Sunday, January 15, 2017

Pope Francis at Angelus: Church called to proclaim Christ

Pope Francis waves to faithful during the Angelus noon prayer he delivered from his studio window overlooking St.Peter's Square at the Vatican, Sunday, Jan.15, 2017 - AP
Pope Francis waves to faithful during the Angelus noon prayer he delivered from his studio window overlooking St.Peter's Square at the Vatican, Sunday, Jan.15, 2017 - AP
15/01/2017 14:38


(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis prayed the Angelus with pilgrims and tourists gathered in St. Peter’s Square on Sunday. In remarks ahead of the traditional prayer of Marian devotion, the Holy Father focused on the witness borne by John the Baptist to Jesus Christ.
“The Church,” said Pope Francis, “is in every age called to do that, which John the Baptist did: to show Jesus to the people, saying, “Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!”

Click below to hear our report

 
Departing from his prepared text, Pope Francis added, “There’s always trouble when the Church proclaims herself: she loses her way, and knows not where she goes.” Rather, “The Church proclaims Christ – she does not carry herself, she carries Christ, for He and He alone is the one who saves His people from sin: he frees them and leads them to the land of true liberty.”
 
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Taken from: http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2017/01/15/pope_francis_at_angelus_church_called_to_proclaim_christ/1285892

Saturday, January 7, 2017

Fr Jean Carmignac dates Gospels early


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by
Damien F. Mackey

“The Benedictus, the song of Zachary, is given in Luke 1:68-79. In Greek, as in English, the Benedictus, as poetry, seems unexceptional. There is no evidence of clever composition. But, when it is translated into Hebrew, a little marvel appears”.


Introduction

Astute scholars such as Jean Carmignac, John Robinson and Claude Tresmontant have breathed some refreshingly healthy new air into biblical studies by arguing for much earlier dates than conventionally accepted for the various books of the New Testament, and, in Carmignac’s case, for the Greek texts of the Synoptic gospels (Matthew, Mark and Luke), in particular, to have arisen from Semitic originals.
And I personally would favour Robinson’s view, too, that the entire New Testament was written before the Fall of Jerusalem, in c. 70 AD.
The following brief article summarises Carmignac’s ground-breaking efforts – including his wonderful reinterpretation of the “Song of Zachary” – and it also makes references to the research of Robinson and Tresmontant:
http://www.catholic.com/magazine/articles/were-the-synoptic-gospels-composed-in-hebrew

Were the Synoptic Gospels Composed in Hebrew?

Forget what Winston Churchill said about Russia being “a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma.” Yes, it was a memorable line, but it should have been applied to modern biblical scholarship.

Here’s a field for those wanting to make a name for themselves, who want posterity to know about the Smith Hypothesis or the Jones Theory. You can come up with any idea you like, and you can do a sophisticated form of proof-texting establishing your thesis.

All you must do is cite in your notes the Usual Suspects–there are only two or three dozen names to get right–and Authority is on your side. Your work will become part of the “assured results of modern biblical scholarship.”

Unless, of course, you take an entirely new tack. Some things are simply off limits. People look down their noses at you, for instance, if you posit early dates for the authorship of the New Testament books.

Look at the cool reception the late John A. T. Robinson got when Redating the New Testament appeared in 1976. Robinson was already a well-respected scholar. More than that, he was a liberal scholar, founder of the New Morality school of thought, which started with his Honest to God.

But here he was, taking a fresh look at the presuppositions used in dating the New Testament books and realizing that the presuppositions were worthless. They were little more than prejudices.

He started from scratch and came up with the conclusion that every book of the New Testament was written prior to the fall of Jerusalem in A.D. 70. The Gospels of Matthew, Luke, and even John he put as early as the forties, which, if true, would pretty much prove that the men whose names their bear wrote them.

Redating the New Testament was politely but not, for the most part, enthusiastically reviewed in the scholarly journals. What could one expect? People who had staked their reputations on dating the New Testament as late as possible–even, parts of it, well into the second century–were displeased that someone not able to be classified as a reactionary should come up with answers Augustine would have been comfortable with.

Robinson “worked from an exclusively historical methodology,” wrote Jean Carmignac in The Birth of the Synoptics. “I work with a methodology which is principally philological but historical on occasion.” Carmignac, a Dead Sea Scrolls translator and an expert in the Hebrew in use at the time of Christ, reached conclusions similar to Robinson’s, but he came at the problem from a different angle.

He translated the synoptic Gospels “backwards,” from Greek into Hebrew, and he was astonished at what he found.

“I wanted to begin with the Gospel of Mark. In order to facilitate the comparison between our Greek Gospels and the Hebrew text of Qumran, I tried, for my own personal use, to see what Mark would yield when translated back into the Hebrew of Qumran.

