2015
Latest #News of #Vatican Information Service and #PopeFrancis at #HolySee
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28-10-2015 - Year XXII - Num. 190
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Summary |
| - Interreligious audience in St. Peter's Square on the 50th anniversary of the conciliar declaration “Nostra Aetate” |
| - Pakistan and Afghanistan in Francis' prayers |
| - Chirograph for the institution of the Foundation Gravissimum Educationis |
| - Representatives of different religions on the conciliar Declaration “Nostra Aetate” |
| Interreligious audience in St. Peter's Square on the 50th anniversary of the conciliar declaration “Nostra Aetate” Vatican City, 28 October 2015 (VIS) – This week's general audience was held on the 50th anniversary of the Vatican Council II Declaration “Nostra Aetate” on the relations between the Catholic Church and non-Christian religions. It was attended by representatives of various religions and participants in the International Congress organised to commemorate the event by the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue in collaboration with the Commission for Religious Relationships with Jews, the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity and the Pontifical Gregorian University. Before beginning his catechesis in St. Peter's Square the Pope greeted the sick and elderly who, due to the weather conditions, were unable to attend the open air audience. Francis also mentioned them in the square and asked for a minute of silence and prayer for them all. The audience began with greetings from Cardinals Jean-Louis Tauran, president of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, and Kurt Koch, president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity. After the reading in several languages of a paragraph of “Nostra Aetate”, the Pope welcomed all those present and expressed his gratitude to them for commemorating together the 50th anniversary of this important conciliar document. “Vatican Council II was an extraordinary moment of reflection, dialogue and prayer to renew the gaze of the Catholic Church upon herself and the world. A reading of the signs of the times in order to bring her up to date, guided by a dual fidelity: fidelity to the ecclesial tradition and fidelity to the history of the men and women of our time. Indeed, God revealed Himself in creation and in history, spoke through prophets and fully in His Son made man, addressing the heart and soul of every human being who seeks the truth and the way to practise it”. Francis, reiterating that the message of the Declaration “Nostra Aetate” remains valid today, recalled some of its key points: the growing interdependence of peoples; the human search for meaning in life, suffering and death, questions that always accompany our journey; the common origin and common destiny of humanity; the unity of the human family; religions as the search for God or the Absolute, within the various ethnic groups and cultures; the Church's benevolent and careful view of all religions, which does not reject anything good or true in them; the Church's esteem for all believers of all religions, appreciating their spiritual and moral commitment; and finally, the Church's openness to dialogue with all, while remaining at the same time faithful to the truth in which she believes, starting from the salvation offered to all that has its origin in Jesus, the sole saviour, and that is worked by the Holy Spirit, as the source of peace and love”. The Pope also noted that over the last fifty years there have been many initiatives and examples of institutional or personal relations with non-Christian religions. The most significant among them include the meeting in Assisi on 27 October 1986, promoted by St. John Paul II. He also praised the great transformation that has taken place in this period in the relationship between Christians and Jews. “Indifference and opposition have turned into cooperation and benevolence”, he remarked. “From enemies and strangers, we have become friends and brothers. The Council, with the Declaration 'Nostra Aetate', showed the way: 'yes' to the rediscovery of the Jewish roots of Christianity; 'no' to any form of anti-Semitism and condemnation of any resulting injustice, discrimination and persecution. Mutual knowledge, respect and esteem constitute the way that, valid for relations with Jews, is similarly relevant to relations with other religions. I think in particular of Muslims who, as the Council states, 'adore the one God, living and subsisting in Himself, merciful and all-powerful, the Creator of Heaven and earth, Who has spoken to men'. They refer to the paternity of Abraham, they venerate Jesus as a prophet, they honour His virgin Mother Mary, they await the day of judgement, and practise prayer, charity and fasting”. “The dialogue we need cannot be other than open and respectful, and in this way it is shown to be fruitful. Mutual respect is the condition and the aim of interreligious dialogue; respecting the rights of others to life, physical integrity and fundamental freedoms: that is, freedom of conscience, thought, expression and religion. The world looks to us as believers, and exhorts us to collaborate among ourselves and with men and women of good will who do not profess any religion, and asks us for effective answers on several issues: peace, hunger, the poverty that afflicts millions of people, the environmental crisis, violence, especially that committed in the name of religion, corruption, moral degradation, the crisis of the family, the economy and finance, and above all, hope. We believers do not have solutions for these problems, but we have a great resource: prayer. We must pray. Prayer is our treasury, which we draw from according to our respective traditions, to ask for the gifts humanity yearns for”. He acknowledged that violence and terrorism have given rise to “an attitude of suspicion and indeed condemnation with regard to religions. In reality, since no religion is immune to the risk of fundamentalist or extremist deviations by individuals or groups, it is necessary to look instead to the positive values they embody and promote, and which are a wellspring of hope. ... Dialogue based on trustful respect can bring seeds of goodness that in turn become the buds of friendship and collaboration in many fields, and especially in service to the poor, the smallest and the