BELLINGHAM, Wash. - New rules that take effect Monday mean anyone trying to cross the U.S. border from Canada or Mexico will need a passport.

Merchants fear the requirement will cost them business - and everyone else is bracing for the possibility of longer lines at the U.S.-Canadian border.

The rules are being implemented nearly eight years after the Sept. 11 attacks and long after the 9/11 Commission recommended the changes. They were delayed by complaints from state officials who worried the restrictions would hinder commerce.

J.J. Melrose, who has a shop in Bellingham, is one of those who shares that concern.

"We do see a lot more Canadians come down here and shop," he says. "It does make a difference - it adds more sales."

Peter Lee, who also operates a shop in Bellingham, is worried, too.

"They (Canadians) are big shoppers - they are always coming two or three people together."

The new rules also could mean longer lines at the border crossings.

A spokesperson for U.S. Customs and Border Protection says 80 percent of people who cross the Canadian border already using a passport or equivalent document.

But, that still leaves thousands of people who don't. If they're in line, and they're not ready with passport in hand - they could clog the border, which could create nightmarish backups for everyone else.

Border agents will be cutting people some slack at first, until everyone gets used to the new rules. But anyone who tries to cross from Canada or Mexico into the U.S. will get a warning and be required to undergo a background check.

Documents that will meet the new requirements include a valid passport, an enhanced driver's license, a U.S. passport card or a Nexus card.

For more information about the new border crossing requirements, visit the following web sites:

Department of Homeland Security border crossing information - www.dhs.gov/xtrvlsec/crossingborders/

List of compliant documents - www.getyouhome.gov/html/eng_map.html

King County information -
www.kingcounty.gov/healthservices/health/vitalstats/passport.aspx

U.S. Customs and Border Protection web site - www.cbp.gov

ZENIT

The World Seen From Rome

Daily dispatch - May 31, 2009

Benedict XVI Warns Against Spiritual Pollutants

The Pope said this today in a homily during the Pentecost Mass that he presided over in St. Peter's Basilica.

"If we do not want Pentecost to be reduced to a mere ritual or to a suggestive commemoration," he said, in order that it can become a "real event of salvation," we must "predispose ourselves to God's gift in religious openness" through a "humble and silent listening to God's Word."

Perhaps there is need, the Pontiff suggested, "for the Church to be less preoccupied with activities and more dedicated to prayer."

"Mary Most Holy, the Mother of the Church and Bride of the Holy Spirit, teaches us this," he said.

The Holy Father noted that this year's solemnity coincides with the feast of the Visitation, which celebrates the "little Pentecost" that brought forth "joy and praise from the hearts of Elizabeth and Mary -- the one barren and the other a virgin -- who both became mothers by an extraordinary divine intervention."

Mission accomplished

Benedict XVI stated, "Among all the solemnities, Pentecost is distinguished by its importance, because in it that which Jesus himself proclaimed as being the purpose of his whole earthly mission is accomplished."

Explaining the importance of this celebration, the Pope noted that "what air is for biological life, the Holy Spirit is for the spiritual life."

He continued, "As there is air pollution, that poisons the environment and living things, there is also pollution of the heart and the spirit that mortifies and poisons spiritual existence."

The Holy Father encouraged his listeners to not be complacent "about that which corrupts the spirit."

He pointed out some "pollutants" that circulate in society, such as images "that make pleasure a spectacle" or "violence that degrades men and women."

"It is said that this is freedom," Benedict XVI noted, "but it is just a failure to recognize all that which pollutes, poisons the soul, above all of the new generations, and ends up limiting freedom itself."

He added, "The metaphor of the impetuous wind of Pentecost makes one think of how precious it is to breathe clean air, be it physical air without lungs, or spiritual air -- the healthy air of the spirit that is love -- with our heart."

Today, the Pope asserted, "human beings seem to claim themselves as gods and want to transform the world excluding, putting aside or simply rejecting the Creator of the universe."

"Man no longer wants to be the image of God," he said, "but the image of himself; he declares himself autonomous, free, adult."

"Obviously that reveals an inauthentic relationship with God, the consequence of a false image that has been constructed of him," the Pontiff affirmed.

