Parts of the Catholic Mass explained

That participation in the Holy Mass be full, conscious and active. Second Vatican Council, Const. Sacrosanctum Concilium, nn. 14 and 48.

The root and center of our spiritual life is the Holy Sacrifice of the Altar, one of the most important parts of the Mass. Saint Josemaría Escriváboth in words and in writing, he stated that the Eucharist is the center and root of the Christian's life.

Why is it important to explain the parts of the Catholic Mass?

In the Holy Mass we live the sacrifice of Christ, who offered himself to us all, once and for all, on the Cross. This, which is the center of our Christian life and the thanksgiving we present to God for his great love for us, is not another sacrifice, it is not a repetition. It is the same sacrifice of Jesus made present.

Broadly speaking, the Christian Mass has two fundamental parts:

  1. Liturgy of the Word
  2. The Eucharistic Liturgy

To dispose, to live and to give thanks for the Mass

To know how to take advantage of the great spiritual fruits that are given to us as Christians through the Celebration of the Holy Mass, it is necessary to know this celebration, understanding its gestures and symbols, participating in it with reverence. 
Living the Christian faith in a concrete manner implies that there are moments of family prayerWe had moments of living the sacraments together, especially at Sunday Mass.

1 - Initial Rites

We preferably arrive punctually at the church and get ready to celebrate the greatest mystery of our faith. The altar will be prepared and with the candles on.

The introductory rites prepare us to listen to the word and celebrate the Eucharist:

  • Entrance Song
  • Kiss at the altar and Sign of the Cross
  • Penitential act
  • Gloria's Song
  • Collective prayer

Entrance song

We prepare to begin the first part of a mass with the entrance song. It is a song that unites us all because people from different places, cultures, ages come to the mass and we sing with one voice, as a family, that of God on earth, in communion with the whole Church.

The hymn highlights the festive character of the celebration. We join together to celebrate one of the greatest gifts that Jesus left us: the Eucharist.

Some attribute the incorporation of the entrance chant to Pope Celestine I (422-431). Although the exact date of the incorporation is unknown, it certainly already existed in the 5th century.

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Kiss at the altar and Sign of the Cross

The priest enters, kisses the altar and greets all present by making the sign of the Cross. To begin in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit is not only to mention the name of God, but to place ourselves in his presence.

This is a good time to ask the Lord to help us to live the Holy Mass with the same purity, humility and devotion with which the Blessed Virgin received Him.

(...) The priest is there, not on his own behalf, but in his own name, but in nomine Ecclesiæin the name of the Church. He therefore represents all the faithful, and in the name of all he gives the liturgical kiss to Christ, symbolized by the altar. This veneration of the altar is expressed by three signs:

  1. The bow that is a gesture becomes an act of homage to Christ, to the place of sacrifice and to the table of the Lord.
  2. The kiss at the altar is a kiss of greeting and love between the Church and the incensation.
  3. It is completed with the incensation that symbolizes honor, purification and sanctification.

Penitential act

Placed in the presence of God, the Church invites us to recognize with humility that we are sinners. We humbly ask the Lord for forgiveness for all our faults. We humbly acknowledge before all our brothers and sisters that we are sinners.

It is an important gesture to begin Holy Mass with a clean heart and soul. It is a good time to remember when our last confession was. As Christians we must go to this Sacrament to receive Jesus.

And to express this desire and to ask God's forgiveness, we use the words of the blind man who heard that Jesus was passing by, and knowing that he could not heal himself, but needed God's help, he began to cry out in the midst of the crowd: "Lord, have mercy on me". Thus, with confidence in God's mercy, we also pray "Lord have mercy".

Gloria's Song

We praise God, acknowledging His holiness, as well as our need for Him. The Gloria is like a shout of enthusiasm to God, to the whole Trinity.

On Sundays and solemnities we pray this hymn, which sums up the ultimate meaning of the Christian life: to give glory to God. Praise God, not only because He is good, or because He helps us, or for the things He gives us. Give glory to Him for who He is, because He is God. It helps us to be well oriented, to affirm that the ultimate meaning of our life is Him.

Prayer Collection

The Collect is so called because it is the prayer that gathers the petitions of all. We make them through Jesus Christ, the only Mediator, in the communion of the Holy Spirit, who gathers our petitions, making present once again the Mystery of the Trinity.

