(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Thursday celebrated Mass for the feast of the Presentation of the Lord in St Peter’s Basilica in Rome. Members of Institutes of Consecrated Life and of Societies of Apostolic Life participated in the Liturgy.
Listen to our report:
The Mass also commemorates the World Day for Consecrated Life. On this day, the Church celebrates and prays for those who have consecrated their lives to God by the vows of chastity, poverty and obedience. The World Day for Consecrated Life was established in 1997 by Pope Saint John Paul II; 2017 marks the twenty-first annual observance of the Day.
The liturgical feast chosen for the commemoration celebrates the presentation of the newborn Jesus in the Temple by Joseph and Mary forty days after His birth, in accordance with the law of the Old Testament. The feast is also known as “Candlemas” on account of the blessing of candles and the procession that takes place at the beginning of the Mass.
The candles blessed during the Liturgy thus symbolize both Christ, who is the Light of the World; and the lives of consecrated women and men who are called to reflect the light of Christ for all peoples.
In his homily for during the Mass, Pope Francis spoke of the “hymn of hope” pronounced by Simeon and Anna when they saw the Saviour appearing in the Temple. We, too, the Pope said, “have inherited this hymn of hope from our elders… We would do well to take up the dreams of our elders, so that we can prophesy in our day, and once more encounter what originally set our hearts on fire.”
But he also warned of a “temptation” that can make the consecrated life barren: the temptation of “survival”, which urges us to protect ourselves at the expense of our dreams. “The temptation of survival,” Pope Francis said, “makes us forget grace.”
The Holy Father reminded consecrated women and men, that they are called to put themselves “with Jesus in the midst of His people.”
Pope Francis concluded his homily with the exhortation: “Let us accompany Jesus as He goes forth to meet His people, to be in the midst of His people.”
This year’s celebration of the World Day for Consecrated Life has a particular significance, being devoted to thanksgiving and prayer for the give of vocations, especially in view of the upcoming Synod of Bishops, which will be dedicated to the theme: “Youth, faith and vocational discernment.” The Synod is expected to meet in October 2018.
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) On Thursday, Pope Francis celebrated a solemn Mass for the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord, and also commemorated the 21st annual World Day for Consecrated Life.
In his homily for the Mass, the Holy Father called on consecrated women and men to “accompany Jesus as He goes forth to meet His people, to be in the midst of His people.”
Below, please find the full text of Pope Francis’ homily for the feast of the Presentation of the Lord:
Homily of His Holiness Pope Francis
Feast of the Presentation of the Lord
2 February 2017
When the parents of Jesus brought the Child in fulfilment of the prescriptions of the law, Simeon, “guided by the Spirit” ( Lk 2:27), took the Child in his arms and broke out in a hymn of blessing and praise. “My eyes”, he said, “have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to your people Israel” ( Lk 2:30-32). Simeon not only saw, but was privileged to hold in his arms the long-awaited hope, which filled him with exultation. His heart rejoiced because God had come to dwell among his people; he felt his presence in the flesh.
Today’s liturgy tells us that in that rite, the Lord, forty days after his birth, “outwardly was fulfilling the Law, but in reality he was coming to meet his believing people” ( Roman Missal , 2 February, Introduction to the Entrance Procession). This encounter of God with his people brings joy and renews hope.
Simeon’s canticle is the hymn of the believer, who at the end of his days can exclaim: “It is true, hope in God never disappoints” (cf. Rm 5:5). God never deceives us. Simeon and Anna, in their old age, were capable of a new fruitfulness, and they testify to this in song. Life is worth living in hope, because the Lord keeps his promise. Jesus himself will later explain this promise in the synagogue of Nazareth: the sick, prisoners, those who are alone, the poor, the elderly and sinners, all are invited to take up this same hymn of hope. Jesus is with them, Jesus is with us (cf. Lk 4:18-19).
We have inherited this hymn of hope from our elders. They made us part of this process. In their faces, in their lives, in their daily sacrifice we were able to see how this praise was embodied. We are heirs to the dreams of our elders, heirs to the hope that did not disappoint our founding mothers and fathers, our older brothers and sisters. We are heirs to those who have gone before us and had the courage to dream. Like them, we too want to sing, “God does not deceive; hope in him does not disappoint”. God comes to meet his people. And we want to sing by taking up the prophecy of Joel and making it our own: “I will pour out my spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions” (2:28).
We do well to take up the dreams of our elders, so that we can prophesy in our day and once more encounter what originally set our hearts afire. Dreams and prophecies together. The remembrance of how our elders, our fathers and mothers, dreamed, and the courage prophetically to carry on those dreams.
