2015
Reading 1JER 18:18-20
The people of Judah and the citizens of Jerusalem said,
“Come, let us contrive a plot against Jeremiah.
It will not mean the loss of instruction from the priests,
nor of counsel from the wise, nor of messages from the prophets.
And so, let us destroy him by his own tongue;
let us carefully note his every word.”
Heed me, O LORD,
and listen to what my adversaries say.
Must good be repaid with evil
that they should dig a pit to take my life?
Remember that I stood before you
to speak in their behalf,
to turn away your wrath from them.
“Come, let us contrive a plot against Jeremiah.
It will not mean the loss of instruction from the priests,
nor of counsel from the wise, nor of messages from the prophets.
And so, let us destroy him by his own tongue;
let us carefully note his every word.”
Heed me, O LORD,
and listen to what my adversaries say.
Must good be repaid with evil
that they should dig a pit to take my life?
Remember that I stood before you
to speak in their behalf,
to turn away your wrath from them.
Responsorial PsalmPS 31:5-6, 14, 15-16
R. (17b) Save me, O Lord, in your kindness.
You will free me from the snare they set for me,
for you are my refuge.
Into your hands I commend my spirit;
you will redeem me, O LORD, O faithful God.
R. Save me, O Lord, in your kindness.
I hear the whispers of the crowd, that frighten me from every side,
as they consult together against me, plotting to take my life.
R. Save me, O Lord, in your kindness.
But my trust is in you, O LORD;
I say, “You are my God.”
In your hands is my destiny; rescue me
from the clutches of my enemies and my persecutors.
R. Save me, O Lord, in your kindness.
whoever follows me will have the light of life.
You will free me from the snare they set for me,
for you are my refuge.
Into your hands I commend my spirit;
you will redeem me, O LORD, O faithful God.
R. Save me, O Lord, in your kindness.
I hear the whispers of the crowd, that frighten me from every side,
as they consult together against me, plotting to take my life.
R. Save me, O Lord, in your kindness.
But my trust is in you, O LORD;
I say, “You are my God.”
In your hands is my destiny; rescue me
from the clutches of my enemies and my persecutors.
R. Save me, O Lord, in your kindness.
Verse Before The GospelJN 8:12
I am the light of the world, says the Lord;whoever follows me will have the light of life.
GospelMT 20:17-28
As Jesus was going up to Jerusalem,
he took the Twelve disciples aside by themselves,
and said to them on the way,
“Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem,
and the Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests
and the scribes,
and they will condemn him to death,
and hand him over to the Gentiles
to be mocked and scourged and crucified,
and he will be raised on the third day.”
Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee approached Jesus with her sons
and did him homage, wishing to ask him for something.
He said to her, “What do you wish?”
She answered him,
“Command that these two sons of mine sit,
one at your right and the other at your left, in your kingdom.”
Jesus said in reply,
“You do not know what you are asking.
Can you drink the chalice that I am going to drink?”
They said to him, “We can.”
He replied,
“My chalice you will indeed drink,
but to sit at my right and at my left,
this is not mine to give
but is for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father.”
When the ten heard this,
they became indignant at the two brothers.
But Jesus summoned them and said,
“You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them,
and the great ones make their authority over them felt.
But it shall not be so among you.
Rather, whoever wishes to be great among you shall be your servant;
whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave.
Just so, the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve
and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
he took the Twelve disciples aside by themselves,
and said to them on the way,
“Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem,
and the Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests
and the scribes,
and they will condemn him to death,
and hand him over to the Gentiles
to be mocked and scourged and crucified,
and he will be raised on the third day.”
Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee approached Jesus with her sons
and did him homage, wishing to ask him for something.
He said to her, “What do you wish?”
She answered him,
“Command that these two sons of mine sit,
one at your right and the other at your left, in your kingdom.”
Jesus said in reply,
“You do not know what you are asking.
Can you drink the chalice that I am going to drink?”
They said to him, “We can.”
He replied,
“My chalice you will indeed drink,
but to sit at my right and at my left,
this is not mine to give
but is for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father.”
When the ten heard this,
they became indignant at the two brothers.
But Jesus summoned them and said,
“You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them,
and the great ones make their authority over them felt.
But it shall not be so among you.
Rather, whoever wishes to be great among you shall be your servant;
whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave.
Just so, the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve
and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
Pope Francis God prefers “sanctified sinners” – people who, despite their past sins, learn how to do....
(Vatican Radio) God “generously forgives” those who “learn to do good”, but what he doesn’t forgive is “hypocrisy and fake saints”, said Pope Francis at Mass Tuesday morning in Casa Santa Marta chapel.
Pope Francis said that there has never been any doubts that God prefers “sanctified sinners” – people who, despite their past sins, learn how to do a greater good -- to “fake saints” – people who are more concerned with appearing saintly than doing good.
The Pope was reflecting on the first reading from Isaiah, which he described as an "invitation and an imperative" that comes directly from God: "Cease to do evil, learn to do good" defending orphans and widows, namely "those who no one remembers". Pope Francis said this category includes the "abandoned elderly", "children who do not go to school", and those "who do not know how to make the sign of the Cross". Essentially it is an invitation to conversion:
"But how can I convert? 'By learning to do right!'. Conversion. You cannot remove the filth of the heart as you would remove a stain: we go to the dry cleaner and leave cleansed ... This filth is removed by 'doing': taking a different path, a different path from that of evil. 'Learn to do right!', That is, the path of doing good. And how do I do good? It’s simple! 'Seek justice, encourage the oppressed, defend the orphan, plead for the widow'. Remember that in Israel the poorest and most needy were orphans and widows: do justice to them, go there to the wounds of humanity, where there is so much pain ... And by doing so, by doing good, you will cleanse your heart ".
Pope Francis continued that a cleansed heart is promised God’s forgiveness. God does not keep account of the sins of those who concretely love their neighbors. "If you do this, if you take this path to which I invite you - the Lord tells us - 'though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow'. It is an exaggeration, the Lord exaggerates: but it is the truth! The Lord gives us the gift of His forgiveness. The Lord forgives generously. 'I forgive you this much, then we'll see about the rest....' No, no! The Lord always forgives everything! Everything! But if you want to be forgiven, you must set out on the path of doing good. This is the gift! '.
