3.2013 POPE FRANCIS Here is an Icelandic translation of the letter that Peter Bürcher, the Catholic bishop in Iceland, sent this evening, 13th March 2013 to the Holy Father, Pope Francis on the occasion of his election. Holy Father,   as the Bishop of Reykjavik and on behalf of all Priests, Brothers and Sisters, as well as all the Lay people in my diocese, I thank you from the bottom of my heart for taking upon you, the heavy burden of being the shepherd of the whole Church.   In Iceland, a remote island State, where Catholics are in the minority, the feeling of belonging to the Universal Church is a great comfort and encouragement, that connects us even more with the successor of St. Peter the Apostle.   God keep you!  May the Holy Spirit help you to be of benefit to everybody, in what you stand for, as the chief shepherd.   Holy Father, for you, our prayers accend to heaven, with our warmest good wishes through Christ and Mary.   + Peter Bürcher Reykjavik Bishop

On 26th of  February 2013 Msgr. Peter Bürcher celebrated Holy Mass in the Cathedral of Christ the King to thank God for the eight successful years of Pope Benedict XVI as head of the Catholic Church and to call on the Holy Spirit for the conclave.


Dear brothers in the priesthood,
Dear distinguished representatives of the Church, political and diplomatic services
Dear brothers and sisters,

I met Pope Benedict many times. Who was he? He confessed himself to be a humble worker in the Lord’s vineyard. As pope for nearly eight years he was this humble worker and he wants to remain so until the end of his life, but now in a more humble manner.

Every time that I met him, I experienced this natural humbleness. It was the humility of a great soul. It is the humility of a man of God. In his recent decision, freely taken, he wants to be the Man of God who loves the Church of God. He feels himself no longer able to serve her as before, and will now serve her humbly in the manner of a prophet and of a man of prayer. He does not forsake the vineyard of the Lord. He will work there in another way. He will continue to serve the Church as a man of God. And I am convinced that this humble and new worker will obtain for the church much fruit, and especially for his successor the shepherd of the world-church.

With much success and also with difficulties Pope Benedict dared to encounter God in humility and in the search for truth. Like St. Joseph his holy patron he was the just one, a man of God. His decision (to retire) says much about his absolute honesty, his intellectual honesty, his honesty with himself and his honesty in wanting to serve the Church for its good. The underlying theme in his eight years pontificate might be summarized in the words “to put God back again in the first place. Just two days after making his decision (to retire) known he said: “It is not easy, publicly to take a stand against decisions, which are regarded as obvious by many. For this, a call to conversion is necessary. One of the elements of this conversion is to put God back in the first place. Then all will be different. We must remember again the words of God, so as to allow their light to penetrate our life. We have, so to say, to dare to encounter God, so that we allow Him to be active in our society.

This is an echo of his first encyclical “Deus Caritas est” from Christmas 2005, which gave the tone for his pontificate from the beginning. “In the beginning of Christianity there is no moral decision, nor a great idea, rather the encounter with an event, with a person who gives our life a new horizon and thereby a decisive direction.
In his gospel St. John describes this event in the following words: “For God so loved the world that he gave his Only Son, that whoever believes in Him should have  .. eternal life” (3,16). Is not the starting point of the Christian life, for us as for the first disciples this meeting with Jesus Christ? All follows from this encounter, and Pope Benedict has dedicated himself intellectually in the humble service of this encounter. Let us listen to his words. In a sermon on Dec. 1st 2009 he said: We have heard that the Lord praises the Father because He had hidden the great mystery of the Son, of the Trinitarian mystery, the Christological mystery from the wise and the learned. These have not recognized Him, but He has revealed it to the little-ones, who are not learned, who do not possess great culture.

This leads one to a question which he answers “All leads us to ask: Why is this so? Is Christianity the religion of fools, of people without culture, of the uneducated? Does faith stop when reason awakes? How can we explain this? We must look again at history. What Jesus said, what one can find in every century, that remains true. But there are nevertheless those who are small and at the same time learned. This says much about him who so speaks. He is allergic against poisonous presumptions, against poisonous ambition. The Christian life is characterized by humility before the truth, and exactly because of this should it treasure reason.

The ever-present humility of Benedict XVI lit up and irradiated his extraordinary intelligence. This attitude of humility allowed him to let God take charge and make use of him. It is the grace of a true theologian. To admit ones limitations and weaknesses before God, that is to cloth humility and intelligence in flesh and blood. “We must be content to remain poor and powerless, and that is the difficulty St. Therese of Lisieux, the little Teresa, had already experienced. Thereby did she become the great saint of modern times. I am certain that Benedict XVI, the humble worker who will soon, withdraw into a convent on the Vatican Hill will become more like this saint, that is for the good of the whole church.  Amen.

Today the news comes also to Iceland like „a bolt from the blue”: Pope Benedict XVI retires from his pontificate at the end of February. He told the Cardinals in Rome today, that he feels the weight of the task of guiding the Church. Having repeatedly examined his conscience before God, he has made his decision in full freedom and for the good of the Church.

The bishop and the Catholics in Iceland thank the Holy Father for his exemplary and faithful Petrine service. They continue to pray in full unity with him and the Church worldwide.

They endorse the personal words of Pope Benedict XVI: „and now, let us entrust the Holy  Church to the care of Our Supreme Pastor, Our Lord Jesus Christ, and implore his holy Mother Mary, so that she may assist the Cardinal Fathers with her maternal solicitude, in electing a new Supreme Pontiff.”

Dear Brothers and Sisterrs,

What does it mean, “I believe in”? Here, to believe in Jesus Christ, also  means “to trust in”, “to count on”, “I give him and his word  my full trust”. I should therefore not mix this up with ”I believe that ...”, which means as much as “I suppose that”, or “I think that“, I am not sure that”. No,  this has to do with my certain belief in Jesus Christ, in the strict sense of the prayer, “Lord, I do believe, help my unbelief!”

For me the day of my baptism was the most beautiful day of my life. At this celebration the priest asked: What name do you give the child? What do you ask of God’s Church? The faith. And he asked again: Are you ready to raise your child in the Christian faith, so that it will gain everlasting life? Yes. Whoever wants to gain life must keep the commandments: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. And: You shall love your neighbour as yourself”. For me and my family everything was clear and the three dimensional direction of life was indicated: Faith, everlasting life and charity.

In this Year of Faith we could look at what the Catechism of Catholic Church has to say about this. This year we are celebrating the 20th anniversary of its emergence. (484) The Annunciation to Mary inaugurates “the fullness of time”, (Gal 4,4): The promises come tru, the preparations are completed. Mary is called to conceive him in whom the “whole fullness of deity” would dwell “bodily” (Col 2,9).The divine response to her question, “How can this be, since I know not man?” (Lk 1,34), refers to the power of the Spirit: “The Holy Spirit will come upon you” (Lk 1,35).

Yes my dear loved ones, nothing will be impossible to the Holy Spirit! (485) The mission of the Holy Spirit is always conjoined to and ordered to that of the Son. The Holy Spirit, “the Lord, the giver of Life”, is sent to sanctify the womb of the Virgin Mary and to divinely frutify it, causing her to conceive the eternal Son of the Father in a humanity drawn from her own.

In this way a woman, indeed an extraordinary woman, thanks to the Holy Spirit has entered the history of our redemption. A woman named Mary also has her place in our Apostles’ Creed. Isn’t that of great importance  for our present understanding of the role of women, and for the ecumenical dialogue of our times?

Yes, Jesus Christ, the Son of God is born of a woman, the Virgin Mary. In the great Creed (Nicene-Constantinople) we pray too: “For us men, and for our salvation, He came down from heaven, and was incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the Virgin Mary, and was made man.” The Council of Chalcedon in 451 declared the term Theotokos (Mother of God) quite clearly for Mary. The Fathers of the Eastern tradition call the Mother of God “the All-Holy” (Panagia), and celebrate her as “free from any stain of sin, so to speak fashioned by the Holy Spirit and formed as a new creature” (LG 56). By the grace of God Mary remained free of every personal sin her whole life long (493). The Angel said to Joseph about Mary: “It is through the Holy Spirit that this child has been conceived in her” (Lk 1,20). The prophet Isaiah had already said: “The virgin shall be with child, and bear a son” (Is 7,14).

Christmas is close now! “A child is born for us, it is named Immanuel, God with us!” Through her word of consent and her faith, Mary could truly become the Mother of God. In her whole being she is “the handmaid of the Lord” (Lk 1,38).

Therefore, my dear Brothers and Sisters, we confess and pray: “I believe in Jesus Christ ... conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary”. Mary will lead us ever more to Christ, the Son of God, and to our heavenly Father. He will send us his Holy Spirit every day in abundance for our joy and for our salvation. We will be new witnesses of the new evangelization. “Lord, I do believe, help my unbelief! Come, oh, Immanuel!”  Amen.

Brothers and Sisters.  To lead others to faith is always the task of each believer.  But how much more so, is this true, during a year dedicated to faith?  Jesus Christ our Lord wants to use us for this purpose.  He wants us to radiate his light in a dark world.

But it must be his light we radiate, not ours.  It must be his Gospel we share, not ours.  It must be his will we act upon, not ours.  In this context it is important to have a deepening understanding of the Creed.  Yes, we know it, recite it and pray it, but have we ever really stopped to think about what it means?  Have we meditated on it?

But we must go even further than that!  The Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI wrote in his APOSTOLIC LETTER, PORTA FIDEI:
“Saint Luke recounts that, while he was at Philippi, Paul went on the Sabbath to proclaim the Gospel to some women; among them was Lydia and “the Lord opened her heart to give heed to what was said by Paul” (Acts 16:14). There is an important meaning contained within this expression.  Saint Luke teaches that knowing the content to be believed is not sufficient unless the heart, the authentic sacred space within the person, is opened by grace that allows the eyes to see below the surface and to understand that what has been proclaimed is the word of God.“      That means that we must have both an open mind and an open heart!
Now, let us turn to the Creed and specifically to the words: 
“I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord.” 

This is a short sentence but rich in meaning.

“I believe in Jesus Christ.”  The name “Jesus” means “God saves”.  He saves us from sin.  Because sin is always an offence against God therefore only God himself can forgive it.  This is what he does in Jesus, his eternal Son, made man. “There is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”  (Acts 4:12)

The title “Christ” means “Anointed One”.  There were several anointed ones of the Lord in the Old Covenant, pre-eminently King David.  But Jesus is God's Anointed in a unique way: the humanity the Son assumed was entirely anointed by the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit established him as "Christ."  Jesus, in himself, fulfilled the messianic hope of Israel in his threefold office of priest, prophet and king.

The title “Son of God” signifies the unique and eternal relationship of Jesus Christ to God his Father.  Jesus revealed that God is Father in an unheard-of sense: he is Father not only in being Creator; he is eternally Father by his relationship to his only Son who, reciprocally, is Son only in relation to his Father.  To be a Christian, one must believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. 

The title “Lord” indicates divine sovereignty. To say:  “I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord”, is to acknowledge that Jesus is our divine master.  The feast of Christ the King, which falls on the last Sunday of the liturgical year, invites us in a special way, each year, to meditate on the meaning of the words:  “Jesus Christ our Lord”.

