VATICAN INSIDER: THE 7 HILLS OF ROME, COATS OF ARMS AND CANDLES AND ROME’S OLDEST BRIDGE – VATICAN MUSEUM DIRECTOR NAMED TO ADVISORY BOARD OF HERMITAGE MUSEUM – SAINT AUGUSTINE’S STORY

L’Osservatore Romano weekly English edition: https://www.osservatoreromano.va/en/pdfreader.html/ing/2020/08/ING_2020_035_2808.pdf.html?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=NewsletterOR-EN

If you are a mother (or know one) who has dedicated her prayer life to a child straying from all that is good and right in life, one who continually, as the expression goes, “pushes the envelope,” then the story of St. Monica and her son, St. Augustine, is for you! If you need to feel encouraged, if you are praying to experience even the slightest sensation of optimism, this is the story you need to know and reflect on.

Yesterday, as we know, was the memorial of St. Monica and today is the feast of her son. I’ve posted below the capsule version of St. Augustine’s life as told in their Saint of the Day column by franciscanmedia.org

VATICAN INSIDER: THE 7 HILLS OF ROME, COATS OF ARMS AND CANDLES AND ROME’S OLDEST BRIDGE

I’m looking forward to have you join me this weekend on Vatican Insider! Wherever you are as you listen, if you’ve decided to spend a brief moment with me this weekend, I think I have a fun offering for you in what is normally the interview segment.

I’ve called this segment INQUIRING MINDS WANT TO KNOW because I’m going to bring you some trivia – some little known, and often unusual facts about the Vatican – some fun stories about the 7 hills of Rome, the papal coat of arms, the Paschal candle, Vatican City State, the Vatican mosaic studio and the Bridge of Angels. I also call this “Inquiring Minds Want to Know” because so many people have written me in the past with questions and now is a good time to answer those questions, although I often try, when time allows, to personally answer those emails.

(A heads-up: There were hours of technical difficulties today as I was trying to record the News segment so, if by chance you notice an audio difference in that and my Special, it was due to different methods of recording. My EWTN colleagues in Alabama are very talented people so I know you’ll get the best audio possible!)

IN THE UNITED STATES, you can listen to Vatican Insider (VI) on a Catholic radio station near you (stations listed at www.ewtn.com) or on channel 130 Sirius-XM satellite radio, or on http://www.ewtn.com. OUTSIDE THE U.S., you can listen to EWTN radio on our website home page by clicking on the right side where you see “LISTEN TO EWTN.” VI airs at 5am and 9pm ET on Saturdays and 6am ET on Sundays. On the GB-IE feed (which is on SKY in the UK and Ireland), VI airs at 5:30am, 12 noon and 10pm CET on Sundays. Both of these feeds are also available on the EWTN app and on www.ewtnradio.net ALWAYS CHECK YOUR OWN TIME ZONE! For VI archives: http://www.ewtn.com/multimedia/audio-library/index.asp (write Vatican Insider where it says Search Shows and Episodes)

VATICAN MUSEUM DIRECTOR NAMED TO ADVISORY BOARD OF HERMITAGE MUSEUM

In an email to members of the meeting who regularly receive “The Agenda of Barbara Jatta, Museum Director,” it was announced that, “Following her recent appointment as an official member of the Advisory Board of the State Hermitage Museum, today, Friday 28 August, the Director of the Vatican Museums Barbara Jatta will participate by videoconference in the annual meeting of the committee that, for the year 2020, will bring together the directors of the principal international museums in the city of Yekaterinburg (Urals), where one of the new satellite offices of the illustrious cultural institution of St. Petersburg will soon be inaugurated.

The meeting will be a precious moment of exchange and comparison to identify the most suitable strategies to face the critical issues of the museum sector in this particular historical moment.

SAINT AUGUSTINE’S STORY

(franciscanmedia.org) Saint Augustine of Hippo – Saint of the Day for August 28 (November 13, 354 – August 28, 430)

A Christian at 33, a priest at 36, a bishop at 41: Many people are familiar with the biographical sketch of Augustine of Hippo, sinner turned saint. But really to get to know the man is a rewarding experience.

There quickly surfaces the intensity with which he lived his life, whether his path led away from or toward God. The tears of his mother, the instructions of Ambrose and, most of all, God himself speaking to him in the Scriptures, redirected Augustine’s love of life to a life of love.

His tomb in Pavia, Italy –

Having been so deeply immersed in creature-pride of life in his early days and having drunk deeply of its bitter dregs, it is not surprising that Augustine should have turned, with a holy fierceness, against the many demon-thrusts rampant in his day. His times were truly decadent: politically, socially, morally. He was both feared and loved, like the Master. The perennial criticism leveled against him: a fundamental rigorism.