Pope Francis went on to say the Gospel of the day, instead, presents the hypocrisy of the Pharisees and Scribes. He was reflecting on people "who say all the right things, but do the exact opposite."
"We are all clever and always find a path that is not right, to seem more virtuous than we are: it is the path of hypocrisy". "They pretend to convert, but their heart is a lie: they are liars! It 'a lie ... Their heart does not belong to the Lord; their heart belongs to the father of all lies, Satan. And this is fake holiness. Jesus preferred sinners a thousand times to these. Why? Because sinners told the truth about themselves. 'Get away from me, Lord, I am a sinner!': Peter once said. One of those [the hypocrites] never says that! 'Thank you Lord, that I am not a sinner, that I am righteous ... In the second week of Lent we have these three words to think about, to ponder: the invitation to conversion; the gift that the Lord will give us, which is great forgiveness, a great forgiveness; and the trap -- that is, pretending to convert, while choosing the path of hypocrisy".
(Emer McCarthy)
Saint March 4 : St. Casimir : Patron of Poland and Lithuania
 Information:
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PRINCE OF POLAND
St Casimir was the third among the thirteen children of Casimir III, King of Poland, and of Elizabeth of Austria, daughter to the Emperor Albert II, a most virtuous woman, who died in 1505. He was born in 1458, on the 3rd of October. From his childhood he was remarkably pious and devout. His preceptor was John Dugloss, called Longinus, canon of Cracow, a man of extraordinary learning and piety, who constantly refused all bishoprics and other dignities of the church and state which were pressed upon him. Uladislas, the eldest son, was elected King of Bohemia in 1471, and became King of Hungary in 1490. Our saint was the second son; John Albert the third son, succeeded the father in the kingdom of Poland in 1492; and Alexander, the fourth son, was called to the same in 1501. Casimir and the other princes were so affectionately attached to the holy man, who was their preceptor, that they could not bear to be separated from him. But Casimir profited most by his pious maxims and example. He consecrated the flower of his age to the exercises of devotion and penance, and had a horror of that softness and magnificence which reign in courts His clothes were very plain, and under them he wore a hair shirt. His bed was frequently the ground, and he spent a considerable part of the night in prayer and meditation, chiefly on the passion of our Saviour. He often went out in the night to pray before the church-doors; and in the morning waited before them till they were opened to assist at matins. By living always under a sense of the divine presence he remained perpetually united to, and absorbed in, his Creator, maintained an uninterrupted cheerfulness of temper, and was mild and affable to all. He respected the least ceremonies of the church: everything that tended to promote piety was dear to him. He was particularly devout to the passion of our blessed Saviour, the very thought of which excited him to tears, and threw him into transports of love. He was no less piously affected towards the sacrifice of the altar, at which he always assisted with such reverence and attention that he seemed in raptures. And as a mark of his singular devotion to the Blessed Virgin, he composed, or at least frequently recited, the long hymn that bears his name, a copy of which was, by his desire, buried with him. His love for Jesus Christ showed itself in his regard for the poor, who are his members, to whose relief he applied whatever he had, and employed his credit with his father, and his brother Uladislas, King of Bohemia, to procure them succour. His compassion made him feel in himself the afflictions of every one.
The Palatines and other nobles of Hungary, dissatisfied with Matthias Corvin, their king, son of the great Huniades, begged the King of Poland to allow them to place his son Casimir on the throne. The saint, not then quite fifteen years of age, was very unwilling to consent; but in compliance with his father's will he went, at the head of an army of twenty thousand men, to the frontiers in 1471. There hearing that Matthias had formed an army of sixteen thousand men to defend him, and that all differences were accommodated between him and his people, and that Pope Sixtus IV had sent an embassy to divert his father from that expedition, he joyfully returned, having with difficulty obtained his father's consent so to do. However, as his dropping this project was disagreeable to the king his father, not to increase his affliction by appearing before him he did not go directly to Cracow, but retired to the Castle of Dobzki, three miles from that city, where he continued three months in the practice of penance. Having learned the injustice of the attempt against the King of Hungary, in which obedience to his father's command prevailed upon him to embark when he was very young, he could never be engaged to resume it by fresh pressing invitation of the Hungarians, or the iterated orders and entreaties of his father. The twelve years he lived after this he spent in sanctifying himself in the same manner as he had done before. He observed to the last an untainted chastity, notwithstanding the advice of physicians who excited him to marry, imagining, upon some false principle, this to be a means necessary to preserve his life. Being wasted with a lingering consumption, he foretold his last hour, and having prepared himself for it by redoubling his exercises of piety, and receiving the sacraments of the church, he made a happy end at Vilna, the capital of Lithuania, on the 4th of March, 1484, being twenty-three years and five months old. He was buried in the Church of St. Stanislas. So many were the miracles wrought by his intercession that Swiecicki, a canon of Vilna, wrote a whole volume of them from good memoirs in 1604. He was canonized by Pope Leo X, whose legate in Poland, Zachary Ferrier, wrote the saint's life. His body, and all the rich stuffs it was wrapped in, were found quite entire, and exhaling a sweet smell one hundred and twenty years after his death, notwithstanding the excessive moisture of the vault. It is honoured in a large rich chapel of marble, built on purpose in that church. St. Casimir is the patron of Poland and several other places, and is proposed to youth as a particular pattern of purity. His original picture is to be seen in his chapel in St. German des Prez in Paris, built by John Casimir, King of Poland, the last of the family of Waza, who, renouncing his crown, retired to Paris, and died Abbot of St. Germain's in 1668.
