Transcript of the Patriarchal Address on the Feast of Corpus Christ 2016

Transcript of the Patriarchal Address on the Feast of Corpus Christ 2016
Rutherford, Card. Patriach of St. Stephen

To the Members of the Court of St. Mary of Walsingham, to all the clergy and faithful under Our pastoral care, and indeed to all the clergy and faithful in Christ around the world, that all may be one, the grace and peace of our Lord, and Apostolic Blessings on this Feast of Corpus Christi in the year of our Lord 2016. As the Trinity season begun on Sunday, a mere four days ago, we will remark again that we consider the Trinity Season a great gift as a period of reflection on all that has recently been experienced. From the beginning of the liturgical year in Advent, we prepare for and experience the coming of our Lord to earth as man, the chief occasion being the Nativity. Then comes the period of the Manifestation of Christ to the Gentiles in which we welcome Christ likewise into our homes and our hearts. Next comes Lent, during which time we focus on the earthly ministry of our Lord, culminating in the going up to Jerusalem, the Passion, and the Crucifixion. Then comes the moment for which the world long waited and for which we wait in anticipation each year, the most important day of the liturgical calendar, the Easter Vigil and the Sunday of Resurrection, when the victory over the grave is complete. Yet Christ did not merely rise from the grave and disappear. He had more to do. He had to make plain His great victory, that all might believe and be saved. Thus begins the forty days from Easter to the Ascension - a marvelous time in which there is much to absorb. And, of course, the Feast of Christ's glorious Ascension itself does not even mark the end of Paschaltide, for our Lord promised to send the Holy Spirit. That we celebrate on Whitsunday and throughout Whitsunweek, inviting the Holy Spirit again into our hearts and renewing our openness to the work of the Spirit in Christ's Holy Church Militant. And so it is that Paschaltide ends immediately prior to the Feast of the Most Holy Trinity. God the Father was made known first to the Hebrew people. Then God the Son was made manifest on earth. Once our Lord's ministry on earth had been fulfilled, indeed in very fulfillment of the Hebrew Scriptures, He send the Third Person of the Holy Trinity, the Holy Spirit. It is truly right and even logical that the end of the Easter season ends with the Feast of the Holy Trinity.

So great and so deep is the mystery that we cannot hope to comprehend it all. There is much to learn each year. There is much personal growth that can take place if we only open our hearts to the truth of Christ. Thus we are given the marvelous gift of the Trinity season each year, following Paschaltide and continuing until the beginning of the next liturgical year with Advent. As the liturgy shows us the Persons of the Holy Trinity in Christmas and Epiphany, Lent and Easter, and Pentecost, the Trinity season lets us relax and reflect, taking in all that we have experienced, and marvel at the mystery and power of the combined Trinity.

Less than a week into Trinity season, though, comes the Feast of Corpus Christi. We celebrate and worship the Most Holy Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Savior of Mankind, the founder of the Holy Catholic Church, and the Supreme and Eternal King and Priest. We celebrate the fact that our Lord remains with us here on earth through His presence in the Most Holy Sacrament. Christ lives on the altar, which remains a true and living Sacrifice to which we may all join ourselves. As we begin Trinitytide, we receive the bold reminder of Christ's presence on earth so that we do not wander through Trintytide aimlessly, merely waiting for it all to begin again next year at Advent, but instead walk through like pilgrims with purpose. May we in our Patriarchate be pilgrims with purpose, letting our lives be as a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. Let us all seek Christ in all that we do and thereby lead a life filled with divinely-inspired purpose.

We are blessed in the Patriarchate of St. Stephen, the Anglican Rite Roman Catholic Church, to continue the legacy of Walsingham, of Rome, of Florence, and of Jerusalem. Our legacy is ancient and deep, and we drive forward in humility. To the members of Our Curia and Houeshold without whose assistance We could not so effectively serve, We thank you sincerely and give Our special blessing. And now, all may prepare to receive the blessing of our Lord.

Et Benedictio Dei omnipotentis, Patris, + et Filii, + et Spiritus + Sancti, descendat super vos and maneat semper. R. Amen.

Priest-Professor Honored by U.S. President, Inspires Selfless Service in Others

WASHINGTON 30 May 2016 (ORCNS) - Monsignor Rutherford Cardinal Johnson was recently honored by United States President Barack Obama with the Lifetime Achievement Award. The honor was given in recognition of over 4000 hours of volunteer service in organizational support, humanitarian efforts, and education on local, national, and global levels. 

Mgr. Rutherford Card. Johnson

Mgr. Rutherford is an economics lecturer at the University of Minnesota, an Adjunct Professor of Geography at the University of South Alabama, and a traditional Old Roman Catholic priest. He was previously was awarded the Gold Medal in the President's Volunteer Service Award program, the premier volunteer service recognition given by the President as part of an initiative to inspire people to take positive action to change the world. 

