2017
#PopeFrancis "We entrust our lives and the fate of the Church and of the world to Mary..." at #Angelus - FULL TEXT
#PopeFrancis "..Jesus gives us an example of how to behave: not to escape the suffering, which belongs to this life.." FULL TEXT Homily + Mass Video in Lent
#BreakingNews over 250 Killed and over 200 missing during Severe Flooding in Colombia - Please PRAY
Saint April 2 : St. Francis of Paola : Founder of the Order of #Minims
Sunday Mass Online : Video and Readings - Sun. April 2, 2017 - 5th of Lent - A
Saint April 2 : St. Mary of Egypt : #Hermitess
Words of the Holy Father Before the Angelus
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
I want to thank you for being here at this Mass. I want to thank all those who worked for this double “marathon”: last Sunday [for the inauguration of the restored Cathedral] and this. Thank you very much! And I want to thank you, the sick. There are 4,500 sick here! Thank you, that with your help the suffering Church, helped to carry the cross of Christ. Thank you! Many thanks to you!
And at the end of this celebration, our thoughts turn to the Blessed Virgin, whom you venerate in your cathedral dedicated to her. To Mary, we offer our joys, our sorrows and our hopes. We ask for her mercy for those of us who are suffering, especially the sick, the poor and those without decent work.
Recalling the apostolic zeal of two lay figures of your land, Blessed Odoardo Focherini and Venerable Marianna Saltini, charity witnesses of Christ, I greet with gratitude to you, the lay faithful. I encourage you to be protagonists in the life of your community, in communion with your priests: always bet on what is essential in proclaiming and witnessing the Gospel.
I thank you, dear Bishop Francesco, and all of you, the Bishops of the Emilia Romagna Region, for your presence, and above all the shepherd of this diocese, Msgr. Francesco Cavina: I urge you to be close to your priests with listening, tenderness and caring closeness.
I would finally like to thank each and every one of you, dear faithful, priests, men and women religious, the Authorities and especially those who helped to organize this visit, with a special thought for the AGESCI and the choir, made up by all the choirs of the diocese, which has animated this liturgy.
We entrust our lives and the fate of the Church and of the world to Mary, reciting the Angelus prayer together.
Angelus …
Appeals of the Holy Father:
I am deeply saddened by the tragedy that struck Colombia, where a giant mudslide caused by torrential rains, hit the city of Mocoa, causing numerous deaths and injuries. I pray for the victims and assure you of my and your closeness to those who are mourning the death of loved ones, and I thank all those who are working to bring relief.
There continue to be reports of bloody armed clashes in the region of Kasai in the Democratic Republic of Congo, clashes are causing deaths and displacement and which also affect people and property of the Church: churches, hospitals, schools. I assure you of my closeness to this nation, and I invite all to pray for peace so that the hearts of the architects of such crimes do not remain slaves of hatred and violence, why more hatred and violence destroy.
In addition, I follow with great attention to what is happening in Venezuela and Paraguay. I pray for those people, very dear to me, and I urge everyone to persevere tirelessly, avoiding any violence and in the search for political solutions
[Original Text: Italian] [ZENIT: Working translation by Deborah Castellano Lubov]
***At the end, the Holy Father went to the Seminary of Carpi, where, at 1 p.m., he had lunch with the bishops of the region and the elderly priests who also live in the House of Clergy and Seminarians.c
#PopeFrancis "..Jesus gives us an example of how to behave: not to escape the suffering, which belongs to this life.." FULL TEXT Homily + Mass Video in Lent
Homily of the Holy Father
Today’s readings speak of the God of life Who conquers death. Let us dwell, in particular, on the last of the miraculous signs wrought by Jesus before His Passover, namely the tomb of His friend, Lazarus.
There, everything seems to be over: the tomb is closed by a large stone in front of it. Even Jesus is shaken by the dramatic mystery of the loss of a loved one: “He is deeply moved” and “very troubled” (Jn 11:33). Then he “burst into tears” (v. 35) and came to the tomb, the Gospel says, “once more, deeply moved” (v. 38). This is the heart of God: Departing from evil, but [going] near those who suffer; evil doesn’t disappear magically, but with suffering, adopts and transforms.
We note however, that amid the general desolation over the death of Lazarus, Jesus was not carried away by anxiety. Despite suffering Himself, He calls for personal belief; not [being] locked up in tears, but, moved, He sets off into the tomb. He does not allow Himself to be destroyed by emotional resignation, but prays with confidence and says, “Father, I thank you” (v. 41). Thus, in the mystery of suffering, Jesus gives us an example of how to behave: not to escape the suffering, which belongs to this life, but not remain a victim to imprisoning pessimism.
