VATICAN CITY, 27 FEB 2010 (VIS) - At the end of his annual Lenten spiritual exercises, the Holy Father made some brief off-the-cuff remarks thanking the preacher, Fr. Enrico Dal Covolo S.D.B. who, he said, had guided the participants in the exercises "along the path of renewal of our priesthood".

  The Holy Father recalled how the preacher "chose as starting point, as ever-present backdrop and as goal, ... Solomon's prayer for 'a heart that listens'. Truly I feel", he went on, "that this encapsulates the entire Christian vision of man. Man is not perfect in himself, man needs relationships, he is a relational being. It is not his 'cogito' that can 'cogitare' all of reality. He needs to listen, to listen to others, above all to the Other with a capital 'O', to God. Only in this way does he know himself, only in this way does he become himself".

  The Pope went on: "From my place here I was always able to see the Mother of the Redeemer, the 'Sede Sapientiae', the living throne of wisdom with Wisdom incarnate in her womb. And, as we have seen, St. Luke presents Mary as a woman with a heart that listens, a woman immersed in the Word of God, who listens to the Word, meditates upon it ... and conserves it in her heart. The Fathers of the Church said that at the moment of the conception of the eternal Word in the womb of the Virgin, the Holy Spirit entered into Mary through her ear. Through listening she conceived the eternal Word, gave her flesh to this Word. Thus she shows us what it is to have a heart that listens.

  "Mary", he added, "is here surrounded by the fathers and mothers of the Church, by the communion of the saints. Thus over these days have we seen and understood that it is not in the isolated 'I' that we can truly listen to the Word, but only in the 'us' of the Church, in the 'us' of the communion of saints".

  "You", said Benedict XVI addressing Fr. Dal Covolo, "have shown us and given voice to five exemplary figures of priests, from St. Ignatius of Antioch to the beloved Venerable John Paul II. In this way have we again perceived what it means to be a priest, to become priests ever more profoundly".

  "Consecration tends towards mission", the Pope concluded. "Over these days we have, with God's help, deepened our own consecration. And with renewed courage we now wish to face our mission".

MESSAGE OF HIS HOLINESS
POPE BENEDICT XVI
FOR THE 44th WORLD COMMUNICATIONS DAY

"The Priest and Pastoral Ministry in a Digital World:
New Media at the Service of the Word"

[Sunday, 16 May 2010]

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

The theme of this year’s World Communications Day - The Priest and Pastoral Ministry in a Digital World: New Media at the Service of the Word – is meant to coincide with the Church’s celebration of the Year for Priests. It focuses attention on the important and sensitive pastoral area of digital communications, in which priests can discover new possibilities for carrying out their ministry to and for the Word of God. Church communities have always used the modern media for fostering communication, engagement with society, and, increasingly, for encouraging dialogue at a wider level. Yet the recent, explosive growth and greater social impact of these media make them all the more important for a fruitful priestly ministry.

All priests have as their primary duty the proclamation of Jesus Christ, the incarnate Word of God, and the communication of his saving grace in the sacraments. Gathered and called by the Word, the Church is the sign and instrument of the communion that God creates with all people, and every priest is called to build up this communion, in Christ and with Christ. Such is the lofty dignity and beauty of the mission of the priest, which responds in a special way to the challenge raised by the Apostle Paul: “The Scripture says, ‘No one who believes in him will be put to shame … everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’ But how can they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how can they believe in him of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone to preach? And how can people preach unless they are sent? (Rom 10:11, 13-15).

Responding adequately to this challenge amid today’s cultural shifts, to which young people are especially sensitive, necessarily involves using new communications technologies. The world of digital communication, with its almost limitless expressive capacity, makes us appreciate all the more Saint Paul’s exclamation: “Woe to me if I do not preach the Gospel” (1 Cor 9:16) The increased availability of the new technologies demands greater responsibility on the part of those called to proclaim the Word, but it also requires them to become become more focused, efficient and compelling in their efforts. Priests stand at the threshold of a new era: as new technologies create deeper forms of relationship across greater distances, they are called to respond pastorally by putting the media ever more effectively at the service of the Word.

The spread of multimedia communications and its rich “menu of options” might make us think it sufficient simply to be present on the Web, or to see it only as a space to be filled. Yet priests can rightly be expected to be present in the world of digital communications as faithful witnesses to the Gospel, exercising their proper role as leaders of communities which increasingly express themselves with the different “voices” provided by the digital marketplace. Priests are thus challenged to proclaim the Gospel by employing the latest generation of audiovisual resources (images, videos, animated features, blogs, websites) which, alongside traditional means, can open up broad new vistas for dialogue, evangelization and catechesis.

