mars 2013

Pasjonstid: evangelium onsdagen

I den tradisjonelle kalenderen er hele pasjonstida (fra søndag før palmesøndag) fokusert på motstanden mot Jesus og hans lidelse. Slik leste vi til messen og matutin onsdag etter pasjonssøndag:

Johannes 10:22-38
Nå kom den festen som ble feiret i Jerusalem til minne om tempelinnvielsen. Det var vinter. 23 Jesus gikk omkring i Salomos buegang på tempelplassen. 24 Jødene flokket seg om ham og spurte: «Hvor lenge vil du holde oss i uvisshet? Er du Messias, så si oss det rett ut!» 25 Jesus svarte: «Jeg har sagt dere det, men dere tror meg ikke. De gjerninger jeg gjør i min Fars navn, de vitner om meg. 26 Men dere tror meg ikke, for dere hører ikke til blant mine sauer. 27 Mine sauer hører min røst, jeg kjenner dem, og de følger meg. 28 Og jeg gir dem evig liv; de skal aldri i evighet gå tapt, og ingen skal rive dem ut av min hånd. 29 Min Far som har gitt meg dem, er større enn alle, og ingen kan rive noen ut av min Fars hånd. 30 Jeg og Faderen er ett.» 31 Da tok jødene igjen opp steiner for å steine ham. 32 Jesus sa til dem: «Mange gode gjerninger som er fra Faderen, har jeg vist dere. Hvilken av dem er det dere vil steine meg for?» 33 Jødene svarte: «For noen god gjerning steiner vi deg ikke, men for gudsbespottelse: Du som er et menneske, gjør deg til Gud.» 34 Jesus svarte: «Står det ikke skrevet i deres egen lov: Jeg har sagt: Dere er guder? 35 De som Guds ord kom til, blir altså i loven kalt guder, og Skriften kan ikke settes ut av kraft. 36 Hvorfor sier dere da til ham som Gud har helliget og sendt til verden: Du spotter Gud, fordi jeg sa: Jeg er Guds Sønn? 37 Hvis jeg ikke gjør min Fars gjerninger, så tro ikke på meg. 38 Men hvis jeg gjør dem, så tro i det minste gjerningene, om dere ikke tror meg. Da skal dere skjønne og innse at jeg er i Faderen og Faderen i meg.»

Homily by St Augustin, Bishop of H ippo. – 42th Tract on John.
The Greek word Enkainia, used by the Evangelist, signifieth the Feast of the Dedication of the Temple. The derivation thereof is kainon, which is, being interpreted, new; and the Dedication of anything new is thence called Enkainia. The use of this word is still preserved among ourselves; if any man put on his new coat for the first time we say that he enkainiateth. It was the use of the Jews to keep solemn holiday upon the Anniversary of the Dedication of the Temple, and this was the Feast-day which was being observed when the Lord spake the words which have been read.

It was winter. And Jesus walked in the Temple in Solomon’s Porch. Then came the Jews round about Him, and said unto Him How long dost Thou make us to doubt? If Thou be the Christ, tell us plainly. They sought not to know the truth, but to have whereof to accuse Him. It was winter, and they were cold; for they were slow to draw near to God’s fire. If to believe is to draw near thereto, then he which believeth draweth near thereto and he which denieth, goeth away therefrom. The feet of the soul, by which it moveth, are the affections thereof.

They were frozen with want of love, and at the same time on fire with thirst to do injury. They stood afar off, and yet came near; for though they drew not near by faith, they were eager to persecute. They sought to hear the Lord say I am the Christ; and perchance they knew somewhat concerning Christ, as touching His Manhood, for the Prophets had prophesied of Christ. But the Godhead of Christ even some heretics do not see witnessed either in the Prophets or in the Gospel; how much less the Jews, as long as the veil is upon their heart. 2 Cor. iii. 15.

George Weigel skriver om pave Frans

George Weigel er ikke hvem som helst (les om ham på Wikipedia , bl.a. om alle bøkene han har skrevet), og han skriver i dag på FirstThings om pave Frans, i stor grad ut fra et møte han hadde med ham i Argentina for et knapt år siden – for å finne materiale til sin siste bok, «Evangeliske katolikker«. Han skriver svært positivt om den nye paven, bl.a.:

What kind of man is (pope Francis)? Some impressions from an hour’s conversation last May:

A man of God.The new pope struck me then as someone who lived from the inside out: a man whose rich interior life was the basis of his public life; a leader whose decisions grew from prayer and discernment, not calculation.

A man of profound humility. I had long been interested in getting to know then-Cardinal Bergoglio, but I had the hardest time getting him to talk about his own life and experiences. I didn’t detect shyness in this, or false modesty, but a true evangelical humility. Pope Francis will not have the effervescence of a John Paul II; but like the Polish pope who created him cardinal, Jorge Bergoglio has spent his life saying, not “Look at me,” but rather, “Look to Jesus Christ.”

A man of keen and realistic intelligence. Pope Francis is not the university professor that John Paul II and Benedict XVI had been in their pre-papal lives. And while that model of preparing for the papacy served the Church well for thirty-five years, it’s not the only possible model. Now, rather than a professor who learned how to be a pastor, the Church has been given a pastor who has long experience of being a pastor.