Around the tomb, there’s a big clash. On one side, there’s big disappointment, the precariousness of our mortal life, crossed by anguish at death, [which] often experiences the defeat, an inner darkness that seems insurmountable. Our soul, created for life, suffering, feeling that thirst for eternal good, is oppressed by an ancient and evil dark. On the one hand, there is this defeat of the tomb. But on the other side, there is the hope that overcomes death and evil and that has a name: the hope is called Jesus. He brings a little well-being or some remedy to prolong life, but proclaims, “I am the Resurrection and the Life; he that believeth in me, though he die, shall live “(v. 25). For this definitely, says: “Take away the stone” (v. 39) and Lazarus shouts loudly: “Come out!” (V. 43).
Dear brothers and sisters, we too, are invited to decide which side to take. You can stand on the side of the grave or the side of Jesus. Some people are closed in by sadness and those who are open to hope. Some people are still trapped in the rubble of life and those who, like you, with the help of God, are raised from the rubble and rebuilt with patient hope.
In front of the big “why” of life, we have two options: to sit back sadly in the tombs of yesterday and today, or to bring Jesus to our graves. Yes, because each of us has a small tomb, some area a bit ‘dead’ inside our heart: a wound, an injury suffered or done, a bitterness that gives no respite, a remorse that comes back and back again, a pity that is difficult to overcome. We identify these, our little graves, and there we invite Jesus. It’s strange, but often we prefer to be alone in our dark caves that we have inside, instead of inviting Jesus; we are tempted to always look for brooding and anguished, wounded selves, rather than go to Him, saying, “Come to me you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest” (Mt 11:28 ). Let us not be imprisoned by the temptation of being alone and disheartened, to feel sorry for ourselves, for what happens to us; do not yield to useless and inconclusive logic and fear, resigned to repeat that everything is wrong and nothing is like it used to be. This is the atmosphere of the tomb; the Lord wants to instead, open the way of life, the encounter with Him, trust in Him, the resurrection of the heart, the way of ”Get up! Get up, come out!” That ‘s what we must ask the Lord, and He is close to us as we do it.
We feel the words of Jesus to Lazarus addressed to each of us: “Come out!”
[Original Text: Italian] [Working translation by Deborah Castellano Lubov]
—
#BreakingNews over 250 Killed and over 200 missing during Severe Flooding in Colombia - Please PRAY
Colombia's President Juan Manuel Santos visiting a flooded area after heavy rains caused several rivers to overflow in Mocoa, killing more than 250 people. Waves of water from three overflowing rivers swept through a small city in Colombia while people slept, destroying homes and killing over 200 residents. The incident was stimulated by intense rains in Mocoa, a provincial capital near Colombia's southern border with Ecuador. Muddy water and debris quickly swept through the city's streets, destroying homes, ripping trees, lifting cars and trucks and carrying them downstream. Many of people did not have enough time to climb on top of their roofs or find refuge. According to the Red Cross, 400 people were injured and 220 believed missing. President Juan Manuel Santos declared a state of emergency and said the death toll will likely rise . The Red Cross set up a special unit in Mocoa Saturday afternoon.
Saint April 2 : St. Francis of Paola : Founder of the Order of #Minims
Feast Day:
April 2
Born:
1416 at Paola, Calabria, Italy
Died:
2 April 1507 at Plessis, France
Canonized:
1512 by Pope Julius II
Founder of the Order of Minims; b. in 1416, at Paula, in Calabria, Italy; d. 2 April, 1507, at Plessis, France. His parents were remarkable for the holiness of their lives. Remaining childless for some years after their marriage they had recourse to prayer, especially commending themselves to the intercession of St. Francis of Assisi. Three children were eventually born to them, eldest of whom was Francis. When still in the cradle he suffered from a swelling which endangered the sight of one of his eyes. His parents again had recourse to Francis of Assisi, and made a vow that their son should pass an entire year in the "little habit" of St Francis in one of the convents of his order, a not uncommon practice in the Middle Ages. The child was immediately cured. From his early years Francis showed signs of extraordinary sanctity, and at the age of thirteen, being admonished by a vision of a Franciscan friar, he entered a convent of the Franciscan Order in order to fulfil the vow made by his parents. Here he gave great edification by his love of prayer and mortification, his profound humility, and his prompt obedience. At the completion of the year he went with his parents on a pilgrimage to Assisi, Rome, and other places of devotion. Returning to Paula he selected a retired spot on his father's estate, and there lived in solitude; but later on he found a more retired dwelling in a cave on the sea coast. Here he remained alone for about six years giving himself to prayer and mortification. In 1435 two companions joined him in his retreat, and to accommodate them Francis caused three cells and a chapel to be built: in