What is there on earth which can engage the affections of a Christian, or be the object of his ambition, in whose soul God desires to establish his kingdom? Whoever has conceived a just idea of this immense happiness and dignity must look upon all the glittering bubbles of this world as empty and vain, and consider every thing in this life barely as it can advance or hinder the great object of all his desires. Few arrive at this happy and glorious state, because scarce any one seeks it with his whole heart, and has the courage sincerely to renounce all things and die to himself: and this precious jewel cannot be purchased upon any other terms. The kingdom of God can only be planted in a soul upon the ruins of self-love: so long as this reigns, it raises insuperable obstacles to the perfect establishment of the empire of divine love. The amiable Jesus lives in all souls which he animates by his sanctifying grace, and the Holy Ghost dwells in all such. But in most of these how many worldly maxims and inclinations diametrically opposite to those of our most holy heavenly king, hold their full sway! how many secret disorders and irregular attachments are cherished! how much is found of self-love, with which sometimes their spiritual exercises themselves are infected! The sovereign King of men and their merciful Redeemer is properly said to reign only in those souls which study effectually, and without reserve, to destroy in their affections whatever is opposite to his divine will, to subdue all their passions, and to subject all their powers to his holy love. Such fall not into any venial sins with full deliberation, and wipe away those of frailty into which they are betrayed, by the compunction and penance in which they constantly live, and by the constant attention with which they watch daily over themselves. They pray with the utmost earnestness that God deliver them from all the power of the enemy, and establish in all their affections the perfect empire of his grace and love; and to fulfil his will in the most perfect manner in all their actions is their most earnest desire and hearty endeavour. How bountifully does God reward, even in this life, those who are thus liberal toward him! St. Casimir, who had tasted of this happiness, and learned truly to value the heavenly grace, loathed all earthly pomp and delights. With what joy ought not all Christians, both rich and poor, to be filled when they hear: The kingdom of God is within you! With what ardor ought they not to devote themselves to make God reign perfectly in their hearts! How justly did St. Casimir prefer this pursuit to earthly kingdoms!
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SOURCE: http://www.ewtn.com/saintsHoly/saints/C/stcasimir.asp#ixzz1oBH2qOYL
Latest News from #Vatican Information and #PopeFrancis - March Prayer Intentions and more...
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02-03-2015 - Year XXII - Num. 043
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Summary |
| - To the prelates of North Africa: always be men of hope |
| - Pope Francis' prayer intentions for March |
| - Angelus: let us be transformed by love |
| - Syria, Iraq and Venezuela in the Pope's prayers |
| - The Pope to cooperatives: promote the economy of honesty |
| - Presentation of the Pan-Amazon Ecclesial Network (REPAM): Incentive and relaunch of the Church in the Amazon |
| - Cardinal Murphy O'Connor, Pope's special envoy to the 4th centenary of the martyrdom of St. John Ogilvie, S.J. |
| - Audiences |
| - Other Pontifical Acts |
| To the prelates of North Africa: always be men of hope Vatican City, 2 March 2015 (VIS) – This morning, the prelates of the Regional Episcopal Conference of North Africa (C.E.R.N.A), which encompasses the dioceses of Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia and Libya were received in audience by the Pope at the end of their “ad Limina” visit. The Holy Father handed them a written address in which he recalls that the history of the region has been marked by many saintly figures from St. Cyprian and St. Augustine, a “spiritual patrimony for all the Church”, to Blessed Charles de Foucauld, who died one hundred years ago next year. “For several years your region has been experiencing significant changes, which offer hope that aspirations to greater freedom and dignity may be fulfilled and which favour greater freedom of conscience”, continues Francis. “But at times these events have led to outbursts of violence. I wish to mention, in particular, the courage, loyalty and perseverance of the bishops of Libya, as well as the priests, consecrated persons and laypeople who stay in this country despite the many dangers. They are genuine witnesses of the Gospel. I thank them with all my heart and encourage them to continue their efforts in contributing to peace and reconciliation throughout the region”. “Your episcopal conference … is an important forum for exchange and dialogue, but it must also be a tool for communion, for deepening fraternal relations and mutual trust”, the Pope writes. “The pilgrimage to Rome is a good opportunity to renew your joint commitment in the service of the Church's mission in each of your countries. You carry out this mission with your priests, your direct collaborators. They are from many countries and at times it is difficult for them to adapt to new situations. Therefore, it is particularly important to be close to them and to be attentive to their continuing formation so that they can live their ministry fully and serenely. … Men and women religious also have a special place in the life and in the mission of your Church, and I thank them for their witness of fraternal life and their generous commitment to the service of their brothers and sisters”. “At the heart of your mission and at the origin of your hope there is, above all, the personal encounter with Jesus Christ and the certainty that He is at work in the world where you have been sent on His behalf. The evangelical vitality of your dioceses depends, therefore, on the quality of your spiritual and sacramental life”, observes the Holy Father, who alongside the saints from the region, mentions also “the men and women religious who have offered everything to God and to their brothers, to the point of sacrificing their own lives”. He highlights the bishops' responsibility for developing this spiritual legacy firstly among the faithful, but also opening it up to all. “I am pleased to hear that in recent years, various Christian shrines have been restored in Algeria. By welcoming all, kindly and without proselytising, your communities show that they wish to be a Church with open doors, always reaching out”. “Universality is a feature of these Churches, where the faithful come from many countries to form living communities. … This offers the opportunity to admire God's work, which spreads among all peoples and all cultures”, writes the Pontiff, who goes on to greet the many students from sub-Saharan Africa, whom he invites to “stay firm in the faith” so as to be able to establish “bonds of friendship, trust and respect” with all persons, “thus contributing to the construction of a more fraternal world”. Interreligious dialogue is also very important in the life of these Churches, and Francis stresses that in this field “the imagination of charity can open up countless ways of bringing the breath of the Gospel to the most diverse cultures and social sectors. As you are aware, mutual ignorance is the source of many