It is the greatest symbol of the suffering Jesus underwent to redeem the sins of mankind. The Procession of the Passion of Our Lord made its way through the streets of Macau over the weekend, in a unique demonstration of faith. Thousands of people took part in the ceremony, announcing the triumph of Jesus over sin and despair. Among them were pilgrims from mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan.
Read by an increasingly broad and diverse audience around the world, Japanese manga has long held an enormous fascination among young and old alike. In addition to the unusual superhero adventures, this peculiar type of comic book, conceived in its own format, also portrays stories of ordinary men and women. In this way, countless episodes of Japanese history have been transmitted to school-age children; and now, the trend seems to extend to a type of character who, even under fierce persecution, remained firm in their faith in Christ: we are talking about the so-called Japanese “hidden Christians”. A phenomenon that originated in the 17th century, when Christianity – introduced with immense success in the Japanese archipelago a century earlier, thanks to the continued work of missionaries from the Portuguese Patronage of the East – was expressly prohibited, with all missionaries present there being ordered to be expelled. Many of them, for refusing this order, would later be martyred, and, even under torture, they never renounced their faith.
We have seen previously (Keeper, 4) that through the centuries, some Fathers of the Church have provided us with a record of the list of the Popes until their times. But we have not only the list of names, but also the biographies of the Popes through the centuries. The recognized source of these biographies, especially of the first 15 centuries of Christianity, is the Liber Pontificalis.
Explaining the nature of theological hope, we now focus on some of its notes or properties. The notes that help unveil the nature of Christian hope are many. For our part, we shall develop three significant properties of hope, namely certain hope, patient hope and prayerful hope.
On the second Sunday of Lent, the Church presents to us the Gospel of the Transfiguration of the Lord. Throughout the gospel narratives, we follow the accounts of the numerous miracles that Jesus performed: healing people from the most diverse diseases, showing His power over impure spirits and the forces of nature. However, in the miracle of the Transfiguration it is different, here we witness the narration of the Manifestation of God in himself. He is the subject of the prodigious action, but also its object. This miracle has two vertices, one that marks the past, showing that in Him is fulfilled what was partially announced with the laws brought by Moses and the prophecy of Elijah. Another vertex that points to the future, where Jesus shines for three disciples, anticipating what He will be like in eternity and the Church will share in the glory of the Lord.
Patriarchs of three indigenous Churches historically rooted in Syria signed a joint appeal to stop the “horrible massacres” perpetrated in recent days in several provinces of the country by jihadist militias, with a particularly serious impact on the communities of the Alawite minority. They denounce an “escalation of violence that has led to attacks against innocent civilians, including women and children.”
The Church of Our Lady of Sorrows, in Ká-Hó village, will once again a place of worship and pastoral activities. Built in 1966, the small, tent-shaped church on the northeastern tip of Coloane Island was entrusted by the Catholics Diocese of Macau to the Congregation of the Priests of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. The Dehonian missionaries were tasked to transform Ká-Hó into a “spiritual hospital, a place always open to mend people’s souls”.
In the Basilica of Saint Paul’s Outside the Walls in Rome, one can find a series of mosaic portraits of the popes from Saint Peter all the way to Pope Francis. The project began with Pope Leo the Great (440-461) but a fire destroyed the Basilica in 1823. Only 40 portraits were saved. In 1847, Pope Pius IX (1846-76) revived the project which, of course, is ongoing.
The Christian hopes in the “here-after” and in the “here-now.” Christian eschatology is undividedly transcendent and immanent, anticipation of the future in the present and anticipating present of the future. The integral salvation of the human person begins now. In hope we expect our salvation at the end of time – eschatological salvation – and we work in time to attain it. Hence, integrates the eschatological and temporal (historical and social liberation).
The liturgy of the first Sunday of Lent leads us to the desert. Immediately after being baptized and receiving the anointing at the Jordan River, the Holy Spirit brings Jesus to the desert to be tempted by Satan. It is worth noting the role of the Holy Spirit, the “True and Original Love,” the inner force that impels Jesus (2 Cor 5:14ff). He enters the desert “full of the Holy Spirit”. The fruit of Love is obedience, and the fruit of obedience is self-transcendence or the gift of self. This reflects the dynamics of the mystery of Love within the Blessed Trinity. We were Created in God’s image and likeness; Jesus was sent to restore our true identity.