FRIDAY, APRIL 6, 2007
DIOCFSE OF FALL RIVER
Pope Benedict: John Paul II's agony, ministry showed his love ofChrist VATICAN CITY (CNS) - Pope John Paul II's intense pastoral ministry, "but even more, the Calvary ofagony and the serene death ofour beloved pope let all people ofour age know that Jesus Christ really was his everything;' Pope Benedict XVI said. Pope Benedict marked the second anniversary ofPope John Paul's death by celebrating a memorial Mass the evening ofApril 2 in St. Peter's Square. The pope said his predecessor truly fit the biblical description of a "servant of God," which is the way the Church officially refers to him while "his process of beatification quickly progresses:' Pope Benedict, who had set aside the five-year waiting period usually required before a sainthood cause begins, told tens of thousands of people in St. Peter's Square that the initial, diocesan phase of Pope John Paul's cause had concluded earlier in the day. While the Church has not solemnly proclaimed Pope John Paul a saint in heaven, Pope Benedict said he is certain that "our beloved John Paul 11" continues to accompany the Church with his prayers. At the same time, he offered prayers that Pope John Paul, "ourfather, brother and friend," would enjoy eternal rest and peace in the company of God. The pope praised his predecessor's ability to share with the world his faith, hope and charity, even as Parkinson's disease gradua1ly made it impossible for him to walk and, ultimately, to talk. ''Especially with the slow, but relentless progression of his illness, which little by little stripped him ofeverything, he made himself an offering to Christ, a living proclamation of his passion, in a hope filled with faith in the resurrection;' Pope Benedict said. "Like his divine master, he lived his agony in prayer;' the pope said. "He died praying. Truly, he fell asleep in the Lord." Sitting near the front of the crowd was Sister Marie-Simon-Pierre, the 46year-old French nun whobelieves she was healed ofParkinson's disease through Pope John Paul's intervention. Earlier in the day, during a ceremony marked by prayers, song and formal oaths in Latin, officials of the Diocese of Rome concluded the initial phase of Pope John Paul's sainthood cause. The process had included interviews with more than 120 people who knew Pope John Paul and a study of his ministry, the way he handled suffering and how he faced his death, said Cardinal Camillo Ruini, papal vicar of Rome. '1n the certainty of being loved by God and in the joy of responding to that love;' the late pope "found the meaning, unity and aim of his life;' Cardinal Ruini said during the prayer service in the Basilica of St. John Lateran. The documents from the investigation were placed in five chests, latched, tied with a red ribbon, then sealed with red wax. They will be delivered to the Congregation for Saints' Causes for further study. The 15 cardinals and 15 bishops who are members ofthe congregation will study the "positio" and forward their opinion to the pope, he told the newspaper La Repubblica. A declaration of heroic virtues and recognition of a miracle usually are needed before beatification. In the usual process, canonization requires another miracle attributed to the candidate's intervention after the beatification. EASTER TV MAss To AIR AT SPECIAL TIME FALL RIVER - The Television Mass on Easter Sunday, April 8, will expand to a full hour and will air at a special time, from 11 :30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., on WLNE-TV, Channel 6, Providence-New Bedford. Bishop George W. Coleman will celebrate the Easter Mass from the Cathedral of St. Mary of the Assumption in Fall River.
Bishop Coleman's ,:Easter Message Easter, 2007 Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ: "Have you come to believe because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed" (In 20:29). These words, spoken by the Risen Christ to the doubting St. Thomas, should resound in our hearts, as we celebrate the Lord's Resurrection this Easter. Truly, we are blessed for believing that the Lord has been raised. The Resurrection of Jesus is "the crowning truth of our faith in Christ," a truth that is based on the testimony ofeyewitnesses, to whom the Lord first appeared after rising from the dead (Catechism ofthe Catholic Church, No. 638). These eyewitnesses, who encountered the Risen Christ, "remain the foundational stones" of our faith and of the Church (Ibid., No. 642). Since the time of the first Easter, there have been some who postulate that the Resurrection was produced by the Apostles' imagination or credulity, in an attempt to justify and salvage their belief in a man who apparently was defeated on the Cross. We must never forget, however, that the Apostles actually found the first news of the Resurrection difficult to believe, that is, until they encountered and witnessed the Risen Lord (See Lk 24:11 and Mk 16:11,13). It was their direct experience with the Risen One that led to the
Apostles' faith in the Resurrection. When he appeared to the Apostles, Our Lord acknowledged that future generations would not have such direct experience of his Resurrection, and that their faith in him would be based on that of the eyewitnesses. He then complimented those of us who believe in him without seeing him first hand: "Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed." Our faith in Jesus and his Resurrection, based on th~ testimony of eyewitnesses, is something that is true and certain. We need not worry that it might s01Jleday be disproved by scientific or archeological discoveries. Instead, we can be sure that we are blessed for believing in the Lord, without seeing him, because by our faith, we stand to inherit his promised reward of everlasting life. As we celebrate the LOrd's Resurrection during this Easter season, may we be ever-more resolved to testify to the truth of our faith and to follow the Risen Lord all the days of our lives. Imploring the blessings of the Risen Christ upon you and your families this Easter, I am Sincerely yours in the Lord,
~4Mtk.Bishop of Fall River