Catholic san Francisco Northern California’s Weekly Catholic Newspaper
Archdiocesan retreat seeks to foster deeper Eucharistic life By Jack Smith
(PHOTO BY ROBERT BUSSELL, PH.D.)
More than 500 parishioners from the Archdiocese of San Francisco attended a daylong Eucharistic retreat September 10 at Sacred Heart Cathedral High School. The retreat and day of recollection titled, Come to the Table of the Lord, was originally called by Archbishop William J. Levada to bring to a close activities of the Archdiocese for the Year of the Eucharist called by Pope John Paul II. The retreat was sponsored by the Archdiocese Office of Evangelization and presented by Mystical Humanity of Christ, a Catholic non-profit which has run dozens of popular parish retreats throughout the West since its inception in 2000. Most of the retreat activities were split into language tracks with about 350 attending the English track and 150 attending the Spanish. The day began with prayer and a keynote talk by Michael McDevitt, executive director of Mystical Humanity of Christ. McDevitt is a parishioner at Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish in Belmont and is the nephew of the founder of Mystical Humanity of Christ, Jesuit Father Frank Parrish (1911-2003). McDevitt spoke on “Living Eucharistic Bishop John C. Wester spoke on Mary, the Christ-bearer, at a Spirituality,” and began by retelling the story of
bilingual Mass for the Archdiocesan Eucharistic Retreat.
EUCHARISTIC RETREAT, page 20
Pope says sacred reading of Scripture helps to enrich spiritual life By Carol Glatz ROME (CNS) — The ancient tradition of “lectio divina” or sacred reading of Scripture should be promoted as a way to enrich the spiritual life of the church, Pope Benedict XVI said in an address to biblical experts. “The church must always renew and rejuvenate herself” through “the Word of God, which never gets old or expires,” he said. The pope urged a renewal of this ancient tradition, saying he was convinced it would “bring a new spiritual springtime to the church if promoted effectively.” The pope’s message came in a Sept. 16 address at his summer residence of Castel Gandolfo to some 500 biblical experts, scholars and pastoral leaders attending an international conference in Rome. The Catholic Biblical Federation and the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity sponsored the congress commemorating the 40th
anniversary of “Dei Verbum,” the Second Vatican Council’s document on Scripture and revelation. Pope Benedict reminded his audience that he was “a young theologian” who took part in the “lively discussions” at the time that resulted in “Dei Verbum.”
“The church and the word of God are inseparably linked,” he said. The Vatican II document affirmed that “the church does not live off herself, but off the Gospel, and it is from the Gospel that the church always and again draws guidance for her journey,” he said. The practice of “lectio divina” should be encouraged, even using “carefully considered new methods” as a mainstay in biblical pastoral activity, the pope said. The pope described “lectio divina” as “the assiduous study of holy Scripture, accompanied by prayer, (which) initiates that intimate exchange” between God and the individual. “By reading, we listen to God who speaks and, by praying, we reply to him with faithful openness of heart,” he said. “One must never forget that the word of God is BIBLE, page 6
INSIDE THIS WEEK’S EDITION Cathedral shelter . . . . . . . . 3 News-in-brief. . . . . . . . . . 4-5
Seton’s Balance and Mobility Center ~ Page 7 ~ September 23, 2005
Marriage Encounter Weekend ~ Pages 10-11 ~ SIXTY CENTS
This Catholic Life
Wedding Guide . . . . . . . 9-12
~ Page 18 ~
Movie review. . . . . . . . . . . 17
Commentary . . . . . . . . . . 13 Benedict as monk . . . . . . . 15 Classified ads . . . . . . . . . . 19
www.catholic-sf.org VOLUME 7
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