Nonetheless, I was struck last May by Bergoglio’s sharp mind, his familiarity with issues throughout the world Church, and his prudence in judging people and situations. He was, for example, completely realistic and lucid about the Church’s situation in Latin America. …

A man of the New Evangelization. The new pope played a significant role in shaping the Latin American bishops’ 2007 “Aparecida Document,” which embraced the New Evangelization and put it at the center of the Church’s life. In our conversation, …

A man of reform. We spoke of the Latin American edition of my book The Courage To Be Catholic, for which he thanked me. And in discussing Vatican affairs, then-Cardinal Bergoglio displayed a shrewd, but not cynical, grasp of just what was wrong with the Church’s central bureaucratic machinery, and why. …

A man of freedom rightly understood. In addition to Pope Francis’ lifetime commitment to the poor I’d also note his commitment to human rights and democracy, both of which are under severe pressure in Argentina. The new pope knows the fragility of democratic self-governance, and will work to shore up democracy’s eroding moral-cultural foundations throughout the West.

Dagbladets teologiske innsikt

Bjørn Are Davidsen skriver på sin blogg om en artikkel i Dagbladet, som er (ganske så typisk) helt useriøs:

At aviser er ute etter overskrifter og klikk er ikke verdig en overskrift, selv om det noen ganger kan klikke for noen og enhver, særlig journalistene. På samme måte er det heller ikke verdt en overskrift eller heving av så mange øyenbryn at Dagbladet prøver å slå mynt på … hva som helst som sier noe annet enn kirken/kristne/kristen tro. Men at det nærmer seg påske er alltid verdt en overskrift.

Siden vi er i fastetiden er det altså bare å lene seg tilbake og vente på oppslagene som kan fortelle at påsken/Jesus er ganske så annerledes enn beskrevet i kildene fra det første århundre i Det nye testamentet. Siden disse er skrevet så lenge etter Jesu tid – nærmere bestemt fra rundt tyve (Pauli brev) til seksti år (Johannesevangeliet) etter – kan de altså ikke være troverdige. …

(Men) kilden som slås opp med store bokstaver (i Dagbladet) som hovedoppslaget på forsiden av nettutgaven er altså ikke fra det første århundret. Nå kunne man kanskje til nød tenke at en tekst fra det andre århundre i teorien kunne kaste noe lys over deler av hva som skjedde. Men teksten er heller ikke fra det andre århundre. Eller fra det tredje, fjerde, femte eller sjette. Den er heller ikke fra det sjuende eller åttende, som litt avhengig av hvordan vi tenker om dateringen er der vi finner Koranen. Som altså er skrevet svært mye for sent til at historikere kan bruke den som noe i nærheten av en kilde til Jesus. …

Jesus - Dagbladet 170313

Bildet over viser Dagbladets nettside fra denne dagen, og Davidsen fortsetter:

…. I likhet med andre tekster fra mange generasjoner etter Jesus. Disse kalles gjerne for apokryfer som er en felles betegnelse for så sene og avledede tekster at historikere ikke kan bruke dem. Og denne teksten er til og med sen selv til apokryfer å være.

Men slikt er det ikke så nøye med i kampen om overskrifter. Under den kledelige mellomoverskriften Hadde kone ser Dagbladet dermed en tekst fra 800-tallet som en del av rekken av nye … funn om Jesus.

«Den 1200 år gamle teksten er langt fra den første som gir alternative historier om Jesus. Professor Karen L. King, historiker ved Harvard Divinity School, har oversatt en annen koptisk tekst funnet på en bit papyrus fra 300-tallet. Hun sier at det står noe som aldri er funnet på noen annen del av skrifter fra denne tidsepoken – at Jesus refererer til sin kone.» Mens det i realiteten verken er første eller siste gang Dagbladet lar seg dra etter nesen av bløff eller blindhet for historisk gangsyn når noe passer egen agenda.

Les gjerne selve artikkelen i Dagbladet.

Om liturgien i innsettelsesmessen

Om innsettelsesmessen skriver NLM-bloggen:

… Before the Mass begins there are the rites specific to the beginning of the Bishop of Rome’s Petrine Ministry. These include:

The Imposition of the Pallium:
Made of lamb’s wool and sheep’s wool, the Pallium is placed on the Pope’s shoulders recalling the Good Shepherd who carries the lost sheep on his shoulders. The Pope’s Pallium has five red crosses while the Metropolitans’ Palliums have five black crosses. The one used by Francis is the same one that Benedict XVI used. It is placed on the Pope’s shoulders by Cardinal proto-deacon Tauran and, after the imposition, there is a prayer recited by Cardinal proto-presbyter Daneels.

The Fisherman’s Ring:
Peter is the fisherman Apostle, called to be a “fisher of men”. The ring is presented to the Pope by Cardinal Deacon Sodano (first of the Order of Bishops). It bears the image of St. Peter with the keys. It was designed by Enrico Manfrini The ring was in the possession of Archbishop Macchi, Pope Paul VI’s personal secretary, and then Msgr. Malnati, who proposed it to Pope Francis through Cardinal Re. It is made of silver and gold.

