(Vatican Radio) Be not afraid of “speaking the truth about our life”, by recognizing our sins and confessing them to the Lord. That was Pope Francis message at Mass on Thursday morning in the Casa Santa Marta.
Listen to Devin Watkins’ report:
Reflecting in his homily on the day’s Gospel about Herod’s response to Jesus’ preaching, Pope Francis noted that some people associated Jesus with John the Baptist, Elijah, or a prophet.
Herod, he said, did not know what to think about Jesus, but “he felt” something within. This was not a mere curiosity, the Pope said, but “remorse in his soul and heart”. Herod sought to see Jesus “to calm himself”.
The Holy Father said Herod wanted to see the Christ perform a miracle, but Jesus refused to hold “a circus before him”, so Herod handed him over to Pontius Pilate. And Jesus paid for his refusal with his life.
In so doing, the Pope said, Herod covered “one crime with another” and “one remorse of conscience with another crime”, like one “who kills out of fear”.
Remorse, he said, is therefore not “simply remembering something” but “an open wound”.
“It is an open wound, which, when we have done something wrong in our life, pains us. But it is a hidden wound, unseen even by me, because I get used to carrying it around and anesthetizing it. It is there and some touch it, but it remains within. When it hurts, we feel remorse. I am not only aware of having done evil, but I also feel it in my body, in my soul, and in my life. And so I feel the temptation to cover it and not feel it anymore.”
Pope Francis went on to say it is “a grace to feel our conscience accuse us”. However, he said none of us is a saint, so we are all tempted to notice the sins of the others, instead of our own.
“We must, if I may say so, ‘baptize’ this open wound, that is, give it a name… And if you ask, ‘Father, how can I remove it?’ First of all, pray: ‘Lord, have mercy on me, a sinner.’ And then examine your life… And ask someone to help you to identify the wound and to give it a name, saying ‘I feel remorse because I did this concrete act.’ This is true humility before God.”
The Pope said this act of being concrete with remorse is necessary for healing.
“We must learn the science and wisdom of accusing ourselves… I accuse myself, feel the pain caused by the wound, learn where it has come from, and then indict myself regarding it. Do not be afraid of remorse, for it is a sign of salvation.”
Finally, Pope Francis invited all to pray for the grace “to have courage to accuse ourselves”, in order to journey along the path towards salvation.
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Franci s has loudly and clearly welcomed migrants, refugees and asylum seekers while expressing his support and gratitude for the Caritas Internationalis ‘ “ Share the Journey ” campaign.
Speaking during his weekly General Audience in St. Peter’s Square on Wednesday, the Pope also had special words of welcome for Caritas representatives gathered to officially launch the two-year campaign aimed at activism and awareness-raising about the plight of migrants,
The campaign encourages people to actually meet with migrants and listen to their stories, rather than treat them as mere numbers and statistics imbued with negative stereotypes.
Opening his arms wide in a powerfully symbolic gesture, Francis said “Christ urges us to welcome our brothers and sisters with our arms truly open, ready for a sincere embrace, a loving and enveloping embrace”.
And pointing to the beautiful Bernini colonnade that encircles St. Peter’s Square, he said our embrace of migrants should mimic the colonnade “which represents mother Church who embraces everyone by sharing in our common journey”.
The Pope thanked Caritas members and other Church organizations for their constant commitment in favour of migrants saying that they are the sign of an “open, inclusive and welcoming Church.”
The campaign launched on Wednesday aims to challenge negative myths and perceptions regarding migrants through websites featuring the stories of individuals, the true impact of immigration and explanations of Church teaching on the culture of encounter.
Caritas Internationalis is asking Catholics to take public action in support of migrants, posting pro-immigrant messages on social media and participating in programmes where they can meet migrants and refugees.
In his greetings to all those who work to support and advocate for migrants and refugees the Pope also welcomed a petition which is vying for new legislation on migration “which is more pertinent to the current context.”
After the Audience Pope Francis personally greeted a group of some 50 refugees who were in the Square for the occasion.
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Wednesday urged governments and all men and women of goodwill to welcome migrants with open arms and share in their plight as Jesus did.
Speaking to the crowds gathered in St. Peter’s Square for the weekly General Audience , the Pope launched a 2-year campaign of action and awareness raising that aims to promote a culture of encounter and to encourage people to receive migrants and refugees with open hearts and minds.
The campaign, entitled “ Share the Journey ” is promoted by Caritas Internationalis .
“Brothers, don’t be afraid of sharing the journey. Don’t be afraid of sharing hope” Pope Francis said.
His appeal to replace prejudice with tolerance was enmeshed in his continuing catechesis on Christian hope during which he reflected on the importance of combatting all that threatens our hope.