When asked about the honor, Mgr. Rutherford said, "Helping others is part of my clerical vocation and an integral part of my work as an educator. I commend the President for promoting volunteering service. Serving others and inspiring service in others is one of my greatest joys in life."

Franciscan Brother and Seminarian Ordained as Porter

LEXINGTON, KY 13 May 2016 (ORCNS) - Rev. Br. Dom Elliott Francis, TOR Mar. received the First Tonsure as a cleric and was ordained to the Order of Porter in the Old Roman Catholic Patriarchate of St. Stephen at Christ Church Cathedral today. Br. Elliott is a member of the Franciscan Third Order Regular of the Brothers and Sisters of Penance of the Blessed Virgin Mary (TOR Mar) and a seminarian. The officiant was Mgr. Rutherford Cardinal Johnson, Patriarch of St. Stephen. The First Tonsure, now a snipping of the hair in five locations in the form of a cross, is symbolic of the full round shave area of the head typically worn by clerics and religious in the past and still some today. 

Mgr. Rutherford, Card. Patriarch of St. Stephen,
administers the First Tonsure to Dom Elliott Francis

It is traditionally through the First Tonsure that a candidate enters the clerical state. The Order of Porter is the first of the Minor Holy Orders and is also typically a stepping stone on the way to the priesthood. During the ordination of a Porter, the candidate receives the keys to the church, opens the church doors, and rings the church bells, all symbolic of the traditional and historic duties of that office. 

An audience was held by theCardinal Patriarch prior to the
ordination during which time Dom Elliott (right)
took the oaths of ordination

The Patriarchal See of St. Stephen is an ancient, autonomous, semi-autocephalous Old Roman Catholic Patriarchate with Anglican patrimony descended from the Roman Catholic See of Utrecht. The See of Utrecht has remained independent since 1145, when the Holy See in Rome granted autonomy. Modernly also known as the Anglican Rite Roman Catholic Church (ARRCC), the Patriarchate continues administrative independence while embracing as brethren other Catholic and Anglican bodies, such as the current Roman Communion (commonly referred to as the Roman Catholic Church), the Anglican Ordinariate, and the Anglican Communion.

The Legion of the Eagle

14 April 2016 (ORCNS) - The Most Honorable Legion of the Eagle. This nobiliary society is the Christian successor of the ancient Roman Legion of the Eagle and is one of the three religious-dynastic orders within the Patriarchate of St. Stephen. Its recipients, who must show noble proofs, include Cardinals, Bishops, Princes, Governors, and distinguished officials, professionals, and leaders. Companions, as recipients are called, are expected to defend the Christian faith and lead a life of Christian service to the Church and humanity. Learn more at the Legion's website: www.regno.org/eagle.html

Angelus of the Pope 28 February 2016

Vatican City, 28 February 2016 (VIS) – "Every day, unfortunately, bad news is reported: murders, accidents, disasters, … In today's Gospel passage Jesus refers to two tragic events, which at the time caused quite a stir: the bloody crackdown by Roman soldiers inside the temple and the collapse of the tower of Siloam in Jerusalem, which claimed eighteen victims." These are the words that Pope Francis started with this afternoon before the Angelus, relating our current lived experience to the Gospel of the day. "Jesus knows the superstitious mentality of his listeners," he continued, "and knows that they interpret those kinds of events wrongly. In fact, they think that, if those persons died so cruelly, it's a sign that God has punished them for some grave offence they had committed, as if to say 'They deserved it.' And the fact that they had been spared from the disaster was equivalent to being 'okay'. They 'deserved it' but I 'am good'.

The Pope explained that "Jesus clearly rejects this view because God does not allow tragedies in order to punish sins. He affirms that those poor victims were not worse than others. Rather, he invites us to draw a warning from such painful events, a warning for all because we are all sinners. He said to those who are asking him: 'If you do not repent, you will all perish as they did!' Even today, in the face of certain misfortunes and tragic events, we might feel the temptation to 'dump' the responsibility onto the victims or even onto God himself. But the Gospel invites us to reflect: what is our idea of God? Are we convinced that God is this way or is it not just our own projection, a god made 'in our image and likeness'? In contrast, Jesus calls us to a change of heart, to make a radical change in our life's path, abandoning the pacts with evil – and we all do this, make pacts with evil, hypocrisy, I believe that we all have at least one piece of hypocrisy – to decisively take the Gospel path".

"But here again is the temptation to justify ourselves: 'What should we convert from? Aren't we all basically good people?' How many times have we thought that: 'All in all, I'm a pretty good person?' – haven't we? – 'Aren't we believers, who even practice enough?' And we think, therefore, that we are justified". The Pope stressed that we justify ourselves as believers and even practising ones. Unfortunately, each of us looks a lot like a tree that, for years, has given much evidence of sterility. But luckily for us, Jesus is like the peasant farmer who, with limitless patience, still gives another deferment to the barren fig tree. 'Leave it for this year,' he says to the master. 'It may bear fruit in the future'".

