Holy Week should be used to reunite the family, and be spent seriously and austerely
"Holy Week commemorates the Passion of Jesus ; the Resurrection is the fundamental event"
Omar Santana
SANTO DOMINGO. Nicolas de Jesus Cardinal Lopez Rodriguez feels that the commemoration of Holy Week should serve for the unity of the family nucleus. He revealed that the family unity extends itself also to those who do not practice a faith, due to the fact that the holidays include all Dominicans.
The Metropolitan Archbishop of Santo Domingo offered his reflections during the Dialogo Libre, sponsored by the Diario Libre newspaper, saying that "on days such as these in Holy Week, the family is called upon to come together. To reconvene. Many people take long trips in order to be with their families." And he stressed: "Me, I am a country person from the Cibao, we, the Cibaeños, with a religious base and also the non-practitioners, place a lot of value on the family unit, and at this time it is important that we come together as a family. For me the family is the center of everything. Myself, from my personal experience, I have the example of my parents who gave us the sense of unity. For me there is nothing to be compared with the family, and because of this I am a fervent protector of the family.
He pointed out that Catholic movements such as "I am staying here" (Yo me quedo), support the idea that the Holy Week should not be taken in an excessive manner. "Yo me quedo ("I am staying here") which is just that, I am not going to the beach, I am staying here. This movement has come from groups of couples that began with the priest Monsignor Masalles, and now has turned into thousands of persons," he said.
He said that excesses during these festivities are tied to the absence of a consciousness. "The wildness is not because of religious faith, it is for personal reasons, a lack of belief and a lack of knowledge and consciousness." He recognized, nonetheless, that the people put their own imprint on the manner in which they commemorate the Holy Week, and they make their cultural contributions. "Formally, on Holy Friday, you could practically not speak. It was a tradition. Holy Week recalls the Passion and Death of Jesus. The Passion is related to the arrest of Jesus, who is crucified on Friday, Saturday is spent in his tomb, and He resuscitates on Sunday. It is a fundamental element of faith for a Christian," he continued, "what is important is that we be clear that this is the most important historical event of humanity.
Holy Week
"The Christian," he announced, "should maintain a certain seriousness and austerity with relation to this period because during Holy Week the passion of Christ is celebrated or commemorated, which is the central issue of the whole week and a Resurrection, which is the fundamental event. The latter is a mystery which has to be proclaimed to the world, someone who experimented death and recovered life," he stated.
Cardinal Lopez Rodriguez said that the incidents which the Christian faith commemorates at this time are the basis of their beliefs. "The Resurrection is not separated from the passion, it is the central mystery. Christianity is, with everything that it supposes of the life and teachings of Jesus contained in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, who present this mystery of the passion, death and glorification, religiously and historically," he pointed out.
He narrated that in the framework of the events previous to the outcome of the Holy Week, "Jesus assumes that they call him the Messiah, knowing that the Jews were not prepared to see in him a Messiah." It is then, according to the explanation by Lopez Rodriguez, when "as a result of his death and the glorification when everything begins seriously (the Christian faith)". Previous to his death, stresses the priest, Jesus Christ had spent the last three years of his life surrounded by simple fishermen and the violent end of this last week, where in front of scribes and Pharisees he was a threat and his death was decided with a washing of the hands.
"The position of the Pope is to open spaces so that people do not feel rejected"
Cardinal Lopez Rodriguez assured the editors that Pope Francis is a "sincere person, who says what he feels he should say and embodies a new edition of popes." He said that the Pope has the intention of opening the doors of the church. "I understand the position of the Pope, it is to open space in order that the people do not feel rejected," he stated.
Working in that direction, Lopez Rodriguez said that in his intention to create reforms he might find issues that generate rejection within the church. "Francis has brought up an issue which I know will bring him problems in the church which is the issue of those that have been divorced and have married again, who can receive Communion. He has not said it, he has insinuated it, I believe that there will be a lot of opposition, there will appear the experts on canon law, who are going to enter with the issue of matrimony from the canonic point of view."