And pointing out that it is hope itself that motivates so many of our brothers and sisters forced to leave their homes in search of a better life, Francis said that hope is especially the virtue of the poor.
“God came into this world among the poor, to bring the good news of our salvation” he said.
And appealing to Christians to never allow themselves to be robbed of hope, he said that hope is also the virtue of the young who risk being deprived of it by an often soulless and materialist society.
Pope Francis concluded reminding the faithful that we are not alone in our fight against desperation and spiritual emptiness: “if God is with us no one will rob us of that virtue which is necessary to look to the future: no one will rob us of hope”.
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Wednesday continued his catechesis on Christian hope and invited all Christians to welcome so many of our brothers and sisters forced to leave their homes in search of a better life.
Launching Caritas Internationalis’ “ Share the Journey ” campaign, the Pope pointed out that no one deserves to be robbed of hope by a soulless and materialist society.
He was speaking to crowds gathered in St. Peter’s Square for the weekly General Audience.
Please find below the official translation of the Pope’s Catechesis :
Dear Brothers and Sisters: In our continuing catechesis on Christian hope, I would now like to reflect on the importance of combatting all that threatens our hope. As the ancient story of Pandora’s box teaches us, hope remains as the treasure enabling mankind to face with trust in God’s providence every evil let loose in this world. In our own day, hope motivates so many of our brothers and sisters forced to leave their homes in search of a better life, but also those who welcome them, “sharing the journey” with them and trusting in a better tomorrow. Hope is especially the virtue of the poor. As the mystery of Christmas teaches us, God came into this world among the poor, to bring the good news of our salvation. Hope is also the virtue of the young, who deserve not to be robbed of it by an often soulless and materialist society. Hope’s greatest enemy is spiritual emptiness, the “noon-day devil” that tempts us to stop fighting and to yield to discouragement. Let us ask the Lord for the grace to hope more firmly in his promises, confident that his victory over the world will fill our hearts with joy as we face the future and all that it has in store for us.
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis met on Tuesday with Russian Orthodox Metropolitan Hilarion, who came to thank the Holy Father for the recent loan of the relics of the 4th century Saint Nicholas of Myra.
The relics, which were taken from the southern Italian city of Bari to Moscow and St Petersburg, drew huge crowds of Orthodox pilgrims during the two month loan period.
Metropolitan Hilarion, who has been a regular visitor to the Vatican in recent years, heads the department for external church relations .
Speaking to Vatican Radio after the private audience, the Orthodox leader said he and the pope also discussed ongoing tensions in Ukraine , as well as joint efforts to support Christians in the Middle East . Despite a warming of relations between Moscow and Rome, he said there are no current plans for a papal visit to Russia, or for Patriarch Kirill to visit the Vatican.
Listen to Philippa Hitchen’s interview with Metropolitan Hilarion:
Metropolitan Hilarion says the “translation of the relics of St Nicholas to Russia was a very special event” as almost 2.5 million people came to venerate them, standing in queues of up to ten hours.
Relics of St Nicholas
He notes that for many decades, relations between Catholics and Orthodox developed out of sight of ordinary people in Russia. The first event which came to their attentions, he says, was the historic meeting of Pope Francis and Patriarch Kirill in February last year, but the first event in which people participated was the veneration of the relics.
Joint efforts to support Christians in Syria
Asked about other joint projects, the Orthodox leader says his Church has created a working group with Catholics to provide humanitarian assistance to Christians in the Middle East, in particular to catalogue the churches, monasteries and shrines that have been destroyed during the war in Syria. While he says he hopes the war will end soon, he adds there will be an immense task of restoring the country and the churches, as well as providing safe spaces for Christians to go back home.
Religious freedom in Russia
Speaking about religious freedom in Russia, Metropolitan Hilarion says the concerns of some journalists “in my view, are ungrounded”. He says that Jehovah’s Witnesses have been prohibited from activities recently, since they are considered “not as a Christian Church, but as a sect”.
Tensions in Ukraine
He says that he discussed with Pope Francis the situation in Ukraine, “where, in our point of view, violations of religious freedom are quite visible and quite open”. He mentions especially laws proposed by the Ukrainian parliament to “discriminate” against the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate, which is accused of being an agent of Russia and treated as a foreign religious organisation.
Abstain from aggressive rhetoric
Despite the desire for reconciliation expressed by the pope and the patriarch in their joint declaration, Metropolitan Hilarion says it’s hard to speak of progress in relations between Orthodox and Greek Catholics in Ukraine. He adds that the first step must be for each religious confession “to abstain from aggressive rhetoric”.
(from Vatican Radio)…