The priest invites the whole community to pray by presenting to God the Father the petitions that the Church raises to Heaven every time the Holy Sacrifice is celebrated. "If two of you agree on earth to ask for something, you will obtain it from my Father who is in Heaven." Mt 18:19-20.s partes de la misa catolica, segunda parte de la misa liturgia de la palabra

2 - Liturgy of the Word

"The Mass consists of two parts: the liturgy of the Word and the Eucharistic liturgy, so closely linked together that they constitute a single act of worship." Roman Missal, General Institution, 28

Through the readings, we will listen directly to God who speaks to us, who are his people. We respond by singing, meditating and praying.

In the first reading, God speaks to us through the experiences of his prophets, in the second reading through his apostles.

  • First reading from the Old Testament
  • Psalm
  • Second reading: In the New Testament.
  • Gospel: The singing of the Alleluia disposes us to listen to the proclamation of the mystery of Christ. At the end we acclaim saying: "Glory to you, Lord Jesus".
  • Homily: The priest explains the Word of God to us.
  • Creed: The profession of faith
  • Prayer of the Faithful: We pray for one another, asking for the needs of all.

First reading: Old Testament, God speaks to men.

The first reading, generally taken from the Old Testament. God speaks to us through the history of the people of Israel and their prophets.

It is important to meditate on them, because through these words, God was preparing his people for the coming of Christ. And they also prepare us to listen to Jesus, since the first reading is directly related to the Gospel to be read.

Responsorial Psalm, response of the faithful to God's Word

The Responsorial Psalm is like an extension of the themes proposed in the first reading.

With the psalms we learn to pray, we learn to talk to God, using His very words, which became prayer. Words that He puts in our mouth so that we know how to express ourselves.

Second reading: In the New Testament, God speaks to us through the apostles.

We hear the preaching of the first men to whom Jesus said, "Go and make disciples of all nations... teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you." (Mt 28:19-20).

It is taken from the New Testament. It can be part of the Acts of the Apostles or the letters written by the first apostles. Also from the Catholic Epistles, the book of Hebrews or Revelation. In other words, they are the writings of the apostles,

This second reading helps us to know how the first Christians lived and how they explained the teachings of Jesus to others. This helps us to know and understand better what Jesus taught us.

After the second reading, the Alleluia is sung, which is a joyful song that recalls the Resurrection or another song according to the requirements of the liturgical season.

Gospel, The proclamation of the Gospel

The singing of the Alleluia disposes us to listen to the proclamation of the mystery of Christ. At the end we acclaim saying: "Glory to you, Lord Jesus".

It is Jesus Christ himself who speaks to us in the Gospel. That is why we listen to him standing up, and the priest kisses him when he has finished proclaiming it. Then he announces aloud that Jesus Christ is among us: Dominus vobiscum! Dominus vobiscum!

The gestures made by the priest symbolize our desire to be part of the Truth of the Gospel. The teachings of the Lord are communicated to us so that we may meditate on them in our personal intimacy and incorporate them into our souls, so that we may then communicate them in the form of word and deed. works of mercy to the people around us in our daily lives.

It is a call to the apostolic responsibility of Christians, which in the Holy Mass takes on new strength.

Homily: The priest explains the Word of God to us.

The priest takes time to explain the Word of God to us. Homily comes from a Greek word meaning "dialogue", "conversation". It is the moment when God speaks to us through his Church.

It is a simple and practical explanation, rooted in the liturgical texts, which we will apply to our Christian life. We try to make the advice given to us our own and we try to draw out concrete resolutions. A good homily is one that makes you reflect from within.

Creed: After listening to the Word of God we profess our faith

"We are one people confessing one faith, one Creed; one people gathered in the unity of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit" (St. Leo the Great, Homily I on the Nativity of the Lord (PL 54, 192).

To pray the Creed is a source of holy pride for every Christian, to be amazed by the reality of being the People of God, the Body of Christ, the Temple of the Holy Spirit.

Prayer of the Faithful: We pray for one another, asking for the needs of all.

The prayer of the faithful ends the first part of the Mass. We pray for one another asking for the needs of all. Presentation of the offerings of bread and wine

In that Bread and Wine that the priest offers to God - the fruit of man's sweat and labor - are all your human efforts. Offer all that to God. Put all the hours and actions of your day on the paten next to Christ and thus you will supernaturalize your life.