this way the new order was begun. The number of his disciples gradually increased, and about 1454, with the permission of Pyrrhus, Archbishop of Cosenza, Francis built a large monastery and church. The building of this monastery was the occasion of a great outburst of enthusiasm and devotion on the part of the people towards Francis: even the nobles carried stones and joined in the work. Their devotion was increased by the many miracles which the saint wrought in answer to their prayers. The rule of life adopted by Francis and his religious was one of extraordinary severity. They observed perpetual abstinence and lived in great poverty, but the distinguishing mark of the order was humility. They were to seek to live unknown and hidden from the world. To express this character which he would have his disciples cultivate, Francis eventually obtained from the Holy See that they should be styled Minims, the least of all religious. In 1474 Sixtus IV gave him permission to write a rule for his community, and to assume the title of Hermits of St. Francis: this rule was formally approved by Alexander VI, who, however, changed their title into that of Minims. After the approbation of the order, Francis founded several new monasteries in Calabria and Sicily. He also established convents of nuns, and a third order for people living in the world, after the example of St. Francis of Assisi. He had an extraordinary gift of prophecy: thus he foretold the capture of Otranto by the Turks in 1480, and its subsequent recovery by the King of Naples. Also he was gifted with discernment of consciences. He was no respecter of persons of whatever rank or position. He rebuked the King of Naples for his ill-doing and in consequence suffered much persecution. When Louis XI was in his last illness he sent an embassy to Calabria to beg the saint to visit him. Francis refused to come nor could he be prevailed upon until the pope ordered him to go. He then went to the king at Plessis-les-Tours and was with him at his death. Charles VIII, Louis's successor, much admired the saint and during his reign kept him near the court and frequently consulted him. This king built a monastery for Minims at Plessis and another at Rome on the Pincian Hill. The regard in which Charles VIII held the saint was shared by Louis XII, who succeeded to the throne in 1498. Francis was now anxious to return to Italy, but the king would not permit him, not wishing to lose his counsels and direction. The last three months of his life he spent in entire solitude, preparing for death. On Maundy Thursday he gathered his community around him and exhorted them especially to have mutual charity amongst themselves and to maintain the rigour of their life and in particular perpetual abstinence. The next day, Good Friday, he again called them together and gave them his last instructions and appointed a vicar-general. He then received the last sacraments and asked to have the Passion according to St. John read out to him, and whilst this was being read, his soul passed away. Leo X canonized him in 1519. In 1562 the Huguenots broke open his tomb and found his body incorrupt. They dragged it forth and burnt it, but some of the bones were preserved by the Catholics and enshrined in various churches of his order. The Order of Minims does not seem at any time to have been very extensive, but they had houses in many countries. The definitive rule was approved in 1506 by Julius II, who also approved a rule for the nuns of the order. The feast of St. Francis of Paula is kept by the universal Church on 2 April, the day on which he died. The Catholic Encyclopedia
Sunday Mass Online : Video and Readings - Sun. April 2, 2017 - 5th of Lent - A
Fifth Sunday of Lent
Lectionary: 34
Reading 1EZ 37:12-14
Thus says the Lord GOD:O my people, I will open your graves
and have you rise from them,
and bring you back to the land of Israel.
Then you shall know that I am the LORD,
when I open your graves and have you rise from them,
O my people!
I will put my spirit in you that you may live,
and I will settle you upon your land;
thus you shall know that I am the LORD.
I have promised, and I will do it, says the LORD.
Responsorial PsalmPS 130:1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 7-8
R. (7) With the Lord there is mercy and fullness of redemption.Out of the depths I cry to you, O LORD;
LORD, hear my voice!
Let your ears be attentive
to my voice in supplication.
R. With the Lord there is mercy and fullness of redemption.
If you, O LORD, mark iniquities,
LORD, who can stand?
But with you is forgiveness,
that you may be revered.
R. With the Lord there is mercy and fullness of redemption.
I trust in the LORD;
my soul trusts in his word.
More than sentinels wait for the dawn,
let Israel wait for the LORD.
R. With the Lord there is mercy and fullness of redemption.
For with the LORD is kindness
and with him is plenteous redemption;
And he will redeem Israel
from all their iniquities.
R. With the Lord there is mercy and fullness of redemption.
Reading 2ROM 8:8-11
Brothers and sisters:Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.
But you are not in the flesh;
on the contrary, you are in the spirit,
if only the Spirit of God dwells in you.
Whoever does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him.
But if Christ is in you,
although the body is dead because of sin,
the spirit is alive because of righteousness.