elderly, and welcoming migrants and the excluded”. He also remarked on the role of religions in defending the environment, a common good. The upcoming extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy will offer an opportunity for collaboration in charitable works. “And in this field, where compassion is most important, we can join with many people who do not consider themselves to be believers or who are in search of God and truth, people who place the face of others at the centre, especially their brothers and sisters in need. But the mercy that is required of us embraces all creation, that God entrusted to us as its custodians rather than exploiters or destroyers. We must always seek to leave behind a better world than the one we found”. The Pope concluded by urging all those present to pray for the future of interreligious dialogue, “and to pray for each other, as we are brothers! Without the Lord, nothing is possible; with Him, everything is possible. May our prayer fully adhere to the will of God, Who wants all men to acknowledge each other as brothers and to live as such, forming a great human family in the harmony of diversity”. Following the greetings in different languages, the Pope invited all to pray to the Lord, each following his or her own tradition, that He might make us brothers together and servants to our brothers in need. |
| Pakistan and Afghanistan in Francis' prayers Vatican City, 28 October 2015 (VIS) – Following today's general audience the Holy Father launched an appeal for the populations of Pakistan and Afghanistan, afflicted by a major earthquake that has claimed many victims and caused devastating material damage. “Let us pray for the deceased, their families, and for all the injured and homeless, imploring consolation in suffering and courage in adversity. May there be no lack of concrete solidarity for these, our brothers”. |
| Chirograph for the institution of the Foundation Gravissimum Educationis Vatican City, 28 October 2015 (VIS) – Pope Francis has instituted the Foundation Gravissimum Educationis by a chirograph bearing today's date. In the text, the Holy Father expresses his gratitude to the Congregation for Catholic Education for the initiatives organised to commemorate the fiftieth year since the declaration “Gravissimum educationis” on Christian education, promulgated the the Vatican Ecumenical Council II on 28 October 1965. “I am likewise pleased to learn that the same Dicastery wishes to constitute on this occasion a Foundation entitled Gravissimum Educationis, with the aim of pursuing “scientific and cultural ends, intended to promote Catholic education in the world”, he adds. “The Church recognises the 'extreme importance of education in the life of man and how its influence ever grows in the social progress of this age', are profoundly linked to the fulfilment of 'the mandate she has received from her divine founder of proclaiming the mystery of salvation to all men and of restoring all things in Christ'”, he writes, quoting the conciliar Declaration. The Pope goes on to institute as public canonical and civil juridical persons the Foundation Gravissimum Educationis, whose premises will be located in Vatican City and which will be subject to current canon law, current civil law in Vatican City, and its statutes. |
| Representatives of different religions on the conciliar Declaration “Nostra Aetate” Vatican City, 28 October 2015 (VIS) – At 12.30 this afternoon in the Holy See Press Office a conference was held with the representatives of the different religions present at this morning's interreligious general audience and those attending the International Congress to commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of the conciliar Declaration “Nostra Aetate”, held from 26 to 28 October at the Pontifical Gregorian University. The speakers were Professor Bellanwila Wimalaratna (Buddhism), Claudio Epelman (Judaism), Rabbi David Rose (Judaism), Swami Chidanand Saraswati (Hinduism), Rasoul Rasoulipour (Islam), Abdellah Redouane (Islam), Samani Pratibha Pragya (Jainism) and Brinder Singh Mahon (Sikhism). The central theme of the conference was the importance of the Declaration and how it has facilitated openness on the journeys of dialogue and reconciliation between different religions. |
#PopeFrancis “The gift is God’s love, a God who can’t sever himself from us." #Homily
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis says God can only love and not condemn and that love is His weakness and our victory. He said we are so closely bound to God’s love that nothing can sever us from it. That was the message at the heart of the Pope’s homily delivered on Thursday (29th October) at the Santa Marta residence.
Taking his cue from St Paul’s letter to the Romans, Pope Francis’s homily was a reflection on God’s unwavering love for us and how no person, or power or thing can separate us from this love. He said St Paul explains how Christians are the victors because “if God is for us, who can be against us.” This gift from God, he continued, is being held by Christians in their own hands and it’s almost as if they could say in a triumphalistic manner, “now we are the champions!” But the meaning is another: we are the victors not because we are holding this gift in our hands but for another reason. And that is because “nothing can ever separate us from God’s love which is in Jesus Christ our Lord.”
“It’s not because we are the victors over our enemies, over sin. No! We are so closely bound to God’s love that no person, no power, nothing can ever separate us from this love. Paul saw beyond the gift, he saw more, who is giving that gift: it is a gift of recreation, it’s a gift of regeneration in Jesus Christ. He saw God’s love. A love that cannot be explained.”
God’s impotence is His inability not to love
Pope Francis noted that every man, every woman can refuse this gift by preferring their own vanity, pride or sin but despite this God’s gift is always there for us.
“The gift is God’s love, a God who can’t sever himself from us. That is the impotence of God. We say: ‘God is all powerful, He can do everything!” Except for one thing: Sever Himself from us! In the gospel, that image of Jesus who weeps over Jerusalem, helps us understand something about that love. Jesus wept! He wept over Jerusalem and that weeping is all about God’s impotence: his inability to not love (us) and not sever himself from us.”