"A 'year' of grace", he continued, "the time of Christ's ministry, the time of the Church before his glorious return, the time of our life punctuated by a number of Lents, which are offered to us as opportunities for repentance and salvation, the time of a Jubilee Year of Mercy. Jesus' invincible patience. Have you thought on God's patience? Have you thought about his unyielding concern for sinners as they should provoke impatience in how we see ourselves! It is never to late for us to convert, never! God's patience waits for us up till the last minute. Remember the the story of St. Therese of the Child Jesus when she prayed for the man condemned to death, a criminal, who did not want to receive the comfort of the Church. He declined a priest's visit, didn't want it. He wanted to die that way. And she prayed, in the convent. And exactly at the moment of his execution he turned to the priest, took the crucifix and kissed it. God's patience! He does the same with us, with all of us! How many times – we don't know. We will know in Heaven – how many times we are there [about to fall] and the Lord saves us. He saves us because he has great patience with us. And this is his mercy. It is never too late to repent but it is urgent, the time is now. Let us begin today".

Before finishing, Pope Francis called upon the Virgin Mary "to sustain us so that we may open our hearts to God's grace, to his mercy. And help us to never judge others but to let daily misfortunes be the opportunity to make a serious examination of conscience and repent".

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Pope appreciates work of Rome-St. Peter's Carabinieri squad

Vatican City, 29 February 2016 (VIS) – One hundred and fifty members of the Rome-St. Peter's Carabinieri Squad who work with the competent bodies of the Holy See to regulate events in and around St. Peter's Square throughout the year were received by Pope Francis in the Clementine Hall of the Vatican this morning. The pontiff thanked them for their work in service of pilgrims and tourists, noting that it is work that "requires professionalism and a sense of responsibility as well as attention to people---many of whom are elderly---continuous patience and availability to all. These are not easy qualities, which is why it is important to rely on God's help."

"The Holy Year of Mercy," he continued, "opens the possibility of renewal to all of us, beginning with inner purification, which is reflected in how we act and in how we carry out our daily activities. This spiritual dimension of the Jubilee compels each of us to question our actual commitment in responding to the demands of faithfulness to the Gospel to which the Lord calls us from our state in life. The Jubilee thus becomes a propitious occasion for personal and community verification. The 'paradigm' to test ourselves against are works of mercy, both corporal and spiritual. The Lord reminds us: 'Whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me.'"

"May this teaching of Jesus also guide you, who are responsible for the protection of public order, and help you to foster solidarity in every circumstance, especially towards the weak and defenceless. To be guardians of the right to life through the commitment to safety and the safety of persons. In carrying out this mission, may we always be aware that every person is loved by God and is his creature deserving of welcome and respect. May the grace of the extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy," the Pope concluded his brief address, "renew the spirit which you dedicate to your profession, bringing you to live it with extra attention, devotion, and generosity.

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World Leprosy Day: combating disease and reintegrating survivors in society

Vatican City, 29 January 2016 (VIS) – Archbishop Zygmunt Zimowski, president of the Pontifical Council for Health Pastoral Care, has written a message for the 63rd World Leprosy Day, the theme of which this year is "To live is to help to live".

"This Day … constitutes for everyone an opportunity to continue with the fight against this terrible infection, as well as to weaken the ostracism that often burdens the people who carry its unmistakable signs", writes the prelate. "This is a marginalisation that can be traced back to a natural sense of self-defence in relation to a disease which at one time was incurable, and to an almost ‘ancestral’ fear which, however, today no longer has any reason to exist given that leprosy can be defeated and those who have been cured of it can go back to living".

"Making its own the commitment of the Church to caring for people with leprosy and supporting those who have been cured of it, and in order to increase the sensitivity of men and women of good will, our Pontifical Council for Health Care Workers, cooperating, respectively, with the Sasakawa Foundation and the Raoul Follereau Foundation, has organised two study days which will be held on Friday 10 and Saturday 11 June 2016 in the Vatican. At that event, those taking part will be able to be present at the celebration of the Eucharist presided over by Pope Francis in St. Peter’s Square on Sunday 12 June, on the occasion of the Jubilee for the Sick and Disabled".

"We must feel ourselves committed to finding a new impetus against this disease, broadening activities involving information and prevention, but above all fostering, as a gesture of true ‘com-passion’, the social and occupational reintegration of those who have been cured of it and who – despite the fact that they carry the marks of this disease on their bodies – have maintained intact their dignity as persons", concludes Msgr. Zimowski.

Per ulteriori informazioni consultare: www.visnews.org e www.vatican.va

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