(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis said Mass in the chapel of the Casa Santa Marta on Monday morning. In remarks to the faithful following the readings of the day, the Holy Father focused on the theme of Christian freedom, saying that the follower of Christ is a “slave” – but of love, not of duty, and urging the faithful not to hide in the “rigidity” of the Commandments.
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The Pope took the Responsorial Psalm, 103 (104) as his starting point: a “song of praise” to God for His wonders. “The Father,” said Pope Francis, “works to make this wonder of creation and with His Son to accomplish this wonder of re-creation.” Pope Francis also recalled an episode in which a child asked him what God was doing before He created the world: “He was loving,” was the response.
Open your heart, do not take refuge in the rigidity of the Commandments
Why then did God create the world? “Simply to share His fullness,” Francis said. “To have someone to whom [to give] and with whom to share His fullness.” In the re-creation, God sends His Son to “set things right” – to make “the ugly one handsome, of the mistake a true [cast], of the villain a good guy”:
“When Jesus says: ‘The Father is always at work: I, too, am always at work,’ the teachers of the law were scandalized and wanted to kill him for this. Why? Because they could not receive the things of God as a gift! Only as Justice: ‘These are the Commandments: but they are few, let’s make more. And instead of opening their heart to the gift, they hid, have sought refuge in the rigidity of the Commandments, which they had multiplied up to 500 or more … They did not know how to receive the gift – and the gift is only received with freedom – and these rigid characters were afraid of the freedom that God gives us: they were afraid of love.”
The Christian is a slave of love, not of duty
The Pope went on to note that it was after that, that the Gospels tell us, “They wanted to kill Jesus.” To this, he added, “Because he said that the Father made this wonder as a gift: receive the gift of the Father!”:
“And that is why today we have praised the Father: ‘You are great, O Lord! I love you so much, for you have given this gift. You saved me, you created me.’ And this is the prayer of praise, the prayer of joy, the prayer that gives us the joy of the Christian life. And not the closed, sad prayer of the person who never knew how to receive a gift because he is afraid of freedom that always carries with it a gift. Such a one knows only how to do duty, but closed duty. Slaves of duty, but not love: when you become a slave of love, you are free! It is a beautiful bondage that, but such men did not understand that.”
Ask how we receive the gift of redemption and forgiveness of God
Here, then, are the “two wonders of the Lord,” he went on to say: “the wonder of creation and the wonder of redemption, the re-creation.” The he asked, “How do I receive this gift that God has given me – creation? And if I receive it as a gift, do I love creation, do I care for the created order?” The reason, he stressed, is that it is a gift:
“How do I receive the redemption, the forgiveness that God has given me, the making of me a son with His Son? Lovingly, tenderly, with freedom? Or do I hide in the rigidity of the closed Commandments, that are more and more “safe” – with emphasis on the scare-quotes – but that do not give joy, because they does not make you free. Each of us ought to ask himself wonder how he is experiencing these two wonders: the wonder of creation and even greater wonder of re-creation. May the Lord make us understand this great thing and make us understand what He was doing before creating the world: He was loving. Let us understand His love for us, and may we say – as we said today: ‘Lord, you are great! Thank you, thank you!’ Let us go forward like this.
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) The 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation offers Catholics and Lutherans an opportunity to take further steps towards reconciliation and full Christian unity. That was Pope Francis ’ message on Monday to an ecumenical delegation from Germany, led by Cardinal Reinhard Marx , president of the German bishops conference, and top Protestant Bishop Heinrich Bedford-Strohm , chairman of the Evangelical Churches in Germany (EKD).
Welcoming the delegation to the Vatican, Pope Francis praised the positive relationship between Catholics and Lutherans in Germany, urging them to be courageous and determined in their continuing journey together. “We share the same baptism”, he said, “we must walk together tirelessly!”
Reflecting on the 500th anniversary of the Reformation , he said it’s an opportunity to put Christ back at the centre of their ecumenical relations. Just as the question of a merciful God was the driving force of Luther and the other Reformists, so it must be at the heart of our joint efforts propose the radical truth of God’s limitless mercy to men women today.
Speaking of the tragedy of divisions and conflict, fomented by political interests, the Pope praised the initiative of the German delegation to hold an ecumenical service of penitence and reconciliation entitled “Healing memories – witnessing to Jesus Christ”.
Catholics and Lutherans will also be participating in other joint events this year, he said, including a shared pilgrimage to the Holy Land, a congress to present new translations of the Bible and an ecumenical day dedicated to shared social responsibility.
Thanks to a shared spiritual communion that has been rediscovered over recent decades, the Pope said, Catholics and Lutherans can together deplore the failures of the Reformation on both sides, as well as appreciating the many gifts which we have received from it.
The current challenges of faith and morals facing our Churches today, Pope Francis concluded, impel us to step up our efforts and increase our cooperation in the service of the poor and the protection of our planet. In a period of serious divisions and new forms of exclusion, he said, we are urgently called by God to follow the path of unity and reconciliation.German
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Sunday reached out to Americans urging them to make this year’s Super Bowl a sign of peace, friendship and solidarity to the world.
