Communication with Visitors* Spirit of the Living God, fall afresh on us! January 1, 2003 (P.S. Jan. 25) Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ, Happy New Year! The New Year opens with the feast of Mary, the Mother of God. Its celebration offers us the opportunity of placing the year under the patronage of Mary, the Mother of Jesus, savior of the world and founder of the Church. It also gives us the occasion to reflect on the Apostolic Letter of John Paul II whose subject is The Rosary of the Virgin Mary. In it the Pope proposes an addition to the traditional pattern of the Joyful, the Glorious and the Sorrowful Mysteries. This addition he calls the Mysteries of Light. While the Joyful Mysteries signal the joy radiating from the event of the incarnation, the Glorious the greater hope for the eschatological goal, and the sorrowful the culmination of God' s love for us, the Mysteries of Light offer us five significant moments in the public life of Jesus. Each of these moments reveals to us the kingdom now present in the person of Jesus. These are in order: the baptism of Jesus in the Jordan, the self-manifestation of Jesus at the wedding feast of Cana, Jesus' proclamation of the Kingdom of God with the call to conversion, the Transfiguration of Jesus, and the Eucharist: the sacramental expression of the Paschal Mystery. A reading of and reflection upon this Apostolic Letter may well serve as a fitting introduction to the Year just beginning. This new addition to the mysteries of the Rosary completes the cycle of Christ's earthly life and provides new reflections in our prayer of the Rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary. It also leads us into a fuller awareness of the word and work of Jesus in the act of our redemption. Yours sincerely in Christ and Our Heavenly Mother, Michael Lapierre, S.J. P.S. (Jan. 25) Conversion of St. Paul There are three accounts of the conversion and work of St. Paul in the Acts of the Apostles. The first in chapter nine is the account of his conversion. The second in chapter twenty-two is his address in the Hebrew tongue and with the commander's permission to the crowd in the city of Jerusalem who are calling for his death. The third in chapter twenty-six is his defense before Agrippa and Bernice visitors to Festus, the governor, in Caesarea. Revealed to us in these accounts is the action of God's grace in a man who from being an aggressive and zealous persecutor of the Christians, followers of the way, is changed into a committed and dedicated follower of Jesus Christ. His complete change of heart and earnestness of desire to serve his new master shines through his words in all three accounts. The zeal he shows for the mission of Jesus, his new master; the singleness of purpose and the concentration of mind and will he gives to the task of bringing the Good News of Jesus to the world around him leaves us marveling at the ways in which God can draw and shape his human creatures to carry out the designs of His providence. * Fr. Michael Lapierre, S.J., and the editor John Cheng are currently taking part in this column. The background hymn is a version of "Immaculate Mary". Thank you.
January 1, 2003 (P.S. Jan. 25)
Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,
Happy New Year! The New Year opens with the feast of Mary, the Mother of God. Its celebration offers us the opportunity of placing the year under the patronage of Mary, the Mother of Jesus, savior of the world and founder of the Church. It also gives us the occasion to reflect on the Apostolic Letter of John Paul II whose subject is The Rosary of the Virgin Mary. In it the Pope proposes an addition to the traditional pattern of the Joyful, the Glorious and the Sorrowful Mysteries. This addition he calls the Mysteries of Light. While the Joyful Mysteries signal the joy radiating from the event of the incarnation, the Glorious the greater hope for the eschatological goal, and the sorrowful the culmination of God' s love for us, the Mysteries of Light offer us five significant moments in the public life of Jesus. Each of these moments reveals to us the kingdom now present in the person of Jesus. These are in order: the baptism of Jesus in the Jordan, the self-manifestation of Jesus at the wedding feast of Cana, Jesus' proclamation of the Kingdom of God with the call to conversion, the Transfiguration of Jesus, and the Eucharist: the sacramental expression of the Paschal Mystery. A reading of and reflection upon this Apostolic Letter may well serve as a fitting introduction to the Year just beginning. This new addition to the mysteries of the Rosary completes the cycle of Christ's earthly life and provides new reflections in our prayer of the Rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary. It also leads us into a fuller awareness of the word and work of Jesus in the act of our redemption.
Yours sincerely in Christ and Our Heavenly Mother,
Michael Lapierre, S.J.
P.S. (Jan. 25) Conversion of St. Paul
There are three accounts of the conversion and work of St. Paul in the Acts of the Apostles. The first in chapter nine is the account of his conversion. The second in chapter twenty-two is his address in the Hebrew tongue and with the commander's permission to the crowd in the city of Jerusalem who are calling for his death. The third in chapter twenty-six is his defense before Agrippa and Bernice visitors to Festus, the governor, in Caesarea. Revealed to us in these accounts is the action of God's grace in a man who from being an aggressive and zealous persecutor of the Christians, followers of the way, is changed into a committed and dedicated follower of Jesus Christ. His complete change of heart and earnestness of desire to serve his new master shines through his words in all three accounts. The zeal he shows for the mission of Jesus, his new master; the singleness of purpose and the concentration of mind and will he gives to the task of bringing the Good News of Jesus to the world around him leaves us marveling at the ways in which God can draw and shape his human creatures to carry out the designs of His providence.
* Fr. Michael Lapierre, S.J., and the editor John Cheng are currently taking part in this column. The background hymn is a version of "Immaculate Mary". Thank you.