Leopold Mandic (1866-1942) cappuccino
His paternal grandfather was a native of Nicholas Mandic Poljica in the Archdiocese of Split (Split), where his ancestors - "Bosnian lords" - had come from Bosnia, back in the fifteenth century.
As a boy, Bogdan demonstrated a strong character, but he also turned in a strong piety, nobility of spirit and commitment to the school. Soon he felt led to religious life.
At that time Castelnovo in providing their services for the PP. Capuchins of the Province of Venice, and Bogdan reached the decision to join the Order of the Capuchins. He was received in the first seminar of Udine seraphic and then, eighteen, May 2, 1884 - Bassano del Grappa (Vicenza) - he took the religious habit, getting the new name between Leopold and committing themselves to the rule and
the spirit of s. Francis of Assisi. He continued his philosophical and theological studies in Padua and Venice, where - in the Basilica of Our Lady of Health - was ordained priest, 20 September 1890.
Since 1887, between Leopold had felt called several times and "clearly", to promote the union of the separated Eastern Christians with the Catholic Church. But how to make this call? Because the slender physique and a speech impediment, he could not devote himself to preaching. I therefore sent him to a greater service to souls, as a minister of reconciliation. He was the confessor in various cities: Venice, Zara, Bassano del Grappa, Thiene to the shrine of Our Lady of the Elm and, since October 1909, in Padua. In 1923 he was transferred to Fiume (Rijeka), but after a few weeks, at the repeated request of Padua, was ordered to return to their city, where he remained until his death, July 30, 1942.
There, in his narrow cell-religious penitents continued to receive many, listening patiently, encouraging and comforting, bringing the peace of God in souls and sometimes even getting through the temporal order. During the cold winter and sweltering summer without vacations, plagued by various illnesses, he remained in service until the last day of souls, becoming a martyr of the confessional.
All this, however, he was always keeping in mind what he himself considered the primary mission of his life: that is, being useful to his people and union of the Churches. As they could not give the apostolate among the separated brethren East, pledged to vote several times repeated, to be all things - prayers, suffering, ministry, life - to this end. Therefore, in every soul who asked his ministry, he decided to see his "East."
But for all this in him was less a desire to serve his people with a physical presence. He said one day to a friend: "Please Mistress Blessed me the favor of that, having accomplished my mission in Padua, to bring my poor bones among my people for the good of souls. From Padua, for now , there's no way you can escape, they want me here, but I'm like a bird in a cage, my heart is always beyond the sea. "
Even this concern was part of that sacrifice so the p. Leopold deserves to be considered one of the greatest precursors and apostles of ecumenism. While he was alive, his mission was hidden, but now it looks great in front of the whole Church. Blessed Leopold points to the path of unity of all Christians, that is the way of sacrifice and prayer so that "all are one" (Jn 17, 21).
In 1946 he started the information process for the beatification. On March 1, 1974 was issued the Decree on the heroic virtues of the Servant of God, and followed the February 12, 1976 Decree on the miracles attributed to her intercession.
Finally came the day of the solemn beatification, decreed by Pope Paul VI, Pope of Vatican II and the intense dedication to ecumenism.
On May 2, 1976 was proclaimed "Blessed" by Pope Paul VI.
Four circumstances make it particularly poignant as happy event of the canonization occurs within the extraordinary Holy Year of Redemption, in the course of the Synod of Bishops, whose theme is the "Reconciliation" in the day - October 16, 1983 - coinciding with the fifth anniversary of 'election to the pontificate of John Paul II, and when we remember also the 25th anniversary of his episcopate.
Crispin of Viterbo (1668-1750) religious, OFM Cap
The pious mother, meanwhile, poured on the little Peter the purest and deepest care nursery. In a visit to the shrine of the Oak, pointing to the child the image of the Virgin, says, "See, that's your mother and your lady, love her and honor it in the future as your mother and your wife." The future of the Religious erect an altar anywhere and will always offer "the most beautiful flowers." Peter Fioretti would have decided to become a cappuccino at a penitential procession which was held in Viterbo petitioning for rain in times of severe drought. In the procession marched down exemplary even novices from the monastery of Palanzana. It was the last touch of grace for its final resolution. In fact, July 22, 1693, twenty-five, will make its entry in that convent to accomplish the novitiate year. Fate of Communities in various convents in Lazio (Tolfa, Rome, Albano, Monterotondo) and that of Orvieto, where he remained for about forty years, the humble and hard you exercise the offices of a nurse, cook, gardener and begging. His religious life will spend 57 years on the cutting totally consecrated to the service of God and neighbor. Incredible work he carried out in the fields of healthcare to bring peace, justice and serenity in the depths of consciousness. We pay tribute to the charisms which the Spirit grants if we say that between Crispin became so singular resonance evangelical on all fronts. No one escapes his attention to artists, businessmen, police officers (then called the cops), prisoners, orphans, the sick, farmers, mothers, consecrated souls. And this not only during the forty years of Orvieto, where the apostolate of the bread bag filled with opportunities to meet her next day. Although they belong to that period of his or her life the most exciting events of his social sensitivity.
Crispin has to his credit among other religious consecration 18 years spent in the kitchen closed, cloistered in the fence and the garden - the last two, with detachment - the infirmary to grips with their ailments preludenti at sunset. How he could pour out so much wisdom enlightening and inspiring even at this stage of the hidden life is not easy to understand. The discrete cultural education and youth drawn in the same congenial conviviality, then matured in a communicative flowery poetry and insightful aphorisms, not enough to explain the appeal of the humble cook Albano on personalities of the highest rank. It is true that many, especially the prelates, however, flowed in these beautiful places and recreational areas. But the fact remains that everyone, nobles and scholars, beginning with Pope Clement XI, loved to talk with him and sought his advice. And neither can humanly understand scandals that arose when the reconciliation of obedience to deliver Crispino between the gardener's hoe in more solitary convent of Monterotondo. Last but not least the hundreds of letters, simple and essential, Latrice on wider range of his unfailing love. A man so full of love, that true son of the Seraphic builds all of Assisi, fraternizing with all glory to God with the notes of the Canticle of the Creatures.
But perhaps reflect on what is more important if, after having seen everything from Crispin won the other, I give back for a moment to himself. He wanted to sanctify themselves first, implement minority living in what we today, with so much ingenuity in the methods, we call learning.
