Tag: Christianity

Two days after opening the Holy Door of St. Peter’s Basilica to inaugurate the Holy Year 2025, Pope Francis will travel to a Rome prison to open a Holy Door as a “tangible sign of the message of hope” for people in prisons around the world, the Vatican announced.

The pope will go Dec. 26 to Rebibbia prison on the outskirts of Rome, “a symbol of all the prisons dispersed throughout the world,” to deliver a message of hope to prisoners, Archbishop Rino Fisichella, pro-prefect of the Dicastery for Evangelization’s section for new evangelization and the chief organizer of the Holy Year 2025, announced at a news conference Oct. 28.

Pope Francis will open the Holy Door of St. Peter’s Basilica Dec. 24. He will then open the Holy Doors at the major basilicas of St. John Lateran Dec. 29, St. Mary Major Jan. 1 and St. Paul Outside the Walls Jan. 5.

In his “bull of indiction,” the document formally proclaiming the Holy Year 2025, Pope Francis wrote that during the Holy Year he will have close to his heart “prisoners who, deprived of their freedom, feel daily the harshness of detention and its restrictions, lack of affection and, in more than a few cases, lack of respect for their persons.”

In the document, the pope also called on governments to “undertake initiatives aimed at restoring hope” for incarcerated persons during the Holy Year, such as expanding forms of amnesty and social reintegration programs.

Archbishop Fisichella announced that the Vatican had signed an agreement with Italy’s minister of justice and the government commissioner for Rome to implement reintegration programs for incarcerated individuals by involving their participation in activities during the Jubilee Year.

The archbishop also outlined the schedule of cultural offerings leading up to the Jubilee Year, during which the city of Rome estimates that 30 million people will visit the Italian capital.

The Vatican will organize a concert of Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 5, to be performed by the Detroit Symphony Orchestra in Rome Nov. 3; three art exhibitions in November and December, including a display of rare Christian icons from the collection of the Vatican Museums; and a concert from the Sistine Chapel Choir two days before the opening of the Holy Door.

Archbishop Fisichella also unveiled the official mascot of the Holy Year 2025: “Luce” (Italian for light), a cartoon pilgrim dressed in a yellow raincoat, mud-stained boots, wearing a missionary cross and holding a pilgrim’s staff. Luce’s glowing eyes feature the shape of scallop shells, a traditional symbol of pilgrimage and hope.

The mascot, he said, was inspired by the church’s desire “to live even within the pop culture so beloved by our youth.”

“Luce” will also serve as the mascot of the Holy See’s pavilion at Expo 2025, which will take place in Osaka, Japan, from April to October 2025. The Holy See pavilion — which will be hosted inside of Italy’s national pavilion — will have the theme “Beauty brings hope,” and display the 17th-century painting “The Entombment of Christ” by Caravaggio — the only one of his works housed in the Vatican Museums.

After Vice President Kamala Harris said she does not think “concessions” should be made on codifying abortion protections, some pro-life activists expressed concern that a potential Harris administration would not implement religious exemptions to abortion policy.

In an Oct. 22 interview with NBC’s Hallie Jackson, Harris was asked “what concessions” to her position “would be on the table?”

“Religious exemptions, for example, is that something that you would consider with a Republican-controlled Congress?” Jackson asked.

Harris replied that “I don’t think we should be making concessions when we’re talking about a fundamental freedom to make decisions about your own body.”

Pressed by Jackson if she would offer “an olive branch” to Republicans on the issue, Harris said, “I’m not (going to) engage in hypotheticals because we could go on a variety of scenarios.”

“Let’s just start with a fundamental fact, a basic freedom has been taken from the women of America: the freedom to make decisions about their own body, and that cannot be negotiable, which is that we need to put back in the protections of Roe v. Wade. And that is it.”

At an Oct. 23 CNN town hall, Harris had an exchange with a voter who said he disagreed with her position on abortion, but he was concerned about former president and Republican nominee Donald J. Trump’s actions on Jan. 6, 2021.

Harris noted she has been campaigning with former Republican Rep. Liz Cheney who is “unapologetically pro-life” and who nonetheless has endorsed Harris because of her concerns regarding Trump’s fitness for office.

“I find that many people I’ve met who are pro-life have said to me, you know, I didn’t intend that this would happen … I didn’t intend that women who are suffering a miscarriage would develop sepsis as has happened many times. I didn’t intend that women would die,” Harris said.

Some pro-life activists expressed concern that Harris did not commit to religious liberty exemptions in abortion policy, such as allowing health care professionals who hold a faith-based or other conscience objection to be exempt from participating in such procedures.

Dr. Grazie Pozo Christie, a senior fellow with The Catholic Association, said in a statement that Harris “should clarify, and quickly, whether given the chance she would force Americans who object on religious or conscience grounds, to participate in abortion.”

“Sadly, it would not be the first time Harris has used her political power to trample the rights of religious Americans,” Christie said.

The group SBA Pro-Life America, which works to elect pro-life candidates to public office, wrote on X, formerly Twitter, that Harris “promises ‘freedom’ but then pledges to federally steamroll Americans into taking part in abortions against their will. (Doctors) must perform them, taxpayers must pay for them, for any reason, in all 50 states, no exceptions.”

Harris has made expanding access to abortion a key part of her campaign. But Trump has stated he would veto a federal abortion ban if one reached his desk as president.

The Catholic Church teaches that all human life is sacred from conception to natural death, opposing direct abortion as an act of violence that takes the life of the unborn child.

    

In our fast-paced world, where hours fly like birds and things strike us like bolts from the blue, it’s easy to lose sight of what’s really important. We plunge into our routine, forget about moments of peace and quiet, and have no strength to rejoice in the small simple things that make up our whole lives. Like frightened animals, we hide in our “burrows”, which take the form of endless work business, and have stopped looking at heaven.

We run, overtaking each other in the subway, we are afraid to be late, and we hurry even when there is no need to hurry. This is a habit developed over the years—the habit of running after time. And how can we see clearly the world around us at such a speed? But we do not see each other, not to mention the world! We keep running, pushing one another, trying to make it to our destinations in time… But where are we hurrying?… On the way we scroll through news feeds, a string of chats, peek at the alluring and attractive “lives” of other people living on the other side of the screen, and reflect on how lucky they are.

What will we see when we look away for a moment? Here is a young man standing with a bunch of beautiful flowers, smiling and thinking about something—probably about the one the flowers are intended for. There is a woman standing opposite, so pensive and sad, as if she is about to cry… And tears are already flowing down her face. Who has offended her? What is tormenting her soul so much? There is no answer. The train stops, and the woman disappears into the stream of passers-by.

