(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Friday sent a message to the 39th National (Italian) Convention of Groups and Communities for Renewal in the Holy Spirit through the Vatican’s Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin.
The Holy Father sent his greetings to the convention – organized on the theme ‘I am the Door: The one who enters through me will be saved’ – expressing his desire that it renew the good intentions of profound reconciliation and unity.
The Pope’s message concludes by calling those present at the convention “to testify to the salvific love and tenderness of Jesus”, imparting upon them the Holy Father’s Apostolic Blessing.
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Archbishop Christophe Pierre, the newly-appointed Apostolic Nuncio to the United States of America, says the message of Pope Francis for the American people is the message of the Gospel.
Archbishop Christophe Pierre was appointed to the post by the Holy Father on 12 April, having previously served as the Apostolic Nuncio to Haiti, Uganda, and most recently Mexico for nine years.
In an interview with Christopher Wells, the Apostolic Nuncio noted the continuance of his ministry through the influence of Our Lady of Guadalupe, patroness of the Americas.
Listen to the full interview:
Archbishop Pierre said the apparition of Our Lady to St. Juan Diego was not an apparition to one person, but to an entire people. “Pope Francis told us at the beginning of his last trip that this is the foundation of Mexico. He wanted to spend some time with the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe, not just to look at her, but to be looked at by her, and to look at the people with the eyes of Mary.”
Role of Apostolic Nuncio
Turning to his role as Apostolic Nuncio, Archbishop Pierre said “I’ve been serving the Pope for nearly 40 years in many Nunciatures. We are essentially representatives of the Pope… The difficulty or challenge of the Nuncio is to listen, to be careful about what is going on, to understand, to exercise dialogue, to discover the beauty, the richness of the culture, and to help the inculturation of the Gospel in a particular culture. And to help the Pope understand and those who work with him to understand what is going on, and maybe also to help the local Church to relate to the Pope, not as something that is contrary to the life of the Church but [as something] enriching.”
Pope’s message is Gospel
When asked if the Pope has a particular message for the American people, Archbishop Pierre said, “We know the message of the Pope. The message of the Pope is contained in his main documents, in his many interventions. I would say the message [of the Pope] is the Gospel. Also, the way the Pope wants us to be close to the people, especially those who suffer.”
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) The Congregation for the Oriental Churches on Friday released a press statement, expressing support for the extraordinary collection to take place this Sunday in churches across Europe for the people suffering from the war in Ukraine.
During his Regina Coeli address on 3 April , Pope Francis announced a special charity collection to support the people of Ukraine, telling the faithful it would be possible to contribute to the collection in all Catholic Churches in Europe on Sunday, 24 April.
In the statement, the Oriental Dicastery invites all people ‘to contribute generously so as to assure assistance to those people most weakened in body and spirit by violence’. It also recognizes the solidarity and material aid of many Dioceses and charitable organisations.
The statement goes on to list the many fruits of this charitable act.
‘May the renewed gesture of charity which Pope Francis has asked of the Churches of Europe be again a sign of the brotherhood which unites us to our brothers and sisters in Ukraine, who are often forgotten as are many painful situations in the world. May the expression of closeness by many people be like a little lantern which reignites hope in those wounded hearts; may it help all the Pastors of the Christian Churches console and cure the pain of their own faithful; and may it force those who carry the fates of peoples to promote respect for human rights and peace.’
The statement concludes with a short prayer to the Holy Mother of God for all the people of Europe.
‘To the Most Holy Mother of God, ‘the Door of Mercy’ who watched over the opening of the Jubilee Year in St. Peter’s Square, may she watch over Europe and inspire with her prayer the desire for reconciliation and a renewed capacity to know how to live together as brothers and sisters.’
Pope Francis renewed his appeal during his weekly General Audience on Wednesday, 20 April.
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Friday urged Christians to have the courage to announce the good news about Jesus, just like the Apostles who testified to Christ’s resurrection even at the cost of their lives. The Pope’s words came during his morning Mass at the Santa Marta residence where he said announcing the gospel, intercession and hope are the three interlinked dimensions of a Christian life. Friday (April 22nd) marked the 43rd anniversary of the religious profession of Jorge Mario Bergoglio.
In his homily Pope Francis reflected on the three lynchpins that he said should mark the life of a believer: announcing the gospel, intercession and hope. The heart of this announcement for a Christian, he explained, is that Jesus died and rose from the dead for our salvation. This, he continued, is what the Apostles did before the Jews and the pagans and their testimony was made even at the cost of their lives, their own blood.
