(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis sent a video message on Wednesday to participants in the 100th Katholikentag , or Catholic Day, taking place in Leipzig, Germany, from May 25th to 29th. First organised in 1848, this popular festival brings together Catholics, as well as people of other religious traditions, in dialogue with political, cultural and business leaders.
Philippa Hitchen reports:
Speaking in German, a language he learnt during his student days, Pope Francis greeted participants and praised the good relations between Christians of different denominations in Germany.
Noting the title of this 100th Katholikentag, ‘ Ecce homo ’, or ‘Behold, the man’, the Pope said this theme shows us that it’s not exterior success that counts in life, but rather the ability to stop, to look and to be attentive to the needs of others.
Peace with Creation
Every person, the Pope said, wishes to live in peace with others, but this will only happen if we foster peace in our own hearts. These days, he said, so many people are in a constant hurry and tend to trample on everything around them, including our own environment. Instead, he said, we must take time to restore harmony with the world, with creation and also with our Creator.
A voice for the oppressed
Through contemplation and prayer, the Pope said, we can draw closer to God and see that as he shows love and mercy to us, so we are called to be merciful to each other. So often, he noted, we see people ill-treated and deprived of their dignity – the elderly, the sick, the unemployed and the refugees. Pope Francis concluded his message with a blessing for participants, urging them to find more time in their lives to give a voice to the poor and the oppressed.
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Wednesday said “prayer is not a magic wand.” He was speaking during his weekly General Audience in St. Peter’s Square.
The Pope was discussing the Parable of the Unjust Judge – also known as the Parable of the Persistent Widow – from the Gospel of Luke.
In the parable, the persistence of a widow forces the unjust judge to grant her request for justice, “so that she will not eventually wear [him] out.” ( Lk 18: 1-8 ).
“Widows, together with orphans and foreigners, were the most vulnerable groups of society” – Pope Francis said – “The rights secured to them by the Law could be easily trampled upon because, being alone and helpless, it was difficult from them to avail themselves: A poor widow, there, alone, no one to defend her, she could be ignored, even denied justice; thus also with the orphan, the foreigner, the migrant…at that time this was a very great problem.”
The Holy Father said the widow in the parable used the only weapon she had: Her persistence is presenting her request for justice, “and this persistence achieved its goal.”
Pope Francis said if the widow can bend the will of the Unjust Judge, then God, who is “a good and just Father,” will “do justice to those who cry out to him day and night.”
“All of us experience moments of fatigue and discouragement, especially when our prayers seem ineffective,” Pope Francis said.
“But Jesus assures us: unlike the unjust judge, God promptly answers promptly his children, although this does not mean he does it in the time and manner that we would like. Prayer is not a magic wand!” – continued the Pope – “It helps to preserve our faith in God, and to trust in Him even when we do not comprehend His will. In this, Jesus himself – who prayed so much! – is the example.”
Pope Francis gives the example of Our Lord’s prayer at Gethsemane, where he prayed for the Father to “deliver him from the bitter cup of the passion.”
“But his prayer is permeated by faith in the Father, and trusts without restraint in His will: But – says Jesus – not as I will, but as you will,” Pope Francis explained.
“The goal of the prayer is of secondary importance; what matters above all is the relationship with the Father,” – the Pope continued – “This is what makes the prayer transform the desire and shape it according to the will of God, whatever it may be, because the person who prays first of all aspires to union with God, who is Merciful Love.”
Pope Francis concluded his catechesis by mentioning the parable ends with a question: When the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?
“And with this question we are all warned: we must not desist from prayer, even if it is not answered,” the Pope said. “And it is the prayer which keeps the faith, without this, the faith wavers”
“We ask the Lord for a faith which becomes unceasing prayer, persevering, like that of the widow in the parable, a faith that is nourished by the desire of his arrival. And in this prayer we experience the compassion of God, like a Father who comes to meet his children full of merciful love.”
After his catechesis, Pope Francis prayed for the victims of terrorist attacks that took place in Syria on Monday, and also made an appeal for International Missing Children’s Day.
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis has sent a message to participants at a conference on pre- and perinatal care taking place at Rome’s Agostino Gemelli Teaching hospital.
The Conference, entitled “Guarding Life: the perinatal hospice, a scientific, ethical and human response to prenatal diagnoses,” is presenting the initial results of therapeutic approaches to care for newborns, including those with grave pathological conditions, developed by the new “Perinatal Hospice” established at the Gemelli Hospital. The Hospice has been established in the context of the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy proclaimed by Pope Francis.
In the Message, signed by Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Holy Father expressed his hope for the continued success of the project “in the service of the person and in the progress of medical science, in constant reference to perennial human and Christian values.” He noted their efforts in “seeking to respond in the best possible way to the poverty which is the situation of the child with grave pathologies, with the greatest possible love, spreading a concept of science that that is directed to service, not selection.”
Pope Francis also praised accomplishments already achieved, and called for “a daily commitment to the actualization of the project of God with concerning life and protecting it with courage and love, with the ‘style’ of nearness and proximity, distancing oneself from the throwaway culture that proposes only an itinerary of death, thinking to eliminate suffering by eliminating those who suffer.”
At the conclusion of the Message, Pope Francis extended his Apostolic Blessing to all those taking part in the Conference.
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis began his weekly General Audience in St. Peter’s Square on Wednesday by greeting people in sign language.
The message of greeting – which involves raising one’s arms, and then turning your hand with the palms out – was for a pilgrimage group from the National Board for the Deaf, which is based in Florence.
There was also a group of pilgrims from the Italian Union of the Blind, based in Latina.
When greeting the sick and infirm at the end of the Audience, Pope Francis invoked Pope St. Gregory VII – whose feast day was being celebrated on Wednesday.
“May he encourage you, dear sick people, to confront your moments of suffering with faith,” Pope Francis said.
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) “It is a duty of everyone to protect children, especially those exposed to elevated risk of exploitation, trafficking, and deviant conduct.”
That was the message of Pope Francis for International Missing Children’s Day at his General Audience on Wednesday. Missing Children’s Day was established in the United States by President Ronald Reagan in 1983, four years after the disappearance of 6-year-old Etan Patz in New York City. The date of his disappearance, May 25, was chosen for the annual commemoration. Since 1998 Missing Children’s Day has been commemorated internationally.
In his appeal at the conclusion of the weekly Audience, Pope Francis expressed his hope that “civil and religious authorities might stir consciences and raise awareness, in order to avoid indifference in the face of children on their own, exploited children, and children far from their families and their social context, children who cannot grow-up peacefully or look with hope to the future.”
He invited everyone “to prayer that each of them might be restored to the affection of their loved ones.”
(from Vatican Radio)…