If the Spirit of the one who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you,
the one who raised Christ from the dead
will give life to your mortal bodies also,
through his Spirit dwelling in you.
Verse Before The GospelJN 11:25A, 26
I am the resurrection and the life, says the Lord;whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will never die.
GospelJN 11:1-45
Now a man was ill, Lazarus from Bethany,the village of Mary and her sister Martha.
Mary was the one who had anointed the Lord with perfumed oil
and dried his feet with her hair;
it was her brother Lazarus who was ill.
So the sisters sent word to him saying,
"Master, the one you love is ill."
when Jesus heard this he said,
"This illness is not to end in death,
but is for the glory of God,
that the Son of God may be glorified through it."
Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.
So when he heard that he was ill,
he remained for two days in the place where he was.
Then after this he said to his disciples,
"Let us go back to Judea."
The disciples said to him,
"Rabbi, the Jews were just trying to stone you,
and you want to go back there?"
Jesus answered,
"Are there not twelve hours in a day?
If one walks during the day, he does not stumble,
because he sees the light of this world.
But if one walks at night, he stumbles,
because the light is not in him."
He said this, and then told them,
"Our friend Lazarus is asleep,
but I am going to awaken him."
So the disciples said to him,
"Master, if he is asleep, he will be saved."
But Jesus was talking about his death,
while they thought that he meant ordinary sleep.
So then Jesus said to them clearly,
"Lazarus has died.
And I am glad for you that I was not there,
that you may believe.
Let us go to him."
So Thomas, called Didymus, said to his fellow disciples,
"Let us also go to die with him."
When Jesus arrived, he found that Lazarus
had already been in the tomb for four days.
Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, only about two miles away.
And many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary
to comfort them about their brother.
When Martha heard that Jesus was coming,
she went to meet him;
but Mary sat at home.
Martha said to Jesus,
"Lord, if you had been here,
my brother would not have died.
But even now I know that whatever you ask of God,
God will give you."
Jesus said to her,
"Your brother will rise."
Martha said to him,
"I know he will rise,
in the resurrection on the last day."
Jesus told her,
"I am the resurrection and the life;
whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live,
and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die.
Do you believe this?"
She said to him, "Yes, Lord.
I have come to believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God,
the one who is coming into the world."
When she had said this,
she went and called her sister Mary secretly, saying,
"The teacher is here and is asking for you."
As soon as she heard this,
she rose quickly and went to him.
For Jesus had not yet come into the village,
but was still where Martha had met him.
So when the Jews who were with her in the house comforting her
saw Mary get up quickly and go out,
they followed her,
presuming that she was going to the tomb to weep there.
When Mary came to where Jesus was and saw him,
she fell at his feet and said to him,
"Lord, if you had been here,
my brother would not have died."
When Jesus saw her weeping and the Jews who had come with her weeping,
he became perturbed and deeply troubled, and said,
"Where have you laid him?"
They said to him, "Sir, come and see."
And Jesus wept.
So the Jews said, "See how he loved him."
But some of them said,
"Could not the one who opened the eyes of the blind man
have done something so that this man would not have died?"
So Jesus, perturbed again, came to the tomb.
It was a cave, and a stone lay across it.
Jesus said, "Take away the stone."
Martha, the dead man's sister, said to him,
"Lord, by now there will be a stench;
he has been dead for four days."
Jesus said to her,
"Did I not tell you that if you believe
you will see the glory of God?"
So they took away the stone.
And Jesus raised his eyes and said,
"Father, I thank you for hearing me.
I know that you always hear me;
but because of the crowd here I have said this,
that they may believe that you sent me."
And when he had said this,
He cried out in a loud voice,
"Lazarus, come out!"
The dead man came out,
tied hand and foot with burial bands,
and his face was wrapped in a cloth.
So Jesus said to them,
"Untie him and let him go."
Now many of the Jews who had come to Mary
and seen what he had done began to believe in him.
OrJN 11:3-7, 17, 20-27, 33B-45
The sisters of Lazarus sent word to Jesus, saying,"Master, the one you love is ill."
When Jesus heard this he said,
"This illness is not to end in death,
but is for the glory of God,
that the Son of God may be glorified through it."
Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.
So when he heard that he was ill,
he remained for two days in the place where he was.
Then after this he said to his disciples,
"Let us go back to Judea."
When Jesus arrived, he found that Lazarus
had already been in the tomb for four days.
When Martha heard that Jesus was coming,
she went to meet him;
but Mary sat at home.
Martha said to Jesus,
"Lord, if you had been here,
my brother would not have died.
But even now I know that whatever you ask of God,
God will give you."
Jesus said to her,
"Your brother will rise."