Speaking of the story of the first Pentecost, in which the Apostles were given the courage to preach the Gospel, the Holy Father noted that "the Holy Spirit overcomes fear."

After Pentecost, the Apostles "had no fear, because they felt that they were in stronger hands," he said.

Benedict XVI continued: "Where the Spirit of God enters, he chases out fear; he makes us know and feel that we are in the hands of an Omnipotence of love: whatever happens, his infinite love will not abandon us.

"The witness of the martyrs, the courage of the confessors, the intrepid élan of missionaries, the frankness of preachers, the example of all the saints -- some who were even adolescents and children -- demonstrate this.

"It is also demonstrated by the very existence of the Church, which, despite the limits and faults of men, continues to sail across the ocean of history, driven by the breath of God and animated by his purifying fire."

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On ZENIT's Web page:

Full text: http://www.zenit.org/article-26041?l=english

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Pope Urges Learning from Mary to Follow the Spirit

The Pope said this Saturday evening in the Vatican Gardens at a traditional Marian celebration to conclude the month of May. After a procession and recitation of the Rosary, pilgrims gathered at the Grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes to hear the Holy Father's address.

He affirmed that this year's traditional vigil "has acquired a very special value since it falls on the eve of Pentecost."

"The great Feast of Pentecost invites us to meditate upon the relationship between the Holy Spirit and Mary, a very close, privileged, indissoluble relationship," the Pontiff affirmed.

He added, "The Virgin of Nazareth was chosen beforehand to become the Mother of the Redeemer by the working of the Holy Spirit: in her humility, she found grace in God's eyes."

The Holy Father noted that the "whole event of Jesus' birth and his early childhood is guided in an almost palpable manner by the Holy Spirit, even if he is not always mentioned."

Two hearts

He continued: "Mary's heart, in perfect consonance with the divine Son, is the temple of the Spirit of truth, where every word and every event are kept in faith, hope and charity."

"We can thus be certain," Benedict XVI explained, "that the most Sacred Heart of Jesus, in his whole hidden life in Nazareth, always found a 'hearth' that was always burning with prayer and constant attention to the Holy Spirit in Mary's Immaculate Heart."

He affirmed that the "wedding feast at Cana is a witness to this singular harmony between Mother and Son in seeking God's will."

Then, at Calvary, Mary witnessed Jesus' "last words and his last breath, in which he begins to send out the Spirit" and "the silent crying out of his Blood, poured out completely for us," the Pope affirmed.

He added that Mary "knew where the blood came from: it was formed in her by the work of the Holy Spirit, and she knew that this same creative 'power' would raise Jesus up, as he promised."

The Pontiff affirmed that in "Mary's school we too learn to recognize the Holy Spirit's presence in our life, to listen to his inspirations and to follow them with docility."

He expressed the hope that Catholics will "walk with Mary according to the Spirit."

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On ZENIT's Web page:

Full text: http://www.zenit.org/article-26043?l=english

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Benedict XVI to Visit Czech Republic in September

The Pope is accepting the invitation of the country's head of state, as well as that of the Czech bishops' conference, the statement reported.

He will visit the country's capital, Prague, and the cities of Brno and Stara Boleslav.

The Czech president, Vaclav Klaus, had an audience with the Holy Father on Saturday in which he expressed "great satisfaction" regarding the scheduled apostolic visit.

Klaus also met with Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, the Pontiff's secretary of state, along with Archbishop Dominique Mamberti, secretary for relations with states.

The Vatican communiqué noted that the "cordial talks" focused on the country's situation, particularly in reference to its relations with the Catholic Church, and the future of Europe, bearing in mind the importance of its Christian heritage.

The Czech Republic has a population of around 10 million, 26.8% of which are Catholic.

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Pope Sends World Youth Day Cross to Quake Region

The Pope stated this today in St. Peter's Square, as he addressed the thousands of pilgrims gathered there to pray the midday Regina Caeli.

He reported that the Abruzzo youth "are gathering many people" around the cross, which was carried there by 12 volunteers from the youth center of San Lorenzo.

"In communion with that region, hard hit by the earthquake," the Pontiff said, "we ask Christ dead and risen to pour put his Spirit of consolation and hope upon them."