Our safeguard: God cannot condemn but only love
The Pope goes on to explain how Jesus’ weeping over Jerusalem that kills its prophets and those that announce its salvation is an image of God’s love and tenderness. He admonishes Jerusalem and all of us saying: “How often have I longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her brood under her wings and you refused!” He said that is why St Paul understands and can say: “I am certain of this: neither death nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nothing already in existence and nothing still to come, nor any power, nor the heights nor the depths, nor any created thing whatever will be able to come between us and the love of God.”
“It’s impossible for God to not love us! And this is our safeguard. I can refuse that love, I can refuse just like the Good Thief did, until the end of his life. But that love was waiting for him there. The most wicked and the most blasphemous person is loved by God with the tenderness of a father. And just as Paul said, as the Gospel said, as Jesus said: ‘Like a hen with her brood.’ And God the all-powerful, the Creator can do everything: God weeps! All of God’s love is contained in this weeping by Jesus over Jerusalem and in those tears. God weeps for me when I move away from him: God weeps for each one of us: God weeps for the evil people who do so many bad things, cause so much harm to mankind… He is waiting, he is not condemning (us) and he is weeping. Why? Because he loves (us)!”
Today's Mass Readings and Video : Thurs. October 29, 2015
Thursday of the Thirtieth Week in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 482
Reading 1ROM 8:31B-39
Brothers and sisters:
If God is for us, who can be against us?
He did not spare his own Son
but handed him over for us all,
how will he not also give us everything else along with him?
Who will bring a charge against God’s chosen ones?
It is God who acquits us.
Who will condemn?
It is Christ Jesus who died, rather, was raised,
who also is at the right hand of God,
who indeed intercedes for us.
What will separate us from the love of Christ?
Will anguish, or distress, or persecution, or famine,
or nakedness, or peril, or the sword?
As it is written:
For your sake we are being slain all the day;
we are looked upon as sheep to be slaughtered.
No, in all these things we conquer overwhelmingly
through him who loved us.
For I am convinced that neither death, nor life,
nor angels, nor principalities,
nor present things, nor future things,
nor powers, nor height, nor depth,
nor any other creature will be able to separate us
from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
If God is for us, who can be against us?
He did not spare his own Son
but handed him over for us all,
how will he not also give us everything else along with him?
Who will bring a charge against God’s chosen ones?
It is God who acquits us.
Who will condemn?
It is Christ Jesus who died, rather, was raised,
who also is at the right hand of God,
who indeed intercedes for us.
What will separate us from the love of Christ?
Will anguish, or distress, or persecution, or famine,
or nakedness, or peril, or the sword?
As it is written:
For your sake we are being slain all the day;
we are looked upon as sheep to be slaughtered.
No, in all these things we conquer overwhelmingly
through him who loved us.
For I am convinced that neither death, nor life,
nor angels, nor principalities,
nor present things, nor future things,
nor powers, nor height, nor depth,
nor any other creature will be able to separate us
from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Responsorial PsalmPS 109:21-22, 26-27, 30-31
R. (26b) Save me, O Lord, in your mercy.
Do you, O GOD, my Lord, deal kindly with me for your name’s sake;
in your generous mercy rescue me;
For I am wretched and poor,
and my heart is pierced within me.
R. Save me, O Lord, in your mercy.
Help me, O LORD, my God;
save me, in your mercy,
And let them know that this is your hand;
that you, O LORD, have done this.
R. Save me, O Lord, in your mercy.
I will speak my thanks earnestly to the LORD,
and in the midst of the throng I will praise him,
For he stood at the right hand of the poor man,
to save him from those who would condemn his soul.
R. Save me, O Lord, in your kindness.
Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord.
Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Do you, O GOD, my Lord, deal kindly with me for your name’s sake;
in your generous mercy rescue me;
For I am wretched and poor,
and my heart is pierced within me.
R. Save me, O Lord, in your mercy.
Help me, O LORD, my God;
save me, in your mercy,
And let them know that this is your hand;
that you, O LORD, have done this.
R. Save me, O Lord, in your mercy.
I will speak my thanks earnestly to the LORD,
and in the midst of the throng I will praise him,
For he stood at the right hand of the poor man,
to save him from those who would condemn his soul.
R. Save me, O Lord, in your kindness.
AlleluiaSEE LK 19:38; 2:14
R. Alleluia, alleluia.Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord.
Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
GospelLK 13:31-35
Some Pharisees came to Jesus and said,
“Go away, leave this area because Herod wants to kill you.”
He replied, “Go and tell that fox,
‘Behold, I cast out demons and I perform healings today and tomorrow,
and on the third day I accomplish my purpose.
Yet I must continue on my way today, tomorrow, and the following day,
for it is impossible that a prophet should die
outside of Jerusalem.’
