(Vatican Radio) After reflecting on the mystery of God’s mercy, from the actions of the Father in the Old Testament to those of Jesus, Who in the Gospels demonstrates by His words and gestures that He is the very incarnation of mercy, the Pope announced in this Wednesday’s general audience that he will dedicate a new cycle of catechesis to the corporal and spiritual works of mercy.
“It is not enough to experience God’s mercy in our lives”, the Pope observed. “It is necessary for those who receive it also to be a sign and instrument for others. … It is not a question of making great efforts or superhuman gestures. The Lord shows us a far easier path, made up of little gestures but which, in His eyes, have great value, to the point of saying that it is on these that we will be judged. … Jesus says that every time we give something to eat to a hungry person and give something to drink to one who thirsts, we dress the naked and welcome the stranger, or we visit the sick or imprisoned, we do this also to Him. The Church calls these gestures ‘corporal works of mercy’, as they assist people in their material needs”.
However there are also, as Francis recalled, another seven spiritual works of mercy, that respond to other equally important needs, “especially nowadays, as they affect the most intimate aspect of the person and often make them suffer more. We all surely remember one which has entered into common parlance: to bear patiently those who wrong us. … It may seem to be of little importance, or indeed make us smile, but instead it contains a sentiment of profound charity; and it is the same also for the other six, which are good to remember: to counsel the doubtful, to instruct the ignorant, to admonish sinners, to console the afflicted, to forgive offenses, and to pray for the living and the dead”.
“It is better to start with the simplest ones, that the Lord shows us as the most urgent. In a world that is unfortunately afflicted by the virus of indifference, works of mercy are the best antidote. They educate us, indeed, in attention towards the most elementary needs of ‘the least of our brothers’, in whom Jesus is present. … This enables us always to be vigilant, avoiding that Christ may pass by us without us recognising Him. St. Augustine’s phrase returns to mind: ‘I fear Jesus will go by’, and I will not recognise Him, that the Lord will pass by my side in one of these little people, in need, and I will not realise that it is Jesus”.
The works of mercy “reawaken in us the need and the capacity to make faith live and work through charity. I am convinced that through these simple daily gestures we can effect a true cultural revolution. … If each one of us, every day, did one of these, this would be a revolution in the world! But all of us, every one of us. How many saints are still remembered today not for the great works they performed but for the love they knew how to transmit! Mother Teresa, for example, recently canonised: we do not remember her for the many houses that she opened throughout the world, but because she stooped to all the people she met in the street to restore their dignity to them. How many abandoned children she held in her arms; how many dying people she accompanied on the threshold to eternity, holding their hands!”
“These works of mercy are the features of the countenance of Jesus Christ, Who cares for the least of His brothers to bring God’s tenderness and closeness to every one. May the Holy Spirit help us; may the Holy Spirit kindle in us the desire to live in this way. Do at least one of them a day, at least! Let us learn again by heart the corporal and spiritual works of mercy, and ask the Lord to help us to put them into practice every day and at the moment in which we see Jesus in a person in need”.
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Wednesday remembered the Feast Day of Pope St. John XXIII, which was celebrated on Tuesday, during his special remarks to the young, the sick and newlyweds before his final blessing during his General Audience.
“Yesterday we celebrated the memory of St. John XXIII,” – Pope Francis said – “Invoke his heavenly intercession, dear young people, to imitate the gentleness of his paternal love; pray to him in moments of the cross and in suffering, dear infirm, to face difficulties with the same meekness; and learn from him, dear newlyweds, the art of educating children with tenderness and by example.”
Pope Francis canonized John XXIII – along with Pope John Paul II – on 27 April 2014. Saint John XXIII was Pope from 28 October 1958 until his death on 3 June 1963.
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis said Christians are already united when they are persecuted by terrorists or world powers in what he called an ecumenism of the “blood.” He was speaking in an off-the-cuff address on Wednesday to participants at the Conference for Secretaries of the Christian World Communions, an international ecumenical organization.
The Pope began his remarks by noting that ecumenism is about journeying alongside others with Christ: it can be a simple journey together, done with prayers and helping others or it can be “a working ecumenism for the many men and women who nowadays suffer injustices, wars.” He urged his listeners to show charity towards their neighbours, saying this is ecumenism, being united on our journey with Jesus.
Pope Francis also spoke about how it is necessary to recognize a particular type of ecumenism that especially applies to our present world, a so-called ecumenism of the “blood” whereby all Christians regardless of their denomination are viewed and treated in the same way by those who persecute them.
“When terrorists or world powers persecute Christian minorities or Christians, when they do this, they don’t ask: ‘But are you Lutheran? Are you Orthodox? Are you Catholic? Are you a Reformed Christian? Are you a Pentecostal?’ No! ‘You are a Christian!’ They only recognize one of them: the Christian. The enemy never makes a mistake and knows very well how to recognize where Jesus is. This is ecumenism of the blood.”
The Pope said Coptic Orthodox friars murdered on the beaches of Libya are “our brothers” as they too gave witness to Jesus in their lives and when they met their death.
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis during his weekly General Audience made an appeal on the eve of the International Day for Natural Disaster Reduction , which this year features the theme: “Reducing mortality.”
The Holy Father said that “natural disasters could be avoided or at least limited, since their effects are often due to a lack of environmental care by man. The Pope added, “therefore I encourage you to join far-sighted efforts in the protection of our common home, promoting a culture of prevention, also with the help of new advances, in order to reduce the risk to the most vulnerable populations.
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis renewed his appeal for peace in Syria on Wednesday. Addressing pilgrims and tourists gathered in St. Peter’s Square for the weekly General Audience, Pope Francis said, “I want to emphasize and reiterate my solidarity with all victims of inhuman conflict in Syria.” Pope Francis went on to say, “It is with a sense of urgency that I renew my appeal, begging, with all my strength, those responsible, that steps be taken toward an immediate ceasefire, one imposed and respected at least for the time necessary to allow the evacuation of civilians, especially children, who are still trapped under cruel bombardment.”
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Russian-led airstrikes resumed over the past 24 hours, concentrating on targets within the besieged city of Aleppo.
At least 25 people are reported to have died, including children. The bombardments follow a temporary lull called by the Syrian government, in part to allow civilians to leave rebel-held areas in the east of the city.
(from Vatican Radio)…