The “Obedience”:
Six cardinals, two from each order, among the first of those present approach the Pope to make an act of obedience. Note that all the Cardinal electors already made an act of obedience in the Sistine Chapel at the end of the Conclave and that all the cardinals were able to meet the Pope in the following day’s audience in the Clementine Hall. Also, at the moment of “taking possession” of the Cathedral of Rome—St. John Lateran—it is expected that the act of obedience will be made by representatives of the various members of the People of God.

The Mass will be that of the Solemnity of St. Joseph, which has its own readings (therefore they are not directly related to the rite of the Inauguration of the Pontificate). The Gospel will be proclaimed in Greek, as at the highest solemnities, to show that the universal Church is made up of the great traditions of the East and the West. “Latin,” Fr. Lombardi said, “is already abundantly present in the other prayers and Mass parts.” …

Fr. Lombardi said that the Master of Celebrations expects that the ceremony will not last much more than two hours and, always with the intention of simplification and not making the rite overly long, there will not be an Offertory procession. The Eucharistic gifts will be brought to the altar by the ministers who prepare the altar. Also, the Pope will not distribute Communion, which will be done by the deacons on the “Sagrato” and, in the various areas of the piazza, by priests. …

Denne teksten ble skrevet før messen, men messen ble gjennomført som det her ble beskrevet. Det man la spesielt merke til – i tillegg til pavens klær (som var litt for enkle) og latinen (som ble uttalt klart og tydelig) o.a. – var at pave Frans holdt sin preken stående og uten sin mitra på hodet. På PrayTell-bloggen diskuterer man dette.

Pasjonstid: evangelium tirsdagen

I den tradisjonelle kalenderen er hele pasjonstida (fra søndag før palmesøndag) fokusert på motstanden mot Jesus og hans lidelse. Dette leste vi til messen og matutin på tirsdag etter pasjonssøndag:

Johannes 7:1-13
Siden drog Jesus omkring i Galilea. Han ville ikke være i Judea, fordi jødene stod ham etter livet. 2 Det var like før løvhyttefesten, en av jødenes høytider. 3 Brødrene hans sa da til ham: «Dra bort herfra og reis til Judea, så også disiplene dine kan få se de gjerninger du gjør! 4 For ingen virker i det skjulte, hvis han vil bli kjent. Når du nå gjør slike gjerninger, så stå fram for all verden!» 5 For heller ikke brødrene hans trodde på ham. 6 Jesus sa til dem: «Min tid er ennå ikke kommet, men for dere er det alltid den rette tid. 7 Verden kan ikke hate dere, men meg hater den, fordi jeg vitner om at dens gjerninger er onde. 8 Dere kan dra opp til høytiden; jeg drar ikke, for min tid er ennå ikke kommet.» 9 Dette sa han til dem og ble selv igjen i Galilea. 10 Men etter at brødrene hans var dratt opptil høytiden, drog han også av sted, ikke åpenlyst, men uten at noen la merke til det. 11 Jødene lette etter ham under festen og spurte: «Hvor er han?» 12 Og det ble hvisket mye om ham i mengden. Noen sa: «Han er en god mann.» «Nei, han fører folket vill!» sa andre. 13 Ingen snakket åpent om ham, for de var redde for jødene.

Homily by St Augustin, Bishop of Hippo. – 28th Tract on John.
In this chapter of the Gospel, my brethren, our Lord Jesus Christ hath much commended Himself unto our faith, as touching His Manhood. At the same time, His words and works were alway such as to give us to believe that He is both God and Man, yea, that God Who made us, and that Man Who hath sought us, yea, God the Son, Who, as touching His Godhead, is alway with the Father, John i. 18; iii. 13, and, as touching His Manhood, hath been with us in time. Matth. i. 23. For He had not sought the work of His hands unless He had been made His own work. John i. 14. Keep this well in mind, and let your hearts never forget it, namely, that Christ was not made Man so as to cease to be God. He, Who made the Manhood, took It into that Godhead Which is His from everlasting to everlasting.

While therefore He lay hid in the Manhood, we must not think that He had suffered any lessening of power, but that He was giving ensample to our weakness. When He willed it, He was taken; when He willed it, He was put to death. John x. 18. But, since He was to have members, that is, His faithful people, who would not have that power over their lives which He, our God, had over His, He hid Himself, He concealed Himself, as if it were to escape being put to death, to show what should be done by those His members in whom He should dwell.

Christ is not the Head of His Church in such sense that He is not in her Body; but the whole Christ is in the Head, and the whole Christ is in the Body. That, then, which His members are is Himself, though That Which He is, That are not therefore His members. For if His members had not been indeed His Own, how had He said unto Saul, Acts ix. 4: Why persecutest thou Me? since Saul was not persecuting Him in Himself, but in His members, that is, in His faithful ones which were upon earth. He said not, Why persecutest thou My holy ones, nor, My servants, no, nor yet called He them by that more honourable name, My brethren, but, Why persecutest thou Me? that is, the members of My Body, whose Head I am.

Se hele innsettelsesmessen

Alle som ikke hadde anledning til å se pave Frans’ innsettelsesmesse direkte (som jeg selv ikke hadde), kan se hele messen (pluss alt som skjer før og etter messen) her:

Og på katolsk.no kan man lese en norsk oversettelse av pavens preken ved denne anledning.