misunderstandings and even conflicts. … The most effective antidote to any form of violence is education in the discovery and acceptance of difference as richness and fertility. Therefore, it is essential that priests, religious and laypeople in your dioceses are well-prepared in this area”. In this regard, the Pope notes his satisfaction that the Pontifical Institute for Arabic and Islamic Studies (PISAI), born in Tunisia, will celebrate its fiftieth anniversary this year. He invites the bishops to “support and make use of this institution when necessary, to experience language and culture” and to “deepen dialogue in truth and love between Christians and Muslims”. This dialogue is also experienced by bishops on a day-to-day basis with Christians of other confessions, and Francis therefore expresses his desire that the Al Mowafaqa Ecumenical Institute, founded in Morocco to promote ecumenical and interreligious dialogue may also contribute to greater mutual awareness. “A Church of encounter and dialogue, you also wish to be at the service of all without distinction. Often with modest means, you manifest the charity of Christ and all the Church towards the poor, the sick, the elderly, women in need and the imprisoned. Thank you for your work in the assistance of the many immigrants from Africa who seek in your countries a place of transit or of welcome. Recognising their human dignity and working to awaken consciences before so many human tragedies, you show God's love for each one of them”. “Dear brothers in the episcopate”, he concluded, “I wish to assure you of the support of all the Church in your mission. You are in the 'peripheries', with your special service of making manifest the presence of Christ and His Church in this region. Your testimony of life in simplicity and poverty is an eminent sign for all the Church. Be assured that the Successor of Peter accompanies you on your rough road, and encourages you always to be men of hope”. |
| Pope Francis' prayer intentions for March Vatican City, 1 March 2015 (VIS) – The Holy Father's universal prayer intention for March is: “That those involved in scientific research may serve the well-being of the whole human person”. His intention for evangelisation is: “That the unique contribution of women to the life of the Church may be recognised always”. |
| Angelus: let us be transformed by love Vatican City, 1 March 2015 (VIS) - “On this second Sunday of Lent, the Church shows us the ultimate goal of this itinerary of conversion, or rather, participation in the glory of Christ”, said the Pope before this Sunday's Angelus prayer upon returning from the week of spiritual exercises. He also recalled that last Sunday's Gospel passage presented Jesus resisting Satan's temptations in the desert. “Today's Gospel tells us of the event of the Transfiguration, which takes place at the culmination of Jesus' public ministry. He is on the path to Jerusalem, where the prophecies of the Servant of God will be fulfilled and His redemptive sacrifice will be consummated”. Francis remarked that neither the multitude nor the apostles understood that the outcome of Jesus' mission of suffering would be His glorious passion, and so He decided to show a glimpse of His glory to the apostles Peter, James and John, to confirm them in their faith and to encourage them to follow him on the path of trial, on the way of the Cross. “From the heavens, they heard the voice of the Father: 'This is my beloved Son; hear him'”. The Pope explained that listening to Christ involves assuming the logic of his Paschal mystery, placing ourselves on the path with Him in order to make of our existence a gift of love for others, in docile obedience to the will of God the Father, with an attitude of detachment from worldly things and of inner freedom. “It means, in other words, being ready to 'lose one's life', to sacrifice it so that all men might be saved; in this way we find eternal joy. There will always be a cross to bear and there will be trials along the way, but in the end it will always lead us to happiness”. Finally, the Pope encouraged those present to let themselves be transfigured by love, which is capable of transforming everyone, and to invoke the Virgin Mary to support us on our way. |
| Syria, Iraq and Venezuela in the Pope's prayers Vatican City, 1 March 2015 (VIS) – Following today's Angelus prayer the Pope made an appeal regarding “the dramatic situation in Syria and Iraq, involving violence, abduction and abuse of Christians and other groups. I wish to assure those involved in these situations that we have not forgotten them; rather, we are close to them and pray ceaselessly for a swift end to the intolerable brutality they are subjected to”. He also commented that, along with the members of the Roman Curia, he offered the second Holy Mass of the spiritual exercises to this intention, and asked all persons, as far as possible, to work to alleviate the suffering of those afflicted, often merely because of the faith they profess. Let us pray for these brothers and sisters who suffer for the faith in Syria and Iraq”. The Pontiff also commented on the acute tension that Venezuela is experiencing at present. “I pray for the victims and, in particular, for the boy who died a few days ago in San Cristobal. I urge all involved to reject violence and to respect the dignity of every person and the sacredness of human life, and encourage them to undertake a joint path for the good of the country, reopening space for sincere and constructive encounter and dialogue”. |
| The Pope to cooperatives: promote the economy of honesty Vatican City, 28 February 2015 (VIS) - “The Church has always acknowledged, appreciated and encouraged the cooperative experience”, Pope Francis affirmed this morning, greeting more than seven thousand members of the Confederation of Italian Cooperatives who group together a number of different sectors, from agriculture to construction, including fishing and the distribution of consumer goods. In this regard, Francis referred to various documents of the Magisterium, such as the encyclicals “Rerum Novarum”, with Leo XIII's appeal for a society in which “All [are] owners, not all proletarians”, and “Caritas in Veritate”, in which Benedict XVI underlines the importance of the economy of communion and the non-profit sector, and the “extraordinary social teaching of Blessed Paul VI”. He went on to urge the members of the Confederation to look not only to the past, but also to the future: “It is a real mission that requires creative imagination to find forms, methods, attitudes and tools to combat the throwaway culture cultivated by the powers that support the economic and financial policies of the globalised world”. “Globalising solidarity, today, means thinking about the vertiginous increase in unemployment, the incessant tears of the poor, the need to reinstate a development that involves a genuine and full progress of the person, who is certainly in need of income, but not this alone. Let us think about healthcare needs, that the traditional welfare systems are no longer able to satisfy; the pressing needs of solidarity, to place human dignity once more at the centre of the world economy”. Pope Francis suggested a series of concrete suggestions to help achieve this mission. The first was that cooperatives should “continue to be the motor for lifting up and developing the weakest part of our local communities and of civil society”. This involves “giving first place to the