(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis has encouraged the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians to be prophetic witnesses and to widen their gazes to recognize the most authentic and urgent needs of a generation that is changing. The sisters, whose mission is among the young and the poor, were founded by Saint John Bosco and Saint Maria Domenica Mazzarello and are more commonly known as the Salesian Sisters On Saturday, Pope Francis met with those sisters who are in Rome for the institute’s General Chapter. In addition to electing their new General Council, the Chapter also served to reflect on the institute’s mission and to draw new lines for pastoral action. The Pope encouraged the sisters to move ahead with their new orientations, which include transforming their houses into environments for evangelization, implementing paths for change and pastoral conversion, and forming young people to become evangelizers of other youth. He also encouraged them to sustain their lives with prayer, adoration and the Word of God. With regard to their mission among the young, the Pope urged the sisters to “be everywhere a prophetic witness and educative presence through an unconditional welcome of the young…and individuating paths to render (their) apostolic interventions effective in a context…permeated by the virtual world and new technologies.” Speaking of the sisters’ call to witness to community, he also warned them of what he termed the “terrorism” affecting religious life—gossip. “Never should you permit envy and jealousy among you,” he said, adding: “Gossip is a bomb” that destroys community. He encouraged the sisters toward continuing formation and education in order to help in their mission. Finally, he exhorted the sisters to “be missionaries of joy, witness to the values that are proper to (their) Salesian identity, particularly the value of encounter,” describing the latter as “a spring” from which they “can draw that love that revitalizes that passion for God and for the young”. The Pope concluded, urging the sisters to turn to their founders for inspiration when faced with the inevitable difficulties of the mission. Report by Laura Ieraci (from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis greeted a group of Italian adult scouts today at Paul VI Hall, encouraging them on their “path” of formation. In his message, the Holy Father encouraged them to continue on the “path” of scouting, a term that describes the formative dimension of the movement. He outlined three paths: family, creation, and the city.
Listen to the report by Andrew Summerson:
“All vocations take their first steps in the family…a movement such as yours, based on continuing education…for you, Christian parents, the educational mission finds its source in the sacrament of marriage, in which the raising of children constitutes a true ministry in the Church”, he said.
Pope Francis also encouraged the group to continue the on path in the care of creation, saying that “ecological question is vital for the survival of man. It has a moral dimension that affects everyone, so no one can be disinterested in the question”.
Pope Francis asked them to continue on paths in the city. “Living in the city you are asked to be the leaven in the dough, offering a sincere contribution to realize the common good”.
Finally, Pope Francis exhorted them to continue their journey, emphasizing that “ your formation as scouts is good training!” Echoing St. Paul, he said Christians train, not like athletes for an ephemeral prize, but to be “a good missionary disciple of the Lord Jesus”.
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Friday received the participants in the national assembly of Italian Religious Superiors, who have been meeting in Rome to explore the specific role of consecrated life in the Church’s broader mission, in the key of Evangelii gaudium – Pope Francis’ post-Synodal exhortation on the joy of the Gospel.
In remarks prepared for the occasion and delivered to the superiors, Pope Francis spoke especially of the fraternal life as an indispensable element of witness to the true meaning of brotherhood in the world – especially in today’s world. “This fraternity, however, presupposes the fatherhood of God and the motherhood of the Church and of the Virgin Mary,” he said. “We must each day place ourselves once again in this relationship, and we can do so with prayer, the Eucharist, with adoration, with the Rosary.”
The 54th national assembly of the Italian Conference of Major Superiors opened in Tivoli on Monday, November 3rd, and concluded with the Papal audience on Friday, November 7th.
