I have convoked you to this Consistory, not only for the three canonizations, but also to communicate to you a decision of great importance for the life of the Church. After having repeatedly examined my conscience before God, I have come to the certainty that my strengths, due to an advanced age, are no longer suited to an adequate exercise of the Petrine ministry.
 

 
Dear Brothers,
 
I have convoked you to this Consistory, not only for the three canonizations, but also to communicate to you a decision of great importance for the life of the Church. After having repeatedly examined my conscience before God, I have come to the certainty that my strengths, due to an advanced age, are no longer suited to an adequate exercise of the Petrine ministry. I am well aware that this ministry, due to its essential spiritual nature, must be carried out not only with words and deeds, but no less with prayer and suffering. However, in today’s world, subject to so many rapid changes and shaken by questions of deep relevance for the life of faith, in order to govern the barque of Saint Peter and proclaim the Gospel, both strength of mind and body are necessary, strength which in the last few months, has deteriorated in me to the extent that I have had to recognize my incapacity to adequately fulfill the ministry entrusted to me. For this reason, and well aware of the seriousness of this act, with full freedom I declare that I renounce the ministry of Bishop of Rome, Successor of Saint Peter, entrusted to me by the Cardinals on 19 April 2005, in such a way, that as from 28 February 2013, at 20:00 hours, the See of Rome, the See of Saint Peter, will be vacant and a Conclave to elect the new Supreme Pontiff will have to be convoked by those whose competence it is.
 
Dear Brothers, I thank you most sincerely for all the love and work with which you have supported me in my ministry and I ask pardon for all my defects. And now, let us entrust the Holy Church to the care of Our Supreme Pastor, Our Lord Jesus Christ, and implore his holy Mother Mary, so that she may assist the Cardinal Fathers with her maternal solicitude, in electing a new Supreme Pontiff. With regard to myself, I wish to also devotedly serve the Holy Church of God in the future through a life dedicated to prayer.
 
From the Vatican, 10 February 2013
 
BENEDICTUS PP XVI
 
 
 

Pierre Bienvenu Noailles, Founder of the Holy Family of Bordeaux died on 8 February 1861. Here is a testimony from one of his contemporaries:
HE LIVES FOREVER!
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Pierre Bienvenu Noailles, Founder of the Holy Family of Bordeaux died on 8 February 1861. Here is a testimony from one of his contemporaries:
 
 
 
“… Called to fulfil his ecclesiastical mission, his intuition told him that it was necesssary to start useful public and charitable works that religious souls, under various forms and by different means, would wish to undertake. We know today that forty years of priestly ministry, the insights of an enlightened intelligence and the indefatigable zeal of a generous heart given to doing good, sufficed for the realisation of Fr. Noailles’s unique ambition …”  
 
“It was impossible to approach Fr. Noailles without admiring his humble simplicity, his total self-forgetfulness, his solicitude born of an unchanging goodness and, especially, the unfailing friendly welcome of his open and affectionate heart… . Blessed be the memory of those who love God!
 
It is an act of justice for them and a consolation for all who ardently desired to make others happy and better by their love.”
 
(Article published in The Friend of Religion, sub-titled Universal Political and Literary Journal of Paris, 1861) 

3 February: We celebrate the 191st Anniversary of the Miraculous Benediction that took place in 1822 in our community at the beginning of the Foundation of the Holy Family of Bordeaux, the Family of Pierre Bienvenu Noailles.
 3 February 1822  –   3 February 2013
 
 
3 February: We celebrate the 191st Anniversary of the Miraculous Benediction that took place in 1822 in our community at the beginning of the Foundation of the Holy Family of Bordeaux, the Family of Pierre Bienvenu Noailles.
 