St. John Eudes, a French missionary priest who died in 1680, wrote: “I ask you to consider that our Lord Jesus Christ is your true head, and that you are one of his members. He belongs to you as the head belongs to its members; all that is his is yours: his spirit, his heart, his body and soul, and all his faculties. You must make use of all these as of your own, to serve, praise, love, and glorify God. You belong to him, as members belong to their head. and so he longs for you to use all that is in you, as if it were his own, for the service and glory of the Father.”

Brothers and Sisters.  As we draw nearer to Christmas, we naturally turn our thoughts to the Virgin Mary - our great model of faith.  Her virginity is a special sign of her faith, which is “unadulterated by any doubt”, and is the sign of her undivided gift of herself to God's will.  It is her faith that enables her to become the mother of the Saviour.  St. Augustine said of her:  “Mary is more blessed because she embraces faith in Christ, than because she conceives the flesh of Christ.”

Since, belief in Jesus Christ, is the way to arrive definitively at salvation; may we firmly believe, and so have hope and confidence.  Let us rejoice in our faith each day!  Amen.

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Fifty years ago Pope John XXII solemnly opened the Second Vatican Council in Rome. Thousands of Bishops from all over the world came together to talk about matters concerning the faith and the life of the Church and to renew various factors regarding the missionary work. Bishop Jóhannes Gunnarsson went from Iceland and participated actively in all the discussions in the four years of the Council.

Following the Vatican Council a great renewal took place in many fields within the Church, but it is safe to say that some people misunderstood  the message of the Pope and the Bishops and tried to adapt the Church so much to the spirit of the world that little remained of the faith in some countries.

Now, fifty years later, the time has truly come to reevaluate the work of the Vatican Council and to examine the treasures which it contains, but at the same time to put forward the message of the Church in a still better and more effictive way in order to better reach the present generations. Therefore, Pope Benedict has solemnly proclaimed the Year of Faith which commenced on October 11th, 2012.

Everywhere in the world Christians are encouraged to reconsider the gift of faith, to renew their thanks to God for enabling them to be God’s children and to believe in Him, and in this way to give the world a credible testimony of a faith which is lively and attractive. The priests in Iceland will play their part in this, and among other things they will compose a series of homilies specially dedicated to faith and particularly to the main articles of faith, which we confess in our creed.

But before we discuss particular articles of faith we should briefly consider faith itself. Man is a person of faith. He believes many things, not only that which pertains to redemption and life everlasting, but also many things that matter in daily life. To believe means to know something or somebody on the basis of the trust we have in the person that delivers this knowledge to us.

Much knowledge we gather from our own experience and senses. We know that it is not good to play with fire, once we have touched the flames ourselves. This is a fact and we need no faith to understand that, but experience. But our own experience is very limited and brings us limited knowledge about things. However we gain much more widespread knowledge by trusting those who know better, or at least should know better. Culture, and the knowledge it brings, is built upon the trust we have in those who preceded us und brought us a new understanding.

Let us give one simple example: I have no personal experience of America. I have never been in America and I have never seen this continent. Never the less I believe that America exists, that there are people living there and that it is possible to communicate with those people. This belief is based on the trust I have in those who have been to America, who have seen America and returned from there to tell about their experience. I trust them and I believe what they are saying. Of course I am free not to believe and insist that there is no America and that they are either lying or are totally mistaken, or that this is all one big conspiracy with the intention to mislead me. I am free to believe that America does not exist but this is an absurd belief which does not fit to reason and a sane way of thinking and it will result in me disbelieving everybody around me and finally I will not even trust myself. In other words, it is simply rational to believe that America exists, whether I have ever seen this continent or not.

We believe in man. We believe in ourselves and in our neighbour. We believe in our children. But this is also based on faith. Who has got proof of himself and proof of other people? Nobody. Our faith is based on trust, not proof. A human being is an object of faith which we must associate with in faith and with respect. Parents construct self- confidence in the soul of their children by trusting them, believing in them and taking care of them. Faith is always an undeserved gift and it is the basis for all self-confidence, but without self-confidence a human being does not exist.

Above everything else the parents give their children, the gift of faith is the most precious gift. It is more precious than food or education, things or clothes. All of this we can receive in many ways, from the family or from society, if necessary, but faith is a gift borne of love, and it first and foremost comes from the parents.

If the entire human life is in itself faith, and the gift of faith is built on trust, then it is natural to ask more closely and consider where this gift comes from. If we talk about a gift we are really talking about a giver, about somebody who has it within himself to give trust, to build up the trust that is the fountain of life and faith. And this giver is God, the creator of heaven and earth. He is the basis of our existence and the existence of all there is. We have no proof of the existence of God in the same way we can proof some result of an experiment in a scientific laboratory, but we have prove of God, our Creator, in the same moment we perceive our existence as a gift, especially when we, ourselves, dare to present this gift to others and become a gift ourselves. At that moment we become aware of that the giver is not far away from us, but right beside us, constantly caring for us.

St. Paul says this in his famous speech in Athens: “It is He who gives to everyone life and breath and everything. He made from one the whole human race to dwell on the entire surface of the Earth. He wanted people to seek God, even perhaps grope for Him and find Him, though indeed He is not far from any of us. For in Him we live and move and have our being.”

In this Year of Faith it is fitting to begin by thanking for the gift of faith, but also to ask still more for this gift, as the father of the sick boy did when he begged Jesus: “I do believe, help my unbelief!” To believe in God and in Jesus is the same as trusting God and trusting his Son, Jesus Christ, and thereby the fear and insecurity vanishes which  characterise souls that do not believe. Those words of Jesus are directed to us today: “Do not be afraid; just have faith.” Amen.

      On Saturday, September 29, about 130 people gathered at Kristkirkja and Landakotsskóli for a diocesan meeting (“Samkoma”) of many of the movements and groups which are active in the Catholic Church in Iceland.  This was the 6th time this sort of gathering has been held since 2007, but all of the previous gatherings were at Maríukirkja in Breiðholt; this was Landakot’s first time to host the event and it was a great success!

    The Samkoma began at noon with a delicious pot-luck luncheon, and then the Reykjavík-area parishes (Kristkirkja, Jósefskirkja, and Maríukirkja) each had approximately one hour during which their parish organizations and movements gave short presentations about their history, purpose, and activities; in many cases, these presentations were augmented by songs, dances, or slide presentations.  We were also blessed to have representatives from Péturskirkja in Akureyri and some youth from the Oratory in Stykkishólmur!  Anna Björg Harðadóttir and Jesselou Jumapao served as emcees for the afternoon and they did a great job, keeping the presentations moving in a timely fashion!  Babysitting was provided for the children; and everyone was invited to "have fun” with a sports break mid-afternoon!  The day’s events concluded with the celebration of the Holy Mass in the Cathedral at 6pm.  Attendees were given booklets which contained short descriptions and contact information for the various groups and movements that gave presentations.  This information will also be available soon on the diocesan website, catholica.is .


   Plans are already underway for the next Samkoma in 2013, and we hope that even more people and parishes will get involved!  This year´s presentations were given in either Icelandic or English (with corresponding translations provided on a screen), but next year, we hope to more fully include our Polish and Spanish brethren.   The Samkoma’s purpose was to familiarize parishioners with the many movements and activities available which can help strengthen Catholic life here in Iceland, but next year, rather than covering the same ground again, we hope to provide some more direct spiritual input, as well as opportunities for more conversation/discussion between members of the different parishes.  If you have some ideas or are interested in helping to plan for Samkoma 2013, please contact your parish priest.  “Many hands make light the work!”

     May God richly bless all those who worked so hard to prepare for this year’s wonderful Samkoma, and we extend a sincere THANK YOU to everyone who participated on the 29th—it was a great joy to be together in the Lord!  May the Lord use us to bring His light and love to all those around us!

Dear Brothers and Sisters,
On January 6, 2012, the Feast of the Epiphany of Our Lord, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith sent a very interesting note with some pastoral suggestions for the Year of Faith to the entire Catholic Church. It also concerns us here in Iceland:
“With the Apostolic Letter of 11 October 2011, Porta fidei, Pope Benedict XVI declared a Year of Faith. This year will begin on 11 October 2012, on the 50th anniversary of the opening of the Second Ecumenical Vatican Council, and will conclude on 24 November 2013, the Solemnity of our Lord Jesus Christ, Universal King.

This year offers to all the faithful a good opportunity to understand more profoundly that the foundation of Christian faith is “the encounter with an event, a person, which gives life a new horizon and a decisive direction.” Founded on the encounter with the Risen Christ, faith can be rediscovered in its wholeness and all its splendor. “In our days too faith is a gift to rediscover, to cultivate and to bear witness to” because the Lord “grants each one of us to live the beauty and joy of being Christians.”
The beginning of the Year of Faith coincides with the anniversaries of two great events which have marked the life of the Church in our days: the fiftieth anniversary of the opening of the Second Vatican Council, called by Blessed Pope John XXIII (11 October 1962), and the twentieth of the promulgation of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, given to the Church by Blessed Pope John Paul II (11 October 1992).

The next General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, to be held in October 2012, will have as its theme: The New Evangelization for the Transmission of the Christian Faith.

The Year of Faith is intended to contribute to a renewed conversion to the Lord Jesus and to the rediscovery of faith, so that the members of the Church will be credible and joy-filled witnesses to the Risen Lord in the world of today - capable of leading those many people who are seeking it to the “door of faith.” This “door” opens wide man’s gaze to Jesus Christ, present among us “always, until the end of the age” (Mt 28:20). He shows us how “the art of living” is learned “in an intense relationship with him.” “Through his love, Jesus Christ attracts to himself the people of every generation: in every age he convokes the Church, entrusting her with the proclamation of the Gospel by a mandate that is ever new. Today too, there is a need for stronger ecclesial commitment to new evangelization in order to rediscover the joy of believing and the enthusiasm for communicating the faith.”

“I know him in whom I have believed” (2 Tm 1:12). These words of St Paul help us to understand that faith is “first of all a personal adherence of man to God. At the same time, and inseparably, it is a free assent to the whole truth that God has revealed.”

The Year of Faith “will also be a good opportunity to intensify the celebration of the faith in the liturgy, especially in the Eucharist.” In the Eucharist, mystery of faith and source of the new evangelization, the faith of the Church is proclaimed, celebrated and strengthened. All of the faithful are invited to participate in the Eucharist actively, fruitfully and with awareness, in order to be authentic witnesses of the Lord.

Faith is both a personal and a communal act: it is a gift from God that is lived in the communion of the Church and must be communicated to the world. Every initiative for the Year of Faith should be designed to aid in the joyous rediscovery of the faith and its renewed transmission. The recommendations provided here have the goal of inviting all of the members of the Church to work so that this Year may be a special time in which we, as Christians, may share that which is most dear to us: Christ Jesus, the Redeemer of mankind, Universal King, “the leader and perfecter of faith” (Hb 12: 2).

Dear Brothers and Sisters, may this advice already help us to attain a stronger and more joyful faith in Jesus Christ!

I recommend to each of you to recite this short and beautiful prayer as often as possible from now on: Yes, Lord, I believe, but strengthen my faith! Amen.

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Where is Bethlehem? It is not far away: it is indeed where we find Jesus, especially in poverty and love in Iceland. He has become one of us, the eternal Son has become a little human child. He has learnt to laugh and cry.

