us with the power of his love. God takes the cross! Unfathomable mystery of goodness! Mystery of humility, which shames us at our unbending pride! PRAYER Lord Jesus, you entered human history and found it hostile to you,[5] defiant toward God, maddened by the pride which leads us to think that we stand as tall ... as our shadow! Lord Jesus, you did not attack us, but let yourself be attacked by us, by me, by everyone! Heal me, Jesus, by your patience, cure me by your humility, cut me down to my rightful size, that of a creature, a tiny creature ... yet the object of your infinite love! + All: Pater noster … Cuius animam gementem, contristatam et dolentem pertransivit gladius.

--- --- --- THIRD STATION Jesus falls for the first time V. Adoramus te, Christe, et benedicimus tibi. R. Quia per sanctam crucem tuam redemisti mundum. From the Book of the Prophet Isaiah (53:4-6) Surely he has born our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that made us whole, and by his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned everyone to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. MEDITATION In our human way of thinking, God is incapable of falling, ... and yet he falls. Why? It cannot be a sign of weakness, but only a sign of love: a message of love for us. Falling beneath the weight of the cross, Jesus reminds us that sin is a heavy burden, sin lowers us and destroys us, sin punishes us and brings us evil: in a word, sin is evil![6] Yet God still loves us and desires what is good for us; his love drives him to cry out to the deaf, to us, who are unwilling to hear: "Abandon sin, because it hurts you. It takes away your peace, your joy; it cuts you off from life, and dries up within you the very source of your freedom and dignity." Abandon it! Abandon it! PRAYER Lord, we have lost our sense of sin! Today a slick campaign of propaganda is spreading an inane apologia of evil, a senseless cult of Satan, a mindless desire for transgression, a dishonest and frivolous freedom, exalting impulsiveness, immorality and selfishness as if they were new heights of sophistication. Lord Jesus, open our eyes: let us see the filth around us and recognize it for what it is, so that a single tear of sorrow can restore us to purity of heart and the breadth of true freedom. Open our eyes, Lord, Jesus! + All: Pater noster … O quam tristis et afflicta fuit illa benedicta mater Unigeniti! --

--- --- FOURTH STATION Jesus meets his Mother V. Adoramus te, Christe, et benedicimus tibi. R. Quia per sanctam crucem tuam redemisti mundum. From the Gospel according to Luke (2:34-35, 51) Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother: "Behold, this child is destined for the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be opposed so that the inner thoughts of many will be revealed -- and a sword will pierce through your own soul also. Then he came down with them and went to Nazareth. And his mother kept all these things in her heart. MEDITATION Every mother is love made visible, an abode of tender affection and undying fidelity. Because a true mother loves, even when she is not loved in return. Mary is the Mother! In her, womanhood is unalloyed, and love is not poisoned by the waves of selfishness that constrict and smother human hearts. Mary is the Mother! Her heart faithfully accompanies the heart of her Son, shares in his sufferings, carries his cross, and itself feels the pain of every wound inflicted on the body of her Son. Mary is the Mother! She continues to be a Mother, for us, for ever! PRAYER Lord Jesus, we all need a Mother! We need a love that is faithful and true. We need a love that never wavers, a love that is a sure refuge at times of fear, at times of pain and trial. Lord Jesus, we need women: wives and mothers who can restore to our world the fair face of humanity. Lord Jesus, we need Mary: the woman, the wife and the mother, who never cheapens or refuses love! Lord Jesus, we pray to you for all the women of the world! + All: Pater noster … Quae maerebat et dolebat pia mater, cum videbat Nati poenas incliti.

--- --- --- FIFTH STATION Jesus is helped by Simon the Cyrene to carry his Cross V. Adoramus te, Christe, et benedicimus tibi. R. Quia per sanctam crucem tuam redemisti mundum. From the Gospel according to Matthew (27:32; 16:24) As they went out, they came upon a man of Cyrene, Simon by name; this man they compelled to carry his cross. Jesus told his disciples: "If any man would come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross and follow me. MEDITATION Simon of Cyrene, you are one of the little ones, the poor, a nameless man from the countryside, someone overlooked by the history books. And yet you made history! You wrote one of the most beautiful chapters in the history of mankind: you carried the cross of Another, you lifted the cross, and prevented it from crushing its victim. You restored dignity to us all, by reminding us that we become truly ourselves only when we stop thinking only about ourselves.[7] You remind us that Christ is waiting for us in the street, on the landing, in hospital, in prison, in the outskirts of our cities. Christ waits for us![8] Will we recognize him? Will we help him? Or will we die in our selfishness? PRAYER Lord Jesus, love is fading away, and our world is becoming cold, inhospitable, intolerable. Shatter the chains that hold us back from reaching out to others. Help us, through love, to find ourselves. Lord Jesus, our affluence is making us less human, our entertainment has become a drug, a source of alienation, and our society's incessant, tedious message is an invitation to die of selfishness. Lord Jesus, rekindle within us the spark of humanity that God placed in our hearts at the dawn of creation. Free us from our decadent narcissism, and we will find new joy in life and burst into joyful song. + All: Pater noster … Quis est homo qui non fleret, matrem Christi si videret in tanto supplicio?

--- --- --- SIXTH STATION Veronica wipes the face of Jesus V. Adoramus te, Christe, et benedicimus tibi. R. Quia per sanctam crucem tuam redemisti mundum From the Book of the Prophet Isaiah (53:2-3) He had no form or comeliness that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him. He was despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces. From the Book of Psalms (42:2-3) As the deer longs for flowing streams so my soul longs for you, O God. My soul thirst for God, for the living God. MEDITATION The face of Jesus is bathed with sweat, streaming with blood, covered with abusive spittle. Who would dare draw near him? A woman! A woman steps out of the crowd, keeping alight the lamp of our humanity, ... and wipes his Face and finds his Face! How many people today have no face! How many people are relegated to the margins of life, exiled, forsaken, by an apathy that kills the apathetic. Only those afire with love are truly alive, those who bend low before Christ who suffers and awaits us in those who are suffering: today! Today! For tomorrow will be too late![9] PRAYER Lord Jesus, a single step and the world could change! A single step, and peace could return to families, a single step, and the needy would no longer be alone; a single step, and the suffering could feel a hand reaching out to take their hand ... and bring healing to both. A single step, and the poor could find a place at table, lifting the sadness haunting the tables of the selfish, who find no joy in feasting alone. Lord Jesus, a single step is all it would take! Help us to take that step, for our world is slowly depleting all its store of joy. Help us, Lord! + All: Pater noster … Quis non posset contristari piam matrem contemplari dolentem cum Filio?

--- --- --- SEVENTH STATION Jesus falls for the second time V. Adoramus te, Christe, et benedicimus tibi. R. Quia per sanctam crucem tuam redemisti mundum. From the Book of the Prophet Jeremiah (12:1) You are righteous, O Lord, when I complain to you. Yet I would plead my case before you. Why does the way of the wicked prosper? Why do all who are treacherous thrive? From the Book of Psalms (37:1-2,10-11) Fret not because of the wicked, be not envious of wrongdoers! For they will soon fade like the grass, and wither like the green herb. Yet a little while, and the wicked will be no more, though you look well at his place, he will not be there, but the meek shall possess the land, and delight themselves in abundant prosperity. MEDITATION Our arrogance, our violence, our injustices all press down upon the body of Christ. They weigh upon him ... and he falls a second time, to show us the unbearable burden of our sins. But what is it that today, in particular, strikes at Christ's holy body? Surely God is deeply pained by the attack on the family. Today we seem to be witnessing a kind of anti-Genesis, a counter-plan, a diabolical pride aimed at eliminating the family. There is a move to reinvent mankind, to modify the very grammar of life as planned and willed by God.[10] But, to take God's place, without being God, is insane arrogance, a risky and dangerous venture. May Christ's fall open our eyes to see once more the beautiful face, the true face, the holy face of the family. The face of the family which all of us need. PRAYER Lord Jesus, the family is one of God's dreams entrusted to humanity; the family is a spark from Heaven shared with all mankind: the family is the cradle where we were born and are constantly reborn in love. Lord Jesus, enter our homes and lead us in the song of life. Rekindle the lamp of love and make us feel the beauty of being bound to one another in an embrace of life: a life warmed by God's own breath, the breath of the God who is Love. Lord Jesus, save the family, and save life itself! Lord Jesus, save my own family, save our families! + All: Pater noster … Pro peccatis suae gentis vidit Iesum in tormentis et flagellis subditum.