Using new communication technologies, priests can introduce people to the life of the Church and help our contemporaries to discover the face of Christ. They will best achieve this aim if they learn, from the time of their formation, how to use these technologies in a competent and appropriate way, shaped by sound theological insights and reflecting a strong priestly spirituality grounded in constant dialogue with the Lord. Yet priests present in the world of digital communications should be less notable for their media savvy than for their priestly heart, their closeness to Christ. This will not only enliven their pastoral outreach, but also will give a “soul” to the fabric of communications that makes up the “Web”.

God’s loving care for all people in Christ must be expressed in the digital world not simply as an artifact from the past, or a learned theory, but as something concrete, present and engaging. Our pastoral presence in that world must thus serve to show our contemporaries, especially the many people in our day who experience uncertainty and confusion, “that God is near; that in Christ we all belong to one another” (Benedict XVI, Address to the Roman Curia, 21 December 2009).

Who better than a priest, as a man of God, can develop and put into practice, by his competence in current digital technology, a pastoral outreach capable of making God concretely present in today’s world and presenting the religious wisdom of the past as a treasure which can inspire our efforts to live in the present with dignity while building a better future? Consecrated men and women working in the media have a special responsibility for opening the door to new forms of encounter, maintaining the quality of human interaction, and showing concern for individuals and their genuine spiritual needs. They can thus help the men and women of our digital age to sense the Lord’s presence, to grow in expectation and hope, and to draw near to the Word of God which offers salvation and fosters an integral human development. In this way the Word can traverse the many crossroads created by the intersection of all the different “highways” that form “cyberspace”, and show that God has his rightful place in every age, including our own. Thanks to the new communications media, the Lord can walk the streets of our cities and, stopping before the threshold of our homes and our hearts, say once more: “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will enter his house and dine with him, and he with me” (Rev 3:20).

In my Message last year, I encouraged leaders in the world of communications to promote a culture of respect for the dignity and value of the human person. This is one of the ways in which the Church is called to exercise a “diaconia of culture” on today’s “digital continent”. With the Gospels in our hands and in our hearts, we must reaffirm the need to continue preparing ways that lead to the Word of God, while being at the same time constantly attentive to those who continue to seek; indeed, we should encourage their seeking as a first step of evangelization. A pastoral presence in the world of digital communications, precisely because it brings us into contact with the followers of other religions, non-believers and people of every culture, requires sensitivity to those who do not believe, the disheartened and those who have a deep, unarticulated desire for enduring truth and the absolute. Just as the prophet Isaiah envisioned a house of prayer for all peoples (cf. Is 56:7), can we not see the web as also offering a space – like the “Court of the Gentiles” of the Temple of Jerusalem – for those who have not yet come to know God?

The development of the new technologies and the larger digital world represents a great resource for humanity as a whole and for every individual, and it can act as a stimulus to encounter and dialogue. But this development likewise represents a great opportunity for believers. No door can or should be closed to those who, in the name of the risen Christ, are committed to drawing near to others. To priests in particular the new media offer ever new and far-reaching pastoral possibilities, encouraging them to embody the universality of the Church’s mission, to build a vast and real fellowship, and to testify in today’s world to the new life which comes from hearing the Gospel of Jesus, the eternal Son who came among us for our salvation. At the same time, priests must always bear in mind that the ultimate fruitfulness of their ministry comes from Christ himself, encountered and listened to in prayer; proclaimed in preaching and lived witness; and known, loved and celebrated in the sacraments, especially the Holy Eucharist and Reconciliation.

To my dear brother priests, then, I renew the invitation to make astute use of the unique possibilities offered by modern communications. May the Lord make all of you enthusiastic heralds of the Gospel in the new “agorà” which the current media are opening up.

With this confidence, I invoke upon you the protection of the Mother of God and of the Holy Curè of Ars and, with affection, I impart to each of you my Apostolic Blessing.

From the Vatican, 24 January 2010, Feast of Saint Francis de Sales.

BENEDICTUS XVI

Yesterday, at the beginning of Lent, Bishop Burbidge sent a message to the seminarians of the Diocese of Raleigh assuring them of his prayers during this sacred season of Lent, and his hope that with God's grace it may be a source of abundant spiritual blessings for them all.  He also included a copy of his Ash Wednesday homily which he delivered at the noon Mass in Sacred Heart Cathedral.  Below is the text of that homily:

Ash Wednesday
Sacred Heart Cathedral
February 17, 2010

“A pure heart create for me, O God. Put a steadfast spirit within me.” In my Lenten letter to the faithful of the Diocese, I suggested that we make these words from the Psalm we sang today our daily Lenten prayer.