Everything will be done for God and will be pleasing to God. Truly make your life an offering to the Lord. Let us not forget that, in raising these prayers, it is Christ himself who presents them to God the Father through the power of the Holy Spirit.

3 - Liturgy of the Eucharist.

The liturgy of the Eucharist is the most important moment of the Mass. We present the bread and wine that will be transformed into the body and blood of Christ. We take up the collection for the whole Church and pray over the offerings.

  • Preface and Presentation of the Offerings: The Bread and Wine
  • Washbasin
  • Epiclesis: Eucharistic Prayer
  • Santo: a song of praise to God.
  • Consecration: The bread and wine are transformed into the body and blood of Jesus (Doxology).

Preface and Presentation of Offerings

misa-comunion-iglesia-catolica-ofertorio

In the Preface, we give thanks and praise to God, the thrice holy one, by praying a prayer. It comes from the Latin: pre - factum. It means "before the fact". It is so called because it comes just before the most important event of the whole Mass: the Eucharistic prayer.

In the preface there is a dialogue with the priest, who always says: "Let us lift up our hearts. We have lifted it up to the Lord. In the preface we have thanked God, we have acknowledged his works of love and we praise him.

At this time we present the offerings, the bread and wine. The simplicity of these foods reminds us of the child who brought Jesus his offerings, five loaves and two fish. It was all he had, but that smallness, placed in the hands of Jesus, became abundance and was enough to feed a huge crowd and even left over.

Thus our simple offerings of bread and wine, placed in the Lord's hands, will also become in abundance, the Body and Blood of Christ to feed a great multitude that hungers for God.

At every Mass, we are that multitude! Along with this bread and wine, we also present to God, in a symbolic way, something of ourselves.

We offer Him our efforts, sacrifices, joys and sorrows. We offer Him our fragility so that He may do great works with us.

This is the interior attitude to which the liturgy leads us, to raise our hearts to be ready for the most important moment: when Christ will be present with his Body and Blood.

Washbasin

While the priest washes his hands, repeat inwardly the prayer that he makes inwardly: Lord, wash me completely from my guilt and purify me from my sin!

In the Mass, the Lord Jesus, making himself "bread broken" for love of us, gives himself to us and communicates to us all his mercy and love, renewing our hearts, our lives and our relationships with him and with our brothers and sisters. Pope Francis.

The epiclesis or invocation to the Holy Spirit: prayer

The Eucharistic prayer is all the prayers surrounding the moment of consecration. We invoke with a prayer to the Holy Spirit at this moment when "the Church asks the Father to send his Holy Spirit (...) upon the bread and wine, so that they may become, by his power, the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ" (Catechism of the Catholic Church, n. 1353).

Just as the Holy Spirit descended upon the Virgin Mary to conceive and make Jesus present in her womb, we now invoke the Holy Spirit to descend upon these gifts and also to make Christ present among us.

"We must raise our hearts to the Lord not only as a ritual response, but as an expression of what is happening in this heart that rises and draws others upward." Pope Benedict

Then, it is the moment in which the bread and wine are brought to the altar, two very simple foods, which the priest will offer to God so that Christ may make himself present in the Eucharist, also converting us, making us better, more like him.

Santo: a song of praise to God.

The lyrics are taken from the Holy Scriptures. The first part is a song that we have learned from the choir of angels that the prophet Isaiah heard singing to God at his throne. The thrice holy repeated reminds us of the three divine persons of the Holy Trinity.

The second part is the acclamation said to Jesus as he is riding a donkey into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday: "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, hossana!"

They were happy to acclaim Jesus, the long-awaited king, who was entering their city. In the Mass we also acclaim Christ who is at the gates of making himself present to us. That is why we can say that the saint is a song of men and angels, who join together to praise God.

Consecration: the bread and wine are transformed into the body and blood of Jesus (Doxology).

"The power of Christ's words and action and the gifts of the Holy Spirit make sacramentally present under the species of bread and wine his Body and Blood, his sacrifice offered on the Cross once and for all." Catechism of the Catholic Church, no. 1353.

We have arrived at the heart of the Eucharistic prayer, at the most important moment of the Mass. Following the command Jesus gave to his apostles: "Do this in memory of me," the priest, acting in the very person of Christ, pronounces the words of institution of the Eucharist, the same words Jesus pronounced on the day of the Last Supper.