Martha said,
"I know he will rise,
in the resurrection on the last day."
Jesus told her,
"I am the resurrection and the life;
whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live,
and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die.
Do you believe this?"
She said to him, "Yes, Lord.
I have come to believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God,
the one who is coming into the world."
He became perturbed and deeply troubled, and said,
"Where have you laid him?"
They said to him, "Sir, come and see."
And Jesus wept.
So the Jews said, "See how he loved him."
But some of them said,
"Could not the one who opened the eyes of the blind man
have done something so that this man would not have died?"
So Jesus, perturbed again, came to the tomb.
It was a cave, and a stone lay across it.
Jesus said, "Take away the stone."
Martha, the dead man's sister, said to him,
"Lord, by now there will be a stench;
he has been dead for four days."
Jesus said to her,
"Did I not tell you that if you believe
you will see the glory of God?"
So they took away the stone.
And Jesus raised his eyes and said,
"Father, I thank you for hearing me.
I know that you always hear me;
but because of the crowd here I have said this,
that they may believe that you sent me."
And when he had said this,
He cried out in a loud voice,
"Lazarus, come out!"
The dead man came out,
tied hand and foot with burial bands,
and his face was wrapped in a cloth.
So Jesus said to them,
"Untie him and let him go."
Now many of the Jews who had come to Mary
and seen what he had done began to believe in him.
Saint April 2 : St. Mary of Egypt : #Hermitess
Born probably about 344; died about 421. At the early age of twelve Mary left her home and came to Alexandria, where for upwards of seventeen years she led a life of public prostitution. At the end of that time, on the occasion of a pilgrimage to Jerusalem for the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, she embarked for Palestine, not however with the intention of making the pilgrimage, but in the hope that life on board ship would afford her new and abundant opportunities of gratifying an insatiable lust. Arrived in Jerusalem she persisted in her shameless life, and on the Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross joined the crowds towards the church where the sacred relic was venerated, hoping to meet in the gathering some new victims whom she might allure into sin. And now came the turning-point in her career. When she reached the church door, she suddenly felt herself repelled by some secret force, and having vainly attempted three or four times to enter, she retired to a corner of the churchyard, and was struck with remorse for her wicked life, which she recognized as the cause of her exclusion from the church. Bursting into bitter tears and beating her breast, she began to bewail her sins. Just then her eyes fell upon a statue of the Blessed Virgin above the spot where she was standing, and in deep faith and humility of heart she besought Our Lady for help, and permission to enter the church and venerate the sacred wood on which Jesus had suffered, promising that if her request were granted, she would then renounce forever the world and its ways, and forthwith depart whithersoever Our Lady might lead her. Encouraged by prayer and counting on the mercy of the Mother of God, she once more approached the door of the church, and this time succeeded in entering without the slightest difficulty. Having adored the Holy Cross and kissed the pavement of the church, she returned to Our Lady's statue, and while praying there for guidance as to her future course, she seemed to hear a voice from afar telling her that if she crossed the Jordan, she would find rest. That same evening Mary reached the Jordan and received Holy Communion in a church dedicated to the Baptist, and the day following crossed the river and wandered eastward into the desert that stretches towards Arabia.
Here she had lived absolutely alone for forty-seven years, subsisting apparently on herbs, when a priest and monk, named Zosimus, who after the custom of his brethren had come out from his monastery to spend Lent in the desert, met her and learned from her own lips the strange and romantic story of her life. As soon as they met, she called Zosimus by his name and recognized him as a priest. After they had conversed and prayed together, she begged Zosimus to promise to meet her at the Jordan on Holy Thursday evening of the following year and bring with him the Blessed Sacrament. When the appointed evening arrived, Zosimus, we are told, put into a small chalice a portion of the undefiled Body and the precious Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ (P.L. LXXIII, 686; "Mittens in modico calice intemerati corporis portionem et pretiosi sanguinis D.N.J.C." But the reference to both species is less clear in Acta SS., IX, 82: "Accipiens parvum poculum intemerati corporis ac venerandi sanguinis Christi Dei nostri"), and came to the spot that had been indicated. After some time Mary appeared on the eastern bank of the river, and having made the sign of the cross, walked upon the waters to the western side. Having received Holy Communion, she raised her hands towards heaven, and cried aloud in the words of Simeon: "Now thou dost dismiss thy servant, O Lord, according to thy word in peace, because my eyes have seen thy salvation". She then charged Zosimus to come in the course of a year to the spot where he had first met her in the desert, adding that he would find her then in what condition God might ordain. He came, but only to find the poor saint's corpse, and written beside it on the ground a request that he should bury her, and a statement that she had died a year before, on the very night on which he had given her Holy Communion, far away by the Jordan's banks. Aided, we are told, by a lion, he prepared her grave and buried her, and having commended himself and the Church to her prayers, he returned to his monastery, where now for the first time he recounted the wondrous story of her life.
