(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Thursday met with a delegation from Rome’s Colegio Sacerdotal Argentino, which forms priests for Argentina. “It was a meeting of a shepherd with his flock,” said Father Ángel Hernández, the rector of the College. In an interview with Vatican Radio’s Spanish service, Father Hernández said the Holy Father told them when they returned to Argentina, they should take care of their prayer life, and preach the Word of God in the place they have been sent. The rector also said Pope Francis told him there are “many saints in the Church,” and “there are many saints in the Roman Curia.” (from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Thursday met with Jean Todt, the president of Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA), which sanctions many auto racing events, including Formula One and World Rally Championship. Todt also serves as the United Nations Secretary General’s Special Envoy for Road Safety, and it was in this capacity he met with the Holy Father. He was accompanied by a delegation from the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE). The UN General Assembly proclaimed the period 2011–2020 as the Decade of Action for Road Safety, with a goal to stabilize and then reduce the forecast level of road traffic fatalities around the world by increasing activities conducted at the national, regional and global levels. Every year, nearly 1.3 million people die and between 20 million and 50 million more are injured as a result of road crashes. More than 90 per cent of these deaths occur in low-income and middle-income countries, which have less than half of the world’s vehicles. “We know the Holy Father’s strong commitment to address problems of inequality, and address problems of poverty, and … this is a sign of poverty,” said Christian Friis Bach, the Executive Secretary of UNECE, who also met Pope Francis. Listen to the interview by Vatican Radio’s Antonino Galofaro with Christian Friis Bach:
“This is still a problem in the rich countries. It’s a severe, serious problem in the poor countries,” Bach told Vatican Radio. “So once again, the poor people and the poor children around in the world are those who are most vulnerable, because the countries have not invested in safe cars; they have not invested in safe roads; they have not educated their drivers to drive safely, and don’t drink when they drive,” he said. Bach said Pope Francis was very attentive during the meeting, and gave his support to the United Nations initiative. “I think all of us who have kids, we remember the first days sending them to school, and praying and hoping that they would come safe back from school again,” Bach said. “Every single day, 500 kids do not make it. They get killed by a car, or by an accident on the road.” (from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Faith always wins, because it turns even defeat into victory, but it is not something “magical” – it is a personal relationship with God that cannot be learned in books, and is in fact a gift from God, a gift that is our for the asking: this was the essence of Pope Francis’ reflections following the Readings of the Day at Mass on Thursday morning in the chapel of the Casa Santa Marta in the Vatican.
Click below to hear our report
Taken from the Book of Samuel, the First Reading told of the defeat of the People of God at the hands of the Philistines. “the slaughter was very great,” and the people lost everything, “[even] their dignity.” The Holy Father asked, “What led to this defeat?” and answered that the people, “slowly walked away from the Lord, lived in a worldly fashion, and even kept with idols.” The people went out to the Sanctuary of Shiloh, but, “as if it were a mere cultural habit – they had lost their filial relationship with God – they did not worship God – and He left them alone. The people even used the Ark of the Covenant to win the battle, though they did so as though the Ark were a sort of magical talisman. “In the Ark,” recalled Pope Francis, “was the Law – the Law that they did not keep and which they had abandoned.” There was no longer “a personal relationship with the Lord – they had forgotten the God who had saved them,” and were defeated. 30 thousand Israelites were slain, the Ark was taken by the Philistines, the two sons of Eli, “those criminal priests who exploited people in the Sanctuary of Shiloh,” met their end. It was, “A total defeat,” the Pope said. “Thus does a people that has distanced itself from God meet its end.”
The Gospel of the day, however, speaks of a victory:
“At that time, a leper came to Jesus and begged him on his knees – precisely in a gesture of adoration – and said, ‘Look, you can make me clean.’ He challenged the Lord, saying, ‘I have been defeated in life – the leper had suffered defeat, insofar as he could not live life in common with others, he was always cast off – but you [he said to the Lord] can turn this defeat into victory!.’ That is: ‘Look, you can make me clean.’ Before this Jesus had compassion, he stretched out his hand, touched him and said, ‘I desire that you be made clean!’ So, simply: this fight is over in two minutes and ends in victory; that other last all day long, and ends with the defeat. The man had something that drove him to go to Jesus and send up the challenge: he had faith.”
The Apostle John says that the victory over the world is our faith. “Our faith wins, always!”:
“Faith is the victory. Faith: like [that of] this man [who said], ‘If you want to, you can do it.’ The losers of the First Reading prayed to God, bearing the ark, but they had no faith, they had forgotten it. This leper had faith, and when you ask with faith, Jesus himself told us mountains will move. We are able to move a mountain from one place to another: faith is capable of this. Jesus himself said, ‘Whatever you ask the Father in my name, you will be given. Ask and you shall receive; knock and it shall be opened,’ but with faith – and this this is our victory.”
Pope Francis concluded his remarks to the faithful with this prayer:
“We ask the Lord that our prayers always have that root of faith, that they be born of faith in Him. The grace of faith: faith is a gift. You do not learn from books. It is a gift that the Lord gives you, but just ask for it: ‘Give me faith!’ ‘I believe, Lord!’, said the man who asked Jesus to heal his son: ‘I ask Lord, that you help my unbelief.’ Prayer with faith … and the man is healed. We ask God for the grace to pray with faith, to be sure that everything we ask of Him we will be given, with the confidence that faith gives us – and this is our victory, our faith.”
