(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis sent a letter on Monday to express his sorrow over the loss of life and property in Portugal, where wildfires have killed at least 4 people and caused hundreds to evacuate their homes.
Listen to Devin Watkins’ report:
The letter – addressed to the bishop of Funchal, Antonio Carrilho, and signed by the Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin – was read out during the celebration of Holy Mass for Our Lady of the Mount, Patroness of Funchal.
In the message, Pope Francis said he is “appalled by the sad news of the terrible fires raging on the island of Madeira” and expressed his “condolences and participation in the pain” of all those affected.
The Holy Father also conveyed “solidarity and spiritual closeness” for those displaced by the wildfires and prayed for the quick healing of the wounded and “courage and consolation in Christian hope” for all involved.
Finally, Pope Francis expressed his gratitude for the more than 2,000 firefighters battling the flames which have killed 5 people: 4 on the Portugese island of Madeira and 1 in neighboring Spain.
During his homily for the celebration of Our Lady of the Mount in which the message was read, Bishop Carrilho repeated the Pope’s message of sorrow.
“We cannot but remember those who have died and express our deepest solidarity to all who have experienced angst and suffering, in particular those who have lost their homes and belongings.”
Bishop Carrilho then praised the many “acts of solidarity” performed in the face of danger and the “strength and courage” of the Portugese people.
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Monday expressed his hope women enslaved to the “arrogance of the powerful” will be allowed to have a life of “peace, justice, and love.”
The Holy Father was speaking during his Angelus address for the Solemnity of the Assumption of Mary.
“The Assumption of Mary is a great mystery that pertains to all of us, regarding our future;” Pope Francis said.
“The exultation of this humble girl from Galilee, expressed in the canticle of the Magnificat, becomes the song of all mankind, who is pleased to see the Lord reach down to all men and all women, lowly creatures, and take them with him in into heaven,” the Pope said.
“The Canticle of Mary also leads us to think about many actual sad situations, in particular those women overwhelmed by the weight of life and the drama of violence; of women who are slaves to the arrogance of the powerful; the girls forced into inhumane work; the women forced to surrender in both body and spirit to the avarice of men,” Pope Francis said.
“May they as soon as possible begin a life of peace, justice, and love: waiting for the day when they finally feel grasped by hands that do not humiliate; but with tenderness that will lift them up and guide them on the road of life, and on to heaven.” he continued.
“Mary, a woman – a young girl – who has suffered so much in her life, makes us think of these women who suffer so much,” – the Pope said – “And we ask the Lord that He at the same time lead them by the hand along life’s path, and free them from this slavery.”
Pope Francis on Friday visited a refugee centre in Rome housing women rescued from prostitution as part of his ‘Friday of Mercy’ gestures during this Jubilee Year of Mercy.
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis turned his attention to the North Kivu province of the Democratic Republic of Congo on Monday during his Angelus for the Solemnity of the Assumption.
The eastern province has long been plagued by violence – often spilling over from conflicts in neighboring countries – and this weekend, another massacre killing at least 40 people.
“To the Queen of Peace, whom we contemplate today in heavenly glory, I want to entrust once again the anxieties and the sorrows of the people in many parts of the world are the innocent victims of persistent conflicts” – Pope Francis said – “which have for some time been perpetrated in shameful silence, without attracting even as much as our attention. Unfortunately, they are part of the too many innocent people who have no weight on world opinion.”
“My thoughts go to the people of North Kivu, in the Democratic Republic of Congo, who have been recently hit with fresh massacres,” – the Holy Father continued – “May Mary obtain for all people sentiments of compassion and understanding and the desire for peace and harmony!”
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Sunday spoke about the fire of the Holy Spirit, saying the Church doesn’t need bureaucrats but impassioned missionaries with this fire inside their hearts. He warned that without this fire, the Church risked becoming a cold or merely lukewarm Church, made up of cold and lukewarm Christians, and urged his listeners to reflect on their own attitudes. The Pope’s words came during his Angelus address to pilgrims gathered in St. Peter’s Square.
Listen to this report by Susy Hodges (includes clips of the Pope’s voice):
Quoting from Jesus’ words where he says “I have come to bring fire to the earth and how I wish it were blazing already!” Pope Francis said Christ wants the Holy Spirit “to set alight our hearts and make us capable of loving.” This fire, he explained, “has a creative strength that purifies and renews… it burns up every human misery, every egoism, every sin, it transforms us from within, it regenerates us.”
He explained that “if we open ourselves completely to the action of the Holy Spirit, He will give us the courage and the fervour to announce Jesus and his consoling message of mercy and salvation to everybody, navigating in the open seas without fear.” “But the fire begins in our hearts.”
In carrying out its mission in the world, the Pope stressed that the Church “needs the help of the Holy Spirit to not be held back through fear and calculation, to not get used to walking within safe boundaries.” Departing from his prepared text, he warned that these two attitudes lead the Church “to becoming an administrative or bureaucratic Church that never takes risks.”
Instead, he said, the “Apostolic courage that the Holy Spirt ignites in us like a fire helps us to surmount walls and barriers, it makes us creative and it spurs us to set forth, journeying along unexplored or uncomfortable roads, offering help to whoever we encounter.”
Now more than ever, the Pope continued, there’s a need for priests, consecrated people and lay Christians to feel compassion and reach out like good neighbours to others, “those who are suffering, the needy, the many human miseries and problems, the refugees.”
Pointing to the example of those priests, men and women religious and lay people who throughout the world announce the gospel with great love and faithfulness, sometimes at the cost of their own lives, Pope Francis said “their exemplary witness reminds us that the Church doesn’t need bureaucrats and diligent office workers but impassioned missionaries consumed by the ardour of bringing to all people the consoling words of Christ.”
This, he declared, “is the fire of the Holy Spirit. If the Church doesn’t receive this fire and doesn’t allow it to enter inside, it becomes a cold or merely lukewarm Church, incapable of giving life, because it is made up of cold and lukewarm Christians.” He urged his listeners to reflect on whether their hearts are capable of receiving this fire.
The Pope concluded his Angelus address by turning to the Blessed Virgin Mary and asking for her prayers to help warm our hearts with this divine fire. Noting that Sunday was the feast day of St. Maximilian Kolbe, the martyr of charity, he said the saint’s example teaches us to embrace “the fire of love for God and neighbour.”
In his brief address after the recitation of the Angelus, Pope Francis sent greetings to the many different groups of pilgrims present and urged his listeners “to make an effort to always forgive (others) and have a compassionate heart.”
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican Secretary of State, called for prayers on Saturday for the people of Venezuela, who “find themselves in extreme social, political, and economic difficulties”.
He said these problems are “causing great suffering for that dear people”.
To that end, the Cardinal Secretary of State said, “let us pray that the protagonists of public life and all parts of society be wise and courageous in order to find peaceful solutions to the present crisis and that a sense of the common good, justice, solidarity, and love may abound in all!”
Cardinal Parolin was the Apostolic Nunzio to Venezuela from August 2009 until his nomination as Secretary of State in October 2013.
His prayers for the Venezuelan people came during his homily to close the 36th Tendopolis for Youth event held at the Sanctuary of St. Gabriele in the Italian province of Teramo.
(from Vatican Radio)…