"After these things, Joseph of Arimathea, who was a disciple of Jesus, though a secret one because of his fear of the Jews, asked Pilate to let him take away the body of Jesus. Pilate gave him permission; so he came and removed his body. Nicodemus, who had at first come to Jesus by night, also came, bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, weighing about a hundred pounds. They took the body of Jesus and wrapped it with the spices in linen cloths, according to the burial custom of the Jews. Now there was a garden in the place where he was crucified, and in the garden there was a new tomb in which no one had ever been laid. And so, because it was the Jewish day of Preparation, and the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus there." Jn 19: 38-42
Saint of the Day
Saint Peter Nolasco Founder (1189-1256)
In the early thirteenth century the Moors still held much of Spain, and in sudden raids from the sea they carried off thousands of Christians, holding them as slaves in Granada and in their citadels along the African coast. A hero of these unfortunates was Saint Peter Nolasco, born about the year 1189 near Carcassonne in France. When he went to Barcelona to escape the heresy then rampant in southern France, he consecrated the fortune he had inherited to the redemption of the captives taken on the seas by the Saracens. He was obsessed with the thought of their suffering, and desired to sell his own person to deliver his brethren and take their chains upon himself. God made it known to him how agreeable that desire was to Him.
Because of these large sums of money he expended, Peter became penniless. He was without resources and powerless, when the Blessed Virgin appeared to him and said to him: “Find for Me other men like yourself, an army of brave, generous, unselfish men, and send them into the lands where the children of the Faith are suffering.” Peter went at once to Saint Raymond of Pennafort, his confessor, who had had a similar revelation and used his influence with King James I of Aragon and with Berengarius, Archbishop of Barcelona, to obtain approbation and support for the new community. On August 10, 1218, Peter and two companions were received as the first members of the Order of Our Lady of Ransom, dedicated to the recovery of Christian captives. To the three traditional vows of religion, its members joined a fourth, that of delivering their own persons to the overlords, if necessary, to ransom Christians.
Courtyard of the Gentiles Goes to Palermo. Discussions on the Mafia and Organized Crime Scheduled for March
ROME, JAN. 26, 2012 (Zenit.org).- After Bologna, Paris, Bucharest, Florence, Rome and Tirana, the "Courtyard of the Gentiles" will now meet in the Sicilian capital, Palermo, on March 29-30.
Vatican Official Backs Call for Transaction Tax. Says It Would Be One Way to Return Finance to Its Real Vocation
ROME, JAN. 26, 2012 (Zenit.org).- Cardinal Peter Turkson, president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, has declared his support for a tax on financial transactions. His statement comes just before a special European Union summit on the crisis in the Eurozone area, which will be held Monday.
Eucharistic Congress to Have Ecumenical Touch
DUBLIN, Ireland, JAN. 25, 2012 (Zenit.org).- The 50th International Eucharistic Congress, which will take place June 10-17 in Dublin, is planning the extensive involvement of Christians of other traditions in both the pastoral preparation and the official program for the week.
Italian Bishops' President Suggests Path to Reawaken Yearning for God. Looks at Example of World Youth Day By Antonio Gaspari
ROME, JAN. 25, 2012 (Zenit.org).- It is unacceptable that "the door of faith" remains closed, that "salt becomes insipid" and that "light is hidden," says Cardinal Angelo Bagnasco.
POSITIVE SIGNS OF FRATERNITY ON ECUMENICAL JOURNEY
VATICAN CITY, 26 JAN 2012 (VIS) - Yesterday evening in the Roman basilica of St. Paul's Outside-the-Walls, the Holy Father presided at the celebration of second Vespers for the Feast of the Conversion of St. Paul. The celebration, which marked the end of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, was attended by representatives from other Churches including the Orthodox Church of Greece, the Ecumenical Patriarchate, the Anglican Communion and the Patriarchates of Moscow and Romania.
PRIESTS SHOULD PROMOTE SANCTITY WITH THEIR OWN LIVES
VATICAN CITY, 26 JAN 2012 (VIS) - This morning in the Vatican the Holy Father received superiors and seminarians from three Italian regional pontifical seminaries in Assisi, Catanzaro and Naples. All of these institutions, as the Pope remarked in his address to the group, are currently celebrating their first centenary having been founded as part of efforts towards the reformation of priestly education carried out under Popes Leo XIII and St. Pius X. "Bringing diocesan seminaries together into regional seminaries, and the reform of theological studies, produced a notable improvement in quality", Pope Benedict noted. "In this, an important role was played by the Society of Jesus", the Jesuits, to whom the new regional seminaries were entrusted.
HOLY SEE SIGNS UN CONVENTIONS AGAINST INTERNATIONAL CRIME
VATICAN CITY, 26 JAN 2012 (VIS) - Yesterday 25 January the Holy See, acting also in the name and on behalf of Vatican City State, adhered to the International Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism (New York, 1999) and to the United Nations Convention Against Transnational Organised Crime (Palermo, 2000). On the same date the Holy See ratified, likewise in the name and on behalf of Vatican City State, the United Nations Convention against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (Vienna, 1988), which it had already signed in the year in which it was adopted. The instruments of ratification and adherence were accompanied by a number of reservations and interpretative declarations.