foundation of new cooperative enterprises, along with the further development of those already in existence, so as to create, above all, new work opportunities that currently do not exist … especially for the young, as we know that youth unemployment … destroys their hope”, but also for the “many women who need and wish to enter the world of work. We must not neglect the adults who often find themselves prematurely without work. Aside from new enterprises, let us look also to the companies in difficulty, those that the old owners leave to die, which could instead be revived through 'workers' buy out' initiatives. Becoming active agents of new welfare solutions was his second suggestion, addressed above all to he healthcare sector, “a delicate field where many poor people no longer find their needs to be adequately met”. The answer may be found in applying subsidiarity, “with strength and coherence”, creating an effective network of assistance and solidarity between cooperatives, parishes and hospitals. The third suggestion relates to the relationship between the economy and social justice, dignity and the value of the person. “It is well known that a certain liberalism believes it is necessary first and foremost to produce wealth, and that it is not important how, before promoting any form of redistributive policy”, explained the Pope. “Others think that it is the same enterprise that must donate the crumbs of accumulated wealth, thus absolving it of its so-called 'social responsibility'”. However, we know in achieving a new quality of the economy, it is possible to enable people to grow in all their potential. A member of a cooperative must not be merely … a worker … but must instead always be a protagonist, and must grow, through the cooperative, as a person, socially and professionally, in responsibility … an enterprise managed by a cooperative must grow in a truly cooperative way, involving all”. “If we look around us, we see that the economy is never renovated in an ageing society, instead of one that grows”, he continued, presenting his fourth suggestion: strengthening the harmonisation between work and family within the cooperative movement. “Doing this also means helping women to fully achieve their vocation and to put their talents to use” through initiatives that meet the needs of all, from nurseries to domestic care. “The fifth suggestion may be surprising. Doing all these things takes money! Cooperatives are not generally founded by great capitalists. … The Pope instead says to you: you must invest, and you must invest well! In Italy certainly, but not only, it is difficult to obtain public funding to compensate for the scarcity of resources. The solution I propose to you is this: unite with determination the right means for carrying out good works. Collaborate more with cooperative banks and businesses, organise resources to allow families to live with dignity and serenity, and pay fair salaries to your workers. … Money, placed at the service of life, can be managed in the right way by the cooperative, if however it is an authentic and true cooperative, where capital does not rule over people, but people over capital”. “Therefore, I say that you do well to oppose and combat false cooperatives, and to continue to do so; they prostitute the name of cooperative, a very positive thing, to deceive people in the interests of profit, contrary to those of a true and authentic cooperative. … In the field in which you are active, to display an honourable facade while instead pursuing dishonourable and immoral objectives, often associated with the exploitation of labour or the manipulation of the market, or even a scandalous traffic in corruption, is a shameful and serious falsehood. The cooperative economy … if it seeks to fulfil a strong social function, if it wishes to be an agent of the future for a nation and for each local community, must pursue clear and transparent aims. It must promote an economy of honesty, a healing economy in the treacherous sea of the global economy. A real economy promoted by people who have at heart and in their minds only the common good”. The final part of the Pope's address was dedicated to cooperation at the international level. “Extend your hand to the old and new existential peripheries, where there are disadvantaged people, where there are people who are alone and discarded, where there are people who do not receive respect. … It is necessary to have the courage and imagination to build the right road to integrate development, justice and peace throughout the world”, he concluded. |
| Presentation of the Pan-Amazon Ecclesial Network (REPAM): Incentive and relaunch of the Church in the Amazon Vatican City, 2 March 2015 (VIS) – A press conference was held in the Holy See Press Office this morning to present the Pan-Amazon Ecclesial Network, established in 2014 in Brasilia, Brazil, during a meeting of bishops whose territories include Amazon regions, priests, missionaries of congregations who work in the Amazon jungle, national representatives of Caritas and laypeople belonging to various Church bodies. The speakers were Cardinal Peter Kodwo Appiah Turkson, president of the Pontifical Council “Justice and Peace”; Archbishop Pedro Ricardo Barreto Jimeno, S.J., of Huancayo, Peru and president of the Department of Justice and Solidarity of the Latin American Episcopal Council; Michel Roy, secretary general of Caritas Internationalis; and Mauricio Lopez Oropeza, executive secretary of REPAM. Cardinal Claudio Hummes, O.F.M., president of the Commission for Amazonia of the National Conference of Bishops of Brazil, was unable to be present but participated via an audio message. The Amazon territory is the largest tropical forest in the world. It covers six million square kilometres and includes the territories of Guyana, Suriname and French Guyana, Venezuela, Ecuador, Colombia, Bolivia, Peru and Brazil. It is home to 2,779,478 indigenous people, comprising 390 indigenous tribes and 137 isolated (uncontacted) peoples with their valuable ancestral cultures, and 240 spoken languages belonging to 49 linguistic families. As Archbishop Barreto explained, it is “a territory that is devastated and threatened by the concessions made by States to transnational corporations. Large-scale mining projects, monoculture and climate change place its lands and natural environment at great risk”, leading to the destruction of cultures, undermining the self-determination of peoples and above all affronting Christ incarnate in the people who live there (indigenous and riparian peoples, peasant farmers, afro-descendants and urban populations). REPAM was founded as “God's answer to this heartfelt and urgent need to care for the life of people so they are able to live in harmony with nature, starting from the widespread and varied presence of members and structures of the Church in Pan-Amazonia”. Cardinal Turkson illustrated the main characteristics of the network, starting with transnationality. “The large number of countries involved is due to the awareness that effective action to face challenges that cross the borders of a single State requires synergy between the living forces of all the nations involved, from the Secretariat of the REPAM to that of the dioceses and other Church initiatives in the various States, without forgetting that, from the beginning, the REPAM has worked in harmony with the Holy See, CELAM and its structures”. Another key feature is ecclesiality: “as well as