“When John and Peter were brought before the Sanhedrin after the healing of the crippled man and the priests forbade them to mention the name of Jesus, the Resurrection, they courageously and simply said: ‘We cannot stop proclaiming what we have seen and heard,’ – the announcement. And we Christians through our faith have the Holy Spirit inside us that makes us see and listen to the truth about Jesus who was put to death for our sins and who rose again. This is the announcement of our Christian life. Christ is alive! Christ is risen! Christ is among us in the community and accompanies us on our journey.”
Turning next to the question of intercession, Pope Francis reminded his listeners that just as Jesus told his Apostles at the last Supper, He is praying for us and preparing us a place in the house of the Lord.
“What does this mean? How does Jesus prepare this place? By praying for each one of us. Jesus prays for us and this is his intercession. At this moment, Jesus is working by praying for us. Just as he told Peter one time before the passion, ‘Peter, I prayed for you.’ In the same way, Jesus is now the intercessor between the Father and us.”
The Pope went on to explain how Jesus intercedes for us by showing his wounds to the Father after the Resurrection and names each one of us to Him. This, he said, is Jesus’ prayer and his intercession on our behalf.
Concluding his homily, Pope Francis touched on the third dimension of a Christian life: hope. “A Christian,” he declared, “is a woman, a man of hope who hopes that the Lord will return.” All the church is waiting for the coming of Jesus who will return and this is “Christian hope.”
“Each one of us, let’s ask ourselves: How is the announcement (of Jesus) in my life? How is my relationship with Jesus who intercedes for me? And how is my hope? Do I truly believe that the Lord is risen? Do I believe that he prays to the Father on my behalf? Each time that I call him, He is praying for me, He is interceding. Do I truly believe that He will return, that He will come? It would do us good to ask ourselves these (questions) about our faith: Do I believe in the announcement of Jesus’ good news? Do I believe in his intercession? Am I a man or a woman of hope?” (Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Friday urged Christians to have the courage to announce the good news about Jesus, just like the Apostles who testified to Christ’s resurrection even at the cost of their lives. The Pope’s words came during his morning Mass at the Santa Marta residence where he said announcing the gospel, intercession and hope are the three interlinked dimensions of a Christian life. Friday’s date marked the 43rd anniversary of the religious profession of Jorge Mario Bergoglio.
In his homily Pope Francis reflected on the three interlinked elements that he said should mark the life of a believer: announcing the gospel, intercession and hope. The heart of this announcement for a Christian, he explained, is that Jesus died and rose from the dead for our salvation. This, he continued, is what the Apostles did before the Jews and the pagans and their testimony came even at the cost of their lives, their own blood.
Announce Jesus even at the cost of our lives
“When John and Peter were brought before the Sanhedrin after the healing of the crippled man and the priests forbade them to mention the name of Jesus, the Resurrection, they courageously and simply answered: ‘We cannot stop proclaiming what we have seen and heard,’ – the announcement. And we Christians through our faith have the Holy Spirit inside us that makes us see and listen to the truth about Jesus who was put to death for our sins and who rose again. This is the announcement of our Christian life. Christ is alive! Christ is risen! Christ is among us in the community and accompanies us on our journey.”
Turning next to the question of intercession, Pope Francis reminded his listeners that just as Jesus told his Apostles at the last Supper, He is praying for us and preparing us a place in the house of the Lord.
“What does this mean? How does Jesus prepare this place? By praying for each one of us. Jesus prays for us and this is his intercession. At this moment, Jesus is working by praying for us. Just as he told Peter one time before the passion, ‘Peter, I prayed for you.’ In the same way, Jesus is now the intercessor between the Father and us.”
The Pope went on to explain how Jesus intercedes for us by showing his wounds to the Father after the Resurrection and names each one of us to Him. This, he said, is Jesus’ prayer and his intercession on our behalf.
Concluding his homily, Pope Francis touched on the third dimension of a Christian life: hope. “A Christian,” he declared, “is a woman, a man of hope who hopes that the Lord will return.” All the Church is waiting for the coming of Jesus who will return and this is “Christian hope.”
“Each one of us, let’s ask ourselves: How is the announcement (of Jesus) in my life? How is my relationship with Jesus who intercedes for me? And what is my hope like? Do I truly believe that the Lord is risen? Do I believe that he prays to the Father on my behalf? Each time that I call him, He is praying for me, He is interceding. Do I truly believe that He will return, that He will come? It would do us good to ask ourselves these (questions) about our faith: Do I believe in the announcement of Jesus’ good news? Do I believe in his intercession? Am I a man or a woman of hope?”
(from Vatican Radio)…
A Christian is a person of hope, who knows
and witnesses that Jesus lives, that he is among us, that he prays to the
Father for each of us and that he will come again. This is how Pope Francis
summed up the relationship between every Christian and the Risen Jesus, during
Mass at Santa Marta on Friday morning, 22 April. From
the liturgy of the day, the Pontiff brought out three fundamental words for
Christian life: message, intercession and hope. First
of all, the message. In the day’s reading from the Acts of the Apostles
(13:26-33), the message is essentially “the Apostles’ testimony to the
resurrection of Jesus”. Thus Paul affirms in the synagogue: “when they had
fulfilled all that was written of him, they took him down from the tree, and
laid him in a tomb. But God raised him from the dead; and for many days he
appeared to those who came up with him from Galilee to Jerusalem, who are now
his witnesses to the people”. Indeed, the Pontiff summarized, “the message is:
Jesus died and rose for us, for our salvation. Jesus lives!”. This is what the
first disciples conveyed “to the Jews and the pagans of their time”, and they
“also bore witness with their lives, with their blood”. When
John and Peter were forbidden to proclaim Jesus’ name or speak of his
resurrection, the Pope continued, “they said, with all their courage and in
total simplicity: ‘we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard’”.
Indeed, “we Christians, through faith, have within us the Holy Spirit, who lets
us see and hear the truth about Jesus, who died for our sins and is risen”.
This, therefore, “is the message of Christian life: Christ lives! Christ is
risen! Christ is among us in the community, he accompanies us on the path”.
Despite the effort we sometimes make to understand, “one of the dimensions of
Christian life” is precisely this: the message. We clearly understand from the
passage of Scripture wherein John
affirmed: “That which we have seen with our eyes, which we have heard, which we
have touched with our hands…”, as if to say: “the Risen Christ is a reality
and I bear witness to this”. The
second key word proposed by the Pontiff is “intercession”, this time inspired
by the Gospel of John (14:1-6). During the Last Supper on Holy Thursday, in
fact, the Apostles were despondent, and Jesus said: “Let not your hearts be
troubled; believe. In my Father’s house are many rooms. I will go and prepare a
place for you”. Francis paused to reflect on this passage and asked: “What does
this mean? How does Jesus prepare a place?”. The response: “With his prayer for
each of us: Jesus prays for us and this is the intercession”. It is important
to know that “Jesus works at this moment with his prayer for us”. The Pope
explained: just as before the Passion, Jesus said: “Peter I have prayed for
you”, likewise, “now Jesus is the intercessor between us and the Father”. At
this point, though, we must ask ourselves: “How does Jesus pray?”. Francis
offered a “personal” response, an answer all his own, and “not a dogma of the
Church”, he specified. “I believe that Jesus shows his wounds to the Father,
because the wounds went with him after the resurrection. He shows the wounds to
the Father and names each of us”. According to the Pontiff, we can imagine
Jesus’ prayer in this way. A Christian is enlivened by this awareness: “at this
moment Jesus intercedes for us”. Last,
the third dimension: that of hope. Again this word was sparked by the Gospel of
the day. Jesus says: “I will go and prepare a place for you”. He then adds:
“when I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to
myself, that where I am you may be also”. This is a Christian’s hope. Jesus
tells us: “I will come!”. The Pope then explained: “Christians are women and men
of hope” precisely because “they hope for the Lord to come again”. In this
regard, the Pontiff added, it is beautiful to notice “how the Bible begins and
ends”. At the beginning it reads: “In the beginning”, in other words, “when
things began”. And Revelation ends “with the prayer: ‘Come, Lord Jesus’”.
Indeed, all the Church “awaits the coming of Jesus: Jesus will come again”.
This, the Pontiff said, “is Christian hope”. Thus,
the Pope concluded, summarizing his meditation, we can ask ourselves: “How is the
message in my life? How is my relationship with Jesus who intercedes for me?
How is my hope? Do I truly believe that the Lord is risen? Do I believe that he
prays to the Father for me?”. Moreover, “Do I truly believe that the Lord will
come again?”. In other words: “Do I believe in the message? Do I believe in the
intercession? Am I a man or woman of hope?”….