On Saturday the cross was brought to a student house where eight youth died in L'Aquila, a town near the epicenter of the earthquake that claimed some 300 lives.

The cross was received by the town's youth, and after a moment of prayer it was carried to the fields of tents where survivors have made temporary homes.

Today the cross was brought to the training school of the Guardia de Financia where the bishop of the region, Archbishop Giuseppe Molinari, celebrated a Mass with confirmations. During the rest of the day it traveled to different areas where fields of tents have been raised.

It will be brought back to Rome on Tuesday, and will go to different cities of Spain before the World Youth Day in Madrid, planned for August 2011.

The Holy Father urged the young people, "With the power of the Holy Spirit, be witnesses of the risen Lord!"

Living body

In his address to the pilgrims gathered in St. Peter's Square, Benedict XVI affirmed, "The Holy Spirit is the soul of the Church."

He continued: "Without him to what would it be reduced? It would certainly be a great historical movement, a complex and solid social institution, perhaps a kind of humanitarian agency.

"And in truth this is how it is considered by those who look upon it from outside the perspective of faith.

"In reality, however, in its true nature and also in its most authentic historical presence, the Church is unceasingly formed and guided by the Spirit of the Lord. It is a living body, whose vitality is precisely the invisible divine Spirit."

The Pope concluded, "We invoke the intercession of Mary Most Holy, that the Church in our time may be powerfully strengthened by the Holy Spirit."

"The comforting presence of the Holy Spirit is felt in a special way by the ecclesial communities that suffer persecution for Christ's name, because, participating in his sufferings, they receive the Holy Spirit in the abundance of glory," he affirmed.

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On ZENIT's Web page:

Full text: http://www.zenit.org/article-26045?l=english

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Respect Is a Two-Way Street

ROME, MAY 31, 2009 (Zenit.org).- The issue of legalizing same-sex marriages continues to be at the forefront of debate. On Tuesday the Californian Supreme Court upheld a referendum, Proposition 8, which modified the state constitution to restrict marriage to heterosexual couples.

The referendum invalidated a previous decision by the state's Supreme Court that resulted in the legalization of same-sex marriage.

In the weeks preceding the latest decision same-sex marriage was legalized in three states. As a result, five states now allow such marriages -- Massachusetts, Connecticut, Maine, Vermont and Iowa.

As a May 27 article in the Washington Post pointed out, four of these states are in the Northeast and the exception, Iowa, saw legalization introduced through a state Supreme Court decision and not a legislative vote.

An important element in the debates over the issue has been that of religious freedom. In a May 23 New York Times column, Peter Steinfels commented that a proposal to legalize same-sex marriage had stalled in New Hampshire due to state governor John Lynch insisting that he would only sign the bill if it had stronger guarantees to protect religious institutions. This was rejected by the bill's backers in the House of Representatives.

New Hampshire's experience could well influence debates in other states, such as New York, Steinfels observed.

Religious freedom

How much of a threat to religious freedom is the introduction of same-sex marriage? A recent consideration of the matter came in a question and answer forum sponsored by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life.

In the transcript, published May 21, professors Robert W. Tuttle and Ira "Chip" Lupu of The George Washington University Law School discussed the possible conflicts.

Opponents of same-sex marriage, they noted, are concerned that preaching against homosexuality in sermons could become a criminal offense.

Other concerns involve religious institutions, such as hospitals and universities, who fear they may be obliged to provide the same benefits to same-sex couples as they currently do for heterosexual spouses.

This is not just a theoretical consideration, the two professors added. In 2006, Catholic Charities in Massachusetts had to stop its adoption service as state anti-discrimination laws were changed, making it obligatory for agencies to offer children for adoption by same-sex couples.

Another area of concern involves private businesses and individuals who have religious objections to same-sex marriage. This could involve those who provide services for weddings or rent out residential accommodation.
In their commentary the professors admitted that the legal situation of such religious objections is largely untested. Court battles so far have mainly centered on the question of whether states should recognize same-sex marriage.