As a young man he attended school classic, but religion takes a master of his less fortunate brethren in the studies, lived about a century and a half earlier, the lifestyle so much like her, who was canonized by the Pope his friend is Happy Cantalice . Among Crispin will look for life the only six "letters" of which he was familiar with the firstborn of Capuchin Saints: the wounds of Christ and the Virgin Mary. Joy, courtesy and illuminated communicability become proverbial in him, suppose an exercise of penance and sacrifice incessant. Crucified to his vows, he shared the sacrifice until the singing of the ECE Community quam bonum. It must have been really great is his love that often ran in various monasteries to heal and comfort the sick brother at great risk to their health.
Despite all the testimony of reverence and affection, between Crispino there were dangers, humiliations, misunderstandings and crosses. And that was granted to him as a cleric. In fact, his consistent commitment to the realization of the Gospel not only put him in the spotlight, but also in permanent conflict with the reality around him.
Among Crispin did not admit any donations in his life sized, half-measures, compromises, reservations. He gave up the first hour to beat the road of mediocrity and is perfectly tuned with the radicalism of the Gospel. Just listen: "We love God with all my heart" "all we have to work for God's sake." Speaking to a brother's states: "If you want to save your soul, you have to serve the following things: love all, speak well of everyone and do well at all." The force took over difficulties repeating to himself: "This is so good that I expect that every pain is my pleasure," or find the quiet at the thought that "when a man does his part and knows all that can, in remainder must jump into the sea of the mercy of God. "
It was very demanding with himself, and therefore had the courage to ask much gospel to others and especially to his brother. He wanted the religious life was busy, austere, full of good works, leavened by a continuous dynamic and do penance.
Among Crispino was exemplary in fraternity life, especially through caring services, humble, creative and joyful to others. Throughout his life he distinguished himself in evangelical poverty. Restrained use of things, he was averse to any superfluity or refinement. In his office begging was able to unite the greatest love a lively sense of pure need. In the convent had only come to bless and thank Providence. Poverty, therefore, with the mystery of love and sharing. Understood the need and attractiveness of purity in an eminent way. For the protection of this virtue is made use of three media: a singular devotion to the Virgin Mary, prayer, penance. He became a model of obedience, as a source of deep joy and everlasting effective means to maintain personal peace and fraternal harmony.
Among Crispin the holy joy, the joy of the Christian is the result of listening and internalization of the Word of God, of peace and communion with our brothers. He passionately loved the Lord in the beating of daily living difficult. Eagerly sought the face of God, has polarized all his energy to reciprocate the love of God
For a good pastor, tormented by great spiritual anxiety, including Crispin advises that such an experienced teacher of spirit could not do better: "Let it go ... great spirit and manly gay (to perform duties often so delicate), not case of disturbance by Attorney ... ... be happy in the Lord and have fun in things brilliant, but good and holy, but when it is attacked by melancholy ... If our life is a continuous war, is a sign that we are destined for mercy of God to be the major principles in paradise. "
This is the last letter and the longest published. There is in it delicacy of stroke, psychological insight and spiritual security. It may be regarded as the testament and, together, one of the most expressive portraits of the spiritual physiognomy of between Crispin. Fell seriously ill during the winter 1747-48, 13 May left the convent in Orvieto for the time in Rome. When, two years later, the nurse warned him that death was near, said, assuring that he would not die May 18 for "do not disturb the feast of St. Felix." In fact he died the following day: May 19, 1750.
His mortal remains are exposed for the veneration of the faithful in a chapel of the Immaculate Conception Church in Via Vittorio Veneto, Rome.
On September 7, 1806 was proclaimed "Blessed" by Pope Pius VII.
Three circumstances make it particularly poignant as happy event of the canonization is this year celebrating the 8th centenary of the birth of St. Francis during the month that sees the Order of Friar Crispino congregated in one of its most important general chapters, is the first to be decreed by Pope John Paul II in four years of his papacy.
THE FUTURE OF HUMANITY REQUIRES OUR COOPERATION WITH THE GRACE OF GOD TO FIGHT AGAINST EVIL
SCRIPTURE REFLECTIONS FOR
14 NOVEMBER, 2010, SUNDAY, 33RD ORDINARY WEEK, YEAR C
BY REV FR WILLIAM GOH, SPIRITUAL DIRECTOR, CATHOLIC SPIRITUALITY CENTRE (CSC)
Copyright © 2009 www.csctr.org
SCRIPTURE READINGS: MAL 3:19-20; 2 TH 3:7-12; LK 21:5-19
http://www.usccb.org/nab/readings/111410.shtml
We are living in a critical age of history, one that is so ambiguous. On one hand, there is globalization, technological progress, democracy, freedom and the equality of sexes. On the other hand, we struggle with the moral degradation of the third millennium - secularism and godlessness, materialism and consumerism, relativism and pragmatism; all resulting in a society that is amoral.
Then there are the negative consequences of globalization. With growing urbanization, we are faced with the inevitable cultural uprooting. Social evils plaguing society include the trading and consumption of drugs; modern ideologies that reject the concept of the family based on marriage; the progressive divide between the rich and poor; violations of human rights; and the problems facing migrants. Most of all, what prevails today is the culture of death, which manifests itself in different ways, such as guerrilla warfare and international terrorism, human cloning, stem cell research involving human embryos and euthanasia.
Within the Church, there is an increasing loss of faith among our young with a corresponding loss of values. There is a general numbness to the reality of sin. There is also a growing irreverence for God and the sacred.
In the face of all these evils, the question raised is, what would be the consequences for humanity? In other words, is there is a future for humanity? Will humanity and the earth be destroyed like the beautiful Temple of Jerusalem when Jesus remarked, "All these things you are staring at now - the time will come when not a single stone will be left on another: everything will be destroyed." How can we keep our faith in the face of such stark reality?
Well, we can take heart in today's scripture readings when Prophet Malachi says that there will be judgment. The positive aspect of judgment is that there will be vindication and salvation for the just. The negative aspect of judgment is that there will be doom for all the arrogant and evildoers. For us Christians, we must look forward to the judgment not as a day of doom but with joy, waiting earnestly for the day of the Lord. Indeed, Malachi said, "The day is coming now, burning like a furnace; and all the arrogant and the evil-doers will be like stubble ... But for you who fear my name, the sun of righteousness will shine out with healing in its rays."
