CHURCHES IN EUROPE" "
Belarus: Advent message of archbishop Kondrusiewicz”If God can do great miracles like dividing the Red Sea to let the Israelites escape from Egypt or resurrect Christ, he can also enter our lives to free us from the slavery of sin and make us saints” -the metropolitan archbishop of Minsk-Mogilev, Mons. Tadeusz Kondrusiewicz, addressed his words to Catholics of Belarus on the occasion of the Advent. He reminded them that God will judge people not as a crowd but individually, thus the responsibility to live in truly in accordance with His law lies on each one of us. “Christ will come to ‘steal’ our chains that tie us down to material values and immoral things, he will come to ‘steal’ our fear from the future, he will come to ‘steal’ our souls from the darkness, to enlighten us with his light”, wrote Mons. Kondrusiewicz, pointing to spirit of selfishness and consumerism that makes people – in the name of misunderstood freedom – kill unborn children, fail in matrimonial fidelity, succumb to the use of alcohol and drugs. “This system, concealed by the mask of religious tolerance and political correctness supports a culture that can’t discern real values from the false ones and claims that truth and morality depend on what suits people… Advent tells us to say ‘no’ to the darkness of sin, because we naturally belong to the light”, affirmed the prelate, adding that we “should follow Christ in our life and live it in accordance with the gifts given to us by God and through His mercy”, find time for prayer, confession, for service to others and all that contributes to “our spiritual renewal”. Czech Republic: 20 years of the Daughters of St. Paul in PragueDecember 2013 marks the 20th anniversary of the apostolic mission of the Prague community of the Daughters of St. Paul in the Czech Republic. They came to Prague in 1993 upon the invitation of cardinal Miloslav Vlk who presided over the Eucharistic celebration on the occasion of the jubilee in the St. Peter’s Church on 8 December. The congregation in the Czech Republic planned a set of events to celebrate the anniversary. Everyone who proves to have been born on this day in 1993 will be given a small gift – a book of “Spiritual Vitamins” published by the Daughters of St. Paul in Prague. The cookbook “In the kitchen with the Paulines” will be published in Spring 2014 with traditional recipes from the six countries where the congregation has its communities. The Prague community currently consists of seven sisters whose main interest are publishing activities, as well as pastoral services and special projects in Catholic parishes, including the well-known and popular “Night of Psalms” intended to “bring the Gospel into people’s lives”. To date, the sisters have published over 300 books in the Czech language. For more information: www.paulinky.cz. Portugal: “Enough with long and boring homilies”The permanent Council of the Portuguese Bishops’ Conference (CEP) gathered in Fatima on December 10 made known that the forthcoming pastoral Days will be dedicated to reflections on the apostolic exhortation “Evangelii Gaudium”. During the press conference, the bishops’ spokersperson Manuel Morujão told journalists that among the themes on the agenda of the meeting special focus would be placed on the quality of evangelical preaching. “As shepherds, we should beat our chest and repent, because very often our homilies are boring, long and even too theoretical”, said the Jesuit priest. With “Evangelii Gaudium”, Pope Francis showed Catholic priests “a path of preparation” asking that when conveying to the faithful the word of God they use “a positive and comprehensible language, capable of meeting the needs of the communities that language is addressed to”. CEP Secretary added: “homilies must not become a performance or a show, they must not adapt to the logics of TV ratings. Rather, as Pope Francis underlined, they should infuse Christian zeal, and give a specific meaning to Eucharistic celebration”. The bishops also announced their adhesion to the global campaign “A sole human family, food for all”, launched by Caritas international Confederation, ongoing until 2025, to eliminate world hunger. Referring to the situation at national level, Caritas president Eugénio Fonseca said that “Portugal lives the reality of a concealed poverty, which people experience with shame and in silence”.