Protection needed

So far religious objectors have not fared well in court decisions, according to an April 10 article published by the Washington Post. Among the examples cited were the following

-- A Christian photographer was forced by the New Mexico Civil Rights Commission to pay $6,637 in attorney's costs after she refused to photograph a same-sex couple's commitment ceremony.

-- A psychologist in Georgia was fired after she declined for religious reasons to counsel a lesbian about her relationship.

-- Christian fertility doctors in California who refused to artificially inseminate a lesbian patient were barred by the state Supreme Court from invoking their religious beliefs in refusing treatment.

-- A Christian student group was not recognized at a University of California law school because it denies membership to anyone practicing sex outside of traditional marriage.

-- An online dating site, eHarmony, established by an evangelical Christian, Neil Clark Warren, agreed to provide services to homosexuals as part of the settlement of a complaint by a New Jersey man, who accused it of discrimination.

An opinion article published May 3 in the Los Angeles Times called for greater legal protection for those objecting on religious grounds to same-sex marriage. Robin Wilson, a professor of law at Washington and Lee University School of Law, argued that so far no state has provided sufficient guarantees of religious liberty when legalizing same-sex marriage.

Wilson conceded that legislation in Connecticut and Vermont did contain provisions for conscience objection, but the bills still do not provide sufficient protection for people such as wedding advisors, caterers, and photographers.

"Because of those laws, many people could have to choose between conscience and livelihood," said Wilson.

Employment conflicts

Britain has also seen numerous conflicts and legal battles over this matter. Recently churches expressed fears that new anti-discrimination laws will oblige them to accept job applications made by homosexuals, reported the Telegraph newspaper, May 20.

The legislation will come into force next year, but until recently churches had hoped for an exemption. This expectation was dashed when at a recent conference Maria Eagle, the deputy equalities minister, said the law will cover almost all church employees.

"The circumstances in which religious institutions can practice anything less than full equality are few and far between," she said, according to the Telegraph.

The Equality Bill, still to be finally approved by parliament, gives a narrow interpretation to the roles from which it is possible to exclude homosexuals on the basis of religious objections. It would be limited only to those who lead liturgy or spend most of their time teaching doctrine.

Christians who object to homosexuality are also increasingly coming under fire in Britain. Such people were described as "retarded homophobes" by the British Association for Adoption and Fostering, a state-funded agency, the Daily Mail newspaper reported, May 14.

The agency sets rules and organizes training for social workers across the country, according to the article.

The description of "retarded homophobes" was published in an official guide to adoption for homosexual couples published by the agency.

The Daily Mail quoted Patricia Morgan, author of a study of gay adoption, who said: "It is disgraceful that they do not wish to discuss the pros and cons of gay adoption. They just go in for abuse."

Work conflicts

A number of recent cases demonstrate that Christians face the risk of losing their jobs if they express their conscience objections. David Booker, a charity worker, was suspended for two weeks following a conversation he had with another staff member in which he spoke of his opposition to same-sex marriage, the Telegraph newspaper reported April 11.

Booker insisted he not a bigot and merely limited himself to expressing his personal opinion. His colleague had also assured him that the views he was expressing were not offensive, the Telegraph article added.

On March 22, the Telegraph had reported on the case of hotel owners, Peter and Hazelmary Bull. A same sex couple has sued the Christian owners of a seaside hotel for refusing to rent them a room.

New regulations added to the Equality Act in 2007 make it unlawful to refuse a person goods or facilities on the grounds of their sexuality.

Another case involved a marriage registrar employed by Islington Council in North London. Lillian Ladele objected to conducting ceremonies for same-sex civil partnerships. The council won an appeal against a previous ruling that had found it guilty of discrimination against Ladele for her views, the BBC reported last Dec. 19.

The judgment did note, however, that not all of the council management team treated Ladele's beliefs sensitively.

For decades proponents of rights for homosexuals have made appeals for tolerance and compassion. Qualities that seem sorely lacking now that they are increasingly winning legal recognition.

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On the Holy Spirit and the Church

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Dear Brothers and Sisters!