The saint's life was written not very long after her death by one who states that he learned the details from the monks of the monastery to which Zosimus had belonged. Many authorities mention St. Sophronius, who became Patriarch of Jerusalem in 635, as the author; but as the Bollandists give good reasons for believing that the Life was written before 500, we may conclude that it is from some other hand. The date of the saint is somewhat uncertain. The Bollandists place her death on 1 April, 421, while many other authorities put it a century later. The Greek Church celebrates her feast on 1 April, while the Roman Martyrology assigns it to 2 April, and the Roman Calendar to 3 April. The Greek date is more likely to be correct; the others may be due to the fact that on those days portions of her relics reached the West. Relics of the saint are venerated at Rome, Naples, Cremona, Antwerp, and some other places. Catholic Encyclopedia
Born:
344, Egypt
Died:
421, Trans-Jordan desert, Palestine
Patron of:
Chastity; Demons (deliverance from); Fever; Skin diseases
Saturday, April 1, 2017
Wow #PopeFrancis makes Surprise visit to Blind Children and Elderly for Mercy Friday! See the touching Video...
Pope has surprise visit with blind children and elderly
A great round of applause. This was the affectionate welcome given to the pope by the patients of the Sant'Alessio center in Rome. One-by-one, Pope Francis tenderly and affectionaly greeted the 50 children who use these facilities.
"How are you?"
"Good, good."
Most of these children are blind or have some kind of sensory or intellectual disability. Pope Francis stopped and greeted the parents and little ones, who showed him all their affection. After the children, he spent time with the older residents. The pope passed through the residence where 37 elderly people live.
"We love him very much. We love him very much."
Many of them were so excited to meet the pope, like Maria Rosa, who is 96 years old. Everyone was thankful for his visit. "Thank you. Thanks for the visit. Thank you. I always pray for you." "Thank you. I appreciate it a lot." Pope Francis then spoke to the children, the elders, and their families. "It is a pleasure for me to greet you and pay you a visit. I want to be close to you, I am close to you. I pray for you and you pray for me." The pope received a mosaic made by the patients in the workshop activities organized by the center as a gift. Pope Francis also presented them with something very special. "I leave you as I memory, a writing in Braille and also in normal handwriting. And also an icon of the Virgin, the Mother of us all, so that she protects you." Although the Jubilee of Mercy ended months ago, and also the so-called "Fridays of Mercy," Pope Francis seems to want to continue with this custom that makes those who receive his unexpected visit so very happy. AC/MB CTV FL
Shared from RomeReports
Catholic Quote to SHARE by #MotherTeresa "As Lent is the time for greater love, listen to Jesus' thirst...'
"As Lent is the time for greater love, listen to Jesus' thirst...'Repent and believe' Jesus tells us. What are we to repent? Our indifference, our hardness of heart. What are we to believe? Jesus thirsts even now, in your heart and in the poor -- He knows your weakness. He wants only your love, wants only the chance to love you." -- Saint Teresa of Calcutta
Touching Song to INSPIRE for #Lent "Don't Give Up" by Josh Groban to SHARE because you are Loved!
This Amazing Viral Song by artist Josh Groban has reached over 5 Million Views - It is perfect for this season of Lent. Keep Praying, Fasting and Giving because you are Loved by God!
SHARE this to uplift your Friends Today!
"You Are Loved (Don't Give Up)" Lyrics:
Don't give up
It's just the weight of the world
When your heart's heavy
I...I will lift it for you Don't give up Because you want to be heard If silence keeps you I...I will break it for you Everybody wants to be understood
Well I can hear you Everybody wants to be loved
Don't give up
Because you are loved
Don't give up It's just the hurt that you hide When you're lost inside I...I will be there to find you
Don't give up Because you want to burn bright If darkness blinds you I...I will shine to guide you Everybody wants to be understood
Well I can hear you Everybody wants to be loved
Don't give up
Because you are loved You are loved
Don't give up It's just the weight of the world
Don't give up Every one needs to be heard You are loved Music "You Are Loved (Don't Give Up)" by Josh Groban
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"You Are Loved (Don't Give Up)" Lyrics:
Don't give upIt's just the weight of the world
When your heart's heavy
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Well I can hear you Everybody wants to be loved
Don't give up
Because you are loved
Don't give up It's just the hurt that you hide When you're lost inside I...I will be there to find you
Don't give up Because you want to burn bright If darkness blinds you I...I will shine to guide you Everybody wants to be understood
Well I can hear you Everybody wants to be loved
Don't give up
Because you are loved You are loved
Don't give up It's just the weight of the world
Don't give up Every one needs to be heard You are loved Music "You Are Loved (Don't Give Up)" by Josh Groban
#PopeFrancis "In practice, this means giving oneself, forgiving, not losing patience, anticipating the other, respecting." to World Meeting of Families FULL TEXT
(Vatican Radio excerpt) Pope Francis has written a letter to the organisers of next year’s World Meeting of Families, who presented the event at the Vatican press office on Thursday morning.