“Jerusalem, Jerusalem,
you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you,
how many times I yearned to gather your children together
as a hen gathers her brood under her wings,
but you were unwilling!
Behold, your house will be abandoned.
But I tell you, you will not see me until the time comes when you say,
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.”
“Go away, leave this area because Herod wants to kill you.”
He replied, “Go and tell that fox,
‘Behold, I cast out demons and I perform healings today and tomorrow,
and on the third day I accomplish my purpose.
Yet I must continue on my way today, tomorrow, and the following day,
for it is impossible that a prophet should die
outside of Jerusalem.’
“Jerusalem, Jerusalem,
you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you,
how many times I yearned to gather your children together
as a hen gathers her brood under her wings,
but you were unwilling!
Behold, your house will be abandoned.
But I tell you, you will not see me until the time comes when you say,
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.”
Saint October 29 : St. Narcissus of Jerusalem : Bishop : Died 215
BISHOP
Feast: October 29
Information:
Feast Day:
October 29
Born:
99
Died:
215
St Narcissus was born towards the close of the first century, and was almost fourscore years old when he was placed at the head of the church of Jerusalem, being the thirtieth bishop of that see. Eusebius assures us that the Christians of Jerusalem preserved in his time the remembrance of several miracles which God had wrought by this holy bishop, one of which he relates as follows. One year, on Easter-eve, the deacons were unprovided with oil for the lamps in the church, necessary at the solemn divine office that day. Narcissus ordered those who had care of the lamps to bring him some water from the neighbouring wells. This being done, he pronounced a devout prayer over the water; then bade them pour it into the lamps, which they did, and it was immediately converted into oil, to the great surprise of the faithful. Some of this miraculous oil was kept there as a memorial at the time when Eusebius wrote his history. The veneration of all good men for this holy bishop could not shelter him from the malice of the wicked. Three incorrigible sinners, fearing his inflexible severity in the observance of ecclesiastical discipline, laid to his charge a detestable crime, which Eusebius does not specify. They confirmed their atrocious calumny by dreadful oaths and imprecations; one wishing he might perish by fire, another that he might be struck with a leprosy, and the third that he might lose his sight, if what they alleged was not the truth. Notwithstanding these protestations, their accusation did not find credit; and some time after the divine vengeance pursued the calumniators. The first was burnt in his house, with his whole family, by an accidental fire in the night; the second was struck with a universal leprosy; and the third, terrified by these examples, confessed the conspiracy and slander, and by the abundance of tears which he continually shed for his sins, lost his sight before his death.
Narcissus, notwithstanding the slander had made no impression on the people to his disadvantage, could not stand the shock of the bold calumny, or rather made it an excuse for leaving Jerusalem and spending some time in solitude, which had long been his wish. He spent several years undiscovered in his retreat, where he enjoyed all the happiness and advantage which a close conversation with God can bestow. That his church might not remain destitute of a pastor, the neighbouring bishops of the province after some time placed in it Pius, and after him Germanion, who dying in a short time was succeeded by Gordius. Whilst this last held the see, Narcissus appeared again, like one from the dead. The whole body of the faithful, transported at the recovery of their holy pastor, whose innocence had been most authentically vindicated, conjured him to reassume the administration of the diocese. He acquiesced; but afterwards, bending under the weight of extreme old age, made St. Alexander his coadjutor. St. Narcissus continued to serve his flock, and even other churches, by his assiduous prayers and his earnest exhortations to unity and concord, as St. Alexander testifies in his letter to the Arsinoites in Egypt, where he says that Narcissus was at that time, about one hundred and sixteen years old. The Roman Martyrology honours his memory on the 29th of October.
If we truly respect the church as the immaculate spouse of our Lord, we will incessantly pray for its exaltation and increase, and beseech the Almighty to give it pastors according to his own heart, like those who appeared in the infancy of Christianity. And, that no obstacle on our part may prevent the happy effects of their zeal, we should study to regulate our conduct by the holy maxims which they inculcate; we should regard them as the ministers of Christ; we should listen to them with docility and attention; we should make their faith the rule of ours, and shut our ears against the language of profane novelty. SOURCE: http://www.ewtn.com/saintsHoly/saints/N/stnarcissus.asp
Feast: October 29
Information:
Feast Day:
October 29
Born:
99
Died:
215
St Narcissus was born towards the close of the first century, and was almost fourscore years old when he was placed at the head of the church of Jerusalem, being the thirtieth bishop of that see. Eusebius assures us that the Christians of Jerusalem preserved in his time the remembrance of several miracles which God had wrought by this holy bishop, one of which he relates as follows. One year, on Easter-eve, the deacons were unprovided with oil for the lamps in the church, necessary at the solemn divine office that day. Narcissus ordered those who had care of the lamps to bring him some water from the neighbouring wells. This being done, he pronounced a devout prayer over the water; then bade them pour it into the lamps, which they did, and it was immediately converted into oil, to the great surprise of the faithful. Some of this miraculous oil was kept there as a memorial at the time when Eusebius wrote his history. The veneration of all good men for this holy bishop could not shelter him from the malice of the wicked. Three incorrigible sinners, fearing his inflexible severity in the observance of ecclesiastical discipline, laid to his charge a detestable crime, which Eusebius does not specify. They confirmed their atrocious calumny by dreadful oaths and imprecations; one wishing he might perish by fire, another that he might be struck with a leprosy, and the third that he might lose his sight, if what they alleged was not the truth. Notwithstanding these protestations, their accusation did not find credit; and some time after the divine vengeance pursued the calumniators. The first was burnt in his house, with his whole family, by an accidental fire in the night; the second was struck with a universal leprosy; and the third, terrified by these examples, confessed the conspiracy and slander, and by the abundance of tears which he continually shed for his sins, lost his sight before his death.
