(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Sunday asked the question, “Who is Jesus for each one of us?” Speaking to the thousands of pilgrims and visitors gathered in St Peter’s Square for his Angelus address, the Pope reflected on the reading from St Luke’s Gospel where Jesus asks the disciples, “Who do the crowds say that I am?” The disciples reply “John the Baptist”, or “Elijah” or “one of the ancient prophets”. Listen: The Pope noted that people respected Jesus as a great prophet but they were not yet aware of his true identity as the Messiah, the Son of God sent by the Father for the salvation of all. Jesus then asks his disciples directly, “But who do you say that I am?” and Peter immediately replies on behalf of them all, “The Christ of God”. In this way, Pope Francis said, Jesus realized that the twelve apostles, and Peter in particular, had received the gift of faith from God, enabling him to begin to speak openly about his suffering, death and Resurrection which will take place in Jerusalem. Those same questions, the Pope said, are asked of us today: “Who is Jesus for the people of our day?” And more importantly, “Who is Jesus for each one of us?” We are called, he said, to respond like Peter, professing with joy that Jesus is the Son of God, the eternal Word of the Father who became man in order to redeem humanity and bestows on us the abundance of His divine mercy. Many people, the Pope said, feel a void around and inside them, while others live in fear and anxiety because of uncertainty and conflict. Only in Christ, he said, is it possible to find true peace and fulfilment of all our aspirations. Finally the Pope noted that Jesus tells his disciples, ““If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me”. This is not an ornamental or an ideological cross, he said, but it is the cross of our daily lives and the sacrifices we make for the sake of others, parents, children, families, friends and even our enemies. It is the cross of solidarity with the poor, he said, of our commitment to justice and peace. Let us remember all those people, the Pope concluded, who put into practice these words of Jesus, offering their time and their work, their efforts and even their lives in order not to deny their faith in Christ. Jesus, through the Holy Spirit, he said, will give us the strength to continue on our journey of faith and to bear witness to Him. (from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Sunday appealed for solidarity with refugees as he noted that Monday marks the annual United Nations World Refugee Day .
The Pope recalled that the theme for this year’s event is ‘We stand together #With Refugees’ and with all those forced to flee their lands. Refugees, he insisted, are people like everyone else, who have been deprived by war of their homes, their jobs, their parents and their friends.
“Their stories and their faces” he said, “call on us to renew our commitment for building peace through justice”. For this reason, he concluded, we want to stand together with them, “to meet them, to welcome them, to listen to them, to become with them builders of peace, according to God’s will”.
The Pope’s words came after the recitation of the Angelus prayer, as he greeted thousands of pilgrims and visitors gathered in St Peter’s Square.
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Sunday urged Catholics to pray for the Orthodox leaders from around the world who are holding their ‘Holy and Great Council of the Orthodox Church’ on the Greek island of Crete.
Listen:
As chairman of the Council, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew on Sunday presided at a Divine Liturgy in the Metropolitan Church of St Minas in the capital Heraklion, to officially open the week long meeting. Observers from other Christian Churches, including a Vatican delegation headed by Cardinal Kurt Koch of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, are also in Crete and are due to attend the first session of the Council on Monday.
Speaking after the Angelus prayer to thousands of pilgrims and visitors gathered in St Peter’s Square, Pope Francis noted that the Orthodox Church this Sunday marks the solemnity of Pentecost. “Let us unite ourselves in prayer with our Orthodox brothers”, the Pope said, calling on the Holy Spirit to send “his gifts on the patriarchs, archbishops and bishops gathered at the Council”.
Pope Francis then led the crowd in the recitation of the Ave Maria, praying for all Orthodox Christians as their leaders meet to discuss some of the most pressing issues facing the world community today.
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Saturday afternoon Pope Francis visited Villa Nazareth in the Pineta Sacchetti area of Rome. Villa Nazareth was founded in 1946 for orphans and poor children in order to provide the underprivileged with educational opportunities.
Today Villa Nazareth helps young people who are experiencing economic hardship but who also show great intellectual potential. It provides them with a program of Christian formation and inspiration. The institution’s charism, its mission, is to promote a “diaconate of culture” and to form people who can be role models in society as moral witnesses.
Pope Francis gave a catechesis on Luke’s gospel passage of the Good Samaritan. There are many characters in this passage, he said, but who qualifies as a neighbor? The robber, the poor man who was left for dead on the road, the priest, the doctor of the law, the lawyer? Or the innkeeper? Perhaps none of these knew how to answer such a question. The priest was in a hurry, like all priests and no doubt he’s looking at his watch and saying to himself that he must celebrate the Mass, or that he’s left the door of the church open and he must close it. The doctor of the law, a practical man, said “But if I meddle in this, tomorrow I must go to court, give my testimony, say what I’ve done, losing two, three days of work … ”
Instead, this other person, a sinner, a foreigner who was not, properly speaking, a member of the people of God, finds himself moved: “He had compassion.” And he stopped. All three – the priest, the lawyer and the Samaritan – knew well what to do. And each made their own decision.
Pope Francis said, however, that it could be of benefit to think of the situation from the perspective of the innkeeper who remains anonymous. He’s watched all of what has happened and does not understand anything, saying to himself, “But this is crazy! A Samaritan who helps a Jew? It’s crazy! And then, with his own hands he tends wounds and brings him to the hotel and tells me, ‘But you, take care of him, I will pay you if it’s something more.’ But I have never seen this! This is crazy!”
And that man, Pope Francis continued, has received the Word of God in testimony. Whose? Of the priest? No, because he didn’t even see the man. The lawyer is the same. The sinner, however: he has compassion. He was not a faithful member of the People of God but he had compassion. And he understood nothing.
This, Pope Francis said, is what qualifies as testimony. The testimony of this sinner has sowed restlessness in the heart of the innkeeper. What happened to this innkeeper the Gospel does not say – and doesn’t even record his name. But surely this man’s curiosity grew, his restlessness has been allowed to grow in his heart.
Pope Francis asked, “And why do I dwell today on this character, this person?” The testimony, he says, is to live in this way so that others “may see your works and glorify your Father who is in Heaven”, that is, to meet the Father.
Pope Francis concluded by hoping that all who see the good work of Villa Nazareth may respond in this way and not as priests who may rush away quickly or doctors who wish to present the faith of Jesus Christ with mathematical rigidity. May we be taught the wisdom of the Gospel: “to get one’s hands dirty.” May the Lord give us this grace.
(from Vatican Radio)…
Bulletin for 06/19/2016