Pasjonstid: evangelium mandagen

I den tradisjonelle kalenderen er hele pasjonstida (fra søndag før palmesøndag) fokusert på motstanden mot Jesus og hans lidelse. Dette leste vi til messen og matutin mandag etter pasjonssøndag:

Johannes 7:32-39
32 Fariseerne hørte at folket gikk og hvisket slik om ham, og overprestene og fariseerne sendte nå ut sine menn for å gripe ham. 33 Da sa Jesus: «Ennå en liten stund er jeg hos dere, så går jeg til ham som har sendt meg. 34 Dere skal søke meg, men ikke finne meg, for der jeg er, dit kan dere ikke komme.» 35 Jødene sa til hverandre: «Hvor vil han dra hen, siden vi ikke skal finne ham? Vil han kanskje reise ut til våre landsmenn blant grekerne og preke for grekere? 36 Hva mener han med det han sa: Dere skal søke meg og ikke finne meg, og der jeg er, dit kan dere ikke komme?» 37 På den siste dag i høytiden, den store festdagen, stod Jesus fram og ropte: «Den som tørster, la ham komme til meg og drikke! 38 Den som tror på meg, fra hans indre skal det, som Skriften har sagt, renne strømmer av levende vann.» 39 Dette sa han om den Ånd de som trodde på ham, skulle få. For Ånden var ennå ikke kommet, fordi Jesus ennå ikke hadde fått del i herligheten.

Homily by St Augustin, Bishop of Hippo. – 31th Tract on John.
How could they take Him until such time as He willed to be taken? If, then, they could not take Him until He willed to be taken, were they sent to watch His teaching? Then said Jesus unto them Yet a little while am I with you what ye now seek to do, ye shall do; but not yet, for I will not so yet. And why will I not so yet? Because yet a little while am I with you, and then I go unto Him that sent Me I must fulfill that which I am sent to do, and so go to suffer.

You shall seek Me, and shall not find Me, and where I am thither ye cannot come. In these words He foretold already His rising again from the dead. While He was with them they would not know Him; and afterwards they sought Him, when they saw that a multitude already believed in Him. For great signs were wrought also when the Lord rose again, and ascended up into heaven. Then were great signs again wrought through the Disciples, that is, through them by Him Who worketh the same directly also by Himself, according as He had said unto them Without Me ye can do nothing. John xv. 5.When that lame man that was laid daily at the Beautiful Gate of the Temple stood up at the voice of Peter Acts iii.and walked, and all the people were filled with wonder, Peter bade them know that it was not by his own power that he had made him to walk, but by the power of Him Whom they had killed. And when they heard this, many were pricked in their heart, and said What shall we do? Acts ii. 37.

Nor they saw that they were burdened with the guilt of an exceeding great sin, in that they had killed Him, Whom it was their duty to worship and adore and for that guilt they knew of no propitiation. Yea, their sin was indeed exceeding great; and the consideration of it made them to despair for whom the Lord, when He hung upon the Cross, had been willing to pray, as it is written Then said Jesus Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do. Luke xxiii. 34. At that hour He had seen among many aliens some that were His Own; for them He asked forgiveness, while yet He suffered at their hand, nor considered that they were putting Him to death, but only that He was dying for them.

Pavens første Angelus – en helt ny stil

Det er virkelig en helt ny stil nå som pave Frans er på plass, fra zenit.org kan vi lese en oversettelse av gårsdagens Angelus:

Brothers and sisters, hello!

After the first meeting last Wednesday, today I can again offer my greeting to everyone! And I am glad to do it on Sunday, the Lord’s day! This is beautiful and important for us Christians: coming together on Sunday, greeting each other, talking with each other like we are doing now here in the piazza; a piazza that, thanks to the media, has the dimensions of the world. On this fifth Sunday of Lent, the Gospel presents us with the episode of the adulterous woman (cf. John 8:1-11), who Jesus saves from the death sentence.

Jesus attitude is striking: we do not hear words of scorn, we do not hear words of condemnation, but only words of love, of mercy, that invite us to conversion. Neither do I condemn you: go and sin no more! (8:11). Well, brothers and sisters, the face of God is that of a merciful father, who always has patience. Have you thought about God’s patience, the patience that he has for each of us? That is his mercy. He always has patience, patience with us, he understands us, he waits for us, he does not weary of forgiving us if we know how to return to him with a contrite heart. Great is the mercy of the Lord, the Psalm says.

These last several days I have been able to read a book by a cardinal, Cardinal Kasper, a smart theologian, a good theologian on mercy. And it did me much good that book, but dont think that I am advertising the books of my cardinals! It is not that way! But it did me much good, much good… Cardinal Kasper said that hearing the word mercy, this word changes everything. It is the best word we can hear: it changes the world. A little mercy makes the world less cold and more just. We need to rightly understand this mercy of God, this merciful Father, who has a lot of patience … Let us remember the prophet Isaiah, who says that even if our sins are bright red, God’s mercy can make them white as snow. Mercy is beautiful!

I remember, when I had just become a bishop, in the year 1992, Our Lady of Fatima had just arrived in Buenos Aires and there was a big Mass for the sick. I went to hear confessions at that Mass. And near the end of the Mass I got up, because I had to administer holy oil.