The shepherds come to Bethlehem. They watch in wonder and tell their story. Mary does not yet understand everything; she kept all these things in faith and pondered them in her heart all her life.
Mankind – today and always, and here in Iceland too – moves between fear and hope. The hope is ultimately based on God’s faithfulness. Jesus, the Son, is the living yes of God to his promise. Salvation and deliverance originate with Him – if we accept Him: if we are ready to receive his Word and his gift.

God said yes to man, to each and every one. To you and to me. God comes towards us, he adopts us. The Word that He speaks to us is his Son: “To us a child is born”. God loves us and He awaits our love in return.

We can hear God’s Word, his mercy has become visible: in the Son who was born and died for us. Between the first coming of Christ and the revelation of his Glory flows the time of history and of our own life. It is a time of hope and trial. It is also a hope when dramatic things happen in our lives or in the world, as lately with the typhoon in the Philippines. Human soldiarity is always appropriate, as God shows towards us men.

The Child in the manger, the Bread on the Altar, which is his Body: only he who can see with his heart can understand this sign of love. And he receives what he sees: the gift of God “for the life of the world”.
The good tidings, that God cares for the people, has not yet arrived everywhere. But the “watchmen”, the people with heart awake and perceiving eyes, proclaim this great joy. There is hope, for “God is King”. He says to all peoples on the earth: I am here.

“Today in the town of David a Saviour has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord!” (Lk 2, 11).

He is our Saviour. He loves us all immensely.    Amen.

9. 2011



A delegation from Switzerland visited the Bishop in the summer.

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6. 2011

Pilgrimage to Maríulind, Snæfellsnes
Tuesday 19 July 2011.

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4. 2011
  
 


Serdecznie zapraszamy na modlitewne czuwanie w wigilie
Uroczystosci Niedzieli Miłosierdzia Bozego oraz beatyfikacji
Sługi Bozego Jana Pawła II. Odbedzie sie ono 30.04.2011 r., w
katedrze p.w. Chrystusa Króla w Reykjaviku od godz. 20.00-21.30.
W programie m.in. swiadectwa po spotkaniach z Papiezem, ludzi
z róznych stron swiata; wspólny spiew; adoracja NS; modlitwy
prowadzone w wielu jezykach; spotkanie przy kawie.
Dla osób uczestniczacych we Mszy Sw. o godz. 18.00, po Mszy
kawa oraz prezentacja filmu o Janie Pawle II pt.: “Credo”.


Welcome to the prayer vigil on the eve of Divine
Mercy Sunday and of the beatification of the Servant
of God John Paul II by Pope Benedict XVI. It will be held on
30.04.2011, at the Cathedral Christ the King in Reykjavík
at 20.00-21.30.
The program includes testimonies of those who had met the
Pope; joint singing; adoration of Blessed Sacrament; prayers
in multiple languages; coffee meeting.
The Sunday Vigil Mass is at 18.00 on Saturday 30th April.
There will be coffee after the Mass in the parish hall along
with a showing of the film on Pope John Paul II “Credo”.




Official Prayer for the Canonization of

Jezu Ufam Tobie!

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

I find the statue of Christ the King in our Cathedral in Reykjavík ever more beautiful. It is wonderfully beautiful! What does it tell us?

Pope Pius XI gave our Church some special gifts and two of them we can see there. Over the High Altar there is a statue of Christ, standing on the terrestrial globe. It is the original, carved into cedarwood. There are no other copies in the world, since the artist, Gampanya from Barcelona, prohibited all replicas of the statue.

The present of the Pope is an honour to us all. In Reykjavík we have the northernmost Cathedral of the Catholic dioceses of the world. The Pope is thus interested in everything to the end of the world, right up to the high north. He has “anxiety for all the churches” (cf. 2Cor, 11, 28). Without attachment to the Pope there is no Catholic Church in the true sense of the word. Maybe this is also demonstrated by the two colours of our statue of Christ the King, white and yellow, which are indeed the colours of the Vatican. In addition to that comes the colour of silver. When we think of our aluminium industry this colour of our statue of Christ the King might suggest to us its Icelandic identity. For all the joys and sorrows of a people are those of the Church. This is from the Second Vatican Council: “The joys and the hopes, the griefs and the anxieties of the men of this age, especially those who are poor or in any way afflicted, these are the joys and hopes, the griefs and anxieties of the followers of Christ. Indeed, nothing genuinely human fails to raise an echo in their hearts” (Gaudium et Spes, 1).

There Christ stands on the globe, his throne. Therefore his left hand holds the sceptre of the King of the Universe. The right hand of Christ is fully stretched out, and blesses the world. Isn’t this wonderful? The blessing is for all people of good will. “Glory to God in the highest, the angels sing, and peace be with those that are of good will!” The peace is so important today, both in our homes and in the whole world. In these times we think of all the victims of violence, especially in the Middle East but also in other countries where many people have been killed. This is terrible and it should never happen again, especially not in a church! Everyone should respect the hand of God. Christ wants to be the King of all of us, whatever our religion.

What also impresses me in the contemplation of our beautiful statue of Christ the King is the crown. It is not a normal crown as with most kings. Here Christ carries a crown that is more like a crown of thorns. The Gospels (Matthew 27, 29, Mark 15, 17 and John 19, 2), tell us about the Roman soldiers crowning Jesus of Nazareth with a crown of thorns. The soldiers gave him satirical symbols of a king, a staff for a sceptre, and they put a scarlet robe on him as they mocked and mishandled him. All of this Jesus suffered for us sinners with great compassion. For he is a King who gives us his love and even his whole life. Christ’s crown of thorns is however beautiful because it points to the glory of the Lord. He will return in glory, as we confess with the whole Church in our creed. “Christ, who died and was raised up for all, can through His Spirit offer man the light and the strength to measure up to his supreme destiny. Nor has any other name under the heaven been given to man by which it is fitting for him to be saved” (Gaudium et Spes 10).

Our statue is not static. It is full of movement. Since the reorganization of the liturgy the Feast of Christ the King is held at the end of the liturgical year. That is supposed to make it clear to us that the goal is the elevated Lord, towards whom the pilgrim people of God is going. Am I, are we now on that road? The yearly Lenten season is for us all an urgent  appeal of conversion to Christ. The words of the two criminals who were crucified with Christ essentially reflect two images of the kingdom: whilst one of them mocks him as a Messiah or a king who cannot save himself, the other recognises in the powerlessness of the crucified one the real power of the king, and surrenders to his mercy.

Dear brothers and sisters, do we, the Christian people of the world, not still appear weak and less than convincing? And evil still seems to have the upper hand. The believing eyes of the criminal, who was crucified with him, were needed to recognise the Kingdom of Christ, which should develop in concrete love in our daily lives.

We believe in a mocked King, a King with a crown of thorns, a King on the cross, as absurd as it might seem to many people. We celebrate him because in his powerlessness on the cross another power emerges: the power of the love of Christ, the never-ending love which is wonderfully beautiful, like the statue of Christ in our Cathedral in the north. Our King and Lord awaits us all. We should not be afraid to approach him, with great love for him and at the same time for our fellow human beings.   Amen.

Kæru bræður og systur,

Ich finde die Statue des Christ-Königs in unserer Kathedrale von Reykjavik immer schöner. Sie ist wunderschön! Was sagt sie uns?

Papst Pius XI hat unserer Kirche einige kostbare Sachen geschenkt und zwei von ihnen können wir dort sehen. Über dem Hochaltar steht eine Statue von Christus, wo er auf der Erdkugel steht. Es ist das Original, in Zederholz geschnitzt. Es gibt keine anderen Exemplare auf der Welt, denn der Künstler, Gampanya aus Barcelona, hat alle Nachbildungen der Statue verboten.

Das Geschenck des Papstes ehrt uns alle. Wir besitzen in Reykjavik die nördlichste Kathedrale der katholischen Bistümer der Welt. Der Papst zeigt sich so bis auf alle Grenzen der Welt aufmerksam, bis in den Hohen Norden. Er hat ja "die Sorge für alle Gemeinden" (s. 2 Ko 11,28). Ohne Verbundenheit mit dem Papst gibt es im wahren Sinne keine katholische Kirche. Das zeigen vielleicht auch die zwei Farben unserer Christ-Königsstatue, weiss und gelb, welche ja die Farben des Vatikans sind. Dazu kommt noch die Silberfarbe. Wenn wir an unsere Aluminiumindustrie denken könnte diese Farbe der Statue des Christkönigs vielleicht ihre isländische Identität andeuten. Denn alle Freuden und Sorgen eines Volkes sind auch diejenigen der Kirche. Das sagt das Zweite Vatikanische Konzil: "Freude und Hoffnung, Trauer und Angst der Menschen von heute, besonders der Armen und Bedrängten aller Art, sind auch Freude und Hoffnung, Trauer und Angst der Jünger Christi. Und es gibt nichts wahrhaft Menschliches, das nicht in ihren Herzen seinen Widerhall fände" (Gaudium et Spes 1).

Christus steht hier thronend auf der Weltkugel. Deshalb trägt seine linke Hand das Zepter des Königs des Weltalls. Die rechte Hand von Christus ist ganz ausgestrekt und segnet die ganze Welt. Ist dies nicht wunderschön? Der Segen ist für alle Menschen guten Willens da. "Ehre sei Gott in der Höhe, singen die Engel, und Friede den Menschen guten Willens!" Der Friede ist heutzutage so wichtig sowohl in unseren Häusern wie in der ganzen Welt. Wir denken in diesen Tagen, an alle Opfer der Gewalt ganz besonders im Mittleren Orient aber auch in anderen Ländern wo so viele getötet wurden. So etwas ist schrecklich und soll nie mehr vorkommen ganz besonders in einer Kirche! Die Hand Gottes soll von allen respektiert werden. Christus will König sein über uns alle von welcher Religion wir auch sind.

Was mich bei der Betrachtung unserer wunderschönen Statue des Christkönigs auch beeindruckt ist die Krone. Es ist nicht eine gewöhnliche Krone wie bei den meisten Königen.
Hier trägt Christus eine Krone die der Dornenkrone ähnlich ist. Die Evangelien berichten (in Matthäus 27, 29, Markus 15, 17 und Johannes 19, 2), dass Jesus von Nazaret von römischen Soldaten eine Krone aus Dornen aufgesetzt wurde. Zusammen mit einem Schilfrohr als Zepter und einem roten Umhang statteten ihn die Soldaten mit satirischen "königlichen" Symbolen aus, während sie ihn misshandelten und verspotteten. Dies alles hat Jesus für uns Sünder mit grosser Liebe gelitten. Denn Er ist ein König der uns seine Liebe schenkt und sogar sein ganzes Leben für uns hingibt. Die Dornenkrone Christi ist aber schön weil sie auf die Herrlichkeit des Herrn hinweisen will. Er wird kommen in Herrlichkeit, bekennen wir mit der ganzen Kirche in unserem Credo. "Christus, der für alle starb und auferstand, schenkt dem Menschen Licht und Kraft durch seinen Geist, damit er seiner höchsten Berufung nachkommen kann; es ist kein anderer Name unter dem Himmel den Menschen gegeben, in dem sie gerettet werden sollen" (Gaudium et Spes 10).

