(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis held his weekly General Audience on Wednesday, during which he continued his catechetical reflections on the nature and purpose of marriage in the order of creation and in the Divine plan of salvation. This week, the Holy Father focused specifically on Christian marriage as a Sacrament: an efficacious sign of God’s love for each and every person, for all humanity and for the whole world, a means of grace, and a genuine way of living our common baptismal call to holiness. “Christian marriage is that sacrament which builds up the community of the Church and of society,” explained Pope Francis through an interpreter in the English-language synopsis of the main catechesis, which he delivered in Italian. “Marriage has been inscribed in creation’s design by God, and, by his grace, countless Christian men and women have lived married life fully,” he continued. The Holy Father went on to describe marriage as an act of faith in God’s plan for humanity and an act of selfless love. Drawing on the writings of St. Paul the Apostle, the Pope focused especially on the duties of husbands to their wives, saying that married love is an image of the love between Christ and his Church, and that a husband is therefore to love his wife as Christ loved the Church, by giving himself completely for her. “When a man and a woman marry in the Lord, they participate in the missionary life of the Church, by living not only for themselves or their own family, but for all people,” explained Pope Francis. “Therefore,” the summary continued, “the life of the Church is enriched through every marriage which shows forth this beauty, and is impoverished when marriage is disfigured in any way.” Pope Francis concluded his remarks by saying that every couple which faithfully and courageously lives the grace of this sacrament assists the Church in offering the gifts of faith, hope and love to all people, and helps others to experience these gifts in their married lives and their families. He prayed that married couples everywhere live this mystery ever more fully, trusting in God’s tenderness and the Church’s maternal care. (from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis is to receive the President of Cuba, Raul Castro, this coming Sunday, May 10th, in private audience. The Director of the Press Office of the Holy See, Fr. Federico Lombardi, SJ, confirmed the audience on Tuesday, in response to questions from journalists.
Few details are known about the audience itself: it will be “strictly private,” according to Fr. Lombardi, SJ, and will take place in the Holy Father’s study inside the Paul VI Hall.
The statement confirming the visit goes on to recall some of the context of the visit, including the instrumental part Pope Francis played in achieving the first significant thaw in relations between Cuba and the US since the Communist revolution on the island, led by Raul Castro’s elder brother, Fidel Castro, in the late 1950’s and early 1960’s.
“As we know,” the statement reads, “President Raul Castro has publicly thanked Pope Francis for the role he played in the rapprochement between Cuba and the United States of America.”
When Castro and US President Barack Obama announced their intentions to continue work on improving relations, Obama said, “His Holiness Pope Francis issued a personal appeal to me, and to Cuba’s President Raul Castro.”
Developments in bilateral relations continue, meanwhile, with the US Treasury Department on Monday approving the return of passenger ferry services between the United States and Cuba.
In the wake of the developments on the diplomatic front between Cuba and the US, it was also announced that the Holy Father would be adding a trip to Cuba, visiting the island nation in September of this year, ahead of his visit to the United States at the end of that month.
(from Vatican Radio)…
The Director of the Holy See Press Office, Fr. Federico Lombardi, has confirmed that Pope Francis will receive in private audience the President of the Republic of Cuba, Raul Castro Ruz. The meeting is scheduled to take place during the morning of Sunday, May 10th, in the papal studio of the Paul VI Hall in the Vatican. President Castro recently publicly thanked the Pope for the role he played in bringing Cuba and the USA closer together. Pope Francis will travel to Cuba in September before heading to the United States as part of his pastoral journey….
(Vatican Radio) The Director of the Vatican Press Office Father Federico Lombardi said Pope Francis is an enthusiastic supporter of peace education in schools. Father Lombardi was speaking at a press conference in the Vatican on Tuesday held to speak about the “Factory of Peace” project that has been launched by leading educational, political and church figures to help schoolchildren realise the importance of peace and dialogue with others. The press conference comes just days before a scheduled meeting between Pope Francis and seven thousand children in the Vatican (on May 11th) to talk about the themes of peace, love, welcome and integration.
