Archive for the ‘Theology’ Category

One month from today, World Youth Day 2011 is set to begin in Madrid, Spain. Pilgrims from all over the World will be in attendance, ready to share the common bond of their Catholic faith.

Yet, while many of those pilgrims are still a few weeks away from boarding planes or taking trains to Madrid, an initiative known as MAGIS will be sending students all over Spain and Portugal to participate experiences in preparation for World Youth Day.

This intitiative was started in 1997 (World Youth Day Paris). In 2005 in Cologne, it was called MAGIS for the first time. In 2008 it was celebrated in Sydney and in 2011 it will be celebrated in Madrid in the days leading up to World Youth Day. The motto for this MAGIS is “with Christ at the heart of the world.” The Society of Jesus, along with other religious institutions and laypeople throughout the world who follow Ignatian Spirituality, have invited pilgrims to find Christ at the center of their lives.

Throughout the past year and a half of planning, ideas have become realities and all that is left to do are the finishing touches.

After the initial selection, more than 400 volunteers began working in teams to go about organizing the potential experiences, working on content and logistics, and finalizing plans. There are six types of experiences: Pilgrimage, Social Service, Art and Creativity, Faith and Culture, Spirituality, and Ecology.

Recently released, MAGIS has posted a list of the experience locations and what work will be completed at each; these include visiting Fatima, volunteering in a prison, accompanying marginalized families, serving pilgrims at Lourdes and restoring a hermitage. For the full list, click here.

To learn more about MAGIS, visit follow them on Twitter or visit their website.

In 1551, Saint Ignatius of Loyola, the founder of the Society of Jesus, established established a “School of Grammar, Humanity and Christian Doctrine” in Rome. Initially called the “Roman College”, it soon became the Gregorian University and was the first university founded by the Jesuits. Containing faculties and institutes of various disciplines of the humanities, the Gregorian, also known as “The Greg” has one of the largest theology departments in the world, with over 1,600 students from over 130 countries. St. Ignatius envisioned a “university of all nations, for the defense and propagation of the faith and for the training of wise and qualified leaders of the Church and society.”

Today, the Gregorian is part of a larger consortium consisting of three schools serving more than 3,800 students: The Pontifical Gregorian University, The Pontifical Biblical Institute and The Pontifical Oriental Institute for Eastern Christian Studies.

In the United States, the Gregorian University Foundation was established in 1972 to raise the needed funds for scholarships, academic chairs, libraries and capital improvements for the Pontifical Gregorian University Consortium.

In this month’s National Jesuit News podcast, we talk with the foundation’s vice president, Geoff Loftus, on what the Gregorian University provides to the Church and the legacy and impact of its scholars and students.

To help Jesuits throughout the U.S. to prepare for the new translation of the Roman Missal, Jesuit Father John Baldovin, Professor of Historical & Liturgical Theology at Boston College’s School of Theology and Ministry, was asked to give a presentation explaining the historical background of the Roman Missal, with a brief overview of the changes in this translation along with some ideas for faithful ministers of the church to engage this new translation responsibly and use it as well as possible. His video presentation, The New Roman Missal: Challenge & Opportunity, appears in five parts below.

Part Ia: History of a Translation
The Roman Missal is the book containing the prescribed prayers, chants and instructions for the celebration of Mass in the Roman Catholic Church. Published first in Latin under the title Missale Romanum, the text is then translated and is published in modern languages for use in local churches throughout the world. In this video, Fr. John Baldovin, SJ, gives a background on the history of the translations, their implications and how we got to the latest translation of the Missale Romanum soon to be implemented in United States parishes in November 2011.

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The second volume of Pope Benedict XVI’s book “Jesus of Nazareth – Holy Week: From the Entrance into Jerusalem to the Resurrection” was recently released by Ignatius Press, which is run by Jesuit Father Joseph Fessio. Appearing on “Fox & Friends” to share the book with a wider audience, Fr. Fessio commented that the book is written by one of the great teachers of our time, about the greatest figure in history, and no matter your beliefs, it is of educational value.

“The Pope is trying to make the message of Jesus very clear,” commented Fessio. “He wants to present Jesus in a way that will engage the reader, and will allow people to have a certitude about their knowledge of him.”

Fr. Fessio, who was a student of Ratzinger’s 40 years ago, is director of Ignatius Press, which is the primary publisher of all books by Pope Benedict XVI in the United States.Currently on the New York Times best sellers list, the Holy Father’s book is actually written under his name Joseph Ratzinger, as it’s contents are not an official Church document.

“He’s not writing this as an official Church document, he’s writing it as a personal theologian…The difference is that this is not binding on Catholics as an official statement on the Church’s faith, although, I think what he says is true. The phone book isn’t binding either, but there’s alot of truth in there,” said Fessio.

To purchase Pope Benedict XVI’s book, please visit Ignatius Press’ website.

The second volume of Pope Benedict XVI’s book “Jesus of Nazareth – Holy Week: From the Entrance into Jerusalem to the Resurrection” was recently released by Ignatius Press, which is run by Jesuit Father Joseph Fessio. Appearing on “Fox & Friends” to share the book with a wider audience, Fr. Fessio commented that the book is written by one of the great teachers of our time, about the greatest figure in history, and no matter your beliefs, it is of educational value.

“The Pope is trying to make the message of Jesus very clear,” commented Fessio. “He wants to present Jesus in a way that will engage the reader, and will allow people to have a certitude about their knowledge of him.”

Fr. Fessio, who was a student of Ratzinger’s 40 years ago, is director of Ignatius Press, which is the primary publisher of all books by Pope Benedict XVI in the United States.Currently on the New York Times best sellers list, the Holy Father’s book is actually written under his name Joseph Ratzinger, as it’s contents are not an official Church document.

“He’s not writing this as an official Church document, he’s writing it as a personal theologian…The difference is that this is not binding on Catholics as an official statement on the Church’s faith, although, I think what he says is true. The phone book isn’t binding either, but there’s alot of truth in there,” said Fessio.

To purchase Pope Benedict XVI’s book, please visit Ignatius Press’ website.