(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis celebrated Mass in the chapel of the Santa Marta residence on Thursday morning – the liturgical memory of St. Elisabeth of Hungary, the devout queen who was a 3 rd Order Franciscan renowned for her solicitude to the needy.
In remarks following the Readings of the Day, Pope Francis addressed words to the gathered faithful that focused on the episode proclaimed from the Gospel according to St. Mark, in which Our Lord wept for the sins of Jerusalem. The Holy Father spoke especially of the stark contrast of God’s steadfast and faithful love for His people, and His people’s faithlessness – which is our faithlessness:
“That is what pains the heart of Jesus Christ, this story of infidelity, this story of not recognizing the caresses of God, the love of God, a God in love with you who is looking for you, and desirous of seeing you happy. Jesus saw in that moment [when, shortly before His passion, He wept over Jerusalem’s sinfulness] what awaited him as the Son – and He wept … ‘because they did not recognize the time of their visitation.’. This drama has not only happened in history and ended with Jesus. It is the drama of every day. It is even my drama. Can any of us really say, ‘I know how to recognize the hour in which I have been visited? does God visit me?’”
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The Pope went on to highlight the way that the Liturgy of two days ago – Tuesday – offered occasions to reflect on three moments of God’s visitation: correction, entering into dialogue with us, and “inviting himself into our home.” Pope Francis then asked the faithful to make an examination of conscience, to ask whether each one of us listens to the words of Jesus when He knocks on our door and says, “Amend your life!” Everyone in fact runs a risk:
“Each of us can fall into the same sin of the people of Israel, the same sin of Jerusalem, not recognizing the time in which we have been visited – and every day the Lord visits us, every day He is knocking at our door – but we must learn to recognize this, that we not end up in that so painful a situation: ‘The more I loved them, as I called them, the more they fled from me’. ‘But I am sure of things. I go to Mass, I’m sure …’. Do you make a daily examination of conscience on this? Did the Lord visit me today? Have I heard some call, some inspiration to follow Him more closely, to do a work of charity, to pray a little more? I do not know, so many things to which the Lord invites us every day to meet with us.”
It is central therefore to recognize when we are “visited” by Jesus, and to open ourselves to His love:
“Jesus wept not only for Jerusalem, but for all of us. He gives His life, that we might recognize his visitation. St. Augustine said a word, a very strong sentence: ‘I am afraid of God, of Jesus, when He passes!’ But why are you afraid? ‘I’m afraid I will not recognize it!’ If you’re not careful with your heart, you’ll never know if Jesus is visiting you or not. May the Lord give all of us the grace to recognize the times we have been visited, we are visited and shall be visited, so that we open the door to Jesus and so ensure that our heart is more enlarged by love, and that we might therefore serve the Lord Jesus in love.”
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Thursday addressed the participants in a Vatican conference promoting business leaders as agents in social and economic inclusion, reflecting with them on three challenges of business: the proper use of money, honesty, and solidarity.
The conference carries the title: ‘ Business Leaders as Agents of Economic and Social Inclusion ’ and is hosted by the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace and UNIAPAC on 17-18 November.
Listen to Devin Watkins’ report:
Addressing business executives participating in the Vatican conference in his native Spanish, Pope Francis called on them to be aware of what he said are three challenges of doing business, namely, “the good use of money, honesty, and solidarity”.
Good use of money
The Holy Father said money is “one of the most difficult topics of moral perception” and repeated his characteristic phrase with emphasis: “money is the dung of the devil”.
He said the function of money is to serve and not govern.
“Money does not have a neutral value; rather, it acquires value according to the end and circumstances for which it is used. When one affirms the neutrality of money, they fall into its power. Businesses should not exist to make money, even if money serves to mediate its functioning. Businesses exist to serve.”
The Pope then denounced a “murky logic” of the market, in which “credit is more readily available and cheaper for those who possess more means and is more expensive and difficult to obtain for those who possess less, to the point of leaving the poorest fringes of a population in the hands of its creditors without scruples”. He said the same process occurs at the international level.
Honesty
Pope Francis then addressed the second challenge for business people: honesty.
“Corruption”, he said, “is the worst social plague.” He decried it as “the law of the jungle stripped of any social reason” and “an idol”.
The Holy Father went on to say “any attempt at corruption, active or passive, is to begin to adore the god of money”.