This attitude will make us fruitful. Most importantly, it will protect us from a temptation that can make our consecrated life barren: the temptation of survival . An evil that can gradually take root within us and within our communities. The mentality of survival makes us reactionaries, fearful, slowly and silently shutting ourselves up in our houses and in our own preconceived notions. It makes us look back, to the glory days – days that are past – and rather than rekindling the prophetic creativity born of our founders’ dreams, it looks for shortcuts in order to evade the challenges knocking on our doors today. A survival mentality robs our charisms of power, because it leads us to “domesticate” them, to make them “user-friendly”, robbing them of their original creative force. It makes us want to protect spaces, buildings and structures, rather than to encourage new initiatives. The temptation of survival makes us forget grace; it turns us into professionals of the sacred but not fathers and mothers, brothers and sisters of that hope to which we are called to bear prophetic witness. An environment of survival withers the hearts of our elderly, taking away their ability to dream. In this way, it cripples the prophecy that our young are called to proclaim and work to achieve. In a word, the temptation of survival turns what the Lord presents as an opportunity for mission into something dangerous, threatening, potentially disastrous. This attitude is not limited to the consecrated life, but we in particular are urged not to fall into it.
Let us go back to the Gospel passage and once more contemplate that scene. Surely, the song of Simeon and Anna was not the fruit of self-absorption or an analysis and review of their personal situation. It did not ring out because they were caught up in themselves and were worried that something bad might happen to them. Their song was born of hope, the hope that sustained them in their old age. That hope was rewarded when they encountered Jesus. When Mary let Simeon take the Son of the Promise into his arms, the old man began to sing of his dreams. Whenever she puts Jesus in the midst of his people, they encounter joy. For this alone will bring back our joy and hope, this alone will save us from living in a survival mentality. Only this will make our lives fruitful and keep our hearts alive: putting Jesus where he belongs, in the midst of his people.
All of us are aware of the multicultural transformation we are experiencing; no one doubts this. Hence, it is all the more important for consecrated men and women to be one with Jesus, in their lives and in the midst of these great changes. Our mission – in accordance with each particular charism – reminds us that we are called to be a leaven in this dough. Perhaps there are better brands of flour, but the Lord has called us to be leaven here and now, with the challenges we face. Not on the defensive or motivated by fear, but with our hands on the plough, helping the wheat to grow, even though it has frequently been sown among weeds. Putting Jesus in the midst of his people means having a contemplative heart, one capable of discerning how God is walking through the streets of our cities, our towns and our neighbourhoods. Putting Jesus in the midst of his people means taking up and carrying the crosses of our brothers and sisters. It means wanting to touch the wounds of Jesus in the wounds of a world in pain, which longs and cries out for healing.
To put ourselves with Jesus in the midst of his people! Not as religious “activists”, but as men and women who are constantly forgiven, men and women anointed in baptism and sent to share that anointing and the consolation of God with everyone.
To put ourselves with Jesus in the midst of his people. For this reason, “we sense the challenge of finding and sharing a ‘mystique’ of living together, of mingling and encounter, of embracing and supporting one another, of stepping into this flood tide which, while chaotic, can [with the Lord] become a genuine experience of fraternity, a caravan of solidarity, a sacred pilgrimage… If we were able to take this route, it would be so good, so soothing, so liberating and hope-filled! To go out of ourselves and to join others” ( Evangelii Gaudium , 87) is not only good for us; it also turns our lives and hopes into a hymn of praise. But we will only be able to do this if we take up the dreams of our elders and turn them into prophecy.
Let us accompany Jesus as he goes forth to meet his people, to be in the midst of his people. Let us go forth, not with the complaining or anxiety of those who have forgotten how to prophesy because they failed to take up the dreams of their elders, but with serenity and songs of praise. Not with apprehension but with the patience of those who trust in the Spirit, the Lord of dreams and prophecy. In this way, let us share what is truly our own: the hymn that is born of hope.
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis’ prayer intention for February is to Comfort for the Afflicted: That all those who are afflicted, especially the poor, refugees, and marginalized, may find welcome and comfort in our communities.
The Apostleship of Prayer has produced the Pope’s Video on this prayer intention.
