The Lord, who keeps my face inscribed in the palm of His hand, is like the sign in the woods, hidden behind trees and bushes. All it takes is a little effort of mine to discover the sign and see where it points me. It would solve a lot of problems and give me the certainty that I won’t make the wrong choice.

So whenever I face a crossroad, I know the sign is somewhere. Sometimes it is clear to see, sometimes it is hidden behind bushes, but I know it is there. That’s faith.

Why then, do I not take the time to search for the sign before I take either way?

Lord, please give me the patience to pray and discern. Let me be guided by You who points me in the right direction at every moment of my life.

Hoffnung means hope…

Note: It could, of course, be argued, that the municipal stadium in Sydney does not constitute a “holy place” in the sense of the Psalm, but you get my drift.

Hoffnung means hope…

When you call me by name
You touch the very heart of me
I want to fall at your feet
It is there that I find my peace…

For some odd reasons, songs entitled “Forgiven” have largely fallen under the domain of our Protestant brothers and sisters. I say largely, not entirely, because the so-titled song by Critical Mass has worked it’s way up on my playlist and is by far one of my favourites.

Hoffnung means hope…

In the musical style of Paul Melley (click Take, Lord, Receive)

Hoffnung means hope…

Born Cuauhtlatoatzin, Juan Diego, a native Nahua, received baptism in 1524 together with his wife by a Franciscan missionary. His story could have ended there. In 1531, however, he witnessed a 4-day apparition of the Virgin Mary on the hill of Tonantzin. The Blessed Mother sent him to tell the bishop to build a church for her on that very hill. Bishop Zumarraga, sceptical in the beginning, had trouble believing the story of the simple Indian widower, and sent him away. During the second apparition he witnessed, roses grew out of the ground where the Blessed Mother had stood, and Juan Diego collected them as proof of the supernatural. When he opened his coat, in which he had carried the roses to the Bishop, an image of the Virgin’s face appeared on the cloth. The Bishop believed and had the church built immediately.

Our Lady of Guadalupe has helped the Church in Latin America beyond all measures. People came to believe ever strongly, and the understandable original resistance against the foreign missionaries faded away after talk of the miracle spread all over the continent. The fact that the apparitions took place on the hill of Tonantzin, the Actez goddess called “our venerable Mother”, was a catalyzing factor as well. The Spanish had only just destroyed the old Actez temple on the same ground – the now following apparitions to a native Indian justified the claim of the Christian Missionaries in the eyes of the natives, and they came to believe that the only venerable Mother was the ever-Virgin, Mother of God.

But obviously, where there are miracles, there are sceptics. The history of Our Lady of Guadalupe has not stopped to be the source for conspiracy theories, and claims that Bishop Zumarraga made up the entire story by himself are still being heard.

The strand of criticism has never stopped the faithful from believing. Long before the Vatican officially recognized the apparitions in 1745, Our Lady of Guadalupe had become a destination for Latin American pilgrims. Today, as I just read, it is the largest Roman Catholic shrine in the world, with some 20 million pilgrims per annum. For resons of comparison, the shrine in Lourdes receives 6 million pilgrims a year, Fatima 2 million, Altötting 1.5 million, and Santiago de Compostela 12 million. The Santiago figures obviously have to be scrutinized carefully, as the recent popularity of walking to Santiago for reasons of lifestyle and trend is definitely distorting the figure of actual pilgrims.

From all I read, Our Lady of Guadalupe’s growth doews not come from detailed marketing strategies or heavy advertisement. It is rather an increase in the thirst for God and for devotion – and of course increased mobility of the faithful – that accounts for the huge amount of pilgrims coming to Mexico each year on a journey of faith. If time and money ever permit, I feel definitely called to do the same.

Hoffnung means hope…

Many of my fellow Catholics have read Benedict’s first Encyclica the minute it came out and the days and weeks after. It was much talked about, discussed, praised, welcomed. However, when browsing the internet, I sometimes get the impression like some of its content went unnoticed. Let’s take a look:

The Church’s deepest nature is expressed in her three-fold responsibility: of proclaiming the word of God (kerygma-martyria), celebrating the sacraments (leitourgia), and exercising the ministry of charity (diakonia). These duties presuppose each other and are inseparable. For the Church, charity is not a kind of welfare activity which could equally well be left to others, but is a part of her nature, an indispensable expression of her very being. (Benedict XVI, Deus Caritas Est, 25a)

What Benedict states here is by no means new. The entire encyclica is not a work with originality claim. On the contrary, it deals with the oldest identity questions of the Catholic Church. Charity is a part of Christian identity, not by choice but by definition. As the bride of Christ, the Church is called to love and to help. In fact, that very part of the Church’s identity stems directly from Jesus’ final commandment (Jn 15:12).

Keeping the state of our planet in mind, it seems obvious and self-explanatory where the focus of Christian efforts should lie these days.

The Pope obviously stated the other two fundamental tasks of the Church’s identity, the kerygma and the leitourgia. While those two are undoubtedly extremely important as well, they seem to have a huge edge over the third one in terms of what is being dealt with on Catholic blogs these days – especially the latter.

This is by no means to say that spreading the word of God and discussing the liturgical challenges the Church faces in an age of post-counciliar confusion is a bad thing. On the contrary, it is much needed and appreciated.

But, in all honesty, sometimes I wish that when browsing the Catholic blogosphere, I would find a tad bit more (positive) articles about the work of Caritas International and the Order of Malta in Myanmar than (negative and mocking articles) about the latest potato-head puppet liturgy by Call to Action. Those that frequently browse through the blogosphere themselves will easily understand what I am talking about.

Hoffnung means hope…

Hoffnung means hope…

“Look at the birds in the sky; they do not sow or reap, they gather nothing into barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are not you more important than they? Can any of you by worrying add a single moment to your life-span?”

It is a short part full of incredible advice. Why worry? Too many times we get frustrated in our lives, thinking that all depends on us and that we’re jsut not up to it. And honestly, it’s all just a waste of time.

>>Jesus asks for childlike abandonment to the providence of our heavenly Father who takes care of his children’s smallest needs: “Therefore do not be anxious, saying ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’. …Your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things shall be yours as well.”<< (Catechism § 305)

Hoffnung means hope…

“They stopped, and they looked for one second, and they met Jesus by the eye – and their lives could have been changed forever”

Hoffmung means hope…

-Pope Benedict XVI

Hoffnung means hope…