(...) What depth the words treasure: this is my Body; this is the cup of my Blood! They fill us with certainty, strengthen our faith, assure our hope and enrich our charity. Yes: Christ lives, he is the same as he was two thousand years ago, and he will always live, intervening in our pilgrimage. Once again he approaches us as a wayfarer with us, just as he did at Emmaus, to sustain us and support us in all our endeavors.

The real presence of Jesus is a consequence of the ineffable mystery that is accomplished with the transubstantiation, before which there is no other attitude than to adore the omnipotence and love of God. This is why we kneel at this sublime moment, which constitutes the core of the Eucharistic celebration. In these moments, the priest is an instrument of the Lord, acting in persona Christi.

partes de la misa catolica, segunda parte de la misa liturgia de la eucaristia

4 - Rite of conclusion

Holy Mass ends as we began it, with the sign of the cross. We can go in peace, because we have seen God, we have met Him and we are renewed to continue in the mission that God has entrusted to us. At the end of the mass the priest gives us the final blessing.

The rites that conclude the celebration are:

  • Final Blessing
  • Farewell
  • Thanksgiving

Final Blessing

We received the priest's blessing. May that "you may go in peace" be the reflection of a Holy Mass well lived.

The word blessing comes from two words: good and say. When God says good about us, his Word does make us different, it gives us that grace to fight the good fight of faith. Thus the Mass ends and we are ready to move on with our Christian life.

Thanksgiving last part of the Mass

When the time dedicated to the thanksgiving within the Mass is too short, it can be a good action to prolong the thanksgiving for a few more minutes, in a personal way, at the end of all the parts of the Mass.

Bibliography:

Pentecost: The friend that accompanies, guides and encourages

And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all together in one place. And suddenly there came suddenly a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. Then there appeared to them tongues as of fire, which parted and came to rest on each of them. They were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues, as the Spirit caused them to speak.
Acts 2:1-4

Pentecost or shebuot

For the Jews, it was one of the three great feasts. At the beginning, thanksgiving for the harvesting of grain (first fruits), but this was joined by the feast for the giving of the Torah, the "instruction manual" of the world and of man, which granted wisdom to Israel. Pentecost was the feast of the Covenant to live always according to God's will as manifested in his Law.

The feast of Sinai

The images that St. Luke uses to indicate the irruption of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost-the wind and the fire-allude to Sinai, where God had revealed himself to the people of Israel and granted them his covenant (cf. Ex 19:3 ff). The feast of Sinai, which Israel celebrated fifty days after Passover, was the feast of the covenant. In speaking of tongues of fire (cf. Acts 2:3), St. Luke wants to present the Cenacle as a new Sinai, as the feast of the Covenant that God makes with his Church, which he will never abandon.

Palabras del Papa Francisco en Pentecostes, accion del espíritu santo, 2021 Roma

The Holy Father asks all the pastors and faithful of the Catholic Church to unite, this Pentecost 2023, in prayer together with the Catholic Ordinaries of the Holy Land, to invoke the Holy Spirit, "so that Israelis and Palestinians may find the path of dialogue and forgiveness".

The day of Pentecost

With the power of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost they make themselves understood by all, whatever their origin and mentality: The day of Pentecost There dwelt at Jerusalem Jews, devout men from every nation under heaven. And when the noise was heard, the multitude came together and were perplexed, for each one heard them speaking in his own language.

They were astonished and wondered, saying, "Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? How is it, then, that we hear them each in our own mother tongue? "Parthians, Medes, Elamites, inhabitants of Mesopotamia, of Judea and Cappadocia, of Pontus and Asia, of Phrygia and Pamphylia, of Egypt and the part of Libya near Cyrene, Roman strangers, as well as Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabs, we hear them speaking in our own tongues the great things of God (Acts 2:5-11).

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The action of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost

What happens that day, with the action of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, is the antithesis of the Bible's account of the origins of mankind: At that time the whole earth spoke one language and with the same words. Moving from the east, they found a plain in the land of Shinar and settled there.

Then they said to each other: -Let's make bricks and bake them in the fire! In this way, the bricks served them as stones and the asphalt as mortar. Then they said: -Let us build us a city and a tower whose top reaches to heaven! So shall we make a name for ourselves, that we may not be scattered over the face of the whole earth. And the Lord came down to see the city and the tower which the sons of men were building, and the Lord said, "They are one people, with one language for all, and this is only the beginning of their work; now nothing they try to do will be impossible for them.