Until then, we must accept that history is a constant struggle between the forces of good and evil. We have no reason to believe that things will get better and better or that Christ's kingdom will progress without hindrance. For Jesus reminds us, "when you hear of wars and revolutions, do not be frightened, for this is something that must happen but the end is not soon." Indeed, He continues, "Nation will fight against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be great earthquakes and plagues and famines here and there; there will be fearful sights and great signs from heaven."
The important question is that in the face of the vicissitudes of history, do we take flight or do we fight? We can take flight as what the Thessalonians did. In the hope of Christ's imminent Second Coming, they refused to work and wait in resignation instead. But St Paul makes it clear that we cannot afford to cop out of the world. St Paul reprimanded the Thessalonians and ordered them to carry on living because the world is going to be transformed and not destroyed. He said, "We gave you a rule when we were with you: not to let anyone have any food if he refused to do any work. Now we hear that there are some of you who are living in idleness, doing no work themselves but interfering with everyone else's. In the Lord Jesus Christ, we order and call on people of this kind to go on quietly working and earning the food that they eat."
So, we must be strong and fight against the insidious trends of the world. We cannot in this age of Anti-Christ, resign ourselves to the evil forces of the world, be it sexual immorality, the culture of death, materialism and the worship of men and things. As Jesus counseled us, we must be on the alert. "Take care not to be deceived,' He said, 'because many will come using my name and saying, "I am he … The time is near at hand." Jesus also said, "Refuse to join them." We must recognize the false messiahs of the world who are promising freedom under the guise of licentiousness, freedom without responsibility especially without communal responsibility; a life reduced to hedonism or pleasures; and eternal life seen in terms of an endless physical life which cloning seeks to do. But pleasure is not to be equated with happiness or eternal life with endless physical life.
By refusing to succumb to the seductions of the world, we will face persecutions. But should this be a surprise? Indeed, Jesus warns us, "You will be betrayed even by parents and brothers, relations and friends; and some of you will be put to death. You will be hated by all men on account of my name, but not a hair of your head will be lost." It is ironical that our Holy Father loved by those who seek righteousness and truth is equally hated by many people in the world for being so outspoken on moral issues like abortion, euthanasia, same-sex union, homosexuality, contraception, injustices, and discriminations. That is why the Church is always under the spotlight. Satan is trying to destroy the Church by discrediting the church leaders particularly. Some priests are even misled and deceived by the world. Our faithful have been bought over by the propaganda of the world. Day in and day out, they listen to what the world is saying instead what God is saying through the Church.
Nevertheless as Jesus tells us, we need not fear under persecution but rather we must use it as an occasion for
witnessing. "But before all this happens, men will seize you and persecute you; they will hand you over to the synagogues and to imprisonment, and bring you before kings and governors because of my name - and that will be your opportunity to bear witness." Yes, we must seek every opportunity to defend the faith of the Church and the values of the gospel through public forum on moral issues that affect the common good of society, e.g. gambling, stem cell research involving embryos and human cloning; economic and political issues especially those pertain to public order, morality and injustices. We must initiate debate and dialogue.
In spite of such insidious forces at work in the world today, we thank God that we have also many people who stood up for the gospel. Indeed, we must set good examples and dare to be different in the world like St Paul was. He went against the current mentality of his people when he told them, "You know how you are supposed to imitate us: now we were not idle when we were with you … no, we worked night and day, slaving and straining ... in order to make ourselves an example for you to follow." Yes, as Catholics, we must show ourselves to be different. We must be willing to put a price to what we stand for in life. We cannot afford to be wishy-washy and ambiguous in our values. We must be people who show the way and walk the way for the world to follow.
To be steadfast under persecution, we must rely on God's help and strength. Jesus reminds us, "Keep this carefully in mind: you are not to prepare your defense, because I myself shall give you an eloquence and a wisdom that none of your opponents will be able to resist or contradict." We cannot stand against the current tide of the world unless we stand with Jesus and with His Church. Only those of us who grow in personal knowledge of Jesus and a deeper understanding of the teaching of the Church on both doctrinal and moral issues can face the world confidently and exposed the falsehoods that are being promoted.
Will you stand up to this challenge and save this world, this humanity from destruction? God needs you to work with Him. If we do this, then Jesus assures us, ""You will be hated by all men on account of my name, but not a hair of your head will be lost. Your endurance will win you your lives." Not only your lives but also that of your children and the future of humanity!
Of course, endurance is not a stoic pessimism but faith that victory lies with God. We can be confident that God will triumph in the end. Our faith is that God will judge the earth and as the responsorial psalm says, He will rule the earth. In spite of the ambiguity of history, the Christian knows for sure that God will eventually bring good out of evil; that the truth will triumph in the end. On that day, the ambiguity of history will be resolved and made clear.
LOVE
BENEDICT XVI
ANGELUS
Courtyard of the Papal Residence, Castel Gandolfo
Sunday, 26 September 2010
... only Love with a capital "L" can bring true happiness!... Let us praise God because his love is stronger than evil and death. Let us thank the Virgin Mary, who leads...through difficulty and suffering, to love Jesus and to discover the beauty of life.
"Be happy because I am"...(Blessed Chiara Badano last words, an Italian girl born in 1971, who was afflicted by a disease that caused her death just before she turned 19. Despite her suffering, she was a ray of light [luce] as her nickname suggests "Chiara Luce".)
HOMILY OF CARD. TARCISIO BERTONE, SECRETARY OF STATE OF HIS HOLINESS
Venerable Brother Bishops and Priests,
Beloved Brothers and Sisters in the Lord,
Dear Pilgrims,
Jesus said: "Unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven" (Mt 18:3). In order to enter the kingdom, we must become humble, ever humbler and smaller, as small as possible: this is the secret of the mystical life. A serious commitment to the spiritual life begins when a person makes an authentic act of humility, moving away from the difficult position of one who always considers himself the centre of the universe so as to abandon oneself into the arms of the mystery of God, with the heart of a child.