An old lady came to me, a humble lady, very humble, over 80 years old; I looked at her and I said to her: Grandma, because in our country this is what we call old people: ‘Grandma do you want to go to confession?’ ‘Yes,’ she said to me. But if you havent sinned…, [I said]. And she said to me: We have all sinned… . ‘But maybe the Lord does not forgive them’… [I replied].

The Lord forgives everything, she told me, certain of what she was saying. But how do you know that, madam? If the Lord did not forgive everything, [she said], the world wouldnt exist. I felt like asking her, Tell me, madam, did you study at the Gregorian? because thats the wisdom that the Holy Spirit gives: interior wisdom about the mercy of God.

Let us not forget this: God never wearies of forgiving us, never! So, father, whats the problem? Well, the problem is that we grow weary, we do not want to, we tire of asking for forgiveness. He never tires of forgiving, but we, at times, we tire of asking forgiveness. Let us never tire, let us never tire! He is the loving Father, who always forgives, who has that heart of mercy for all of us. And we too learn to be merciful with everyone. We invoke the intercession of Our Lady who held in her arms the Mercy of God made man. Now let us all together pray the Angelus. [Following the recitation of the Angelus, the Holy Father greeted those present in Italian.]

I offer a cordial greeting to all the pilgrims. Thanks for your welcome and for your prayers. I ask you to pray for me. I renew my embrace of the faithful of Rome and I extend it to all of you, who come from various parts of Italy and of the world, and to those who are joining through different media. I chose the name of the Patron of Italy, St. Francis of Assisi, and that reinforces my spiritual bond with this land, where as you know my family has its origins. But Jesus has called us to be part of a new family: his Church, this family of God, walking together along the way of the Gospel.

May the Lord bless you, may Our Lady protect you. Do not forget this: the Lord never wearies of forgiving! We are the ones who weary of asking for forgiveness. Have a good Sunday and a good lunch!

Pasjonstid: evangelium pasjonssøndag

I den tradisjonelle kalenderen er hele pasjonstida (fra søndag før palmesøndag) fokusert på motstanden mot Jesus og hans lidelse. Dette leste vi til messen og matutin på pasjonssøndagen:

Johannes 8:46-59
På den tid sa Jesus til jødene: 46 Hvem av dere kan vise at jeg har gjort synd? Men når det er sannheten jeg sier, hvorfor tror dere meg da ikke? 47 Den som er av Gud, hører Guds ord. Dere hører ikke, for dere er ikke av Gud.» 48 Da svarte jødene: «Har vi ikke rett når vi sier at du er en samaritan og en besatt?» 49 «Jeg er ikke besatt,» sa Jesus, «men jeg ærer min Far, og dere viser meg forakt. 50 Jeg søker ikke min egen ære. Men det er en som gjør det, og han dømmer. 51 Sannelig, sannelig, jeg sier dere: Den som holder fast på mitt ord, skal aldri i evighet kjenne døden.» 52 Jødene svarte: «Du er besatt. Abraham er død, og likedan profetene, og du sier: Den som holder fast på mitt ord, skal aldri kjenne døden. 53 Du er vel ikke større enn vår far Abraham? Både han og profetene er døde. Hvem gir du deg ut for å være?» 54 Jesus svarte: «Hvis jeg ærer meg selv, er min ære ingen ting verd. Men det er min Far som ærer meg, han som dere kaller deres Gud. 55 Dere kjenner ham ikke, men jeg kjenner ham. Dersom jeg sa at jeg ikke kjente ham, var jeg en løgner, slik som dere. Men jeg kjenner ham og tar vare på hans ord. 56 Deres far Abraham jublet over å skulle oppleve min dag. Han fikk oppleve den og frydet seg.» 57 «Du er ennå ikke femti år og har sett Abraham?» sa jødene. 58 Jesus svarte: «Sannelig, sannelig, jeg sier dere: Før Abraham var, er jeg.» 59 Da tok de opp steiner for å kaste på ham. Men Jesus skjulte seg for dem og forlot templet.

Homily by Pope St Gregory (the Great) 18th on the Gospels.
Dearly beloved brethren, consider the gentleness of God. He came to take away sins, and He saith Which of you convinceth Me of sin? He Who, through the might of His Godhead, was able to justify sinners, was contented to show by argument that He was not Himself a sinner. But exceeding dread is that which followeth. He that is of God heareth God’s words; ye, therefore, hear them not, because ye are not of God. If, then, whosoever is of God heareth God’s words, and whosoever is not of Him cannot hear His words, let each one ask himself if he, in the ear of his heart, heareth God’s words, and understandeth Whose words they are? The Truth commandeth us to long for a Fatherland in heaven, to bridle the lusts of the flesh, to turn away from the glory of the world, to seek no man’s goods, and to give away our own.

Relikvien i St Olav domkirke i Oslo er virkelig hl Olavs leggben

13mars_olavsrelikvien
NRK meldte i går ettermiddag:

Religionshistoriker Øystein Morten ville knuse noen myter og bygge noen sannheter om vikingkongen Olav Haraldsson, bedre kjent som Olav den Hellige.

Jakten startet ved en monter i Sankt Olav domkirke i Oslo, der en relikvie har stått i mange år. Den utsmykkede beholderen inneholder et ben, som trolig stammer fra Olav.