Unsere Statue ist nicht statisch. Sie ist voll Bewegung. Seit der Neuordnung der Liturgie wird das Christkönigsfest am Ende des Kirchenjahres gefeiert. Damit soll deutlich werden, dass das Ziel der erhöhte Herr ist, zu dem hin das pilgernde Gottesvolk unterwegs ist. Bin ich, sind wir jetzt schon zu ihm unterwegs? Die jährliche Fastenzeit ist eine für alle dringende Einladung zur Bekehrung zu Christus. In den Worten der beiden Verbrecher welche mit Christus gekreuzigt sind spiegeln sich im Grunde beide Bilder von Königtum: während ihn der eine als Messias/König verhöhnt, der sich selbst nicht helfen kann, erkennt der andere in der Ohnmacht des Gekreuzigten die wahre Königsmacht und übergibt sich seiner Barmherzigkeit.

Liebe Brüder und Schwestern, erscheinen wir ChristInnen in der Welt nicht noch immer schwach, zu wenig überzeugend? Und das Böse scheint stets die Oberhand zu behalten. Es braucht die glaubenden Augen des mitgekreuzigten Verbrechers, um im Gekreuzigten das Königtum Christi zu erkennen das sich in unserem alltäglichen Leben in der konkreten Liebe entfalten soll.

Wir glauben an einen verspotteten König, einen König mit Dornenkrone, einen König am Kreuz, so absurd das für viele Menschen auch erscheinen mag. Wir feiern ihn, weil in seiner Ohnmacht am Kreuz eine andere Macht deutlich wird: die Macht der Liebe Christi, der unendlichen Liebe welche wunderschön ist wie unsere Christkönigsstatue in unserer nordischen Kathedrale. Unser König und Herr wartet auf uns alle. Haben wir keine Angst zu ihm zu kommen, mit grosser Liebe zu Ihm und zugleich zu unseren Mitmenschen.  Amen

Umiłowani Bracia i Siostry!

Odkryłem na nowo piękno figury Chrystusa Króla, która znajduje się w naszej Katedrze w Reykjaviku. Naprawdę jest przepiękna. Co chce nam przekazać?

Papież Pius XI ofiarował naszemu Kościołowi pewien specjalny dar.  Nad ołtarzem głównym w naszej katedrze znajduje się figura Chrystusa, stojąca na kuli ziemskiej. Jest to oryginał zrobiony z drzewa cedrowego. Na świecie nie ma ani jednej  kopii tej figury, gdyż jej twórca, Gampanya z Barcelony, zabronił jej kopiowania.

Łączność z Papieżem jest dla nas wszystkim wielkim zaszczytem. W Reykjaviku znajduje się najdalej wysunięta na północ Katedra diecezji katolickiej na świecie. Ojciec Święty ma w sercu wszystkich, aż po krańce ziemi, aż po daleką północ. Papież troszczy się o wszystkie kościoły (por. 2 Kor, 11, 28). Bez więzi  z Ojcem Świętym Kościół katolicki nie ma prawa bytu - nie byłby tym czym być powinien. Łączność z Papieżem wyrażona jest również  poprzez kolory naszej figury Chrystusa Króla – żółty i niebieski, które jednocześnie są oficjalnymi kolorami Watykanu. Dostrzega się również kolor srebrny. Jeśli wspomnimy w tym miejscu  nasz przemysł aluminiowym to ten kolor figury Chrystusa Króla może wyrażać jej islandzką tożsamość. Wszystkie radości i smutki ludzi są też doświadczeniem Kościoła.  Potwierdza to również Sobór Watykański II: „Radość i nadzieja, smutek i trwoga ludzi współczesnych, zwłaszcza ubogich i wszystkich cierpiących, są też radością i nadzieją, smutkiem i trwogą uczniów Chrystusowych; i nie ma nic prawdziwie ludzkiego, co nie miałoby oddźwięku w ich sercu.” (Gaudium et Spes, 1).

Chrystus stoi na kuli ziemskiej niczym na swoim tronie. Dlatego też        w lewej dłoni dzierży berło Króla Wszechświata. Zaś prawe ramię Chrystusa jest wyciągnięte i  błogosławi światu. Czyż to nie cudowne? Błogosławieństwo dla wszystkich ludzi dobrej woli. "Chwała Bogu na wysokościach, śpiewają aniołowie, a na ziemi pokój ludziom dobrej woli!" Pokój dziś jest bardzo ważny, zarówno w naszych domach jak i na całym świecie. Wspomnijmy w tym miejscu wszystkie ofiary przemocy, w szczególności na Bliskim Wschodzie, ale również w innych krajach, gdzie wiele osób zostało zamordowanych. To jest przerażające i nie powinno się nigdy powtórzyć, zwłaszcza w Kościele! Powinniśmy przestrzegać Prawa Pańskiego. Chrystus pragnie być Królem każdego człowieka, niezależnie od wyznawanej religii.
Kolejnym szczegółem, który mnie fascynuje w naszej pięknej figurze Chrystusa Króla, jest jego korona. Nie jest to zwyczajna korona jaką ma większość królów. Chrystus ma na głowie koronę, która  bardziej przypomina koronę cierniową niż królewską. Ewangelie (Mateusza 27, 29, Marka 15, 17 i Jana 19, 2), informują nas o rzymskich żołnierzach którzy ukoronowali  Jezusa z Nazaretu koroną cierniową. Kpiąc z niego podali mu również insygnia królewskie -  berło oraz okryli go płaszczem szkarłatnym – a następnie  szydzili z niego i wyśmiewali go. Wszystko to Jezus wycierpiał z ogromną miłością za nas, grzeszników. On jest Królem, który daje nam swoją miłość, a nawet całe życie. Korona cierniowa Chrystusa jest piękna, ponieważ wskazuje na chwałę Pana.
On powróci w chwale, jak wyznajemy z całym kościołem w Credo. „Chrystus, który za wszystkich umarł i zmartwychwstał, może człowiekowi przez Ducha swego udzielić światła i sił, aby zdolny był odpowiedzieć najwyższemu swemu powołaniu; oraz, że nie dano ludziom innego pod niebem imienia, w którym by mieli być zbawieni.” (Gaudium et Spes, 10).

Nasza figura nie jest statyczna. Jest w pełnym ruchu.
Od czasu reorganizacji liturgii święto Chrystusa Króla przypada na koniec roku liturgicznego. Ma to nam uświadomić, że celem jest wywyższenie  Pana, do którego Lud Boży pielgrzymuje.
Czy jestem na tej drodze?
Czy jesteśmy na tej drodze?
Jak co roku okres Wielkiego Postu jest dla nas wszystkich nawoływaniem by powrócić do Chrystusa. Słowa dwóch łotrów, których  ukrzyżowano z Chrystusem zasadniczo odzwierciedlają dwie wizje królestwa: podczas gdy  pierwszy drwi z niego jako Mesjasza - z  króla, który nie może wybawić siebie -   drugi  w bezsilności Ukrzyżowanego odkrywa jedynego króla  i oddaje się Jego miłosierdziu.

Umiłowani Bracia i Siostry! Czy chrześcijanie na całym świecie nie wydają się być słabymi i mało przekonanymi? Wydaje się, że zło ma ciągle przewagę. Pełne wiary oczy złoczyńcy, który został ukrzyżowany z Chrystusem, są niezbędne by rozpoznać  Chrystusa Króla, a ta wiara powinna rozwijać się poprzez konkretne uczynki miłości w życiu codziennym.

Wierzymy w Króla wyszydzonego, w Króla w koronie cierniowej, w Króla na krzyżu. Wielu ludziom może się to wydawać absurdalne. Obchodzimy to święto ponieważ w jego niemocy na krzyżu odkrywamy inną moc: moc miłości Chrystusa, miłości która nie ma końca, która jest cudownie piękna, tak jak figura Chrystusa w naszej Katedrze na Północy. Nasz Król i Pan czeka na nas wszystkich.  Nie bójmy się  przyjść do Niego. Pokażmy Mu jak bardzo go kochamy, kochając również naszych bliźnich.  Amen

The Body Reveals God

As a person with a body and soul, made in the image and likeness of God, we find the meaning of life through finding out what it means to image God – not only with our soul, but with our body, with our whole person. We not only image God through our free- will and reason, but also through being in union and communion with others. “To be human means to be called to interpersonal communion.” Why?  Because God himself is a communion of persons in the Holy Trinity. John Paul explains, “Man became the “image and likeness” of God not only through his own humanity, but also through the communion of persons which man and woman form right from the beginning.” (TOB, Nov 14, 1979)
 
“Man Cannot Live Without Love”
A “communion of persons” occurs when two people freely give themselves to each other and accept one another in love. In fact, true love consists precisely in this mutual self- gift. As we see in the Gospels, the main point of the Christian life is to love. “Man cannot live without love. He remains a being that is incomprehensible for himself, his life is senseless, if love is not revealed to him, if he does not encounter love, if he does notexperience love and make it his own, if he does not participate intimately in it.”
(Encyclical Redeemer of Man)
 
The Body Is Not Some Little ‘Add-on’ To Creation
What does the human body have to do with all of this? Today the body is so often
portrayed as an object for one’s pleasure or as a machine which doesn’t have much to do with our spiritual nature. The body is not some little “add-on” to creation. Rather it is a vital part of who we are as human persons. Why? Because the physical body reveals the spiritual reality of the person. For example, you can tell that someone is happy through the smile on his face. Happiness is not a physical, tangible, visible thing, so you need a physical sign to express it.
 
The Spousal Meaning of the Body
The sexual union of man and woman in marriage is meant to be a physical expression of their spiritual union, of the union of their whole persons. In the same way that a smile is empty if one is not really happy, sexual union is empty without spiritual communion. Not only does their physical communion point to an invisible communion, but it actually shows us that love, self-gift, is what we are called to and what we were created for. God created our bodies as male and female specifically to show us that we are called to love, that the reason for our existence is to love, to make a gift of ourselves to others. This is the ‘spousal meaning of the body’: “The human body includes right from the beginning… the capacity of expressing love, that love in which the person becomes a gift – and by means of this gift – fulfills the meaning of his being and existence.” (ToB, Jan 16, 1980) This gift of self is meant to be lived in all of our relationships, but the most concrete and profound physical expression of the gift of self is the sexual union of a man and woman in marriage.
 
The Language of the Sexual Union
Marital union is meant to be a sign of God’s desire for complete union with us (which is intimate, though not sexual). It is a sign of Christ’s love for his people. It therefore
teaches us something about God. The married couple is called to be a witness to the
whole world of this love. In their sexual union their bodies speak the language of love
and total self-gift. We are called to speak the truth with our bodies: “This language of the body is something more than mere sexual reaction. As authentic language of the
persons, it is subject to the demands of truth, that is, to objective moral norms. Precisely on the level of this language, man and woman reciprocally express themselves in the most profound way possible to them.” (ToB, Aug 22, 1984) The only way to speak the truth with the body is to reserve sexual union to marriage. In marriage the couple’s physical union is the outward expression of the commitment of their entire lives to one another, the commitment that they made with their wedding vows.
 