We move our gaze to the end of the train car. An elderly woman is sitting there, holding a small book in her hands and constantly whispering something. Is she praying? Yes, she is praying for her children, grandchildren, and for all of us, asking the Lord to forgive His children who are “always busy” and “have no time” to remember Him even for a moment.

Vanity can cloud the mind, but it is in moments when we pause that we can find time to meditate. Try to set aside a few minutes during the day for quiet solitude. It can be a cup of tea in a corner in your office or a stroll in the fresh air. Allow yourself to stop for a while and think about what really matters. At such moments you can turn to God with questions that bother you, or just thank Him for everything that you have in your life.

    

Keep in mind that every morning is a new page on which we can write down our own unique and original story. To start your day with What is Prayer?A great prayerful power is at work in the prayers of the Holy Fathers, and whoever enters into them with all his attention and zeal will certainly taste of this prayerful power to the extent that his state of mind converges with the content of the prayer.

“>prayer means to attune your inner world. After all, every morning we brush our teeth, wash our face and put ourselves in order; likewise, prayer puts our souls in order. It doesn’t have to be a long and complicated prayer. Sometimes a simple, “Thank You for a new day,” or a request for support is enough. Prayers are our shields against everyday vanity.

Work is not only about tasks and reports, but also about the people around us. Each of them is an opportunity for us to show love, care and compassion. Try to see the reflection of God in your colleagues, even when it seems impossible. Human Life is a Vale of TearsElder Simeon had great love for God and men and great humility. The Lord also gave St. Simeon great gifts for his disposition towards the work of salvation: the gift of healing souls, clairvoyance, and the gift of wonderworking.

“>St. Simeon (Zhelnin) of the Pskov-Caves Monastery used to say, “You don’t know a person’s thoughts or what he will do in the next moment. So don’t judge him and don’t speak ill of him…” Thus, you will free your mind from unnecessary thoughts, and your life will become easier.

Pay attention to the world around you: to nature, the weather, and the people. Feel that you are a part of this amazing and beautiful world, and do not limit yourself to an “electronic box” with a beautiful virtual “life” inside it. Because beyond it real life flows, runs and sings, given to us only once so that we can live it, and not run through it.

Work and prayer should not contradict each other, but they can become two sides of the same coin. It is important to remember that there is a place for God even in the most turbulent flow of life. Every moment is a chance to remind ourselves of His presence. Let God be a part of your life not only when you enter the church, and you will see how vanity turns into harmony, and work into service.

If we are to draw a lesson from Kamala Harris’ decision to skip this year’s Al Smith Dinner and instead concentrate on campaigning, it’s that trading in an iconic Catholic event for something you consider more politically rewarding isn’t a smart way to court Catholic voters.

Commenting on Harris’ late “no thanks,” Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York said, “We were looking forward to giving the vice president an enthusiastic welcome. This hasn’t happened in 40 years, since Walter Mondale turned down the invitation. And remember, he lost 49 out of 50 states.”

“I don’t want to say there’s a direct connection,” the cardinal added.

The Al Smith Dinner is a celebrity-studded annual event that raises money for Catholic charities. The tone is deliberately light. Politicians frequently are guests, and although Harris has bowed out, this year’s Oct. 17 dinner still included former President Donald Trump.

No one intended it, but the Harris incident serves to illustrate the relevance of two questions about the political situation of American Catholics.

The first question is whether Catholics have become a voting bloc without a clear link to either political party.

The second question is whether it still makes sense in discussing voting patterns to speak of American Catholics as a “bloc” — a term suggesting a homogeneous body.

But the reality seems instead to be that particular groups within the broadly “Catholic” population identify — in some cases, very strongly — with one or the other of the two big  parties and vote more or less consistently as either Republican or Democrat.

As a thumbnail sketch of history illustrates, this is a big change from the not-so-distant past.

Until the middle years of the last century, American Catholics were overwhelmingly Democrats, and even assemblies of the Catholic bishops’ national organization, the National Catholic Welfare Conference, were sometimes humorously described as “the Democratic Party at prayer.”

The bishops were generally laid back politically in those years, but behind the scenes they cultivated their relationship with the White House and had close ties with congressional friends like Rep. John McCormack of Massachusetts, Speaker of the House of Representatives from 1962 until he retired in 1971.

Meanwhile, though, a shift in the political situation of Catholics had been taking place. Post-World War II social and economic factors like the GI Bill-fueled increase in the number of Catholics attending college and a population shift to the fast-growing suburbs had a lot to do with it, but the political catalyst was the presidency of Dwight D. Eisenhower. Americans in large numbers were responsive to the slogan “I like Ike,” and Catholics liked Ike as much as anybody else, helping to elect the World War II hero to the presidency in 1952 and reelecting him in 1956.

Four years later, however, the candidacy of John F. Kennedy, the first Catholic to run for president since Al Smith in 1928, won back many of those Catholic voters to the Democratic Party, and after Kennedy many of them remained Democrats. But as time passed, the Catholic vote in presidential elections more and more tended to swing back and forth between Republicans and Democrats.

A turning point for the Catholic bishops came in 1976, an election year, when a high-level group from the bishops’ national organization met successively with Democratic candidate Jimmy Carter and Republican President Gerald Ford. The bishops came away saying they were “disappointed” by Carter’s refusal to support a pro-life amendment to the Constitution and “encouraged” by Ford’s backing. A firestorm of criticism then engulfed the bishops for supposedly intervening in politics.

Since then, the hierarchy has generally steered clear of direct political interventions. Instead, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ conference publishes a quadrennial summary of its views on a range of current issues. As if to underline its hands-off approach, “Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship” comes out a year before a presidential election and seems to only receive limited attention. The bishops have said they mean to try some other approach after the 2024 vote.

For Catholics generally, the last several presidential elections reflect a change in Catholic voting habits in sharp contrast with earlier days.

• 2008: Fifty-six percent of white Catholic voters supported GOP presidential candidate Sen. John McCain of Arizona who lost to Democrat Sen. Barack Obama.
• 2012: Obama was reelected, while 56% of the white Catholic vote went to the GOP’s Sen. Mitt Romney of Utah.
• 2016: Republican Donald Trump got 60% of the white Catholic vote while defeating Democrat Hillary Clinton.
• 2020: Democrat Sen. Joe Biden defeated Trump, who received 63% of the votes of Catholics who attend Mass monthly or more often, and 53% of the votes of Catholics who attend less frequently.

