Little is known about St. Januarius. He was Bishop of Benevento in Campania. He died near Naples, about the year 305, martyred under the persecution of Emperor Diocletian. Around the year 400 the relics of St. Januarius were moved to Naples, which honors Januarius as a patron saint. He supposedly protected Naples from a threatened eruption of the volcano Mt. Vesuvius. The “miracle of Januarius” has world-wide fame. At least three times a year–on his feast day, December 16 and the first Sunday of May–the sealed vial with congealed blood of the saint liquifies, froths and bubbles up. This miraculous event has occurred every year, with rare exceptions. Popular tradition holds that the liquefaction is a sign that the year will be preserved from disasters. (In 1939, the beginning of World War II, the blood did not bubble up.)
VATICAN CITY (CNS) — With no end of conflict and no path toward economic recovery in sight, the Syrian people are losing hope that any sense of peace and normalcy will return, said the apostolic nuncio to Syria.
“Unfortunately, what is dying in the hearts of many people, is hope,” Cardinal Mario Zenari told the Vatican newspaper, L’Osservatore Romano, Sept. 17.
“After 10 years of war, many — after no longer seeing economic recovery and reconstruction — are losing hope and this hurts a lot,” he said. “Losing hope means truly losing something fundamental and essential for life. We must try to restore confidence, to give hope back to these poor people.”
While hostilities in the country have dramatically decreased since the signing of a ceasefire in March and the COVID-19 pandemic, the cardinal said, the destruction wrought by the conflict continued to devastate the lives of countless men, women and children.
According to a report Sept. 14 by the U.N. Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic, there continue to be “regular spikes in violence and continuous violations of human rights.”
The commission reported human rights violations committed by almost every fighting force in the country, including “torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment” of detainees, as well as “sexual and gender-based violence against women, girls, men and boys.”
Cardinal Zenari told the Vatican newspaper that while the “fragile truce” has led to a decrease in bombings, there is a “poverty bomb” causing “hunger, malnutrition of children” and the spread of various diseases in the country.
“It is difficult to describe this very profound human and spiritual experience,” the cardinal said. “About a month ago, the United Nations also raised its voice about what happened in a refugee camp where about 8-10 children died of malnutrition, dehydration and other diseases.”
Last winter, he continued, several children died fleeing intense fighting in the northwest — “children who died from the cold in their parents’ arms, children who died of malnutrition. It hurts the heart to see the suffering of so many children and so many women, many of whom are widows and sometimes have to raise a large family (of) eight or 10 children.”
Nevertheless, the Italian prelate said that the Catholic and Orthodox Churches are working to provide humanitarian relief as well as maintaining hospitals to aid the sick, the poor and the helpless.
“As a church, as the Holy See, we have no military interests, no economic interests, no geopolitical strategies,” he said. “We — the church, the Holy See, the pope — are on the side of the people, of the people who suffer. We want to be the voice of those who have no voice.”
Cardinal Zenari, who met with Pope Francis Sept. 4, said he was “impressed” by the pope’s continued concern for the Syrian people.
While talking about the current situation, he recalled, the pope “took a piece of paper and began to write down some notes in order to have them even more present and to keep these humanitarian programs going.”
“I will bring back the solidarity of Pope Francis, the solidarity of the church, the solidarity of many Christians to try to revive this hope that, unfortunately, is dying in Syria,” Cardinal Zenari. “That is why we must try to rekindle some small hope at the end of the tunnel, (or) at least solidarity, to tell them, ‘You are not alone,’ ‘We will try to help you,’ even with material aid, and try to make some light shine at the end of the tunnel.”
Brothers and sisters:
If Christ is preached as raised from the dead,
how can some among you say there is no resurrection of the dead?
If there is no resurrection of the dead,
then neither has Christ been raised.
And if Christ has not been raised, then empty too is our preaching;
empty, too, your faith.
Then we are also false witnesses to God,
because we testified against God that he raised Christ,
whom he did not raise if in fact the dead are not raised.
For if the dead are not raised, neither has Christ been raised,
and if Christ has not been raised, your faith is vain;
you are still in your sins.
Then those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished.
If for this life only we have hoped in Christ,
we are the most pitiable people of all.
But now Christ has been raised from the dead,
the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.
