(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis said a good shepherd is one who follows Jesus rather than power, money or cliques and even if deserted by everybody is sad but never embittered. He was speaking at his morning Mass on Tuesday celebrated in the chapel of the Santa Marta Residence.
Taking his inspiration from the Second Letter to Timothy, the Pope’s homily was a reflection on the difficulties faced by the apostles like Paul in the final stage of their lives when they are left without means, deserted by all and having to ask for things like beggars.
“Alone, begging, abandoned by all and the victim of fury. But this is the great Paul, the man who heard the voice of the Lord, the call of the Lord! The man who went from one place to another, who suffered so many things and so many trials for preaching the Gospel, who made the Apostles understand that the Lord wants Gentiles to enter into the Church as well, the great Paul who when praying rose to the Seventh Heaven and heard things that nobody else had heard before: the Great Paul, there, in that small room of a house in Rome, waiting to see how that struggle would end within the Church between the different sides, between the rigidity of the Judaizers and those disciples faithful to him. And this is how the life of the great Paul ends, in desolation: not in resentment or bitterness but with an inner desolation.”
Pope Francis went on to point out that Peter and St John the Baptist suffered similar privations in the final stage of their lives with the latter having his head cut off owing to “the caprice of a dancer and the revenge of an adulterous woman.” In more recent times, he said it was the same for Maximilian Kolbe who created a worldwide apostolic movement and yet died in the prison cell of a death camp. When an apostle is faithful, stressed the Pope, he or she knows that they too can expect the same end that Jesus faced. But the Lord stays close and does not abandon them and they find their strength in Him. Pope Francis said “This is the Law of the Gospel: if the grain of wheat doesn’t die it doesn’t produce new seeds” and reminded that a theologian of the early centuries wrote that the blood of martyrs are the seeds of Christians.
“To die in this way like martyrs, as witnesses of Jesus, is the grain that dies and gives rise to new seeds and fills the earth with new Christians. When a pastor lives like this he is not embittered: maybe he feels desolate but he has that certainty that the Lord is beside him. When a pastor during his life was attached to other things, rather than to the faithful – for example he was attached to power, money, being part of a clique, to many things – then at his death he won’t be alone, maybe his grandchildren (heirs) will be there waiting for him to die so they can see what possessions they can take away with them.”
Pope Francis concluded his homily by describing the attitude of many elderly priests now living in retirement homes who despite their sufferings remain close to the Lord.
“When I go to visit the retirement homes for elderly priests I find so many of these great shepherds who have given their lives for the faithful. There they are, sick, paralyzed, in wheelchairs but you can see them smiling straight away. ‘He’s well, Lord; he’s well, Lord,’ because they feel the Lord very close to them. They have these shining eyes and they are asking: ‘how is the Church? How is the diocese faring? How are vocations going?’ (It’s this way) right to the end because they are fathers, because they gave their lives for others. Turning back to Paul: alone, begging, the victim of fury, deserted by everybody except the Lord Jesus: ‘Only the Lord stayed close to me!’ And the Good Shepherd, the shepherd must have this certainty: if he journeys along the path of Jesus, the Lord will be close to him right to the end. Let us pray for the shepherds who are at the end of their lives and who are waiting for the Lord to take them with Him. And let us pray so that the Lord may give them strength, consolation and the certainty that, although they feel sick and alone, the Lord is with them, close to them. May the Lord give them this strength.”
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis met in the Vatican on Monday with the President of the Slovenia Republic Borut Pahor to discuss issues of common concern, as well as the challenges facing leaders in the region and in the wider European context.
During the cordial conversation, the pope and the president spoke about the bilateral relations between Slovenia and the Holy See and the forthcoming 25th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations.
They also discussed the good relations that exist between the Catholic Church and the Republic of Slovenia, as well as the importance of continuing dialogue in order to guarantee fruitful cooperation for the benefit of the whole of Slovenian society, in particular for the younger generations.
Following the papal audience, the president also met with Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin and with the Secretary for Relations with States, Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher.
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis is to pay a visit to the Archdiocese of Genoa on Saturday 27 May 2017. A statement by the Holy See Press Office announcing the scheduled visit was read on Sunday by the Archbishop of Genoa, Cardinal Angelo Bagnasco, during celebration of Holy Mass in his Cathedral. Cardinal Angelo Bagnasco is also the President of the Italian Bishops’ Conference. He described the news as “a particularly lovely event, which will help us, sustain us and encourage us”.
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Sunday called on all men and women of good will to unite in the fight against poverty by implementing serious political legislation in support of families and employment.
Speaking during the Angelus in St. Peter’s Square after the morning’s Canonization Mass , the Pope recalled the “ International Day for the Eradication of Poverty ” which is marked on Monday, 17 October, and said: “Let us join our moral and economic forces to fight together against poverty that degrades, offends and kills so many of our brothers and sisters, by giving life to serious policies in support of families and employment”.
