(Vatican Radio) On Thursday, 4th of June 2015, Feast of Corpus Christi Pope Francis is scheduled to travel across town to celebrate Holy Mass on the parvis of his Cathedral, Saint John Lateran. Following Mass, he will lead the traditional Corpus Christi procession from there to the nearby Basilica of Saint Mary Major, just over…
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(Vatican Radio) On Thursday, 4th of June 2015, Feast of Corpus Christi Pope Francis is scheduled to travel across town to celebrate Holy Mass on the parvis of his Cathedral, Saint John Lateran.
Following Mass, he will lead the traditional Corpus Christi procession from there to the nearby Basilica of Saint Mary Major, just over a mile away.
On this occasion, as in many other such Corpus Christi processions across the world, the monstrance with the Blessed Sacrament will be borne high for all to see in adoration and prayer.
To mark this yearly occasion we share with you a musical meditation which focuses on the Fifth Mystery of Light: ‘The Institution of the Eucharist’.
Among the many Eucharistic texts set to music chosen for this meditation by our music historian Monsignor Philip Whitmore is ‘O Sacrum Convivium’.
Listen to a musical meditation which focuses on the V Mystery of Light presented by Monsignor Philip Whitmore and produced by Veronica Scarisbrick :
(from Vatican Radio)…
The Pope’s Evangelization prayer intention for the month of June is Vocations: That the personal encounter with Jesus may arouse in many young people the desire to offer their own lives in priesthood or consecrated life.
Just as marriage is not a career but a vocation, so too is the priesthood and the consecrated life. And just as marriage begins with an encounter that leads to a total gift of oneself to the other, so it is the same for those called to be priests, sisters, and brothers. Their vocations begin with an encounter with Jesus Christ, followed by a deepening relationship that leads to the desire to make a total gift of themselves to him.
In his first encyclical, Pope Benedict XVI wrote that “being a Christian is not the result of an ethical choice or a lofty idea, but the encounter with a person.” At the beginning of The Joy of the Gospel, Pope Francis continued this emphasis, writing: “The joy of the Gospel fills the hearts and lives of all who encounter Jesus.”
Pope Francis wants everyone to experience that joy. He said: “I invite all Christians, everywhere, at this very moment, to a renewed personal encounter with Jesus Christ. No one should think that this invitation is not meant for him or her, since no one is excluded from the joy brought by the Lord.”
God wants everyone to know his love and the joy that flows from it. This joy spreads and creates a “vocation culture” which opens people to hear God’s call. Our own values and materialistic striving make it hard for young people to hear that sweet call of God.
In this Year of Consecrated Life, we pray for religious vocations this month, we recognize that the seeds of a vocation can only grow in good soil. That soil is our families, parish communities, and schools. It is there that young people will encounter Christ, be moved by his love, and respond by offering their lives in loving service. May our prayers, encouragement, and joy arouse in young people a desire to follow Jesus as brothers, sisters, and priests.
(Source: Apostleship of Prayer)
(from Vatican Radio)…
The Pope’s Evangelization prayer intention for the month of June is Vocations: That the personal encounter with Jesus may arouse in many young people the desire to offer their own lives in priesthood or consecrated life. Just as marriage is not a career but a vocation, so too is the priesthood and the consecrated life.…
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(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis says poverty today afflicts too many families.
Speaking during the weekly General Audience, the Pope continued his catechesis on the family opening up his reflections to a new perspective: the difficulties and problems that put families to the test in modern society.
One condition that afflicts families today – he said – is poverty. “Let’s think of the many families who populate the peripheries of large cities, and also of those who live in rural areas… how much misery, how much degradation!” he said.
And to make things even worse – the Pope continued – in some areas there is even war. War – he said – is always terrible, and it specially affects civilians and families.
“War really is the ‘mother of all poverties’, war impoverishes the family, it steals lives, souls, our most sacred feelings and our beloved ones” he said.
And yet – Pope Francis pointed out – even in the worst of circumstances, there are many poor people who persevere with dignity, often entrusting themselves to the goodness of God.
But – he warned – this fact must never be used to justify our indifference, rather it must increase our shame “that so much poverty exists!”
It’s almost a miracle – Francis said – that even amidst such poverty, families continue to be formed and sustained.
And he pointed out that those who consider family ties a secondary variable in respect to the quality of life “do not understand anything!”
We should kneel before these poor families – the Pope said – “they are a real school of humanity and they save society from barbarity”.
Pope Francis went on to say that “our modern economies often promote individual wellbeing at the expense of the family”, a reality that represents a grave contradiction as the immense work carried out by families is evaluated and appraised in budget plans.
The Pope concluded calling on Christians to always look for ways to strengthen and support families, especially poorer ones.
And he remarked on the fact that at this difficult time we all know some family member – a mother or a father – who are without work, and “the family suffers, the ties weaken. This is bad” he said.
The Church, as a mother – he said – can never be blind to the sufferings of her children. He said that she too must be poor so as to become fruitful and to be able to respond to so much misery.
For each of us, this means choosing simplicity both individually and in our institutions, so as to break down walls of division, especially poverty.
“To do this, prayer and action are needed” he said.
(from Vatican Radio)…