working transnationally, REPAM proposes the institution of harmonious collaboration between the various components of the Church: religious congregations, dioceses, Caritas, various Catholic associations and Foundations, and lay groups”. Commitment to the defence of life is, for Cardinal Turkson, the third characteristic. “REPAM was born in response to important challenges. It is engaged in defending the life of a number of communities who cumulatively comprise 30 million people. They are threatened by pollution, the radical and rapid change of the ecosystem upon which they depend, and the lack of protection for their basic human rights”. He added that the network is presented in Rome not only on account of the symbolic value of the See of Peter, but also to give visibility to REPAM. “The form in which REPAM, acting as a platform, is structured and defines its working methods, its agenda, its allies or its methods of accreditation, could serve as a model for other local churches in other countries facing similar challenges. In addition, REPAM has been conceived so as to become a took that may be applied in different basic contexts, such as justice, legality, the promotion and protection of human rights; cooperation between the Church and public institutions at various levels; conflict prevention and management; research and spread of information; inclusive and equitable economic development; responsible and equitable use of natural resources, respecting Creation; and the preservation of the traditional cultures and ways of life of the different populations”. Cardinal Hummes, in his audio message, reiterated that the creation of the Pan-Amazon Ecclesial Network “represents a new incentive and relaunch of the work of the Church in Amazonia, strongly desired by the Holy Father. There, the Church wishes to be, with courage and determination, a missionary Church, merciful, prophetic, and close to all the people, especially the poorest, the excluded, the discarded, the forgotten and wounded. A Church with an 'Amazonian face' and an 'native clergy', as Pope Francis proposed in his address to the bishops of Brazil”. |
| Cardinal Murphy O'Connor, Pope's special envoy to the 4th centenary of the martyrdom of St. John Ogilvie, S.J. Vatican City, 28 February 2015 (VIS) – Today a letter was published, written in Latin and dated 15 February, by which the Holy Father appoints Cardinal Cormac Murphy O'Connor, archbishop emeritus of Westminster, as his special envoy to the solemn celebrations in honour of St. John Ogilvie S.J. (from 9 to 10 March in Glasgow, Scotland). The pontifical mission accompanying the cardinal will be composed of his personal secretary Rev. Roger Reader, and Msgr. Javier Herrera Corona, adviser to the apostolic nunciature in London. |
| Audiences Vatican City, 2 March 2015 (VIS) – Today, the Holy Father received in audience: - Irina Bokova, director general of UNESCO, and entourage; - Rev. Janusz Urbanczyk, Holy See permanent observer at the International Governing Organisations in Vienna; - Nechirvan Barzani, president of the Council of Ministers of the Regional Government of Iraqi Kurdistan; - Ten prelates of the Regional Episcopal Conference of North Africa (C.E.R.N.A) on their “ad Limina” visit: Bishop Claude Rault of Laghouat, Algeria; Archbishop Ghaleb Moussa Abdalla Bader of Algiers, Algeria; - Bishop Paul Desfarges of Constantine, Algeria; - Bishop Jean-Paul Vesco of Oran, Algeria; - Bishop Sylvester Carmel Magro, apostolic vicar of Benghazi, Libya; - Bishop Giovanni Innocenzo Martinelli, apostolic vicar of Tripoli, Libya; - Archbishop Vincent Landel of Rabat, Morocco; - Archbishop Santiago Agrelo Martínez of Tangier, Morocco; - Fr. Mario Leon Dorado, O.M.I., apostolic prefect of the Western Sahara; and - Archbishop Ilario Antoniazzi of Tunis, Tunisia. On Saturday, 28 February, the Holy Father received in audience Cardinal Crescenzio Sepe, archbishop of Naples, Italy. |
| Other Pontifical Acts Vatican City, 2 March 2015 (VIS) – The Holy Father has appointed Msgr. Fidencio Lopez Plaza as bishop of San Andres Tuxtla (area 13,495, population 1,113,000, Catholics 1,035,000, priests 100, permanent deacons 33, religious 109), Mexico. The bishop-elect was born in Capullin, Mexico in 1950 and was ordained a priest in 1982. He specialised in pastoral and catechesis at the Pastoral Theological Institute of Medellin, Colombia, and has served in a number of pastoral roles, including coordinator of the diocesan secretariat for evangelisation and catechesis, professor in the conciliar seminary of Queretaro, parish priest in a number of parishes, head of the deanery of Guanajuato and member of the presbyteral council and the college of consultors. He is currently episcopal vicar for pastoral ministry of the diocese of Queretaro and parish priest of the “Pentecostes” parish. On Saturday, 28 February, the Holy Father appointed: - Rev. Fr. Francesco Savino as bishop of Cassano all'Jonio (area 1,311, population 108,100, Catholics 104,187, priests 98, permanent deacons 3, religious 74), Italy. The bishop-elect was born in Bitonto, Italy in 1954 and was ordained a priest in 1978. He holds a licentiate in theology from the Istituto Teological Pugliese and has served in a number of pastoral roles in the archdiocese of Bari-Bitonto, including parish vicar of San Silvestro-Crocifisso and parish priest of Cristo Re Universale in Bitonto. He is currently parish priest-rector of the parish-santuary of the Santi Medici in Bitonto, member of the College of Consultors, the diocesan presbyteral council and the Ministry of Health Commission on palliative care. He succeeds Bishop Nunzio Galantino, secretary general of the Italian Episcopal Conference, whose resignation from the pastoral care of the same diocese was accepted by the Holy Father. - Msgr. Marek Marczak as auxiliary of the archdiocese of Lodz (area 5,200, population 1,490,000, Catholics 1,410,000, priests 763, religious 759), Poland. The bishop-elect was born in Piotrkow Trybunalski, Poland in 1969 and was ordained a priest in 1994. He holds a doctorate in dogmatic theology from the Pontifical Gregorian University, Rome, and has served in a number of roles, including lecturer in dogmatic theology and the major seminary of Lodz, president of the Commission for the Lay Apostolate, visitator for catechesis, pastoral collaborator in the parish of St. Dorothy in Loz-Mileszki, and collaborator for the pastoral ministry of university lecturers in the archdiocese. He is currently rector of the major seminary and member of the presbyteral council. |
Tuesday, March 3, 2015
Today's Mass Readings : Tuesday March 3, 2015
Tuesday of the Second Week of Lent
Lectionary: 231
Hear the word of the LORD,
princes of Sodom!
Listen to the instruction of our God,
people of Gomorrah!
Wash yourselves clean!
Put away your misdeeds from before my eyes;
cease doing evil; learn to do good.
Make justice your aim: redress the wronged,
hear the orphan’s plea, defend the widow.
Come now, let us set things right,
says the LORD:
Though your sins be like scarlet,
they may become white as snow;
Though they be crimson red,
they may become white as wool.
If you are willing, and obey,
you shall eat the good things of the land;
But if you refuse and resist,
the sword shall consume you:
for the mouth of the LORD has spoken!
princes of Sodom!
Listen to the instruction of our God,
people of Gomorrah!
Wash yourselves clean!
Put away your misdeeds from before my eyes;
cease doing evil; learn to do good.
