(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis celebrated Mass on the steps of Rome’s Cathedral Basilica of St. John Lateran on Thursday evening, ahead of a torchlight procession to St Mary Major to mark the feast of Corpus Domini – the Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Our Savior. Listen to our report:
In his homily, Pope Francis focused on the Eucharist as spiritual nourishment, and on the Eucharistic feast as a moment to celebrate the freedom to worship God fittingly. “[On T]he feast of Corpus Domini , we have the joy not only of celebrating this mystery [of the Eucharist], but also of praising Him and singing in the streets of our city. May the procession we will make at the end of the Mass, express our gratitude for all the journey that God has allowed us to make through the desert of our poverty, to take us out of slavery, by nourishing us with His love through the Sacrament of his Body and the Blood.” The Holy Father concluded with a call for solidarity with all those who have not such freedom. “In a little while,” he said, “we shall walk along the way, let us perceive ourselves in communion with our many brothers and sisters who do not have the freedom to express their faith in the Lord Jesus. Let us feel ourselves united with them, let us sing with them, praise with them, adore with them. And we venerate in our hearts those brothers and sisters from whom the sacrifice of their lives has been required for fidelity to Christ: let their blood, united to that of the Lord, be a pledge of peace and reconciliation for the whole world.” After communion and the Holy Father’s blessing, the congregation sang the Pange lingu and began to make its way down the via Merulana, about a mile, through the heart of the city, with Our Lord in the Eucharist. Pope Francis met the faithful at St Mary Major, which welcomed the Eucharistic Lord with pealing bells and the Tantum ergo .
Then he offered Eucharistic Benediction, and the gathered faithful made the final acclamations and sang the hymn, sub tuum Praesidium , imploring the protection of Our Lady, and then the people left, going off into the night. Below we publish a Vatican Radio translation of Pope Francis’ Homily for the feast of Corpus Domini: In the Last Supper, Jesus gives His Body and his Blood by means of the bread and the wine, to leave us the memorial of His sacrifice of infinite love. With this viaticum full to overflowing with grace, the disciples have everything they need for their long journey through history, to extend the kingdom of God to everyone. Light and strength will be for them the gift that Jesus made of Himself, sacrificing Himself voluntarily on the Cross. This Bread of Life has come down to us! The Church is in unending awe before this reality – an awe that endlessly nourishes contemplation, adoration, memory. This is seen in a beautiful text of today’s Liturgy, the Responsory of the second reading of the Office of Readings, which says: “See in this bread the body of Christ which hung upon the cross, and in this cup the blood which flowed from His side. Take His body, then, and eat it; take His blood and drink it, and you will become His members. The body of Christ is the bond which unites you to him: eat it, or you will have no part in him. The blood is the price he paid for your redemption: drink it, lest you despair of your sinfulness.” We ask ourselves what it means today, to be torn from Him, to despair – as cowards – of our sinfulness [what is this cowardliness – svilirci – of which Christ speaks to us through the Church at prayer]? We are torn from Him when we are not obedient to the Word of the Lord, when we do not live brotherhood between us, when we race to occupy the first places, when we find the courage to witness to charity, when we are unable to offer hope. The Eucharist allows us to be not torn from Him, for it is the bond of communion, is the fulfillment of the Covenant, a living sign of the love of Christ who humbled and annihilated Himself for us, that we might remain united. By participating in the Eucharist and by feeding on it, we are inserted into a way that does not admit divisions. The Christ present in our midst, in the signs of bread and wine, requires that the power of love exceed every laceration, and at the same time that it become communion with the poor, support for the weak, fraternal attention to those who are struggling to carry the weight of everyday life. And what it means for us today “svilirci” – to be cowardly, to despair of our sinfulness, that is, to let our Christian dignity be watered down, [or to adulterate it ourselves]? It means to let ourselves be affected by the idolatries of our time: appearance, consumption, the self at the center of everything; but also being competitive, arrogance as the winning attitude, the idea that one never need admit to a mistake or to find oneself in need. All this demeans us, makes us mediocre, lukewarm, insipid Christians. Jesus shed his blood as a ransom and as a lavacrum – a cleansing agent, that we might be purified of all sins: in order that we fall not into cowardice, despair of sinfulness, that we not become weak, let us look to him, let us drink deep draughts from His source, that we might be preserved from the risk of corruption. Then shall we experience the grace of a transformation: we will remain always poor sinners, but the Blood of Christ will deliver us from our sins and give us back our dignity. Without merit of our own, with sincere humility, we can bring to our brethren the love of our Lord and Savior. We will be His eyes that go in search of Zacchaeus and of the Magdalene; we will be His hand who helps the sick in body and spirit; we will be His heart that loves those in need of reconciliation and understanding. Thus does the Eucharist make present the Covenant that sanctifies us, purifies us and unites us in marvelous communion with God. Today, the feast of Corpus Domini, we have the joy not only of celebrating this mystery, but also of praising Him and singing in the streets of our city. May the procession we will make at the end of the Mass, express our gratitude for all the journey that God has allowed us to make through the desert of our poverty, to take us out of slavery, by nourishing us with His love through the Sacrament of his Body and the Blood. In a little while we shall walk along the way, let us perceive ourselves in communion with our many brothers and sisters who do not have the freedom to express their faith in the Lord Jesus. Let us feel ourselves united with them, let us sing with them, praise with them, adore with them. And we venerate in our hearts those brothers and sisters from whom the sacrifice of their lives has been required for fidelity to Christ: let their blood, united to that of the Lord, be a pledge of peace and reconciliation for the whole world. (from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) When Francis makes a one day trip to the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Sarajevo, on Saturday 6th of June he won’t be the first pope to visit this city.