Click here to download Prayer => Miraculous Benediction
 
http://www.saintefamillebordeaux.org/media/stella/3_febrero_2013_-_eng.doc
 
 
 
 

The traditional period in the northern hemisphere for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity is 18-25 January. Those dates were proposed in 1908 by Paul Wattson to cover the days between the feasts of St Peter and St Paul, and therefore have a symbolic significance.
The search for unity: throughout the year
 
The traditional period in the northern hemisphere for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity is 18-25 January. Those dates were proposed in 1908 by Paul Wattson to cover the days between the feasts of St Peter and St Paul, and therefore have a symbolic significance. In the southern hemisphere where January is a vacation time churches often find other days to celebrate the week of prayer, for example around Pentecost (suggested by the Faith and Order movement in 1926), which is also a symbolic date for the unity of the church.
Mindful of the need for flexibility, we invite you to use this material throughout the whole year to express the degree of communion which the churches have already reached, and to pray together for that full unity which is Christ‘s will.
 

What does God require of us?
(cf. Micah 6:6-8)
 
Week of Prayer for
Christian Unity 2013

 
To mark its centenary, the Student Christian Movement of India (SCMI) was invited to prepare the resources for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity (WPCU) 2013 and they involved the All India Catholic University Federation and the National Council of Churches in India. In the preparatory process while reflecting on the significance of the WPCU, it was decided that in a context of great injustice to Dalits in India and in the Church, the search for visible unity cannot be disassociated from the dismantling of casteism and the lifting up of contributions to unity by the poorest of the poor.
 
The Dalits in the Indian context are the communities which are considered ‘out-castes’. They are the people worst affected by the caste-system, which is a rigid form of social stratification based on notions of ritual purity and pollution. Under the caste-system, the castes are considered to be ‘higher’ or ‘lower’. The Dalit communities are considered to be the most polluted and polluting and thus placed outside the caste-system and were previously even called ‘untouchable’. Because of casteism the Dalits are socially marginalized, politically under-represented, economically exploited and culturally subjugated. Almost 80% of Indian Christians have a Dalit background.
 
The path of Christian discipleship involves walking the path of justice, mercy and humility. The metaphor of ‘walking’ has been chosen to link together the 8 days of prayer because, as an active, intentional and ongoing act, the metaphor of walking communicates the dynamism which characterizes Christian discipleship. Further, the theme of the tenth assembly of the WCC to be held in Busan, Korea, in 2013 – ‘God of life lead us to Justice and Peace’ resonates with the image of the Trinitarian God who accompanies humanity and walks into human history while inviting all people to walk in partnership.
 
The 8 subthemes for the week – Click here for the Prayer
 
What God requires of us today is to walk the path of justice, mercy and humility. This path of discipleship involves walking the narrow path of God’s reign and not the highway of today’s empires. Walking this path of righteousness involves the hardships of struggle, the isolation which accompanies protest and the risk associated with resisting “the powers and principalities” (Ep 6:12). This is especially so when those who speak out for justice are treated as trouble makers and disrupters of peace. In this context we need to understand that peace and unity are complete only if founded on justice.
 
 
 

In preparation of the 2013 International Year of Water Cooperation, and World Water Day 2013, the 2012/2013 Zaragoza International Annual UN-Water Conference focuses on how to make water cooperation happen.
International Annual UN-Water Zaragoza Conference 2012/2013 ‘Preparing for the 2013 International Year. Water Cooperation: Making it Happen!’
 
Date: 8-10 January 2013
Place: Zaragoza, Spain
 
 
 
In preparation of the 2013 International Year of Water Cooperation, and World Water Day 2013, the 2012/2013 Zaragoza International Annual UN-Water Conference focuses on how to make water cooperation happen. The conference will identify the best approaches to promote effective cooperation at different scales and how we can do ‘better’ in water cooperation through sharing lessons from experiences, and inspiring participants to do ‘better’.
 
The conference will introduce the key skills required for water cooperation, with particular attention to their important role in the process of negotiation and mediation and with examples of their application in national and international water settings.
 