That Our Hearts Become Truly Free!
The opposite of love is not hate but use, the use of another as an object, as a means to an end. Lust is using a person as an object for sexual gratification. In this way, our
hearts have become “battle places between love and lust” (ToB, 23. Juli 1980). Our
hearts are like a deep well: There is a lot of muddy water, but when we go all the way to the bottom, we will find a fresh and living spring. The heart is a lot deeper than lust! For Jesus, it isn’t enough to keep the commandments as if they were a heavy burden. He transforms us and our desires, so that it becomes quite natural for us to live according to His plan. Then, we are no longer under the law, as Paul writes to the Romans. Then, we are able to live with a spouse in love and truth.
Christ appeals to our hearts and calls us to freely choose to live our sexuality in accord with our dignity as persons made in the image and likeness of God! Only in living our true dignity as men and women created in the image of God will we be truly fulfilled, will we be happy in the deepest possible sense. This is the life that we were designed and created to live from the beginning.

My dear Brother Peter,

I thank you for inviting me to take part in this feast of your diocese. I come here with joy to celebrate with you that ten years ago this Cathedral of Christ the King was given the title Basilica minor. With great joy I take part in your feast for many reasons...

For the first time I have come to a diocese so far in the north. But at this moment we are all here together with the entire Church of this world under the leadership of the Holy Father but also with the entire Church of Heaven with your Saints and your predecessors who are in Heaven. Around this altar we are one family of the children of God. I pray for your Bishop, for your whole diocese and for you all. First, I want you to take seriously my first words addressed to you, when I said: “The Lord be with you”. It is precisely in this fact, in the real presence of the living and resurrected Jesus, who is a real King, that we celebrate this feast.

Dear brother Bishop, dear priests, dear brothers and sisters,

To celebrate something means to really live what we are celebrating. In my introduction I pointed out to you the real presence of the Risen Jesus. He is not standing far away from us in his Kingdom in Heaven. He is also right here among us. He says to us: “I am with you always, to the end of this world.” This means that He is also with us today. Those words of his are real. For He said: “Heaven is in your midst...”

The Word of the Lord, which we heard today, is the living Word of the Lord through the prophet Isaiah: “I come to gather nations of every language on my holy mountain, Jerusalem.” The holy mountain Jerusalem does not only mean a place, i.e. the Mount Sion in Jerusalem in Israel. The Gospels sometimes speak of the “New Jerusalem”, which is the Church. Through the course of history God has step by step gathered so many nations from all over the world into a new Jerusalem, the Church, which is in Africa, in America and the Far East, and reaches all the way to us here in the North. In your diocese there are people of many nationalities, speaking different languages, and therefore those words of God are also realized in your diocese.

In the text that I have referred to there is an important sentence: “my holy mountain Jerusalem”. In another place the Lord says: “The kingdom of God is in your midst.” Our God is a present God. The world of today is not a godless world. The majority of people do not reject the existence of God. But rather they are convinced that God is far away in his heaven in Paradise and that He is not present in this world. Regretfully even the faithful sometimes think that God is in his Kingdom far away and that we are waiting to meet him when we die. But this s a wrong opinion. In the Catechism we learn that God is infinite, omnipotent and always present. All that He created is in him, regardless of our consciousness and certainly also regardless of our will. Nothing can exist without him. This is precisely the truth that we can neither deny nor change. This is a matter of faith. But people in our secularized world don’t want to believe that this is so. They want to experience him with their senses, it can even be said that they want to touch God.

Our God is endless love. He loves us enormously. In addition to his presence  everywhere He wanted to reach out to us in order to give us the possibility of getting closer to him, to touch him in some way. He became flesh, He entered our world as a man in a human body and was born of Mary. After his life, after death, He rose in his changed body (not material, although human), so that He could be with us in every place in this world and so that we could become convinced of his presence. He said that himself after his resurrection with the words: “I am with you as the Risen one all days until the end of the world.” Already in the Old Testament there is a very important sentence: “My sincere wish, says God, is to be among the children of men.” God wants to be among us.

The presence of the Risen One is not a presence totally independent of us. Jesus told his apostles one sentence which explains what we have to do in order to be able to have him among us in his Risen Body. He said: “Where two or three are gathered togther in my name, there I am in the midst of them.” God’s name is love. ‘In my name’ means that the love of the Holy Spirit enters into our hearts. To explain this fact I want to describe what happened with us in the communist time. As young people we could not meet or gather freely but only secretly in the mountains or in the woods. We also could not have priests with us to handle the Eucharist. That was forbidden. In this time we knew the reality of the Risen Christ who was present among us in his conquering love. This we learnt from the spirituality of the Focolare-movement. If one lives his life in this way, one detects His presence in joy and peace and His presence encouraged us for a change of mind. Sometimes it happened when somebody entered our community, that he said: There, something remarkable is happening.

This spirituality of the Risen Jesus has spread for over seventy years in the whole world and so many Christians  have been touched by it. It is possible to touch Jesus, to become aware of of Him. The world, which thinks about a distant God, can perceive Him as being very close, exactly in this world. It can meet this present God. Pope Benedict XVI asks us to bring God into this world, where we detect the absence of the living God, the present God. In order to be able to do that, it is necessary to first know and detect the Risen Jesus, who is present among us, throuh our conquering love and to get personally acquainted with the presence of the Risen One. I think this is a great challenge for Christians in a diocese which is dedicated to the Risen Christ the King and his Kingdom... In the first reading of the Mass God says through the Prophet Isaiah: “I will gather nations of every language on my holy mountain, the Church, to be among them, Christ the King in your midst.” At the beginning of every Mass the priests reminds you of that: “The Lord be with you.” This means “the Risen One be with you.” And through this experience we can, like the Holy Father asks us to do, bring the living God, the present God into this world.

Therefore we pray in this spirit when we celebrate this feast of your Cathedral and of your Diocese. You have received me in love. I have come and talked to you in love. Thus you have listened to me and what unites us is the Spirit of love and Jesus comes in the Holy Spirit. Jesus always comes in this way, in this Mass he also comes in the Eucharist, in the Holy Sacrament, in the power of the Holy Spirit. We shall thank the eternal Father in the name of Jesus for his grace in all the many years of your Cathedral and Basilica. Amen.

The family holds a special place in the mission of the Church.  On the one hand the church has the task to support and protect the family and on the other she recognizes that the family is an important channel for passing on the faith and to build the community of the Church.  The role of the family and its structure has undergone changes throughout the ages.  But in essence the family is a union of a man and a woman as it is expressed in the marriage covenant. The unitive nature of the love between a man and a woman is an image of the triune God.  Although man and woman are different God has given them the task of being one flesh and to be fruitful and multiply.  (Gen. 1:28)

The couple obey this mandate when they, through their mutual love, procreate life and thus become partners in God‘s work of creation.

The view of marriage and the family has changed rapidly because of changes in lifestyle, an altered view of man, and the availability of contraceptives.  Human sexuality is no longer seen or engaged in as an expression of mutual love and openness between husband and wife.  Now, the purpose of sex as bringing forth life is also questioned if not altogether denied.

Pope Paul VI discussed this problem already forty years ago in his encyclical “Humanae vitae” published on 25 July 1968.  The encyclical and its message was the source of much debate when it was first published.  Ever since it has led to many interpretations of human sexuality, the Christian moral teachings and even magisterial authority.

The ideas that were discussed in the encyclical are still of topical interest; especially the value of human life, the protection of every person‘s dignity and, not least, the promotion of conjugal love.  Strong criticism has been directed at the encyclical seen, as it is, through an individualistic viewpoint which has been formed in the name of liberty.  But the so-called free vision of sexuality has neither made people happier nor strengthened marriage.

On the other hand, during this time, we have acquired a better knowledge of human sexuality which makes it possible to use methods of natural family planning that the encyclical recommends, which takes into consideration a woman‘s natural biological rhythm.  In this way both the partners can take full responsibility for their mutual sex life.

The Nordic bishops, once again stand behind the message of the encyclical “Humanae Vitae” and its continued relevance.  As Pope Benedict XVI said in his address to the International Congress on the 40th anniversary of “Humanae Vitae”:  “The Magisterium of the Church cannot be exonerated from reflecting in an ever new and deeper way on the fundamental principles that concern marriage and procreation.  What was true yesterday is true also today.”

The teachings of the Church as expressed in “Humanae Vitae” is, for many people, not easily accessible and seems difficult to implement in their life situation.  But the innermost core and basic message is now, and always will be, the truth about responsible conjugal love.  In order for young people and married couples to deepen their understanding of this, they need support and encouragement from dedicated priests.  These have the task of both proclaiming the whole truth and unselfishly assisting people in the challenges of life.

During the past months the church, also in our diocese, has been deeply shaken by the disclosures of sexual abuse of minors by priests and other co-workers.  The representatives of the church have committed terrible crimes against young, innocent people.  These crimes are awful because they not only wound but, may perhaps, totally destroy all trust that they had for the priest and thus also the Church.

First, we would like to express our sympathy to those who have been abused in body and soul, and we ask for pardon in the name of the Church.  We know that both lay people, priests and clergy suffer from these exposed wounds and suffer shame and are distraught.  Many people, rightly wonder how the Church can continue to teach her sexual morality in the situation that has arisen.  But this will always be the Church‘s position:  to proclaim the truth even when she finds herself in a situation where sin has darkened those in her own ranks.

The encyclical, “Humanae vitae” defends the respect for human life and the value of every individual person.

Life begins at conception and from that moment to the very end of natural life it must be protected from killing, abuse, violence and humiliation.  To remind us of this we once again recommend that we celebrate “respect for life day” in our Nordic dioceses.

Such a “respect for life day” is already celebrated in Sweden on the third Sunday of Advent.  We wish now that this Sunday which is a preparation for the birth of Christ, will be a thanksgiving day for the gift of life in all our dioceses.  Thanksgiving for the gift of life is also a challenge to defend and respect life and its dignity in all its phases, and in every way possible protect the weak and defenceless.

Pope Paul VI defended the dignity of life with his encyclical “Humanae Vitae” and Pope Benedict XVI has underlined the relevance of the message of the encyclical in our day.  We, the Bishops of the Nordic countries join the Pope in his message and recommend to all the faithful to read it with open hearts and without prejudice.

“Where is the entrance?” If someone needs to ask this question, the architect has made a mistake. Entrances need to be recognizable and inviting, unless one wants to keep away uninvited guests. What, then, about the entrance to the house of the Church, the entering of persons into the community of the faithful? Can the entrance be easily recognized, or must one enquire about it from someone? For centuries this did not pose a problem: becoming Christian and entering into the community of the faithful, the Church, took place through Baptism.

Faith is personally encountering Jesus Christ and becoming his disciple. Continuous effort is required in order to think as He thinks, to be of the same opinion as He, to live as He lived. St. Cyprian of Carthage was once asked, “What would you do to convince a person of Christianity?” He responded, “I would let him live with me for one year.”
What currently happens to those adults interested in the Christian and Catholic faith who are received into communion with the Church and who wish to enter into this home, the Church? This question is often posed by the people of the Nordic countries. Due to changes of Church and society, no longer are all children baptized as infants, as in some instances, parents want to let the children decide about matters of faith by themselves; in other instances, the parents themselves have left the Church. In our Nordic countries there is, however, a growing number of converts; that is, people originally from other Christian communities and Churches, who wish to become part of the Catholic Church.
     For these adults, who are in search of the Church’s entrance, the Second Vatican Council has revived the way which had existed from almost the beginning of the long history of the Church: the Catechumenate. This Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults, which came into effect in 1972, was meant especially for the “young Churches” of Africa and Latin America. Conversely in Europe, today often the only way to prepare for Baptism is by receiving private instruction from a priest. Fortunately, the catechesis for adults offers us in the Nordic countries an excellent opportunity to preach the Gospel to both those who are searching as well as to the parishes.