Into the arms of the mystery of God! In him not only is there power, knowledge and majesty, but also infancy, innocence, infinite tenderness, because he is Father, infinitely Father. We did not know this before, nor could we have known it; it was only when he sent his Son to us that we were able to discover it. The Son became a child and so he could tell us to become children ourselves in order to enter his kingdom. He, the God of infinite grandeur, became so small and humble before us that only the eyes of faith, only the eyes of the simple are able to recognize him (cf. Mt 11:25). In this way he called into question the natural instinct of self-assertion that dominates us: "Become like God" (cf. Gen 3:5). Very well, then! God appeared on earth as a child. Now we know what God is like: he is a child. We had to see it to believe it! He came to address our overwhelming need to be noticed, but he turned it on its head by inviting us to place it at the service of love; to be noticed, yes, but as the most peaceable, indulgent, generous and serviceable to all: the servant and the last of all.
Brothers and sisters, this is "the wisdom from above" (cf. Jas 3:17). By contrast, the "wisdom" of the world exalts personal success and seeks it at any cost, eliminating without scruples those who are considered an obstacle to one's own supremacy. This is what people call life, but the trail of death that it leaves behind immediately contradicts them. "Anyone who hates his brother is a murderer", as we heard in our second reading, "and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him" (1 Jn 3:15). Only someone who loves his brother possesses in himself eternal life, that is to say, the presence of God, who, through the Spirit, communicates his love to the believer, making him a sharer in the mystery of the life of the Blessed Trinity. Just as an emigré to a foreign country, even if he adapts well to the new situation, preserves – at least in his heart – the laws and customs of his people, so too when Jesus came on earth, he brought with him, as a pilgrim of the Blessed Trinity, the manner of life of his heavenly homeland which "expresses humanly the divine ways of the Trinity" (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 470). In baptism, each one of us renounced the "wisdom" of the world and turned towards the "wisdom from above", which was manifested in Jesus, the matchless Teacher of the art of loving (cf. 1 Jn 3:16). To lay down one's life for one's brother is the highest form of love, said Jesus (cf. Jn 15:13); he both said it and did it, commanding us to love as he did (cf. Jn 15:12). Passing from life as possession to life as gift is the great challenge that reveals – to ourselves and to others – who we are and who we want to be.
Fraternal and gratuitous love is the commandment and the mission that the divine Teacher left us, one that is capable of convincing our brothers and sisters in humanity: "By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another" (Jn 13:35). At times we lament the marginal place of Christianity in present-day society, the difficulty of handing on the faith to the young, the decline in the number of priestly and religious vocations ... and one could list other grounds for concern; in fact, we often think of ourselves as the losers vis-à-vis the world. The adventure of hope, however, takes us beyond that point. It teaches us that the world belongs to whoever loves it most and is best able to tell it so. In the heart of every person there is an infinite thirst for love; and we, with the love that God pours into our hearts (cf. Rom 5:5), are able to satisfy that thirst. Naturally, our love must express itself not "in word or speech but in deed and in truth", joyfully and readily placing our goods at the disposal of those in need (cf. 1 Jn 3:16-18).
Beloved pilgrims, and all who are listening to me, "share with joy, like Jacinta". That is the invitation that this Shrine chose to highlight on the centenary of the birth of the blessed visionary of Fatima. Ten years ago, in this very place, the Venerable Servant of God John Paul II raised her to the glory of the altars together with her brother Francisco; they accomplished in a short time the long journey towards holiness, guided and sustained by the hands of the Virgin Mary. They are two mature fruits of the tree of our Saviour's Cross. Reflecting upon them, we know that this is the season of fruits … fruits of holiness. O ancient Lusitanian stock, nourished by Christianity, with branches reaching out into other worlds and sprouting up there as new Christian peoples, upon you the Queen of Heaven has placed her foot – the victorious foot that crushed the head of the deceitful serpent (cf. Gen 3:15) – seeking out the little ones of the kingdom of heaven. Strengthened by the prayer of this night of vigil and with eyes firmly fixed upon the glory of Blessed Francisco and Jacinta, accept Jesus's challenge: "Unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven" (Mt 18:3). For those like us, spoilt by pride, it is not easy to become like children. That is why Jesus admonishes us so severely: "You will not enter … "! He leaves us no alternative. Portugal, do not resign yourself to forms of thinking and living that have no future, because they are not based on the firm certitude of the word of God, of the Gospel. "Do not be afraid! The Gospel is not against you, but for you … In the Gospel, which is Jesus, you will find the sure and lasting hope to which you aspire. This hope is grounded in the victory of Christ over sin and death. He wishes this victory to be your own, for your salvation and your joy" (Ecclesia in Europa, 121).
The first reading shows us how Samuel found a guide in the High Priest Eli. In his dealings with the boy, Eli displayed all the prudence required for the task of a true educator, one who is able to intuit the nature of the profound experience that Samuel is undergoing. No one, in fact, can decide the vocation of another; therefore Eli directs Samuel to listen humbly to the word of God: "Speak, Lord, your servant is listening" (1 Sam 3:10). In a sense we can interpret in a similar light this visit by the Holy Father, which has as its theme: "Pope Benedict XVI, we walk with you in Hope!" These are words that suggest both a collective confession of faith and adherence to the Church that is visibly founded on Peter, and also a personal apprenticeship of trust and loyalty towards the paternal and wise guidance of the one chosen by heaven to point out the sure way that leads there to the people of today.
Holy Father, "we walk with you in Hope!" With you, we learn to distinguish between the great Hope and the lesser hopes that, like ourselves, are always limited! At those moments when, amid the general defection back to the lesser hopes, we hear the challenging words of Jesus, the Great Hope: "Do you also wish to go away?", awaken us, Peter, with your perennial response: "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life; and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God" (Jn 6:68-9). Truly – as we are reminded by the Peter of today, Pope Benedict XVI – "anyone who does not know God, even though he may entertain all kinds of hopes, is ultimately without hope, without the great hope that sustains the whole of life (cf. Eph 2:12). Man's great, true hope which holds firm in spite of all disappointments can only be God – God who has loved us and who continues to love us 'to the end', until all 'is accomplished' (cf. Jn 13:1 and 19:30)" (Spe Salvi, 27).
Beloved pilgrims of Fatima, make sure that heaven is always the horizon of your lives! People have tried to tell you that heaven can wait, but they have been deceiving you … the voice that comes from heaven is not like these siren voices, reminiscent of the legendary creatures who duped their victims into distraction before plunging them into the abyss. For two thousand years, beginning from Galilee, the definitive voice of the Son of God has resounded to the ends of the earth, saying: "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent, and believe in the gospel" (Mk 1:15). Fatima reminds us that heaven cannot wait! Therefore we ask Our Lady, with filial trust, to teach us how to offer heaven to earth:
O Virgin Mary,
teach us to believe, to worship,
to hope and to love with you!