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis received the participants in the 33 rd Ecumenical Meeting of Bishops, F riends of the Focolare Movement this Friday. The meeting opened on November 3 rd , and concluded with the audience at the Vatican. For four days, nearly forty Catholic and non-Catholic Church leaders from nearly thirty different countries met to explore the theme: “The Eucharist, mystery of communion”. Click below to hear our report
In remarks to the participants in the conference, Pope Francis praised the gathering as a “bright and attractive sign” of the common faith in Our Lord, Jesus Christ. “In fact,” said Pope Francis, “if we, as Christians, desire to respond in a meaningful way to the many problems and dramas of our time, then we need to speak and act as brothers, so that everyone can easily recognize [that we belong to Christ, the One Lord].” The Holy Father also renewed his appeal on behalf of all those suffering religious persecution, and denouncing the lack of effective protections for authentic religious liberty around the world. “The fact that [people in] many countries lack the freedom to express religion publicly and to live openly according to the requirements of Christian ethics; the persecution of Christians and other minorities; the sad phenomenon of terrorism; the plight of refugees caused by war and other reasons; the challenges of fundamentalism and on the other extreme, exaggerated secularism; all these really challenge our conscience of Christians and pastors,” he said. Pope Francis concluded saying that all these challenges are a call seek with renewed commitment, perseverance and patience, the ways that lead to unity – “that the world may believe” (Jn 17:21), and in order that we ourselves might be full of confidence and courage. (from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) The Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue on Friday released a Message to mark the Sikh festival of Guru Nanak Jayanti, an annual recurrence celebrating the birth of the founder of Sikhism, Guru Nanak. The theme of the Message is: Christians and Sikhs – together to promote compassionate service . Below, please find the full text of the Message, in English.
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Christians and Sikhs:
together to promote compassionate service
Message for Guru Nanak Jayanti
2014
Vatican City
Dear Sikh Friends,
1. The Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, in a spirit of friendship and goodwill, extends its warmest greetings and felicitations to you as you observe the Prakash Diwas of Siri Guru Nanak Dev Sahib on 6 November this year. May the celebrations of this feast further strengthen the bonds of relationships between your families and communities for greater happiness, harmony and peace!
2. We wish to reflect with you this year on how we, both Christians and Sikhs together, can promote compassionate service in the society. Compassionate service, in its different aspects and nuances, can be said to lie at the very heart of every great religion. For us Christians, it finds its perfect expression in the very person of Jesus Himself. The most eloquent description of it in the Holy Bible (NT), can be found in the parable of the ‘good Samaritan’ (Lk 10:25-37). For you, too, compassion ( daya ) and service ( seva ), selfless service rather, for the benefit of others, are the core concepts. Bhai Gurdas, the first interpreter of Gurbani wrote: “the hands and feet that shun seva are condemnable; actions other than seva are fruitless” ( Varan , XXVII.10). To do compassionate service means to reach out to the poor, the needy, sick, elderly, differently-abled, migrants, refugees, the exploited and persecuted, transcending all kinds of barriers and giving up one’s own interests and comforts, for they, too, are God’s handiwork and as such our brothers and sisters and are part of our one large human family. When clothed in the true spirit of charity and selflessness, such a service becomes an all-encompassing and rewarding experience for both the giver and the receiver.
3. The growing materialistic, consumerist and individualistic tendencies in today’s world, unfortunately, are making humans more and more self-centred, insensitive and indifferent to the needs and sufferings of others. Decrying these disturbing trends, Pope Francis, whose words and gestures of compassion and service have by now become proverbial, has called for a culture in which everyone feels loved, wanted and cared for and “no one is seen as useless, out of place or disposable” ( Message for the 101st World Day of Migrants and Refugees (2015), 3 September 2014).
4. As believers in our own respective religions with a shared treasury of values, may we, Christians and Sikhs, rediscover the importance of compassionate service in our personal and collective lives and make it a way of life, inspiring and encouraging others as well in this regard so as to promote happiness, harmony and peace everywhere. May we, joining hands with others, contribute to making a better, more just and fraternal world.
We wish you all a Happy Prakash Divas of Siri Guru Nanak Dev Sahib!
Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran
President
Father Miguel Ángel Ayuso Guixot, MCCJ
Secretary
(from Vatican Radio)…