Let us go down and confuse their language right there, so that they will no longer understand one another! So from there the Lord scattered them over the face of the whole earth, and they ceased to build the city. Therefore it was called Babel, because there the Lord confused the language of the whole earth, and from there the Lord scattered them abroad over the face of the whole earth (Gen 11:1-9).

Francis said during the celebration of Pentecost this year 2021 in Rome that the Holy Spirit consoles "especially in difficult moments like the one we are going through", and in a very personal way because "only the one who makes us feel loved as we are gives peace of heart". In fact, "it is the very tenderness of God, who does not leave us alone, because to be with those who are alone is already to console.

Pentecost: Active communication

When the people in the biblical story began to work as if God did not exist, they found that they themselves had become dehumanized, because they had lost a fundamental element of human beings, which is the ability to agree, to understand each other and to act together. This text contains a perennial truth. In such a technified society, with so many means of communication and information, as the contemporary one, we speak less and less and we understand each other less and less, we lose the real capacity to communicate in an open and sincere dialogue. We need something to help us recover this capacity to be open to others.

The action of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost

What human pride broke, the action of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost put back together again. Today too, docility to the Holy Spirit is what gives us the help we need to build a more humane world, in which no one feels alone, deprived of the attention and affection of others. Jesus promised this to the apostles and to each one of us: I will pray the Father and he will give you another Paraclete to be with you always. (Jn 14:16). Use a Greek word para-kletós which means "the one who speaks next to": is the friend who accompanies us, encourages us and guides us along the way. 

Now that we are talking to God in this time of prayer, we ask ourselves in his presence: do I strive to build my professional and family life, my friendships, the society in which I live, as a world built by my own efforts without caring about God? Or do I want to listen and be docile to the loving voice of the Holy Spirit, that inseparable companion that Jesus has placed at my side to guide and encourage me?

We can invoke the Holy Spirit with an ancient and beautiful prayer of the Church at Pentecost: Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful, and kindle in them the fire of your Love. And we ask the Blessed Virgin, Spouse of God the Holy Spirit, that, like her, we may allow her to do great things in our souls, so that we may know how to love God and others, and build a better world with her help.

Mr. Francisco Varo Pineda
Research Director
University of Navarra
Faculty of Theology
Professor of Sacred Scripture

Recommended book: Una mitra humeante by Vicente Escrivá Salvador

A smoking mitre: Bernardino Nozaleda, Archbishop of Valencia, casus belli for Spanish Republicanism.

The Spain of the Restoration, projected and piloted by Antonio Cánovas, tried to establish a framework of cordial coexistence that would satisfactorily and definitively solve the so-called "religious question". That laudable purpose was not achieved, largely because of the bitter political confrontation and the division in the Catholic ranks.

The "disaster of '98" shocked the country, plunging it into a political, moral and cultural pessimism that would mark and give its name to a whole generation of intellectuals and writers of the time.

The Republicans, through a well "armed" press characterized by its Jacobin anticlericalism, mobilizations and rallies held throughout the Peninsula, attacked the constitutional regime and all that it represented, in particular the monarchy and the Catholic Church.

During the so-called "Short Government" (1903-1904) of the conservative Antonio Maura, an event took place that polarized Spanish society to the point of paroxysm: the frustrated appointment of the Dominican Bernardino Nozaleda, the last archbishop of Manila under Spanish rule, as archbishop of Valencia.

Republicans and liberals lit their torches and, shouting "Death to Maura, death to Nozaleda! they inflamed their hosts so that the prelate would neither set foot on Valencian soil nor take possession of his mitre and crosier. And they succeeded.

Vicente Escrivá Salvador

Law Degree from the University of Valencia, Diploma in Human Resources from the School of Business Administration and Management (ESADE), Master in Modern History from the University of Valencia with Extraordinary Award and PhD in History from the Catholic University San Vicente Mártir of Valencia (UCV) with the qualification of outstanding "cum laude". His professional experience is backed by thirty years of legal practice, being a member of the Bar Association of Valencia (ICAV). He is a member of the teaching staff of the Lluís Vives Business School in Valencia. He has also participated as a researcher in national projects. His current lines of research focus on the disciplines of History of Law, Contemporary History, History of the Church, Geopolitics and International Relations. In addition, he is a collaborator and correspondent in Valencia of the CARF Foundation.