Show us the way towards the kingdom of Jesus,
the way of spiritual childhood.
O Star of Hope,
as you anxiously await
us in the unending Light of the heavenly homeland,
shine upon us
and guide us in the events of every day,
now and
at the hour of our death.
Amen.
HOLY MASS DURING THE VIGIL OF THE SOLEMNITY OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY OF FÁTIMA
Esplanade of the Shrine of Our Lady of Fátima, Wednesday, 12 May 2010
Mysteries of Light
1) The Baptism in the Jordan
2) The wedding feast of Cana
3) The proclamation of the kingdom of God
4) The Transfiguration
5) The institution of the Eucharist
How to pray the Rosary?
O God come to my aid;
O Lord, make haste to help me.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen.
At the beginning of each decade, announce the "mystery" to be contemplated, for example, the first joyful mystery is "The Annunciation".After a short pause for reflection, recite the "Our Father", ten "Hail Marys" and the "Glory be to the Father".An invocation may be added after each decade.At the end of the Rosary, the Loreto Litany or some other Marian prayer is recited.
Hail Mary, Hail, Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now, and at the hour of our death. Amen.
Deliver us from evil
JOHN PAUL II
GENERAL AUDIENCE
Wednesday, 18th August 1999
Among the themes especially suggested by the blessed Pope to the People of God for their reflection in this third year of preparation for the Great Jubilee of the Year 2000, is that to find conversion,
which includes deliverance from evil (cf. Tertio millennio adveniente, n. 50).
This theme has a profound effect on our experience.
Our entire personal and community history, in fact, is a struggle against evil. The petition: "Deliver us from evil" or from the "Evil One" which is contained in the Our Father, punctuates our prayer to overcome sin and be liberated from all connivance with evil.
It reminds us of our daily struggle, but above all, of the secret for overcoming it: the strength of God, revealed and offered to us in Jesus (cf. Catechism of the Catholic Church, n. 2853).
Moral evil causes suffering which is presented, especially in the Old Testament, as a punishment connected with conduct that is contrary to God's law. Moreover, Sacred Scripture reveals that after sinning, one can ask God for mercy, that is, for his pardon for the fault and the end of the pain it has brought. A sincere return to God and deliverance from evil are two aspects of one process. Thus, for example, Jeremiah urges the people:
"Return, O faithless sons, I will heal your faithlessness" (Jer 3:22).
In the Book of Lamentations, the prospect of returning to the Lord (cf. 5:21) and the experience of his mercy is underlined: "The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness" (3:22, cf. v. 32).
Israel's whole history is read in the light of the dialectic: "sin, punishment, repentance — mercy" (cf. eg., Jgs 3:7-10): this is the nucleus central to the tradition of Deuteronomy. Indeed, the historical defeat of the kingdom and city of Jerusalem is interpreted as divine punishment for the lack of fidelity to the Covenant.
In the Bible, the lamentations people raised to God when they fell prey to suffering are accompanied by recognition of the sin committed and trust in his liberating intervention. The confession of sin is one of the elements through which this trust emerges. In this regard, certain psalms which forcefully express the confession of sin and the individual's repentance for it are very revealing (cf. Ps 38:18; 41:4). The admission of guilt, effectively described in Psalm 51, is indispensable to start life anew. The confession of one's sin highlights God's justice as a reflection: "Against you, you only, have I sinned, and done that which is evil in your sight, so that you are justified in your sentence and blameless in your judgement" (v. 4). In the Psalms we continuously see the prayer for help and the trusting expectation of liberation for Israel (cf. Ps 88; 130). On the Cross, Jesus himself prayed with the words of Psalm 22 to obtain the Father's loving intervention in his last hour.
In expressing these words to the Father, Jesus gives a voice to that expectation of deliverance from evil which, in the biblical perspective, occurs through a person who accepts suffering together with its expiatory value: this is the case of the mysterious figure of the Servant of the Lord in Isaiah (42:1-9; 49:1-6; 50:4-9; 52:13-53:12). Other figures also assume this role, like the prophet who suffers for and expiates the iniquities of Israel (cf. Ez4:4-5), he whom they have pierced, on whom they will turn their eyes (cf. Zec 12:10-11; Jn19:37; cf. also Rv 1:7), the martyrs who accept their suffering in expiation for their people's sins (cf. 2 Mc 7:37-38).
Jesus is the synthesis of all these figures and reinterprets them. It is only in and through him that we become aware of evil and call on the Father to deliver us from it.
In the prayer of the Our Father, the reference to evil becomes explicit; here, the term ponerós(Mt 6:13), which in itself is an adjectival form, can indicate a personification of evil. In the world, this is provoked by that spiritual being, called by biblical revelation the devil or Satan, who deliberately set himself against God (cf. CCC, n. 2851f.). Human "evil" constituted by the Evil One or instigated by him is also presented in our time in an attractive form that seduces minds and hearts so as to cause the very sense of evil and sin to be lost. It is a question of that "mystery of evil" of which St Paul speaks (cf. 2 Thes 2:7). This is certainly linked to human freedom, "but deep within its human reality there are factors at work which place it beyond the merely human, in the border-area where man's conscience, will and sensitivity are in contact with the dark forces which, according to St Paul, are active in the world almost to the point of ruling it" (Reconciliatio et paenitentia, n. 14).
Unfortunately, human beings can become the protagonists of evil, that is, of "an evil and adulterous generation" (Mt 12:39).
We believe that Jesus conquered Satan once and for all, thereby removing our fear of him. To every generation the Church represents, as the Apostle Peter did in his discourse to Cornelius, the liberating image of Jesus of Nazareth who "went about doing good and healing all that were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him" (Acts 10:38).
If, in Jesus, the devil was defeated, the Lord's victory must still be freely accepted by each of us, until evil is completely eliminated. The struggle against evil therefore requires determination and constant vigilance. Ultimate deliverance from it can only be seen in an eschatological perspective (cf. Rv 21:4).
Over and above our efforts and even our failures, these comforting words of Christ endure: "In the world you have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world" (Jn16:33).
