Tag: Pope Pius XII

Pastor Column: Queenship of Mary

Posted on by Father Albert
[N.B. This is not the Sunday Homily. It is an article for the bulletin of October 23, 2022]      Our next letter from Pope Pius XII is on the Queenship of Mary, titled Ad Caeli Reginam(Latin for ‘to the Queen of Heaven”), published in 1954. Recall that it was Pius XII who formally declared the Assumption of Mary into heaven to be a dogma. Following up on that declaration, the pope decided to offer a reflection on the power and influence of Mary as an intercessor in heaven. As always, his teaching on this is not some new idea, but...Read More

Pastor Column: Mediator Dei VI

Posted on by Father Albert
[N.B. This is not the Sunday Homily. It is an article from the bulletin of October 9, 2022]      All liturgy - that includes Mass, the Sacraments, the Liturgy of the Hours, adoration - points us to the mysteries of Jesus Christ and helps us take part in those mysteries which redeem and sanctify us. To do this, the liturgy has seasons which point us to different aspects of these mysteries. At this point in the letter (around paragraph 154) Pope Pius XII starts to highlight these seasons briefly.      Advent is the start of the Liturgical year and, according...Read More

Pastor Column: Mediator Dei V

Posted on by Father Albert
[Note: This is not the Sunday Homily. It is an article for the bulletin of October 2, 2022]      After last week’s financial report, we return to our journey through Mediator Dei by Pope Pius XII, written in 1947. We left off with the pope’s reminder to spend time in personal prayer after the Mass. Again, I encourage everyone to make this a regular practice and to observe reverence inside the Church so that people can pray (you can talk in the vestibule/foyer, just try not to talk in the middle of the Church).      Now Pope Pius moves onto...Read More

Pastor Column: Mediator Dei IV

Posted on by Father Albert
[Note: This is not the Sunday Homily. It is an article for the bulletin of Sept 18, 2022]      Continuing our journey through Mediator Dei, we pick up with the pope teaching us that it is good for the lay people to become familiar with the Roman Missal. The missal is the book which the priest uses for Mass. In particular, he means it is good for the laity to have some grasp of what is going on and that various resources can be used to help them do that, including the use of books to help follow along. Remember...Read More

Pastor Column: Mediator Dei III

Posted on by Father Albert
[Note: This is not the Sunday Homily. It is an article for the bulletin of Sep 11, 2022]           Focusing in on the Eucharist, Pope Pius XII notes that “the nature of men requires” a “visible sacrifice.” This sacrifice is “no mere empty commemoration of the passion and death of Jesus Christ, but a true and proper act of sacrifice.” Each celebration of the Mass is the same sacrifice offered by the same person: the once-for-all sacrifice of Christ who offers himself on the Cross. The manner of the offering is different in that the Mass is the unbloody re-presentation...Read More

Pastor Column: Mediator Dei II

Posted on by Father Albert
[Note: This is not the Sunday Homily. It is an article for the bulletin of September 4, 2022]      Picking up on the Church’s guidance of the liturgy, Pope Pius XII stresses that a proper understanding of the liturgy factors in both the objective, external reality and the internal, subjective reception of that reality. The Sacraments give grace. That is an objective fact. But receiving that grace requires a person to be properly disposed. He quotes St. Paul’s letter to the Corinthians about examining ourselves before receiving communion, lest we eat and drink damnation on ourselves. The salvation offered by...Read More

Pastor Column: Mediator Dei I

Posted on by Father Albert
[N.B. This is not the Sunday homily. It is an article for the bulletin of Aug 28, 2022]      “The Mediator between God and Men.”  That is the opening line of the next document in our series and where we get the title Mediator Dei (Mediator of God). Written in 1947 by Pope Pius XII, this document addresses the Sacred Liturgy. The “Sacred Liturgy” refers not only to Mass, but to all of the public, formal acts of worship performed by the Church. This includes the other 6 sacraments as well as the many blessings and rituals that populate our...Read More

Pastor Column: St. Benedict

Posted on by Father Albert
[Note: This is not he Sunday homily. It is an article for the bulletin of July 10, 2022]      The destruction of World War II was immense on a number of different scales. One such scale was the destruction of various churches and monasteries in the course of the war, which could contribute to a greater sense of despair. In particular, Pope Pius XII was moved to write a letter in response to the destruction of the famous Monte Cassino Monastery, which was the monastery established by St. Benedict of Nursia in 529 A.D. As the father of western monasticism...Read More

Pastor Column: Assumption of Mary

Posted on by Father Albert
[Note: This is not the Sunday Homily. It is an article for the bulletin of July 2, 2022]      Next in our reading of Pope Pius XII are the two documents on the Assumption of Mary into heaven. First is a short letter titled Deiparae Virginis Mariae sent in 1946 to all the bishops of the world. In it, Pius XII explains that large numbers of Catholics over the last 100 years have asked the Church to solemnly declare the Assumption of Mary as a dogma of the faith, which means it would be something Catholics are required to believe...Read More

Pastor Column: Divino Afflante Spiritu II

Posted on by Father Albert
[Note: This is not the Sunday Homily. It is an article for the bulletin of June 26, 2022]      The week before last, we began a look at Pope Pius XII’s letter on studying scripture, titled Divino Afflante Spiritu, written in 1943. We had just noted that studying scripture well means keeping it in the context of the whole faith and understanding how it has been used in prayer and liturgy throughout history. The next guideline the pope offers is to carefully study what the Church Fathers and Doctors of the Church say about scripture. The “Church Fathers” are the...Read More