We shall find out shortly where Catholic voters stand in 2024.

For many Catholics (and others), the big (though hardly only) political question is where opposing abortion and pressing pro-life issues will find a home. The Democratic Party is now solidly pro-abortion. President Joe Biden, a Catholic, toed the party’s pro-choice line during his years in the White House, while Kamala Harris and Tim Walz, her running mate, are aggressive supporters of legal abortion. There is no realistic chance that the Democratic party will back off from its support for abortion in the foreseeable future.

The Republican Party, meanwhile, has done some backing off of its own — away from a strongly pro-life stance, that is. The subject vanished from the GOP platform this year, and Trump has made it clear he thinks he did enough for pro-lifers by naming three new Supreme Court justices who helped overturn a nearly 50-year-old decision that invented a constitutional right to abortion.

Having named those new justices, Trump says he now means to concentrate on regaining the presidency without having to make any new promises to pro-lifers. That leaves them with the assurance, such as it is, that, if elected, Trump and his running mate J.D. Vance won’t actively promote abortion, while if it’s Harris and Walz you can bet they will.

• Part 1: On Faith in the Life of a ChristianWe don’t see Jesus Christ, but we feel and are clearly aware that He is our sole hope, our only joy, our one salvation, and without Him we can only be unhappy, powerless, perishing, and deprived of truth, righteousness, justice, and goodness.

  “>On Faith in the Life of a Christian

• Part 2: On Battling PrideGod is our life, our strength, our Judge!

  “>On Battling Pride

• Part 3: The Spirit, and SpiritsThe spiritual life requires gradual growth, as in any other kind of life, but even more careful, for spiritual strength increases only in proportion to our own labors and depends on the strengthening of virtues and the development of purity of heart.

  “>The Spirit, and Spirits

• Part 4: The Role of Christian WomenHow infinitely far they are from understanding the true glory and majesty of the mother of a family who raises her son in truth, in selflessness, and in obedience, instilling in his heart unshakable faith and a living, active love for God and men as the foundation of life, Christianity, virtues, strength, and patriotism.

  “>The Role of Christian Women

• Part 5: On Seeking the Kingdom of GodThrough Jesus Christ, men were reunited with the eternal God and received eternal life. No matter how much they try to twist and distort God’s law, the eternal death of human souls has been destroyed, and eternal life is inevitable! Eternal life is knowing the one true God and Jesus Christ Whom He sent.

  “>On Seeking the Kingdom of God

• Part 6: On Love of God and Love of the WorldThat we might not perish, we must cleave with all our heart and all our thoughts to our Lord Jesus Christ, for no one can do anything worthy of salvation if he doesn’t abide in Him.

  “>On Love of God and Love of the World

• Part 7: Merciful Is the Man Who Does Good to the UnworthyMercy is a fruit of love, is inherent to it, just as warmth is inseparable from fire.

  “>Merciful Is the Man Who Does Good to the Unworthy

• Part 8: On Cultivating a Prayerful SpiritTrue Christians are always quickly heard by the saints because they are of the same spirit.

  “>On Cultivating a Prayerful Spirit

• Part 9: The Silence of the TheotokosLet us listen to the silence of Mary and learn from her! What does this incomprehensible spiritual labor mean? That Mary is a perfect vessel of grace.

  “>The Silence of the Theotokos

• Part 10: On the Monastic LifeThe monastic life is arduous, filled with sorrows and ascetic struggles. Therefore, people of the world rarely understand it.

  “>On the Monastic Life

• Part 11: Cleansing the Heart and Mind Through RepentanceThe most perfect and greatest thing a man can desire and achieve is drawing near to God and abiding in solitude with Him.

  “>Cleansing the Heart and Mind Through Repentance

• Part 12: The Path to Healing and SalvationFirst, glorify God, thank Him and ask for guidance, and then look after your desires and decisions!

  “>The Path to Healing and Salvation

Photo: culture.ru     

Family

How can mankind count on a new life, a better one, when people violate the foundation of all well-being and joy in life—the sanctity of the family?

Either our family life must be sanctified and strengthened, or the inevitable destruction of not only the state and the Church but also the people will follow!

The heart

The heart is the center of human life, and sets all feelings, thoughts, intentions, desires, and aspirations into motion.

If it’s pure and holy with sincere love for God, then the whole man is pure, holy, devoted to God, guided by the fear of God and an understanding of the truth of God. Conversely, if the heart is full of passions, devoted to vices, full of sinful aspirations, then from it proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies (Mt. 15:19).

As a man’s heart is, so is the whole man, such is his whole way of thought and judgment, such are all his desires and aspirations, such are all his words and deeds. Only the heart serves as the focus of our passions and sinful habits, and therefore everyone must be able to distinguish the state of the heart, to listen to its feeling and movements, to recognize passions and find explanations for the thoughts in the heart.

The success of spiritual struggle, true repentance, and correction of our shortcomings depends on the habit of listening to and looking closely at the movements and desires of the heart.

It’s impossible to refrain from even a single sin until the passions that generate these sins disappear from your heart. The heart, caught in its sinful inclination, will first and foremost be constrained in its freedom of action. But then, if we sincerely turn to the Lord with a tearful prayer, entreating help to uproot the passion, it will lose its former influence over our mind, and inevitably, all thoughts, desires, and aspirations will begin to change.

However, it happens that the heart doesn’t show its impurity, sinfulness, and depravity with the clarity and frankness necessary to counteract human willfulness, and it devises the most cunning ways to cover its passions by hypocrisy. Then we have to resort to proven saving and reproaching means, namely, fasting, prayer, reading Holy Scripture, and reproving the heart with the Word of God.

Hardness of heart, insensitivity, and the weakening caused by sloth are among the most dreadful ailments of the heart.

Hardheartedness is a consequence of a long sinful life without repentance, without struggle; and it leads the sinner to the point where he doesn’t see or feel his sins, doesn’t think about death, doesn’t fear the judgment of God.

The weakening of the heart by laziness leads to the disappearance of all spiritual and bodily powers: A man loses his faith, hope, love, and becomes despondent, insensitive, and useless to both himself and others.

The presence of malice or an unkind feeling in the heart is the surest sign that an unclean spirit has taken possession of it. Woe to those who recognize this unkind feeling as their own or as something just, for a Christian must have only love in his heart, and love can’t think evil!