The Fall of the Rebellious Angels
References: General Audience — August 13, 1986
Satan—cosmic liar and murderer
This article is dedicated to the faith that concerns the angels, God's creatures. This concerns the mystery of the freedom which some of them have turned against God and his plan of salvation for humanity.
As the evangelist Luke testified, when the disciples returned to the Master full of joy at the fruits they had gathered in their first missionary attempt, Jesus uttered a sentence that is highly evocative: "I saw Satan fall from heaven like lightning" (Lk 10:18). With these words, the Lord affirmed that the proclamation of the kingdom of God is always a victory over the devil. But at the same time, he also revealed that the building up of the kingdom is continuously exposed to the attacks of the spirit of evil.
We should prepare ourselves for the condition of struggle which characterizes the life of the Church in this final time of the history of salvation (as the Book of Revelation asserts—cf. 12:7). Besides this, it will permit us to clarify the true faith of the Church against those who pervert it by exaggerating the importance of the devil, or by denying or minimizing his malevolent power.
This mystery of the fallen angels have prepared us to understand the truth which Sacred Scripture has revealed and which the Tradition of the Church has handed on about Satan, that is, the fallen angel, the wicked spirit, who is also called the devil or demon.
This "fall" has the character of the rejection of God with the consequent state of "damnation." It consists in the free choice of those created spirits who have radically and irrevocably rejected God and his kingdom, usurping his sovereign rights and attempting to subvert the economy of salvation and the order of the entire creation. We find a reflection of this attitude in the words addressed by the tempter to our first parents: "You will become like God" or "like gods" (cf. Gen 3:5). Thus the evil spirit tried to transplant into humanity the attitude of rivalry, insubordination and opposition to God, which has, as it were, become the motivation of Satan's existence.
In the Old Testament, the narrative of the fall of man as related in the Book of Genesis contains a reference to the attitude of antagonism which Satan wishes to communicate to man in order to lead him to sin (Gen 3:5). In the Book of Job too, we read that Satan seeks to generate rebellion in the person who is suffering (cf. Job 1:11; 2:5-7). In the Book of Wisdom (cf. Wis 2:24), Satan is presented as the artisan of death, which has entered human history along with sin.
In the Fourth Lateran Council (1215), the Church taught that the devil (or Satan) and the other demons "were created good by God but have become evil by their own will." We read in the Letter of Jude: "The angels who did not keep their own dignity, but left their own dwelling, are kept by the Lord in eternal chains in the darkness, for the judgment of the great day" (Jude 6). Similarly, in the Second Letter of Peter, we hear of "angels who have sinned" and whom God "did not spare, but...cast in the gloomy abysses of hell, reserving them for the judgment" (2 Pet 2:4). It is clear that if God "does not forgive" the sin of the angels, this is because they remain in their sin. They are eternally "in the chains" of the choice that they made at the beginning, rejecting God, against the truth of the supreme and definitive Good that is God himself. It is in this sense that St. John wrote that "the devil has been a sinner from the beginning..." (1 Jn 3:8). And he has been a murderer "from the beginning," and "has not persevered in the truth, because there is no truth in him" (Jn 8:44).
These texts help us to understand the nature and the dimension of the sin of Satan. It consists in the denial of the truth about God, as he is known by the light of the intellect and revelation as infinite Good, subsistent Love and Holiness. The sin was all the greater, in that the spiritual perfection and the epistemological acuteness of the angelic intellect, with its freedom and closeness to God, were greater. When, by an act of his own free will, he rejected the truth that he knew about God, Satan became the cosmic "liar and the father of lies" (Jn 8:44). For this reason he lives in radical and irreversible denial of God, and seeks to impose on creation—on the other beings created in the image of God, and in particular on people—his own tragic "lie about the good" that is God. In the Book of Genesis, we find a precise description of this lie a falsification of the truth about God, which Satan (under the form of a serpent) tried to transmit to the first representatives of the human race—God is jealous of his own prerogatives and therefore wants to impose limitations on man (cf. Gen 3:5). Satan invites the man to free himself from the impositions of this yoke, by making himself, "like God."
In this condition of existential falsehood, Satan—according to St. John—also becomes a "murderer." That is, he is one who destroys the supernatural life which God had made to dwell from the beginning in him and in the creatures made "in the likeness of God"—the other pure spirits and men. Satan wishes to destroy life lived in accordance with the truth, life in the fullness of good, the supernatural life of grace and love. The author of the Book of Wisdom wrote: "Death has entered the world through the envy of the devil, and those who belong to him experience it" (Wis 2:24). Jesus Christ warned in the Gospel: "Fear rather him who has the power to destroy both soul and body in Gehenna" (Mt 10:28).
As the result of the sin of our first parents, this fallen angel has acquired dominion over man to a certain extent. This is the doctrine that has been constantly professed and proclaimed by the Church, and which the Council of Trent confirmed in its treatise on original sin (cf. DS 1511). It finds a dramatic expression in the liturgy of baptism, when the catechumen is asked to renounce the devil and all his empty promises.
In Sacred Scripture we find various indications of this influence on man and on the dispositions of his spirit (and of his body). In the Bible, Satan is called "the prince of this world" (cf. Jn 12:31; 14:30; 16:11), and even "the god of this world" (2 Cor 4:4). We find many other names that describe his nefarious relationship with the human race: "Beelzebul" or "Belial," "unclean spirit," "tempter," "evil one" and even "Antichrist" (1 Jn 4:3). He is compared to a "lion" (1 Pet 5:8), to a "dragon" (in Revelation) and to a "serpent" (Gen 3). Very frequently, he is designated by the name "devil," from the Greek diaballein (hence diabolos). This means to "cause destruction, to divide, to calumniate, to deceive." In truth, all this takes place from the beginning through the working of the evil spirit who is presented by Sacred Scripture as a person, while it is declared that he is not alone. "There are many of us," as the devils cried out to Jesus in the region of the Gerasenes (Mk 5:9); and Jesus, speaking of the future judgment, spoke of "the devil and his angels" (cf. Mt 25:41).
