Coming into God’s Presence: The Entrance Antiphon
Within your temple, we ponder your loving kindness, O God. As your name, so also your praise reaches to the ends of the earth; you right hand is filled with justice. (Ps 47:10-11)
Deus Caritas Est
[32] Finally, we must turn our attention once again to those who are responsible for carrying out that Church’s charitable activity. As our preceding reflections have made clear, the true subject of the various Catholic organizations that carry out a ministry of charity is the Church itself – at all levels, from the parishes, through the particular Churches, to the universal Church. For this reason it was most opportune that my venerable predecessor Paul VI established the Pontifical Council Cor Unum as the agency of the Holy See responsible for orienting and coordinating the organizations and charitable activities promoted by the Catholic Church. In conformity with the episcopal structure of the Church, the Bishops, as successors of the Apostles, are charged with primary responsibility for carrying out in the particular Churches the program set forth in the Acts of the Apostles (cf. 2:42-44): today as in the past, the Church as God’s family must be a place where and received, and at the same time, a place where people are also prepared to serve those outside her confines who are in need of help. In the rite of episcopal ordination, prior to the act of consecration itself, the candidate must respond to several questions which express the essential elements of his office and recall the duties of his future ministry. He promises expressly to be, in the Lord’s name, welcoming and merciful to the poor and to all those in need of consolation and assistance. The Code of Canon Law, in the canons on the ministry of the Bishop, does not expressly mention charity as a specific sector of episcopal activity, but speaks in general terms of the Bishop’s responsibility for coordinating the different works of the apostolate with due regard for their proper character. Recently, however, the Directory for the Pastoral Ministry of Bishops explored more specifically the duty of charity as a responsibility incumbent upon the whole Church and upon each Bishop in his Diocese, and it emphasized that the exercise fo charity is an action of the Church as such, and that, like the ministry of Word and Sacrament, it too has been an essential part of her mission from the very beginning.
- Pope Benedict XVI
Please take a look at www.faithfulcitizenship.org for all sorts of information on Faithful Citizenship practices and activities. Visit this site often as additional information and resources will be added periodically. Pick up your copy of “The Challenge of Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship” at the back of the church!
What to know exactly what the Bishops’ think? The complete copy of the Bishops' Conference statement on Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship is available online: www.usccb.org/bishops/FCStatement.pdf
