(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis visited a refugee centre in Rome housing women rescued from prostitution as part of his ‘Friday of Mercy’ gestures during this Jubilee Year of Mercy. The home is run by the Pope John the 23rd community. During his visit, Pope Francis met 20 women rescued from the sex trade who were trafficked from their countries of origin that included Romania, Albania, Nigeria, Tunisia, Ukraine, and Italy. All of the women were the victims of severe physical abuse during their ordeal and are living under protection. A statement from the Holy See Press office said the Pope’s visit to this refugee centre is another reminder of the need to fight against human trafficking, which the Pope has described as “a crime against humanity” and “an open wound on the body of contemporary society, a scourge upon the body of Christ”. Listen to Devin Watkins’ report:
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis had lunch with a group of 21 Syrian refugees on Thursday at the Casa Santa Marta.
During the luncheon, both adults and children had the possibility to speak with Pope Francis about the beginnings of their life in Italy.
The children gave the Holy Father a collection of their drawings, and the Pope showered them with toys and other gifts.
The refugees, who live in Rome and are hosted by the St. Egidio Community, were brought to Rome from Lesbos by Pope Francis at the conclusion of his visit to the Greek island on 16 April 2016.
The first group arrived in Rome with the Holy Father aboard the papal plane, while the second group came to Rome in mid-June at his request.
Present at the meal with Pope Francis and his Syrian guests were the Substitute Secretary of State Archbishop Angelo Becciu; Professor Andrea Riccardi, founder of the St. Egidio Community, and other members of the community; the Commander of the Vatican Gendarmerie, Doctor Domenico Giani; and two Gendarmerie who helped transfer the refugees to Italy from Lesbos.
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Wednesday during the General Audience said God is telling everyone to “Rise up,” and that the Holy Door of the Jubilee is the door where the pain of humanity and the compassion of God meet.
The Holy Father was recounting the story of the Widow whom Jesus met at the city gate of Nain, which the Pope compared to the Holy Door. She was leaving the city in the funeral procession of her son, whom Jesus raised from the dead with the words “Rise up!”
“The passage of Luke’s Gospel we have heard presents us with a truly great miracle of Jesus, the resurrection of a young boy,” – Pope Francis said – “Yet, the heart of this story is not a miracle, but Jesus’ tenderness towards the mother of this boy. Here, mercy takes the name of great compassion towards a woman who had lost her husband and now travels to the cemetery with her only son. The great pain of this mother moves Jesus and causes the miracle of the resurrection.”
The Holy Father said “great compassion guided the actions of Jesus, [who] decides to face death, as it were, face to face. And he confronts it definitively, face to face, on the Cross.”
He said this is why he wanted this year’s Jubilee of Mercy to be celebrated in every particular Church, and not only in Rome. [This year every Diocese has established Holy Doors, in which the faithful may cross.]
“During this Jubilee Year, it would be a good thing, as they enter the Holy Door, the Gate of Mercy, that pilgrims remember this episode of the Gospel which took place at the Gate into Nain,” – Pope Francis said – “ When Jesus saw this mother in tears, she entered his heart! At the Holy Door everyone arrives bringing their life; joys and sufferings, projects and failures, doubts and fears, and presents them to the mercy of the Lord. We are confident that, at the Holy Door, the Lord is there near to us, to encounter each one of us, to bring and offer his powerful words of comfort: ‘Do not cry!’”
The Holy Father continued, saying this is “the door of where the suffering of humanity encounters the compassion of God.”
“Crossing the threshold we perform our pilgrimage in the mercy of God who, just as he said to the dead boy, tells everyone: ‘I say to you, rise up!’” – Pope Francis said – “To each of us he says: ‘Rise up’. God wants us to stand. He created us to be on our feet.”
The Holy Father said “the powerful word of Jesus can raise us and we also operate in the passage from death to life. His word revives us, gives us hope, restores tired hearts, opens us to a view of the world and of life that goes beyond suffering and death.”
The Pope went on to say that “mercy, both in Jesus and in us, is a journey that starts from the heart to goes to the hands.”
“What does this mean? Jesus looks at you, heals you with his mercy, tells you: ‘Get up!’, and your heart is new,” – Pope Francis explained – “What does it means to take a journey from the heart to the hands? It means that with this new heart, this heart healed by Jesus, he can do the works of mercy through his hands, trying to help, to heal the many that are in need. Mercy is a journey that starts in the heart and travels to the hands, that is, to works of mercy.”
At the end of his Audience, Pope Francis told the story of a bishop who established two Holy Doors: One an entrance, the other an exit.
“Why? To enter and cross the first door is to ask pardon and to receive the mercy of Jesus; and when you exit the other door, it is the outpouring of mercy, to then bring mercy to others, with the works of mercy,” he said.
“Isn’t he smart, this bishop?” the Pope Francis said.
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) On Tuesday, Pope Francis made a private visit to two convents of religious sisters in the Italian regions of Lazio and Abruzzo.
The Pope visited the Benedictine convent of the sisters of the Reparation of the Holy Face in Carsoli, located in the L’Aquila province. He also stopped by the monastery of Saint Filippa Mareri, located in Borgo San Pietro within the Rieti province, where he visited with the community of Franciscan sisters.
The Holy Father was accompanied by the bishop of Rieti, Domenico Pompili.
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) The witness of God’s merciful love which the Church, as mother, is called to give was at the center of Pope Francis’ Wednesday general audience address.
The catechesis 10 Aug audience, which was held this week in the Vatican’s Paul VI hall, is the latest in a series of addresses connected to the Jubilee Year of Mercy.
Below, please find the official English-language summary of the Pope’s catechesis, which was delivered in Italian:
Dear Brothers and Sisters: In our continuing catechesis for this Holy Year of Mercy, we now consider the miracle of Jesus’ raising of the son of the widow of Nain. Jesus, moved by compassion for the grief of a mother, directly confronts the reality of death and restores life to her young son. This encounter before the town gates can inspire our own encounter with the Lord’s life-giving mercy as we pass through the Holy Door on our Jubilee pilgrimage. We approach that Door bringing with us our entire past, its joys and sorrows, trusting that Jesus will grant us a new beginning and revive our hope in his promises. The new life given to the son of the widow of Nain reminds us that we too have been raised from the dead and given new life in Christ through the grace of baptism. The Church has become our mother and we are called to be witnesses of God’s merciful love before the world. During this Jubilee Year, may we turn once more to Jesus, for he is the Door leading to salvation and new life. May the divine mercy which we have received pass from our hearts to our hands, and find expression in our practice of the corporal and spiritual works of mercy.
(from Vatican Radio)…