Make justice your aim: redress the wronged,
hear the orphan’s plea, defend the widow.
Come now, let us set things right,
says the LORD:
Though your sins be like scarlet,
they may become white as snow;
Though they be crimson red,
they may become white as wool.
If you are willing, and obey,
you shall eat the good things of the land;
But if you refuse and resist,
the sword shall consume you:
for the mouth of the LORD has spoken!
Responsorial PsalmPS 50:8-9, 16BC-17, 21 AND 23
R. (23b) To the upright I will show the saving power of God.
“Not for your sacrifices do I rebuke you,
for your burnt offerings are before me always.
I take from your house no bullock,
no goats out of your fold.”
R. To the upright I will show the saving power of God.
“Why do you recite my statutes,
and profess my covenant with your mouth,
Though you hate discipline
and cast my words behind you?”
R. To the upright I will show the saving power of God.
“When you do these things, shall I be deaf to it?
Or do you think that I am like yourself?
I will correct you by drawing them up before your eyes.
He that offers praise as a sacrifice glorifies me;
and to him that goes the right way I will show the salvation of God.”
R. To the upright I will show the saving power of God.
and make for yourselves a new heart and a new spirit.
“Not for your sacrifices do I rebuke you,
for your burnt offerings are before me always.
I take from your house no bullock,
no goats out of your fold.”
R. To the upright I will show the saving power of God.
“Why do you recite my statutes,
and profess my covenant with your mouth,
Though you hate discipline
and cast my words behind you?”
R. To the upright I will show the saving power of God.
“When you do these things, shall I be deaf to it?
Or do you think that I am like yourself?
I will correct you by drawing them up before your eyes.
He that offers praise as a sacrifice glorifies me;
and to him that goes the right way I will show the salvation of God.”
R. To the upright I will show the saving power of God.
Verse Before The GospelEZ 18:31
Cast away from you all the crimes you have committed, says the LORD,and make for yourselves a new heart and a new spirit.
GospelMT 23:1-12
Jesus spoke to the crowds and to his disciples, saying,
“The scribes and the Pharisees
have taken their seat on the chair of Moses.
Therefore, do and observe all things whatsoever they tell you,
but do not follow their example.
For they preach but they do not practice.
They tie up heavy burdens hard to carry
and lay them on people’s shoulders,
but they will not lift a finger to move them.
All their works are performed to be seen.
They widen their phylacteries and lengthen their tassels.
They love places of honor at banquets, seats of honor in synagogues,
greetings in marketplaces, and the salutation ‘Rabbi.’
As for you, do not be called ‘Rabbi.’
You have but one teacher, and you are all brothers.
Call no one on earth your father;
you have but one Father in heaven.
Do not be called ‘Master’;
you have but one master, the Christ.
The greatest among you must be your servant.
Whoever exalts himself will be humbled;
but whoever humbles himself will be exalted.”
“The scribes and the Pharisees
have taken their seat on the chair of Moses.
Therefore, do and observe all things whatsoever they tell you,
but do not follow their example.
For they preach but they do not practice.
They tie up heavy burdens hard to carry
and lay them on people’s shoulders,
but they will not lift a finger to move them.
All their works are performed to be seen.
They widen their phylacteries and lengthen their tassels.
They love places of honor at banquets, seats of honor in synagogues,
greetings in marketplaces, and the salutation ‘Rabbi.’
As for you, do not be called ‘Rabbi.’
You have but one teacher, and you are all brothers.
Call no one on earth your father;
you have but one Father in heaven.
Do not be called ‘Master’;
you have but one master, the Christ.
The greatest among you must be your servant.
Whoever exalts himself will be humbled;
but whoever humbles himself will be exalted.”
Saint March 3 : St. Katharine Drexel : Patron of Philanthropists, Racial justice
 Information:
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Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.A. on 26 November 1858, Katharine was the second daughter of Francis Anthony Drexel, a wealthy banker, and his wife, Hannah Jane. The latter died a month after Katharine's birth, and two years later her father married Emma Bouvier, who was a devoted mother, not only to her own daughter Louisa (born 1862), but also to her two step-daughters. Both parents instilled into the children by word and example that their wealth was simply loaned to them and was to be shared with others.
Katharine was educated privately at home; she travelled widely in the United States and in Europe. Early in life she became aware of the plight of the Native Americans and the Blacks; when she inherited a vast fortune from her father and step-mother, she resolved to devote her wealth to helping these disadvantaged people. In 1885 she established a school for Native Americans at Santa Fe, New Mexico.
Later, during an audience with Pope Leo XIII, she asked him to recommend a religious congregation to staff the institutions which she was financing. The Pope suggested that she herself become a missionary, so in 1889 she began her training in religious life with the Sisters of Mercy at Pittsburgh.
In 1891, with a few companions, Mother Katharine founded the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament for Indians and Colored People. The title of the community summed up the two great driving forces in her life—devotion to the Blessed Sacrament and love for the most deprived people in her country.
Requests for help reached Mother Katharine from various parts of the United States. During her lifetime, approximately 60 schools were opened by her congregation. The most famous foundation was made in 1915; it was Xavier University, New Orleans, the first such institution for Black people in the United States.
In 1935 Mother Katharine suffered a heart attack, and in 1937 she relinquished the office of superior general. Though gradually becoming more infirm, she was able to devote her last years to Eucharistic adoration, and so fulfil her life’s desire. She died at the age of 96 at Cornwell Heights, Pennsylvania, on 3 March 1955. Her cause for beatification was introduced in 1966; she was declared Venerable by Pope John Paul II on 26 January 1987, by whom she was also beatified on 20 November 1988.
source: http://www.ewtn.com/saintsHoly/saints/K/stkatharinedrexel.asp#ixzz1o3ZjDKfN |
Pope Francis Thanks Church in Libya for Courage and Peaceful presence
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis has thanked the Church in Libya and the ecclesial communities in North Africa for their courage and for being a peaceful presence in an area where freedom of conscience is under threat.
The Pope was addressing members of the Episcopal Conference of North African Bishops, CERNA, who are in the Vatican for their Ad Limina visit.