--- --- --- EIGHTH STATION Jesus meets the women of Jerusalem V. Adoramus te, Christe, et benedicimus tibi. R. Quia per sanctam crucem tuam redemisti mundum. From the Gospel according to Luke (23:27-29,31) A great number of people followed him, and among them were women who were beating their breasts and wailing for him. But Jesus turned to them and said: "Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me, but weep for yourselves and for your children. For behold, the days are coming when they will say, 'Blessed are the barren, and the wombs that never bore, and the breasts that never nursed!' For if they do this when the wood is green, what will happen when it is dry?" MEDITATION The tears of the mothers of Jerusalem flood with pity the path trod by the Convict, soften the ferocity of an execution and remind us that we are all children: children come forth from a mother's embrace. But the tears of the mothers of Jerusalem are but a small drop in the river of tears shed by mothers: mothers of the crucified, mothers of murderers, mothers of drug addicts, mothers of terrorists, mothers of rapists, mothers of psychopaths: but mothers all the same! Yet tears are not enough. Tears must overflow into love that nurtures, strength that gives direction, firmness that corrects, dialogue that builds, a presence that speaks! Tears must prevent other tears! PRAYER Lord Jesus, you know well the tears of every mother, you see in every home the corner of pain, you hear the silent cry of the many mothers hurt by their children: bearing deadly wounds ... yet still alive! Lord Jesus, dissolve the clots of callousness that prevent love from circulating in the arteries of our families. Make us, once again, conscious of being children, so that we can give our mothers -- on earth and in heaven -- pride in having borne us, and joy in blessing the day of our birth. Lord Jesus, wipe away the tears of all mothers, so that a smile may return to their children's faces, to the faces of all. + All: Pater noster … Tui Nati vulnerati, tam dignati pro me pati poenas mecum divide.

--- --- --- NINTH STATION Jesus falls for the third time V. Adoramus te, Christe, et benedicimus tibi. R. Quia per sanctam crucem tuam redemisti mundum. From the Book of the Prophet Habakkuk (1:12-13; 2:2-3) Are you not from of old, O Lord, my God, my Holy One? Your eyes are too pure to behold evil. and you cannot look on wrongdoing; why do you look on the treacherous, and are silent when the wicked swallow those more righteous than they? Write the vision, make it plain on tablets, so that a runner may read it. For there is still a vision for the appointed time; it speaks of the end, and does not lie. If it seems to tarry, wait for it; it will surely come, it will not delay. MEDITATION As Pascal insightfully observed: "Jesus will be in agony until the end of the world; and we cannot sleep during this time."[11] Where is Jesus in agony in our own time? In the division of our world into belts of prosperity and belts of poverty ... this is Christ's agony today. Our world is made of two rooms: in one room, things go to waste, in the other, people are wasting away; in one room, people die from surfeit, in the other, they die from indigence; in one room, they are concerned about obesity, in the other, they are begging for charity. Why don't we open a door? Who don't we sit at one table? Why don't we realize that the poor can help the rich? Why? Why? Why are we so blind? PRAYER Lord Jesus, those who live to hoard riches are the very ones you have called fools![12] Yes, those who think they own anything are really fools, since there is but one Owner of the world. Lord Jesus, the world is yours and yours alone. Yet you have given it to everyone so that the earth can become a home where all find nourishment and shelter. So hoarding riches is robbery, if their useless accumulation prevents others from living. Lord Jesus, put an end to the scandal that divides the world into castles and slums. Lord, teach us once more the meaning of brotherhood! + All: Pater noster … Eia, mater, fons amoris, me sentire vim doloris fac ut tecum lugeam.

--- --- --- TENTH STATION Jesus is stripped of his garments V. Adoramus te, Christe, et benedicimus tibi. R. Quia per sanctam crucem tuam redemisti mundum. From the Gospel according to John (19:23-24) When the soldiers had crucified Jesus, they took his garments and made four parts, one for each soldier; also his tunic. But the tunic was without seam, woven from top to bottom; so they said to one another: "Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it to see whose it shall be." This was to fulfill the Scripture: "They parted my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots." MEDITATION The soldiers take Jesus' tunic from him with the brutality of thieves; they also try to rob him of his modesty and his dignity. But Jesus is the modesty, Jesus is the dignity that belongs to man and the human body. And the scorned body of Christ becomes the indictment of all the scorn ever shown to the human body, which God created as the mirror of the soul and the language to speak of love. Today bodies are constantly bought and sold on the streets of our cities, on the streets of our televisions, in homes that have become like streets. When will we realize that we are killing love? When will we realize that, without purity, the body can neither be alive nor life-giving? PRAYER Lord Jesus, purity has everywhere fallen victim to a calculated conspiracy of silence: an impure silence! People have even come to believe a complete lie: that purity is somehow the enemy of love. But the opposite is true, O Lord! Purity is necessary as a condition for love: a love that is true, a love that is faithful. In any event, Lord, if we cannot be the master of ourselves? how can we give ourselves to others? Only the pure are capable of love; only the pure can love without cheapening love. Lord Jesus, by the power of your blood poured out in love, grant us pure hearts, so that our world may see a rebirth of love, that love for which our hearts so deeply yearn. + All: Pater noster … Fac ut ardeat cor meum in amando Christum Deum, ut sibi complaceam.

--- --- --- ELEVENTH STATION Jesus is nailed to the Cross V. Adoramus te, Christe, et benedicimus tibi. R. Quia per sanctam crucem tuam redemisti mundum. From the Gospel according to Matthew (27:35-42) And when they had crucified him, they divided his garments among them by casting lots; then they sat down and kept watch over him there. And over his head they put the charge against him, which read: "This is Jesus the King of the Jews." Then two robbers were crucified with him, one on the right hand and one on the left. And those who passed by derided him, wagging their heads and saying: "You who would destroy the temple and build it in three days, save yourself! If you are the Son of God, come down from the Cross." So also the chief priests with the scribes and elders mocked him, saying: "He saved others; he cannot save himself. He is the King of Israel; let him come down now from the Cross and we will believe in him." MEDITATION The hands that blessed everyone are now nailed to the cross; the feet that walked everywhere, bringing hope and love, are now bound to the stake. Why, O Lord? Because of love![13] Why your passion? Because of love! Why your cross? Because of love! Lord, why didn't you come down from the cross, to respond to our taunts? I did not come down from the cross, because then I would have made power the lord of the world, whereas love alone is the power capable of changing the world. Why, Lord, did you pay this dreadful price? To tell you that God is Love,[14] infinite Love, all-powerful Love. Do you believe me? PRAYER Jesus, Crucified Lord, everyone else can deceive us, abandon us, delude us: you alone will never delude us! You let our hands nail you brutally to the cross, as a way of telling us that your love is true, sincere, faithful and irrevocable. Jesus, Crucified Lord, our eyes look upon your hands pierced with nails, yet still capable of granting true freedom; they look upon your feet, nailed to the cross, yet still capable of walking and making others walk. Jesus, Crucified Lord, The illusion of a happiness apart from God is dead. Let us return to you, our sole hope and freedom, our sole joy and truth: Jesus, Crucified Lord, be merciful to us sinners! + All: Pater noster … Sancta mater, istud agas, Crucifixi fige plagas cordi meo valide.