Narcissus, notwithstanding the slander had made no impression on the people to his disadvantage, could not stand the shock of the bold calumny, or rather made it an excuse for leaving Jerusalem and spending some time in solitude, which had long been his wish. He spent several years undiscovered in his retreat, where he enjoyed all the happiness and advantage which a close conversation with God can bestow. That his church might not remain destitute of a pastor, the neighbouring bishops of the province after some time placed in it Pius, and after him Germanion, who dying in a short time was succeeded by Gordius. Whilst this last held the see, Narcissus appeared again, like one from the dead. The whole body of the faithful, transported at the recovery of their holy pastor, whose innocence had been most authentically vindicated, conjured him to reassume the administration of the diocese. He acquiesced; but afterwards, bending under the weight of extreme old age, made St. Alexander his coadjutor. St. Narcissus continued to serve his flock, and even other churches, by his assiduous prayers and his earnest exhortations to unity and concord, as St. Alexander testifies in his letter to the Arsinoites in Egypt, where he says that Narcissus was at that time, about one hundred and sixteen years old. The Roman Martyrology honours his memory on the 29th of October.
If we truly respect the church as the immaculate spouse of our Lord, we will incessantly pray for its exaltation and increase, and beseech the Almighty to give it pastors according to his own heart, like those who appeared in the infancy of Christianity. And, that no obstacle on our part may prevent the happy effects of their zeal, we should study to regulate our conduct by the holy maxims which they inculcate; we should regard them as the ministers of Christ; we should listen to them with docility and attention; we should make their faith the rule of ours, and shut our ears against the language of profane novelty. SOURCE: http://www.ewtn.com/saintsHoly/saints/N/stnarcissus.asp
SHARE - Novena to St. Jude Thaddeus Apostle : #Patron of #Impossible - #Prayer #Miracles
O glorious apostle, SAINT JUDE THADDEUS, true relative of Jesus and Mary, I salute you through the most Sacred Heart of Jesus! Through this Heart I praise and thank God for all the graces He has bestowed upon you. Humbly prostrate before you, I implore you through this Heart to look down upon me with compassion. Oh, despise not my poor prayer; let not my trust be confounded! To you God has granted the privilege of aiding mankind in the most desperate cases. Oh, come to my aid that I may praise the mercies of God! All my life I will be grateful to you and will be your faithful client until I can thank you in heaven. Amen."Blessed Apostle, with confidence we invoke you!"
"Blessed Apostle, with confidence we invoke you!"
"St. Jude, help of the hopeless, aid me in my distress."
"St. Jude, help of the hopeless, aid me in my distress."PRAY FOR US that we before death may expiate all our sins by sincere repentance and the worthy reception of the holy Sacraments.Pray for us that we may appease the Divine Justice and obtain a favorable judgment.Pray for us that we may be admitted into the company of the blessed to rejoice in the presence of our God forever.Prayer to be recitedSaint Jude, glorious apostle, faithful servant and friend of Jesus, the name of the traitor has caused you to be forgotten by many. But the Church honors and invokes you universally as the patron of difficult and desperate cases. Pray for me who am so miserable. Make use, I implore you, of that particular privilege accorded to you to bring visible and speedy help where help was almost despaired of. Come to my assistance in this great need that I may receive the consolation and help of heaven in all my necessities, tribulations and sufferings, particularly — (here make your request) — and that I may bless God with you and all the elect throughout all eternity.I promise you, O blessed JUDE, to be ever mindful of this great favor, and I will never cease to honor you as my special and powerful patron and do all in my power to encourage devotion to you. Amen.Saint Jude, pray for us and for all who honor you and invoke your aid.(Say the Our Father, Hail Mary, and Glory be to the Father, 3 times.)
#PopeFrancis “As we look to the future of interreligous dialogue, let us pray..." #Interreligious Audience - Text- Video
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis has appealed for concrete solidarity for the peoples of Pakistan and Afghanistan who have been struck by a devastating earthquake.
The Pope’s appeal came during the Wednesday General Audience in St. Peter’s Square two days a massive earthquake that struck the remote Hindu Kush Mountains on the Afghan-Pakistan border.
Officials are warning that the death toll which has soared above 300 will likely leap once relief workers return from remote villages.
“We remain close to the peoples of Pakistan and Afghanistan who have been struck by a strong earthquake, which has caused numerous victims and terrible damage” the Pope said.