The Church throughout the world relives to today the Solemnity of Pentecost, the mystery of her own birth, of her own "baptism" in the Holy Spirit (cf. Acts 1:5), which took place in Jerusalem, 50 days after Easter, precisely on the Jewish feast of Pentecost. The risen Jesus told his disciples: "Remain in the city until you are given power from on high" (Luke 24:49). This happened in a perceptible way in the Cenacle, while they were gathered together with Mary, the Virgin Mother, in prayer. As we read in the Acts of the Apostles, suddenly that place was invaded by a strong driving wind, and tongues like fire came to rest on the heads of all those present. The Apostles went out then and began to proclaim in different languages that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, dead and risen (cf. Acts 2:1-4). The Holy Spirit, who with the Father and the Son created the universe, guided the history of the people of Israel and spoke through the prophets, who in the fullness of time cooperated in our redemption, who at Pentecost descended upon the nascent Church and made it missionary, sending it to proclaim to all peoples the victory of divine love over sin and death.

The Holy Spirit is the soul of the Church. Without him to what would it be reduced? It would certainly be a great historical movement, a complex and solid social institution, perhaps a kind of humanitarian agency. And in truth this is how it is considered by those who look upon it from outside the perspective of faith. In reality, however, in its true nature and also in its most authentic historical presence, the Church is unceasingly formed and guided by the Spirit of the Lord. It is a living body, whose vitality is precisely the invisible divine Spirit.

Dear friends, this year Pentecost falls on the last day of the month of May on which the beautiful Marian Feast of the Visitation is usually celebrated. This fact invites us to let ourselves be inspired and taught by the Virgin Mary, who was a protagonist in both events. In Nazareth she received the annunciation of her singular maternity and, immediately after she conceived Jesus by the working of the Holy Spirit, was moved by the same Spirit of love to go to help her elderly relative Elizabeth, who was in the sixth month of a similarly miraculous pregnancy. The young Mary, who carried Jesus in her womb and, forgetting herself, goes to help her neighbor, is a stupendous icon of the Church in the perennial youth of the Spirit, of the missionary Church of the Incarnate Word, called to bring [this Word] to the world and to testify to him especially in the service of charity. We invoke the intercession of Mary Most Holy, that the Church in our time may be powerfully strengthened by the Holy Spirit. The comforting presence of the Holy Spirit is felt in a special way by the ecclesial communities that suffer persecution for Christ's name, because, participating in his sufferings, they receive the Holy Spirit in the abundance of glory (cf. 1 Peter 4:13-14).

[After praying the Regina Caeli, the Holy Father said:]

In these days the youth of Abruzzo are gathering many people around the World Youth Day Cross. It was carried to their region by a group of volunteers sent by the San Lorenzo International Youth Center in Rome. In communion with that region, hard hit by the earthquake, we ask Christ dead and risen to pour put his Spirit of consolation and hope upon them. I extend my greeting to the young Italians who today, in the various dioceses, have come together to conclude, with their bishops, the third and final year of the "Agora dei Giovani." I recall with joy the unforgettable events that marked this three year project: the meeting at Loreto, in September 2007 and the World Youth Day in Sydney last July. Dear young people of Italy, with the power of the Holy Spirit, be witnesses of the risen Lord!

[Translation by Joseph G. Trabbic]

[The Pope greeted the pilgrims in various languages. In English, he said:]

I am pleased to welcome all the English-speaking pilgrims to today's Regina Caeli. On this Pentecost Sunday, we rejoice in the Lord's gift of the Holy Spirit. Saint Paul reminds us that if we live in the Spirit, we must also follow the Spirit by putting aside all conceit, anger, envy and everything that divides us (cfr Gal5,26). My dear friends, having received God's precious gift, may you abound in his fruits of love, peace, patience, kindness and all that bears witness to the Kingdom of God in our midst! Praised be Jesus Christ!

© Copyright 2009 -- Libreria Editrice Vaticana

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Benedict XVI's Homily for Solemnity of Pentecost

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Dear Brothers and Sisters!