--- --- --- TWELFTH STATION Jesus dies on the Cross V. Adoramus te, Christe, et benedicimus tibi. R. Quia per sanctam crucem tuam redemisti mundum. From the Gospel according to John (19:25-27) Standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother, and his mother's sister, Mary, the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus saw his mother, and the disciple whom he loved standing near, he said to his mother: "Woman, behold your son!" Then he said to the disciples: "Behold your mother!" And from that hour the disciple took her to his own home. From the Gospel according to Matthew (27:45-46,50) Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land until the ninth hour. And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice: "Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?", that is: "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" And Jesus cried again with a loud voice and yielded up his spirit. MEDITATION People foolishly thought: God is dead! But if God is dead, who will still give us life? If God is dead, what is life itself? Life is Love! So the cross is not God's death, but the moment when the fragile shell of the humanity taken up by God is shattered and a flood of love bursts forth[15] to renew all humanity. From the cross was born the new life of Saul, from the cross was born the conversion of Augustine, from the cross was born the joyful poverty of Francis of Assisi, from the cross was born the radiant goodness of Vincent de Paul; from the cross was born the heroism of Maximilian Kolbe, from the cross was born the amazing charity of Mother Teresa of Calcutta, from the cross was born the courage of John Paul II, from the cross was born the revolution of love: so the cross is not the death of God, but the birth of his Love in our world. Blessed be the cross of Christ! PRAYER Lord Jesus, in the silence of this evening, your voice is heard: "I thirst! I thirst for your love!"[16] In the silence of this night, your prayer is heard: "Father, forgive them! Father, forgive them!"[17] In the silence of history, your cry is heard: "It is finished."[18] What is finished? "I have given you everything, I have told you everything, I brought you the most beautiful message of all: God is love! God loves you!" In the silence of the heart, we can feel the caress of your final gift: "Behold, your mother: my mother!"[19] Thank you Jesus, for giving Mary the mission of reminding us each day that the meaning of everything is to be found in love: the Love of God planted in the world like a cross! Thank you, Jesus! + All: Pater noster … Vidit suum dulcem Natum morientem desolatum, cum emisit spiritum.

--- --- --- THIRTEENTH STATION Jesus is taken down from the Cross and given to his Mother V. Adoramus te, Christe, et benedicimus tibi. R. Quia per sanctam crucem tuam redemisti mundum. From the Gospel according to Matthew (27:55,57-58; 17:22-2) There were also many women there, looking on from afar, who had followed Jesus from Galilee, ministering to him. When it was evening, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who also was a disciple of Jesus. He went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then Pilate ordered it to be given to him. As they were gathering in Galilee, Jesus said to them: "The Son of man is to be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill him, and he will be raised on the third day." And they were greatly distressed. MEDITATION The deed is done: we have killed Jesus![20] And Christ's wounds continue to sting in Mary's heart, as one sorrow envelops both Mother and Child. The Pietà! The sorrowing Mother and her Son! The scene cries out to us, it brings distress and pain even to those used to inflicting pain on others. The Pietà! We almost seem to feel compassion for God and yet -- once again -- it is God who feels compassion for us. The Pietà! Our pain is no longer hopeless, nor will it ever be hopeless again, for God has come to suffer with us. And with God, can we ever be hopeless? PRAYER O Mary, in your Son you embrace every son and daughter, and share in the anguish of every mother throughout the world. O Mary, your tears continue to fall in every age; they bathe the faces and mirror the grief of every man and woman. O Mary, you have known sorrow ... yet you still believe! You believe that clouds do not darken the sun, you believe that night gives way to dawn. O Mary, you who sang the Magnificat,[21] lead us in the song that conquers sorrow like the birth pangs that bring forth new life. O Mary, pray for us! Pray that we too may experience the infectious power of true hope. + All: Pater noster … Fac me vere tecum flere, Crucifixo condolere, donec ego vixero.

--- --- --- FOURTEENTH STATION Jesus is laid in the tomb V. Adoramus te, Christe, et benedicimus tibi. R. Quia per sanctam crucem tuam redemisti mundum. From the Gospel according to Matthew (27:59-61) Joseph took the body, and wrapped it in a clean linen shroud, and laid it in his own new tomb, which he had hewn in the rock; and he rolled a great stone to the door of the tomb, and departed. Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were there, sitting opposite the sepulcher. From the Book of Psalms (16:9-11) My heart is glad, and my soul rejoices; my body also rests secure. For you will not leave my soul among the dead, nor let your beloved know decay. You show me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy, in your right hand are pleasures for evermore. MEDITATION There are times when life seems like a long and dreary Holy Saturday. Everything seems over, the wicked seem to triumph, and evil appears more powerful than good.[22] But faith enables us to see afar, it makes us glimpse the break of a new day on the other side of this day. Faith promises us that the final word belongs to God: to God alone! Faith is truly a little lamp, yet it is the only lamp that can light up the night of the world: and its lowly light blends with the light of a new day: the day of the Risen Christ. So the story does not end with the tomb, instead it bursts forth from the tomb: just as Jesus promised us,[23] it happened, and it will happen again![24] PRAYER Lord Jesus, Good Friday is the day of darkness, the day of blind hatred, the day when the Just One was put to death! But Good Friday is not the final word: the final word is Easter, the triumph of Life, the victory of Good over Evil. Lord Jesus, Holy Saturday is the day of emptiness, the day of bewilderment and dread, the day when everything seems over! But Holy Saturday is not the final day, the final day is Easter, the Light that is kindled anew, the Love that conquers all hatred. Lord Jesus, whenever we experience our own Good Friday, and we feel the anguish of Holy Saturday, give us Mary's unwavering faith, so that we can believe in the reality of Easter; give us her clearsighted gaze so that we can see the brilliant dawn that announces the final day of history: "new heavens and a new earth"[25] already present in you, Jesus, Crucified and Risen. Amen!

+ All: Pater noster … Quando corpus morietur, fac ut animae donetur paradisi gloria. Amen.

The Holy Father addressed those present. At the end of his address, the Holy Father imparted the apostolic blessing: V. Dominus vobiscum. R. Et cum spiritu tuo. V. Sit nomen Domini benedictum. R. Ex hoc nunc et usque in sæculum. V. Adiutorium nostrum in nomine Domini. R. Qui fecit caelum et terram. V. Benedicat vos omnipotens Deus, Pater +, et + Filius, et + Spiritus Sanctus. R. Amen.

It was finished before 11:00 p.m.

Palm Sunday

Today's Palm Sunday or Passion Sunday. Starting today the PCF seemed empty, for a good number of student-priests left either for Holy Week/Easter vacation or for pastoral work outside Rome. Some went to Vienna, Austria to spend the Holy Week with FIlipino families. They were Frs. Abet Uy, Arlou Buslon, and Ramon Oncog. Others went to the Holy Land, part of their biblical studies - Fr. Jess Layug and Fr. Rolly Garcia. Heading North for Germany was Fr. Wagner Nalitan. Still others started to pack their things to go somewhere else. Fr. Venus Suarez was set to leave for Austria to give a recollection to a Filipino Community. Fr. Joselito Jopson would be on religous pilgrimages in Europe. A good number chose to stick around to experience the Holy Week very close to the Pope. Only a few freely went to Italian parishes to answer the call of Fr. Rector to help parish priests in hearing confessions: Fr. Melchor Braga, Fr. Richard Tan, Fr. Rodel San Juan and Fr. Oscar Cadayona. This was also a way to practice their Italian. Let's pray for them!