The Catechumenate is not a door to the Church, but rather a way, which should last for a sufficiently long time—according to experience, at least one year. Why is this? Being a Christian presupposes becoming a Christian; the decision to give oneself and one’s life to be governed by the Lord Jesus Christ requires development. It may be that people become interested in the Christian faith and, particularly, the Catholic Church after having experienced and participated in one of the great feasts of the liturgical year. The liturgy and communality have drawn them to the Church. Some have experienced God's closeness, which has lit a fire in the search and longing to proceed towards Him. These are good and important preconditions, although alone they are not enough for making the decision.
Additionally, one needs to settle one’s ideals, values, expectations and hopes for life. The relationship with God and Jesus Christ must grow and mature, deepen and be able to overcome challenges to the faith. To meet these ends, the Catechumenate offers different phases on the way to becoming a Christian, each of which is started solemnly with its own rite. The person feels a compelling force through the liturgy and catechesis, which results in a living and lasting growth into communion with the Church. Those who are baptized when being received into the Catechumenate are asked for example, “What do you ask of God's Church?” Answering this requires a process of reasoning and decision.
Later during the Catechumenate, the candidate is initiated into the Christian doctrine, he participates in the feasts of the liturgical year, and learns better and better to explain and understand the happenings of everyday life based on the Gospel. With this he naturally needs help, as one cannot be a Christian or become a Christian alone. Consequently, the way into the Church is always a way which is walked within a community. This community is found in the Catechumenate groups (they are the Church in miniature form). In addition to those who ask for Baptism or convert the groups also include some members of the parish, a priest and sponsors, who remain present with those being baptized.
Also, the liturgical feasts and the phases of the Catechumenate assist them on their way. For example, in one such celebration, those asking for Baptism are given the “Our Father” prayer, which they may pray with the parish henceforth. In this way, the baptismal candidate grows step by step, to take his place in the parish. The candidate learns that being Christian means also taking responsibility for the life of the parish, and giving one’s strengths and gifts to be used, in order that the parish be living and growing. The celebration of becoming Christian through Baptism, Confirmation and the Eucharist forms the summit of the Catechumenate. However, the Catechumenate is not only a good opportunity for the baptized or converted to follow the path which leads into the Church; it also offers a great opportunity to the parish itself. As the sponsors accompany the candidates who go before the parish, questions are raised also about their respective Baptisms and belonging to the Church; each candidate questions his own faith and voluntarily asks to be baptized and to be received into communion with the Church. It then becomes clear that the Church does not only have a mission; it is the mission itself and it cannot relinquish the duty of acting accordingly.
The Catechumenate makes one sensitive to the task of this mission, which has been given to all Christians: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age.” (Matthew 28:18-20) When people come to us and ask, “How may I enter?” it is not enough that we guide them to priests or others working in pastoral tasks. Parishioners are also needed, who prepare the newcomer a kind and friendly reception, and are willing to share with him their own faith. This sharing enables the parishioners to strengthen their faith and renew their Baptism.

The practice of the Catechumenate with its rites and celebrations helps in its part to revive the sacramental signs and rites. There are plenty of these symbols and rites, especially in our Catholic liturgy. However, habit and obviousness accompany the danger that the meaning and meaningfulness of these holy rites is obscured. Supporting a person desiring Baptism or converting on the way of Catechumenate may itself become a catechesis for the parish, during which also active Catholics can regain the richness of liturgy and can be nourished by it. Here in the Nordic countries we are already using the Catechumenate in some parishes. Let us imagine that even more parishes would begin to take advantage of the Catechumenate and a larger amount of those asking for Baptism might grow in this manner on the way towards communion with the Church. Through this, what could change in our parishes? New groups would be formed, the members of the parish would have the possibility to again find their faith, the newly-baptised who are inspired by the Holy Spirit would commit actively to the parish, for example as catechists, lectors, etc. The responsibility for others would grow, as the members of the parish would be concretely responsible for the soon-to-be-baptized person in need of support. The consciousness of the mission of the parish and the whole Church would grow, and the connection between life and faith would become clearer. The parishes would gain a attractive and radiant power and, as a consequence, draw more people to themselves. In this manner, beginning the Catechumenate would aid the renewal of the whole parish.

We bishops wish to encourage all the faithful, priests, parish councils, pastoral councils and the councils of the different religious orders to discuss within themselves and ponder this: can a Catechumenate be founded in more parishes, and if so, how could it be done? We would like to encourage—maybe one step at a time—that the different phases and rites would be realized for the adults who are preparing for Baptism and for the reception into full communion with the Church.

We wish you God's blessings for the approaching Season of Lent.

Bishop Peter has also decided that the Lenten Collection for 2010 will be for Haiti and those who are suffering there.  Catholics are encouraged to show their concern by giving generously to the Caritas Island Collection and indicate that it is for Haiti:


Bishop Peter thanks everyone in advance for their prayers and generosity.  God hears the prayers of all Christians in Iceland and in the world.  Haiti, which is one of the poorest countries in the world, needs our help.

Dear Brothers and Sisters,
Today is December 12, 2009. It is the third Sunday of Advent and we are also remembering Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe and Mary, Mother of Europe. I would also like to invite you to a journey. It is a beautiful and a graceful journey: really a pilgrimage. We go from Reykjavík to Nazareth, Rome, Trent, Mexico, Guadalajara, Jerusalem and then by Freiburg back to Europe, from the West (Gibraltar) to the East (Berezniki) and then from South (Gnadenweiler) back to Reykjavík in the North. What a journey! It is free of charge... you only have to listen.

The deliverance from sin began in the “yes” of Mary of Nazareth. It is the Immaculate Conception of Mary which opened the way to salvation for all Christians. Pope Benedict XVI pointed this out in his message this week at the Angelus-prayer in Rome.

The feast is based on a long tradition in the Church. Already in the Middle ages and then at the Council of Trent, Mother of God was time and time again declared free of the sins into which every man is born. How else could she have taken part in the work of redemption? However this exemption from sin does not originate in Mary herself, but it is given to her in advance by God in Jesus, so that she could become Mother of God.

“In the simplicity of the house of Nazareth lives the ‘holy rest’ of Israel”, the Pope said, “from where God will arouse his people again, like a young tree, which spreads its branches over the whole world and offers all humanity the good fruit of salvation. In contrast to Adam and Eve Mary was obedient to the will of God, with the whole of her being she proclaims “yes” and gives herself totally to the divine plan. She is the new Eve, the true Mother of all living people, of all those who receive new life through the belief in Christ.

Today is December 12, 2009. On December 12, 1531, in Mexico, Juan Diego, who recently had converted to the Catholic faith and had shortly before been baptized, was on his way to Tlatelolco to fetch a priest for his sick uncle, who wished to go to confession. He took another path to get into town since he didn’t want to be detained by the “Lady”. But she met him anyway and Juan Diego told her what had happened to his uncle. She told him not to worry about his uncle, he was already getting better.

Reassured by those words Juan Diego fulfilled the wish of Virgin Mary and went to the top of the hill where he – in accordance with wish of the bishop – picked fresh roses. Virgin Mary rearranged the flowers with her own hands and put them into his gown. After that Juan went to see the bishop. Kneeling, he told him about the wish of Virgin Mary and opened up his gown in front of him so that the roses fell to the floor. Suddenly a picture of the everlasting Virgin Mother of God appeared on his gown. The bishop and all those present saw this beautiful and wonderful picture, which has existed to this day. Juan Diego was canonized in 2002.

“Like the disciples gathered around Mary after the ascension of our Lord to heaven” (Acts 1, 12-14), “so also the nations of Europe are invited to gather around Mary and under her protection to follow the road of the pilgrimage of faith to the promised destinatio”, recently the Archbishop of Freiburg and the president of the German Bishops’ Conference wrote to me. “This invitation is offered precisely today by “Mary, Mother of Europe” – from her shrines in Gibraltar, Gnadenweiler and Berezniki. Those shrines offer a home to the people that come to her, and give them courage and strength to follow in the footsteps of Christ. They build bridges from the West (Gibraltar) to the East (Berezniki) and soon – God willing – also from the South (Gnadenweiler) to the North (Iceland). And they make the sign of the cross over Europe – the sign of salvation and of new life, the sign of hope and unity beyond death. The shrines of the Mother of God – “Mary, Mother of Europe” – are more than places of meditation and prayer. They are a promise for Europe, the Western World, and point to the powers from which it has grown and lived. It is Mary who wants to unite the nations of Europe and will succeed in doing so. Her shrines are places of blessing and hope for our continent. May the peoples of Europe under the protection of the Mother of God grow ever more in faith, hope and charity and get ever closer under her protection.

Today is December 12, 2009. And we are again in Reykjavík. My beloved, our pilgrimage ends here and now with a grace-filled news. The Archabbot of St. Martin in Beuron, Theodor Hogg OSB, wrote to me on the feast of St. Martin: “Father Notker, a monk in our monastery, who since 1986 has been assigned to the pastoral care of our neighbouring parishes Bärenthal and Hausen im Tal, a few years ago built a chapel, which he called “Mary, Mother of Europe” on the terrain of Bärenthal-parish, in a part of the community called “Gnadenweiler”. This confrère was worried by the thought that our Christian faith in Europe was in grave danger. His goal was to counteract this through a network of prayer-sites. In this way he wants to help with the “new evangelization” in our part of the world. Father Notker has communicated with the bishop of Gibraltar and a Catholic priest of Russia in order to advance this matter. I wish him and his assistants a good journey and that their endeavour be fruitful. May the prayer site “Mary, Mother of Europe” be established in Iceland and become a place of blessing for the fruitful renewal and strengthening of the Christian faith and life in our countries”. Father Notker came to Reykjavík with the mayor of Beuron and a friendly Swabian delegation. I have received their request with joy and gratitude. “The fourfold prayer-community,” Father Notker wrote, “has existed since Saturday, the 21st of November 2009, with the “Fiat” of the bishop, which is a seed for the building of a sanctuary of “Mary, Mother of Europe” on Icelandic soil. In winter the wheat grows”.

Dear Brothers and Sisters, the time of prayer has arrived. The “New Evangelization” shall also start in Iceland. You are all heartily invited to take part through your deeds and prayers! Our Bishop’s Chapel in Reykjavik is from today, December 12, 2009, dedicated to “Mary, Mother of Europe”.
Fiat!
“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men of good will!”
Amen

On the 19th June 2009, which was the feast day of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, Pope Benedict XVI opened a “Year for Priests” in celebration of the 150th anniversary of the death of John Mary Vianney, the patron saint of priests world-wide.  The Year will conclude on the same feast day in 2010 which is the 11th June.

Dear Brothers and Sisters.

“We have never seen anything like this!” (Mark 2, 12).

