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Pope Francis: Saint Joseph and the dignity of labour

(Vatican Radio)  T o mark International  Labour Day which coincides with the Feast day of  Saint Joseph the worker, Veronica Scarisbrick takes a look at the special devotion Pope Francis has for this Saint. As well as focus briefly on one of the social issues central to his thinking: the dignity of labour.
Listen to a programme presented and produced by Veronica Scarisbrick : 

Let’s begin with his devotion to Saint Joseph as there’s quite a list of things that connect Pope Francis to this saint. Among them the choice of the date for the beginning of his pontificate the 19th of March, Saint Joseph’s feast day, and the choice of the nard flower symbolic of this saint on his coat of arms. Then in July 2013 his decision to consecrate Vatican City State not just to Saint Michael, as had been previously planned, but to Saint Joseph as well. And on a more personal note his admission to cherishing a wooden statue representing a dormant Saint Joseph, dressed  in gold trimmed dark green and red garments according to Hispanic iconography, by which he places prayer requests. Simply because as he mentioned  when he confided to us this personal gesture: “ He’s a carpenter and he gets the job done, even though he sometimes makes you wait”.
As for  what  links Pope Francis to Saint Joseph, International Labour Day and workers why not shine  the spotlight on his words the 1st of May 2013, so the very first year of his pontificate, during his weekly general audience.  Words which focus  precisely on work and the figure of Saint Joseph. In a special way on the role played by Joseph as the legal father who teaches his son his skills as a carpenter in the workshop in Nazareth on a daily basis and shares with him, the efforts, the commitment, the satisfactions and problems that come with the job.
On this occasion Pope Francis goes on to remind  us of the dignity and importance of work. The Book of Genesis, he says, tells us that God created man and woman entrusting them with the task of filling the earth and subduing it, which does not mean exploiting it, but nurturing and protecting it, caring for it through their work:  “Work is part of God’s loving plan, we are called to cultivate and care for all the goods of creation and in this way participate in the work of creation! Work is fundamental to the dignity of a person… it gives you the ability to maintain yourself, your family, to contribute to the growth of your nation. And here I think of the difficulties which, in various countries, today afflicts the world of work and business; I think of how many, and not just young people, are unemployed, many times due to a purely economic conception of society, which seeks selfish profit, beyond the parameters of social justice.  I wish to extend an invitation to solidarity to everyone, and I would like to encourage those in public office to make every effort to give new impetus to employment, this means caring for the dignity of the person, but above all I’d like to say do not lose hope; St. Joseph also experienced moments of difficulty, but he never lost faith and was able to overcome them, in the certainty that God never abandons us. And then I would like to speak especially to you young people: be committed to your daily duties, your study, your work, to relationships of friendship, to helping towards others; your future also depends on how you live these precious years of your life. Do not be afraid of commitment, of sacrifice and do not look with fear towards the future; keep your hope alive: there is always a light on the horizon”.
But while Pope Francis on this occasion shares with us words of encouragemen as we’ve just noticed he also chooses to highlight some of   the evils of society in the area of work and denounces once again, the practice some companies have of adopting  policies that favour profit over human dignity or even human life. And then uses an image to express how fundamental work is to the dignity of the person:”…  work to use an image ‘anoints’ with dignity, fills us with dignity, makes us similar to God who has worked and still works, who also acts”.
One last word perhaps: let’s hope the prayer requests that Pope Francis places by the reclining and dormant figure of  Saint  Joseph are eventually answered…As he once assured us, they always are!
 
(from Vatican Radio)…

Pope Francis: Saint Joseph and the dignity of labour

(Vatican Radio)  To mark International  Labour Day which coincides with the Feast day of  Saint Joseph the worker, Veronica Scarisbrick takes a look at the special devotion Pope Francis has for this Saint. As well as focus briefly on one of the social issues central to his thinking: the dignity of labour. Listen to a…
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Pope Francis meets with Cusillos in Christianity movement

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Thursday evening in the Paul VI Hall greeted the Cusillos in Christianity movement who are in Rome for their European meeting and who are celebrating the 50 th anniversary of the group in Italy. There was also a questions to the Holy Father from members of the movement Cursillos in Christianity is a Catholic movement that was founded by a group of laymen in 1944 in Majorca, Spain. The charism of the Cursillo focuses on giving Christian lay people the tools needed to become effective Christian leaders over the course of a three-day weekend. They in turn are asked to take what they have learned back out into the world. In his prepared remarks the Pope told the estimated 7,000 cursillista’s gathered in the Paul VI Hall that they were called to build on the charism that the Lord has entrusted to them. He said the pioneers of the movement were authentic missionaries and did not hesitate to take the initiative and bravely approach people, to help them on their journey of faith. The Holy Father urged those present to follow their example, and the infinite love of Christ that frees and transforms lives He said, I encourage you to go beyond”, faithful to your charism! To keep alive the zeal, the fire of the Spirit that always compels the followers of Christ to reach those on the peripheries, to “step out of their comfort zone and have the courage to reach all the suburbs that need the light of the Gospel”. Pope Francis finally urged the participants to help the men and women of today to discover the beauty of faith and a life of grace, but in a way that is guided by humility. Listen to this report

(from Vatican Radio)…

Pope Francis meets with Cusillos in Christianity movement

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Thursday evening in the Paul VI Hall greeted the Cusillos in Christianity movement who are in Rome for their European meeting and who are celebrating the 50th anniversary of the group in Italy. There was also a questions to the Holy Father from members of the movement Cursillos in Christianity…
Read more

New commission for Vatican communications

(VIS) During the last meeting of the Council of Cardinals to assist the Holy Father in the governance of the universal Church and to draw up a plan for the revision of the apostolic constitution “Pastor bonus” on the Roman Curia (13-15 April 2015), the final report of the committee charged with proposing reform of Vatican communications, the so-called Vatican Media Committee (VMC), was examined. The Council of Cardinals subsequently proposed to His Holiness the institution of a commission to study this final report and to suggest feasible approaches to its implementation. The proposal was favourably accepted by the Holy Father, who on 23 April decided to institute the commission and to appoint its members. The new commission will be chaired by Msgr. Dario Edoardo Vigano, director of the Vatican Television Centre, and its members will be: Paolo Nusiner, director general of the daily newspaper “Avvenire”, Nuova Editoriale Italiana, Milan; Msgr. Lucio Adrian Ruiz, head of the Vatican Internet Service, directorate of Telecommunications of the Governorate of Vatican City State; Fr. Antonio Spadaro, S.J., director of “La Civiltà Cattolica”; and Msgr. Paul Tighe, secretary of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications. (from Vatican Radio)…