The prophet Joel in our First Reading calls his community and all of us to an internal reflection. Such reflection may assist us in seeing those things in our heart that are not pure:  bitterness, selfishness and hatred. As ashes are imposed on our foreheads at the beginning of this sacred season, we are powerfully reminded of those sins to which we must die so that we are prepared to celebrate the new life that is ours in Christ Jesus, the new life we celebrate fully at Easter.

In the Gospel today, Jesus calls us to a way of living that demonstrates our desire to have hearts that our pure. We must pray fervently and consistently. We must fast from those things we do not need and which have no place in our lives. We must give of our time and resources to help the most needy and vulnerable in our midst.

Such prayer will demand switching our priorities and creating the space God deserves. Such fasting will demand a change in our patterns of living. Such almsgiving will demand extraordinary sacrifices. Thus, we ask God to give us a steadfast spirit so that we do not grow weary of doing what is good, holy and just. Live this Lent day by day. Persevere with the amazing grace God offers to you.

May I also encourage you, dear friends in Christ, to celebrate God’s infinite mercy and forgiveness at the beginning of this season in the Sacrament of Penance. What great joy we know in hearing the Lord saying to us, “Your sins are forgiven. Now go in peace!”

Each day throughout this Lenten Season pray, “A pure heart create for me, O God. Put a steadfast spirit within me.” Be assured and confident that Our Lord Jesus, who suffered, died and was raised from the dead for us, will hear and respond to our prayer!

Below is a link for the full text of Pope Benedict XVI's message the 47th World Day of Prayer for Vocations which will be celebrated on Sunday, April 25, 2010 - Good Shepherd Sunday.  The theme for this year is "Witness Awakens Vocations."

Click HERE for Pope Benedict XVI's message for the 47th World Day of Prayer for Vocations.

VATICAN CITY, 16 FEB 2010 (VIS) - "Witness Awakens Vocations" is the title of the Pope's message for the 47^th World Day of Prayer for Vocations that will be celebrated on 25 April - Good Shepherd Sunday - the Fourth Sunday of Easter. Here follow excerpts from the document:

  "The fruitfulness of our efforts to promote vocations depends primarily on God's free action, yet, as pastoral experience confirms, it is also helped by the quality and depth of the personal and communal witness of those who have already answered the Lord's call to the ministerial priesthood and to the consecrated life, for their witness is then able to awaken in others a desire to respond generously to Christ's call."

  "In the Old Testament the prophets knew that they were called to witness by their own lives to the message they proclaimed, and were prepared to face misunderstanding, rejection and persecution.  (...)  In the fullness of time, Jesus, sent by the Father, would bear witness to the love of God for all human beings, without distinction, with particular attention to the least ones, sinners, the outcast and the poor.  Jesus is the supreme Witness to God and to his concern for the salvation of all."

  "Similarly the calling of Peter, (...) occurred through the witness of his brother Andrew (...). This was also the case for Nathanael, Bartholomew, thanks to the witness of yet another disciple, Philip (...).  God's free and gracious initiative encounters and challenges the human responsibility of all those who accept his invitation to become, through their own witness, the instruments of his divine call.  This occurs in the Church even today: the Lord makes use of the witness of priests who are faithful to their mission in order to awaken new priestly and religious vocations for the service of the People of God."

  "A fundamental element, one which can be seen in every vocation to the priesthood and the consecrated life, is friendship with Christ.  (...)  If the priest is a "man of God", one who belongs to God and helps others to know and love him, he cannot fail to cultivate a deep intimacy with God, abiding in his love and making space to hear his Word."

  "In following Jesus, everyone called to a life of special consecration must do his utmost to testify that he has given himself completely to God.  This is the source of his ability to give himself in turn to those whom Providence entrusts to him in his pastoral ministry with complete, constant and faithful devotion, (...) enabling them too to become open to meeting Christ, so that his Word may become a light to their footsteps.  The story of every vocation is almost always intertwined with the testimony of a priest who joyfully lives the gift of himself to his brothers and sisters for the sake of the Kingdom of God."

