(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis celebrated his first daily Mass in the Casa Santa Marta on Thursday following the summer break, reflecting on the Cross of Christ as the mystery of love.
Listen to Devin Watkins’ report:
On the Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross, Pope Francis during his homily at daily Mass preached on the “mystery of love” that is the Cross of Christ and warned against two spiritual temptations related to it.
The first temptation, he said, is to think of Christ without a cross or to reduce him a “spiritual teacher”. The second, he said, is to think of a cross without Christ or to remove all hope in a type of “spiritual masochism”.
Pope Francis said the Liturgy speaks of the Cross as a noble and faithful tree, pointing out that it is not always easy to understand the Cross. “We advance in the mystery of love only through contemplation,” he said.
Mystery of the Cross
In the day’s Gospel, Jesus explains the Cross to Nicodemus with the verbs “to go up” and “to come down”.
“Jesus comes down from Heaven to raise all of us up to Heaven. This is the mystery of the Cross,” he said.
In the First Reading, St. Paul says that Jesus “humbled himself, becoming obedient to death, even death on a cross.”
“Jesus’ descent is to the lowest point, even unto humiliation. He emptied himself for love, and because of this God exalted him and made him go up. Only if we succeed in understanding this complete descent can we understand the salvation which this mystery of love offers us.”
Two temptations
Pope Francis pointed out that true understanding is not easy, because there is always the temptation to aim for one goal instead of the other.
St. Paul rebukes the Galatians for “giving in to the temptation not to enter the mystery of love but to explain it”. As the serpent had bewitched Eve and had poisoned the Israelites in the desert, Pope Francis said the Galatians were bewitched “by the illusion of a Christ without a cross and a cross without Christ.”
“A Christ without a cross is not the Lord: he is a teacher, nothing else. This is perhaps what Nicodemus, without realizing it, was seeking. It is one of the temptations. Yes, Jesus: ‘What a good teacher’, but… without the cross, [only] Jesus. Who bewitched you with this image? Paul is angry. Jesus Christ is presented but not as crucified. The other temptation is a cross without Christ, that is, the anguish of remaining down, depressed by the weight of sin and without hope. This is a type of spiritual masochism: only the cross, without hope and without Christ.”
Mystery of love
Pope Francis said the Cross without a Christ would be a “mystery of tragedy”, like a pagan tragedy.
“The Cross is a mystery of love; the Cross is faithful; the Cross is noble. Today we should take a minute to ask ourselves these questions. Is Christ crucified a mystery of love? Do I follow Jesus without a cross: a spiritual teacher who fills me with consolation and good counsel? Do I follow a cross without Jesus, without complaining, with this masochism of the spirit? Do I let myself be carried by this mystery of lowering, that is, of total emptying and lifting up of the Lord?”
Pope Francis concluded with the wish that the Lord grant His grace, not just to understand, but to enter into this mystery of love “with the heart, mind, and body. Totally.”
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Wednesday met privately in the Vatican Indian Catholic priest who was freed on Tuesday after his abduction abducted by gunmen in Yemen last year, the Vatican’s newspaper L’Osservatore Romano reported. The Holy Father met Salesian Father Tom Uzhunnalil at the papal residence of Santa Marta, after his weekly general audience in St. Peter’s Square. After being rescued, the 57-year old missionary was flown to the Omani capital, Muscat, from where he was flown to Rome, where he is recuperating in a Salesian community before heading home to India later.
Visibly moved
On first meeting the Pope, Fr. Uzhunnalil went down on his knees kissing the feet of the Holy Father in profound reverence. The Pope reciprocated lifting Father Tom to his feet and kissing his hands. He embraced and encouraged the Indian missionary assuring him he would continue praying for him as he had been doing during his captivity. L’Osservatore Roman said the Pope, “visibly moved, blessed him.” Among several photos circulating on the social media, one showed Pope Francis kissing the hand of Fr. Uzhunnalil.
Born in Ramapuram, in southern India’s Kerala state, Father Uzhunnalil belongs to the Bangalore Salesian province. He was abducted on March 4, 2016 when four unidentified gunmen attacked a care home in Yemen’s southern port city of Aden, killing 16 people including 4 Missionaries of Charity sisters of Mother Teresa. The 57-year old priest had been working for more than four years as a chaplain at the care home.
Interior prayer
Fr. Uzhunnallil thanked the Pontiff saying he “prayed for him every day, offering his suffering for his mission and for the good of the Church.” The Pope was touched by his words, the L’Osservatore Romano reported. The Salesian priest also said he was “unable to celebrate the Eucharist, ” but would recite “inside me and in my heart all the prayers of the Mass.”
The Indian priest assured he would continue praying for all who had been close to him spiritually. He particularly recalled the four Missionaries of Charity sisters of Mother Teresa and twelve people killed during the attack last year.
Fr. Uzhunnallil was particularly grateful to the government of Oman for obtaining his release. The Holy See, in a communique, has already expressed its gratitude to all those in obtaining his release, especially Oman’s ruler Sultan Qaboos and competent authorities of the sultanate.