For salvation, every man must guard his heart, destroying everything earthly and sinful in it, filling it with holy desires, God-pleasing thoughts, Heavenly and eternal blessings, turning it to the Savior, acquiring the sweetest silence of spirit, calling upon Him Who must be the only God of the Christian heart, with none besides Him.

Heart and mind

The On the Word to St. Silouan, “Keep Thy Mind in Hell and Despair Not”The path to humility is encapsulated in the advice that St. Silouan heard from God in his heart: “Keep thy mind in Hell and despair not.” Our generation especially struggles with pride and all of its trappings, and thus we have much to learn from the life of St. Silouan.

“>mind is the servant of the heart, and our heart is our life.

If the mind leads the heart to truth, to peace and joy, then it fulfills its calling, which means it is truth. If, on the contrary, it leads it to doubt, anxiety, languor, despondency and darkness, then it shuns its purpose and is certainly false.

The human mind is in complete slavish submission to the heart and fulfills all its impure aspirations and desires. Therefore, people sin despite the consciousness that they’re doing wrong and despite the desire to be guided by truth and goodness. It’s quite difficult to know truth and goodness; otherwise, all people would be righteous and kind.

Mistaken are those who don’t realize that truth and goodness are also known by the heart, which guides the will of man—not reason.

Is it really so difficult to test this on yourself? Who among those who reject the possibility of constantly knowing God’s will have lived piously and without error until now, based on their own reason and on the knowledge of good and evil? No one. And therefore it’s necessary to understand and agree with the truth that our entire nature is perverted.

The mind, the heart, the will are damaged by sin. A man is divided within himself, having, as it were, two forces in an unending struggle with each other. Therefore, man’s comprehension of truth and goodness isn’t absolute, but relative. One man takes human righteousness for truth, and another—for a lie. One man calls good what another considers absolute evil.

Only the man who has received the regenerating and enlightening grace of the Holy Spirit in his heart and has thereby modified his mind can say he possesses clear, pure, unmistakable reason.

Only the man who has inclined to renounce his free and sinful will and has united it with the will of God truly knows the truth and true goodness.

When the Spirit of God dwells in the heart, then man no longer has to be guided by his imperfect mind, but only by a heartfelt feeling; that is, the truth that lives in him.

As deeply as a seed roots itself into the ground, so tall, strong, and wide does the plant grow. The same is true of the heart: The more deeply all that is good and holy takes root within it, the more the human mind rises and expands to comprehend Christ’s truth and to contemplate all that is Divine and eternal.

Sorrows

Sorrows are the best harbingers of the will of God, and from the beginning of the age they have served as a sign of God’s election.

God acts on a man’s life as a doctor. There are painful conditions that may seem minor and non-threatening, but a knowledgeable doctor finds it necessary to use severe medical treatments to treat them.

The Heavenly Physician doesn’t always start healing a spiritual illness. His gaze penetrates into the depths of the soul, revealing there the germ of sin, passion, self-will, and the mixture of good and evil intentions. Through trials, he brings these harmful elements to the surface for healing, elevating the soul to a higher purity.

He loves, has mercy, cleanses, heals, and prepares us for blessedness; and we look and say: “How harshly He afflicts us!”

We suffer according to the will of God, according to the will of Him from Whom every good gift and every perfect gift [comes] from above (Jas. 1:17), according to the will of Him Who feeds a bird that is not even worth a farthing (Mt. 10:29), Who adorns the grass of the field more splendidly than Solomon was arrayed in his glory (Mt. 6:28-30).

How could it be that He Who cares for a sparrow and the grass would not protect a man, even if it means leading him through fire and water when He finds it necessary?

How could it be that He Who shows His mercy to evil people would not show His justice to those who suffer innocently?

“If the Good One sends suffering, then of course there is something good in suffering,” says St. Philaret.

Do tribulations and trials always lead to faith? After all, physical and spiritual illnesses and misfortunes often harden people, aggravate them, and lead them to murmuring and the loss of the little faith and love for God that they had before their tribulations. Why does it happen that these trials and woes cause some to draw nearer to the Lord and saves them, while others distance themselves and spiritually perish?

Is it not, beloved brothers and sisters, because some have the right spiritual development, knowledge of the faith, and others don’t? Some understand the love of God so much that they see it even in trials and tribulations, while others are completely beyond this understanding.

If that’s the case, it’s only natural that, given their differences, they couldn’t all respond to, accept, feel, or understand the meaning, purpose, significance, and benefit of the trials and tribulations permitted by the Lord in the same way.

A word to communicants

Beloved! Know ye not that ye are the temple of God (1 Cor. 3:16), and Christ Himself is in you? Guard the holiness of your temple and keep the purity of your heart! Pray to the Savior Who dwells within you—not with words but with your spirit, contemplating the Treasure within. Pray joyfully, sincerely, fervently, and without ceasing.

Praise the love of the Son of God Who voluntarily gave Himself up to death on the Cross for your salvation!

Praise His boundless mercy, which has allowed you to experience repentance, rebirth, forgiveness, and a new resurrection!

Praise Him not only with your mouth, but with all your heart, feelings, thoughts, and every breath, as do the holy angels in churches, surrounding the Lamb of God at the throne!

After all, your soul has sought the Lord and found Him! It was languishing, worried, and sick, and Christ destroyed all this by giving you His peace.

You were weak, infirm, powerless to fight, and the Lord of Hosts united you with Himself in order to live with you, to suffer with you, and fight for you. You’ve been enlightened by the Divine light, and your former ignorance is gone. What more could you desire or seek? Where else could your heart be directed when you’re justified, reborn through baptism, purified, and made holy?

The past is condemned, it’s far away, it’s been erased. Would you really want to return to the life that deprived you of peace, joy, peace of conscience, purity, understanding of truth, humility, meekness, temperance, and alienated you from the Heavenly Father?

If you could be returned to childhood, to youth, to the distant past so that you could start life anew, would you repeat the same mistakes, falls, and sins? Surely, you would use your experience and begin to live carefully, guarding yourself against temptations and familiar errors.

Oh, beloved, you’ve now returned not just to the distant past, but to the very beginning of life, to your Baptism, and you’re given the opportunity to remember in both mind and heart all the sins you’ve committed, which threatened your destruction.

Begin this new life using your past experience; savor your happiness, hold on to the Lord Christ within you—your light, your strength, your peace, your joy! The Lord is nigh unto them that are of a contrite heart, and He will save the humble of spirit (Ps. 33:18). Amen.

