Okay, so it’s official — we can hold our breath — Pope Benedict XVI’s third encyclical Caritas in Veritate (Love in Truth) is coming out. According to the Vatican Information Service, it will be officially presented at a July 7 press conference.

At 10:45 am today, President Obama is to meet with eight reporters and editors from Catholic media, according to this National Catholic Register blog entry. Apparently, all those invited are from print media, including National Catholic Register publisher Father Owen Kearns, who explained that the meeting is unprecedented. The article states that Kearns “has not previously met a sitting U.S. president, nor has he been previously invited by the president to a White House gathering for members of the Catholic press.” The meeting’s purpose is to discuss Obama’s upcoming meeting with Pope Benedict XVI, slated for July 10.

Apparently, St. Paul is buried there, according to scientists and as reported by FoxNews.com. Pope Benedict XVI spoke of the scientific team’s carbon dating, saying, “This seems to confirm the unanimous and uncontested tradition that they are the mortal remains of the Apostle Paul.” Benedict announced the findings at a service in the basilica to mark the end of the Vatican’s Pauline year, in honor of the apostle.

We all know that this world is full of trouble – and these days there is plenty to be anxious about. In worry-filled times, it’s important to remember the promises of God:

Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not rely on your own insight. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. (Proverbs 3:5-6)

Have no anxiety about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which passes all understanding, will keep your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:6-7)

“Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you shall eat or what you shall drink, nor about your body, what you shall put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add one cubit to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin; yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O men of little faith? Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek all these things; and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things shall be yours as well. “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Let the day’s own trouble be sufficient for the day. (Matthew 6:25-34)

At every mass, we are reminded of these promises in the doxology said by the priest, right after the Lord’s Prayer: “Deliver us Lord from every evil and grant us peace in our day. In your mercy, keep us free from sin and deliver us from all anxiety…”

Today kicks off the “Year for Priests”. Here is the opening of the pope’s recently issued letter:

Dear Brother Priests,

On the forthcoming Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, Friday 19 June 2009 – a day traditionally devoted to prayer for the sanctification of the clergy –, I have decided to inaugurate a “Year for Priests” in celebration of the 150th anniversary of the “dies natalis” of John Mary Vianney, the patron saint of parish priests worldwide. This Year, meant to deepen the commitment of all priests to interior renewal for the sake of a more forceful and incisive witness to the Gospel in today’s world, will conclude on the same Solemnity in 2010. The priesthood is the love of the heart of Jesus”, the saintly Curé of Ars would often say. This touching expression makes us reflect, first of all, with heartfelt gratitude on the immense gift which priests represent, not only for the Church, but also for humanity itself. I think of all those priests who quietly present Christ’s words and actions each day to the faithful and to the whole world, striving to be one with the Lord in their thoughts and their will, their sentiments and their style of life. How can I not pay tribute to their apostolic labours, their tireless and hidden service, their universal charity? And how can I not praise the courageous fidelity of so many priests who, even amid difficulties and incomprehension, remain faithful to their vocation as “friends of Christ”, whom he has called by name, chosen and sent?

The full letter is available here.

June 29 has been set as the release date for Pope Benedict XVI’s third encyclical, Caritas in Veritate (Love in Truth). Don’t hold your breath, though, as this encyclical has been delayed several times in the past. (I’m sure Borders and Barnes & Noble will have to be loose in their plans to hold release parties, as they did with the Harry Potter books.)

But seriously, an article in Britian’s The Catholic Herald today explains that “Benedict calls for new world economic order“. The pope stated, “As you know, my encyclical on the vast theme of economics and labour will soon be published. It will highlight what, for us Christians, are the objectives to be pursued and the values to be promoted and tirelessly defended, with the purpose of realising a truly free and human coexistence in solidarity.”

Leaders of certain Catholic colleges are “lobbying U.S. Bishops to withdraw their 2004 policy banning pro-abortion speakers,” according to today’s National Catholic Register. In the article, Cardinal Newman Society president Patrick Reilly is quoted as concluding:

It is sadly all too clear that the many secularized Catholic colleges and universities are more concerned with doing away with the rules than ending the scandals. Lobbying the bishops to back off a perfectly reasonable policy would be a shameful action by the Catholic higher education establishment, and hardly an appropriate response to Notre Dame’s betrayal of the nation’s bishops and the university’s own Catholic mission.

Many non-Catholics object to our use of the title “queen of heaven” in reference to the Blessed Virgin Mary. They do so because in the Old Testament, a false goddess – apparently Ishtar, the Assyro-Babylonian fertility goddess – was called the “queen of heaven” (see Jeremiah 7:18, 44:17-19, and 44:25). Using the title when speaking of Mary, they reason, means that Catholics worship Mary as a pagan goddess. Obviously, this would be a wrong thing to do.

But take heart! The good news is that Catholics neither (a) consider Mary to be a goddess nor (b) worship her.

Catholics think that it is appropriate to call Mary the “queen of heaven” for two reasons:

• Her son is the King, making her the queen mother. More than just an honorary role, the queen mother was an office in the Davidic kingdom. As one Protestant encyclopedia explains, “The gebhirah, or queen mother, occupied a position of high social and political importance; she took rank almost with the king.”
• The Bible depicts her as “wearing a crown of twelve stars” in heaven (Revelation 12:1), which is appropriate given her role as the queen mother of Christ the King.

But does the title’s pagan usage make it inappropriate to apply in a Christian context? By all means no! Just because the title was applied to a false queen of heaven in the Old Testament does not mean that the title cannot be used for the true queen of heaven.

There is strong Biblical precedent for this in the title “king of kings”. In the Old Testament, two rulers who were no friend of God’s people were called “king of kings”:

• Nebuchadrezzar, king of Babylon – Daniel 2:37 and Ezekiel 26:7.
• Artaxerxes, king of Persia – Ezra 7:12

In spite of the pagan use of “king of kings”, we appropriately apply the title to Jesus Christ, our ultimate and true King of Kings, in 1 Timothy 6:15, Revelation 17:14 and Revelation 19:16.

So we see from Scripture that it is certainly appropriate to call the Blessed Virgin Mary “Queen of Heaven.”

Just found some good Catholic humor online: Theology 911 Final Exam. My favorite question:

St. Thomas Aquinas and St. Augustine of Hippo decide to rob a bank. The note to the teller is 1,200 pages long, not counting footnotes, complete with a promise of damnation if the teller does not accept immediate Baptism. In the middle of the heist, they engage in an extended debate as to whether or not the money really exists. Are they committing a mortal or a venial sin?

I ran across this inspiring quote today and thought I’d share it:

“The Lord has turned all our sunsets into sunrise, and through the cross brought death to life.” - St. Clement of Alexandria (from his work Exhortation to the Heathen)