Pope's Morning Homily: 'Pray for the Grace of Memory'

Pope's Morning Homily: 'Pray for the Grace of Memory'

Reflects on the Life-Changing Aspects of the Encounter with Christ During Mass at Casa Santa Marta

Rome, April 24, 2015 (Zenit.org) Junno Arocho Esteves | 73 hits

The foundation of our faith rest on that first encounter with Jesus Christ. These were the words of Pope Francis during his homily at Casa Santa Marta.

 

According to Vatican Radio, the Holy Father reflected on the impact an encounter with Christ has on one’s life. He drew from today’s first reading, which recounted St. Paul’s conversion from one who persecuted the early Christians to one chosen by God “to carry my name before Gentiles, kings, and children of Israel.”

The Pope noted that this first encounter, like many others in the Bible, is the one that changes one’s life. He called on the faithful to never forget their first encounter with Christ.

“He never forgets, but we forget the encounter with Christ,” he said. “And this would be a good assignment to do at home, to consider: ‘When have I really felt that the Lord was close to me? When have I felt the need to change my life, or to become better, or to forgive someone? When have I felt the Lord asking something of me? When have I encountered the Lord?’”

Our faith, the Holy Father continued, “is an encounter with Jesus.”

“This is the foundation of our faith: I have encountered Jesus, as Saul did.” ‘A Memory of Love’

Continuing his homily, the 78 year old Pontiff invited the faithful to pray daily, in order to remember that first encounter with Christ. He also said that by reading the Gospels daily, one can see the work of God in Jesus’ encounters with others.

So many encounters with Jesus are there. Maybe one of them is similar to mine. Each one of us has his own,” he said.

Concluding his homily, Pope Francis asked the faithful to pray for the “grace of memory...so that we might not hear the complaint the Lord makes in Revelation: ‘I have this against you, that you have forgotten your first love’.”

Pope Francis Quotes St. John Paul II's Reference to 'First Genocide of the 20th Century'

Pope Francis Quotes St. John Paul II's Reference to 'First Genocide of the 20th Century'

On Divine Mercy Sunday, Also Proclaims Armenian Saint a Doctor of the Church

 

Vatican City, April 12, 2015 (Zenit.org) Deborah Castellano Lubov | 1402 hits

Pope Francis has quoted St. John Paul's referring to the Armenian slaughter as 'genocide.'

 

This Divine Mercy Sunday, the Second Sunday of Easter, Pope Francis celebrated Solemn Mass for the Centenary of the Armenian Martyrdom, gave a Regina Coeli address, proclaimed a new Armenian Doctor of the Church, and released a message to Armenians.

In Francis' message to Armenians, released by the Vatican today, he quotes how Pope John Paul II and Catholicos Karekin II in a Common Declaration in 2001 referred to the massacre of 1.5 million Armenians as a genocide and went on to say how Popes denounced senseless, brutal killings over time.

"This faith also accompanied and sustained your people," he reminded them, "during the tragic experience one hundred years ago 'in what is generally referred to as the first genocide of the twentieth century'  (John Paul II and Karekin II, Common Declaration, Etchmiadzin, 27 September 2001). "

"It is the responsibility not only of the Armenian people and the universal Church to recall all that has taken place, but of the entire human family, so that the warnings from this tragedy will protect us from falling into a similar horror, which offends against God and human dignity," the Pontiff went on to say.

During the Mass, Francis gave a greeting to the Armenian Rite faithful in which he referred to how a Third World War is taking place "in pieces," and criticized the world's indifference in the face of such conflicts.

Reflecting specifically that it has been 100 years since the tragic slaughter of Amenians, the Pontiff said: "Concealing or denying evil is like allowing a wound to keep bleeding without bandaging it!"
Historys tragic events, the Pope later said in his homily--recalling those Armenians slaughtered and all murdered by Communism, Nazism, or in other mass killings--can leave us feeling "crushed" and "asking ourselves: Why?"

We ponder how we can fill the "great abyss" or "great void" created by humanity's evil, he reflected. It is impossible for us to do so, he said, stressing that only God "can fill this emptiness that evil brings to our hearts and to human history."

"Behold the way which God has opened for us to finally go out from our slavery to sin and death, and thus enter into the land of life and peace," he told the faithful.

The Pontiff then turned to how St. John's Gospel recalls how Jesus dispelled Thomas' doubt of His having resurrected in the Upper Room, and what this means for our lives.

"Jesus invites us to behold these wounds, to touch them as Thomas did, to heal our lack of belief," he said. "Above all, he invites us to enter into the mystery of these wounds, which is the mystery of his merciful love."

Through these wounds, he noted, we can see the entire mystery of Christ and of God and can retrace the whole history of salvation.

"The saints teach us that the world is changed beginning with the conversion of ones own heart, and that this happens through the mercy of God," he said.

So if our consciences are distressed or we are in turmoil over the world's tragedies, Francis said, we must remember that "there is no sin so deadly that it cannot be pardoned by Christ's death."
Maintaining our gaze on the wounds of the Risen Jesus and allowing the Lord to lead the way, we will find life and hope, Pope Francis said.

Keeping in line with Sunday tradition, the Pope gave his Regina Coeli address to the pilgrims in a sunny St. Peter's Square at noon. In addition to reflecting on the Gospel and on God's infinite mercy, the Holy Father offered Easter greetings to all Christians who follow the Julian calendar.

Armenian Doctor of the Church

This morning, the Holy Father proclaimed the great Armenian Saint Gregory of Narek a Doctor of the Church, a special designation that recognizes doctrinal insights in the writings and teachings of certain saints.