Service to God

Does the Lord need our service? It’s needed insomuch as it proves our love for Him…

In praying, we serve God, but we firstly need this prayer for ourselves, since only through sincere prayer can mankind receive all that it needs.

By refraining from idle talk and condemnation, we serve God—because we fulfill His commandment, but mainly we save ourselves from condemnation on the day of the Dread Judgment.

By studying Holy Scripture and every science, we serve God, because as we learn the law of God, the commandments of the Creator Himself, we learn to know the Creator through creation. But at the same time, we perfect ourselves.

In diligence, in obedience to parents, in caring for our neighbors and the poor, in all good things, we serve God as faithful and honest children, as true, loving disciples of Christ, fulfilling His will.

Episcopal ministry

Most secular people see the episcopal rank as the satisfaction of human vanity. This is ignorance of the sacrificial nature of the episcopal dignity, which the Holy Fathers call voluntary martyrdom!

Was it not to the bishops first of all that Jesus Christ said in the person of His Apostles: In the world ye shall have tribulation (Jn. 16:33); ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you (Jn. 15:19)?

The Word of God loudly proclaims that the bishops are entrusted with the people of the Lord and that they have to feed the Church of God, which He hath purchased with His own blood (Acts 20:28), that they bear heavy responsibility for every soul entrusted to them and are obliged to speak, exhort, and rebuke with all authority (Tit. 2:15), and that the elders that rule well be counted worthy of double honour, especially they who labour in the word and doctrine (1 Tim. 5:17).

But in our difficult and wicked days, the voice of the hierarchs is drowned out by the voices and crises of the ringleaders of various sects, preachers of countless faiths and denials, and more recently, by advocates of an unprecedented madness in history—Christianity without Christ and humanitarianism without the name of God.

The modern spirit, hostile to the Church and the state, to religion and morality, is so strong that bishops are condemned to relentless, multifaceted struggles and deep spiritual anguish. They are drawn into ignorant disputes, which the holy Apostle commands to avoid, knowing that they do gender strifes (2 Tim. 2:23). They are burdened with countless legal and various other matters, complaints, requests, and demands, most of which are unsolvable, leading only to dissatisfaction among supplicants who are weakened in faith and obedience to the Church, to misunderstandings within the intellectual strata of society, and to endless martyrdom.

Humility

Humility is primarily a virtue of the mind. Therefore, this virtue is quite often referred to in Holy Scripture as “humble-mindedness.” What is humble-mindedness? Humble-mindedness is “man’s correct understanding of mankind” (St. Ignatius Brianchaninov

“>St. Ignatius [Brianchaninov). Therefore, it is man’s correct understanding of himself.

Conscience

The conscience proclaims to us the laws of Heaven, obliges us to fulfill them, judges us according to these laws, and rewards or punishes. It is the strength of spirit that, aware of both the law and freedom, defines their mutual relationship.

The conscience distinguishes good from bad more clearly than the mind. You can dull, drown out, or numb your conscience through a sinful life, but it’s impossible to kill it, and it will accompany you until the Dread Judgment.

When my wife and I attended the gala dinner for the Carmelite Sisters of the Most Sacred Heart of Los Angeles, the last thing on my mind was that I would be writing about an oak tree. More about that later.

The University Club in Pasadena may be a world away from the Vatican, but what I saw at the Carmelite gala made me think of the overriding themes being discussed at the Synod on Synodality. In short, I saw a specific and profound role women are playing in the Church and I saw an awful lot of listening. I was reminded about a particular oak tree that only seemed at the time to be a wayward thought of a tangled mind.

My family’s path intersected with the Carmelite Sisters when our mother, ravaged by Alzheimer’s, found a place of refuge at Santa Teresita in Duarte, the facility operated by the Carmelites. Hard to imagine that was decades ago and at that time there was a hospital and the “manor,” a full-service round-the-clock facility for the aged and those like my mom who had been robbed of their ability to communicate and tend to their own needs.

For a host of reasons — including finances and burdensome regulations — the hospital as well as the manor are gone. The sisters pivoted and opened a beautiful state-of-the-art assisted-living complex known as the Good Shepherd and Cristo Rey Cottages. There, people with various levels of independence find friendship, a sense of community, and overflowing spiritual abundance.

This reservoir of grace was first filled by the order’s foundress, Venerable Mother María Luisa Josefa of the Most Blessed Sacrament. Even 90 years ago she knew the role she, as a woman and a religious, was being asked by Christ to fulfill. And she was working remotely generations before people knew what that term meant. Though she began the order in Los Angeles, Luisa spent a lot of time in Mexico, where she would keep tabs on things happening up north via coded messages.

The reason for the codes was due to the grisly fact that at that time in Mexico’s history, its government’s suppression of the Church was homicidal.

Undaunted, Luisa’s order of sisters flourished. The order took care of women and girls suffering from tuberculosis and transitioned to elderly care while simultaneously teaching in archdiocesan schools. To be precise, they held the dual roles of accompanying souls at both ends of their spiritual journeys.

But what does this have to do with an oak tree? Be patient.

At the gala, it was clear the Carmelite Sisters of the Most Sacred Heart of Los Angeles still know what their role in the Church is. And it was equally transparent that they were a “listening” group of women, especially when their ears were oriented upward. You could even say their hearing when it comes to heavenly instructions — what they should do and how they should act — is acute.

Lately, they have been receiving news of two miraculous healings associated with prayers of intercession toward Luisa. A case of terminal cancer gone, and another of “permanent” paralysis overcome, cannot be medically explained. The sisters hold out hope that this is a sign their beloved foundress may be close to becoming St. Mother Luisita.

And now about that oak tree.

After the dinner and program ended, it was time to say goodbye to our friends. My wife and I were speaking with Sister Mary Scholastica. We reminisced about those many years ago when my mom resided at the manor. We lamented the loss of the manor facility on the Santa Teresita property. My wife recalled when we visited my mom with our then-young children, we would take her out into the courtyard and sit under the shade of a massive oak tree. It was a thing of majesty and beauty. Scholastica, who is part of my Angelus fan club, said I should write an article about that tree. And here it is.

The manor is gone, but the sisters pray for instructions from above as to how best to move forward and grow their mission to take care of the elderly. The oak stands sentry near the empty manor building, still alive, though its tree-sized limbs that grow parallel to the ground are supported by large metal poles.