The full text of the Pope’s Video is below:
Welcome the Needy
We live in cities that throw up skyscrapers and shopping centers and strike big real estate deals … but they abandon a part of themselves to marginal settlements on the periphery.1
The result of this situation is that great sections of the population are excluded and marginalized: without a job, without options, without a way out. 2
Don’t abandon them. Pray with me for all those who are afflicted, especially the poor, refugees, and marginalized, may find welcome and comfort in our communities.3
[1]Address of Pope Francis to the participants in the World Meeting of Popular Movements. Old Synod Hall, Tuesday, 28 October 2014.
[1] Evangelii Gaudium: Apostolic Exhortation “The Joy of the Gospel”, Art. 53.
[1] Universal Prayer Intention of the Holy Father entrusted to the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network (Apostleship of Prayer). February 2017.
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(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher is wrapping up a week-long visit to Japan during which he met with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and celebrated Mass in the city of Hiroshima.
The Vatican Secretary for Relations with States confirmed the Holy See’s cooperation with Japan regarding the elimination of nuclear weapons.
On Wednesday Archbishop Gallagher held a ‘Lectio Magistralis’ at the Jesuit-run University of Sophia in Tokyo, dedicated to the promotion of a culture of peace.
During his lesson, Gallagher spoke of the important contribution made by a Catholic University which takes into account a global and not merely intellectual formation of the whole person.
Quoting Pope Francis he said that “if the university becomes no more than an academy of ideas or an assembly line of professionals, or its structure is determined by a business mentality, then it has truly lost its way”.
He said that one must never tire of looking at the world, with its events and actors, critically but also constructively, asking us not to “exclude” and appealing for “necessary dialogue” as a method proper to cultural and educational processes.
Referring to the core message of his lesson, Gallagher said “the question of peace involves more than politics or diplomatic activity; it is directly linked to culture and to the sphere of ethics and moral conscience that can generate much apprehension, yet is so greatly needed in international relations”.
He pointed out that the “vision of peace proposed by the magisterium of the Catholic Church does not necessarily coincide with that current in the community of the nations, as summarized, for example, by the contents of the UN Charter. The difference does not simply have to do with issues involving the use of force or the obligations incumbent upon states, but with the conviction that peace calls first and foremost for preventing the causes that lead to war. “To bring about true peace, it is necessary to bring people together concretely so as to reconcile peoples and groups with opposing ideological positions. It is also necessary to work together for what persons, families, peoples and nations feel is their right, namely to participate on a social, political and economic level in the goods of the modern world”.
Thus, Gallagher said, peace on earth is thus the result of any number of factors, of which a culture of peace is the vehicle.
He said Pope speaks of “a war being fought piecemeal” as a way of perceiving, among the many possible causes of conflict (selfish interests, poverty, lack of development, territorial dominion, spheres of influence…), the one that is essential.
Working for peace, he said, demands returning to the bases of human relationships and thus recovering the bases of the internal order of nations and the international order.
“As Pope Francis sees it, this means that true peace cannot come about “without the recognition of certain incontestable natural ethical limits and without the immediate implementation of those pillars of integral human development”. A true culture of peace, then, calls for concrete commitments requiring solid and structured foundations: exactly the opposite of the frequently heard idea that “a single theoretical and aprioristic solution will provide an answer to all the challenges”.
Archbishop Gallagher’s long lesson goes on to illustrate tools that are at the disposal of world leaders, he talks about the culture of peace and the threat to peace which today “comes not only from traditional wars and hostilities, whether domestic or international, but also from other problems”.
He talks of a return to the vision of just peace which includes religious freedom in its varied forms, among which is conscientious objection and points out that a culture of peace can also make a huge contribution to anti-terrorism strategies.
Archbishop Gallagher talked about the goals to be achieved, the use of dialogue, discussion and negotiation as well as “the language of the magisterium, this involves a correct and consistent application of the principle of subsidiarity”.
He reflected on the areas of development and international cooperation, on the more general fight against poverty which “presupposes a common agreement that can only be the result of an effective solidarity between states”.
“This would involve a greater appreciation of the role of intellectual property, an area in which a consistent culture of peace is called to recognize the right of researchers and producers to just compensation, so that new developments can truly be at the service of the common good of the human family” he said.
Gallagher concluded calling for a “prophetic vision that can bring together the human, cultural and religious aspects and thus offer our contemporary world a firm common witness to the service of goodness, the service of dialogue and the service of peace. In this context, the university has a fundamental task as a place of encounter between faith and reason, between memory of the past and scientific development towards the future, and as a place of encounter and discussion between different visions of life, technology, politics and religious convictions. That task is to prepare the way for a future of peace, an attainable future, a future for all”.
(from Vatican Radio)…