P ST
The
Catholic
Index
RESPECT LIFE ACTIVITIES SET 2 SR. AUDREY CLEARY, OSB, DIES 4 U.S. BISHOPS BEGIN RETREAT 5 AROUND THE DIOCESE 6 OBITUARIES 11 GOT POST-CHRISTMAS BLUES? 12 LIVING THE WORD 13 DRUMMER BOY STEALS HEARTS 15 LOVE WILL STILL REPEAT 16
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Newspaper of the Diocese of Peoria
Sunday, Jan. 6, 2019 Vol. 85, No. 1
In this issue
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A holy fear of the Lord is necessary for all Christian believers, Bishop Daniel R. Jenky, CSC, repeatedly emphasizes in a new teaching document published in this issue of The Catholic Post. It seems to me that reverence and awe before Almighty God is necessary for all of us, especially in these godless, secular days, writes the bishop in an introduction to Fear of the Lord, his 17th Festival Let- ter to the Diocese of Peoria. In the 1,700-word document, Bishop Jenky cites numerous Scripture passages as well as the writings of saints to explain why a fear of the Lord is among the most precious gifts of the Holy Spirit. While throughout life we learn prudent fears - of hot stoves, dangerous drugs, and bad choices, for example - a holy fear of God is much more important in life than mere caution or ordinary prudence, the bishop writes. The Hebrew and Greek words used in the Scriptures to describe holy fear indicate a range of meaning from sheer
Bishop Jenky calls believers to a necessary 'Fear of the Lord'
A life in 'balance' includes prayer, the Beatitudes, and joy
Pope Francis twirls a soccer ball presented by a member of CirCuba, the Cuban national circus, during his general audience in Paul VI hall at the Vatican Jan. 2. In his main audience talk, the pope explained how the Gospel of Matthew presents the Lord's Prayer as part of Jesus' Sermon on the Mount, which also includes the Eight Beatitudes. Proclaiming the beatitudes, the pope said, Jesus affirms the blessedness and happiness of "a series of categories of peo- ple, who - in his time, but also in ours - are not particularly esteemed. Blessed are the poor, the meek, the merciful, the humble of heart. This is the revolution of the Gospel! Where the Gospel is, there is revolution because the Gospel does not leave things as they were." At the end of the audience, the pope praised the circus performers for their hard work and for the way they lift people's spirits with their shows. CNS/Paul Haring terror, to immense awe, to deepest rever- ence before the Lord who is by definition infinite, eternal, and omnipotent, says Bishop Jenky. Unless we respond to God with profound awe and faith-filled obedience to his com- mandments, we run the risk of reducing the One True God . . . to a kind of tame and invented deity, invoked only on our own terms, usually just to ritualize our happy or sad occasions. But a right fear of the Lord and standing before the invincible power of His Cross can liberate us from all other fears, the bishop teaches. Even in the face of troubles, sickness, wars, natural disasters, persecutions, scandals, or betrayals, our ultimate peace can rest securely in the God who is truly Almighty, he writes. Since his installation as Bishop of Peoria in 2002, Bishop Jenky has issued an an- nual Festival Letter on or near the Feast of the Epiphany to teach on a specific topic as well as announce the dates for various feasts of the Liturgical Year. In addition to its printing within this issue, Fear of the Lord will also be available online at cdop.org. Click on Festival Letters next to Bishop Jenkys picture on the home page.
To rightly fear the Lord is to entirely surrender our existence to His limitless power and ravishing love."
Bishop Daniel R. Jenky, CSC From his 2019 Festival Letter, "Fear of the Lord," found within this issue of The Catholic Post Three Moline institutions unite in planning capital campaign: P3 A look back at what made news in the diocese in the past year: Ps 7-10 Why this "Supergirl" from Peru, age 6, is on a gift-giving mission: P14
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