God never leaves people, even at moment of death, says pope

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- God never leaves his creatures alone, not even at the moment of death when each person must complete his or her journey without the company of anyone else, Pope Benedict XVI said.

God continually stretches out his hand to guide those he loves, the pope said Dec. 14 during his weekly general audience in St. Peter's Square.

"His closeness is not one of judgment that incites terror, but one of support and liberation," the pope said.

Offering a reflection on Psalm 139 and its praise of God who is "all knowing and ever present," Pope Benedict set aside his prepared text to focus on the extent to which God remains with each individual not only in life, but also at the moment of death.

"God is always with us. Even in the darkest nights of our lives, he does not abandon us. Even at the most difficult times of our lives, he is present," Pope Benedict said. "And even on the last night, in the last solitude where no one can accompany us, the night of death, the Lord does not abandon us."

"Therefore, we Christians can trust that we are never left alone. The goodness of God never abandons us," the pope said.

In his prepared text, Pope Benedict said that although God looks on evil with severity, "his is not a looming and inspectorial presence," but a "saving presence capable of embracing all existence and all history."

At the end of the audience, the pope spent more than an hour shaking hands, blessing children and collecting gifts.

The smaller gifts were wrapped for Christmas, but the pope also was given a large crystal cross, a jewel-encrusted Book of the Gospels from the faithful of the Italo-Albanian Catholic Church, table linens, a wooden Nativity scene and several paintings, especially of Mary.

The gifts -- including a huge tome on Gothic architecture, music CDs and books about the election of Pope Benedict -- continued to arrive as the pope met briefly with publishers attending a meeting with the Vatican's publishing house.

Jesuit Father Joseph Fessio, founder and editor in chief of Ignatius Press, which has published the former Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger's books in English, gave the pope a Lectionary.

Father Fessio told Catholic News Service that the book was the first copy of the volume of Mass readings that Ignatius Press will be selling. It has been approved by the Antilles Episcopal Conference for liturgical use in the Caribbean nations belonging to the conference.

The Jesuit said that after the Vatican told the U.S. bishops that a Lectionary based on the inclusive-language New Revised Standard Version of the Bible would not be approved, Ignatius Press secured a 50-year license for a Lectionary based on a second Catholic edition of the original Revised Standard Version.

Father Fessio said Pope Benedict asked Dec. 14 if the Lectionary would be used anywhere besides the Antilles and Father Fessio told him he is hoping the Ignatius Press Lectionary would be adopted by other bishops' conferences.

Thank you, Pyro, for posting that beautiful image of the Holy Family!

At the suggestion of my bishop (who is indeed a mind reader :-), I have just begun praying the Maronite Divine Office, referred to as the Prayer of the Faithful. It follows the Maronite liturgical calendar and consists of 3 hefty sized books. As a Christmas present to myself, I ordered the first two which arrived yesterday.

The Foreword begins by saying ....

"Prayer is the primary obligation of every Christian, indeed of every person. It is our duty to acknowledge our loving God, to praise him, thank him, ask for his forgiveness, and to seek his protection.

The whole history of salvation is a history of prayer. We know that Jesus would often go off by himself or with his disciples, in order to spend some time in prayer. He knew that he could not live alone, isolated from the Father. His life was spent in giving of himself to others."

It then goes into the lengthy history of the Divine Office prayers that encompassed 7 hours each day! These have now been whittled down to 2 - Ramsho and Safro - evening and morning prayers. It was natural for the early Christian community to follow the Jewish practice of prayer. The practice of reciting prayers at various hours throughout the day has its origin in Jewish tradition. It is known that the Jewish people used to gather in the synagogue to chant psalms, recite prayers, read from the scriptures and listen to commentaries and exhortations by the elders. The psalmist, David, paused seven times a day in order to pray to God: "Seven times a day I praise you for your just ordinances" (Psalm 119:164).

The Maronite Catholic Church keeps the ancient semetic tradition of beginning the liturgical day at sunset. Ramsho or evening prayer is celebrated at the end of the working day, with the setting of the sun, and is he first hour of the Church's cycle of daily prayer. It is directed to Christ, the Light of the world, who conquers the darkness of sin. As the sun rises and a new day begins, the Church sings praise, in the office of Safro or morning prayer, to the Father, glorifies Christ, the True Light, and gives thanks to the Holy Spirit.

This week, in the liturgical calendar, we commemorate The Revelation to Joseph. In the Sedro (the prayer of petition), it reads:

O God,
you are the beginning and end of all feasts and give meaning to them.
When you saw that those you created for your praise had strayed and gone away from you,
you became incarnate in order to save them.
and allow them to celebrate a perpetual feast with you.
Today we celebrate the memory of your divine
revelation which dispelled Joseph's turmoil
and enabled him to believe that the child had been conceived by the Holy Spirit
We thank you for having confused those who would mock Mary and for giving joy to those who sincerely believe.
We also thank you for having protected the Virgin, the pure one among all who are pure,
from any suspicion or accusation.

Lord,
we beseech you, through the intercession of Mary, your
Mother and Joseph your chosen one,
to mercifully accept our prayer.
May this feast be for our salvation,
may every sinner be sanctified,
all trials pass and all doubts cease.
May the one who is far away return and the one who is near be protected.
May peace and joy be poured out in this world
and love and unity win hearts.
May the souls of the departed find rest in the dwelling places of joy.
We shall give you glory,
Now and for ever.
Amen.

In the Qolo ( prayer amplifying that offered by the faithful), it reads:

Blessed is Christ, who sent Gabriel to Joseph that he might honor the one who was to become the Mother of God.

Blessed is the One who chose righteous Joseph as a guardian and a foster father.

Blessed is the One who loves us and became flesh to save us.

Where can we get them and how much?

The 3 books follow the Maronite liturgical year. To begin, you will need to download the liturgical calendar. Go to Eparchy of St. Maron web site. The 2nd item down is the Liturgical Calendar 2005-2006. Click on Read More. This will take you to a .pdf file for download.

Use the Back button of your browser to return to the main screen or follow this link to St. Maron Publications . Click on Theology & Spirituality, then scroll down. You will find:

Prayer of the Faithful, Volume I
November through January

Prayer of the Faithful, Volume II
February through May

Prayer of the Faithful, Volume III
May through October

Volumes I and III are $40 each; Volume III is $30.

There is an order form in .pdf format that you can complete and either mail in or fax to the distribution center, which is run by a Maronite priest :-).

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