The Meeting is scheduled to take place in Dublin, Ireland from August 21st to 26th 2018 on the theme ‘The Gospel of the Family: joy to the world”.
Please find below the full text of Pope Francis’ letter for the World Meeting of Families
To the Venerable Brother Cardinal KEVIN FARRELL, Prefect of the Dicastery for the Laity, the Family and Life
At the end of the Eighth World Meeting of Families, held in Philadelphia in September 2015, I announced that the subsequent meeting with Catholic families of the world would take place in Dublin. I now wish to initiate preparations, and am pleased to confirm that it will be held from 21 to 26 August 2018, on the theme “The Gospel of the Family: joy for the world”. Indeed, it is my wish for families to have a way of deepening their reflection and their sharing of the content of the post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation Amoris Laetitia.
One might ask: does the Gospel continue to be a joy for the world? And also: does the family continue to be good news for today’s world?
I am sure the answer is yes! And this “yes” is firmly based on God’s plan. The love of God is His “yes” to all creation and at the heart of this latter is man. It is God’s “yes” to the union between man and woman, in openness and service to life in all its phases; it is God’s “yes” and His commitment to a humanity that is often wounded, mistreated and dominated by a lack of love. The family, therefore, is the “yes” of God as Love. Only starting from love can the family manifest, spread and regenerate God’s love in the world. Without love, we cannot live as children of God, as couples, parents and brothers.
I wish to underline how important it is for families to ask themselves often if they live based on love, for love and in love. In practice, this means giving oneself, forgiving, not losing patience, anticipating the other, respecting. How much better family life would be if every day we lived according to the words, “please”, “thank you” and “I’m sorry”. Every day we have the experience of fragility and weakness, and therefore we all, families and pastors, are in need of renewed humility that forms the desire to form ourselves, to educate and be educated, to help and be helped, to accompany, discern and integrate all men of good will. I dream of an outbound Church, not a self-referential one, a Church that does not pass by far from man’s wounds, a merciful Church that proclaims the heart of the revelation of God as Love, which is Mercy. It is this very mercy that makes us new in love; and we know how much Christian families are a place of mercy and witnesses of mercy, and even more so after the extraordinary Jubilee. The Dublin meeting will be able to offer concrete signs of this.
I therefore invite all the Church to keep these indications in mind in the pastoral preparation for the next World Meeting.
You, dear Brother, along with your collaborators, have the task of translating in a special way the teaching of Amoris Laetitia, with which the Church wishes families always to be in step, in that inner pilgrimage that is the manifestation of authentic life.
My thoughts go in a special way to the archdiocese of Dublin and to all the dear Irish nation for the generous welcome and commitment involved in hosting such an important event. May the Lord recompense you as of now, granting you abundant heavenly favours.
May the Holy Family of Nazareth guide, accompany and bless your service, and all the families involved in the preparation of the great World Meeting in Dublin.
From the Vatican, 25 March 2017
FRANCIS
The Meeting is scheduled to take place in Dublin, Ireland from August 21st to 26th 2018 on the theme ‘The Gospel of the Family: joy to the world”.
Please find below the full text of Pope Francis’ letter for the World Meeting of Families
To the Venerable Brother Cardinal KEVIN FARRELL, Prefect of the Dicastery for the Laity, the Family and Life
At the end of the Eighth World Meeting of Families, held in Philadelphia in September 2015, I announced that the subsequent meeting with Catholic families of the world would take place in Dublin. I now wish to initiate preparations, and am pleased to confirm that it will be held from 21 to 26 August 2018, on the theme “The Gospel of the Family: joy for the world”. Indeed, it is my wish for families to have a way of deepening their reflection and their sharing of the content of the post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation Amoris Laetitia.
One might ask: does the Gospel continue to be a joy for the world? And also: does the family continue to be good news for today’s world?