Last week, Sr. Daisy left the Collegio Filippino for another assignment in the Philippines. Replacing her was Sr. Evangeline who arrived in ROme last March 31, 2006, together with Fr. Marvin Mejia coming from vacation in the Philippines. THe Fr. Rector himself and Mother Ann Egar, OP fetched them at the airport. Fr. Nick Revilla also left Collegio Filippino for the U.S. to visit his parents, before going back to the Philippines.

Last Wednesday, April 4, Fr. Jimel Varela organized a kind of barbecue party at 7:30 pm at the third floor to usher in the Spring time, to welcome Sr. Evangeline, and to say boun viaggio to Fr. Rey Adalid, OP, the Spiritual Director of the PCF who would be home for a short vacation.

The Rector's Cup Winners

Wedensdday, March 29, 2006

Fr. Freddie Nonoi Billanes (Capiz) captured the Grand Prize of the winter ping-pong tournament at the expense of Fr. Raul Dael (Cagayan de Oro), two in a row. In the double category, Frs. Nick Revilla (Caceres) and Nars Minion (Romblon) crushed the tandem of Fr. Raul Dael and Fr. Greg Gaston (Manila - member of the Roman Curia) to win the championship for this year 2006 Rector's Cup. The winner of the double category last year Fr. Edison Escario(Manila) was earlier eliminated, but promised to bounce back next year's tournament. Msgr. Stude Santos thanked everyone for actively participating the winter competition. All who were involved in the event got consolation prizes. But they said that it's not the money but the fame! Meanwhile, Fr. Joselito Jopson (Pasig) has silently been on intensive training in preparation for next year's 2007 Rector's Cup. Ci vediamo!

The Consistory 2006 seen by the Insider

Consistory, 24 March 2006
Documentaion of the Pontificio Collegio Filippino

What is consistory? Originally, the Latin word consistorium meant simply 'sitting together', just as the Greek syn(h)edrion from which we can read the Biblical sanhedrin.
In the Roman empire though, it was specifically applied to a formal meeting of the Comites consistoriales i.e. those members of the Emperor's court with the title of Comes (the translation count is rather confusing) who were assigned—and this conferred the highest rank amongst Comites—to advise him in official, important matters, suching as drafting bills and other written decisions, rather like the privy council of a feudal king. As the senate—in law still retaining the highest constitutional position, as the republic was never formally ended—lost most of its political importance, almost reducing it to a rubber stamp as a single-party state's parliament usually is, they stepped in as an official alternative power besides the throne, but real power could just as well lay mainly elsewhere, depending on the imperial favor and personal machinations.
In the Roman Catholic Church, the consistory is a formal meeting of the Sacred College of Cardinals of the Roman Catholic Church, except when convened to elect a new pope (then the name is conclave, and specific rules apply, also to its composition). Consistories are held in Vatican City for taking care of the business of the college, which usually involves advising the Pope on important matters concerning the church.
Since the Pope creates new cardinals in the presence of the college, the consistory is where this takes place. The identities of the cardinals-to-be are generally announced some time in advance, but only at the time of the consistory does the elevation to the cardinalate take effect, since that is when the Pope formally publishes the decree of elevation. Some men have died before the consistory date, and if a Pope dies before the consistory all the nominations are voided. However, the cardinal himself does not have to attend the consistory for his elevation to be effective.
Those new cardinals present are presented with their rings, zucchetti (small skullcaps), and biretti (four-cornered silk hats) by the Pope. Formerly they also received an elaborate broad-brimmed tasseled hat, the galerum rubrum, at the ceremony, but Pope Paul VI abolished this in 1967 and those cardinals who want these obtain them privately from a maker in Rome.
The zucchetto, the biretta, and the galerum rubrum are all scarlet, the distinctive color of cardinals' vestments. When a diocesan cardinal dies, his galerum rubrum is suspended from the ceiling of his cathedral.
At the consistory cardinals are generally assigned titular churches in the diocese of Rome, though Paul VI abolished their functional involvement in the governance of these churches; the cardinals formally "take possession" of these churches at a later date.

Saturday, March 18, 2006
The Pontifico Collegio Filippino (PCF) welcomed H.E. Gaudencio B. Rosales, Archbishop of Manila. He arrived in Rome at 9:25 a.m. (Local Time) at the Fiumincino Airport to attend the Consistory on March 24-25, 2006, during which he would be formally elevated to the College of Cardinals. Traveling with him were Fr. Reginald Maicdem-his Personal Secretary, Fr. Genaro Diwa – the Archdiocesan Liturgist of Manila, and Sr. Elsa Belen, MCST. Msgr. Stude Santos, the Rector of the Pontificio Collegio Filippino, welcomed them at the airport. When they arrived at the collegio by 10:30 a.m., student-priests happily received His Eminence and his staff . At the refectory, he exchanged pleasantries with the rest of the PCF communiy whose eagerness to personally meet the new Filipino cardinal reached to another level. Also present at the PCF to welcome the new Filipino Cardinal was Don Luis Navarro, a good friend of many Filipino priests in Rome from the Prelature of Opus Dei.
In the evening, the PCF priests and formators also prepared themselves for the memorable and enriching event by having a recollection with the renowned Marian theologian Msgr. Arthur Calkins whose topic focused on the Marian role of the Paschal Sacrifice of Jesus Christ.
Sunday, March 19, 2006
The spiritual preparation of His Eminence Gaudencio Cardinal Rosales, the 31st Archbishop of Manila, started today at the Little Sisters Convent in Tre-Fontane where he would be left alone to commune with the Lord Jesus Christ who called him now to closely collaborate with the Petrine Ministry as a new member of the College of Cardinals in looking after the one billion plus Catholics around the world. He stayed there until the morning of March 21, 2006.
Monday, March 20, 2006
Relatives of Archbishop Gaudencio Rosales started pouring in the Seat of Christianity. They mostly came from the United States of America and Canada. His brothers and sisters and company were welcomed at the Pontificio Collegio Filippino where they would stay in the course of the event. Some of his relatives were billeted at the nearby hotels.
Tuesday, March 21, 2006
With spirit rekindled by the holy retreat, the Archbishop returned to the Pontificio Collegio Filippino in the afternoon. By 4:00 p.m. the Archbishop had interview with the Asia News in which the Archbishop was asked among other things how he sees this consistory through which he would receive the red hat from Pope Benedict XVI. In the evening, the Archbishop had dinner with his friends – Pol and Evelyn Reyes of Philcargo.