Jesus is great and loves us
Indian Cardinal Oswald Gracias , Archbishop of Bombay, who is in the Vatican for the ‘C9’ Council of Cardinals meeting, accompanied the Salesian priest to the Pope. “After this terrible experience, the essential message that Fr. Tom gives is that Jesus is great and loves us,” the cardinal told L’Osservatore Romano. Fr. Uzhunnalil agreed with him saying, “Really, every day, I felt Jesus close to me . I always knew and felt in my heart that I was not alone .”
L’Osservatore Romano said that Fr. Uzhunnalil will be in Rome in a Salesian community for some time and undergo some medical check-ups . Cardinal Gracias said that the priest was keeping “good” health, adding that during his 18-month captivity he did not have any particular problem and was treated well.
Fr. Uzhunnalil was born and brought up in a devout Catholic family. His uncle Matthew, who died in 2015, was also a Salesian priest, and founded the mission in Yemen, where he served.
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis dedicated his General Audienc e on Wednesday to a reflection on his Aposotolic Visit to Colombia , which concluded on Sunday.
He prayed, “through the prayers of Our Lady of Chiquinquirá, Patroness of Columbia,” that the nation might “continue to progress in the way of peace in love, justice and truth.”
Below, please find the official English-language summary of Pope Francis’ remarks at the General Audience for Wednesday, 13 September 2017:
Dear Brothers and Sisters: My recent Pastoral Visit to Colombia, in the footsteps of Popes Paul VI and John Paul II, sought to encourage the process of reconciliation in that country following a half century of conflict and division. Its motto – Let us Take the First Step – was also an appeal to the nation to discover in its deep Christian roots the spiritual resources needed to advance the work of healing and rebuilding. In Bogotá, I was warmly welcomed, especially by the young, who are the future of the country. The Beatification of two martyrs and the reconciliation service celebrated in Villavicencio were particularly moving. In Medellín, the emphasis was on Christian discipleship and mission, exemplified in the help given to youth through the Hogares group homes and in the faces of the many young men and women who are responding to Jesus’ call to the priesthood and the consecrated life. In Cartagena, the example of Saints Peter Claver and Maria Bernarda Bütler reaffirmed our evangelical commitment to human promotion and the defence of human rights. Through the prayers of Our Lady of Chiquinquirá, Patroness of Columbia, may the nation continue to progress in the way of peace in love, justice and truth.
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis has concluded his visit to Colombia where he spent five days meeting victims of the country’s civil war and urging all people to work together for peace and national reconciliation .
But as the spotlight fades and organisers dismantle the Mass venues, what effect will the pope’s words have on the politicians, religious leaders and Colombians from all walks of life who flocked to see and hear him speak in Cartagena, Medellin, Villavicencio and the capital, Bogotà?
Our correspondent in Bogotà, Linda Bordoni , put that question to Beatrice Canal, a professional translator and mother of two grown up children, who shares her own reactions to the papal visit.
Listen:
Beatrice says she was “pleasantly surprised” and deeply moved to see so many people welcoming the pope “with happiness in their eyes”.
The visit, she says, “has brought us together” and “touched the hearts of every Colombian” who had the chance to see him at the main events or simply line the streets as he drove by.
Colombians very touched by visit
She says she was happy to see that the trip was “completely unpolitical”, but as an overwhelmingly Catholic nation (over 80 percent of the population) “we were very touched by the visit”.
In particular, Beatrice says, Colombians are “all very happy that he is the first Latin American pope and “we see him as one of our own”.
Desire to reach out to others
Asked what impact the papal visit may have on the future of her country, Beatrice notes the pope spoke extensively “about peace and reaching out to others”. She adds: “I hope he leaves behind the desire in every Colombian to again feel and share that brotherly and fraternal love he’s been speaking so much about”.
People want to live in peace
While she acknowledges that the implementation of the peace agreements remains fraught with difficulties, Beatrice insists that “every Colombian is hopeful to live in a country in peace”.
Learn to accept former insurgents
She notes that her own children, aged 30 and 35, have never lived in a country in peace, and that she was “a little girl when the violence broke out”. She says: “I know that the signing of a paper does not translate immediately into peace, now comes the most difficult part where every Colombian has to chip into the process and to open our hearts and be accepting of the former insurgents”.
Victims need to live without fear
Also the victims, she concludes, need to “find a place in their heart to want to forgive” and to be able to live, free of the fear that has caused so much suffering for those living the countryside.
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis has returned to the Vatican at the end of his five day apostolic visit to Colombia.
After the papal plane touched down at Rome’s Ciampino airport on Monday afternoon, the pope went to the Rome Basilica of St Mary Major, as he habitually does, to give thanks for his successful journey.
Inside the ancient basilica, he spent a few moment in prayer in front of the icon of Maria Salus Populi Romani.
During the eleven hour flight, Pope Francis answered questions from the journalists who had been covering his visit to the Colombia cities of Cartagena, Medellin, Villavicencio and the capital Bogotà.
(from Vatican Radio)…