  "A third aspect which necessarily characterizes the priest and the consecrated person is a life of communion. (...)  In a particular way the priest must be a man of communion, open to all, capable of gathering into one the pilgrim flock which the goodness of the Lord has entrusted to him, helping to overcome divisions, to heal rifts, to settle conflicts and misunderstandings, and to forgive offences."

  "[I]f young people see priests who appear distant and sad, they will hardly feel encouraged to follow their example.  They will remain hesitant if they are led to think that this is the life of a priest.  Instead, they need to see the example of a communion of life which can reveal to them the beauty of being a priest."

 "It can be said that priestly vocations are born of contact with priests, as a sort of precious legacy handed down by word, example and a whole way of life."

  "The same can be said with regard to the consecrated life.  The very life of men and women religious proclaims the love of Christ whenever they follow him in complete fidelity to the Gospel and joyfully make their own its criteria for judgement and conduct.  They become "signs of contradiction" for the world, whose thinking is often inspired by materialism, self-centredness and individualism."

  "By letting themselves be won over by God through self-renunciation, their fidelity and the power of their witness constantly awaken in the hearts of many young people the desire to follow Christ in their turn, in a way that is generous and complete.  To imitate Christ, chaste, poor and obedient, and to identify with him: this is the ideal of the consecrated life, a witness to the absolute primacy of God in human life and history."

  "Every priest, every consecrated person, faithful to his or her vocation, radiates the joy of serving Christ and draws all Christians to respond to the universal call to holiness.  Consequently, in order to foster vocations to the ministerial priesthood and the consecrated life, and to be more effective in promoting the discernment of vocations, we cannot do without the example of those who have already said "yes" to God and to his plan for the life of each individual.  Personal witness, in the form of concrete existential choices, will encourage young people for their part to make demanding decisions affecting their future."

Though the website provides the most current and up to date information on vocations and our Diocesan seminarians, every month we try to update our liaisons (and anyone else who is interested) on the workings of our office.  Below is the update for February 2010:

February 2010

First, a special thank you to our school vocations liaisons for there efforts to help promote vocations awareness during Catholic Schools Week.  We are most grateful for all that you do in our schools to help promote and encourage a culture of vocations!

The seminarians have returned to their seminaries and are back in the routine of classes and their apostolate assignments.   A few weeks ago, they were able to join Bishop Burbidge and many people from our Diocese at the March for Life in DC.  Seminarian Ian Van Heusen wrote a beautiful reflection on the March for Life which your students and parishioners may be interested in reading.  The reflection can be found on the vocations website (www.raleighvocations.org).  Also on our website is an updated video gallery format with tabs for different video categories.  Now that this is in place, we hope to be adding new videos regularly as a resource for those discerning vocations as well as those assisting us in the promotion of vocations.

We are also beginning to make plans for our two upcoming ordinations!  Deacon Vic Gournas will be ordained to the Priesthood on Saturday, May 22^nd at Sacred Heart Cathedral in Raleigh.  Seminarian Brendan Buckler will be ordained to the Transitional Diaconate on Saturday, June 5^th at Saint Catherine of Siena Parish in Wake Forest (this is a change from the original location).  Please mark your calendars and plan to join us for these wonderful celebrations!

Please pray for members of our Priesthood Discernment group who will be going on a pilgrimage to Saint Charles Borromeo Seminary at the end of this month. Ever year, Fr. Ned and Brad Watkins take a group of men to the seminary to get a first hand look at what seminary life is like.  Along the way, they also make stops at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in DC and tour the Franciscan Monastery.  They leave very early in the morning on Friday, February 26^th and is a very busy but memorable weekend for the men.  Please keep them in your prayers not only for a safe trip but that some of these men may answer God’s call to become a priest in the Diocese of Raleigh.

Our Deanery Holy Hours for Vocations continued this month with a Holy Hour on Friday, February 5th at Annunciation Parish in Havelock.  It was wonderful to see so many people turn out in order to pray before Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament on what was a very bad night in terms of weather.  The March Holy Hour will be on Friday, March 5th at Saint Anne Parish in Edenton.  We only have a few more holy hours left this year so please join us at one of them if you haven’t been able to so far.  Dates and locations of future Holy Hours can be found on the calendar at www.raleighvocations.org

We had a wonderful start to our Vocations Awareness Week in January when one of the classes from our neighboring school, Sacred Heart Cathedral, came to visit our office!  Their visit and performance was an awesome reminder of all the work that you all are doing with your students and parishioners to help create a culture of vocations in our Diocese!  Please know that our office is very thankful for each of you and for the work that you do in your parishes and schools!  You are in our daily prayers!