Father Lombardi quoted Pope Francis’ words: “We will not change the world unless we change education” and said the Holy Father has reiterated the need to foster a “culture of encounter” which can then build a harmonious and peaceful world. Such an encounter is not “vague and abstract, but an invitation to genuinely meet real people in order to initiate a thorough exchange and therefore a common path to a better society.” Father Lombardi went on to stress that this message of encounter must be repeated over and over again, in order to address world problems such as conflict, hardship, exclusion and the plight of migrants and refugees. He said the Pope is convinced that many of these problems can be traced back to a culture of waste, which itself stems from a selfish attitude.
Pope Francis has been leading the way in this endeavour long before his election as Pope. Whilst serving as Archbishop of Buenos Aires he founded the Scholas Occurentes organisation to promote networking between schools in different countries. The organisation uses sports, arts and technology to bring young people together and create a common bond.
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Tribulations, trust, and peace. These are the three words around which Pope Francis developed his homily at Tuesday morning’s Mass at the Santa Marta guesthouse in the Vatican. The Pontiff pointed out that the Christian does not have a “sadomasochistic attitude” when confronted with difficulties, but relies on the Lord with confidence and hope.
Listen to this report by Tracey McClure:
When St. Paul is persecuted, despite a thousand tribulations, he remains firm in his faith and encourages others to hope in the Lord. Pope Francis was inspired by the passage from the Acts of the Apostles, in the First Reading, to dwell on these three points: tribulations, trust and peace – saying that to enter the Kingdom of God, one must “go through dark times, difficult times.”
The Christian bears tribulations with courage
However, he warned, “this is not a sadomasochistic attitude”, rather, it is “the Christian struggle” against the prince of this world who tries to tear us away “from the word of Jesus, from faith, from hope.” “To endure the tribulations” is a phrase, the Pope pointed out, that the Apostle Paul uses frequently:
“‘To bear’: is more than being patient; it means to carry on one’s shoulders, to carry the weight of tribulation. And Christian life also has moments like that. But Jesus tells us: ‘Have courage in that moment. I have overcome; you too will be victorious’. This first word enlightens us to go forward in the most difficult moments of life, those moments that make us suffer.”
And after giving this advice, the Pope said, Paul “organizes that Church”, “He prays over the priests, lays His hands on them and entrusts them to the Lord.”
Rely on the Lord in troubled times
The second word: “entrust”. A Christian, Pope Francis observed, “can face tribulations and even persecution by entrusting himself unto the Lord.” Only He, the Pope stressed, “is able to give us strength, to give us perseverance in faith, to give us hope”:
“To entrust something to the Lord, to entrust this difficult moment to the Lord, to entrust myself to the Lord, to entrust to the Lord our faithful, we priests, bishops, entrust to the Lord our families, our friends and say to the Lord: ‘Take care of them; they are yours.’ This is a prayer that we do not always say: the prayer of entrustment: ‘Lord I entrust this to you; You help take care of it.’ It is a beautiful Christian prayer. It is ‘the attitude of trust in the power of the Lord, and in the tenderness of God who is Father. ”
When a person makes “this prayer” from the heart, the Pope added, then he feels it is entrusted to the Lord – he is certain: “He never disappoints. Trials, reflected the Pope, make us suffer, but “trust in the Lord gives you hope and here comes in the third word: peace.”
The peace of the Lord strengthens the faith and hope
Pope Francis recalled what Jesus says as he leaves his disciples: “I leave you peace; I give you my peace.” But, he emphasized, “not a peace, a simple peace of mind”, but a peace that “goes within: a peace, too, that gives you strength, which reinforces what today we asked the Lord: our faith and our hope”:
“Three words: tribulations, trust and peace. In life we have to go down streets of tribulation but this is the law of life. But in those moments, [we must] rely on the Lord and He answers us with peace. This Lord who is Father loves us so much and never disappoints. Now we continue the Eucharistic celebration with the Lord, praying that He strengthen our faith and our hope, asking Him to give us the confidence to overcome our trials because He has overcome the world, and gives us all his peace. ”
(from Vatican Radio)…