He said that in the Dominican Catholic Church space is permitted to these groups of couples, but they cannot receive Communion.
The Metropolitan Archbishop of Santo Domingo offered his reflections during the Dialogo Libre, sponsored by the Diario Libre newspaper, saying that "on days such as these in Holy Week, the family is called upon to come together. To reconvene. Many people take long trips in order to be with their families." And he stressed: "Me, I am a country person from the Cibao, we, the Cibaeños, with a religious base and also the non-practitioners, place a lot of value on the family unit, and at this time it is important that we come together as a family. For me the family is the center of everything. Myself, from my personal experience, I have the example of my parents who gave us the sense of unity. For me there is nothing to be compared with the family, and because of this I am a fervent protector of the family.
He pointed out that Catholic movements such as "I am staying here" (Yo me quedo), support the idea that the Holy Week should not be taken in an excessive manner. "Yo me quedo ("I am staying here") which is just that, I am not going to the beach, I am staying here. This movement has come from groups of couples that began with the priest Monsignor Masalles, and now has turned into thousands of persons," he said.
He said that excesses during these festivities are tied to the absence of a consciousness. "The wildness is not because of religious faith, it is for personal reasons, a lack of belief and a lack of knowledge and consciousness." He recognized, nonetheless, that the people put their own imprint on the manner in which they commemorate the Holy Week, and they make their cultural contributions. "Formally, on Holy Friday, you could practically not speak. It was a tradition. Holy Week recalls the Passion and Death of Jesus. The Passion is related to the arrest of Jesus, who is crucified on Friday, Saturday is spent in his tomb, and He resuscitates on Sunday. It is a fundamental element of faith for a Christian," he continued, "what is important is that we be clear that this is the most important historical event of humanity.
Holy Week
"The Christian," he announced, "should maintain a certain seriousness and austerity with relation to this period because during Holy Week the passion of Christ is celebrated or commemorated, which is the central issue of the whole week and a Resurrection, which is the fundamental event. The latter is a mystery which has to be proclaimed to the world, someone who experimented death and recovered life," he stated.
Cardinal Lopez Rodriguez said that the incidents which the Christian faith commemorates at this time are the basis of their beliefs. "The Resurrection is not separated from the passion, it is the central mystery. Christianity is, with everything that it supposes of the life and teachings of Jesus contained in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, who present this mystery of the passion, death and glorification, religiously and historically," he pointed out.
He narrated that in the framework of the events previous to the outcome of the Holy Week, "Jesus assumes that they call him the Messiah, knowing that the Jews were not prepared to see in him a Messiah." It is then, according to the explanation by Lopez Rodriguez, when "as a result of his death and the glorification when everything begins seriously (the Christian faith)". Previous to his death, stresses the priest, Jesus Christ had spent the last three years of his life surrounded by simple fishermen and the violent end of this last week, where in front of scribes and Pharisees he was a threat and his death was decided with a washing of the hands.
"The position of the Pope is to open spaces so that people do not feel rejected"
Cardinal Lopez Rodriguez assured the editors that Pope Francis is a "sincere person, who says what he feels he should say and embodies a new edition of popes." He said that the Pope has the intention of opening the doors of the church. "I understand the position of the Pope, it is to open space in order that the people do not feel rejected," he stated.
Working in that direction, Lopez Rodriguez said that in his intention to create reforms he might find issues that generate rejection within the church. "Francis has brought up an issue which I know will bring him problems in the church which is the issue of those that have been divorced and have married again, who can receive Communion. He has not said it, he has insinuated it, I believe that there will be a lot of opposition, there will appear the experts on canon law, who are going to enter with the issue of matrimony from the canonic point of view."
He said that in the Dominican Catholic Church space is permitted to these groups of couples, but they cannot receive Communion.
Omar Santana
Continuar con Google