And assuring his prayers “for the deceased and their families, for all the wounded and those who remain without a home, imploring God for relief in their suffering and courage in the face of adversity" the Pope said: "May our concrete solidarity not lack for these our brothers.”
Pope Francis’ appeal came on the heels of his weekly catechesis which was dedicated to the 50th Anniversary of the Second Vatican Council’s Declaration “Nostra Aetate” on the Church’s relations with other religions.
Recalling that this theme was very close to the heart of the Blessed Pope Paul VI who established the “Secretariat for non-Christians” which today is the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, the Pope expressed a specially warm greeting of welcome to people of different religions present in the Square for the Audience.
Noting that the Second Vatican Council represented an extraordinary time of reflection, dialogue and prayer to renew the vision of the Catholic Church regarding itself and the world.
And speaking of “Nostra Aetate” Pope Francis said the Council’s Declaration was an expression of the Church’s esteem for the followers of other religious traditions, and her openness to dialogue in the service of understanding and friendship.
And, he said, its message is important and timely today as peoples become increasingly interdependent as one human family.
And, he said, its message is important and timely today as peoples become increasingly interdependent as one human family.
The Pope noted that The past fifty years have seen much progress and expressed gratitude for the significant advances made in relations between Christians and Jews, and in those between Christians and Muslims.
The world, he said, rightly expects believers to work together with all people of good will in confronting the many problems affecting our human family.
Pope Francis concluded expressing his hope that the forthcoming Jubilee of Mercy will be an occasion for ever greater interreligious cooperation in works of charity, reconciliation and care for God’s gift of creation.
“As we look to the future of interreligous dialogue, let us pray that in accordance with God’s will, all men and women will see themselves as brothers and sisters in the great human family, peacefully united in and through our diversities” he said.(Linda Bordoni)
FULL TEXT of Nostra Aetate: Today's Mass Readings and Video : Wed. October 28, 2015 -
Feast of Saints Simon and Jude, Apostles
Lectionary: 666
Reading 1EPH 2:19-22
Brothers and sisters:
You are no longer strangers and sojourners,
but you are fellow citizens with the holy ones
and members of the household of God,
built upon the foundation of the Apostles and prophets,
with Christ Jesus himself as the capstone.
Through him the whole structure is held together
and grows into a temple sacred in the Lord;
in him you also are being built together
into a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.
You are no longer strangers and sojourners,
but you are fellow citizens with the holy ones
and members of the household of God,
built upon the foundation of the Apostles and prophets,
with Christ Jesus himself as the capstone.
Through him the whole structure is held together
and grows into a temple sacred in the Lord;
in him you also are being built together
into a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.
Responsorial PsalmPS 19:2-3, 4-5
R. (5a) Their message goes out through all the earth.
The heavens declare the glory of God,
and the firmament proclaims his handiwork.
Day pours out the word to day,
and night to night imparts knowledge.
R. Their message goes out through all the earth.
Not a word nor a discourse
whose voice is not heard;
Through all the earth their voice resounds,
and to the ends of the world, their message.
R. Their message goes out through all the earth.
We praise you, O God,
we acclaim you as Lord;
the glorious company of Apostles praise you.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
The heavens declare the glory of God,
and the firmament proclaims his handiwork.
Day pours out the word to day,
and night to night imparts knowledge.
R. Their message goes out through all the earth.
Not a word nor a discourse
whose voice is not heard;
Through all the earth their voice resounds,
and to the ends of the world, their message.
R. Their message goes out through all the earth.
Alleluia See Te Deum
R. Alleluia, alleluia.We praise you, O God,
we acclaim you as Lord;
the glorious company of Apostles praise you.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
GospelLK 6:12-16
Jesus went up to the mountain to pray,
and he spent the night in prayer to God.
When day came, he called his disciples to himself,
and from them he chose Twelve, whom he also named Apostles:
Simon, whom he named Peter, and his brother Andrew,
James, John, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew,
Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus,
Simon who was called a Zealot,
and Judas the son of James,
and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor.
and he spent the night in prayer to God.
When day came, he called his disciples to himself,
and from them he chose Twelve, whom he also named Apostles:
Simon, whom he named Peter, and his brother Andrew,
James, John, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew,
Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus,
Simon who was called a Zealot,
and Judas the son of James,
and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor.
Saint October 28 : St. Jude Apostle : Patron of the #Impossible and #Hospitals
St. Jude
APOSTLE
Feast: October 28
Information:
Feast Day:
October 28
Major Shrine:
Saint Peter's, Rome, Rheims, Toulouse, France
Patron of:
lost causes, desperate situations, hospitals
Saint Jude (1st century C.E.), also known as St. Judas or Jude Thaddeus, was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus, who is sometimes, the author of the Epistle of Jude. Mark and some manuscripts of Matthew identify him as "Thaddeus." Luke names him as Judas, son of James, or in the King James Version: "Judas the brother of James" (Luke 6:16). Biography St. Jude was born into a Jewish family in Paneas, a town in Galilee later rebuilt by the Romans and renamed Caesarea Philippi. In all probability he spoke both Greek and Aramaic, like almost all of his contemporaries in that area, and was a farmer by trade. St. Jude was a son of Clopas and his wife Mary, a cousin of the Virgin Mary. Tradition has it that Jude's father, Clopas, was murdered because of his forthright and outspoken devotion to the risen Christ. Tradition holds that Saint Jude preached the Gospel in Judea, Samaria, Idumaea, Syria, Mesopotamia and Libya.