Buy now "A smoking mitre: Bernardino Nozaleda, Archbishop of Valencia, casus belli for Spanish Republicanism".

How much does the formation of a seminarian cost?

The cost involved in the formation of seminarians and diocesan priests should be a collective effort of all Christians. Dioceses, foundations, faithful and even the brotherhoods and confraternities collaborate ingeniously so that we sow the world with priestly vocations.

The CARF Foundation and the challenge of seminarian formation

Since its foundation in 1989, the CARF Foundation has acted as a link between thousands of benefactors willing to contribute financially with study grants and scholarships so that priests and seminarians from all over the world can receive a solid theological, human and spiritual preparation.

More than 800 bishops from 131 countries want some of their priests and seminarians to study at the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross in Rome or at the Faculties of Ecclesiastical Studies of the University of Navarra in Pamplona. In turn, they complete their human and spiritual formation at the Sapientiae (Rome) and Bidasoa (Pamplona) International Ecclesiastical Colleges. In order to carry out this training also apply for study grants for their candidates.

Thanks to benefactors and donors like you, the CARF Foundation meets most of the requests, but the needs are growing and we want all requests to be met.

Donate now to form diocesan seminarians from all over the world.

seminaristas-formación-sacerdotes

How much does a full formation grant for a seminarian cost?

18,000 euros is the amount necessary for a candidate to live, study and train for a year at the universities of Rome or Pamplona. The neediest dioceses in the world request a full scholarship for their candidates. In all cases, the diocese covers a small part of the cost of training a seminarian in his country of origin, as a sign of its commitment to maximize the future use of the aid.

Approximately every academic year the CARF Foundation assists with direct and indirect scholarships approximately: 400 seminarians, 1,120 diocesan priests and about 80 members of religious institutions. Each full scholarship, awarded by the foundation, can be broken down as follows: €12,000, room and board. 8,000 €, tuition and academic fees, supplements for academic, human and spiritual formation. Personal expenses are always paid by the student or the diocese.

How much has the number of seminarians in the world grown?

The Central Statistical Office of the Church has been in charge of the edition of The Pontifical Yearbook 2022 and the Ecclesial Statistical Yearbook 2020 published in recent days.

They gather the data on the 2019-2020 biennium which gives us an overview of the numerical reality of the Catholic Church in the different countries and on the different continents allowing us to extract some news related to the life of the Church in today's world.

The presence of Catholics does not change at the level of the entire planet, but it does if we analyze the number of Catholics in the different continents. There is a maximum increase on the African continent and a relative increase in Asia. On the other hand, in Europe there has been a continuous decline in recent years. America and Oceania remain stable in relation to the world total.

The data analyzed on priests in all ecclesiastical districts of the Catholic world, both diocesan and religious, reveal a decline in the number of priests. At the close of 2020 there were 410,219 priests in the world, 4,117 fewer priests than the previous year. Only in Africa and Asia were there significant increases in the number of priests, which together contributed a total of + 1,782 priests to the world during the biennium under analysis.

We can observe a clear imbalance between the number of Catholics and priests in the world, which translates into a very high overall pastoral burden.

seminaristas-formación-sacerdotes

Regarding seminarians

Candidates for the priesthood went from 114,058 seminarians in the world in 2019 to 111,855 in 2020. The trend in major seminarians observed in the world total, between 2019 and 2020, affects all continents, with the exception of Africa, where seminarians increased by 2.8%. From 32,721 to 33,628 seminarians.

The decreases in priestly vocations are significant especially in Europe (-4.3%,) although they can also be seen in the Americas (-4.2%) and Asia (-3.5%.)

The percentage distribution of seminarians by continent shows slight changes over the two-year period. Africa and Asia contributed 58.3% of the world total in 2019 and in 2020 their share rises to 59.3%. Oceania reveals some negative adjustment. America and Europe as a whole see their share decrease. American and European seminarians accounted for almost 41% of the total, while one year later they drop to 39.9%.

The birth of priestly vocations in Africa and Asia is a constant fact recorded in recent years. These future priests will support and strengthen the European and American Churches. This data helps us to get a real idea of the responsibility we have as Catholics to take care of each new vocation with the utmost care. Supporting the dioceses in the formation of seminarians, even more so in the most disadvantaged continents.

