(Vatican Radio) The President of Costa Rica, Luis Guillermo Solís, spoke with Vatican Radio in the wake of Pope Francis’ appeal for prayer and concrete solidarity with all those affected in his country and throughout the region by hurricane Otto, which passed through the southern parts of Central America late last week.
Pope Francis made his appeal during remarks to the faithful gathered for the Angelus prayer on Sunday in St. Peter’s Square.
“The people and the government of Costa Rica have received with great joy the message of His Holiness, Pope Francis, who remembered the difficult times we have endured just a few days ago, as we experienced the passing of hurricane Otto,” President Solís told Vatican Radio.
Click below to hear the extended remarks of Costa Rica’s President Luis Guillermo Solís to Vatican Radio
“The words of the Pope have brought joy,” he explained, “and also a balm of understanding to our people, thousands of whom have been severely affected by this climactic phenomenon.”
Solís went on to say, “We are now in the phase of recuperating: material goods, but most importantly the lives of these thousands of Costa Ricans, who were left without a home [in which] to live, or without any possessions – and in that context, the words of the Pope have become a ray, a beam of light, of hope, for my country [and] my fellow citizens. I would like to convey to His Holiness our word of adhesion, of adherence, of love – and [to] thank him very much for remembering us in his prayers.”
At least nine people were killed by Otto in Costa Rica, as some areas recorded over a month’s worth of rain in just a few hours, forcing the evacuation of more than 5 thousand people. Several towns were completely inundated.
Otto was the southernmost hurricane on record to hit Central America: it made landfall in southern Nicaragua as a category-two storm on Thursday of last week, before losing strength and becoming a tropical storm as it moved into the Pacific. At peak force, Otto had wind speeds of up to 175km/h.
Since the keeping of records began in 1851, Costa Rica had never taken a direct hit from a hurricane.
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) The eminent physicist Stephen Hawking was among those present at an audience with Pope Francis for the Pontifical Academy of Sciences.
The Academy is meeting in Rome for its plenary session, on “Science and Sustainability: Impacts of Scientific Knowledge and Technology on Human Society and its Environment.” On Saturday, Dr Hawking gave a presentation on his No-Boundary proposal concerning the beginnings of the universe.
The plenary session of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences concludes on Tuesday.
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis received the Taoiseach (Prime Minister) of Ireland, Enda Kenny, on Monday.
A communiqué from the Press Office of the Holy See reports that the Pope and Taoiseach held cordial discussions, in which they evoked the historical ties between the Holy See and Ireland, and underlined the continued contribution ensured by the Catholic Church in the fields of education and social service.
The Communiqué goes on to say the men also spoke of the importance of the role of Christians in the public sphere, especially in promoting respect for the dignity of every person, beginning with the weakest and most defenseless.
The conversation then continued with an exchange of views on Europe, with particular reference to migration, youth employment and the main challenges that the continent has to deal with, from the political point of view and institutional.
Kenny also met with the Secretary of State of the Holy See, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, who was accompanied by Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, Secretary for Relations with States.
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis has sent a telegram to the Superior General of the Jesuit Order, Father Arturo Sosa Abascal, expressing his “heartfelt condolences” on the death of Father Peter Hans Kolvenbach, the former head of the Society of Jesus.
Father Kolvenbach died in Beirut on Saturday, just a few days short of his 88th birthday.
In the telegram, sent in his own name, Pope Francis recalled Father Kolvenbach’s “integral fidelity to Christ and His Gospel,” which was joined to “a generous commitment in exercising his office with a spirit of service for the good of the Church.”
In the telegram, the Pope assured Father Sosa of his “prayers of suffrage, invoking, through the divine mercy, eternal peace” for Father Kolvenbach.
Here is the full text of the telegram for the death of Father Peter Hans Kolvenbach, S.J.:
Hearing the news of the pious death of the Reverend Father Peter Hans Kolvenbach, S.J., the former Superior General of the Company of Jesus, I desire to express to you and to the whole Jesuit family my heartfelt condolences. Recalling the integral fidelity of Father Kolvenbach to Christ and His Gospel, joined to a generous commitment in exercising his office with a spirit of service for the good of the Church, I lift up my prayers of suffrage, invoking, from the divine mercy, eternal peace for his soul. Spiritually present at the funeral rites, I cordially impart to you, to your brothers, and to those who share the sorrow for this loss, the Apostolic Blessing.