In a specially recorded video message for the event which holds the attention of much of the nation and commands a television audience larger than for any other event of the year, the Pope pointed out that great sporting events like the championship game of the National Football League are highly symbolic, and show that it is possible to build a culture of encounter and a world of peace.
“By participating in sport, we are able to go beyond our own self-interest – and in a healthy way – we learn to sacrifice, to grow in fidelity and respect the rules. May this year’s Super Bowl be a sign of peace, friendship and solidarity to the world” he said.
The 2017 Super Bowl takes place in Houston and features the final NFL showdown between the New England Patriots and the Atlanta Falcons.
Vice President Mike Pence, who is scheduled to attend, will be the fourth sitting vice president to see the game in person.
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(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis has urged all believers to respond to “the logic of waste and demographic downturn” by upholding and promoting a “culture of life”.
Speaking to the crowds gathered in St. Peter’s Square after the recitation of the Angelus prayer, the Pope marked Sunday’s celebration in Italy of the “Day for Life” with a call to join Italian Bishops in promoting a culture of life in which “no one is left alone”.
Listen to the report by Linda Bordoni :
“Each life is sacred” Pope Francis said, let’s pray together for those children who risk a pregnancy termination and for those who are nearing the end of life.”
“May no one, he continued, be left alone and may love defend the sense of life.”
Quoting the words of Mother Teresa of Calcutta: “Life is beauty, admire it; Life is life, fight for it” he said that is true for the child about to be born and for the person who is about to die: “Every life is sacred!”
During his catechesis, the Pope referred to the Gospel reading of the day that tells of the Sermon on the Mount and urged Christians to preserve society from corruption and gossip.
“We are the salt of the earth” he said, and the mission of Christians in society is to give flavor to life with faith and with the love that Christ has given us “rejecting the polluting germs of selfishness, envy and gossip.”
“These germs, the Pope said, ruin the texture of our communities that must be places of welcome, solidarity and reconciliation”.
To be able to fulfill this mission, he continued, “it is necessary to be free from the corrupting degeneration of worldly influences that are contrary to Christ and to the Gospel.”
Thus, Francis invited the faithful never to let down their guard but to be purified continuously regenerating the spirit of the Gospel every day in our lives.
“We Christians, he said, are recognizable as true disciples of Christ in our actions” he said.
The Pope pointed out that it is above all our behavior, for the better or for the worse, which leaves a mark in others.
“Thanks to the light of faith, the gift that we have received, we have the duty and the responsibility not to keep it to ourselves as if it were our property, but to allow it to shine in the world and give it to others through works of charity” he said.
“The world, he said, is much in need of the light of the Gospel that transforms, heals and gives salvation to he who embraces it.”
When we give of the light of our faith, Pope Francis said, we do not extinguish it, but strengthen it, but, he warned, it must be nurtured with love and with works of charity.
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis has named Archbishop Angelo Becciu as his personal special delegate to the Sovereign Order of Malta.
In a letter Saturday addressed to Archbishop Becciu, Substitute of the Secretariat of State, the Pope gives him “all necessary powers” to help the Order reform its Constitution and elect a new leader.
Naming Becciu “as my special delegate to the distinguished Order” of Malta, the Pope emphasized that he will work in “strict collaboration” with the Order’s interim leader, Fra’ Ludwig Hoffmann von Rumerstein.
The two of them, he said, must work for “greater good of the Order and for the reconciliation among all its components, religious and lay.” Additionally, they will be responsible for developing together “a study in view of the appropriate spiritual renovation” of the Order’s Constitution.
Pointing to Becciu’s role in particular, the Pope said he will be charged with caring for “everything related to the spiritual and moral renewal of the Order, especially the professed members.”
“You will be my exclusive spokesman” in everything relating to relations between the Order and the Vatican” and “I delegate to you, then, all the necessary powers to determine any issues that may arise concerning the implementation of the mandate entrusted to you” the letter said.
Becciu’s mandate will end with the conclusion of the extraordinary Council to elect a new Grand Master, after the former, Matthew Festing, resigned last month upon the request of Pope Francis.
The appointment of Becciu falls shortly after Festing’s resignation on January 24 from his position as Grand Master at the request of Pope Francis, and the reinstatement of ousted leader Albrecht von Boeselager as Grand Chancellor.
The “Council Complete of State” to elect a new Grand Master must be held within three months of the former’s resignation or death.
Though no dates have yet been set, at a press conference highlighting the Order’s priorities this week, Boeselager said the council is expected to take place in late April.
The Sovereign Order of Malta is a chivalric order which was founded in 1099, originally to provide protection and medical care to Holy Land pilgrims. It now performs humanitarian work throughout the world, and its two principle missions are defense of the faith and care for the poor.
It maintains sovereignty, holding diplomatic relations with more than 100 states and United Nations permanent observer status.
(from Vatican Radio)…