SEEKING THE KINDLY LIGHT

Jesus, “Stay with me, and then I shall begin to shine as Thou shinest: so to shine as to be a light to others” (Meditations on Christian Doctrine, VII,3). These celebrated words by Cardinal John Henry Newman sum up his thoughts and his legacy. He was a person who was “inconvenient” for his time, who drew many different reactions including among Catholics. He is known for his openness to lay people and to their participation in the evangelization of England in the 19th century, at a time when the country was still tied to tradition and against change. But Newman was certainly not one to take a step back, and he promoted an intelligent and well instructed laity: “I want a laity, not arrogant, not rash in speech, not disputatious, but men who know their religion, who enter into it, who know just where they stand, who know what they hold, and what they do not, who know their creed so well, that they can give an account of it, who know so much of history that they can defend it” (The Present Position of Catholics in England, IX, 390). He involved laypeople in teaching catechesis, and was met with opposition, even among the clergy.

He is one of the first four Doctors of the Church of the West, who promoted the evangelization of England and laid down the fundamental norms for chants, which later took his name. Gregory the Great was born to a wealthy Roman patrician family, some time around 540. He received a sound education, studying a range of subjects that went from the law, to the Bible, to the works of the Fathers, in particular of Saint Augustine.

Universal Patron Saint of television and telecommunications

On Christmas eve of 1252, Saint Clare was ill and confined to her dormitory bed in Assisi’s San Damiano Monastery. Her Sisters had left her on her own to recite the morning prayers but she wanted to join them at least on that night. So great was her devotion to the mystery of the Saviour’s birth that she asked the Lord to grant her wish. What took place next inspired Pius XII, seven centuries later, to proclaim Saint Clare the universal patron Saint of television and telecommunications, on 4 February 1958.  The episode is still relevant today, as the day in which we commemorate the birth in heaven of the Saint, 11 August, coincides with the day the Directorate of Telecommunications and Information Systems remembers her for her patronage.