Bibliography:

- Annuario Pontificio 2022 and Annuarium Statisticum Ecclesiae 2020

Pontifical University of the Holy Cross and its relationship with the CARF Foundation

Universidad Pontificia Santa Cruz and its relationship with the CARF Foundation

Academic activities at the PUSC began in 1984, with the name of Centro Accademico Romano della Santa CroceThe germ of today's University, which was erected as "Pontifical" by the Holy Father. John Paul II January 9, 1990.

The Pontifical University of the Holy Cross It currently consists of the Faculties of Theology, Canon Law, Philosophy and Institutional Social Communication; the Higher Institute of Religious Sciences of the Apollinare is also an essential part of it.

The CARF Foundation and its commitment to training

Hundreds of bishops from all over the world request study grants from the University and the CARF Foundation is in charge of obtaining the funds to send diocesan priests, seminarians and religious to study in its classrooms. The objective of the CARF Foundationsince 1989 is to provide these young people with a deep scientific and spiritual formation at the PSUC.

Fundación CARF

Donate now to form diocesan priests, seminarians and religious from all over the world.

The specific mission of the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross is to deepen the intellectual content and anthropological richness of the faith, while establishing a dialogue with contemporary culture.

The Pontifical University of Santa Cruz an education open to the world

The Santa Croce is characterized on the one hand by being open to the world, in dialogue with secular culture. Both in teaching and in research there is an attentive look at the problems of the world, being aware that from the sacred sciences one can contribute to the search for truth.

Topics such as anthropology, social doctrine and the defense of life are the object of study. In addition, the vast majority of the professors at the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross have obtained civil academic degrees in the various fields of knowledge, which facilitates this dialogue.

Following the wish of Blessed Alvaro del Portillo, the academic activities are open to scholars and intellectuals in the scientific, philosophical, economic and social fields, providing the necessary elements for a true dialogue of faith with the world.

Among the greatest spiritual inheritances received by St. Josemaría Escrivá is undoubtedly the exhortation to cultivate a profound unity of life. This is manifested not only in a due coherence between words and deeds, but also through the harmony that must exist between professional and intellectual formation, on the one hand, and spiritual and theological formation on the other.

"Santa Croce is characterized by being open to the world, in dialogue with secular culture."

Luis Navarro, rector of the PUSC since 2016.

Donate now to form diocesan priests, seminarians and religious from all over the world.

Because it is important for the CARF Foundation that seminarians and priests have access to a formation at the Pontifical University of Santa Croce.

First of all, because Rome is the cradle of Christianity! A few years ago, Pope Benedict XVI, Addressing the students of Roman universities, he told them that "the possibility of studying in Rome, seat of the successor of Peter and therefore of the Petrine ministry, helps you to strengthen your sense of belonging to the Church and your commitment to fidelity to the Pope's universal magisterium".

Also relevant during formation in Rome is the sense of union with the whole Church that is strengthened in the eternal city. Walking through the streets where so many holy women and men have walked is impressive and a spur for each one of us. To this is added another factor: in Rome you touch the universality of the Church. You see, talk and live with Catholics from all over the world: people of very different cultures, traditions and races, but at the same time very close because they believe in, proclaim and love Jesus Christ. When you discover this, a great horizon opens up in your interior life: belonging to the great family of God.

For this reason, the Pontifical University of Santa Cruz is an institution open to the world, and it carries out a training where the aim is to enable students to help the men and women of their country to encounter God precisely in temporal realities. The majority of the faithful are citizens who need to receive a formation that will enable them to be saints in their daily lives.

universidad PUSC

The annual visit of benefactors of the CARF Foundation to the PUSC in Rome

Every year the foundation organizes a day of meetings and training in Rome, during which benefactors and friends have the opportunity to meet some of the students they support and to chat and have lunch with them. They can also visit the PUSC and participate in some conferences given by teachers or personalities involved in the academic, cultural or communication fields.

The participants carry out a real pilgrimage to Rome The students were able to visit the Sedes Sapientiae International Seminary, the Tiberino Priestly College, the excavations of the Vatican Necropolis, together with some students of the university, and to participate in the Audience and the Angelus with Pope Francis.