“I had imagined that this translation would be difficult because of considerable differences between Semitic thought and Greek thought, but I was absolutely dumbfounded to discover that this translation was, on the contrary, extremely easy.

“Around the middle of April 1963, after only one day of work, I was convinced that the Greek text of Mark could not have been redacted directly in Greek and that it was in reality only the Greek translation of an original Hebrew.”

Carmignac, who died recently, had planned for enormous difficulties, but they didn’t arise. He discovered the Greek translator of Mark had slavishly kept to the Hebrew word order and grammar.

Could this have been the result of a Semite writing in Greek, a language he didn’t know too well and on which he imposed Hebrew structures? Or could the awkward phrasings found in our Greek text have been nothing more than overly faithful translations (perhaps “transliterations” would be more accurate) of Semitic originals?

If the second possibility were true, then we have synoptic Gospels written by eyewitnesses at a very early date.

Carmignac spent most of the next twenty-five years meticulously translating the Greek into Hebrew and making endless comparisons. The Birth of the Synoptics is a popular summary of what he hoped to publish in a massive multi-volume set. It is a delightful shocker of a book.

Consider just one example. (Carmignac gives many, but his short book isn’t weighed down with them.) The Benedictus, the song of Zachary, is given in Luke 1:68-79. In Greek, as in English, the Benedictus, as poetry, seems unexceptional. There is no evidence of clever composition. But, when it is translated into Hebrew, a little marvel appears.

In the phrase “to show mercy to our fathers,” the expression “to show mercy” is the Hebrew verb hanan, which is the root of the name Yohanan (John).

In “he remembers his holy covenant,” “he remembers” is the verb zakar, which is the root of the name Zakaryah (Zachary).

In “the oath which he swore to our father Abraham” is found, for “to take an oath,” the verb shaba, which is the root of the name Elishaba (Elizabeth).

“Is it by chance,” asks Carmignac, “that the second strophe of this poem begins by a triple allusion to the names of the three protagonists: John, Zachary, Elizabeth? But this allusion only exists in Hebrew; the Greek or English translation does not preserve it.”

Carmignac gives many other examples, and he draws these conclusions about the dating of the synoptics: “The latest dates that can be admitted are around 50 for Mark . . . around 55 for Completed Mark, around 55-60 for Matthew, between 58 and 60 for Luke. But the earliest dates are clearly more probable: Mark around 42, Completed Mark around 45, (Hebrew) Matthew around 50, (Greek) Luke a little after 50.”

These dates are all approximate, of course, particularly those for Mark and Matthew, and they are the result of Carmignac’s mainly philological analysis.

Claude Tresmontant, in The Hebrew Christ, working parallel to Carmignac but with a different methodology, comes up with these datings: Matthew, early 30s (within a few years of the Resurrection); Luke 40-60; Mark 50-60.

Carmignac keeps to Marcan priority, while Tresmontant goes for Matthean priority. Regardless, each denies what is the majority opinion among biblical scholars, that the synoptics were written late in the first century, possibly into the last decade or two.
Carmignac draws a few other conclusions:

“(1) It is certain that Mark, Matthew, and the documents used by Luke were redacted in a Semitic language.
“(2) It is probable that this Semitic language is Hebrew rather than Aramaic.
“(3) It is sufficiently probable that our second Gospel [that is, Mark] was composed in a Semitic language by St. Peter the Apostle” (with Mark being his secretary perhaps).

Expanding on this last point, he says that “it is probable that the Semitic Gospel of Peter was translated into Greek, perhaps with some adaptations by Mark, in Rome, at the latest around the year 63; it is our second Gospel which has preserved the name of the translator, instead of that of the author.”

As he wrote The Birth of the Synoptics, Carmignac suspected his “scientific arguments [would] prove reassuring to Christians and [would] attract the attention and interest of non-believers. But they overturn theories presently in vogue and therefore they will be fiercely criticized.” They will also be, with Carmignac’s death, fiercely ignored.

But not forever. Truly honest scholars will have to grapple with what Carmignac has come up with. Others will continue where he left off. It may be, a few decades from now, that the “assured results of modern biblical scholarship” will look quite different from what we have been told to accept as gospel truth.
— Karl Keating

Luke 1:68-79

New International Version (NIV)

“Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel,
because he has come to his people and redeemed them.
 He has raised up a horn[a] of salvation for us
in the house of his servant David
(as he said through his holy prophets of long ago),
salvation from our enemies
and from the hand of all who hate us—
to show mercy to our ancestors
and to remember his holy covenant,
the oath he swore to our father Abraham:
to rescue us from the hand of our enemies,
and to enable us to serve him without fear
in holiness and righteousness before him all our days.