During his address, the Pope also renewed his appeal to pray insistently and fervently for peace, and he thanked those who had travelled from various countries across the world to pay homage to the new Saints .
“A special greeting in particular goes to the official delegations of Argentina, Spain, France, Italy, Mexico. May the example and intercession of these luminous witnesses give support to each of you in your work and service for the good of the Church and of civil society” he said.
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Sunday canonized seven new Saints including Argentina’s “gaucho priest” Jose Gabriel del Rosario Brochero.
Know as “Cura Brochero”, the Argentinian who made it his mission to take the Gospel message of salvation to the peripheries, was proclaimed a Saint together with six others in a Mass in St. Peter’s Square.”
During his homily the Pope said “saints are men and women who enter fully into the mystery of prayer. Men and women who struggle with prayer, letting the Holy Spirit pray and struggle in them.”
The others to be canonized were two Italians, two from France, a Spaniard and a young Mexican martyr, José Sanchez del Rio who died during the Cristero struggle upholding his faith.
Some 80,000 people filled St. Peter’s Square for the occasion, including many flag-waving Argentinians who had made the journey to Rome to see Brochero elevated to sainthood.
Amongst them was also Argentine President Mauricio Macri and his family.
Please find below the full text of Pope Francis’ homily for the Canonization Mass:
At the start of today’s celebration, we addressed this prayer to the Lord: “Create in us a generous and steadfast heart, so that we may always serve you with fidelity and purity of spirit” (Collect).
By our own efforts, we cannot give ourselves such a heart. Only God can do this, and so in the prayer we ask him to give it to us as his “creation”. In this way, we come to the theme of prayer, which is central to this Sunday’s scriptural readings and challenges all of us who are gathered here for the canonization of new Saints. The Saints attained the goal. Thanks to prayer, they had a generous and steadfast heart. They prayed mightily; they fought and they were victorious.
So pray! Like Moses, who was above all a man of God, a man of prayer. We see him today in the battle against Amalek, standing atop the hill with his arms raised. From time to time, however, his arms would grow weary and fall, and then the tide would turn against the people. So Aaron and Hur made Moses sit on a stone and they held up his arms, until the final victory was won.
This is the kind of spiritual life the Church asks of us: not to win by war, but to win with peace!
There is an important message in this story of Moses: commitment to prayer demands that we support one another. Weariness is inevitable. Sometimes we simply cannot go on, yet, with the support of our brothers and sisters, our prayer can persevere until the Lord completes his work.
Saint Paul writes to Timothy, his disciple and co-worker, and urges him to hold fast to what he has learned and believed (cf. 2 Tim 3:14). But Timothy could not do this by his own efforts: the “battle” of perseverance cannot be won without prayer. Not sporadic or hesitant prayer, but prayer offered as Jesus tells us in the Gospel: “Pray always, without ever losing heart” (Lk 18:1). This is the Christian way of life: remaining steadfast in prayer, in order to remain steadfast in faith and testimony. Here once again we may hear a voice within us, saying: “But Lord, how can we not grow weary? We are human… even Moses grew weary…!” True, each of us grows weary. Yet we are not alone; we are part of a Body! We are members of the Body of Christ, the Church, whose arms are raised day and night to heaven, thanks to the presence of the Risen Christ and his Holy Spirit. Only in the Church, and thanks to the Church’s prayer, are we able to remain steadfast in faith and witness.
We have heard the promise Jesus makes in the Gospel: “God will grant justice to his chosen ones, who cry to him day and night” (cf. Lk 18:7). This is the mystery of prayer: to keep crying out, not to lose heart, and if we should grow tired, asking help to keep our hands raised. This is the prayer that Jesus has revealed to us and given us in the Holy Spirit. To pray is not to take refuge in an ideal world, nor to escape into a false, selfish sense of calm. On the contrary, to pray is to struggle, but also to let the Holy Spirit pray within us. For the Holy Spirit teaches us to pray. He guides us in prayer and he enables us to pray as sons and daughters.
The saints are men and women who enter fully into the mystery of prayer. Men and women who struggle with prayer, letting the Holy Spirit pray and struggle in them. They struggle to the very end, with all their strength, and they triumph, but not by their own efforts: the Lord triumphs in them and with them. The seven witnesses who were canonized today also fought the good fight of faith and love by their prayers. That is why they remained firm in faith, with a generous and steadfast heart. Through their example and their intercession, may God also enable us to be men and women of prayer. May we cry out day and night to God, without losing heart. May we let the Holy Spirit pray in us, and may we support one another in prayer, in order to keep our arms raised, until Divine Mercy wins the victory.
(from Vatican Radio)…