You know that since June 28, 2008, in the entire Catholic Church there have been many lectures, congresses and liturgical celebrations. All this has been to commemorate the birth of St. Paul the Apostle 2000 years ago, and he was the greatest missionary of all times. Pope Benedict XVI established this Pauline year and it will end on June 29th of this year. Therefore we have decided, together with the whole Church to honour the memory of St. Paul and to get to know him better in the Diocese of Reykjavík as well. Then his life and work will bear more fruit in our country. In the Gospel of today are these words which we have just heard: “We have never seen anything like this!” (Mark 2, 12) and they could also be about St. Paul. At first Saul was the ruthless persecutor of the Christians:  “I am the least of the apostles and do not even deserve to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God” (1Cor 15, 9). Then came his amazing conversion on the road to Damascus. And he received a calling as the apostle of the gentiles.

Who is he then, this Paul? We hear something from him almost every Sunday. Why should Pope Benedict XVI have dedicated this special year to him? This year and its celebrations are based on the conjecture that he was born in the year 8 AD. But that is only a conjecture. However we can say that Paul was the contemporary of Jesus. He was born in Tarsus, the capitol of Cilicia, and his parents were Jews and Pharisees. In the Acts of the Apostles he was said to have been a Roman citizen from his birth. Therefore he carries, in addition to his Jewish name Saul, the Roman name Paul as well.

In his letters Paul says he earned his living as a tentmaker. Usually children had the same profession as their fathers in those times. Therefore this has been supposed to have been the profession of his father too. This was a normal profession of a common man, which could provide for the needs of the family, but nothing more than that. The parents of Paul were Jews who lived far from their native land, but they were among many other Jews who had been driven far away from their land for many reasons, but especially by persecutions. They had however been loyal to their traditions. In his infancy Paul had been circumcised like every other Jewish boy. He was raised in adherence to the law of Moses. But Tarsus was a cosmopolitan city. As soon as Paul walked out of the door of his parents’ house, he breathed in the Hellenic atmosphere and got acquainted with many different cultures. He spoke Hebrew and Aramaic at home but Greek elsewhere. He therefore was raised with an open mind, especially until he became 12 or 13 years old. He then went to Jerusalem exclusively to study the Jewish law, the Torah, with Rabbi Gamaliel the Elder, a renowned Rabbi. From then on, all his interest turned towards the Jewish Law and the Israelite culture.

There is a description or information about Paul that is constantly repeated. It is said he was of a small stature, that he was fat, bow-legged and that his eyebrows had grown together, but yet he was like an angel. But this description is from the late second century. In traditional icons he is depicted as a bearded and a bald man, which is quite consistent with the ideas people had about philosophers in the 3rd century.

In his second letter to the Corinthians Paul mentions that he has difficulties speaking. Therefore some have thought that he stammered. In his letter to the Galatians he said: “You would have torn out your eyes and given them to me!” (15, 4). Therefore some have thought he had poor eyesight. I think we must look at those words in a metaphorical way for we knew he met with great difficulties in his life: he had long waking hours, he fasted and suffered from cold; three times he was shipwrecked and he covered thousands of kilometres by foot.. He was stoned and the Jews beat him five times and the Romans three times. He was often imprisoned and all of this shows us that his character must have been unusual. His will was strong and he could easily adjust to the circumstances. It also says much about his character that he persecuted the Christian community prior to the great conversion on the road to Damascus.

He understood that the Christians doubted some of that which the Jews honoured and therefore he persecuted them rigorously. He could, for example, be compared to the Talibans of our time.  ... Then came Damascus and the big change. After that he became remarkably steadfast, too much for some people, but he always insisted on charitable behaviour. He likened himself to a father but also to a mother. His psychology is extremely complex and diverse. In his letter to the Romans he explicitly says that one should always receive everyone and make peace with them and also embrace those that have other opinions. This is so-called Irenism, the spirit of hospitality and conciliation, which is entirely consistent with the spirit of the Gospel.

The work of St. Paul is mostly preserved in his letters. The letters of St. Paul were written and usually developed because of the necessity for completing the verbal mission of St. Paul, which he had of course brought to various Christian communities. In the letters there are also answers to some questions and light thrown on the diverse and new conditions. The style is usually direct. In our Bible the letters are in this order: Romans, 1st and 2nd Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1st and 2nd Thessalonians, 1st  and 2nd Corinthians, 1st and 2nd Timothy, and Titus and Philemon. From a historical point of view the order is different.

Dear brothers and sisters, finally I would like to repeat what is said in the Gospel: “We have never seen anything like this!” (Mark 2, 12).  Here is a comparison that could help all of us in Iceland in these times; we need not only economic reforms. Like Paul we also need the grace of God for our inner conversion. Paul was in a difficult situation regarding the hope of eternal life. At the end of his 2nd letter to the Corinthians he repeats a prayer from the first Christian community in Palestine: Marana tha! – Come, Lord Jesus! We are also permitted to pray like that, Pope Benedict XVI has explained. It might however be rather difficult for modern man to pray for the ending of the world. But we are allowed to pray like that because we are not praying for the end of this world, but for the end of the unjust world. “We want the world to change fundamentally, that justice and peace may reign, for a world without violence, without hunger.” All of that is only possible through the presence of Christ. “Come in your way and renew our modern world,” the Holy Father prayed. “Come also into our hearts. Come and renew our lives! Come into our hearts so that we can also become the light of God, your presence.”

With those words, which are entirely appropriate in our country at this moment, I end my letter to you. I hope that we can get to know St. Paul a little bit more so that it will be easier for us to accept his message, which explains the Gospel of Jesus Christ. This we want to do in this country, each of us individually and in common in these difficult, yet hopeful times, which are now at hand. With heartfelt greetings.

The following announcement of Bishop Peter Bürcher was read in all the Masses in the Catholic churches and chapels in the Diocese of Reykjavík on July 27, 2008

Our Bishop has made the following decisions:
 
Rev. Fr. Patrick Breen has been appointed Vicar General of the Diocese of Reykjavík, as well as Parish-priest in the Parish of Christ the King in Reykjavík.

Rev. Fr. Jürgen Jamin has asked for a restricted leave for further education. He is relieved of his duties as Parish-priest in the Parish of Christ the King in Reykjavík. At the beginning of September he will start his Sabbatical time in the Holy Land. When he returns he will be given a new task in the Diocese of Reykjavík.

Rev. Fr. Hjalti Thorkelsson is appointed Parish-priest in the Parish of St. Peter in Akureyri and also Episcopal delegate for Catechism in the Diocese.

Rev. Fr. Marek Zygadlo is, with the agreement of the Provincial of his Congregation, appointed Chaplain in the Parish of St. Joseph in Hafnarfjörður. His main task will be the pastoral service for his Polish-speaking parishioners.

Rev. Fr. Jakub Budkiewicz is appointed Chaplain in the Parish of Christ the King in Reykjavík. His main task will be to study Icelandic.

These appointments are effective from September 1, 2008.


Many thanks in advance for a friendly reception of those priests in their new offices, and for your prayers.

The World Youth Day was held in Sydney, Australia, July 15-20, 2008. From Iceland went Tinna Lárusdóttir and Anna Björg Harðardóttir accompanied by Sister Cielos from Hafnarfjörður.
Cardinal George Pell, Archbishop of Sydney, opened the festival with Holy Mass. The Cardinal asked all men to listen to the message of Christ. “The call of Christ is for all who suffer, not just for the Catholics and other Christian people, but especially for those who have no religion. Christ is calling you home, to charity, healing and community.” He confirmed the words of the Pope on hope: “While life exists, there is always a possibility of hope and with the Christian hope comes belief and charity.”

Half a million young people attended the Mass of Pope Benedict XVI on July 17. In his sermon the Pope said among other things: “In several ways the apostles were normal people. None of them could claim to be a perfect disciple. They failed to recognize Christ, they were ashamed of their search for distinction and they even denied Him. However they were fascinated by the truth in the Gospel of Christ when they had been filled by the Holy Spirit and the were determined and unafraid to proclaim Him.” The Pope continued: “Dear young people, let me now ask you a question... How are you using the gifts you have been given, the “power” which the Holy Spirit is even now prepared to release within you? What legacy will you leave to young people yet to come? What difference will you make?” In his final Mass Pope Benedict XVI announced that the World Youth Day would next be held in Madrid, Spain in 2011.

Sister Cielos, Tinna and Anna Björg returned home from Australia after a flight of 26 hours, but that was not a problem since the were good humoured all the way. In the World Youth Day they expereinced the truth of those words of Christ: “By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another” (John 13, 35).

Rev. Fr. Sæmundur F. Vigfússon was born in Reykjavík January 27, 1926.
He died in the nursing home Eir in Reykjavík on June 18, 2008.

Fr. Sæmundur joined the Catholic Church as a young man and decided to become a priest. For that he studied at a school acquainted with the Propagande Fide in Rome. He was ordained priest on December 20, 1961. He was Chaplain at Christ the King in Reykjavík and a priest for many years in Hafnarfjörður. Since the nineteen-eighties he lived in the Priests’ House in Landakot, assisting at Masses in the church, but mainly translating liturgical texts from Latin into Icelandic.

In his last years, due to his deteriorating health, Fr. Sæmundur lived in the nursing home Eir in Reykjavík.

A requiem was sung for Fr. Sæmundur Christ’s Church in Landakot on June 23, 2008.

On Sunday, June 29, 2008, the collection for Peter’s Pence was held in all the Catholic churches and chapels in Iceland.

The collection is in fact held all over the world and the amount of money that is collected is sent to the Pope, who uses all the Peter’s Pence to help the needy. In Iceland we collected quite a sum, 150,657.- krónur and the amount has already been sent to the Pope.

We would like to thank all of you, who have contributed to this worthy cause, and ask God to bless you all and your families.

No one knows where the hymn “Stabat mater dolorosa” comes from, and no one knows who sang it first. Perhaps it was Brother Jacopone de Todi from the Order of St. Francis of Assisi or St. Bonaventura, Cardinal and Doctor of the Church, or Pope Innocent III, the most influential Pope of the Middle Ages. Also, no one knows for sure, who wrote this hymn which describes the sorrows of Virgin Mary. One thing is sure though, it was first sung in the 13th century and it has been sung since and will be sung as long as there are people living on this earth, who piously consider the sorrows of Virgin Mary. The hymn seems to rise straight out of the sorrowful heart of a man seeking consolation, by contemplating the sorrows of Virgin Mary, “mater dolorosa”.

Many composers have written unforgettable music to accompany this hymn. “Stabat mater” was the last piece of Palestrina. Joseph Haydn forgot his own sorrows when he contemplated this hymn. It sounded anew in the compositions of Rossini and Dvorak. However one feels the best interpretation of Stabat mater is to be found in the Gregorian chant. Here we find nothing but a crying and brokehearted human soul seeking solace with the Mother of us all.

Traditionally the sorrows of Mary are seven in number:

First Sorrow
The Prophecy of Simeon.

Reading: Luke 2: 25-35.

When Mary and Joseph present the infant Jesus in the temple, Simeon predicts that a "sword" (of sorrow) will pierce her soul.

Second Sorrow
The flight into Egypt.

Reading: Matthew 2: 13-15.

When King Herod orders the death of all male children age two or younger, Mary and Joseph flee to Egypt with the infant Jesus.

Third Sorrow
The Child Jesus Lost in the Temple.

Reading: Luke 2: 41-50.

Mary and Joseph search for the child Jesus for three days, fnding him at last in the temple.