Referring to the Paul VI Hall in which the audience took place, Pope Francis said, “This room, this building is where the circus of the Roman Emperor Nero once stood, where St. Peter and many of the first Christians were martyred, exactly for having refused to adore idols.”
Solidarity
The third challenge of business, the Pope said, was solidarity, of which an important part is an element of gratuity.
“The just relationship between managers and workers,” he said, “should be respected and required by all parties. However, at the same time, a business is a community of work, in which all merit respect and fraternal appreciation from their superiors, colleagues, and subordinates.” A respect, he said, which should “extend also to the local community”.
The Holy Father also tied the theme of immigration and refugees into solidarity in business, reminding those business leaders present that many of their ancestors were themselves immigrants who started businesses of their own.
He invited them to collaborate “to create sources of dignified, stable, and abundant work, both in those places from which migrants originate and those in which they arrive… It is important to continue making immigration an important factor of development.”
Pope Francis concluded with a mention of the vocation of Zacchaeus (Luke 19:1-10), the chief tax collector who climbed a tree to see Jesus pass by and was converted by his efforts.
“May this conference by like the Sycamore of Jericho – a tree upon which all can climb – so that, through the scientific discussion of the aspects of business activities, they may encounter the sight of Jesus and from here they may obtain efficacious orientations to make their business activities always promote the common good.”
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis received an unusual presentation at the end of his General Audience on Wednesday: A representation of Noah’s Ark made out of over 140 kilograms of chocolate.
It is a gift of “La banda degli Orsi” [The Band of Bears], which is a charitable organization in Genoa that supports the city’s Giannina Gaslini Pediatric Hospital. The organization has over 200 volunteers who visit patients and their families every day.
The chocolate ark took three days to build, and contains over 50 edible animals made by pastry chefs and chocolatiers from all over Italy. Several extra animals were made, and have been sold by “La banda degli Orsi” to raise funds for the Genoa hospital.
The Chocolate Ark was also to be used to support patients of a children’s hospital, but in a more direct way: At the end of the Audience, the Ark was donated as a special dessert for the young patients at the Vatican-owned Bambino Gesù Pediatric Hospital, located in Rome.
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis highlighted the role of dignified work in the integral development of society on Wednesday. His remarks came during the weekly General Audience, in words of greeting to Italy’s Federazione Maestri del Lavoro – an organization of veteran laborers and professionals over the age of 50 with at least 25 years’ experience in their respective fields, who have shown exemplary skill, diligence, and moral character throughout their careers.
The Federation is celebrating the 60 th anniversary of its founding.
“Let this recurrence contribute to the encouragement of social and economic inclusion, especially among the weakest levels of the population,” Pope Francis said.
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) During his last General Audience before the close of the Jubilee of Mercy, Pope Francis drew inspiration from the spiritual work of mercy, to bear wrongs patiently, telling the faithful in St Peter’s Square during his catechesis that exercising patience was a virtue. Listen to Lydia O’Kane’s report:
He said that, “in showing patience to those who wrong us and, by extension, to those we find irritating, we imitate God’s own patience with us sinners.” The Pope added, “it also happens at times that annoying people are the ones closest to us…” Among relatives there is “always someone”, he said. “There are also people who irritate us in the workplace and even in our spare time.” Pope Francis went on to say that in the Bible there are many examples of God’s patience and recalled the patience Jesus had during the three years of his public life. Exercising patience with others, the Pope said, “challenges us to reflect on our own conduct and failings. He also noted, the patience shown by the many parents, catechists and teachers who, he said, “quietly help young people to grow in faith and knowledge of the important things in life.” At the end of the Audience the Holy Father appealed to the international community to ensure the rights of children are protected. He made the call ahead of Universal Children’s Day which is observed on November 20th The Pope appealed to the conscience of all, institutions and families, to ensure that children are always protected and their welfare is secure, so that they never fall into “forms of slavery, recruitment into armed groups and mistreatment.” The Holy Father expressed the hope that the international community would be vigilant about their lives, to ensure that every child has the right to school education, so that their growth is serene and they can look confidently to the future. Pope Francis also remembered the victims of the recent earthquake in Central Italy, saying, “we pray for them and the families and continue to offer our solidarity to those who have sustained damage.” (from Vatican Radio)…