He is also said to have visited Beirut and Edessa, though the latter mission is also attributed to Thaddeus of Edessa, one of the Seventy. He is reported as suffering martyrdom together with Simon the Zealot in Persia. The fourteenth-century writer Nicephorus Callistus makes Jude the bridegroom at the wedding at Cana. Though Saint Gregory the Illuminator is credited as the "Apostle to the Armenians," when he baptised King Tiridates III of Armenia in 301 C.E., converting the Armenians, the Apostles Jude and Bartholomew are traditionally believed to have been the first to bring Christianity to Armenia, and are therefore venerated as the patron saints of the Armenian Apostolic Church.
Linked to this tradition is the Thaddeus Monastery. Symbol of his martyrdom According to the Armenian tradition, Saint Jude suffered martyrdom about 65 C.E. in Beirut, Lebanon together with the apostle Simon the Zealot, with whom he is usually connected. Their acts and martyrdom were recorded in an Acts of Simon and Jude that was among the collection of passions and legends traditionally associated with the legendary Abdias, bishop of Babylon, and said to have been translated into Latin by his disciple Tropaeus Africanus, according to the Golden Legend account of the saints. Saints Simon and Jude are venerated together in the Roman Catholic Church on October 28. Sometime after his death, Saint Jude's body was brought from Beirut, Lebanon to Rome and placed in a crypt in St. Peter's Basilica which is visited by many devotees. According to popular tradition, the remains of St. Jude were preserved in a monastery on an island in the northern part of Issyk-Kul lake in Kyrgyzstan at least until mid-fifteenth century. Iconography
St. Jude is traditionally depicted carrying the image of Jesus in his hand or close to his chest, denoting the legend of the Image of Edessa, recorded in apocryphal correspondence between Jesus and Abgarus which is reproduced in Eusebius' History Ecclesiastica, I, xiii. According to it, King Abgar of Edessa (a city located in what is now southeast Turkey) sent a letter to Jesus to cure him of an illness that afflicts him, and sent the envoy Hannan, the keeper of the archives, offering his own home city to Jesus as a safe dwelling place. The envoy either painted a likeness of Jesus, or Jesus, impressed with Abgar's great faith, pressed his face into a cloth and gave it to Hannan to take to Abgar with his answer. Upon seeing Jesus' image, the king placed it with great honor in one of his palatial houses. After Christ had ascended to heaven, St. Jude was sent to King Abgar by the Apostle St. Thomas. The king was cured and astonished. He converted to Christianity along with most of the people under his rule. Additionally, St. Jude is often depicted with a flame above his head. This represents his presence at Pentecost, when he received the Holy Spirit with the other apostles. Edited from New Encyclopedia
APOSTLE
Feast: October 28
Information:
Feast Day:
October 28
Major Shrine:
Saint Peter's, Rome, Rheims, Toulouse, France
Patron of:
lost causes, desperate situations, hospitals
Saint Jude (1st century C.E.), also known as St. Judas or Jude Thaddeus, was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus, who is sometimes, the author of the Epistle of Jude. Mark and some manuscripts of Matthew identify him as "Thaddeus." Luke names him as Judas, son of James, or in the King James Version: "Judas the brother of James" (Luke 6:16). Biography St. Jude was born into a Jewish family in Paneas, a town in Galilee later rebuilt by the Romans and renamed Caesarea Philippi. In all probability he spoke both Greek and Aramaic, like almost all of his contemporaries in that area, and was a farmer by trade. St. Jude was a son of Clopas and his wife Mary, a cousin of the Virgin Mary. Tradition has it that Jude's father, Clopas, was murdered because of his forthright and outspoken devotion to the risen Christ. Tradition holds that Saint Jude preached the Gospel in Judea, Samaria, Idumaea, Syria, Mesopotamia and Libya.
He is also said to have visited Beirut and Edessa, though the latter mission is also attributed to Thaddeus of Edessa, one of the Seventy. He is reported as suffering martyrdom together with Simon the Zealot in Persia. The fourteenth-century writer Nicephorus Callistus makes Jude the bridegroom at the wedding at Cana. Though Saint Gregory the Illuminator is credited as the "Apostle to the Armenians," when he baptised King Tiridates III of Armenia in 301 C.E., converting the Armenians, the Apostles Jude and Bartholomew are traditionally believed to have been the first to bring Christianity to Armenia, and are therefore venerated as the patron saints of the Armenian Apostolic Church.