Some of the expected outcomes of the conference include:
 
A      series of documented case studies that illustrate how different tools and      approaches for dispute resolution are implemented in practice;
A      synthesis of lessons learned on the use of approaches for dispute      resolution and how to improve water cooperation;
A      feedback on the main messages for World Water Day 2013.
 
http://www.un.org/waterforlifedecade/
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

These days you hear of disaster caused by heavy rain all over our dear country. I would wish to share our experience here in Rattota which is situated in the Central Province of Sri Lanka, surrounded by the famous range of Knuckles Mountain.
Our experience here in Rattota
 
 
These days you hear of disasters caused by heavy rain all over our dear country. We would like to share our experience here in Rattota which is situated in the Central Province of Sri Lanka, surrounded by the famous range of Knuckles Mountain. It’s also called Riverston. It is in these ranges that we have the beautiful tea estate called Nicholoya which has three divisions Lower, Upper and Middle. Higher than this estate on the right side there is another estate named Singemalai. We always enjoy the beautiful sceneries when we visit these estates for celebrating Mass and visiting families.
 
On the 16th December, by 12.30 p.m., heavy rains started and continued till the 18th noon. 
This created fear in the minds of the people. On the 18th morning at about 4 a.m. the people heard an unusual sound of a helicopter, some opened their doors to look for this unusual sound and saw the huge rocks rolling. They started shouting asking the people to leave their houses and come towards the upper division. Within a few seconds water came gushing from the mountain.   All the people who lived in the lower part of the Upper Division managed to come out and without waiting for the dawn they started running to save their precious lives.  Since Rottota town is 20 kilometers away from Nicholoya Estate they did not want to take the risk of walking. They kept praying that they may see the dawn.
 
By dawn they were stunned by the sight before them – the disaster which the heavy rains had caused.  The whole area was disfigured. There was no more a beautiful mountain but a huge river with a vast area covered with mud. They said that it was unbelievable to see what had happened; how they could still be alive with such a disaster. They also started to look for each other. Only then they realized that 6 members in a family had disappeared. A young girl of 20 related that she saw her mother getting washed away while she stood helpless. With all this heaviness in their hearts they started walking to Rattota town.  Fortunately the lower division escaped from this disaster. But now there are no more Upper and Middle divisions of Nicholoya Estate which was a beautiful mountain with eye catching scenery.  The damage caused by these torrential rains is unimaginable!
 
The surrounding mountains are also affected by the heavy blasting of the rocks. Most of the people are Tea Pluckers.
 
At present there are 764 people as refugees in Rattota placed in a Baptist School and in the hall of the urban council office. In a day or two they will be sent to Hindu College (Maha vidyalaya).  Among them 127 are children under 14 years.
 
The other affected Estates are:
Bambarakandhe –  197 persons with 36children
Dankandhe –  125 persons with 57 children
Pita kandhe –  148persons with 43 children
Midland  –  67 persons with 24 children
 
The needs of the people are been cared for by the government as well as by the people living around.
 
 
 
We three sisters too give ourselves generously mainly listening to the stories of the people, giving shelter to those in need and reminding those in authority to find a suitable place to re-settle them.
 
The question arises as to why such a disaster on top of the mountain? What’s the reason for the rocks to roll from so high? We took the opportunity to speak to some quarry breakers to say that now it’s enough.  The amount of dynamite used to blast rocks is all illegal. The disturbance and damage caused to nature is paid for by these poor voiceless people.
 
Human decisions without foresight are even changing the geology of our world!  This indeed is a call for all of us to become aware of what we do to nature and in turn to our own selves!
Thanks for being with us.
 
Holy Family sisters
Rattota
 

EACH NEW YEAR brings the expectation of a better world. In light of this, I ask God, the Father of humanity, to grant us concord and peace, so that the aspirations of all for a happy and prosperous life may be achieved.
 
BLESSED ARE THE PEACEMAKERS
 

 
1. EACH NEW YEAR brings the expectation of a better world. In light of this, I ask God, the Father of humanity, to grant us concord and peace, so that the aspirations of all for a happy and prosperous life may be achieved.
 
In effect, our times, marked by globalization with its positive and negative aspects, as well as the continuation of violent conflicts and threats of war, demand a new, shared commitment in pursuit of the common good and the development of all men, and of the whole man.
 
It is alarming to see hotbeds of tension and conflict caused by growing instances of inequality between rich and poor, by the prevalence of a selfish and individualistic mindset which also finds expression in an unregulated financial capitalism. In addition to the varied forms of terrorism and international crime, peace is also endangered by those forms of fundamentalism and fanaticism which distort the true nature of religion, which is called to foster fellowship and reconciliation among people.
 