Wednesday, March 22, 2006
Today the General Vicar of the Legionaires of Christ, Fr. Luis Garza Medina, arranged a meeting with Archbishop Gaudencio Rosales. The meeting was probaly about their intention to have an apostolate in Manila. For lunch, the Archbishop did forego the scheduled lunch at the Generalate of the Society of Jesus where he would meet with the Superior General of the Jesuits.
Meanwhile, His Eminence Ricardo Cardinal Vidal, Archbishop of Cebu, arrived in Rome at 9:25 a.m. together with H.E’s Angel Lagdameo, President of the Catholic Bishop’s Conference of the Philippines, and Archbishop Carmelo D. F. Morelos, Archbishop of Zamboanga – to witness also the elevation to the Cardinalate of Archbishop Gaudencio Rosales. Notable among the priests-companions of the Filipino Bishops was Fr.Dennis Villarojo, the trusted private secretary of the Cardinal-Archbishop of Cebu for almost two decades. Student-priests of the collegio were happy to see them again here in Rome. In the evening, His Eminence Cardinal Jose Sanchez served as host to the leading Philippine Church dignitaries at his modest apartment very near to the St. Peter’s Square.
But Archbishop Rosales by seven o’ clock in the evening headed for dinner to the Sedes Sapientiae Seminary where a good number of Filipino diocesan seminarians are being formed by the Prelature of Opus Dei and where MCST Filipino Sisters are the key personnel. Fr. Jun Bermejo, a Filipino priest-formator of the Sedes Sapientiae Seminary was the one introducing the Archbishop to the community. The Archbishop thanked the Prelature of Opus Dei and Saint Jose Maria Escriva for what the Philippine Church received from them. The Spiritual Director of the PCF, Fr. Rey Adalid, OP, accompanied the Archbishop and his staff.
Thursday, March 23, 2006
The collegio filipino today started to be full of life and activity as plenty of people, guests, relatives, and delegates from the Archdiocese began invading the whole 48 year old building (a home for filipino priests sent by their respective bishops for further ecclesiastical studies in Rome) in preparation for the consistory tomorrow morning. The PCF Vice-Rector and Procurator, Fr. Rico Ayo led the final stage of the physical preparation for the said occasion. Everything in PCF was readily “set in motion” to contain the influx of visitors from the Philippines, Europe and the USA.
Archbishop Gaudencio Rosales spent the day as a day for recollection and prayer with His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI. He celebrated also today his 48th anniversary as a priest – he was ordained March 23, 1958 at Lipa, Batangas. Today was also the time when the Pope consulted the Cardinals, including the 15 nominated Cardinals from all over the world about various pressing issues faced by the Church, from Lefevre to relation with Islam.
Lunchtime at the PCF: Msgr. Stude Santos announced the arrival of the following Filipino Bishops during lunch time: Bishop Gabriel Reyes of Antipolo, Bishop Jose Oliveros of Malolos, Bishop Leo Drona of San pablo Laguna, Bishop Honesto Ongtioco of Cubao, Bishop Edgardo Juanich of Taytay Palawan, Bishop Pedro D Arigo of P. Princesa. With them who came were some Manileno priests and guests. The student-priests coordinator, Fr. Midyphil Billones (Jaro), entertained the newly arrived guests.
In the evening, Bishop Jess Mercado of Paranaque, Bishop Leopoldo Tumulak of the Military Ordinariate, Bishop Antonio Tobias of Novaliches arrived and joined the rest of the Bishops who came earlier. The Ambassador to the Holy See, Her Exc. Lydia de Veyra invited all the Bishops to her residence for dinner.
Friday, March 24, 2006
Today came to the Filipinos as the GREAT DAY. It was opened with a Holy Mass presided over by Bishop Honesto Ongtioco (Cubao). The lauds was well –chanted by the PCF priests led by the community’s Liturgist Fr. Oliver Yalung (Pampanga) and by the PCF Spiritual Director Fr. Rey Adalid, OP.
Three buses which took the bishops, priests, relatives, and guests left Collegio Filippino at 9:00 o’ clock in the morning for the Ordinary Public Consistory through which Archbishop Rosales would be formally elevated to the Cardinalate. The white van was reserved for Cardinal Vidal and Archbishop Rosales with their aides. The bus of the bishops and the white van of the cardinals proceeded to the very door of the sacristy of the Basilica of St. Peter. The two buses of the priests and the guests were left at the Hotel Michelangelo from which they walked down to the St. Peter’s square taking the Gregorio VII's entrance to the square. The guests and relatives of Archbishop Rosales were sitted at the front of the steps of the basilica, whereas a good number of priests from the collegio filippino sitted at the back of the bishops wearing black cassock. As the clock chimed 10:25, the 15 Cardinals-to-be began making procession from the left side of St. peter's square to the cheers and applause of the faithful. They all wore crimson red robes. The fifteen were: Archbishop William Joseph Levada, Archbishop Emeritus of San Fransisco, California and now the Prefect of the Sacred Congregation for Doctrine of the Faith, Archbishop Franc Rode, Emeritus of Ljubljana (Slovenia), Archbishop Agostino Vallini, Archbishop Emeritus of Albano (Italia), Archbishop Jorge Liberato Urosa Savino of Caracas (Venezuela), Archbishop Gaudencio Rosales, Archbishop of Manila (Philippines), Archbishop Jean-Pierre Ricard of Bordeaux (France), Archbishop Antonio Canizares Llovera of Toledo (Spain), Archbishop Nicholas Cheong Jinsuk of Seoul (Korea), Archbishop Sean Patrick O’Malley, OFM, Cap., of Boston, Archbishop Stanizlaw Dziwsz of Krakow (Poland), Archbishop Carlo Caffara of Bologna, Archbishop Joseph Zen Ze-Kiun, SDB, of Hongkong, Archbishop Andrea Cordero Lanza Di Montezemolo, titular Archbishop of Tuscania, Archbishop Peter Poreku Dery, Emeritus of Tamale (Ghana), Padre Albert Vanhoye, SJ, from the Pontifical Biblical Institute.
When the fifteen reached their respective seats near the makeshift altar at the center of the wide steps of the basilica, His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI solemnly appeared at 10;30 a.m. from the main door of the basilica descending to the altar which he incensed before he went to his chair approximately ten meters away from the altar to start the rite of giving the “red hat” to the cardinals. The delegates from from 12 countries were full of excitement as the Pope with smile appeared before the huge crowd that applauded him and shouted Viva il Papa! Heralded by joyous choral music, which echoed off the ancient stone of St Peter's, the Pope began the ceremony with a prayer inviting people to turn to God and asking for the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God, and then read out formula of elevation followed by the solemn proclamation of the names of the 15 cardinals-elect, each name greeted by cheers by flag-waving, festive crowd. The big flag and flaglets of the Philippines waved above the crowd when the name Archbishop Gaudencio Rosales was solemnly proclaimed. When the Holy Father finished calling each one’s name, il primo dei nuovi cardinali, Cardinal Levada gave the address of homage and gratitude to the the Holy Father, on behalf of everyone.
The Liturgy of the Word: The first reading is taken from the first Letter of Peter 5:1-11. It was read in Latin. It talks about tending the flock of God by the elders of the Church and the suffering they share in Jesus Christ, the Chief Shepherd. The Responsorial Psalm was taken from Psalm 88: Laudate Dominum in voce exultaionis! The gospel reading was taken from Mark 10: 32-45. It was not read but sung by a deacon in Latin. The gospel makes us return to the very origin of the Church and specifically to the origin of the Petrine ministry. With the eyes of our hearts we see the Lord Jesus once again, to whose praise and glory this act in which we are engaged is totally directed and dedicated. The words he speaks to us recall to our minds the definition of the Roman Pontiff so dear to the heart of Saint Gregory the Great: "Servus servorum Dei". When Jesus explains to the twelve Apostles that their authority will have to be exercised quite differently from that of "the rulers of the Gentiles", he expresses it in terms of service: "Whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all" (here Jesus uses a stronger word – Mk 10:43-44). Total and generous availability to serve others is the distinctive mark of those in positions of authority in the Church, because it was thus for the Son of Man, who came "not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many" (Mk 10:45).
