(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis has urged Christians to follow the indications provided in the Beatitudes in order to avoid taking the path of greed, vanity and egoism.
Speaking on Monday morning during Mass at the Casa Santa Marta the Pope drew inspiration from the Gospel of Matthew and said the Beatitudes can be used as “navigators” that shine the light on the pathway of Christian life.
Reflecting on the famous Sermon on the Mount, Pope Francis said Jesus’ teaching on that occasion did not erase the old law; rather it ‘perfected’ it bringing it to its fullness:
“This is the new law, the one we call ‘the Beatitudes’. It’s the Lord’s new law for us”.
He described it as the roadmap for Christian life which gives us the indications to move forward on the right path.
The Pope continued his homily commenting on the words of the evangelist Luke who also speaks of the Beatitudes and lists what he calls the ‘four woes’: ‘Woe to the rich, to the satiated, to those who laugh now, to you when all speak well of you’.
And recalling the fact that many times he has said that riches are good, what’s bad the Pope reminded us is ‘the attachment to riches’ which becomes idolatry.
“This is the anti-law, the wrong navigator. The three slippery steps that lead to perdition, just as the Beatitudes are the steps that take us forward in life” he said.
And elaborating on that thought the Pope said the three steps that lead to perdition are:
“the attachment to riches, because I need nothing;”
“Vanity – that all must speak well of me, making me feel important, making too much of a fuss… and I am convinced to be in the right” he said, referring also the parable of the self-righteous Pharisee and the Tax Collector: “O God I thank you that I am such a good Catholic, not like my neighbor…”
“The third – he said – is pride, the satiation and the laughter that closes one’s heart”.
Of all the Beatitudes – the Pope said there is one in particular: “I’m not saying it is the key to all of them, but it induces us to much reflection and it is: Blessed are the meek. Meekness”.
“Jesus says of himself: ‘learn from me for I am meek of heart’, I am humble and gentle at heart. To be meek is a way of being that brings us close to Jesus” he said.
“The opposite attitude, Pope Francis concluded, always causes enmities and wars…lots of bad things that happen. But meekness, meekness of heart which is not foolishness, no: it’s something else. It’s the capacity to be deep and to understand the greatness of God, and worship Him”.
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis met with delegations from Sweden and Poland on Sunday morning, ahead of the Mass at which the Holy Father canonized one new saint from each country: Stanislaus of Jesus and Mary Papczyński, and Mary Elizabeth Hesselblad. Poland’s President Andrzej Duda led his country’s delegation, accompanied by his wife, Agata Kornhauser-Duda. The Swedish delegation was headed by the country’s Culture Minister, Alice Bah Kuhnke. The Holy Father also met with the Catholic Archbishop of Stockholm, Anders Arborelius, and with the Lutheran Archbishop of Uppsala, Antje Jackelen. (from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis celebrated Mass on Sunday morning in St. Peter’s Square during the course of which he canonized two new Saints: Stanislaus of Jesus and Mary Papczyński, and Mary Elizabeth Hesselblad. St. Stanislaus was born and baptized Jan Papczyński in Poland in 1631 and was ordained a priest while in the Piarist congregation, which he left to found the Marians of the Immaculate Conception. Click below to hear our report
St. Mary Elizabeth Hesselblad was a Swedish-born convert to Catholicism who re-founded the Order of St. Bridget (Patron of Sweden and original foundress of the order of religious women that took her name and followed – follows her charism) in the early 20 th century. In the homily he prepared for the occasion and delivered Sunday morning before a crowd of some 40 thousand faithful, Pope Francis praised the two new saints as outstanding models of Christian faith and faithful perseverance in the face of trial. “In the Passion of Christ, we find God’s response to the desperate and at times indignant cry that the experience of pain and death evokes in us,” said Pope Francis. “He tells us that we cannot flee from the Cross, but must remain at its foot, as Our Lady did.” “In suffering with Jesus,” the Holy Father went on to say, “she received the grace of hoping against all hope. (cf. Rom 4:18)” “This,” he continued, “was the experience of Stanislaus of Jesus and Mary, and Maria Elizabeth Hesselblad.” “They remained deeply united to the passion of Jesus,” he said, “and in them the power of His resurrection was revealed.” (from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis delivered the homily at Mass on Sunday morning, the 10th Sunday in Ordinary Time, during which he also presided over the canonization of two new saints: Stanislaus of Jesus and Mary, and Maria Elizabeth Hesselblad. Please find the full text of his prepared homily in their official English translation, below *************************************** The word of God, which we have just heard, points us to the central event of