R. (15b) Lord, when your glory appears, my joy will be full. Hear, O LORD, a just suit; attend to my outcry; hearken to my prayer from lips without deceit. R. Lord, when your glory appears, my joy will be full. I call upon you, for you will answer me, O God; incline your ear to me; hear my word. Show your wondrous mercies, O savior of those who flee from their foes to refuge at your right hand. R. Lord, when your glory appears, my joy will be full. Hide me in the shadow of your wings, But I in justice shall behold your face; on waking, I shall be content in your presence. R. Lord, when your glory appears, my joy will be full.
R. Alleluia, alleluia. Blessed are you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth; you have revealed to little ones the mysteries of the Kingdom. R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Jesus journeyed from one town and village to another, preaching and proclaiming the good news of the Kingdom of God. Accompanying him were the Twelve and some women who had been cured of evil spirits and infirmities, Mary, called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out, Joanna, the wife of Herod’s steward Chuza, Susanna, and many others who provided for them out of their resources.
St. Joseph of Cupertino (1603-1663) was born at Cupertino, Italy, and died in Osimo. He was of lowly origin and had little formal education. In his youth he was employed as an apprentice to a shoemaker. He joined the Conventual Franciscans as a lay brother but was later ordained a priest. He was noted for his great austerities, his angelic purity, his great devotion to Our Lady and especially for his ardent love of God. According to the 1962 Missal of St. John XXIII the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite, today is his feast.
VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Pope Francis reminded elderly and ill priests that they need not be afraid of suffering because Christ is always there to help them carry that cross.
With God’s grace, their situation, which was made even more difficult and risky because of the COVID-19 pandemic and strict protocols for containing its spread, can be “an experience of purification,” he said.
For priests, fragility can be like a fire that refines and soap that purifies, and which, “raising us up to God, refines and sanctifies us,” he said.
“We are not afraid of suffering; the Lord carries the cross with us,” he said.
The pope’s message was sent to priests taking part in an annual day of prayer and fraternity for elderly and sick clergy Sept. 17 in Italy’s northern Lombardy region — the region that had been hit hardest by coronavirus infections and deaths during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Vatican released the message the same day.
Over the past several months, the pope said, “we have all experienced restrictions. Days spent in confined spaces seemed endless and always the same.”
“We have missed the affection of those dearest to us and of friends; the fear of infection has reminded us of our precariousness,” and, he added, it has also given people an idea of what many elderly people experience every day.
Pope Francis said he hoped this period would help everyone understand how “it is necessary not to waste the time that is given to us; that it will help us to enjoy the beauty of encountering others, to heal from the virus of self-sufficiency.”
He said he was pleased the group could travel with their bishops to the town of Caravaggio and pray at the city’s Marian sanctuary.
He thanked them for their faithful and silent witness, and their love for God and the church.
I am reminding you, brothers and sisters, of the Gospel I preached to you, which you indeed received and in which you also stand. Through it you are also being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you, unless you believed in vain. For I handed on to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures; that he was buried; that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures; that he appeared to Cephas, then to the Twelve. After that, he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at once, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. After that he appeared to James, then to all the Apostles. Last of all, as to one born abnormally, he appeared to me. For I am the least of the Apostles, not fit to be called an Apostle, because I persecuted the Church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me has not been ineffective. Indeed, I have toiled harder than all of them; not I, however, but the grace of God that is with me. Therefore, whether it be I or they, so we preach and so you believed.
R. (1) Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good. Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good, for his mercy endures forever. Let the house of Israel say, “His mercy endures forever.” R. Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good. “The right hand of the LORD is exalted; the right hand of the Lord has struck with power.” I shall not die, but live, and declare the works of the LORD. R. Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good. You are my God, and I give thanks to you; O my God, I extol you. R. Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good.
A certain Pharisee invited Jesus to dine with him,
and he entered the Pharisee’s house and reclined at table.
Now there was a sinful woman in the city
who learned that he was at table in the house of the Pharisee.
Bringing an alabaster flask of ointment,
she stood behind him at his feet weeping
and began to bathe his feet with her tears.
Then she wiped them with her hair,
kissed them, and anointed them with the ointment.
When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this he said to himself,
“If this man were a prophet,
he would know who and what sort of woman this is who is touching him,
that she is a sinner.”