«Jeg trodde det var en liten flis, så jeg ble forundret da jeg så det. Det er et 40 centimeter langt, ganske kraftig ben, som rett og slett ikke har blitt undersøkt», sier Morten.

Den katolske kirken gikk med på å frigi benet til undersøkelser, og den første var en karbondatering for å finne ut når eieren døde.

«Det ble så nære klaff som vi kan komme. Vi kan si sikkert at han døde i slutten av 900-tallet eller opp mot 1040. Men mest sannsynlig rundt 1030. Undersøkelsene viste at personen var mellom 25 og 35 da han døde. Olav var trolig 35 eller litt yngre da han døde på Stiklestad», sier Morten. …

NRKs innlegg innholder også en del mer informasjon – og en video.

Den nye pavens enkle liturgiske stil

Da pave Frans kom ut på balkongen onsdag kveld, la «kjennere» merke til at han ikke hadde på deg den tradisjonelle røde mozettaen, og at han bare hadde på seg stolaen under selve velsignelsen – begge deler ulikt alle tidligere paver. Bloggen PrayTell skriver ganske balansert om dette (i motsetning til flere tradisjonalistiske nettsteder, som er i harnisk over flere ting):

The official choir dress of the pope is a white cassock with a white watered silk fascia (sash). Over that, a rochet (a surplice for prelates with longer narrower sleeves). Over rochet is worn red-silk mozetta (red shoulder-length cape), then stole, then gold-corded gold pectoral cross. …

When Bergoglio was elected pope, he wore a white simar. But interestingly, he didn’t wear the rochet or mozetta or gold-corded gold pectoral cross – the choir dress of a pope. He simply wore a simar (which has a little shoulder cape) and what appeared to be his own pectoral cross. He put the stole on only for the blessing, and then took it off while still in public.

Etter messen i det sixtinske kapell torsdag har det igjen vært en debatt om den nye pavens enklere liturgiske stil. Igjen debatteres dette ganske balansert på PrayTell – som egentlig er en nokså progressiv blogg, med der også mer konservative stemmer deltar i debatten.

Jesus oppvekker enkens sønn i Nain

Tissot_Son_at_Nain

I dag leses evangeliet (i den tradisjonelle kalenderen) om enkens (døde) sønn i Nain (en tekst som nesten helt er blitt borte i vår tid – les om det her):

Lukas 7
11 Kort tid etter gav Jesus seg på vei til en by som heter Nain. Disiplene og en stor folkemengde drog sammen med ham. 12 Som han nå nærmet seg byporten, ble en død båret ut for å begraves. Han var sin mors eneste sønn, og hun var enke. Sammen med henne kom et stort følge fra byen. 13 Da Herren fikk se enken, ble han fylt av medlidenhet med henne og sa: «Gråt ikke!» 14 Så gikk han bort og la hånden på båren. De som bar den, stanset, og han sa: «Unge mann, jeg sier deg: Stå opp!» 15 Da satte den døde seg opp og begynte å tale, og Jesus gav ham til hans mor. 16 Alle ble da grepet av ærefrykt, og de priste Gud. «En stor profet er oppreist blant oss,» sa de, «og Gud har gjestet sitt folk.» 17 Og ryktet om dette kom ut i hele Jødeland og områdene omkring.

Til matutin leses vi hl Ambrosius’ kommentarer til teksten:

Homily by St Ambrose, Bishop of Milan. – Bk. v. Conwi. on Luke vii.
The history which we here read in the Holy Gospel hath for us specially two gracious lessons, the one from the literal, the other from the mystic interpretation thereof. According to the letter then, we see how quickly the compassion of God was aroused by the sorrow of this mother, who was a widow, a widow broken down by nursing her only son, or by the bitterness of her grief for his death. She was a widow also whose worshipful conversation is borne witness to by this, that, much people of the city was with her. Mystically however, this widow encompassed by the multitude was something more than a poor woman whose tears won from the Lord the resurrection of her young and only son; for she is a type of our holy Mother the Church, who calleth back her young children to life from the pursuit of deathly vanities, and soul-slaying honours, by bidding them look on those tears which she sheddeth for such as they, and which it is unlawful for her to shed for them of whom she knoweth that they will rise again.

This man, then, being dead, was carried out on a bier to the grave by four bearers, even as the sinner is borne to destruction by the four elements of which he is composed. But there was hope in his latter end, from this, that that whereon he was carried was of wood, and wood, albeit it had profited us little before, is become everything to us now since Jesus touched it, being a figure of that gibbet, the Cross, which was made thereof, and wherefrom salvation floweth unto all people. When, therefore, the horrid bearers of the corpse heard the commandment of God, they stood still, and carried no farther him who was dead through the fatal course of a material nature. And is not our case even as that of the widow’s son, when we lie, as it were, lifeless, in our spiritual coffin, that is, in the last bed of our soul’s death, consumed by the fever of unbridled lust, or frozen by cold-heartedness, or with our whole manliness sapped by some degrading habit of this earthly body, or starved by a spiritual lockjaw that shutteth our mouth to the bright food of our soul? These, and such as these, are they which carry us out to burial.