The Homily of the Holy Father followed the reading of the Gospel. Here were the important points: Venerable and dear Brothers, I want to sum up the meaning of this new call that you have received in the word which I placed at the heart of my first Encyclical: caritas. This matches well the colour of your cardinalatial robes. May the scarlet that you now wear always express the caritas Christi, inspiring you to a passionate love for Christ, for his Church and for all humanity. You now have an additional motive to seek to rekindle in yourselves those same sentiments that led the incarnate Son of God to pour out his blood in atonement for the sins of the whole world. I am counting on you, venerable Brothers, I am counting on the entire College into which you are being incorporated, to proclaim to the world that "Deus caritas est", and to do so above all through the witness of sincere communion among Christians: "By this", said Jesus, "all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another" (Jn 13:35). I am counting on you, dear Brother Cardinals, to ensure that the principle of love will spread far and wide, and will give new life to the Church at every level of her hierarchy, in every group of the faithful, in every religious Institute, in every spiritual, apostolic or humanitarian initiative. I am counting on you to see to it that our common endeavour to fix our gaze on Christ’s open Heart will hasten and secure our path towards the full unity of Christians. I am counting on you to see to it that the Church’s solicitude for the poor and needy challenges the world with a powerful statement on the civilization of love. All this I see symbolized in the scarlet with which you are now invested. May it truly be a symbol of ardent Christian love shining forth in your lives.
I entrust this my prayer into the maternal hands of the Holy Virgin of Nazareth, source of the life-blood which the Son of God was to pour out on the Cross as the supreme expression of his love. In the mystery of the Annunciation which we are about to celebrate, it is revealed to us that the divine Word was made flesh through the action of the Holy Spirit and came to dwell among us. Through Mary’s intercession, may the Spirit of truth and love be poured out abundantly upon the new Cardinals and upon us all, so that as we become ever more fully conformed to Christ, we may dedicate ourselves tirelessly to building up the Church and to spreading the Gospel in the world.
After the homily, the new Cardinals then made the profession of faith in front of the people of God and each one took the oath which states: "I [name and surname], Cardinal of the Holy Roman Church, promise and swear to be faithful henceforth and forever, while I live, to Christ and his Gospel, being constantly obedient to the Holy Roman Apostolic Church, to Blessed Peter in the person of the Supreme Pontiff Benedict XVI, and of his canonically elected Successors; to maintain communion with the Catholic Church always, in word and deed; not to reveal to any one what is confided to me in secret, nor to divulge what may bring harm or dishonor to Holy Church; to carry out with great diligence and faithfulness those tasks to which I am called by my service to the Church, in accord with the norms of the law. So help me Almighty God."
What came next was the giving of the red hat and the assigned Title or Deaconry. Tue s Petrus was sung as background as each one approached the Pope and knelt before him to receive the red hat (birreta). It is red as a sign of the dignity of the office of a cardinal, signifying that the Cardinal is ready to act with fortitude, even to the point of spilling his blood for the increase of the Christian faith, for peace and harmony among the people of God, for freedom and the spread of the Holy Roman Catholic Church. Cardinal Rosales received the red hat at exactly 11:30 a.m. to the delight of the Filipino people that waved their flags as he approached and knelt before the Pope who gave the bull of creation of cardinal and assigned the Filipino Cardinal the TITOLO DEL SANTISSIMO NOME DI MARIA a Via Latina as a sign of his participation in the Pope’s pastoral care of the City of Rome. The exchange of kiss of peace with the new members of the College of Cardinals followed. While the Cardinals did the kiss of peace, the choir sang Euntes in Mundum. Then, the Prayers of the Faithful. It was prayed in French with the intention for the whole Church, in Filippino with the intention for the Pope that he may be filled with wisdom, determination, and strength of the Holy Spirit, in English with the intention for the New Cardinals that they may serve the Gospel more intensely and love the Church more deeply, in Polish with the intention for the leaders of nations that they may concretely realize freedom, justice, peace and solidarity that are in the hearts of all people, in Chinese with the intention for all races that still suffer because of their Christian faith that with patience and love they may at last enjoy and reunite with the Mother Church, in Spanish with the intention for all of us that we may imitate the examples of the Blessed Virgin Mary , the Mother of God. Then the Holy Father led the singing of the Pater Noster and gave his blessings to all people. The final hymn was the Alma Redemptoris Mater. The celebrations came to an end at exactly 12:00 noon.
The reception at the Pontificio Collegio Filippino. Every "square inch" of the Refectory, Lobby and San Lorenzo Ruiz Hall was filled with festive Filipinos and guests. The presidential table where the ecclesiastical and civil dignitaries sitted was in front of the lobby of the main chapel of the collegio. The estimated crowd inside the collegio reached four hundred people. There were ten Filipino Bishops, namely: Bishops Pedro Arigo of P.Princesa, Leo Drona of San Pablo- Laguna, Reynaldo Evangelista of Boac, Edgardo Juanich of Taytay –Palawan, Jesus Mercado of Paranaque, Jose Oliveros of Malolos, Honesto Ongtioco of Cubao, Gabriel Reyes of Antipolo, Antonio Tobias of Novaliches, and Leopoldo Tumulak of Phil. Military Ordinairiate. There were two Filipino Archbishops: Archbishop Dominador Morelos of Zamboanga and Archbishop Angel Lagdameo of Jaro and President of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines. There were two Filipino Cardinals: Cardinal Vidal of Cebu and Cardinal Jose Sanchez, Prefect Emeritus of the Congregation of the Clergy. There were some members of the Roman Curia, notable among them; Cardinal Francesco Marchizano, Vicario Generale per lo Stato della Citta del Vaticano, A Secretary of the Congregation___________. A belgian Bishop________. From the Secretariat of State: Archbishop Antonio Franco who celebrated his birthday today, former Nuncio to the Philippines, Mons. Barnie Ausa and Mons. Montemayor. There were a hundred of Filipino priests, diocesan and religious. Ambassador Lydia de Veyra – ambassador to the Holy See and Ambassador Philipp Lhulillier – Ambassador to the Quirinale together with Miss Luli Arroyo representing the President of the Philippines came to grace the occasion. There were a hundred relatives of Cardinal Rosales and leaders of Filipino communities here in Rome..
As the guests continued minching Filipino food, a short program (the host of which was Fr. Jimel Varela from Catarman) in front of the dignitaries was held. Msgr. Stude Santos first welcomed them with these words….The CBCP president gave his message emphasizing the three points about what is a Cardinal: On this special occasion, let me give you as my message, a brief catechesis on the significance of the Cardinal in the Catholic HCurch. Regarding its etymology, “Cardinal” comes from the Latin word “cardo” which means, hinge. In tagalong, cardo, means “bisagra”. A hinge has a double function. It serves as a pivot on which, fro example, a door swings in a doorjamb; it also attaches the door (something from outside the doorjamb itself) to the wall. Its definition, according to Canon 349, states that the Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church constitutes a special college whose responsibility can be summed in three major functions, namely: to elect the Bishop of Rome, provide advices to the Pope regarding questions of major impotance; and finally assist the Pope through various special offices (e.g. Roman Curia). But what is the theological foundation of the Cardinal in the Church? Cardinals trace their mission from the mission of the “Twelve”. Just as college of bishops are successors of the apostles; so it is the same with the college of cardinals. To them individually and collectively is given the mission together with the Pope to build up communion in the church. Wherever he is: in the huge plenary council, in a national search for justice and truth, or in the solemn prayers around the Eucharist, - a cardinal by virtue of this theological orientation becomes the focal point for communion. His whole life is to be given in service and in oblation for this communion.