Gospel beatitude
2. The beatitudes which Jesus proclaimed (cf. Mt 5:3-12 and Lk 6:20-23) are promises. In the biblical tradition, the beatitude is a literary genre which always involves some good news, a “gospel”, which culminates in a promise. Therefore, the beatitudes are not only moral exhortations whose observance foresees in due time – ordinarily in the next life – a reward or a situation of future happiness. Rather, the blessedness of which the beatitudes speak consists in the fulfilment of a promise made to all those who allow themselves to be guided by the requirements of truth, justice and love. In the eyes of the world, those who trust in God and his promises often appear naïve or far from reality.
 
Once we accept Jesus Christ, God and man, we have the joyful experience of an immense gift: the sharing of God’s own life, the life of grace, the pledge of a fully blessed existence. Jesus Christ, in particular, grants us true peace, which is born of the trusting encounter of man with God.
 
Peace: God’s gift and the fruit of human effort
 
3. Peace concerns the human person as a whole, and it involves complete commitment. It is peace with God through a life lived according to his will. It is interior peace with oneself, and exterior peace with our neighbours and all creation.
 
Peace is not a dream or something utopian; it is possible. Our gaze needs to go deeper, beneath superficial appearances and phenomena, to discern a positive reality which exists in human hearts, since every man and woman has been created in the image of God and is called to grow and contribute to the building of a new world. God himself, through the incarnation of his Son and his work of redemption, has entered into history and has brought about a new creation and a new covenant between God and man (cf. Jer 31:31-34), thus enabling us to have a “new heart” and a “new spirit” (cf. Ez 36:26).
 
Peacemakers are those who love, defend and promote life in its fullness
 
4. The path to the attainment of the common good and to peace is above all that of respect for human life in all its many aspects, beginning with its conception, through its development and up to its natural end. True peacemakers, then, are those who love, defend and promote human life in all its dimensions, personal, communitarian and transcendent. Life in its fullness is the height of peace. Anyone who loves peace cannot tolerate attacks and crimes against life.
 
There is also a need to acknowledge and promote the natural structure of marriage as the union of a man and a woman in the face of attempts to make it juridically equivalent to radically different types of union; such attempts actually harm and help to destabilize marriage, obscuring its specific nature and its indispensable role in society.
 
These principles are not truths of faith, nor are they simply a corollary of the right to religious freedom. They are inscribed in human nature itself, accessible to reason and thus common to all humanity. The Church’s efforts to promote them are not therefore confessional in character, but addressed to all people, whatever their religious affiliation. Efforts of this kind are all the more necessary the more these principles are denied or misunderstood, since this constitutes an offence against the truth of the human person, with serious harm to justice and peace.
 
Building the good of peace through a new model of development and economics
 
5. In many quarters it is now recognized that a new model of development is needed, as well as a new approach to the economy. Both integral, sustainable development in solidarity and the common good require a correct scale of goods and values which can be structured with God as the ultimate point of reference.
 
In the economic sector, states in particular need to articulate policies of industrial and agricultural development concerned with social progress and the growth everywhere of constitutional and democratic states. The creation of ethical structures for currency, financial and commercial markets is also fundamental and indispensable; these must be stabilized and better coordinated and controlled so as not to prove harmful to the very poor. With greater resolve than has hitherto been the case, the concern of peacemakers must also focus upon the food crisis, which is graver than the financial crisis. The issue of food security is once more central to the international political agenda, as a result of interrelated crises, including sudden shifts in the price of basic foodstuffs, irresponsible behaviour by some economic actors and insufficient control on the part of governments and the international community. To face this crisis, peacemakers are called to work together in a spirit of solidarity, from the local to the international level, with the aim of enabling farmers, especially in small rural holdings, to carry out their activity in a dignified and sustainable way from the social, environmental and economic points of view.
 
Education for a culture of peace: the role of the family and institutions
 
6. I wish to reaffirm forcefully that the various peacemakers are called to cultivate a passion for the common good of the family and for social justice, and a commitment to effective social education.
 