CERNA gathers prelates from Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia and Libya.
“You are one of the peripheries” of the world – Pope Francis said to the Prelates from North Africa - and you are the face and the heart with which God reaches out to the people of this periphery.
The courage of Catholics in Libya
Noting that in the past years North Africa has become a land of conquest for more freedom of conscience and dignity as well as a battleground for those who impose change with weapons, the Pope thanked the Church in Libya for the “courage, loyalty and perseverance” shown by clergy, consecrated persons and laypeople who have stood their ground in the face of danger. They are true witnesses of the Gospel, said Francis, thanking them and encouraging them to continue in their efforts to contribute to peace and reconciliation throughout the region.
The need to accept diversity
In his discourse the Pope insisted on the necessity of inter religious dialogue “in order to build where many destroy”.
Charity – he says – is able to open up countless paths that take the breath of the Gospel into diverse cultures and social contexts. And he said that the most effective antidote to violence is getting to know differences and accepting them as wealth and fecundity.
Thus, Pope Francis told the bishops, that it is essential that the religious in their dioceses be trained in ecumenical and inter-religious dialogue.
Thus, Pope Francis told the bishops, that it is essential that the religious in their dioceses be trained in ecumenical and inter-religious dialogue.
Charity reveals God
Pope Francis said that an infallible weapon in the hands of the “Church of encounter” is charity that must be offered to all without distinction. Thanking the North African bishops who, often with humble means, offer the love of Christ and of the Church to the poor, to the sick, to the elderly, to prison inmates and to the many African immigrants who find themselves in North African countries during their journeys of hope. In doing so he said: “you recognize their human dignity and work to raise awareness of such a huge human drama, you show the love that God has for each of them”.
Look to the Saints
The Pope’s discourse also included many pastoral indications such as the need for attention for “permanent formation” of the clergy and spoke of his joy for the contribution offered by religious men and women in this Year of Consecrated Life.
Inviting all consecrated people to make the beauty of their vocations “shine out”, the Pope pointed to Saints Cyprian and Augustin and to the Blessed Charles de Foucault as models to look up to.
And pointing to those contemporary religious who sacrificed their lives in the name of the faith, Pope Francis expressed his happiness that in the past few years many Christian sanctuaries have been restored in Algeria.
The Pope concluded his discourse pointing out that welcoming “all” with “benevolence and without proselytism”, these communities express their will “to be a Church with open doors, always setting out and going forth”.
During the audience the bishops presented the Pope with a document entitled “Servants of Hope” that shines light on the reality of the Church’s presence in North Africa, and motivates its priests to be ministers of hope in an ever-changing situation, where parishes are being rejuvenated by new presences and where the Churches face the great challenge of ministering to migrants.(Linda Bordoni)
Pope Francis “The first step is to judge ourselves." Lent Homily
(Vatican Radio) It is easy to judge others, but we can only progress on our Christian journey in life if we are capable of judging ourselves first, said Pope Francis at Monday morning Mass in Casa Santa Marta.The readings of the day focused on the subject of mercy. The Pope, recalling that "we are all sinners" - not "in theory" but in reality – said that the ability to judge oneself is "a Christian virtue, indeed more than a virtue", it is the first step for those who want to be Christian:
“We are all masters, professors of self-justification: ‘No it wasn’t me, it’s not my fault, maybe yes, but not so much…that’s not the way it is…’. We all have an alibi to explain away our shortcomings, our sins, and we are often to put on a face that says "I do not know," a face that says ‘I didn’t do it, maybe someone else did’ an innocent face. This is no way to lead a Christian life”.
"It’s easier to blame others" - observed the Pope - but "something strange happens if we try to behave differently: "If we begin to look at the things we are capable of doing, at first we “feel bad, we feel disgust ", yet this in turn "gives us peace and makes us healthy”.
Pope Francis continued, “when I feel envy in my heart and I know that this envy is capable of speaking ill of others and morally assassinating them”, this is “the wisdom of judging oneself”. "If we do not learn this first step in life, we will never, never be able to take other steps on the road of our Christian life, of our spiritual life":
“The first step is to judge ourselves. Without saying anything out loud. Between you and your conscience. Walking down the street, I pass by a prison and say: "Well, they deserve it" - "Yet do you know that if it weren’t for the grace of God you would be there? Did you ever think that you are capable of doing the things that they have done, even worse?” This is what judging yourself means, not hiding from the roots of sin that are in all of us, the many things we are capable of doing, even if we cannot seen them”.
The Pope stressed another virtue: Shame before God, in a kind of dialogue in which we recognize the shame of our sin and the greatness of God's mercy:
"To You, Lord, our God, mercy and forgiveness. Shame on me and to You mercy and forgiveness". This Lent, it would do us all good to have this dialogue with the Lord: self-accusation. Let us ask for mercy. In the Gospel Jesus is clear: "Be merciful as your Father is merciful". When one learns to accuse oneself first then we are merciful to others: "But, who am I to judge, if I am able to do things that are worse?".
"To You, Lord, our God, mercy and forgiveness. Shame on me and to You mercy and forgiveness". This Lent, it would do us all good to have this dialogue with the Lord: self-accusation. Let us ask for mercy. In the Gospel Jesus is clear: "Be merciful as your Father is merciful". When one learns to accuse oneself first then we are merciful to others: "But, who am I to judge, if I am able to do things that are worse?".
The phrase: "Who am I to judge another?" obeys Jesus’ exhortation: "Stop judging and you will not be judged. Stop condemning and you will not be condemned. Forgive and you will be forgiven". Instead, it highlights - "how we like to judge others, to speak ill of them”.
"May the Lord, in this Lent - said the Pontiff - give us the grace to learn to judge ourselves" in the knowledge that we are capable "of the most evil things" and say, "Have mercy on me, Lord, help me to be ashamed and grant me mercy, so I may be merciful to others".
"May the Lord, in this Lent - said the Pontiff - give us the grace to learn to judge ourselves" in the knowledge that we are capable "of the most evil things" and say, "Have mercy on me, Lord, help me to be ashamed and grant me mercy, so I may be merciful to others".
(Emer McCarthy)
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