Scholastica was right. I did need to write about that oak tree because it embodies what the Carmelite Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Los Angeles are all about. They hold us up with their prayers and with their works. And we do not have to be passive receptors of this grace but do our own part to keep that oak tree up, with our prayers for each of them and our material support of their common mission. 

I’m still thinking of that oak tree at Santa Teresita and how it is now a symbol of God’s gift of creation. What a wonderful opportunity it still presents for some time in the shade, some time for prayer, and some time to listen.

A sketch for the painting, At the Doctor’s. Artist: Marina Ivanova About HumilityThus, we should learn humility not from angels, not from men, not from the great books of the Gospel, but from Christ Himself, for He calls us to this.

“>Humility is one of the most important Christian virtues. When I was just coming to the faith and integrating into church life, it seemed to me that this quality came from weakness, from an unwillingness or inability to fight, resist, and respond to injustice.

And only a few stories from real life made me understand with my heart and accept that strength is in humility, in the ability to accept the How to know the will of God?In the course of our lives, we are often faced with the choice of how to proceed, which path to walk down, and not just to walk down, but how to know that this path corresponds to God’s will for us. And how can we know the will of God? How do we know that we’re making the right choice? Several pastors of the Russian Church offer their advice.

“>will of God and in faith in the Lord’s mercy.

During my student years I lived in the main campus of Moscow State University on Vorobyovy Gory in Moscow. Nino, a postgraduate student from Georgia, lived in the next room. She was kind and even-tempered, but something in her irritated me: She seemed too “ideal” and calm to me, I wanted to make fun of her or even hurt her. Nino’s relatives often came to visit her, and after dinner they would sing beautiful Georgian songs together. My friends and I would start shouting them down and parodying them loudly for our amusement. Our neighbors would get embarrassed and stop singing. We were confident in our “omnipotence”, that we could easily and quickly silence others and spoil their good mood. One day Nino caught up with me when I was returning from my morning jog and handed me a bag of huge, juicy apples. She said:

“You study and work hard. I saw you on TV at a press conference. Please take them—these are living vitamins…”

I felt ashamed. I played jokes on her, murdered those touching Georgian songs, and considered it an “achievement”, while this woman was treating me to apples instead of berating me, rebuking me, taking offence, and no longer speaking to me. I stopped at of the front door, fiddling about with the bag. I wanted to apologize, struggling to find appropriate words, but Nino left quickly. Of course, we did not interfere with our neighbor’s singing anymore.

I recall my grandmother Praskovya Prokofievna. For me she was a model of faith, kindness, humility and love for people. She would have done the same if she had been in Nino’s place; she would have been driven by love, not malice. Her ability to forgive everyone, humble herself and believe in the mercy of the Lord was amazing. One day my mother’s wallet with all her pay was stolen in a store. My mother and I went home empty-handed and burst into tears of desperation over the injustice, and only my grandmother comforted us, saying:

“The Lord will not forsake us. Someone needed this money more than we did. Maybe a child whose mother is sick has stolen it. And it’s pointless to go to the police anyway—you can’t even describe the pickpocket.”

We tried to argue with her, saying terrible words about the thief and wishing cruel punishment upon him. My grandma stopped us, “Never wish ill upon anyone or curse anyone.” Her favorite argument was the following:

“When the Lord was crucified, the people He had helped mocked Him, saying, ‘Save Thyself.’ But did the Lord get angry or curse them? Anger does not look good on your young and beautiful faces…”

My mother and I began to complain that we would be left without lunch for the next few days, because we were wanting to cook beef borscht for a week in advance, we stood in line to buy some beef, it had been weighed for us, but the wallet disappeared from the bag… Grandma just smiled: “We won’t starve.”

In the evening, a former patient of my grandmother’s came to us unexpectedly. Praskovya Prokofievna used to work as an obstetrician in Baku for many years. Our unexpected guest had a complicated birth more than twenty years before, as a result of which a healthy four-kilogram boy was born. The woman arrived from Azerbaijan with her husband and adult son. After serving in the army, her son was going to get married, and his parents found our address in Moscow, wishing to thank my grandmother for her conscientious work and for treating her patients with love. Large baskets full of fruits, ripe tomatoes, ready-made dolma, and various oriental desserts were brought to our apartment in several batches. A splendid natural rug was brought especially for my grandmother. There were enough gifts not just for a week, but even until the next payday. And we had been angry and crying that we could not cook borscht… My classmates, appreciating the ripe pears and quinces, joked: “How can we make your guests from the Caucasus come unexpectedly more often?”

There were many other cases when my grandmother, with her humility, turned out to be right.

My brother has a congenital heart disease, and the district pediatrician kept promising to ensure an operation for him. She assured us that it was a miracle that he had already lived to age seven, but we couldn’t take anymore risks. We went through all the doctors, from a neurologist to an ophthalmologist, my brother had all the necessary tests done, but the chief physician kept refusing to give consent for surgery. We bothered, trying to obtain his consent with the help of sweets, words, our acquaintances, and even an with envelope with money. But all in vain.

We were in utter “Despair is for Those Who Are Attached to the Material”Elder Justin (Parvu; 1919-2013) was one of the most famous Romanian spiritual fathers. We present here several of his spiritual counsels, gathered from various publications.

“>despair. Only my grandmother tried to calm us down and said, “If the Lord allows this, we must humble ourselves and hope for the mercy of the Lord.” My parents even raised their voices at her, “How much longer will we have to humble ourselves? We may lose the child, and you keep pestering us with your ‘mercy’ and ‘may Thy will be done’!” My grandmother did not argue, but would retire to her room to quietly pray.

A month later our acquaintances arranged for us a meeting with a leading cardiologist and heart surgeon, an academician. And then it turned out that my brother did not need a surgery, and it was even contraindicated in his condition. Having studied my brother’s medical record and anamnesis, the cardiologist concluded that in his case, the heart should be viewed as a muscle that can and should be trained:

“He will never be an Olympic champion, or even just an athlete. Let him try and find himself in another field. But swimming and therapeutic exercise with breaks are welcome, and he will live till a very old age.”

Again, my grandmother was right. We could have continued to argue with the head physician, looking for other opportunities—and who knows how it would have ended?