When the poorest of the poor who runs and knocks at the door of the Church, finds the door swinging wide open to him and there find acceptance, solidarity and hope, then the "cardinal" fades to become only a title of honor, but truly becomes the "hinge" of redemption that he is meant to be by the Lord! Passionate fidelity to this essence of his call is our prayer for our new Cardinal!
Then the PCF Priests presented two songs beautifully arranged by Fr. Joselito Jopson (Pasig) and Fr. Rene Ritardo(Tagum): one song entitled “Lord make me an instrument of peace” and the other one was “Isang Bansa, Isang Diwa.” The collegio priests received a thundering applause from the audience for the songs magnificently rendered to the new Filipino Cardinal.
Then, Ricardo Cardinal Vidal, the Archbishop of Cebu, stood up and gave his message with wit and intelligence: One of the most memorable introductions I had as a Cardinal was when I visited a home in the United States. A little girl opened the door for me, and upon seeing me, went running to her Mom in the kitchen to announce to one and all: "Mommy, the Carnival is here!"?

Depending on how you see it, the crimson robes of a Cardinal can be a sign of nobility, or it can be a subject of levity. Being called "Your Eminence" can be a heavy thing to bear, if you take yourself too seriously. It was G.K. Chesterton who said: "Angels fly because they take themselves lightly". In the same angelic tradition, I heard that His Eminence Gaudencio Cardinal Rosales announced to his clergy that he was coming to Rome "to pick up (his) costume". I have wanted to lend him mine, but I was afraid it would look like a mini-skirt on him.

My dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ...

Behind this crimson robe is a call to martyrdom for the sake of Christ and his Church. The dignity conferred on a Cardinal reminds me of the words the Lord spoke to James and John, the Sons of Thunder: "Can you drink of the cup that I am going to drink?" The cup of the Lord comes in different shapes and sizes. One thing is sure though: it is always bitter. Bitter when you will have to make decisions that not everyone is going to like. Bitter when they criticize you for saying nothing. Bitter when they criticize you all the same for saying something.

This bitter cup, however, will not be foreign to His Eminence. "Si mortuum fuerit, fructum affert". The seed that falls on the ground and dies, only that seed will bear fruit. His Eminence has sown the seeds of goodness on the soil of his ministry. He does not call them seeds though. He calls them crumbs. And they do not fall. They are collected, like manna in the desert. With his heart set on helping the poor help themselves, our new Cardinal will lead us to the Promised Land, as his predecessor, Jaime Cardinal Sin has led us out of political bondage. As we congratulate congratulate him on his elevation to the College of Cardinals, we also unite ourselves with him in his passion to alleviate the lives of the poor.May the Lord be with you always, Your Eminence, as you strive to preach the Gospel of Generosity and Solidarity to our People.
In response to all, the new Cardinal with soft voice narrated to the people about the story of his vocation to the priesthood. His late Father was very hesitant to send him to the seminary because he wanted him to become a doctor. But later his Father allowed him to become a priest with the condition that he should become a good priest. The new Cardinal then expressed his gratitude to his Family and relatives who came, to the guests and Filipino Bishops and priests came all the way from the Philippines, and to the Rector and staff of the Pontificio Collegio Filippino that made the consistory memorable to all Filipinos in the Philippines and here in Rome.

After the program at three p.m., the PCF community proceeded to the chapel where the PCF community picture taking was held together with the three Filipino Cardinals, Filippino Bishops, some members of the Roman Curia, and the two respective Ambassadors to the Quirinale and to the Holy See.
Thirty minutes later, PCF priests and guests went back to the St. Peter’s Square to have courtesy calls on new Cardinals. Cardinal Rosales was at the Hall of Blessings receiving guests who either congratulated him or have his picture taken with them. Noticeably, Asian pilgrims or delegates, Chinese and Koreans, went to Cardinal Rosales in droves, for the Cardinal looked like one of them. “Cardinal of note” at this time was Cardinal Stanislaw Dsiwisz, the long-time private secretary of the late Pope John Paul II. Long queue of well-wishers patiently waited their turns to see the man who was always at the side of the Great Pope John Paul II until he expired to eternity on April 2, 2005.
In the evening, the Holy Rosary and Vespers were made at the PCF Chapel. Many attended and thanked the Lord for the blessings received these days.

Saturday, March 25, 2006
Solemnity of the Lord’s Annunciation. The day when Cardinal Rosales received the ring from Pope Benedict as a sign of his closeness and intimacy with the Petrine Ministry.

To start the day, Cardinal Gaudencio Rosales presided over the Solemn Lauds at the PCF Chapel at 7:20 in the morning. With the admirable talents of the Liturgist, the organist, and the guitarist, the opening morning schedule became more conducive to prayer and thanksgiving to the Almighty Father. After breakfast at 8:00 a.m., buses outside the collegio were waiting for the priests, bishops, and guests to bring them again by 9:00 a.m. to St. Peter’s Square for the Holy Mass during which the new Cardinals would receive the pastoral ring from Pope Benedict XVI. The white van was used to bring Cardinal Rosales and Cardinal Vidal with their private secretaries very near to the sacristy of St. Peter’s Basilica from where they proceeded to the steps of the holy square. The Bishops were in their choir dresst, the priests in black cassock, and the guests in their best Sunday dress. The two Cardinals were in crimson red choir dress with their birreta.
By 10:30 a.m., the fifteen concelebrants, the new Cardinals started the procession from the left side of St. Peter’s square to begin the Holy Mass to be presided by Pope Benedict XVI who was at the end of the procession to the delights and cheers of the people as he passed by. The Angelus Dominu was sung as they approached the altar. Psalm 45 in Latin was the verses being sung and the response from the people to every verse was the Angelus Domini nuntiavit Mariae….The Pope made the sign of the cross in Latin to open the Holy Mass. He introduced the celebration in Italian – the mystery of the Incarnation with the joyful annunciation of the Angel to Mary, the meaning of the giving of the pastoral rings to the New Cardinals. The Kyrie and the Gloria were sung in Latin. The first reading was read in English, taken from the Book of the Prophet Isaiah 7:10-14, about the virgin to give birth to a son and be named Emmanuel. The Responsorial Psalm in Italian was taken from Psalm 39. The second reading was read in Spanish, taken from Hebrews 10:4-10. The gospel was beautifully proclaimed by a deacon in Latin, taken from Luke 1:26-38, the annunciation. As the Deacon sang the gospel, the Filipino priests behind the lectern were seen in the camera deeply listening and meditating the good news brought by the Archangel Gabriel to Mary. This was the homily of the Holy Father:

For me it is a source of great joy to preside at this concelebration with the new cardinals after yesterday's consistory, and I consider it providential that it should take place on the liturgical solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord. In the incarnation of the Son of God, in fact, we recognize the origins of the Church. Everything began from there. Every historical realization of the Church and every one of her institutions must be shaped by that primordial wellspring. They must be shaped by Christ, the incarnate word of God. It is he that we are constantly celebrating: Emmanuel, God-with-us, through whom the saving will of God the Father has been accomplished. And yet -- today of all days we contemplate this aspect of the mystery -- the divine wellspring flows through a privileged channel: the Virgin Mary. St. Bernard speaks of this using the eloquent image of "aquaeductus" (cf. "Sermo in Nativitate B.V. Mariae": PL 183, 437-448). In celebrating the incarnation of the Son, therefore, we cannot fail to honor his mother. The angel's proclamation was addressed to her; she accepted it, and when she responded from the depths of her heart: "Here I am ... let it be done to me according to your word" (Luke 1:38), the eternal Word began to exist as a human being in time. From generation to generation, the wonder evoked by this ineffable mystery never ceases. St. Augustine imagines a dialogue between himself and the angel of the Annunciation, in which he asks: "Tell me, O Angel, why did this happen in Mary?" The answer, says the messenger, is contained in the very words of the greeting: "Hail, full of grace" (cf. "Sermo" 291:6). In fact, the angel, "appearing to her," does not call her by her earthly name, Mary, but by her divine name, as she has always been seen and characterized by God: "Full of grace -- 'gratia plena,'" which in the original Greek is "beloved" (cf. Luke 1:28). Origen observes that no such title had ever been given to a human being, and that it is unparalleled in all of sacred Scripture (cf. "In Lucam" 6:7). It is a title expressed in passive form, but this "passivity" of Mary, who has always been and is for ever "loved" by the Lord, implies her free consent, her personal and original response: In being loved, Mary is fully active, because she accepts with personal generosity the wave of God's love poured out upon her. In this too, she is the perfect disciple of her Son, who realizes the fullness of his freedom through obedience to the Father. In the second reading, we heard the wonderful passage in which the author of the Letter to the Hebrews interprets Psalm 39 in the light of Christ's incarnation: "When Christ came into the world, he said: ... 'Here I am, I have come to do your will, O God'" (Hebrews 10:5-7). Before the mystery of these two "Here I am" statements from Christ and from the Virgin, each of which is reflected in the other, forming a single Amen to God's loving will, we are filled with wonder and thanksgiving, and we bow down in adoration. What a great gift, dear brothers, to be able to conduct this evocative celebration on the solemnity of the Lord's Annunciation! What an abundance of light we can draw from this mystery for our lives as ministers of the Church! You above all, dear new cardinals, what great sustenance you can receive for your mission as the eminent "Senate" of Peter's Successor! This providential circumstance helps us to consider today's event, which emphasizes the Petrine principle of the Church, in the light of the other principle, the Marian one, which is even more fundamental. The importance of the Marian principle in the Church was particularly highlighted, after the council, by my beloved predecessor Pope John Paul II, in harmony with his motto "Totus tuus." In his spirituality and in his tireless ministry, the presence of Mary as Mother and Queen of the Church was made manifest to the eyes of all. More than ever he adverted to her maternal presence in the assassination attempt of May 13, 1981, in St. Peter's Square. In memory of that tragic event, he had a mosaic of the Virgin placed high up in the Apostolic Palace, looking down over St. Peter's Square, so as to accompany the key moments and the daily unfolding of his long reign. It is just one year since his pontificate entered its final phase, full of suffering and yet triumphant and truly paschal. The icon of the Annunciation, more than any other, helps us to see clearly how everything in the Church goes back to that mystery of Mary's acceptance of the divine Word, by which, through the action of the Holy Spirit, the covenant between God and humanity was perfectly sealed. Everything in the Church, every institution and ministry, including that of Peter and his successors, is "included" under the Virgin's mantle, within the grace-filled horizon of her "yes" to God's will. This link with Mary naturally evokes a strong affective resonance in all of us, but first of all it has an objective value. Between Mary and the Church there is indeed a connatural relationship that was strongly emphasized by the Second Vatican Council in its felicitous decision to place the treatment of the Blessed Virgin at the conclusion of the constitution on the Church, "Lumen Gentium." The theme of the relationship between the Petrine principle and the Marian principle is also found in the symbol of the ring which I am about to consign to you. The ring is always a nuptial sign. Almost all of you have already received one, on the day of your episcopal ordination, as an expression of your fidelity and your commitment to watch over the holy Church, the bride of Christ (cf. "Rite of Ordination of Bishops"). The ring which I confer upon you today, proper to the cardinalatial dignity, is intended to confirm and strengthen that commitment, arising once more from a nuptial gift, a reminder to you that first and foremost you are intimately united with Christ so as to accomplish your mission as bridegrooms of the Church. May your acceptance of the ring be for you a renewal of your "yes," your "here I am," addressed both to the Lord Jesus who chose you and constituted you, and to his holy Church, which you are called to serve with the love of a spouse. So the two dimensions of the Church, Marian and Petrine, come together in the supreme value of "charity," which constitutes the fulfillment of each. As St. Paul says, charity is the "greatest" charism, the "most excellent way" (1 Corinthians 12:31; 13:13). Everything in this world will pass away. In eternity only love will remain. For this reason, my Brothers, taking the opportunity offered by this favorable time of Lent, let us commit ourselves to ensure that everything in our personal lives, and in the ecclesial activity in which we are engaged, is inspired by charity and leads to charity. In this respect too, we are enlightened by the mystery that we are celebrating today. Indeed, the first thing that Mary did after receiving the Angel's message was to go "in haste" to the house of her cousin Elizabeth in order to be of service to her (cf. Luke 1:39). The Virgin's initiative was one of genuine charity, it was humble and courageous, motivated by faith in God's word and the inner promptings of the Holy Spirit. Those who love forget about themselves and place themselves at the service of their neighbor. Here we have the image and model of the Church! Every ecclesial community, like the Mother of Christ, is called to accept with total generosity the mystery of God who comes to dwell within her and guides her steps in the ways of love. This is the path along which I chose to launch my pontificate, inviting everyone, with my first encyclical, to build up the Church in charity as a "community of love" (cf. "Deus Caritas Est," Part 2). In pursuing this objective, venerable Brother Cardinals, your spiritual closeness and active assistance is a great support and comfort to me. For this I thank you, and at the same time I invite all of you, priests, deacons, religious and lay faithful, to join together in invoking the Holy Spirit, praying that the College of Cardinals may be ever more ardent in pastoral charity, so as to help the whole Church to radiate Christ's love in the world, to the praise and glory of the Most Holy Trinity. Amen!
When the name of the late Pope John Paul II would be mentioned during the homily, the people would clap their hands and Pope Benedict XVI looked at the crowd with eyes swollen with tears, remembering his predecessor with whom he collaborated for twenty-three long years.
After the homily, each new Cardinal approached the Pope to receive the ring with these words in Latin Accipe anulum de manu Petri et noveris dilectione Principis Apostolorum dilectionem tuam erga Ecclesiam roborari.(Receive this ring from the hand of Peter and know that with the love of the Prince of the Apostles it strengthens your love to the Church.) At Exactly 11:25 a.m., Cardinal Rosales walked solemnly towards the "Cathedra" to receive the ring from Pope Benedict XVI. The Filipinos heavily applauded him as he knelt before the Pope and as he stood up to go back to his seat. The profession of faith was followed by the prayers of the faithful recited in different languages. The first intention for the Pope was said in French, the second for the new cardinals and the whole college was in Korean, the third for the Church and nations of origin of the new cardinals was in Dagaari, the fourth for the suffering because of war or injustice or sickness was in German, the fifth for consecrated persons was in Sloveno, the sixth for the assembly gathered today was in Potuguesse. The mass continued as usual in Latin. As the Pope intoned the Pater Noster, communion distributors solemnly began to descend towards the thronged piazza. At exactly 12:15 noon, the Holy Mass came to an end. The people went home with much joy and blessings from God, the Father.

Sunday, March 26, 2006

The Basilica of St. Mary Major was filled to overflowing as His Eminence Gaudencio Cardinal Rosales celebrated his thanksgiving mass with Filipno migrants at 3:30 p.m. Cardinal Bernard Law, the former Archbishop of Boston and now the Archpriest of the Basilica, welcomed Cardinal Rosales shortly after the Introductory Rites of the Holy Mass. Hundred of Filipino priests and a few Italian priests who love Filipinos concelebrated the Holy Mass. Sitting in front pews of the basilica are not only the new Cardinal's family and relatives, but also number one supporters of the Archdiocese of Manila, to name a few; Mrs. Zobel, Mrs. Enrile, Mrs. Syquia, etc. The presence of the mayor of Lipa City, Ms. Vilma Santos added excitement to the affair . Her husband Sen. Ralp Recto is a nephew of the new Cardinal. The Homily of the Cardinal focused on the teaching of Jesus to LOVE. He mentioned about Pundong Pinoy which served, according to him, as the concretization of love in the Archdiocese of Manila. He encouraged all Filipinos to imitate the Blessed Virgin Mary in living this love in the day to day affair of their life here in Rome. The prayers of the fiathful was prayed in Tagalog, Ilocano, Kapangpangan, Ilonggo, Cebuano, and Waray- the major dialects of the Filipino nation. Before the final blessings, Her Excellency Ambassador Lydia Veyra gave her thanks and gratitude to all who were present for the Mass, on behalf of Msgr. Stude Santos, the PCF Rector and Conferenza Episcopali Italiani -National Coordinator for Pastoral Care of Filipino Migrants in Italy and Fr. Alberto Guevara, the Filipino Chaplain in Rome . The mass ended at 5:15 p.m. As the Filipino priests went back to the sacristy, they made a point to say hello to Cardinal Sanchez who was sitted beside Cardinal Bernard Law. Meanwhile, Cardinal Rosales was thronged by people who wished "to touch even the edge of his cloak". For the Filipinos in Rome, that day was too good to close. Their desire to stretch that day beyond its natural limit may be fulfilled by the pastoral care of Filipino priests who remained here in Rome.