He follows in the footsteps of Saint John Paul II, the Slav Pope who visited this nation twice during his over a quarter of a century pontificate. The last time was in 2003 whereas the first in 1997, two years after peace accords had brought an end to a four year war.
Listen to a programme presented and produced by Veronica Scarisbrick:
Memorable is his attempt to be with his fellow Slavs in Sarajevo before that date when war still raged in its streets. It was 1994 and he had scheduled a visit there. But it was cancelled as it had not been deemed safe for him to visit a city under siege. One which at the time was being shelled.
However he chose not to abandon the people there , he did not lose heart. His response, to not being allowed to join them, rested in a powerful homily delivered during Holy Mass in Castel Gandolfo and broadcast to this city on radio and TV on the 8th of September of that year. The very same homily he had planned to deliver in Sarajevo. And in this homily the cry for peace to the Father resonated in the square bringing with it the horrors of the Balkan city under siege.
” Our Father, who art in heaven”, he prayed:
” I Bishop of Rome, the first Slav Pope , kneel before you and shout. Free us from the plague, hunger and war”…
“Our Father who art in heaven,” he continued, “lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil”:
“The temptation of ethnical prejudice provokes indifference to the rights of others and their suffering. The temptation of exasperated nationalism leads to a subjugation of the other and a lust for vengeance. These are all temptations expressed in a civilisation of death.
An end must be put to such savagery. Enough with war! Enough with the destructive fury of these barbaric acts! It is no longer possible to tolerate a situation which can only lead to death: killings, cities razed to the ground, a wrecked economy, hospitals short of medical supplies, the sick and the elderly left to themselves, families in tears and torn apart… A just peace must be reached at the earliest. Peace is possible if the priority of moral values is recognised over ethnic claims”.
Three years later he planned to visit Sarajevo once again. It was April 1997 and the war was over. The day had come at last when he could celebrate Holy Mass in Sarajevo, physically be with his fellow Slavs.
It was bitterly cold and the town was swept by blustery winds and a billowing snow storm. But the people came all the same and gathered around him within sight of the graves of the victims of this war. Graves which are still in place across central Sarajevo and beyond today as a bitter reminder of the ravages that occurred.
Many had come from afar bearing flags that echoed the divisions that kept apart the nation’s three main groups, Catholic Croats, Eastern Orthodox Serbs and Bosnian Muslims. And it was for them that he symbolically released into the chilly air, three doves as three symbols of peace.
Already upon his arrival in Bosnia and Herzegovina he had pronounced those words we so often heard during his over a quarter of a century pontificate: ” Never again war” ..Leaving behind him when he departed a message of reconciliation and forgiveness. One he would reiterate when he returned there six years later in 2003. One Pope Francis will certainly bring with him to Sarajevo on Saturday 6th of June.
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Thursday observes the liturgical feast of Corpus Christi celebrating Mass in front of the Patriarchal Basilica of Saint John Lateran, and symbolically leading the traditional procession with the Blessed Sacrament to the nearby Basilica of St. Mary Major.