Many years later, when I was over forty and became pregnant again, my acquaintances and some doctors tried to persuade me that it was unsafe to have a baby at that age and with a history of cancer. Not rudely, but persistently they hinted at the “termination of pregnancy”. I don’t consider myself a heroine and admit that it was scary. I grumbled: “What have I done to deserve this?” I feared blood tests and routine ultrasounds; I was afraid to hear about possible pathologies in the baby and was worried that my body would be too weak to give birth. I remembered how my grandmother sincerely believed in the mercy of the Lord, how she remained humble in the face of any successes, gains, difficulties and losses, and I stopped doubting and grumbling. I gave birth to a healthy baby on my own, without medical intervention. This childbirth was easier than the very first one, which I had at the age of twenty-two: there were none of the typical pains associated with labor contractions and we were almost late to the hospital. The doctors said, “You agreed to a fourth pregnancy, saved it, carried your baby properly to term—and so you deserved painless delivery.”

I was supported and strengthened by confession and Communion, festive Liturgies, and pilgrimages to the Holy Trinity-St. Sergius Lavra. When I prayed before the icons of the Mother of God and other saints for a safe delivery, I remembered and repeated my grandmother’s words: “May Thy will be done!”

When asked how I had made up my mind to have another child at that age and had not feared, I would joke: “Not just at forty-four, but a fourth child at forty-four! And I did not fear because the Lord is always with us.”

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit!

Photo: wikipedia.org Dear brothers and sisters, today we are celebrating one of the most venerated icons of the Mother of God in Russia. The Iveron Icon was revealed on Holy Mount Athos in the tenth century and became famous for many miracles. We recall that this icon appeared to the monks in a pillar of fire in the sea. The monks brought it ashore. The Mother of God revealed in a vision to the abbot of the Iveron Monastery that She was the Protectress of this monastery, of Mt. Athos, and of all Christendom.

In 1648, a replica of this icon was brought from Mt. Athos to Russia. Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich ordered a replica to be painted and brought to Moscow. In the capital this icon was placed in the chapel at the Resurrection Gate of Red Square. Before the Revolution, both the capital city’s residents and its guests would begin every important work with prayer to the Queen of Heaven before of Her wonderworking icon. Unfortunately, the chapel was destroyed in the Soviet era and was not restored until 1995, when another replica of the wonderworking Iveron Icon was brought from Mt. Athos again.

Commemorating this holy icon, we turn to the Mother of God, asking Her to protect us from troubles and give us strength. But do we fully understand what it means to entrust ourselves to Her care?

The Lord has vouchsafed me to visit Holy Mount Athos a number of times. It was both a great joy and a great discovery for me. There you encounter a different reality, you see a thousand-year-old monastic tradition and a very special—filial, reverent and at the same time very sober—attitude towards God and the Mother of God. The monks are children of God, who live by the service of Christ and by unceasing prayer.

Monks often say that the Most Holy Theotokos is the Abbess of Mt. Athos. She rules there and treats both monks and pilgrims alike in a motherly way. I had heard about it before visiting Holy Mount Athos, but I had not fully understood the meaning of these words. Once there, I was faced with a different reality. You make plans, but everything unfolds in an absolutely different way. The Mother of God begins to control your abilities, plans, and decisions. The spiritual fathers say that we simply must trust Her. But in order to hear the call of the Most Holy Virgin, we need to give up our searches and desires. However, we are used to saying, “I want this! God, grant it to me! Do as I please!” We want the will of God to match ours, not vice versa.

Each monastery and each skete of Mt. Athos has a specially venerated icon of the Mother of God. I often saw that the place of the bishop or the abbot was not occupied, even when they were present at the church. The monks are sure that the Queen of Heavens rules the monastery, whereas the abbot is just Her deputy and helps Her rule it. But at the same time, at the Athonite monasteries I saw amazing, unquestioning obedience to the spiritual elders and spiritual guides. Holy Hierarch Ignatius (Brianchaninov) said that spirit-bearing elders can appear in a society or a community where there are people truly seeking the will of God.

I wish all of us to seek this will. How can we do it? We must be able to trust God, Whose will is revealed to us through our father-confessors, spiritual guides, and parents. It is important when in our lives we are guided not only by our own thoughts, but also by the wise advice of someone we trust and obey. For if you rely on your mind and trust only yourself, then sooner or later you will make a mistake. Let us keep this in mind as we honor the memory of the Queen of Heaven.

I give you my heartfelt greetings on this feast. Let me remind you that there are two Iveron icons at our church. The first one, kept at the cathedral for many years, was painted in the early twentieth century at St. Panteleimon’s Monastery on Mt. Athos. The second one was painted for the cathedral last year by icon-painters of the “Lik” (“Face”) Palekh workshop. The icon is the same size as the Athonite original and very similar in style. These relics are a gift to each of us, so let’s thank God for them. Happy feast, dear brothers and sisters! May God bless you!

Photo: pixy.org     

The Reading from the Holy Gospel according to St. Luke. (8:5-15)

The God who created the whole universe loves us. He loves us so much that He sent His only begotten Son to us, to live among us, to speak with us, to teach us, to suffer with us and to die with us. This son and Lord Jesus Christ often taught us in stories or parables. These parables are not given to entertain the people. They are not given to make the people fearful. They are given to us out of love for us. Our Lord is trying to reach each of us. The parables that were spoken 2000 years ago are not meant to sit in a book unread, gathering dust on your shelves. The word of the Lord is meant to enter deep into your hearts to bring you back to life. Glory to God for sharing His love with us through these beautiful words.

Today we hear the familiar The Parable of the SowerWhoever desires to know the truth, whoever does not silence the voice of conscience within himself, let him ponder the meaning of this parable and apply it to himself…

“>story of the sower who went out to sow his seed. He is a good farmer. He casts the seed everywhere. He desires that everyone should have this seed and that this seed should one day bear fruit. He is a good farmer. His seed is also good. But there is one more component to the equation. What makes the difference between whether the seed will bear fruit or fail to produce? The difference boils down to the quality of the soil. And that is where each of us comes in. The Lord in speaking this parable reminds us that we have a part to play in our own salvation. St. Paul writes about this in Philippians 2:12 when he says “work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.” St. Paul would never say such a thing if your salvation was guaranteed. Why would he write such things to a Christian community unless he knew that they needed to hear and be reminded of it?

The meaning is reinforced in this parable of our Lord Jesus Christ. He speaks of the seed that fell on rocky ground. This rocky ground is a symbol of those who receive the word with joy and believe for a short while but then in times of temptation and trouble, they fall away because they have no roots. Most of us who are here in this room will not fall into the category of the first soil that is mentioned, the seed that fell among the path. Because we have believe and we are here. So it leaves us with only three possibilities, either the soil of our hearts is rocky, or covered in thorns or it is good soil that is able to bring forth fruitfully.

