St. Pius Catholic Church

Hello Everyone,

Happy Snowy Monday here in the Quad Cities.  Last night we received somewhere around 6 inches of snow.  And while, it might be wet and yucky outside, today we celebrate an important feast on our Church calendar, "The Chair of Saint Peter."  It is a feast that dates back to 4th century and reminds us of the significance of the pope and his leadership of the Church.  It also serves as a good reminder to everyone to pray for the pope often, so that he may do God's will in leading the Church. 

As everyone is easing into the first full week of Lent around here, I would like to remind everyone that we will once again have Stations of the Cross every Friday during lent at 4:45pm followed by 5:15pm Mass.  Our penance service for Lent will be on Monday night March 29, at 7pm in church.  We currently have 7 priests scheduled to be there that evening for confessions.  Please also keep all of our RCIA catechumenates and candidates in your prayers as well, as they enter into their last weeks of preparation to receive their sacraments this Easter vigil.  Yesterday they braved the weather and went to Peoria for the Rite of Election and were presented to Bishop Jenky on the behalf of our parish.

Last year during Lent, Father Schaab and I together buried around 21 people in the six weeks of lent.  I hope that the same does not happen again this year, however, this past week we had several deaths in the parish.  We had the passing of Father Schaab's good friend, Sonia M. Ribeiro (her funeral is today), Carolyn Dasso (her funeral will be at 11am on Tuesday in church), and Leona L. Lemon (her funeral will be at 10am on Wednesday in church).  Please pray for their souls and for the families who are mourning the loss of their loved ones.

The next TEC (Teens Encounter Christ) weekend is TEC 272 (Girls Weekend) from March 6-8, 2010 at the Believers Together Center at Christ the King Church in Moline, Illinois there is still room available on the weekend, it is not too late to sign up.  Please sign up as soon as possible for this upcoming Girls Weekend as space is limited and we are over half full already.  And for the boys interested in going on TEC, the next boys weekend is April 17-19, 2010 also at the Believers Together Center at Christ the King Church in Moline.  Remember you must be at least 16 years old to attend a TEC weekend.  Details and registration are available at: www.northwest-tec.com

I would like to continue to invite everyone to continue praying about joining the pilgrimage that I will be spiritual director for coming up in October.  There several parishioners who have told me that are seriously considering going on the trip, as well as people from other pilgrimages that I have been a part of over the last 2 years.  Your not going to want to miss this trip, we again are going to: Portugal, Spain, and France, with stops in: Fatima, Lisbon, Santarem, Salamanca, Avila, Burgos, Loyola & Lourdes from October 9-19, 2010.  Then there is also a post-trip excursion, for four more days in France, available for an extra fee to: Nevers (This is where St. Bernadette's incorrupt body is), Lisieux (To see the Carmelite Monastery where Saint Therese of Lisieux was a nun), Rouen, and Paris.  All the details and information, as well as, registration are available at: www.pilgrimages.com/frzorjan

For those who listen to the Christian Music Station K-Love here in the Quad Cities.  There is a great Christian concert coming up at the I-Wireless Center on Friday night March 12 at 7pm.  My brother and I plan on attending the concert.  The event is called "Winter Jam" and is going to feature some great bands.  Headlining the show is Third Day, and if you have never seen Third Day then you are in for treat.  Joining Third Day is also: Newsboys, Tenth Ave. North, Fire Flight, Sidewalk Prophets, Revive, and more.  Tickets are only $10, and only are available at the door the day of the show, there is no advance ticket sales for the show.  First come, first served until the event sells out that day.

Other than that there is not a whole lot else to report at this time.  In honor of the feast of "The Chair of Saint Peter" in the little lesson section this week beneath my signature I will post an article from the Catholic Leaflet Mission company about why the office of the pope is so significant in the Catholic Church and about where the teaching of papal infallibility comes from.

Till next week.

In Christ,

Father Peter Zorjan
Assistant Pastor at Saint Pius X
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"The Significance of the Pope"
(This is entirely taken from the Catholic Leaflet Mission and was written by Father Kevin Beach, full source citation is given at the end of the article)

To understand the role of the Pope today, let us first examine the Biblical foundations and historical development of the papal ministry.  From that basis, we will be able to explain the Pope's role in the government of the Church and his teaching office.

1. Biblical

a. The Twelve Apostles:

At the beginning of his public life, Jesus Christ chose twelve men as his Apostles. He gave them the mission to proclaim the Kingdom of God and to heal (Lk. 9:2).  They were the foundation of His Church.

The Church is apostolic in a triple sense: She was built and remains on the foundation of the Apostles (Eph 2:20; Acts 21:14) the witnesses chosen and sent by Christ.  Secondly, she preserves and transmits the teaching of the Apostles and finally she continues to be taught, sanctified and directed by the Apostles, until the return of Christ, through the ministry of bishops, those who succeeded the Apostles in their pastoral responsibility.