And you, my child, will be called a prophet of the Most High;
for you will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for him,
to give his people the knowledge of salvation
through the forgiveness of their sins,
because of the tender mercy of our God,
by which the rising sun will come to us from heaven
to shine on those living in darkness
and in the shadow of death,
to guide our feet into the path of peace.”

The Magi embody all those who long for God, says Pope Francis

The magi and the Star of Bethlehem (Dreamstime)
Pope Francis leaves in procession after celebrating Mass marking the feast of the Epiphany in St Peter's Basilica (CNS photo/Paul Haring)

On the feast of the Epiphany Francis said the Wise Men were 'guided by an inner restlessness'
The Magi had the courage to set out on a journey in the hope of finding something new, unlike Herod who was full of himself and unwilling to change his ways, Pope Francis has said.
The Wise Men who set out from the East in search of Jesus personify all those who long for God and reflect “all those who in their lives have let their hearts be anaesthetised”, the Pope said on January 6, the feast of the Epiphany.
“The Magi experienced longing; they were tired of the usual fare. They were all too familiar with, and weary of, the Herods of their own day. But there, in Bethlehem, was a promise of newness, of gratuity,” he said.
Thousands of people were gathered in St Peter’s Basilica as the Pope entered to the sounds of the choir singing “Angels we have heard on high” in Latin. Before taking his place in front of the altar, the Pope stood in front of a statue of baby Jesus, spending several minutes in veneration before kissing it.
The Pope said that the Magi adoring the newborn king highlight two specific actions: seeing and worshipping.
Seeing the star of Bethlehem did not prompt them to embark on their journey but rather, “they saw the star because they had already set out,” he said.
“Their hearts were open to the horizon and they could see what the heavens were showing them, for they were guided by an inner restlessness. They were open to something new,” the Pope said.
This restlessness, he continued, awakens a longing for God that exists in the hearts of all believers who know “that the Gospel is not an event of the past but of the present.”
It is holy longing for God “that helps us keep alert in the face of every attempt to reduce and impoverish our life. A holy longing for God is the memory of faith, which rebels before all prophets of doom,” the Pope said.
Recalling the biblical figures of Simeon, the prodigal son, and Mary Magdalene, the Pope said this longing for God “draws us out of our iron-clad isolation, which makes us think that nothing can change”, and helps us seek Christ.
However, the figure of King Herod presents a different attitude of bewilderment and fear that, when confronted with something new, “closes in on itself and its own achievements, its knowledge, its successes”.
The quest of the Magi led them first to Herod’s palace that, although it befits the birth of king, is only a sign of “power, outward appearances and superiority. Idols that promise only sorrow and enslavement,” he said.
“There, in the palace, they did not see the star guiding them to discover a God who wants to be loved. For only under the banner of freedom, not tyranny, is it possible to realise that the gaze of this unknown but desired king does not abase, enslave, or imprison us,” the Pope said.

People in traditional attire endure cold weather during the annual parade marking the feast of the Epiphany in St Peter's Square (CNS photo/Paul Haring)
People in traditional attire endure cold weather during the annual parade marking the feast of the Epiphany in St Peter’s Square (CNS photo/Paul Haring)

Unlike the Magi, the Pope added, Herod is unable to worship the newborn king because he was unwilling to change his way of thinking and “did not want to stop worshipping himself, believing that everything revolved around him”.
Christians are called to imitate the wise men who, “weary of the Herods of their own day,” set out in search of the promise of something new.
“The Magi were able to worship, because they had the courage to set out. And as they fell to their knees before the small, poor and vulnerable infant, the unexpected and unknown child of Bethlehem, they discovered the glory of God,” the Pope said.
After the Mass, Pope Francis greeted tens of thousands of people gathered in St Peter’s Square to celebrate the feast of the Epiphany.
A colourful parade led by the sounds of trumpets and drums, people dressed in traditional and festive clothing contributed to the cheerful atmosphere despite the chilly weather.
Explaining the significance of the Wise Men who presented their gifts to Christ after adoring him, the Pope gave the crowds a gift: a small booklet of reflections on mercy.
The book, entitled “Icons of Mercy”, presents “six Gospel episodes that recall the experience of people transformed by Jesus’s love: the sinful woman, Zacchaeus, Matthew, the publican, the Samaritan, the good thief and the apostle Peter. Six icons of mercy,” the papal almoner’s office said.
Together with the homeless, poor men and women and refugees, religious men and women distributed the books to the crowd. As a thank you, Pope also offered more than 300 homeless men and women sandwiches and drinks.