During the trip, benefactors can see why the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross is unique among all other Pontifical Universities. In addition to the three main faculties, the PUSC promotes the Higher Institute of Religious Sciences and several research centers. A challenge, difficult in our times, but in which it puts all its efforts so that through formation it also contributes to evangelization and the spread of the message of Christ.

"Thanks to my benefactors at the CARF Foundation. Sometimes it may be normal for a young European to have the opportunity to be trained in such a prestigious university as the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross, but I can assure you that it is not so for the people of my country: your help has allowed me to have the opportunity to study in Rome and to share my life and my faith with other young seminarians from all over the world. So, truly, my wish is that God bless you in your daily work and keep in you that wonderful heart".

Mathias Msonganzila, a seminarian of the Archdiocese of Mwanza, Tanzania.

Donate now to form diocesan priests, seminarians and religious from all over the world.

Bibliography

- Interview with Mr. Luis NavarroGerardo Ferrara.
- Interview with Mª Dolores Cuadrado, correspondent of the CARF Foundation in Valladolid.
- Interview with Mr. Mariano Fazio on the occasion of his book number 28: "Libertad para amar, a través de los clásicos", Marta Santín.

Poems for grateful wonder

I got to know this work in a somewhat unusual way: a courier agency delivered it to my home by mistake. I confirmed that it was a mistake when I had already opened it, leafed through it, liked it and was given it as a gift. And every gift deserves a thank you, which I intend to convey in these lines.

Alumbramientos

It is a book of religious poetry, a polished and well-seasoned work by a writer who has several poetic awards to his credit, although he has also cultivated narrative.

It is a synthesis of poetic forms, in which there is no lack of combinations of traditional stanzas with others of more recent cut. However, I do not agree that it is not a mystical book, as it is said in the presentation, because supposedly the author would have his feet firmly planted on the ground.

But the great mystics, like the saints of Carmel, have also had them and have known the trials and joys of daily life, even if their vocation was not that of contemplative souls in their cells.

To have one's feet firmly on the ground is the occasion to contemplate Beauty with a capital letter after looking at the wonders of nature, traces of divine existence. It is astonishment, a grateful astonishment, that makes the poet discover Beauty.

Daniel Cotta - Poemas y poesía. Alumbramiento Poesía Antonio Rubio Plo

Daniel Cotta Lobato (Málaga, 1974) is a Spanish poet and novelist. 

The author and wonder in poems and poetry.

Cotta goes back first to the God of the Universe, who is not only Father, but also Motherto lead us little by little to Christ, God incarnate.

Alumbramientos is a continuous thanksgiving. To give thanks, one must first let oneself be carried away by amazement.This is something that our world does not appreciate too much, because its rationalism wants to control all processes, the explainable and the inexplicable.

However, as Cotta says, God is all wonder and possesses infinite joy. Amazement is proper to children, and surely from this perspective we can understand Christ's command to become like children in order to enter the kingdom of Heaven (Mt 18:3).The same Gospel passage reminds us that this spiritual childhood is only possible through personal conversion.

The poet calls God Creator, Father and My Redeemer. A prayer from the Christian tradition leads him to emphasize that God has not disengaged from the world. God came once to live among men and continues to come, particularly in the Eucharist.

For this reason, according to Cotta, the earth is the tabernacle that guards God. We have been visited by the Sun that rises from on high, the writer recalls with the words of the canticle of Zechariah (Lk 1:67-69), and the author once again allows himself to be carried away by this infinite wonder, present in his poetry, to recall that the Father has entrusted Christ: "And you will be his guardian angel"..

But the astonishment does not cease in other parts of the book, especially for what God has done for this man, "little lower than the angels" (Ps 8:5), and has made him in his own image and likeness. As Cotta says, "to make me, Lord, you drew inspiration from yourself. You looked inward and took out of me the God and clothed him in me". The poet believes in good deification: "I, Lord, am made of You. Let us make the Universe together!"

Many socio-political systems have tried, and continue to try, to create the "new man". They are destined to fail, as history shows. On the contrary, Daniel Cotta speaks to us in Alumbramientos del hombre nuevo, del hombre eterno (The New Man, the Eternal Man)in the expression of G. K. Chesterton, which is the image of Christ.

Antonio R. Rubio PloGraduate in History and Law. Writer and international analyst.
@blogculturayfe / @arubioplo