PRESS NOTE ON ITALIAN TELEVISION PROGRAMME
VATICAN CITY, 26 JAN 2012 (VIS) - At midday today the Holy See Press Office published a note written by its director, Fr. Federico Lombardi S.J., concerning a television programme, "Gli intoccabili", transmitted yesterday evening by Italy's "La7" television network. Fr. Lombardi highlights the "questionable journalistic methods" with which the programme was made, and his "disappointment at the revelation of reserved documents", noting that such things often form part of the "biased coverage of the Vatican and the Catholic Church".
No One Exempt From Missionary Vocation, Says Pope. Says Every Church Activity Should Have Mission Perspective
VATICAN CITY, JAN. 25, 2012 (Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI says that every component of the Church should feel bound by Christ's mandate to preach the Gospel, so that He is proclaimed everywhere.
Licit Forms of Natural Family Planning. No Reason to Reject Standard Days Method
WASHINGTON, D.C., JAN. 25, 2012 (Zenit.org).- Here is a question on bioethics asked by a ZENIT reader and answered by the fellows of the Culture of Life Foundation.
Pope Recommends Silence to Allow Reflecting, True Communication. Says Quiet Is Necessary in Overload of Messages
VATICAN CITY, JAN. 24, 2012 (Zenit.org).- "When messages and information are plentiful, silence becomes essential if we are to distinguish what is important from what is insignificant or secondary."
Benedict XVI Stresses Value of Silence. Message Presented for 46th World Day of Social Communications By Luca Marcolivio
VATICAN CITY, JAN. 24, 2012 (Zenit.org).- Silence does not mean absence of communication. It is, rather, the other face of the word, which confers meaning on it, modulating the times of socialization, education and evangelization.
Sant'Egidio Lauded for Aiding Costa Concordia Workers. Provided Filipinos and Indonesians With Basic Necessities
ROME, JAN. 24, 2012 (Zenit.org).- The Community of Sant'Egidio reported on what happened with the 180 Filipinos and 170 Indonesians who were left without anything in Italy, far from their countries and families, in the aftermath of the shipwreck of the Costa Concordia cruise ship.
Wife, Mother, Convert Shows Importance of Christians in Politics. Austria to Host Beatification on Sunday By Britta Dorre
ROME, JAN. 24, 2012 (Zenit.org).- Hildegard Burjan (1883-1933), founder of the Sisters of Social Charity (Caritas Socialis), will be proclaimed blessed in St. Stephen's cathedral in Vienna on Sunday.
Commentary on Canon Law Presented at Lateran University. Union Emphasized Between Juridical, Pastoral Approaches
ROME, JAN. 24, 2012 (Zenit.org).- The juridical and pastoral dimensions are inseparably united in the Church.
St. Paul Outside the Walls Hosting Vatican II Exhibit. Archbishop Wojtyła's Diplomatic Passport Among Original Documents on Display
ROME, JAN. 24, 2012 (Zenit.org).- An exhibition of the original documents of the Second Vatican Council opens Wednesday at the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls, the site where Blessed John XXIII announced the convocation of this important ecclesial event of the 20th century.
On Silence and the Word. A Commentary on Pope Benedict's Message to Communicators By Ann Schneible
ROME, JAN. 24, 2012 (Zenit.org).- Today, on the feast of St. Francis de Sales, all those who work in the fields of communication can pray and reflect upon their vocation to be communicators.
News.va to Open French, Portuguese Editions
VATICAN CITY, JAN. 24, 2012 (Zenit.org).- The www.news.va Web site will soon be available in French and Portuguese, announced Archbishop Claudio Maria Celli, during a press conference today to present Benedict XVI's Message for the 46th World Day of Social Communications.
Whose Conscience? Which Religion? The Enemy Is Partially Us. Ruling on Health Care Needs to Be Judged in Light of Truth By E. Christian Brugger
WASHINGTON, D.C., JAN. 24, 2012 (Zenit.org).- There is a lot of anger over the Obama administration's recently announced decision to require religiously-affiliated employers to cover contraceptive services in their insurance plans, and rightly so. On Friday, the secretary for the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Kathleen Sebelius, announced that institutions such as Catholic universities and hospitals have one-year to "adapt" their policies to ensure employee coverage for all FDA approved contraceptives, including the abortion drug Ella, no copays, no deductibles.
Bangkok Hosts Interreligious Meeting. Group Looks at Social Challenges That Need Cooperation Between Creeds
ROME, JAN. 24, 2012 (Zenit.org).- Religious leaders from regions of Asia and the West met in Thailand this month to consider the various social challenges that can be dealt with through religious dialogue and cooperation between different creeds.
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In the early thirteenth century the Moors still held much of Spain, and in sudden raids from the sea they carried off thousands of Christians, holding them as slaves in Granada and in their citadels along the African coast. A hero of these unfortunates was Saint Peter Nolasco, born about the year 1189 near Carcassonne in France. When he went to Barcelona to escape the heresy then rampant in southern France, he consecrated the fortune he had inherited to the redemption of the captives taken on the seas by the Saracens. He was obsessed with the thought of their suffering, and desired to sell his own person to deliver his brethren and take their chains upon himself. God made it known to him how agreeable that desire was to Him.