Francis, PP.
Vatican City, 27 November 2016
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) The Christian faith is not a theory or a philosophy – it is the encounter with Jesus. That was the message of Pope Francis at the morning Mass at the Casa Santa Marta at the beginning of Advent. The Pope emphasized that in order to truly encounter Jesus we undertake the journey with three attitudes: vigilant in prayer, industrious in charity, exultant in praise.
Encountering Jesus: this is “the grace that we desire in Advent.” Pope Francis centred the homily for the Holy Mass on the theme of the encounter with the Lord. He noted first that in this period of the year, the Liturgy shows us many encounters with Jesus: with His Mother in the womb, with Saint John the Baptist, with the Shepherds, with the Magi. All this, he said, shows us that Advent is “a time for journeying and going forth to meet the Lord, that is, a time to not stand still.
Prayer, charity, and praise: how we encounter the Lord
And so we must ask ourselves how we can go forth to meet Jesus. “What are the attitudes that I must have in order to encounter the Lord?” How, the Pope asks, “must I prepare my heart for the encounter with the Lord?”
In the prayer at the beginning of the Mass, the Liturgy points out three attitudes: vigilance in prayer, industriousness in charity, and exultant in praise. That is, I must pray, with vigilance. I must be hardworking in charity – fraternal charity, not only giving alms, no; but being tolerant of the people who annoy me, being tolerant at home of the children when they make too much noise; or of the husband or wife when they are difficult; or the mother-in-law… I don’t know… but tolerant: tolerant… charity, always, but hard-working. And also the joy of praising the Lord: ‘Exulting in joy.’ That is how we must live this journey, this desire to encounter the Lord. To encounter Him in a good way. Not standing still. And we will encounter the Lord.
However, the Pope added, “there will be a surprise, because He is the Lord of surprises.” The Lord, too, “does not stand still.” “I am on a journey to encounter Him, and He is on a journey to encounter me, and when we meet one another we see that the great surprise is that He was seeking me before I began to seek Him.”
The Lord always goes before us in the encounter
Pope Francis said that this “is the great surprise of the encounter with the Lord: He sought us first. He is always first. He makes His journey in order to find us.” That is what happened with the Centurion:
The Lord always goes beyond, goes first. We take one step and He takes ten. Always. The abundance of grace, of His love, of His tenderness that never tires of seeking us. Even, at times, with small things: We think that encountering the Lord would be something magnificent, like that man of Syria, Naaman, who was a leper [did]. And it’s not simple… And he too had a great surprise at God’s way of acting. And our God is the God of surprises, the God that is seeking us, is awaiting us, and asks of us only the little step of good will.
We must have the “desire to encounter Him,” the Pope continued. And then He “helps us.” The Lord, he said, “will accompany us during our life. Although many times, perhaps, we seem to be far from Him, “He waits for us like the father of the prodigal son.”
Faith does not consist in knowing dogmas, but in encountering Jesus
“Often times,” he added, “He sees that we want to draw close, and He comes out to meet us. It is the encounter with the Lord: This is the important thing! The encounter.” Pope Francis said he was always struck by something Pope Benedict had said, “that the faith is not a theory, a philosophy, an idea; it is an encounter. An encounter with Jesus.” If, on the other hand, “one has not encountered His mercy,” it would be possible even “recite the Creed from memory” without necessarily having faith”:
The doctors of the Law knew everything, all the dogmas of that time, all the morals of that time, everything. They did not have faith, because their hearts were far from God. Drawing away or having the will to go forward to encounter. And this is the grace that we ask for today: ‘O God, our Father, raise up in us the desire to meet your Christ,’ with good works. To meet Jesus. And for this we remember the grace that we have asked in prayer, with vigilance in prayer, industriousness in charity, and exulting in praise. And so we will encounter the Lord and we will have a very beautiful surprise.
(from Vatican Radio)…