Every time that we celebrate the Eucharist we experience in faith the mystery that is accomplished on the altar, that is, we participate in the supreme act of love that Christ realized with his death and resurrection. The one center of the liturgy and of Christian life -- the paschal mystery -- then assumes specific "forms," with different meanings and particular gifts of grace, in the different solemnities and feasts. Among all the solemnities, Pentecost is distinguished by its importance, because in it that which Jesus himself proclaimed as being the purpose of his whole earthly mission is accomplished. In fact, while he was going up to Jerusalem, he declared to his disciples: "I have come to cast fire upon the earth, and how I wish for it to be kindled!" (Luke 12:49). These words find their most obvious realization 50 days after the resurrection, in Pentecost, the ancient Jewish feast that, in the Church, has become the feast of the Holy Spirit par excellence: "There appeared to them parted tongues as of fire ... and all were filled with the Holy Spirit" (Acts 2:3-4). The Holy Spirit, the true fire, was brought to earth by Christ. He did not steal it from the gods -- as Prometheus did according to the Greek myth -- but he became the mediator of the "gift of God," obtaining it for us with the greatest act of love in history: his death on the cross.

God wants to continue to give this "fire" to every human generation, and naturally he is free to do this how and when he wants. He is spirit, and the spirit "blows where he wills" (cf. John 3:8). However, there is an "ordinary way" that God himself has chosen for "casting fire upon the earth": Jesus is this way, the incarnate only begotten Son of God, dead and risen. For his part, Jesus constituted the Church as his mystical body, so that it prolongs his mission in history. "Receive the Holy Spirit" -- the Lord says to the Apostles on the evening of his resurrection, accompanying those words with an expressive gesture: he "breathed" upon them (cf. John 20:22). In this way he showed them that he was transmitting his Spirit to them, the Spirit of the Father and the Son.

Now, dear brothers and sisters, in today's solemnity Scripture tells us how the community must be, how we must be to receive the Holy Spirit. In his account of Pentecost the sacred author says that the disciples "were together in the same place." This "place" is the Cenacle, the "upper room," where Jesus held the Last Supper with his disciples, where he appeared to them after his resurrection; that room that had become the "seat," so to speak, of the nascent Church (cf. Acts 1:13). Nevertheless, the intention in the Acts of the Apostles is more to indicate the interior attitude of the disciples than to insist on a physical place: "They all persevered in concord and prayer" (Acts 1:14). So, the concord of the disciples is the condition for the coming of the Holy Spirit; and prayer is the presupposition of concord.

This is also true for the Church today, dear brothers and sisters. It is true for us who are gathered together here. If we do not want Pentecost to be reduced to a mere ritual or to a suggestive commemoration, but that it be a real event of salvation, through a humble and silent listening to God's Word we must predispose ourselves to God's gift in religious openness. So that Pentecost renew itself in our time, perhaps there is need -- without taking anything away from God's freedom [to do as he pleases] -- for the Church to be less "preoccupied" with activities and more dedicated to prayer. Mary Most Holy, the Mother of the Church and Bride of the Holy Spirit, teaches us this. This year Pentecost occurs on the last day of May, when the Feast of the Visitation is customarily celebrated. This event was also a little "Pentecost," bringing forth joy and praise from the hearts of Elizabeth and Mary -- the one barren and the other a virgin -- who both became mothers by an extraordinary divine intervention (cf. Luke 1:41-45).

The music and singing that is accompanying our liturgy, also help us to united in prayer, and in this regard I express a lively recognition of the choir of the Cologne cathedral and the Cologne Chamber Orchestra. Joseph Haydn's "Harmoniemesse," the last of the Masses composed by this great musician, and a sublime symphony for the glory of God, was chosen for today's Mass. The Haydn Mass was a fitting choice given that it is the bicentennial of the composer's death. I address a cordial greeting to all those who have come for this.