But even at the last hour, when the hope of life hath been utterly extinguished, and the bodies of the dead are lying by the side of the grave, by the word of God those carcases live again, yea, arise and speak. Then doth Jesus deliver the son to his mother, for Jesus calleth him out of the grave, and delivereth him from death. O, what is the grave of the soul but a bad life? Sinner! thy grave is unbelief, and thy throat is a sepulchre! Even so is it written Their throat is an open sepulchre, Ps. v. ii, whereout breathe their pestilential words. Lo! Christ maketh thee free from that grave! If only thou wilt hear the word of God, thou shalt yet arise from that sepulchre! Yea, though thy sin be exceeding weighty, so that the tears of thine own sorrow cannot wash it away, let thy Mother the Church weep for thee, that longing Mother who weepeth for every one of her children as though he were the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. Believe me, her spiritual anguish is keen like the anguish of nature, when she seeth her children dead in sin, and carried out to be buried for ever.

Pave Frans støttet valget av pave Benedikt i 2005

Det skriver Sandro Magister på www.chiesa:

By electing as pope at the fourth scrutiny the archbishop of Buenos Aires Jorge Mario Bergoglio, the conclave has made a move as surprising as it is brilliant.

Surprising for those – almost everyone – who had not noticed, during the preceding days, the effective appearance of his name in the conversations among the cardinals. His relatively advanced age, 76 years and three months, led him to be classified more among the great electors than among the possible elect.

In the conclave of 2005 the opposite had happened for him. Bergoglio was one of the most decisive supporters of the appointment of Joseph Ratzinger as pope. And instead he found himself voted for, against his own will, precisely by those who wanted to block the appointment of Benedict XVI.

The fact remains that both one and the other became pope. Bergoglio with the unprecedented name of Francis. …..

Les hele denne artikkelen her.

Hvilken Frans har den nye paven tatt sitt navn fra?

Alle ser ut til å tenke at det er hl Frans av Assisi som er helgenen bak det nye pavenavnet, men kunne det ikke være like naturlig (for en jesuitt) at det er den hellige Frans Xaver – verdens nest mest kjente jesuitt (etter hl Ignatius) og Kirkens nest mest kjente misjonær (etter apostelen Paulus)? Det kan også være en annen kjent jesuitt, hl Frans Borgia, en av de første jesuittgeneralene.

Selv kjenner jeg godt til hl Frans Xaver pga Fransiskus-søstrene i Bergen, der jeg bodde i mange år. Han var med og stiftet Jesuitt-selskapet, og var deretter misjonær i India, Sri Lanka og Japan, og døde på vei inn (for å misjonere) i Kina.

Vi blir sikkert informert om dette etter hvert – og det kan jo være at flere av disse helgenene sammen han fått paven til å velge navnet Frans.

Pave Frans I

francis_1

Annuntio vobis gaudium magnum. Habemus Papam.

Eminentissimum ac Reverendissimum Dominum. Dominum Georgium Marium
Sanctae Romanae Ecclesiae Cardinalem Bergoglio.

Qui nomen sibi imposuit Franciscum.

Imponerende at katolsk.no hadde klar en presentasjon av den nye paven – på tross av at valget var nokså overraskende.

Evangeliet om den blindfødte

Evangeliet om den blindfødte, fra Johannes 9, er en sentral (om svært lang) tekst rundt 4. søndag i fasten. I den nye kalenderen brukes den på 4. søndag i år A, den kan også brukes på denne søndagen andre år (spesielt om noen voksne i menigheten forberedes til dåp i påskevigilien), og om den ikke brukes om søndagen, kan den leses på hvilken som helst dag uken etter. I den tradisjonelle kalenderen leses den i dag, onsdag etter fjerde søndag i fasten:

Evangelieteksten begynner slik (hele teksten kan leses her):

På den tid fikk Jesus øye på en mann som var blind fra fødselen av. Hans disipler spurte ham da: «Rabbi, når han er født blind, hvem er det da som har syndet, – han selv eller hans foreldre?» Jesus svarte: «Hverken han selv eller hans foreldre har syndet; han ble født slik for at Gud skulle få vise sin gjerning gjennom ham. Så lenge det er dag, må jeg arbeide for ham som har sendt meg, og utføre hans verk. Natten kommer; da kan ingen mer arbeide. Men så lenge jeg er i verden, er jeg dens lys.» Så med disse ord spyttet han på jorden, laget en søledeig med spyttet, og smurte deigen på hans øyne. Så sa han: «Gå og vask deg i Sjiloah-dammen.» (Sjiloah betyr «utsendt».) Han gikk da av sted og vasket seg, og kom seende tilbake. Naboene og de som hittil hadde vært vant til å se ham som tigger, sa da: «Er ikke dette han som satt og tigget?» Noen mente at det var ham; andre sa: «Nei, det er bare en som ligner ham.» Da sa han selv: «Jo, det er meg.» Så spurte de ham: «Hvordan gikk det til at dine øyne ble åpnet?» Han svarte: «Den mannen de kaller Jesus laget en deig av søle, som han smurte på øynene mine, og så sa han at jeg skulle gå ned i Sjiloah og vaske meg. Jeg gikk dit, og da jeg vasket meg, fikk jeg synet igjen.» «Og hvor er han nå?» spurte de. Han svarte: «Det vet jeg ikke.» …

Til matutin i de tradisjonelle tidebønnene leses denne betrakningen over teksten:

Continuation of the Holy Gospel according to John 9:1-38
In that time Jesus passing by, saw a man, who was blind from his birth. And so on.