What can we as Christians do to prepare the soil of our hearts to receive the seed, to receive the word of God? And what is the word of God? Some think the word of God is a reference to the Bible. But in actuality the word of God is really a reference to Jesus Christ Himself. He is the word.

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men….He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. He came to his own, and his own peoplec did not receive him. But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.”

So it’s clear that Jesus is the word. And what must I do to prepare the soil of my heart to receive Him fully? What does a farmer do? In the beginning he tills the soil. He breaks up the clumps and the hard earth. Likewise, we do this through our own repentance. We take time daily to reflect and ask God to forgive us of all our sins. When we really do this we make the soil soft and ready to receive the word. Those of you that are Orthodox Christians should make plans to come to confession every so often. His Eminence Metropolitan Saba asks that we confess about 2-4 times a year. It’s not much but it is the difference between thriving spiritual life and just going through the motions. The sins you are covering and failing to confess, are the sins that are your master and they keep you from growing deeper roots in Christ. Confession is a bit painful. It brings up our shame. But confession releases us from the bondage of the shame and the courageous act of humility breaks open the heart so that the grace of the Holy Spirit can enter and effect powerful change within us. This is how we break up the hardened soil of the heart. This allows the Word of God to dwell deeply within us.

So we’ve spoken briefly of repentance, confession. Let’s continue talking about how we nourish the soil of our hearts with the sacrament of Eucharist or Holy Communion. For an Orthodox Christian, one of the ultimate spiritual weapons in our warfare is Holy Communion. We believe that the Holy Spirit transforms the offering of bread and wine into something much more. Into the very body and blood of Jesus Christ. The bread and wine continue to have the properties of bread and wine. Yet the are changed in a spiritual manner into the mystical body and blood of Christ. When all else fails as a Christian, the sacrament of the eucharist won’t fail us if we approach with a humble and faithful heart.

Listen to the words of St. Cyril of Alexandria,

“If the poison of pride is swelling up in you, turn to the Eucharist; and that Bread, Which is your God humbling and disguising Himself, will teach you humility. If the fever of selfish greed rages in you, feed on this Bread; and you will learn generosity. If the cold wind of coveting withers you, hasten to the Bread of Angels; and charity will come to blossom in your heart. If you feel the itch of intemperance, nourish yourself with the Flesh and Blood of Christ, Who practiced heroic self-control during His earthly life; and you will become temperate. If you are lazy and sluggish about spiritual things, strengthen yourself with this heavenly Food; and you will grow fervent. Lastly, if you feel scorched by the fever of impurity, go to the banquet of the Angels; and the spotless Flesh of Christ will make you pure and chaste.”

In essence, St. Cyril says that the sacrament will give you whatever you are lacking in your spiritual struggle. So don’t neglect this part of your walk with Christ.

This my friends, is our path if we want the Lord to consider that we are good rather than bad soil. This is our path if we want to find a place to keep the word of God in our hearts. This is our path if we want to travel the narrow path that leads to life everlasting. AMEN.

Some two dozen works of the late Pope Benedict XVI’s pre-papal writings will be made available in English, many for the first time, in a new translation project led by the academic division of Word on Fire Catholic Ministries.

Libreria Editrice Vaticana, the Vatican’s publishing house, has granted Word on Fire the exclusive English-language rights to translate and publish the collected works of Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, which were written in the late pope’s native German.

Word on Fire announced the news in an Oct. 24 press release, with the nonprofit’s founder, Bishop Robert E. Barron of Winona-Rochester, Minnesota, describing the value of the works as “inestimable.”

“They will serve future generations as a great repository not only of theological and spiritual wisdom, but of the history of a particular moment in the life of the Church,” said Bishop Barron in the statement.

Prior to his election as pope in 2005, Ratzinger, a prolific theologian and an expert witness at the Second Vatican Council, had headed up the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, as well as the Pontifical Biblical Commission, the Pontifical International Theological Commission, and the drafting committee of the Catechism of the Catholic Church.

The late pope, who stepped down in 2013 and died in 2022, specifically described his vocation as “theological,” according to his Vatican biography.

Yet only half of his works are currently available in English, Jason Paone, editor of Word on Fire Academic — one of Word on Fire’s four publishing imprints — told OSV News.

Of the 25 volumes that according to Word on Fire comprise the collected works of Ratzinger, “roughly half have never been translated into English nor published,” said Paone.

A collection of Ratzinger’s works under the title “Theology of the Liturgy” was released in English by Ignatius Press in 2014, a year after the publisher issued the late pope’s three-volume “Jesus of Nazareth” set.

Word on Fire Academic plans to work with Ignatius, as well as other publishers and institutions, to continue the series to bring all 25 volumes to the market over the next 12 years.

The series will be edited by theologian Tracey Rowland, author of “Ratzinger’s Faith: The Theology of Pope Benedict XVI” and “Benedict XVI: A Guide for the Perplexed,” and winner of the Ratzinger Prize for Theology.

Rowland admitted in the press release that the project poses “a mammoth task.”

Paone told OSV News the undertaking will require intensive collaboration among German-language translation specialists and theologians, who will strive to ensure that Ratzinger’s words are reborn into English with precision.

“Ratzinger is a terrific stylist,” said Paone, adding that “German is a particularly difficult language.

“Germans love really long sentences and nested clauses; capital (letters) are everywhere,” he said. “I think that getting any German texts — especially a complex, sophisticated, philosophical or theological German text — fully translated into English is a trick.”

At times, said Paone, “the tendency of some translators, when they’re dealing with a particularly difficult text, is to sort of just translate word for word, and create a word for word equivalence in English, which will result in like a really long sentence and some like really awkward constructions and nested clauses.

“And in English, we don’t like those long sentences … (with) a bunch of nested subordinate clauses,” he continued. “The nature of German is going to be one of the biggest obstacles.”

Ratzinger himself “is a sophisticated thinker and some of his works are particularly difficult, full of citations to works in German, some of which have been translated, others haven’t,” Paone added. “So we’re going to have to sort through all of those complexities.”

He noted that while some of the project’s translators may begin their work using artificial intelligence to render a rough draft of the text before an in-depth manual review, “it will take careful shepherding of the project to make sure we get all the details right.”

Rowland said in the release that bringing Ratzinger’s complete works to English-language audiences will make a “long-term contribution to Catholic scholarship” that will be “immeasurable.”

Paone told OSV News that he suspects that the late pope, as “a self-effacing man,” would be “kind of quietly pleased.”