To indicate the Holy Spirit, the account in the Acts of the Apostles uses two great images, the image of the tempest and the image of fire. Clearly, St. Luke had in mind the theophany of Sinai, recounted in Exodus (19:16-19) and Deuteronomy (4:10-12:36). In the ancient world the tempest was seen as a sign of divine power, in whose presence man felt subjugated and terrified. But I would like to highlight another aspect: the tempest is described as a "strong driving wind," and this brings to mind the air that distinguishes our planet from others and permits us to live on it. What air is for biological life, the Holy Spirit is for the spiritual life; and as there is air pollution, that poisons the environment and living things, there is also pollution of the heart and the spirit, that mortifies and poisons spiritual existence. In the same way that we should not be complacent about the poisons in the air -- and for this reason ecological efforts are a priority today -- we should also not be complacent about that which corrupts the spirit. But instead it seems that our minds and hearts are menaced by many pollutants that circulate in society today -- the images, for example, that make pleasure a spectacle, violence that degrades men and women -- and people seem to habituate themselves to this without any problem. It is said that this is freedom but it is just a failure to recognize all that which pollutes, poisons the soul, above all of the new generations, and ends up limiting freedom itself. The metaphor of the strong driving wind of Pentecost makes one think of how precious it is to breathe clean air, be it physical air without lungs, or spiritual air -- the healthy air of the spirit that is love -- with our heart.

Fire is the other image of the Holy Spirit that we find in the Acts of the Apostles. I compared Jesus with the mythological figure of Prometheus at the beginning of the homily. The figure of Prometheus suggests a characteristic aspect of modern man. Taking control of the energies of the cosmos -- "fire" -- today human beings seem to claim themselves as gods and want to transform the world excluding, putting aside or simply rejecting the Creator of the universe. Man no longer wants to be the image of God but the image of himself; he declares himself autonomous, free, adult. Obviously that reveals an inauthentic relationship with God, the consequence of a false image that has been constructed of him, like the prodigal son in the Gospel parable who thought that he could find himself by distancing himself from the house of his father. In the hands of man in this condition, "fire" and its enormous possibilities become dangerous: they can destroy life and humanity itself, as history unfortunately shows. The tragedies of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, in which atomic energy, used as a weapon, ended up bringing death in unheard of proportions, remain a perennial warning.

We could of course find many examples, less grave and yet just as symptomatic, in the reality of everyday life. Sacred Scripture reveals that the energy that has the ability to move the world is not an anonymous and blind power, but the action of the "spirit of God that broods over the waters" (Genesis 1:2) at the beginning of creation. And Jesus Christ "cast upon the earth" not a native power that was already present but the Holy Spirit, that is, the love of God, who "renews the face of the earth," purifying it of evil and liberating it from the dominion of death (cf. Psalm 103 [104]: 29-30). This pure "fire," essential and personal, the fire of love, descended upon the Apostles, gathered together with Mary in prayer in the cenacle, to make the Church the extension of Christ's work of renewal.

Finally, a last thought also taken from the Acts of the Apostles: the Holy Spirit overcomes fear. We know that the disciples fled to the cenacle after the Master's arrest and remained there out of fear of suffering the same fate. After Jesus' resurrection this fear did not suddenly disappear. But when the Holy Spirit descended upon them at Pentecost, those men went out without fear and began to proclaim the good news of Christ crucified and risen. They had no fear, because they felt that they were in stronger hands. Yes, dear brothers and sisters, where the Spirit of God enters, he chases out fear; he makes us know and feel that we are in the hands of an Omnipotence of love: whatever happens, his infinite love will not abandon us. The witness of the martyrs, the courage of the confessors, the intrepid élan of missionaries, the frankness of preachers, the example of all the saints -- some who were even adolescents and children -- demonstrate this. It is also demonstrated by the very existence of the Church, which, despite the limits and faults of men, continues to sail across the ocean of history, driven by the breath of God and animated by his purifying fire. With this faith and this joyous hope we repeat today, through Mary's intercession: "Send forth your Spirit, O Lord, and renew the face of the earth!"

[Translation by Joseph G. Trabbic]

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Papal Address at Conclusion of Marian Month of May

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Venerable Brothers,

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

I greet all of you with affection at the end of the traditional Marian vigil that concludes the month of May in the Vatican. This year it has acquired a very special value since it falls on the eve of Pentecost. Gathering together, spiritually recollected before the Virgin Mary, contemplating the mysteries of the Holy Rosary, you have relived the experience of the first disciples, gathered together in the room of the Last Supper with "the Mother of Jesus," "persevering and united in prayer" awaiting the coming of the Holy Spirit (cf. Acts 1:14). We too, in this penultimate evening of May, from the Vatican hill, ask for the pouring out of the Spirit Paraclete upon us, upon the Church that is in Rome and upon the whole Christian people.