As the Prefect Emeritus of the Congregation for Divine Worship, Cardinal Francis Arinze explains, whilst in many communities the Corpus Christi celebration is transmitted to the following Sunday, the Vatican liturgical calendar has stayed true to tradition and marks the Solemnity on the Thursday after Holy Trinity Sunday.
As he did last year, after Mass Pope Francis will travel by car to St. Mary Major where he will await the procession led by Cardinal Vicar Agostino Vallini. Here he will receive the Blessed Sacrament and lead the Benediction.
Listen to Cardinal Francis Arinze speaking to Vatican Radio :
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) “Peace be with You” is the motto chosen by Pope Francis for his visit on June 6 to Sarajevo, the capital city of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The Pope’s 8th Apostolic Journey abroad consists in a one-day visit to Sarajevo which sees an intense Papal schedule of commitments and events including the celebration of Mass, an inter-religious and ecumenical encounter, and a meeting with the youth.
On the eve of the Pope’s departure, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican Secretary of State spoke to CTV – the Vatican Television Center – about the visit which the Pope himself has said aims to confirm the faith of Catholics, support ecumenical and interreligious dialogue, and encourage peaceful coexistence in the nation
In the interview, Cardinal Parolin highlighted the importance of the chosen motto and its logo that depicts a stylized sign that unites the cross, the white dove as a symbol of peace, and a triangle which represents the borders of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The colours – he said – are those of the national flag; there is a reference to the Catholic community which is mostly made up of Croats; whilst the motto itself with the words “Peace be with You” are the first words ones that the Risen Christ addressed to his disciples.
The Pope – Cardinal Parolin said – travels to the land that St John Paul II described at the “Jerusalem of Europe” as a pilgrim of dialogue and peace.
Questioned about the current situation in the Nation, Cardinal Parolin recalled the “consequences of the war that afflicted Bosnia and Herzegovina” and that saw “over a hundred thousand deaths and a huge number of people who were displaced from their homes”.
The consequences of the war – he said – have had a huge impact especially on the Catholic community that “between the beginnings of the ‘90s to date has almost halved, from eight hundred thousand to four hundred thousand people”.
The situation is such – Parolin pointed out – that “in some of the parishes there are only a few families left” and most of the faithful are elderly.
He also commented on the fact that because of high unemployment and lack of opportunity, many young people continue to migrate, and this phenomenon is coupled with a general demographic drop that also affects the dwindling Catholic community.
The Cardinal then focused on the “complexity of the country’s political system” where power is shared between representatives of different ethnic origins: Bosnian, Serb and Croat.
At an administrative level the representatives give life to the Bosniak Federation, The Srpska Republic and the Brčko District.
The country’s presidency, rotated between the three communities every eight months, is currently held by the representative of the Bosnian Serbs. All three leaders will meet with Pope Francis on Saturday morning.
Cardinal Parolin said the complexity of this scenario means that it is necessary to achieve equality at all levels – political, cultural and social – for all citizens, while recognizing their own specific identities, independently from numbers. This – he said – is a condition that would favour peace, and at the same time, with the help of the international community, it would support the nation’s natural aspiration to be integrated into the European Union.
In this sense – he said – “it could be of example for the many situations that continue to exist in the world where diversity is not conjugated and accepted, becoming reason for conflict and contrast, instead of mutual wealth”.
Cardinal Parolin concluded expressing his hope that the Pope’s visit to Sarajevo may “not only contribute to the common good and improvement of the situation in the country, but also be an invitation to all men and to all Nations to rediscover the reasons of peace, reconciliation and progress, be they human, spiritual and material”.
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) On Thursday, 4th of June 2015, Feast of Corpus Christi Pope Francis is scheduled to travel across town to celebrate Holy Mass on the parvis of his Cathedral, Saint John Lateran.
Following Mass, he will lead the traditional Corpus Christi procession from there to the nearby Basilica of Saint Mary Major, just over a mile away.
On this occasion, as in many other such Corpus Christi processions across the world, the monstrance with the Blessed Sacrament will be borne high for all to see in adoration and prayer.
To mark this yearly occasion we share with you a musical meditation which focuses on the Fifth Mystery of Light: ‘The Institution of the Eucharist’.
Among the many Eucharistic texts set to music chosen for this meditation by our music historian Monsignor Philip Whitmore is ‘O Sacrum Convivium’.
Listen to a musical meditation which focuses on the V Mystery of Light presented by Monsignor Philip Whitmore and produced by Veronica Scarisbrick :
(from Vatican Radio)…