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Taken from: http://www.catholicherald.co.uk/news/2017/01/06/the-magi-embody-all-those-who-long-for-god-says-pope-francis/

Friday, January 6, 2017

Join the Prayer Crusade of Reparation!


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... people praying worldwide ! Goal: 1 million

Come, My Mother, Come!

  • Wars, Islamic terrorism, civil unrest, economic crises, unemployment...
  • Violent persecution of Christians in the Middle East, Africa, Pakistan, Vietnam, and in China...
  • “Legal” persecution of Christians in the West and Christianophobia in the name of secularism and “human rights” contrary to the Law of God…
  • Blasphemies, profanations, ridicule of the Catholic Faith in films, stage performances, art, radio and TV programmes...
  • Gradual destruction of the traditional family and indissoluble marriage between one man and one woman, promotion of homosexuality and abortion…
  • Corruption of children by means of the infamous “gender ideology”, as well as corruption of youth through fashions, pornography and drugs…
  • Grave crisis of the Faith within the bosom of Holy Mother Church where prelates in high offices promote the auto-demolition of the Church, doctrinal confusion, and the desacralisation of the Eucharist and of Matrimony...
In light of these calamities, a cry of anguish arises from the depths of many hearts:
Will God not have pity on our world?
Is it doomed to be punished and to disappear?
100 years ago Our Lady came to the Earth to warn mankind that it was bordering the abyss, but also came to say that She brought the solution.
To the three shepherd children of Fatima, She presented a simple, threefold solution full of hope:
Prayer, penance and amendment of life!
Nonetheless, one century later, after two world wars, and after the most atrocious terrorist attacks in the history of mankind, where is the conversion, penance and prayer?
Will we present ourselves empty-handed to Our Lady on the occasion of the centenary of the apparitions in which She asked for conversion, penance and prayer as the means to avoid God punishing the world?
1,000,000 people praying the Rosary by the 13th October 2017
This is the bold goal of the Prayer Crusade of Reparation: by the 13th October 2017, 1,000,000 people praying for the conversion of mankind, thus bringing about the promised triumph of the Immaculate Heart of Mary!
Join thousands of people on 5 continents who are already part of our
Prayer Crusade of Reparation!
 

Our Lady said at Fatima:

“Pray the rosary every day to obtain peace
for the world and the end of the war .”

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Intentions of the Prayer Crusade of Reparation

  1. Increase in devotion to Our Lady;
  2. The establishment of the Reign of the Immaculate Heart of Mary in both the spiritual and temporal spheres;
  3. The restoration of good customs both in the family and society as an indispensable condition to bring peace to the world (2nd part of the Secret of Fatima);
  4. To obtain the special protection of the Immaculate Heart of Mary for all those who are being persecuted, expelled from their homes, abused and martyred for their Catholic Faith in many parts of the world;
  5. The conversion of sinners for the salvation of their souls.

Tuesday, January 3, 2017

Pope Francis to visit Fatima in May 2017

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By Junno Arocho Esteves Catholic News Service
12.19.2016 9:05 AM ET
 
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The Vatican confirmed that Pope Francis will visit Portugal in 2017 to mark the 100th anniversary of the Marian apparitions of Fatima.

The pope, who accepted the invitation made by President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa and the bishops of Portugal, "will go on a pilgrimage to the Shrine of Our Lady of Fatima from May 12-13," the Vatican announced Dec. 17.

The pilgrimage will mark the anniversary of the Marian apparitions, which first began on May 13, 1917, when three shepherd children reported seeing the Virgin Mary.

The apparitions continued once a month until Oct. 13, 1917, and later were declared worthy of belief by the Catholic Church.

Following the announcement, Father Carlos Cabecinhas, rector of the Fatima shrine told Agencia Ecclesia, the news agency of the Portuguese bishops' conference, that the visit was a "cause for joy" for the shrine.
"For the shrine of Fatima, it is a great joy to receive this confirmation of Pope Francis' visit," he said.
"We know that those days will be a pilgrimage marked by this festivity that, on the one hand is for the centennial of the apparitions and, on the other hand, marks the presence of the pope in our midst and a pope as beloved as Pope Francis," Father Cabecinhas said.

While the Vatican confirmed the dates of the visit, the pope had already said that he intended to go.

"Certainly, as things presently stand, I will go to Portugal, and only to Fatima," he told journalists during his return flight to Rome from Azerbaijan Oct. 2.

Pope Francis will be the fourth pontiff to visit the Marian shrine, following the footsteps of Blessed Paul VI, Saint John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI, who each paid homage different years to Mary on the anniversary of the first apparition May 13.

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Taken from: http://www.catholicnews.com/services/englishnews/2016/pope-francis-to-visit-fatima-in-may-2017.cfm