Fourth Sorrow
Mary meets Jesus carrying the cross.

Reading: Luke 23: 27-29.

Mary shares Jesus' suffering as He carries the cross through the streets of Jerusalem.

Fifth Sorrow
Mary at the foot of the cross.

Reading: John 19: 25-30.

Mary witnesses the crucifixion and death of Jesus.

Sixth Sorrow
Mary receives the body of Jesus.

Reading: Psalm 130.

Jesus is taken down from the cross and his body is placed in Mary's arms.

Seventh Sorrow
Mary witnesses the burial of Jesus.

Reading: Luke 23: 50-56.

The body of Jesus is laid in the tomb and Mary awaits the Resurrection.

Here is the hymn “Stabat mater dolorosa”, in an English translation.

At the Cross her station keeping,
stood the mournful Mother weeping,
close to Jesus to the last.

Through her heart, His sorrow sharing,
all His bitter anguish bearing,
now at length the sword has passed.

O how sad and sore distressed
was that Mother, highly blest,
of the sole-begotten One.

Christ above in torment hangs,
she beneath beholds the pangs
of her dying glorious Son.

Is there one who would not weep,
whelmed in miseries so deep,
Christ's dear Mother to behold?

By the Cross with thee to stay,
there with thee to weep and pray,
is all I ask of thee to give.

For the sins of His own nation,
She saw Jesus wracked with torment,
All with scourges rent:

She beheld her tender Child,
Saw Him hang in desolation,
Till His spirit forth He sent.

Can the human heart refrain
from partaking in her pain,
in that Mother's pain untold?

O thou Mother! fount of love!
Touch my spirit from above,
make my heart with thine accord:

Make me feel as thou hast felt;
make my soul to glow and melt
with the love of Christ my Lord.

Holy Mother! pierce me through,
in my heart each wound renew
of my Savior crucified:

Let me share with thee His pain,
who for all my sins was slain,
who for me in torments died.

Let me mingle tears with thee,
mourning Him who mourned for me,
all the days that I may live:

Let me, to my latest breath,
in my body bear the death
of that dying Son of thine.

Virgin of all virgins blest!,
Listen to my fond request:
let me share thy grief divine;

Wounded with His every wound,
steep my soul till it hath swooned,
in His very Blood away;

Be to me, O Virgin, nigh,
lest in flames I burn and die,
in His awful Judgment Day.

Christ, when Thou shalt call me hence,
by Thy Mother my defense,
by Thy Cross my victory;

When my body dies,
let my soul be granted
the glory of Paradise. Amen.

On October 7 Bishop Jóhannes became 75 years old. According to Church Law a few months before he reached that limit he offered Pope Benedict XVI his resignation. Then the Pope asked him to occupy his post until his successor had been found. On the 30th of October Pope Benedict appointed Pétur (Pierre) Bürcher, Auxiliary bishop of the Diocese of Lausanne-Genève and Fribourg in Switzerland to be bishop of Reykjavík. Bishop Pétur was born in the Fiescher-Valley in Oberwallis in Switzerland on December 20, 1945. He was ordained priest in Genève on March 27, 1971, and served after that for 18 years as chaplain, priest and dean in many parishes before he became rector of the Priest-seminary of Villar-sur-Glane in Fribourg. On the 3rd of February 1994 Pope John Paul II appointed him Auxiliary Bishop of the Diocese of Lausanne-Genève and Fribourg. Bishop Peter is a specialist on the Church in the Middle-East, especially in the Holy Land. He is a member of the Vatican Congregation for the Oriental Churches and he has often visited the Holy Land as a pilgrim. In the Swiss Bishops’ Conference the newly appointed Bishop of Reykjavík was among other things responsible for catechism and youth education and as such he has often participated in the World Youth Day. On behalf of the Bishops’ Conference he also took care of ecumenical matters and the dialogue with other religions. His appointment as Bishop of Reykjavík came as a total surprize to him, he said, since he had never even visited Iceland, but out of faithfulness to the office of sheperd, he agreed to take on this responsibility.

The new Bishop of Reykjavík can in his work depend on his 36 year pastoral experience and his innumerable connections with Christians of wide and different origin. Our diocese has in the last few years grown dramatically. When Bishop Jóhannes took over, registered Catholics were around 2500 but are now more than 8000 (mostly people looking for work or immigrants). However the number of Catholics is probably much higher, since not nearly everyone registers with the authorities according to their religion (since that is no duty and many also don’t know about this possibility). This enormous growth in few years has made the development of the “infrastructure” of the Church unavoidable, and the outgoing Bishop has done much in this field. The Catholic Church is now present in ten different places in Iceland, either in churches, chapels, educational centres or monasteries. Bishop Jóhannes has built a number of new churches and chapels, in Ísafjörður in the Westfjords 1999, Akureyri in the North 2000, Riftún in the South 2005, and in Reyðarfjörður in the East 2007 (at the same time a Capuchin monastery was established there). Maríu-Church in Breiðholt was enlarged 1999 and the Cathedral of Christ the King in Landakot, Reykjavík, was thoroughly renovated and in 2000 was elevated to the status of “basilica minor”, the first church in the Nordic Countries. This was done on the occasion of the 1000 years of Christianity in Iceland. Parishes have increased from 3 to 5, and 3 new rectorates have been established. Four new congregations of sisters  have settled down in Iceland, doing indispensable work for the Church. The Catholic Church is growing rapidly based on the high number of births, and as a result baptisms, among the faithful. The relation between births, baptisms and deaths or funerals is revealing, and it is certainly quite different from what we see in Europe in our times. In 2006 there were 142 baptisms and only 15 funerals. Also a few Icelanders every year seek catechism classes and as a result join the “Mother Church”. After the “outer” growth of the last years the new bishop hopes for some results with the “inner growth”. By this he particularly means the youth work and the unity within the diocese, because, despite many language and ethnic groups, Catholics in Iceland – as everywhere else – should form one Church. The attention must be pointed especially toward Catholic Icelanders  who now live in a kind of “double Diaspora”, as Catholics in Iceland and as Icelanders within their own diocese.

As we thank Bishop Jóhannes we hope that he will have many good years in his home town of Sittard in the Netherlands. We warmly welcome Bishop Pétur and wish him God’s blessing for his many years of service in Iceland.

The word bishop originally comes from the Greek “episkopos”, meaning manager, supervisor, guardian. In the early Church the bishop was the leader of the local Church and he preached and led the divine services. He was supported by the elders and the deacons. His sphere of action has been preserved to this day, although the terminology is somewhat different now. At the end of the time of the apostles, in the second century, more and more bishops were ordained, in addition to the local bishops, supervising a number of  parishes. In those cases the presbyters (priests) led the divine services as representatives of the local bishop. The deacons were the co-workers of the bishop amongst the parishioners. The province of the bishop was called a diocese, usually a town and the adjacent villages and then the town became the residence of the bishop. When f.e. Germany and Switzerland were christianized, there were no big and important cities. Therefore the dioceses were stretched over relatively large areas. This is the reason why the dioceses in Germany were much larger than in Italy, where real cities had existed from early on. 


The Bishop and the Doctrine of the Church
Fighting all kinds of heresies, three main standards were developed in order to distinguish the Catholic faith from other doctrines: the books of the Bible, the tradition and the episcopacy as a decisive authority on doctrine and liturgy. Consequently the bishops were given different spheres of authority and many bishops, usually those in a provincial centre, became supervisors of the other bishops in the region, subsequently developing into a successive order of patriarch, metropolit, archbishop and bishop. At the top was and is the Pope, the bishop of Rome. The bishop first must be ordained deacon and then priest. The appointment, removal and transfer of a bishop is only made by the Pope, and the bishops are only responsible to him, and if necessary will be judged by him.


The Apostolic Succession
Through the bishops the doctrinal and guiding authority survives, which Jesus gave to his apostles. In an unbroken and successive imposition of hands (Apostolic Succession), all the bishops are connected with the apostles. Thus the office of the bishop belongs to the socalled “divine right”. The highest duty of the bishop of Rome, as the official successor of St. Peter, is to preserve the unity. The bishop of a diocese is its director and  holds its sole power of government. As such he is the highest authority of doctrinal and judicial matters in his diocese and is only responsible to the Pope. Assisting the bishop with the administration of the diocese are several officials in the diocesan office (curia), such as the Vicar general (the general and  permanent representative of the bishop). His appointment is left up to the bishop. The Official (dómari) is appointed by the bishop and occupies the regular power of justice. He must have have knowledge of legal matters. Priests and lay people have advisory functions. The local bishop can be assisted by auxiliary bishops, who usually are given charge of a part of the diocese under the supervision of the diocesan bishop.


The Bishop ...
... is the first to administer the sacraments in his diocese. The further administration of the sacraments follows through a delegation to the priests, coming from the bishop. Reserved to him is the sacrament of ordination (ordination of a bishop, priest and decaon) and confirmation. In cases of emergency the confirmation can be delegated to a priest.
The office of bishop is a life long commitment. At the end of the 75th year, the bishops, according to Church Law from 1983, Can. 401 §1 CIC, must offer their resignation from office to the Pope. The insignia of a bishop are his socalled pontificials; mitre, crozier (accentuating his function as shepherd), the bishop’s ring and the pectoral cross.
Those thoughts show us how important the office of a bishop really is. The bishop should therefore be treated with respect and obedience. A bishop’s visit to his parishes is always a festive occasion.

Among the provisions made regarding the coming designation of a new bishop of Reykjavík, was the visit of the Papal Nuntio for the Nordic Countries, archbishop Giovanni Tonucci, to Iceland March 6 to 8. Tuesday the 6th of March in the afternoon he took part in a retreat with the priests in Hafnarfjörður and celebrated Holy Mass with them in the St. Joseph’s Church there. On Wednesday morning the 7th of March he visited the Carmel sisters in Hafnarfjörður and asked them to pray for the election of a suitable bishop. In the afternoon he met with the priests of the diocese and representatives of the sisters, as well as with representatives of the various societies of the diocese and the parishes (financial committe, parish committes, lay-societies and womens’ accociation).

He explained the procedure to them and asked them for their opinion regarding the situation of the diocese, expectations about the future and the necessary dispostion and abilities of the new bishop. However no specific persons were discussed as possibilities. The Nuntio said that he would consider the information that he got. They would be kept in mind during the search for suitable men to take over the charge of bishop. In the afternoon the Nuntio celebrated Mass together with the bishop of Reykjavík, Jóhannes Gijsen, and the priests in the cathedral. Also took part the sisters and the representatives of the lay, that had been present at the meeting earlier, as well as many faithful.

After this “survey” of the Nuntio he will put before the relevant authorities in Rome a list of possible candidates for the office of bishop of Reykjavík. If necessary he will seek further information about them. The results of his investigation will be put before the Pope and his advisors. The Pope will then decide who will be the new bishop. This decision can be expected later in this year.

As we all know, bishop Jóhannes Gijsen will be 75 years old on October 7 this year. Then the Pope, according to Canon Law, will relieve him of his duties as bishop of Reykjavík.

The Nuntio emphasized that the most important thing that now awaited us, the faithful of the diocese of Reykjavík, was to pray for the Holy Spirit to influence all those that take part in the designation of the new bishop, so that the right representative be chosen.