(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis and other members of the Roman Curia began their annual spiritual retreat on Sunday 6th February, the fourth Sunday of Lent.
On Sunday evening, after having prayed the Angelus together with the faithful in St. Peter’s Square at noon, Pope Francis boarded a small bus that took him to the “Casa Divin Maestro” Centre in the town of Ariccia in the Alban Hills just outside Rome.
This is where Fr. Ermes Ronchi, of the Servants of Mary, is leading the group in spiritual exercises based on 10 questions from the Gospels.
These are the questions contemplated:
1. “What are you looking for?” (John 1:38)
2. “Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith?” (Mark 4:40)
3. “You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has become tasteless, how can it be made salty again?” (Matthew 5:13)
4. “But who do you say that I am?” (Luke 9:20)
5. “Then, turning to the woman, he told Simon, ‘Do you see this woman?’” (Luke 7:44)
6. “How many loaves do you have?” (Mark 6:38, Matthew 15:34)
7. “Straightening up, Jesus said to her, ‘Woman, where are they? Did no one condemn you?’” (John 8:10)
8. “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?” (John 20:15)
9. “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” (John 21:16)
10. “Mary said to the angel, ‘How can this be?’” (Luke 1:34).
The Pope’s retreat lasts until Friday 10 March.
During the retreat Pope Francis will have no public meetings or audiences, including no Wednesday general audience.
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis and members of the Vatican Curia arrived on Sunday evening at the “Casa del Divin Maestro,” a retreat centre in Ariccia, located about 25 miles from Rome. They are taking part in the week-long Curial Spiritual Exercises.
Usually conducted during the first week of Lent, the exercises were postponed this year due to the Papal Voyage to Mexico.
Each day will include moments of prayer, meditation, and Eucharistic adoration. The spiritual exercises will be led by noted Italian author, Father Ermes Ronchi.
The participants will return to the Vatican on Friday.
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis has written a letter of thanks and gratitude to His Beatitude Sviatoslav Shevhchuk, Major Archbishop of Kiev and Head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church.
The Archbishop, together with other members of the Permanent Synod of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church have been meeting in Rome and released a statement in which they affirmed communion with the Catholic Church. They were received in audience by the Pope on Saturday.
In his letter to Archbishop Shevhchuk, Pope Francis recalls that some seventy years ago, a particular ideological and political context, as well as the existence of “ideas that were contrary to the very existence of your Church, led to the organization of a pseudo-synod in Lviv, and caused decades of suffering for the pastors and the faithful”.
“In sad memory of these events, he writes, we bow our heads in deep gratitude before those, who at the cost of suffering and even martyrdom, continued to witness the faith in the course of time and to show dedication to the Church in union with the Successor of Peter”.
At the same time, Pope Francis continues, “with eyes lit by the same faith, we look to the Lord Jesus Christ, to place in him, and not in human justice, all of our hope”.
“He is the true source of our trust in the present and in the future, as we are called to announce the Gospel also in the midst of suffering or difficulties” he says.
And the Pope goes on to express deep gratitude for the loyalty of Ukrainian Greek-Catholics and encourages them to be “tireless witnesses of that hope which makes our existence and the existence of all of our brothers and sisters more luminous”.
Pope Francis also renewed his feelings of solidarity with the pastors and faithful for all they do in these difficult times “marked by the hardships of war, to alleviate the suffering of the population and to seek the ways of peace for the beloved Ukrainian land”.
“In the Lord, he concludes, is our courage and our joy. It is to Him that I speak, through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the martyrs of your Church, so that the divine consolation may illuminate your communities in Ukraine and other parts of the world”.
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis says that the four nuns who were killed in Yemen are modern-day martyrs and victims of indifference.
During his address to the faithful gathered in St. Peter’s Square after the Angelus prayer, the Pope prayed for the slain nuns who belonged to Mother Teresa’s “Missionaries of Charity” and who were serving in a home for the elderly which was attacked on Friday by gunmen in the city of Aden.
Expressing his closeness to the religious Order, he said the nuns “gave their blood for the Church”’ and that they were not only victims of the attackers but also of “this indifference of globalization.”
The nuns were among 16 people killed during an attack by terrorists who stormed the retirement home.
Pope Francis also praised an ecumenical project to fly refugees to Europe as “a concrete sign of commitment for peace and life.”
He described the “pilot” project as a reality that unites solidarity with security allowing the safe transfer of people who are fleeing war and violence, such as the “one hundred refugees who have already arrived in Italy and amongst whom there are minors, sick people, disabled people, war widows with children and elderly people”.
The group that arrived in Rome last month represents the first wave of the planned transfer of 1,000 particularly vulnerable refugees from camps in Lebanon, Morocco and Ethiopia.
Pope Francis said he is particularly happy the initiative is an ecumenical one that sees the support of the Community of Saint Egidio, the Federation of Italian Evangelical Churches, the Waldensian and the Methodist Churches.
Meanwhile, during his catechesis Pope Francis reflected on the parable of the prodigal son saying that God gives us the freedom to make mistakes, but he always welcomes us back to the fold with open arms.
Jesus, he said, teaches us to be merciful just as the Father is, and he warned against pride and arrogance that can derive from feelings of righteousness. That kind of attitude, he said, is evil. The Lord welcomes those who recognize their sinfulness.
The Pope concluded his catechesis saying that God loves us immeasurably and comes towards us with tenderness when we approach Him after having wandered.
“He welcomes us, Pope Francis concluded, and restores our dignity as God’s children.”
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis was “shocked and profoundly saddened” by the murder of four Missionaries of Charity and twelve other people at a home for the elderly in Aden, Yemen.
Gunmen entered the building on Friday and went room-to-room, handcuffing victims before shooting them in the head.
A message signed by the Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, said the Holy Father “sends the assurance of his prayers for the dead and his spiritual closeness to their families and to all affected from this act of senseless and diabolical violence.”
The message said Pope Francis “prays that this pointless slaughter will awaken consciences, lead to a change of heart, and inspire all parties to lay down their arms and take up the path of dialogue.”
It concludes with a strong appeal for an end to the ongoing violence in Yemen.
“In the name of God, he calls upon all parties in the present conflict to renounce violence, and to renew their commitment to the people of Yemen, particularly those most in need, whom the Sisters and their helpers sought to serve” – the message reads – “Upon everyone suffering from this violence, the Holy Father invokes God’s blessing, and in a special ways he extends to the Missionaries of Charity his prayerful sympathy and solidarity.”
The full text of the message is below
His Holiness Pope Francis was shocked and profoundly saddened to learn of the killing of four Missionaries of Charity and twelve others at a home for the elderly in Aden. He sends the assurance of his prayers for the dead and his spiritual closeness to their families and to all affected from this act of senseless and diabolical violence. He prays that this pointless slaughter will awaken consciences, lead to a change of heart, and inspire all parties to lay down their arms and take up the path of dialogue. In the name of God, he calls upon all parties in the present conflict to renounce violence, and to renew their commitment to the people of Yemen, particularly those most in need, whom the Sisters and their helpers sought to serve. Upon everyone suffering from this violence, the Holy Father invokes God’s blessing, and in a special ways he extends to the Missionaries of Charity his prayerful sympathy and solidarity.
Cardinal Pietro Parolin
Secretary of State
(from Vatican Radio)…