Religious communities are involved in a special way in this immense task of education for peace. The Church believes that she shares in this great responsibility as part of the new evangelization, which is centred on conversion to the truth and love of Christ and, consequently, the spiritual and moral rebirth of individuals and societies. Encountering Jesus Christ shapes peacemakers, committing them to fellowship and to overcoming injustice.
 
Today’s world, especially the world of politics, needs to be sustained by fresh thinking and a new cultural synthesis so as to overcome purely technical approaches and to harmonize the various political currents with a view to the common good. The latter, seen as an ensemble of positive interpersonal and institutional relationships at the service of the integral growth of individuals and groups, is at the basis of all true education for peace.
 
A pedagogy for peacemakers
 
7. In the end, we see clearly the need to propose and promote a pedagogy of peace. This calls for a rich interior life, clear and valid moral points of reference, and appropriate attitudes and lifestyles. Acts of peacemaking converge for the achievement of the common good; they create interest in peace and cultivate peace. Thoughts, words and gestures of peace create a mentality and a culture of peace, and a respectful, honest and cordial atmosphere. There is a need, then, to teach people to love one another, to cultivate peace and to live with good will rather than mere tolerance. A fundamental encouragement to this is “to say no to revenge, to recognize injustices, to accept apologies without looking for them, and finally, to forgive”, in such a way that mistakes and offences can be acknowledged in truth, so as to move forward together towards reconciliation.
 
 
POPE BENEDICT XVI
 
 
 

The family, according to him, has its origin in the mystery of the Creator who attracts a man and a woman to become “one flesh”, sharing their lives in a mutual self-giving, prompted by a free and gratuitous love.

A DIFFERENT FAMILY

 
 
What would a family inspired by Jesus be like?
 
The family, according to him, has its origin in the mystery of the Creator who attracts a man and a woman to become “one flesh”, sharing their lives in a mutual self-giving, prompted by a free and gratuitous love.
 
Following the deep call of their love, the parents become a source of new life.
 
A Christian family tries to go through an original experience inserted in a modern, indifferent and agnostic society: to build a family founded on Jesus. “Where two or three are gathered in my name there I am with them.” It is Jesus who inspires, sustains and directs the healthy life of the family.
 
The home then becomes a privileged place to undertake the most basic experiences of the Christian faith: trust in a Good God, friend of the human being: the attraction for the way of life of Jesus; the discovery of the project of God to build a more dignified, just and kind world for all. To achieve all this, the family reading of the Gospel is a decisive experience.
 

 
 
In a home where life is inspired by simple faith in Jesus, lived with great enthusiasm, the result is a family always welcoming, sensitive to the suffering of the most needy, where all learn to share and commit themselves to a more humane world; a family that does not live enclosed in their own interests and ambitions but lives open to the human family.
 
José Antonio Pagola
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

The Word was in the world, and though God made the world through him, yet the world did not recognize him. He came to his own county, but his own people did not receive him.
JOY – PEACE
The Word was in the world, and though God made the world through him, yet the world did not recognize him. He came to his own county, but his own people did not receive him. Some, however, did receive him and believed in him; so he gave them the right to become God’s children.  (Jn.1:10-12)
 

 
 
The word of proclamation is effective in situations where man is listening in readiness for God to draw near, where man is inwardly searching and thus on the way towards the Lord. His heart is touched when Jesus turns towards him, and then his encounter with the proclamation becomes a holy curiosity to come to know Jesus better. As he walks with Jesus, he is led to the place where Jesus lives, to the community of the Church, which is his body. That means entering into the journeying community of catechumens, a community of both learning and living, in which our eyes are opened as we walk.
 
“Come and see!” This saying, addressed by Jesus to the two seeker-disciples, he also addresses to the seekers of today. At the end of the year, we pray to the Lord that the Church, despite all her shortcomings, may be increasingly recognizable as his dwelling-place. We ask him to open our eyes ever wider as we make our way to his house, so that we can say ever more clearly, ever more convincingly: “we have found him for whom the whole world is waiting, Jesus Christ, the true Son of God and true man”.
Pope Benedict VI
 
The Word became a human being and, full of grace and truth, lived among us. We saw his glory, the glory which he received as the Father’s only Son.
(Jn. 1: 14)
 
Under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, Pierre-Bienvenu Noailles founded the Association of the Holy Family in order to give expression to what was said of the early Christians, that they had but one heart and one soul, and to spread and strengthen the faith.
 