In his day, Augustine providentially fulfilled the office of prophet. Like Jeremiah and other greats, he was hard-pressed but could not keep quiet. “I say to myself, I will not mention him/I will speak in his name no more/But then it becomes like fire burning in my heart/imprisoned in my bones/I grow weary holding it in/I cannot endure it” (Jeremiah 20:9). https://www.franciscanmedia.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/SODAug28.mp3

 

POPE FRANCIS VISITS CHURCH OF ST. AUGUSTINE, TOMB OF ST. MONICA – INTERRELIGIOUS SOLIDARITY IN SERVICE TO A WORLD STRUCK BY COVID-19

POPE FRANCIS VISITS CHURCH OF ST. AUGUSTINE, TOMB OF ST. MONICA

Pope Francis this afternoon made an unannounced visit to the basilica of Sant’Agostino (St. Augustine) near Rome’s celebrated Pza. Navona that houses the tomb of Saint Monica, the mother of St. Augustine of Hippo. Today is the memorial of St. Monica, who died in 387.

The following photos were taken by EWTN’s Daniel Ibanez who, knowing it was the saint’s feast day, decided to visit the church!

Built in the 13^th century, Sant’Agostino is the mother church of the Order of Saint Augustine and hosts works by Renaissance artists including Caravaggio, Raphael, Guercino and Bernini. The façade was constructed with travertine taken from the Colosseum.

St. Augustine was bishop of Hippo in northern Africa from 396 to 430, and was buried here when he died on August 28, 430. Over time, with the persecution of Christians in this area, his remains were moved to Sardinia and, in 720, when Sardinia also became dangerous his remains were moved to Pavia, northern Italy. This Doctor of the Church now rests in the basilica of San Pietro in Ciel d’Oro in an elaborate marble reliquary.

INTERRELIGIOUS SOLIDARITY IN SERVICE TO A WORLD STRUCK BY COVID-19

The Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue and the World Council of Churches call for Christians to reflect on “the importance of interreligious solidarity in a world wounded by the Covid-19 pandemic.”

By Vatican News

The Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue (PCID) and the World Council of Churches (WCC) on Thursday released a joint document. In it, they call on Christians to reflect on the importance of interreligious solidarity as the world confronts the Covid-19 crisis.

“Serving a Wounded World in Interreligious Solidarity: A Christian Call to Reflection and Action During COVID-19,” is aimed at encouraging “churches and Christian organisations to reflect on the importance of interreligious solidarity in a world wounded by the Covid-19 pandemic.

The document provides a Christian rationale for interreligious solidarity in response to the crisis but is also aimed at followers of other religions, “who have already responded to Covid-19” with similar reflections based on their own traditions.

“Because interreligious relationships can be a powerful means of expressing and building solidarity, and of opening ourselves to resources coming to us from beyond our limitations, we invite reflection on how we as Christians can become partners in solidarity with all people of faith and goodwill. In this journey towards solidarity, different communities are inspired and sustained by the hope we find in our respective traditions.”

In the document, the PCID and the WCC find a basis “for interreligious solidarity in our belief in the God who is one in three Persons, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.”

In a series of statements, the document notes that all human beings are a family, created by God according to the Father’s plan; that “our trust and our hope are in Jesus Christ”; and that we are “all connected by the work of the Holy Spirit.” This serves as a foundation for universal solidarity, following the example of Christ in serving others, inspired by the spiritual force of the Spirit which “turns us towards God in prayer and towards our neighbours in service and solidarity.”

The document continues with shared Christian principles that can “guide us in our work of serving each other in a wounded world, together with all people of faith and goodwill.”

These principles include humility and vulnerability, respect for others, compassion, dialogue, repentance, gratitude and generosity, and love.

The heart of the document lies in a series of recommendations for how Christians can serve our neighbours, and serve alongside them.

It asks Christians to consider finding ways to bear witness to suffering; nurture solidarity through common forms of spirituality; encourage and support the idealism and energy of the young; and restructure projects and processes for interreligious solidarity, among other ideas.“Love one another”

In the statement introducing the document, Cardinal Miguel Ángel Ayuso Guixot, President of the PCID, notes that the Covid-19 pandemic “has exposed the woundedness and fragility of our world, revealing that our responses must be offered in an inclusive solidarity, open to followers of other religious traditions and people of goodwill, given the concern for the entire human family.”

The interim general secretary of the WCC, Dr Ioan Sauca said, “In the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, the human family is facing together an unprecedented call to protect one another, and to heal our communities.” He added:

“Interreligious dialogue not only helps clarify the principles of our own faith and our identity as Christians, but also opens our understanding of the challenges—and creative solutions—others may have.”

 An excerpt from “Serving a Wounded World in Interreligious Solidarity: A Christian Call to Reflection and Action During COVID-19,” along with a link to the full text (PDF file), can be found on the website of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue.