(Vatican Radio) Listen to the Word of God to avoid the risk of a hardened heart. That was Pope Francis’ message in his homily at morning Mass at Casa Santa Marta on Thursday. The Pope pointed out that when we turn away from God and are deaf to His Word, we become unfaithful or even “Catholic atheists.”
Pope Francis drew inspiration from the First Reading from the Book of the Prophet Jeremiah to meditate on the importance of listening to the Word of God. “When we do not stop to listen to the voice of the Lord we end up moving away, we turn away from Him, we turn our backs. And if we do not listen to the voice of the Lord, we listen to other voices.”
The Holy Father suggested that if we do not listen to God’s voice, then in the end we listen to the voices of idols. He noted bitterly that eventually, “we become deaf: deaf to the Word of God.”
“And all of us, if we stop a little today and look at our hearts, we will see how many times – how many times! – we close our ears and how many times we have become deaf. And when a people, a community, but we can also say a Christian community, a parish, a diocese, when they close their ears and become deaf to the Word of the Lord, they search for other voices, other lords, and it ends with idols, the idols of the world, the worldliness that society offers. That community distances itself from the living God.”
If the heart hardens, we become “Catholic pagans”, even “Catholic atheists.” As we move away from the Lord, the Pope added, our hearts harden. When someone “does not listen, the heart becomes harder, more closed in on itself, hard and unable to receive anything; not only is it closed: there is a hardness of heart.” That person lives “in that world, that atmosphere that doesn’t do him good. He moves further away from God every day.”
“And these two things – not listening to the Word of God and a hardened heart, closed in on itself – cause infidelity. You lose your sense of fidelity. The Lord says in the First Reading: ‘faithfulness is gone’, and we become unfaithful Catholics, Catholic pagans or, uglier still, Catholic atheists, because we have no reference to the love of the living God. To not listen and to turn our backs – that makes our hearts harden – takes us on the road to infidelity.
The Pope then asked, “This infidelity, how does it end?” He answered by referring to the Gospel passage from St Luke, in which Jesus is accused of healing people through the power of Beelzebul. “It ends in confusion; you do not know where God is or where He is not, you confuse God with the devil.”
His Holiness said we should ask ourselves whether we really listen to the Word of God or whether we harden our hearts. “This is blasphemy. Blasphemy is the final word on this path that begins with not listening, with the hardening of the heart.” This failure to listen and this hardening of the heart “leads to confusion, making you forget fidelity and, ultimately, blaspheming.”
To those who forget the wonder of the first meeting with Jesus, he said: “Each of us can ask ourselves today: ‘Have I stopped listening to the Word of God, taking the Bible in my hands and talking only to myself? Has my heart been hardened? Am I far from the Lord? Have I lost my fidelity to the Lord and do I live with the idols that offer me worldliness every day? Have I lost the joy of the wonder of my first meeting with Jesus?’. Today is a day to listen. ‘O that today you would listen to His voice! Harden not your hearts!’’. We ask for this grace: the grace to listen so that our hearts will not be hardened.”
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis received Paul Biya, President of the Republic of Cameroon, in a private audience at the Vatican on Thursday.
A communique from the Holy See Press Office said their discussions were “cordial”.
“During the course of their cordial discussions, the good relationship between the Holy See and Cameroon was evoked, as well as the important contribution offered by the Church for the development of the country, especially in the fields of education and healthcare. Recognizing the peaceful coexistence and mutual respect among various religions, they spoke about the importance of favouring national cohesion, whilst giving precedence to the richness of various historical and cultural traditions of the country, in respect for human rights and the rights of minorities.”
The Pope and the president also exchanged “views on themes of international affairs, with particular reference to the region’s current challenges”.
President Biya subsequently met with Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Secretary of State, who was accompanied by Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, Secretary for Relations with States.
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis has sent a telegram expressing his condolences to the victims of the terror attack at the House of Parliament in London on Wednesday, in which an attacker killed four people before armed police shot him dead.
Addressed to the Archbishop of Westminster, Cardinal Vincent Nichols , and signed by the Cardinal Secretary of State, Pietro Parolin, the telegram conveys the Holy Father’s promises of prayers and spiritual closeness to the grieving families, as well as his spiritual solidarity with the whole people.
Below, please find the full text of the Telegram, in English
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His Eminence Cardinal Vincent Nichols
Archbishop of Westminster
President of the Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales
Deeply saddened to learn of the loss of life and of the injuries caused by the attack in central London, His Holiness Pope Francis expresses his prayerful solidarity with all those affected by this tragedy. Commending those who have died to the loving mercy of Almighty God, His Holiness invokes divine strength and peace upon their grieving families, and he assures the nation of his prayers at this time.
Cardinal Pietro Parolin
Secretary of State
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis has greeted participants in a Vatican conference on the value and values of water promoted by the Pontifical Council for Culture.
Wednesday, March 22, marks the 25th iteration of World Water Day, instituted by the United Nations in 1992.
The conference is entitled “ Watershed: replenishing water values for a thirsty world ”.
During his greetings to English speakers at the General Audience, Pope Francis gave a special welcome and encouraged participants in their work.
“I am happy that this meeting is taking place, for it represents yet another stage in the joint commitment of various institutions to raising consciousness about the need to protect water as a treasure belonging to everyone, mindful too of its cultural and religious significance. I especially encourage your efforts in the area of education, through programmes directed to children and young people. Thank you for all that you do and may God bless you!”
Speakers at the one-day event include Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi, President of the Pontifical Council for Culture and of the Pontifical Commission of Sacred Archaeology, Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, Secretary for Relations with States, and Cardinal Peter Turkson, Prefect of the Dicastery for the Promotion of Integral Human Development.
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Wednesday called for an ongoing commitment to welcome and integrate forced migrants and refugees and described the current migration phenomenon as the world’s greatest tragedy after the Second World War.
Speaking on Wednesday to crowds gathered in St. Peter’s Square for the weekly General Audience, the Pope also continued his catechesis on Christian hope and appealed to the faithful to ‘re-discover’ the Sacrament of Reconciliation . In his appeal , launched after the catechesis, Pope Francis reminded all Catholic communities to participate in the upcoming “ 24 hours for the Lord ” initiative on 23rd and 24th of March with Churches across the globe offering the Sacrament of Confession as a “privileged moment of grace” during our Lenten journey. And speaking to an Italian association that offers services and help to migrants and refugees upon their arrival and a long-term process of integration, the Pope highlighted the rights and the responsibilities of those who receive and of those who are received, and described the current migration crisis as the greatest tragedy after World War 2. His words come just days before EU Heads of State or Government convene in the city to mark the 60th anniversary of the Treaties of Rome. In his catechesis meanwhile, Pope Francis reflected on a reading from Saint Paul which focusses on the attitudes of steadfastness and encouragement. They are intimately connected to the reality of Christian hope because ours, he said, is a God of steadfastness as he loves us perseveringly and never tires of consoling us. He is also a God of encouragement, he continued, who calls us to be close to the weak and the needy with whom he asks us to be strong and to be sowers of hope. What’s more, the Pope continued, Christians are called to spread hope by supporting and encouraging one another, especially those in danger of faltering. But we do so, he concluded, with the strength provided by the Lord, who is our unfailing source of hope. (from Vatican Radio)…