Our Lord came to gather together all people, of all ages and conditions, to form with them a family of brothers and sisters united by the bonds of the tenderest love. Just as the newly-born Church stretched out its arms to all who wished to live under the law of Jesus Christ, in the same way the Association welcomes all Christians who would like to pray and work together for the glory of God, their own holiness and the salvation of their neighbour, no matter what distances separate them in the world.  Annals, 1839
 
Jesus Christ is the first-born of a multitude of brothers. Through baptism we are incorporated into Christ; we are so closely united to him that we are one with him, and we become other Christs, Christians.
Spiritual Guide … page 5
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

The Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, in the Pastoral Constitution Gaudium et Spes, recalled that “the Church goes forward together with humanity” (No. 40); therefore “the joys and the hopes, the grief and anguish of the people of our time, especially of those who are poor or afflicted, are the joys and hopes, grief and anguish of the followers of Christ as well. Indeed, nothing genuinely human fails to raise an echo in their hearts” (ibid., 1).
WORLD MIGRANTS DAY
DECEMBER 18
 
 

 
The Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, in the Pastoral Constitution Gaudium et Spes, recalled that “the Church goes forward together with humanity” (No. 40); therefore “the joys and the hopes, the grief and anguish of the people of our time, especially of those who are poor or afflicted, are the joys and hopes, grief and anguish of the followers of Christ as well. Indeed, nothing genuinely human fails to raise an echo in their hearts” (ibid., 1).
 
I was thinking also of the millions of men and women who, for various reasons, have known the experience of migration. Migration is in fact “a striking phenomenon because of the sheer numbers of people involved, the social, economic, political, cultural and religious problems it raises, and the dramatic challenges it poses to nations and the international community” (ibid., 62), for “every migrant is a human person who, as such, possesses fundamental, inalienable rights that must be respected by everyone and in every circumstance” (ibid.).
 
For this reason, I have chosen to dedicate the 2013 World Day of Migrants and Refugees to the theme “Migrations: pilgrimage of faith and hope”, in conjunction with the celebrations marking the fiftieth anniversary of the opening of the Second Vatican Ecumenical Council and the sixtieth anniversary of the promulgation of the Apostolic Constitution Exsul Familia, and at a time when the whole Church is celebrating the Year of Faith, taking up with enthusiasm the challenge of the new evangelization.
 
Faith and hope are inseparable in the hearts of many migrants, who deeply desire a better life and not infrequently try to leave behind the “hopelessness” of an unpromising future. During their journey many of them are sustained by the deep trust that God never abandons his children; this certainty makes the pain of their uprooting and separation more tolerable and even gives them the hope of eventually returning to their country of origin. Faith and hope are often among the possessions which emigrants carry with them, knowing that with them, “we can face our present: the present, even if it is arduous, can be lived and accepted if it leads towards a goal, if we can be sure of this goal, and if this goal is great enough to justify the effort of the journey” (Spe Salvi, 1).
 
Dear brothers and sisters who yourselves are migrants, may this World Day help you renew your trust and hope in the Lord who is always at our side! Take every opportunity to encounter him and to see his face in the acts of kindness you receive during your pilgrimage of migration. Rejoice, for the Lord is near, and with him you will be able to overcome obstacles and difficulties, treasuring the experiences of openness and acceptance that many people offer you. For “life is like a voyage on the sea of history, often dark and stormy, a voyage in which we watch for the stars that indicate the route. The true stars of our life are the people who have lived good lives. They are lights of hope. Certainly, Jesus Christ is the true light, the sun that has risen above all the shadows of history. But to reach him we also need lights close by – people who shine with his light and so guide us along our way” (Spe Salvi, 49).
 
BENEDICTUS PP. XVI
 
PRAYER FOR BOUNDARY CROSSERS
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