Jesus said to him in reply,
“Simon, I have something to say to you.”
“Tell me, teacher,” he said.
“Two people were in debt to a certain creditor;
one owed five hundred days’ wages and the other owed fifty.
Since they were unable to repay the debt, he forgave it for both.
Which of them will love him more?”
Simon said in reply,
“The one, I suppose, whose larger debt was forgiven.”
He said to him, “You have judged rightly.”
Then he turned to the woman and said to Simon,
“Do you see this woman?
When I entered your house, you did not give me water for my feet,
but she has bathed them with her tears
and wiped them with her hair.
You did not give me a kiss,
but she has not ceased kissing my feet since the time I entered.
You did not anoint my head with oil,
but she anointed my feet with ointment.
So I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven;
hence, she has shown great love.
But the one to whom little is forgiven, loves little.”
He said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.”
The others at table said to themselves,
“Who is this who even forgives sins?”
But he said to the woman,
“Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”
St. Robert Bellarmine (1542-1621) was born in Montepulciano, Italy, and died in Rome. The son of noble parents, he entered the Society of Jesus, finishing his theological studies at Louvain, Belgium. His services to the Church were outstanding and many. He occupied the chair of controversial theology in Rome. He defended the Holy See against anti-clericals. He wrote books against the prevailing heresies of the day. His catechism, translated into many languages, spread the knowledge of Christian doctrine to all parts of the world. He was the Counsellor of Popes and spiritual director of St. Aloysius Gonzaga. He helped St. Francis de Sales obtain approval of the Visitation Order. As a religious he was a model of purity, humility and obedience; as a bishop and Cardinal, an example of great love for his flock.
ROME (CNS) — Women’s and men’s religious orders have come together with a new global platform to promote ongoing efforts to move from providing institutionalized child care to supporting family- and community-based care.
Catholic Care for Children International, which is under the auspices of the Rome-based International Union of Superiors General, will be launching its new global initiative with a livestream event on YouTube Oct. 2.
“We invite religious institutes with a charism of care to learn about this global movement from institution to family- and community-based care,” the UISG said on its website Sept. 11.
The new network aims to support religious women and men in ensuring that children grow up in safe, loving families or in family-like environments and supportive communities.
Sri Lankan Good Shepherd Sister Niluka Perera, who has years of experience in ministering to families and minors as well as leading justice and peace networks, is the coordinator of Catholic Care for Children International.
More than 8 million children worldwide are separated from family care — with many living in orphanages or similar structures, she said, explaining her work on the Good Shepherd Asia Pacific website.
“It was the intent of God that we be nurtured within the care and protection of our families,” she wrote. Families are an integral part of sound development, ensuring each child lives in “an environment of love, nurturance and belonging.”
The UISG, an organization of some 2,000 superiors of religious orders of women, representing some 400,000 women religious around the world, also released an online collection of resources related to child protection.
With the help of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, the Center for Child Protection of Rome’s Pontifical Gregorian University and the “Telefono Azzurro” abuse hotline in Italy, the UISG sponsored a “Safeguarding Webinar Series” over the summer with hundreds attending online.
Links to the video recordings of the speakers and their PowerPoint presentations for the four webinars are now available on the UISG website and as a PDF.
“It is hoped that this format will help members of religious congregations, parish groups, teachers, child-care professionals etc. to develop short awareness raising programs in communities, schools, parishes,” it said on its website.
The webinars are available in five languages, offering “very valuable tools to raise awareness within your organization and to promote reflection and action in relation to this important topic,” it said.
The speakers were: Sister of Charity Nuala Kenny on “Safeguarding and a theology of childhood”; Gabriel Dy-Liacco on “Victimology and the relational safety model”; Jesuit Father Hans Zollner on “Safeguarding online in times of lockdown”; and Ernesto Caffo on “Care for children after lockdown.”
VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Human beings must change their relationship with nature and view it not as an “object for unscrupulous use and abuse” but as a gift they are charged by God to care for and protect, Pope Francis said.
People are called to contemplate creation as a reflection of “God’s infinite wisdom and goodness” and not act as if people are the “center of everything” and the “absolute rulers of all other creatures,” the pope said Sept. 16 during his weekly general audience.
