Denver Catholic

5 DENVER CATHOLIC | SEPTEMBER 12-26, 2015 Will Britten, General Agent (303) 427-5056 will.britten@kofc.org Career Opportunities Available! The Britten Agency Serving Northeast Colorado For more than 130 years, the Knights of Columbus has provided †nancial protection to Catholic families. With assistance from the Britten Agency, Catholics in the Archdiocese of Denver can help protect their families with our top-rated strength*, and exclusive product portfolio. Contact Will today to see how you and your family can bene†t. *As of 9/1/15, rated A++, Superior for †nancial strength by A.M. Best Introducing General Agent Will Britten Denver ad 2_Layout 1 9/4/15 1:34 PM Page 1 in the message Catholic the of God. in that comes as the succes- who has keys incredible as a that has here has Word and that people Francis the be kind of a the way. homeland. tell to be a This established, he to the community has been proclaimed by Jesus to the crowds in the Sermon on the Mount. So [the Holy Father] is going to proclaim ... what the essence of that Kingdom is about. And that Kingdom is substantively composed of those who are happy being poor in spirit. Happy, blessed are the poor in spirit. Blessed are those who seek and hunger for justice. Blessed are the meek. That will be the message of the Holy Father. That has been the continual message that we have heard from this Bishop of Rome. And we can say that perhaps the most important of the beatitudes is "Blessed are they who mourn, for they shall be comforted." I think the Holy Father may focus upon the mourning that we are undergoing as Catholics in the Unitd States, and how do we face that mourning, that weeping. Blessed are those who weep. Q: What was it like to welcome Pope John Paul II as a pilgrim to Denver in 1993? Cardinal Sta ord: Usually we make a pilgrimage to Rome, and Rome, according to our medieval brothers and sisters, was a place in which they could sip from the well of God's mercy. The forgiveness of God was better known by the pilgrim who came to Rome, than by the one who did not come to Rome. In the summer of 1993, the Bishop of Rome was coming to Denver, and we were to experience the Bishop of Rome, who is the divine instrument of unity and forgiveness within the Church and beyond the Church, among all men and women. So, how does one go about greeting such an individual? One does that in faith. St. Paul says, we are to be subject to one another out of reverence to Christ. All Christians, beginning with husbands and wives, are to be subject to the other because of the Christ within them, within the other. That is the general foundation of the moral life of those who are in the community of disciples, that we are to be subject to the other out of reverence. The word in Greek means "out of fear" of Christ who is in the other, that is out of a sense of awe at the transcendence the other carries, because he or she carries Jesus. Now, in 1993 we were encountering John Paul II, and in him was Christ, and according to the measure of his call, of his vocation, he was Christ who had been called by Jesus to be the foundation of his Church. Such is Peter. Such is the Christ in Peter. So, when he came to Mile High Stadium, I thought, he comes as one who bears within himself, within his person, Jesus Christ, as every baptized Christian does, but he also bears Jesus Christ who chose him to be now, the foundation of his Church. Q: What attitude should American Catholics have when listening to the Pope's words this month? Cardinal Sta ord: The Catholic people, in faith, are to greet Pope Francis as one who carries Christ within him, and to have faith toward the Holy Father that is representative of that attitude of faith, that is, to be subject to him out of rever- ence for the Christ within him who has called him to be the rock, the foundation stone, the source of unity, the sign of unity, the instrument of unity and for- giveness, the one who bears—Again, can we believe this?—who bears and carries the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven. PRAYER FOR THE POPE Cardinal J. Francis Sta ord suggests that all Catholics pray daily for the Pope, particularly in the days leading up to his visit to the United States this month. V. Let us pray for Francis our Pope. R. May the Lord preserve him, and give him life, and make him blessed upon the earth, and deliver him not up to the will of his enemies. [Psalm 40:3] IN HIS OWN WORDS For the full video interview see www.denvercatholic.org Then Arch- bishop J. Francis Sta‡ ord welcomes Pope John Paul II to Denver for the cel- ebration of World Youth Day in 1993. president

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