I am sure the answer is yes! And this “yes” is firmly based on God’s plan. The love of God is His “yes” to all creation and at the heart of this latter is man. It is God’s “yes” to the union between man and woman, in openness and service to life in all its phases; it is God’s “yes” and His commitment to a humanity that is often wounded, mistreated and dominated by a lack of love. The family, therefore, is the “yes” of God as Love. Only starting from love can the family manifest, spread and regenerate God’s love in the world. Without love, we cannot live as children of God, as couples, parents and brothers.
I wish to underline how important it is for families to ask themselves often if they live based on love, for love and in love. In practice, this means giving oneself, forgiving, not losing patience, anticipating the other, respecting. How much better family life would be if every day we lived according to the words, “please”, “thank you” and “I’m sorry”. Every day we have the experience of fragility and weakness, and therefore we all, families and pastors, are in need of renewed humility that forms the desire to form ourselves, to educate and be educated, to help and be helped, to accompany, discern and integrate all men of good will. I dream of an outbound Church, not a self-referential one, a Church that does not pass by far from man’s wounds, a merciful Church that proclaims the heart of the revelation of God as Love, which is Mercy. It is this very mercy that makes us new in love; and we know how much Christian families are a place of mercy and witnesses of mercy, and even more so after the extraordinary Jubilee. The Dublin meeting will be able to offer concrete signs of this.
I therefore invite all the Church to keep these indications in mind in the pastoral preparation for the next World Meeting.
You, dear Brother, along with your collaborators, have the task of translating in a special way the teaching of Amoris Laetitia, with which the Church wishes families always to be in step, in that inner pilgrimage that is the manifestation of authentic life.
My thoughts go in a special way to the archdiocese of Dublin and to all the dear Irish nation for the generous welcome and commitment involved in hosting such an important event. May the Lord recompense you as of now, granting you abundant heavenly favours.
May the Holy Family of Nazareth guide, accompany and bless your service, and all the families involved in the preparation of the great World Meeting in Dublin.
From the Vatican, 25 March 2017
FRANCIS
#PopeFrancis "as Christians, all of us are called to put behind us all prejudice towards the faith that others profess" to Lutherans FULL TEXT + Video
(Vatican Radio excert) Pope Francis on Friday greeted participants in a conference promoted by the Pontifical Committee for Historical Sciences, entitled “Luther: 500 Years Later: A rereading of the Lutheran Reformation in its historic ecclesial context", which took place in Rome from 29 to 31 March 2017.
Please find below the official English translation of the Pope’s remarks:
Greeting of His Holiness Pope Francis to participants in the Meeting promoted by the Pontifical Committee for Historical Sciences: “Luther: 500 Years Later”
Clementine Hall, 31 March 2017
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
Ladies and Gentleman,
I am pleased to greet all of you and to offer you a warm welcome. I thank Father Bernard Ardura for his introduction, which summarizes the purpose of your meeting on Luther and his reform.
I confess that my first response to this praiseworthy initiative of the Pontifical Committee for Historical Sciences was one of gratitude to God, together with a certain surprise, since not long ago a meeting like this would have been unthinkable. Catholics and Lutherans together, discussing Luther, at a meeting organized by an Office of the Holy See: truly we are experiencing the results of the working of the Holy Spirit, who overcomes every obstacle and turns conflicts into occasions for growth in communion. From Conflict to Communion is precisely the title of the document of the Lutheran-Roman Catholic Commission prepared for our joint commemoration of the fifth centenary of the beginning of Luther’s reform.
I am particularly happy to know that this commemoration has offered scholars from various institutions an occasion to study those events together. Serious research into the figure of Luther and his critique of the Church of his time and the papacy certainly contributes to overcoming the atmosphere of mutual distrust and rivalry that for all too long marked relations between Catholics and Protestants. An attentive and rigorous study, free of prejudice and polemics, enables the churches, now in dialogue, to discern and receive all that was positive and legitimate in the Reformation, while distancing themselves from errors, extremes and failures, and acknowledging the sins that led to the division.
All of us are well aware that the past cannot be changed. Yet today, after fifty years of ecumenical dialogue between Catholics and Protestants, it is possible to engage in a purification of memory. This is not to undertake an impracticable correction of all that happened five hundred years ago, but rather “to tell that history differently” (LUTHERAN-ROMAN CATHOLIC COMMISSION ON UNITY, From Conflict to Communion, 17 June 2013, 16), free of any lingering trace of the resentment over past injuries that has distorted our view of one another. Today, as Christians, all of us are called to put behind us all prejudice towards the faith that others profess with a different emphasis or language, to offer one another forgiveness for the sin committed by those who have gone before us, and together to implore from God the gift of reconciliation and unity.
I assure you of my prayers for your important historical research and I invoke upon all of you the blessing of God, who is almighty and rich in mercy. And I ask you, please, to pray for me. Thank you.
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