The great Feast of Pentecost invites us to meditate upon the relationship between the Holy Spirit and Mary, a very close, privileged, indissoluble relationship. The Virgin of Nazareth was chosen beforehand to become the Mother of the Redeemer by the working of the Holy Spirit: in her humility, she found grace in God's eyes (cf. Luke 1:30). In effect, in the New Testament we see that Mary's faith "draws," so to speak, the Holy Spirit. First of all in the conception of the Son of God, which the archangel Gabriel explains in this way: "The Holy Spirit will descend upon you and the power of the Most High will overshadow you" (Luke 1:35). Immediately afterward Mary went to help Elizabeth, and when her greeting reached Elizabeth's ears, the Holy Spirit made the child jump in the womb of her elderly cousin (cf. Luke 1:44); and the whole dialogue between the two mothers is inspired by the Spirit of God, above all the "Magnificat," the canticle of praise with which Mary expresses her sentiments. The whole event of Jesus' birth and his early childhood is guided in an almost palpable manner by the Holy Spirit, even if he is not always mentioned. Mary's heart, in perfect consonance with the divine Son, is the temple of the Spirit of truth, where every word and every event are kept in faith, hope and charity (cf. Luke 2:19, 51).

We can thus be certain that the most Sacred Heart of Jesus, in his whole hidden life in Nazareth, always found a "hearth" that was always burning with prayer and constant attention to the Holy Spirit in Mary's Immaculate Heart. The wedding feast at Cana is a witness to this singular harmony between Mother and Son in seeking God's will. In a situation like the wedding feast, charged with symbols of the covenant, the Virgin Mary intercedes and, in a certain sense, provokes, a sign of superabundant divine grace: the "good wine" that points to mystery of the Blood of Christ. This leads us directly to Calvary, where Mary stands under the cross with the other women and the Apostle John. Together the Mother and the disciple spiritually taken in Jesus' testament: his last words and his last breath, in which he begins to send out the Spirit; and they take in the silent crying out of his Blood, poured out completely for us (cf. John 19:25-34). Mary knew where the blood came from: it was formed in her by the work of the Holy Spirit, and she knew that this same creative "power" would raise Jesus up, as he promised.

In this way Mary's faith sustains the faith of the disciples until the meeting with the risen Lord, and will continue to accompany them even after his ascension into heaven, as they await the "baptism of the Holy Spirit" (cf. Acts 1:5). At Pentecost, the Virgin Mary appears again as Bride of the Spirit, having a universal maternity with respect to those who are born from God through faith in Christ. This is why Mary is for all generations the image and model of the Church, who together with the Holy Spirit journeys through time invoking Christ's glorious return: "Come, Lord Jesus" (cf. Revelation 22:17, 20).

Dear friends, in Mary's school we too learn to recognize the Holy Spirit's presence in our life, to listen to his inspirations and to follow them with docility. He makes us grow in the fullness of Christ, in those good fruits that the apostle Paul lists in the Letter to the Galatians: "Love, joy, peace, magnanimity, benevolence, goodness, fidelity, meekness, self-control" (Galatians 5:22). I hope that you will be filled with these gifts and will always walk with Mary according to the Spirit and, as I express my praise for your participation in this evening celebration, I impart my Apostolic Benediction to all of you from my heart.

[Translation by Joseph G. Trabbic]

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Joint Press Release
May 31, 2009
Release Number: 20093105-01

Afghan, coalition forces detain four suspected militants in Helmand

KABUL, Afghanistan – Afghan and coalition forces detained four men this morning in Helmand Province suspected to have ties to a local Taliban commander involved in coordinating suicide attacks, moving weapons and foreign fighters and intimidating the local population.

    In Nahri Sarraj District, Helmand Province, a combined force patrolled to a remote farming community near Badasya, where the suspected militants were staying overnight.  One of the four suspects was initially non-compliant with instructions, behaving aggressively toward forces. 

    Although the situation could have escalated with lethal consequences, Afghan and coalition forces were able to subdue the man, detaining him and three other suspects without incident.

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