The role of the Apostles as the witnesses of the Resurrection of Jesus and the foundation of His Church is unique and is not transmitted.  However, Jesus promised to be with His Church until the end of time (Mt 28:20).  The spread of the Gospel until the end of time was the divine mission entrusted to the Church.  To ensure the faithful transmission of the apostolic witness, the Apostles instituted successors.  These successors, the order of bishops, are the continuing presence of the pastoral ministry of the Apostles in the Church.

b. Peter:

Among the Twelve Apostles, Simon Peter holds the first place. Among the disciples of Christ, Peter is given the greatest prominence in the New Testament accounts of the Church's origins. Jesus gave to Peter a unique mission.  Based on a revelation of God to Peter, Peter proclaimed that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of the Living God.  Jesus then declared that Simon was Peter, the "Rock", and on this rock Jesus would build His Church which would prevail over the powers of Hell (Mt. 16:18).  Peter received the mission to guard the integrity and purity of the faith in Jesus Christ, and to strengthen his brothers and sisters in that faith.

The authority conferred by Jesus on Peter is known as the "power of the keys" (Mt. 16:19). The government of the Church - that is, authority to absolve sins, to make doctrinal judgments and to make disciplinary decisions - was given to the Apostles in general.  Peter alone was given the "power of the keys". Jesus also gave to Peter a specific pastoral ministry - "feed my sheep" (Jn 21:15-17).  Thus, Peter was given a unique responsibility in church government and in pastoral ministry.

2. Dogmatic Development

a. Bishops:

Jesus Christ, in calling the Twelve, gave them the form of a "college", that is a stable group, and chose Peter from among them as their head.  Just as Peter and the other Apostles form, by Christ's initiative, one apostolic college, so the Pope, as successor of Peter and Bishop of Rome, and the other bishops form one episcopal college.  The pastoral ministry of Peter and the other Apostles is continued by the bishops under the primacy of the Pope.

b. Pope:

By virtue of his wide-ranging ministry evident in the New Testament and preserved in tradition, Peter is considered to be pastor of the Universal Church.  History reveals that the single most notable representative of this ministry of Peter toward the Universal Church has been the Bishop of Rome, the city whose church was founded by Peter and where Peter and Paul are buried.  The Pope, as Bishop of Rome and successor of Peter, is the visible and perpetual foundation of unity among the bishops and among Christ's faithful.  The Bishop of Rome has, by virtue of his role as the Vicar of Christ and as Pastor of the entire Church, a full, supreme and universal authority.  The college of bishops, when united to the Pope, has a similar authority.

3. Church Government and Papal Primacy

The beginning of the Church was a unique and creative act of Christ.  The Church was and is both a spiritual and visible society, a communion of persons, which needs constant guidance to realize its mission.  Thus, Christ perceived the need that someone should govern, have a primacy over, His Church.  Therefore, He conferred that authority on Peter.  As the Church was to endure through time until the return of Jesus, that authority or office conferred on Peter necessarily provided for succession.  In fact, there has been an unbroken succession of popes from Peter to Benedict XVI, the 265th successor.

The primacy of the Pope, the recognition that he is the universal Pastor with full authority over the entire Church, preserves the oneness of the church by being a sign of unity, and by being a center of communication, correction and assistance in the Church's mission.  The Pope's primacy is one of service, in service of unity.

4. Teaching Office

a. Nature:

In order to maintain the Church in the purity of the faith transmitted by the Apostles, Jesus conferred on Her a participation in His own infallibility.  "Infallibility" means "immunity from error".  It is a gift of the Holy Spirit which protects the Church from error when the Church solemnly defines a matter of faith or morals.

By a supernatural sense of the faith, the People of God under the leadership of the living Magisterium (the teaching office of the bishops) attach themselves indefectibly to the apostolic faith.  The pastoral ministry of the Magisterium is ordered, therefore, to safeguard the People of God in the truth.  This teaching office is not above the word of God, but serves it.

b. Infallibility:

To fulfill the teaching office of their pastoral ministry, the Apostles and their successors, the bishops, are given a gift of infallibility in matters of faith and morals.  The Pope, as head of the college of bishops, enjoys this gift of infallibility in a unique sense.  As pastor and supreme teacher of all the faithful, and charged with the responsibility to confirm his brothers and sisters in the faith, the Pope may proclaim as definitive a point of doctrine touching faith and morals.

When the Church, by her Magisterium, proposes something to be believed as being revealed by God in Jesus Christ, a Catholic is obliged to adhere to the definition with the obedience of faith. When the Magisterium proposes something not in a definitive way but so as to help the faithful in a better understanding of God's Revelation, a Catholic is obliged to give to such teaching the religious assent of his spirit.

It is, therefore, the Pope's role, as it was that of Peter, to guide the community of Christ's faithful, to safeguard them in the truth, and to confirm his brothers and sisters in the faith made possible in Jesus Christ.

Fr. Kevin Beach

Source: http://www.catholicmissionleaflets.org/leafpope.htm