Homily by St Augustin, Bishop of Hippo. – 44th Tract on John.
Dread and wondrous are all the things which our Lord Jesus Christ did, both His works and His words; the works, because He wrought them; the words, because they are deep. If, therefore, we consider the meaning of this work of His, we see that that man which was blind from his birth was a figure of mankind. This spiritual blindness was the consequence of the sin of the first man, from whom we all inherit by birth, not death only, but depravity also. For if blindness be unbelief, and faith, light, whom, when Christ came, did He find faithful? May, the Apostle who had himself been born of the race of which the Prophets came, saith We also were by nature children of wrath, even as others. Eph. ii. 3. And if children of wrath, then children also of vengeance, children of damnation, children of hell. And wherefore so by nature, unless it were that the sin of the first man had made all his descendants to be born in sin, in that they partook of his nature? If, then, our nature bring sin with it, all men, according to the spirit, are born blind.

The Lord came; and what did He? He set before us a great mystery. Jesus spat on the ground, and made clay of the Spittle for the Word was made flesh. And He anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay but yet that man saw not. He was anointed, indeed, but yet still he saw not. And He said unto him Go, wash in the Pool of Siloam. Now, it was the duty of the Evangelist to impress upon us the name of this Pool, and therefore he saith Siloam, which is, by interpretation, Sent. Ye, my brethren, know Who is signified where it is written: (The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a law-giver from his loins, until) He that shall be Sent cometh. Gen. xlix. 10. Yea, He it is, Who, if He had not been sent, we had never been sent loose out of the prison-house of sin. The blind man went his way therefore, and washed his eyes in that Pool, which is, by interpretation, Sent in other words, he was baptized in Christ. When, therefore, he had figuratively been baptized in Him Whom the Father hath Sent into the world he came seeing. When he was anointed, he was perchance made a figure of a Catechumen.

We have heard this great mystery. Ask of a man: Art thou a Christian? He answereth thee I am not. Then, if thou ask him: Art thou a pagan then, or a Jew? And he still saith unto thee Nay and thou say Art thou then a Catechumen, though not yet one of the faithful? and he saith Yea, a Catechumen then there thou seest a man anointed, but not yet washed. With what hath he been anointed? Ask of him, and he will tell thee. Ask of him in Whom he believeth, and, being a Catechumen, he will say: In Christ. But, behold, I speak before both Faithful and Catechumens. What said I touching the. Spittle and the clay? I said for ‘the Word was made flesh.’ This the Catechumens hear, but it is not enough for them to be anointed; they must make haste to the washing, if they would have their eyes opened.

Slik skal den nye paven kunngjøres

På katolsk.no kan vi lese en interessant og morsom side som forteller hvordan den nye pavens navn kunngjøres av protodiakonen. Først sier han «Annuntio vobis gaudium magnum; Habemus Papam!” Deretter sier han den nye pavens døpe-/fornavn, og her har man laget en liste over de mest aktuelle kandidatene, slik at man kan gjenkjenne personen før etternavnet (etter flere kunstpauser) endelig nevnes. Her er listen:

Petrum – f.eks. Peter Turkson og Peter Erdö
Angelum – f.eks. Angelo Scola og Angelo Bagnasco
Marcum – f.eks. Marc Ouellet
Ioannem Francus — f.eks. Gianfranco Ravasi
Leonardum – f.eks. Leonardo Sandri
Christophorum – f.eks. Christoph Schönborn
Timotheum – f.eks. Timothy Dolan
Ioannem – f.eks. Sean O’Malley
Ludovicem – f.eks. Luis Antonio Gokim Tagle

Under ser vi hvordan dette gjøres i oktober 1978, da pave Johannes Paul II ble valgt – en interessant video jeg aldri hadde sett før.

Svart røyk kl 19.41

Fra bloggen «Whispers in the Loggia»:

The First Scrutiny having been completed, at 7.41pm Rome, the Black Smoke billowed out of the Sistine Chimney.

As previously mentioned, the opening ballot’s principal purpose is to provide the first complete picture of who the electors view as contenders (and don’t), allowing early bases of significant support to be built upon, and less prevalent ones to be winnowed into other blocs.

In other words, only on the basis of tonight’s snapshot does the papal «horse-race» – which the Italians have dubbed «Il Totopapa,» the «Popestakes» – begin in earnest. With the cardinals now locked away and cut off from the world outside for the duration, though, only after the 266th Pontiff emerges will we learn how that shaped out.

The day’s official business ended, the cardinals are being transported back to the «Conclave Hotel» at the Domus for dinner in common and discussions likely to extend into the night.

The usual voting pattern begins tomorrow as Ballots 2 and 3 get underway at 9.30am Rome. Expected to be another round of black, the smoke signaling the combined end of both votes can be expected sometime around Vatican Noon. Barring a resolution, Ballots 4 and 5 would then start at 4.30pm, with their smoke to come in the area of 6pm or later. (Repeat cycle until white smoke or, should it be necessary, the mandatory pause-day for reflection would kick in, apparently on Saturday.) …..

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