According to Sacred Scripture, and especially the New Testament, the dominion and the influence of Satan and of the other evil spirits embraces the entire world. We may think of Christ's parable about the field (the world), about the good seed and the bad seed that the devil sows in the midst of the wheat, seeking to snatch away from hearts the good that has been "sown" in them (cf. Mt 13:38-39). We may think of the numerous exhortations to vigilance (cf. Mt 26:41; 1 Pet 5:8), to prayer and fasting (cf. Mt 17:21). We may think of the strong statement made by the Lord: "This kind of demon cannot be cast out by any other means than prayer" (Mk 9:29). The action of Satan consists primarily in tempting people to evil, by influencing their imaginations and higher faculties, to turn them away from the law of God. Satan even tempted Jesus (cf. Lk 4:3-13), in the extreme attempt to thwart what is demanded by the economy of salvation, as this has been pre-ordained by God.
It is possible that in certain cases the evil spirit goes so far as to exercise his influence not only on material things, but even on the human body, so that one can speak of "diabolical possession" (cf. Mk 5:2-9). It is not always easy to discern the preternatural factor operative in these cases, and the Church does not lightly support the tendency to attribute many things to the direct action of the devil. But in principle it cannot be denied that Satan can go to this extreme manifestation of his superiority in his will to harm and lead to evil.
To conclude, we must add that the impressive words of the apostle John, "The whole world lies under the power of the evil one" (1 Jn 5:19), allude also to the presence of Satan in the history of humanity. This presence becomes all the more acute when man and society depart from God. The influence of the evil spirit can conceal itself in a more profound and effective way. It is in his "interests" to make himself unknown. Satan has the skill in the world to induce people to deny his existence in the name of rationalism and of every other system of thought which seeks all possible means to avoid recognizing his activity. But this does not signify the elimination of man's free will and responsibility, and even less the frustration of the saving action of Christ. It is, rather, a case of a conflict between the dark powers of evil and the powers of redemption. The words that Jesus addressed to Peter at the beginning of the Passion are eloquent in this context: "Simon, behold, Satan has sought to sift you like wheat; but I have prayed for you, that your faith may not fail" (Lk 22:31).
This helps us to understand why Jesus, in the prayer that he taught us, the "Our Father," terminated it almost brusquely, unlike so many other prayers of his era, by reminding us of our condition as people exposed to the snares of evil and of the evil one. Appealing to the Father with the Spirit of Jesus and invoking his kingdom, the Christian cries with the power of faith: let us not succumb to temptation, free us from evil, from the evil one.
O Lord,
let us not fall into the infidelity
to which we are seduced
by the one who has been unfaithful
from the beginning.
LEO X EXCOMMUNICATES MARTIN LUTHER
THE BULL «DECET ROMANUM PONTIFICEM»
Rome, 1521 January 3rd
Paper volume, mm. 288x217, ff. 4 (rubricelle) + 330, bound in pale-red leather; on the back at the top: LEON. X. BULLAR. A.V. AD IX. L. CLXX
ASV, Reg. Vat., 1160, f. 305r
The time limit of 60 days set by the Bull Exsurge Domine, during which Martin Luther was supposed to make an act of obedience to the Pope, expired on the 27th November 1520, after copies of the papal bull had been put on the doors of the Cathedrals of Meissen, Merseburg and Brandenburg, and after the German friar received the original document, he burnt it with contempt. Since Luther decided to proceed along his way (in suo pravo et damnato proposito obstinatum), the Pope had no other choice than to carry out the threat clearly announced in the document of the 15th June 1520.
On the 3rd January 1521, the Bull Decet Romanum pontificem that officially declared Luther a heretic, as well as his followers and anyone who from then on accepted or helped Luther and his followers was published. The Pope reserved for himself the possibility of acquitting the friar and ordered all the archbishops, metropolitans, bishops, Cathedral Chapters, canons and the superiors of regular orders to combat against Luther's and his followers' heresy to defend the Catholic faith. On the same day the Bull was published, apostolic brieves were sent to the Archbishop of Mainz, Alberto (nominated General Inquisitor for all Germany) and to the Nuncios Caracciolo and Eck to urge them, granting them the appropriate powers to fight against and judge all the obstinate Lutherans.
On the contrary of the previous one, the harangue of this Bull has an exquisitely juridical tone, where little space is given to biblical texts (from the first line: Leo episcopus servus servorum Dei. Ad futuram rei memoriam. Decet Romanum pontificem, ex tradita sibi divinitus potestate, poenarum spiritualium et temporalium, pro meritorum diversitate, dispensatorem constitutum, ad reprimendum nefarios conatus perversorum quos noxiae voluntatis adeo depravata captivat intentio, ut, Dei timore postposito, canonicis sanctionibus mandatisque apostolicis neglectis atque contemptis, nova et falsa dogmata excogitare, ac in Ecclesia Dei nefarium scisma inducere [...] contra tales eorumque sequaces acrius insurgere...).
Valentin Paquay (1828-1905)
Valentin Paquay was born on 17 November 1828 in Tongres, Belgium, the fifth of 11 children to Henry and Anna Neven. His parents were profoundly religious and honest, and raised their children according to these standards. Following elementary school Valentin entered the school of Tongres directed by the Canons Regular of St Augustine in order to continue his literary studies, and in 1845 he was accepted into the seminary of St-Trond where he studied rhetoric and philosophy.
His vocation to the Order of Friars Minor
In 1847 Valentin's father died unexpectedly; with his mother's approval the young man entered the Order of Friars Minor, beginning his novitiate in the convent of Thielt on 3 October 1849.
On 4 October the following year, he made his religious profession at the hands of Fr Ugoline Demont, guardian of the convent. Immediately after, he went to Beckheim to attend a theological course which was concluded in the convent of St-Trond.
Valentin was ordained a priest on 10 June 1854 in Liegi. He was then sent by his superiors to Hasselt, where he remained for the rest of his life, serving as a guardian and vicar of his Order. In 1890 and in 1899 he was also appointed provincial.
Like St Francis, a simple, humble man of God
Fr Valentin lived deeply the Franciscan spirituality, stressing the value of every moment and educating all to appreciate even the smallest and most simple of things that life brings. All of this was carried out with the most sincere and spontaneous humility.
Fr Valentin was also tireless in the field of apostolic work and preached "non-stop"; indeed, he was well known for his simple yet persuasive words.
He was an especially devoted confessor and had the gift of penetrating in an extraordinary way the conscience of penitents, who would travel great lengths to make their Confession to this holy, humble priest of God.