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Two refugee families are now being hosted by the two parishes of the Vatican, in response to the September 6, 2015, Angelus appeal of Pope Francis for every parish in Europe to welcome a family of refugees.
The parish of Sant’Anna has provided a nearby apartment for a Christian Syrian family, consisting of the parents and two children.
The parish of St. Peter’s Basilica has provided an apartment for an Eritrean family consisting of a mother and her five children: Three of whom are already in Italy, and two others who are still in a refugee camp in Ethiopia, although they are expected to be reunited in the coming weeks. Another woman and her child also live in the apartment.
The parishes were assisted in the process by the Almoner of His Holiness, Archbishop Konrad Krajewski, and the Sant’Egidio Community.
Pope Francis met briefly with the Syrian family shortly after they moved into their apartment in September.
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis has urged young people living in situations of “war, extreme poverty, daily troubles and loneliness” to not lose hope and not be taken in “by the messages of hatred or terror all around us.”
His words came in his Message for the Jubilee of Mercy for Young Boys and Girls, which was released on Thursday.
“You are preparing to be Christians capable of making courageous choices and decisions, in order to build daily, even through little things, a world of peace,” Pope Francis said.
“With [Jesus] we can do great things; he will give us the joy of being his disciples, his witnesses,” – the Pope continued – “Commit yourselves to great ideals, to the most important things.”
The Jubilee for Young Boys and Girls (ages 13-16) will take place in St. Peter’s Square on April 24, 2016, the Fourth Sunday of Easter.
The full text of the Message is below
POPE FRANCIS
Message for the Jubilee of Mercy
for Young Boys and Girls
“Merciful Like the Father”
Dear Young Friends,
The Church is celebrating the Holy Year of Mercy, a time of grace, peace, conversion and joy. It is meant for everyone: people of every age, from far and near. There are no walls or distances which can prevent the Father’s mercy from reaching and embracing us. The Holy Door is now open in Rome and in all the dioceses of the world.
This grace-filled moment also concerns you, dear young people. I encourage you to take an active part in this celebration and to realize that each of you is a child of God (cf. 1 Jn 3:1). I would like to invite you, one by one, calling you by name, as Jesus does each day. For you know that your names are written in heaven (Lk 10:20), in the heart of the Father, that Merciful Heart which is the source of all reconciliation and kindness.
The Jubilee is a year-long celebration, in which every moment becomes a chance for us to grow in holiness. It is a time when we can discover that life together as brothers and sisters is like a great party, perhaps the most beautiful party we can imagine, the endless party that Jesus has taught us to celebrate by his Spirit. The Jubilee is the party to which Jesus invites us all, without excluding anyone. That is why I also wanted to have some days of prayer and celebration with you. I am looking forward to seeing many of you in April.
“Merciful like the Father”. This is the theme of the Jubilee, but it is also the prayer we make for all of you as we welcome you in the name of Jesus. To be merciful means to grow in a love which is courageous, generous and real. It means to grow physically and spiritually. You are preparing to be Christians capable of making courageous choices and decisions, in order to build daily, even through little things, a world of peace.
Yours is a time of life which is full of amazing changes. Everything seems possible and impossible all at once. I repeat what I said to some of your friends: “Remain steadfast in the journey of faith, with firm hope in the Lord. This is the secret of our journey! He gives us the courage to swim against the tide. Pay attention, my young friends: to go against the current; this is good for the heart, but we need courage to swim against the tide. Jesus gives us this courage! … With him we can do great things; he will give us the joy of being his disciples, his witnesses. Commit yourselves to great ideals, to the most important things. We Christians were not chosen by the Lord for little things; push onwards toward the highest principles. Stake your lives on noble ideals” (Homily at the Conferral of the Sacrament of Confirmation, 2013).
Here I cannot forget those of you who are living in situations of war, extreme poverty, daily troubles and loneliness. Don’t ever lose hope! The Lord has a great dream which, with your help, he wants to come true! Your friends, young people your age living in less trying conditions than your own, have not forgotten you; they are working for peace and justice for everyone everywhere. Don’t be taken in by the messages of hatred or terror all around us. Instead, make new friends. Give of your time and always show concern for those who ask your help. Be brave and go against the tide; be friends of Jesus, who is the Prince of Peace (cf. Is 9:6). “Everything in him speaks of mercy. Nothing in him is devoid of compassion” (Misericordiae Vultus, 8).
I realize that not all of you can come to Rome, but the Jubilee is truly for everyone and it is also being celebrated in your local Churches. You are all invited to this moment of joy. Don’t just prepare your rucksacks and your banners, but your hearts and your minds as well. Think carefully about the hope and desires you will hand over to Jesus in the Sacrament of Reconciliation and in the Eucharist which we will celebrate together. As you walk through the Holy Door, remember that you are committing yourselves to grow in holiness and to draw nourishment from the Gospel and the Eucharist, the Word and the Bread of life, in order to help build a more just and fraternal world.
May the Lord bless your journey towards the Holy Door. I pray that the Holy Spirit will guide your steps and enlighten you. For you and your families, and for all who help you to grow in goodness and in grace, may the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of us all, be true Door of Mercy.
From the Vatican, 6 January 2016, Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord
(from Vatican Radio)…