(Vatican Radio) The Preacher of the Papal Household, Fr. Raniero Cantalamessa, OFM Cap., delivered his third Advent sermon on Friday. Fr. Cantalamessa’s reflection focused on the sober intoxication of the spirit, exploring the theme as it emerged from the writings of the Fathers of the Church.The Preacher of the Papal Household began his reflection with a distinction between physical and spiritual inebriation, noting that the first makes people come out of themselves to live below the level of reason, while the second makes people come out of themselves to live above the level of their reason.Click below to hear our report “How,” he asked in the second portion of his talk, “do we appropriate this ideal of sober intoxication and incarnate it in our current historical and ecclesial situation?”He went on to say, “We need the sober intoxication of the Spirit even more than the Fathers did.”“The world has become so averse to the gospel, s...
(Vatican Radio) The Preacher of the Papal Household, Fr. Raniero Cantalamessa, OFM Cap., delivered his third Advent sermon on Friday. Fr. Cantalamessa’s reflection focused on the sober intoxication of the spirit, exploring the theme as it emerged from the writings of the Fathers of the Church.
The Preacher of the Papal Household began his reflection with a distinction between physical and spiritual inebriation, noting that the first makes people come out of themselves to live below the level of reason, while the second makes people come out of themselves to live above the level of their reason.
Click below to hear our report
“How,” he asked in the second portion of his talk, “do we appropriate this ideal of sober intoxication and incarnate it in our current historical and ecclesial situation?”
He went on to say, “We need the sober intoxication of the Spirit even more than the Fathers did.”
“The world has become so averse to the gospel, so sure of itself, that only the “strong wine” of the Spirit can overcome its unbelief and draw it out of its entirely human and rationalistic sobriety, which passes itself off as “scientific objectivity.” Only spiritual weapons, says the Apostle, “have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every proud obstacle to the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ”.
Pope Francis waves while traveling by boat in Venice, Italy, for a meeting with young people at the Basilica della Madonna della Salute on April 28, 2024. Earlier in the day he met with inmates at a women's prison. / Credit: Daniel Ibañez/CNARome Newsroom, Apr 28, 2024 / 08:00 am (CNA).Pope Francis opened his one-day visit to Venice on Sunday morning with a meeting with female inmates where he reaffirmed the importance of fraternity and human dignity, noting that prison can be a place of new beginnings. "A stay in prison can mark the beginning of something new, through the rediscovery of the unsuspected beauty in us and in others, as symbolized by the artistic event you are hosting and the project to which you actively contribute," the pope said to the female inmates gathered in the intimate courtyard of the Women's Prison on the Island of Giudecca. Pope Francis left the Vatican by helicopter at approximately 6:30 in the mo...
Pope Francis prays in front of the tomb of St. Mark the Evangelist inside St. Mark's Basilica in Venice on April 28, 2024. / Credit: Daniel Ibañez/CNARome Newsroom, Apr 28, 2024 / 09:35 am (CNA).Pope Francis had a full slate of events Sunday during his day trip to Venice, a trip that tied together a message of unity and fraternity with the artistic patrimony of a city that has been a privileged place of encounter across the centuries. "Faith in Jesus, the bond with him, does not imprison our freedom. On the contrary, it opens us to receive the sap of God's love, which multiplies our joy, takes care of us like a skilled vintner, and brings forth shoots even when the soil of our life becomes arid," the pope said to over 10,000 pilgrims gathered in St. Mark's Square. Framing his homily during the Mass on the theme of unity, one of the central points articulated throughout several audiences spread across the morning, Pope Francis reminded Christians: "Remaining ...
Prayer house at San Simeone, Italy, September 2012. / Credit: Courtesy of Ricostruttori nella preghieraRome, Italy, Apr 28, 2024 / 06:00 am (CNA).Across Italy there are houses of prayer run by the Ricostruttori (Reconstructors) community, a Catholic movement dedicated to people who are far from the Church but attracted to spirituality, particularly Eastern meditation and Buddhist practices. The Reconstructors was founded in 1978 by Jesuit Father Gian Vittorio Cappelletto. "During the postconciliar period, the Church was faced with the need for new forms of evangelization and apostolate, to reach out to people who were drifting away," Don Roberto Rondanina, priest and superior of the Ricostruttori, explained to CNA. "It was a time when Eastern meditation, Hinduism, Buddhism, the New Age ... were beginning to spread in Europe." "Father Cappelletto, who lived in Turin, sought to understand the meaning of this 'flight to the East' and felt the need to find new forms of sp...