Linked to this tradition is the Thaddeus Monastery. Symbol of his martyrdom According to the Armenian tradition, Saint Jude suffered martyrdom about 65 C.E. in Beirut, Lebanon together with the apostle Simon the Zealot, with whom he is usually connected. Their acts and martyrdom were recorded in an Acts of Simon and Jude that was among the collection of passions and legends traditionally associated with the legendary Abdias, bishop of Babylon, and said to have been translated into Latin by his disciple Tropaeus Africanus, according to the Golden Legend account of the saints. Saints Simon and Jude are venerated together in the Roman Catholic Church on October 28. Sometime after his death, Saint Jude's body was brought from Beirut, Lebanon to Rome and placed in a crypt in St. Peter's Basilica which is visited by many devotees. According to popular tradition, the remains of St. Jude were preserved in a monastery on an island in the northern part of Issyk-Kul lake in Kyrgyzstan at least until mid-fifteenth century. Iconography
St. Jude is traditionally depicted carrying the image of Jesus in his hand or close to his chest, denoting the legend of the Image of Edessa, recorded in apocryphal correspondence between Jesus and Abgarus which is reproduced in Eusebius' History Ecclesiastica, I, xiii. According to it, King Abgar of Edessa (a city located in what is now southeast Turkey) sent a letter to Jesus to cure him of an illness that afflicts him, and sent the envoy Hannan, the keeper of the archives, offering his own home city to Jesus as a safe dwelling place. The envoy either painted a likeness of Jesus, or Jesus, impressed with Abgar's great faith, pressed his face into a cloth and gave it to Hannan to take to Abgar with his answer. Upon seeing Jesus' image, the king placed it with great honor in one of his palatial houses. After Christ had ascended to heaven, St. Jude was sent to King Abgar by the Apostle St. Thomas. The king was cured and astonished. He converted to Christianity along with most of the people under his rule. Additionally, St. Jude is often depicted with a flame above his head. This represents his presence at Pentecost, when he received the Holy Spirit with the other apostles. Edited from New Encyclopedia
Saint October 28 : St. Simon : Patron of Curriers and Sawyers
St. Simon
APOSTLE
Feast: October 28
Information:
Feast Day:
October 28
Born:
Cana or Canaan
Died:
Abyssinians claim he was crucified in Samaria; Lipsius says he was sawn in half at Suanir, Persia; Moses of Chorene writes that he was martyred at Weriosphora in Iberia; many locations claim to have relics including Toulouse, France, and Saint Peter's Basilica, Rome, Italy
Major Shrine:
relics claimed by many places, including Toulouse; Saint Peter's Basilica
Patron of:
curriers; sawyers; tanners
St Simon is surnamed the Canaanean or Canaanite, and the Zealot, to distinguish him from St. Peter, and from St. Simeon, the brother of St. James the Less, and his successor in the see of Jerusalem. From the first of these surnames some have thought that St. Simon was born at Cana, in Galilee: certain modern Greeks pretend that it was at his marriage that our Lord turned the water into wine. It is not to be doubted but he was a Galilean. Theodoret says, of the tribe either of Zabulon or Nepthali. Hammond and Grotius think that St. Simon was called the Zealot, before his coming to Christ, because he was one of that particular sect or party among the Jews called Zealots, from a singular zeal they possessed for the honour of God and the purity of religion. A party called Zealots were famous in the war of the Jews against the Romans. They were main instruments in instigating the people to shake off the yoke of subjection; they assassinated many of the nobility and others in the streets, filled the temple itself with bloodshed and other horrible profanations, and were the chief cause of the ruin of their country. But no proof is offered by which it is made to appear that any such party existed in our Saviour's time, though some then maintained that it was not lawful for a Jew to pay taxes to the Romans At least if any then took the name Zealots, they certainly neither followed the impious conduct nor adopted the false and inhuman maxims of those mentioned by Josephus in his history of the Jewish war against the Romans.
St. Simon, after his conversion, was zealous for the honour of his Master, and exact in all the duties of the Christian religion; and showed a pious indignation toward those who professed this holy faith with their mouths, but dishonoured it by the irregularity of their lives. No further mention appears of him in the gospels than that he was adopted by Christ into the college of the apostles. With the rest he received the miraculous gifts of the Holy Ghost, which he afterwards exercised with great zeal and fidelity. If this apostle preached in Egypt, Cyrene, and Mauritania, he returned into the East; for the Martyrologies of St. Jerome, Bede, Ado, and Usuard place his martyrdom in Persia, at a city called Suanir, possibly in the country of the Suani, a people in Colchis, or a little higher in Sarmatia, then allied with the Parthians in Persia; which may agree with a passage in the Acts of St. Andrew, that in the Cimmerian Bosphorus there was a tomb in a "rot, with an inscription importing that Simon the Zealot was interred there. His death is said in these Martyrologies to have been procured by the idolatrous priests. Those who mention the manner of his death say he was crucified. St. Peter's Church on the Vatican at Rome and the Cathedral of Toulouse are said to possess the chief portions of the relics of SS. Simon and Jude.
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