our faith: God’s victory over suffering and death. It proclaims the Gospel of hope, born of Christ’s paschal mystery, whose splendour is seen on the face of the Risen Lord and reveals God our Father as one who comforts all of us in our afflictions. That word calls us to remain united to the Passion of the Lord Jesus, so that the power of his resurrection may be revealed in us. In the Passion of Christ, we find God’s response to the desperate and at times indignant cry that the experience of pain and death evokes in us. He tells us that we cannot flee from the Cross, but must remain at its foot, as Our Lady did. In suffering with Jesus, she received the grace of hoping against all hope (cf. Rom 4:18). This was the experience of Stanislaus of Jesus and Mary, and Maria Elizabeth Hesselblad, who today are proclaimed saints. They remained deeply united to the passion of Jesus, and in them the power of his resurrection was revealed. This Sunday’s first reading and Gospel offer us amazing signs of death and resurrection. The first took place at the hand of the Prophet Elijah, the second by Jesus. In both cases, they involved the young children of widows, who were then given back alive to their mothers. The widow of Zarephath – a woman who was not a Jew, yet had received the Prophet Elijah in her home – was upset with the prophet and with God, because when Elijah was a guest in her home her child had taken ill and had died in her arms. Elijah says to her: “Give me your son” (1 Kings 17:19). What he says is significant. His words tell us something about God’s response to our own death, however it may come about. He does not say: “Hold on to it; sort it out yourself!” Instead, he says: “Give it to me”. And indeed the prophet takes the child and carries him to the upper room, and there, by himself, in prayer “fights with God”, pointing out to him the absurdity of that death. The Lord heard the voice of Elijah, for it was in fact he, God, who spoke and acted in the person of the prophet. It was God who, speaking through Elijah, told the woman: “Give me your son”. And now it was God who gave the child back alive to his mother. God’s tenderness is fully revealed in Jesus. We heard in the Gospel (Lk 7:11-17) of the “great compassion” (v. 13) which Jesus felt for the widow of Nain in Galilee, who was accompanying her only son, a mere adolescent, to his burial. Jesus draws close, touches the bier, stops the funeral procession, and must have caressed that poor mother’s face bathed in tears. “Do not weep”, he says to her (Lk 7:13), as to say: “Give me your son”. Jesus asks to takes our death upon himself, to free us from it and to restore our life. The young man then awoke as if from a deep sleep and began to speak. Jesus “gave him to his mother” (v. 15). Jesus is no wizard! It is God’s tenderness incarnate; the Father’s immense compassion is at work in Jesus. The experience of the Apostle Paul was also a kind of resurrection. From a fierce enemy and persecutor of Christians, he became a witness and herald of the Gospel (cf. Gal 1:13-17). This radical change was not his own work, but a gift of God’s mercy. God “chose” him and “called him by his grace”. “In him”, God desired to reveal his Son, so that Paul might proclaim Christ among the Gentiles (vv. 15-16). Paul says that God the Father was pleased to reveal his Son not only to him, but in him, impressing as it were in his own person, flesh and spirit, the death and resurrection of Christ. As a result, the Apostle was not only to be a messenger, but above all a witness. So it is with each and every sinner. Jesus constantly makes the victory of life-giving grace shine forth. He says to Mother Church: “Give me your children”, which means all of us. He takes our sins upon himself, takes them away and gives us back alive to the Mother Church. All that happens in a special way during this Holy Year of Mercy. The Church today offers us two of her children who are exemplary witnesses to this mystery of resurrection. Both can sing forever in the words of the Psalmist: “You have changed my mourning into dancing / O Lord, my God, I will thank you forever” (Ps 30:12). Let us all join in saying: “I will extol you, Lord, for you have raised me up” (Antiphon of the Responsorial Psalm). (from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) On Sunday 5th of June Pope Francis is set to canonise the founder of the Marian Fathers of the Immaculate Conception, Blessed Stanislaus Papczyński who died in 1701. In an effort to find out more about this Polish born Saint, Veronica Scarisbrick speaks to the Vicar General of this order, Fr. Joseph Roesch. Listen to Fr. Joseph Roesch and find out what we remember the founder of his order for, three hundred years on.
Listen to the Vicar General of the Marians of the Immaculate Conception Fr. Joseph Roesch in an interview with Veronica Scarisbrick:
Father Roesch explains how his experience as an army chaplain on battle fronts has been passed down to us. How we have his writings to fall back on and how he is remembered as a zealous priest who preached and practiced love of God and of neighbour. Also what he believes makes him a saint who can serve as a role model for young people today.
(from Vatican Radio)…