In addition, he served as the director of the Fraternity of the Franciscan Secular Order of Hasselt for 26 years.
Special veneration for the "Immaculate Conception'
Fr Valentin was extremely devoted to the Eucharist and to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. He also possessed a deep devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary stemming from his childhood days in the parish church of Tongres, where Our Lady was venerated under the title of "Cause of our Joy".
As a Franciscan, however, he venerated her especially as the "Immaculate Conception"; he had been ordained a priest in the same year that the Dogma of the Immaculate Conception was proclaimed.
Fr Valentin Paquay died in Hasselt on 1 January 1905 at the age of 77.
Fr Valentin Paquay is truly a disciple of Christ and a priest according to the heart of God. As an apostle of mercy, he spent long hours in the confessional, with a special gift to place sinners anew on the right path, reminding men and women of the greatness of divine forgiveness. Placing the celebration of the Eucharistic mystery at the centre of his priestly life, he invited the faithful to come frequently to communion with the Bread of Life.
Like many saints, at a young age Fr Valentin was entrusted to the protection of Our Lady, who was invoked under the title of Cause of our Joy in the Church where he grew up, in Tongres.
Following his example, may you be able to serve your brothers and sisters to give them the joy of meeting Christ in truth!
Spirituality of the Creator
"For not only does the authority of the divine books declare that God is;
but the whole nature of the universe itself which surrounds us,
and to which we also belong,
proclaims that it has a most excellent Creator,
who has given to us a mind and natural reason,
whereby to see that
things living are to be preferred to things that are not living;
things that have sense to things that have not;
things that have understanding to things that have not;
things immortal to things mortal;
things powerful to things impotent;
things righteous to things unrighteous;
things beautiful to things deformed:
things good to things evil;
things incorruptible to things corruptible;
things changeable to things changeable;
things invisible to things visible;
things incorporeal to things corporeal;
things blessed to things miserable.
And hence,
since without doubt we place the Creator above things created,
we must needs confess that the Creator both lives in the highest sense,
and perceives and understands all things.
and that He cannot die,
or suffer decay,
or be changed;
and that He is not a body,
but a spirit,
of all the most powerful,
most righteous,
most beautiful,
most good,
most blessed."
St Augustine, On the Trinity, 15, 4.6
Silence By Fr. Francoïs de Ruijte, OFM
Silence is a place
Where I can meet myself in depth.
Silence is a place
Where I can meet my God.
Silence is a place
Where I meet you and you anew.
Silence is a place
Where friendship grows.
Silence is a place
Where closeness is found.
Silence is a place
Where you and I are one.
Silence is a place
To rediscover the child within ourselves.
Silence is a place
Where I can learn to hear.
Silence is a place
Where plays a symphony of insights.
Silence is a place
Where sound gets back its place.
Silence is a place
To drink deep from the fountain of reality
In a world of illusions.
Silence is a place
To enter into communion
And to expand into the universe.
Silence is a place
Where it is good to read a book
Slowly, absorbingly, meditatively,
Like the Bible.
(Theology)
Silence is a sanctuary
To listen to the Spirit.
Silence is a place
Where God's Spirit inspires our spirit
To act, to commit ourselves, to pray, to adore.
Silence is a place
Where God's throne is located.
Silence is a place
Where, in the beginning, God created heaven and earth
And saw it was good.
Silence is a place
Where visions take place. (Daniel 8:26-27)
Silence is a place
Where the whole earth should be before Yahweh
Who is in his holy Temple. (Habakkuk 2:20)
Silence is a place
Where God's all-powerful Word leapt down from heaven. (Wisdom 18:14-15)
Silence is a place
Where we wait for Yahweh to save. (Lamentations 3:20)
Silence is a place
Where a shrewd man keeps safe. (Ecclesiasticus 20:1)
Silence is a place
Where I keep my soul
Like a child in its mother's arms. (Psalm 131:2)
Silence is a place
Where the dead cannot praise Yahweh. (Psalm 115:17)
Silence is a place
Where, for endless ages, was kept the revelation of a mystery,
The proclamation of Jesus Christ,
The call of the pagans to salvation. (Romans 16:25-26)
(Spirituality)
Silence is a place
To sing "Jesus! Jesus!"
Silence is a place
To dialogue with our guardian angel.
Silence is a place
To remember our deceased parents and friends.
Silence is a place
Where the deceased speak to us.
Silence is a place
To prepare for heaven.
Silence is a place
Where the human heart encounters the Absolute.
Silence is a place
Where blossoms God's joy.
(Morality)
Silence is a place
Where the conscience remembers.
Silence is a place
Where "is often guilt instead of golden." (Braude)
Silence is a place
Where all our faults are pardoned,
And Yahweh renews his covenant with us. (Ezekiel 16:62-63)
Silence is a place
Where charity prevails.
Silence is a place
Where our heavenly Father speaks to us in love.
Silence is a place
Where God sees your doing a good deed.
(Franciscan)
Silence is a place
Where the Man of Assisi found the inspiration
To pray "My God and my All".
Silence is a place
Which Clare and her sisters
Use as a training-ground for contemplation.
Silence is a place
Where hermit and monk
Unearth values for living.
Silence is a place
Where preacher and priest
Hear the whisper of God.
(Nature)
Silence is a place
Where sister Snow flake visits the earth.
Silence is a place
Where sister rain drop drenches the soil.
Silence is a place
Where brother sun ray warms our skins.
Silence is a place
Where sister moon smiles in the sky.
Silence is a place
Where sisters stars flicker at the firmament.
Silence is a place
Where the flower drops its seed.
Silence is a place
Where the night is richer than the day.
Silence is a place
Where night prepares the coming day.
Silence is a place
Where life is conceived
And death is deceived.
Silence is a place
Where dark sees the light.
Silence is a place
Where time touches eternity.
(Science)
Silence is a place
Where the orchestra fills the air with its tunes.
Silence is a place
Where engines roar their noise.
Silence is a place
Where the computer searches your question.
Silence is a place
Where the surgeon's scalpel cuts away the infection.
Silence is a place
Where cosmonauts trek through space.
(Conclusion)
Silence is a place
Where wisdom is learnt.
Silence is a place
Where solutions are found.
Silence is a place
To wake up and to plan for the day to come
Or for the future.
Silence is a place
Where it is good to rest or just to be.
Silence is a place
To write
And stop.