“Exploiting creation — this is sin,” he said. “We believe that we are at the center, claiming to occupy God’s place and thus we ruin the harmony of creation, the harmony of God’s design. We become predators, forgetting our vocation as guardians of life.”
The audience was held in the San Damaso courtyard of the Apostolic Palace. While the pope maintained his distance when greeting most of the faithful, he approached several pilgrims to sign autographs, speak directly to them or briefly swap his signature zucchetto for one brought as a gift.
Continuing his series of talks on “healing the world,” the pope reflected on the theme of “caring for the common home and contemplative attitude.”
Contemplation, he said, is the best “antidote against the disease of not taking care of the common home” and falling “into an unbalanced and arrogant anthropocentrism,” in which humans place themselves and their needs “at the center of everything.”
“It is important to recover the contemplative dimension, that is, to look at the earth, at creation as a gift, not as something to be exploited for profit,” the pope said. “When we contemplate, we discover in others and in nature something much greater than their usefulness.”
Departing from his prepared remarks, the pope warned that those who are incapable of contemplating nature and creation, are often incapable of contemplating their fellow human beings.
“Those who live to exploit nature, end up exploiting people and treating them like slaves,” the pope said. “This is a universal law: if you do not know how to contemplate nature, it will be very difficult for you to contemplate people, the beauty of people, your brother, your sister.”
Recalling a Spanish proverb, the pope also cautioned that exploiting creation brings costly consequences because “God always forgives; we forgive sometimes; (but) nature never forgives.”
Citing a recent report that the Pine Island and Thwates glaciers in Antarctica are collapsing due to global warming, Pope Francis said the consequential rising sea levels “will be terrible,” and he called on people to “guard the inheritance God has entrusted to us so that future generations can enjoy it.”
“Each one of us can and must become a guardian of the common home, capable of praising God for his creatures (by) contemplating them and protecting them,” the pope said.
Brothers and sisters:
Strive eagerly for the greatest spiritual gifts.
But I shall show you a still more excellent way.
If I speak in human and angelic tongues
but do not have love,
I am a resounding gong or a clashing cymbal.
And if I have the gift of prophecy
and comprehend all mysteries and all knowledge;
if I have all faith so as to move mountains,
but do not have love, I am nothing.
If I give away everything I own,
and if I hand my body over so that I may boast
but do not have love, I gain nothing.Love is patient, love is kind.
It is not jealous, love is not pompous,
it is not inflated, it is not rude,
it does not seek its own interests,
it is not quick-tempered, it does not brood over injury,
it does not rejoice over wrongdoing
but rejoices with the truth.
It bears all things, believes all things,
hopes all things, endures all things.Love never fails.
If there are prophecies, they will be brought to nothing;
if tongues, they will cease;
if knowledge, it will be brought to nothing.
For we know partially and we prophesy partially,
but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away.
When I was a child, I used to talk as a child,
think as a child, reason as a child;
when I became a man, I put aside childish things.
At present we see indistinctly, as in a mirror,
but then face to face.
At present I know partially;
then I shall know fully, as I am fully known.
So faith, hope, love remain, these three;
but the greatest of these is love.
R. (12) Blessed the people the Lord has chosen to be his own. Give thanks to the LORD on the harp; with the ten-stringed lyre chant his praises. Sing to him a new song; pluck the strings skillfully, with shouts of gladness. R. Blessed the people the Lord has chosen to be his own. For upright is the word of the LORD, and all his works are trustworthy. He loves justice and right; of the kindness of the LORD the earth is full. R. Blessed the people the Lord has chosen to be his own. Blessed the nation whose God is the LORD, the people he has chosen for his own inheritance. May your kindness, O LORD, be upon us who have put our hope in you. R. Blessed the people the Lord has chosen to be his own.
Jesus said to the crowds:
“To what shall I compare the people of this generation?
What are they like?
They are like children who sit in the marketplace and call to one another,
‘We played the flute for you, but you did not dance.
We sang a dirge, but you did not weep.’
For John the Baptist came neither eating food nor drinking wine,
and you said, ‘He is possessed by a demon.’
The Son of Man came eating and drinking and you said,
‘Look, he is a glutton and a drunkard,
a friend of tax collectors and sinners.’
But wisdom is vindicated by all her children.”
