(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)…
(Vatican Radio) During his weekly general audience, Pope Francis spoke on the mercy of God as spoken about in the Bible.
Delivering his catechesis Wednesday in the Vatican’s Paul VI hall, the Pope said in the Old Testament, God reveals he is the God of Mercy.
The Holy Father explained how the Hebrew word for Mercy evokes the sort of tenderness shown by a mother for her child.
In Scripture, the Pope said, the God of mercy is gracious, slow to anger, and abounds in “steadfast love and faithfulness.”
Pope Francis concluded his catechesis by inviting the faithful during the Jubilee of Mercy to “turn to God with all our heart, trusting in his mercy and grace, his infinite faithfulness and love.”
Below find the official English language summary of Pope Francis’ catechesis:
Dear Brothers and Sisters:
In this Jubilee Year, our weekly catechesis will explore the mystery of divine mercy. In the Book of Exodus, God defines himself as the God of mercy. In words which echo throughout the Old Testament, he tells Moses that he is “the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness” ( Ex 34:6). The Hebrew word for mercy evokes the tender and visceral love of a mother for her child. The God of mercy is also gracious , ever ready to understand and forgive. He is slow to anger , prepared to wait patiently, like a wise farmer, for the seeds of repentance to grow in our hearts. Likewise, he abounds in steadfast love and faithfulness . God’s love, freely given, precedes any merit on our part; his faithfulness, like that of the father in the parable of the prodigal son, has no limits. He waits for us, ever ready to forgive our sins and to welcome us back to a right relationship with him. In this Year of Mercy, may we turn to God with all our heart, trusting in his mercy and grace, his infinite faithfulness and love.
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis Wednesday remembered the victims of Tuesday’s suicide bomb attack in Istanbul which left ten people dead.
Listen to Ann Schneible’s report:
Speaking in the Vatican’s Paul VI Hall during his weekly general audience, the Pope asked for prayers for those killed in the attack, and for their families.
“Before concluding our encounter, in which we have reflected on God’s Mercy, I invite you to pray for the victims of the attack which took place yesterday in Istanbul.”
“May God, the merciful, grant eternal peace to the departed, comfort to their families, determined solidarity to the whole society, and convert the hearts of the violent.”
The suicide bomber killed nine German and one Peruvian tourist on Jan 12 in Istanbul’s historic Sultanahmet Square.
The Islamic State is being blamed for the attack, which also injured fifteen people.
The bomber has been identified by Turkish authorities as a Syrian who recently entered the country.
Turkish police have detained one person in connection with the attack.
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis says prayer works miracles and prevents the hardening of the heart.
His words came on Tuesday morning during morning Mass at the Casa Santa Marta.
“It’s the prayer of the faithful – the Pope said – that brings change to the Church; it’s not us popes, bishops or priests who carry the Church forward, but the Saints”.
Listen to the report by Linda Bordoni:
Pope Francis took his cue from the Bible reading of the day which tells the story of Hannah, a woman whom, deeply distressed by her infertility, desperately prays to the Lord to give her a child, and of Eli, a priest, who looks on vaguely from afar and superficially judges the woman as a drunkard as he can see her babbling but cannot hear her words.
“Hannah was praying silently, her lips moved but her voice was not heard. Hers is the courage of a woman of faith who is weeping and grieving and asks the Lord for his grace. There are many good women in the Church, many! They place all their trust in prayer… Let us think of one of them, Saint Monica who was able, with her tears, to be granted the grace of conversion for her son, Saint Augustine. There are so many” the Pope said.
Eli, the priest, is “a poor man” towards whom, Francis says, he feels “a certain sympathy” because – he explains – “I find faults in myself that allow me to understand him well and feel close to him.” “How easily – the Pope continues – do we judge people and lack the respect to say: ‘I wonder what he has in his heart? I do not know, but I will say nothing…’ When the heart lacks compassion one always thinks evil” and does not understand those who pray “with pain and anguish” and “entrust that pain and anguish to the Lord”.
“Jesus knows this kind of prayer. When he was in Gethsemane and was so anguished and hurt he sweated blood, He did not accuse the Father: ‘Father, if You are willing, remove this cup from me; yet not my will, but Yours be done’”. Jesus responded in the same way of the woman: with meekness. Sometimes, we pray, we ask things of God, but often we do not know how to engage with the Lord, to ask for grace” he said.
The Pope also recalled the story of a man in Buenos Aires whose 9-year-old-daughter was dying in hospital. He said he spent the night at the shrine of the Virgin of Luján clinging to the gate and praying for the grace of healing. The next morning, when he returned to the hospital, his daughter was healed:
“Prayer works miracles; it works miracles for Christians, whether they be faithful laypeople, priests, bishops who have lost compassion. The prayers of the faithful change the Church: it’s not us popes, bishops, priests or nuns who carry the Church forward, but Saints. Saints are those who dare to believe that God is the Lord and that He can do everything” Pope Francis concluded.
(from Vatican Radio)…