The 10th Century Armenian monk will be the 36th Doctor of the Church, joining the list which includes St. Augustine and St. Francis de Sales.
Born in 950 A.D., Gregory would be known for his poetic writings and commentaries and is revered as one of the great figures of Armenian religious thought. The "Book of Lamentations," his book of prayers, is considered one of his great masterpieces and still considered as a definitive piece of Armenian literature.

This designation brings the number of the Doctors of the Church to 36, which includes other scholarly saints such as St. Francis de Sales and St. Augustine.

Good Friday

Pope Francis: 'Jesus' Love Never Deceives Us'

Pope Francis: 'Jesus' Love Never Deceives Us'

Washes Feet of 12 Inmates During Holy Thursday Mass at Rebibbia Prison in Rome

  

Rome, April 02, 2015 (Zenit.org) Junno Arocho Esteves | 289 hits

Pope Francis arrived on Holy Thursday to the Casa Circondariale Nuovo Complesso Rebibbia, a prison in Rome to celebrate the Mass of the Lord's Supper.

 

The Holy Father was greeted by faithful, authorities and a group of prisoners who emotionally embraced him. One prisoner, holding a sign, asked the Pope to bless the image of a deceased loved one. Once blessed, the man tearfully hugged and kissed Pope Francis.

The Mass was held in the prison's "Our Father" Church. As the Holy Father entered, the prisoners were unable to contain their excitement and applauded as the Pope entered in procession.

In his homily, the 78 year old Pontiff reflected on a passage from John's Gospel which he said was at the heart of Jesus' life and death: "He loved his own in the world and he loved them to the end. (Jn. 13,2).

"Jesus loves us," he said, "without limits, always to the end. The love of Jesus for us has no limits, it is always more. He never tires of loving anyone. He loves all of us to the point of giving His life."
"The love of Jesus never deceives because he never tires of loving, as He also never tires of forgiving, He never tires of embracing us. This is the first thing I wanted to tell you: Jesus loved each one of you 'to the end.'"

Regarding Jesus' act of washing the feet of the disciples, the Holy Father noted that the disciples did not understand His gesture, a custom that is usually the work of slaves. In order to serve, heal and clean us, he stressed, Jesus made Himself a slave.

"In our hearts, we must have the certainty, we must be sure that the Lord, when he washes our feet, He washes everything, He purifies us! He makes us feel once again His love," he said.

Before proceeding to the Rite of the Washing of the Feet, Pope Francis said that the 12 male and female inmates represented all of those who were incarcerated in the Roman prison.

However, he also stressed that like them, he needed to be 'cleaned by the Lord. as well.'
"And for this, pray during this Mass so that the Lord may also clean my filth, so that I may become more your slave, more of a slave in the service of people, as Jesus was," he said.

The Pope proceeded to wash the feet of the inmates, the majority of whom could not contain their emotion at their feet being washed by the Successor of Saint Peter.

Pope Francis: "Our Lives Do Not End in Front of the Stone of the Sepulcher!"

Pope Francis: "Our Lives Do Not End in Front of the Stone of the Sepulcher!"

Reflects on the Coming Easter Triduum During Weekly General Audience

  

Vatican City, April 01, 2015 (Zenit.org) Junno Arocho Esteves | 616 hits

The Easter Triduum is a time to not only commemorate the Passion of the Lord, but to enter in its mystery. This was the reflection given by Pope Francis at today's General Audience in St. Peter's Square.

 

The Pope said that with tomorrow's Mass of the Lord's Supper, the summit of the liturgical year begins. Speaking on the act of Jesus washing the feet of the disciples, the Holy Father said that Christ expresses the meaning of His life and Passion, who came not to be served, but to serve. 

"This happens every time we make the memorial of the Lord in the Eucharist: we make communion with the Servant Christ to obey his commandment, that of loving one another as He has loved us," the Pope said.

"If we approach Holy Communion without being sincerely willing to wash one another's feet, we do not recognize the Body of the Lord. It is Jesus' service, donating one's self totally."

"It is Accomplished"

Reflecting on the commemoration of Christ's death on Good Friday, Pope Francis said that with His final words, Jesus transformed "the greatest iniquity into the greatest love."

The 78 year old Pontiff compared it to the men and women in today's world who give witness of this "perfect love with their lives". One such example, was Fr. Andrea Santoro, an Italian missionary who was murdered in Turkey in 2006.

"This example of a man of our times, and many others, sustain us in offering our lives as a gift of love to the brothers [and sisters], in imitation of Jesus," he said. "And even today there are many men and women, true martyrs who offer their lives with Jesus to confess the faith; only for this reason."
"It is a service," he continued. "The service done for us by Christ, who redeemed us until the end.

This is the meaning of those words: "It is accomplished."

'The Night is Darkest Before the Dawn'

On Holy Saturday, the Pope said, the Church contemplates Christ's "rest" in the tomb. The Holy Father also noted that it is a day to also reflect on the Blessed VirginMary: "the first and perfect disciple, the first and perfect believer."

"She remains alone to keep the flame of faith alive, hoping against all hope in the Resurrection of Jesus."

Finally, with the Easter Vigil, the Pope said that the darkness of night at times, seems to penetrate our souls. However, Christ comes with the fire of God's love to break the darkness.

"We know that the night is darkest before the day begins," he said. "But precisely in that darkness, it is Christ who is victorious and enlightens the fire of love."

"Our lives do not end in front of the stone of the Sepulcher! Our life goes beyond with hope in Christ who is risen."

Concluding his address, Pope Francis said that sas Christians, all are called to be "sentinels of the dawn".

"In these days of the Sacred Triduum, let us not limit ourselves to commemorate the passion of the Lord, but let us enter into the mystery," he said

Pope to Pro Petri Sede Association: 'Care of the Poor Enriches Us'

Pope to Pro Petri Sede Association: 'Care of the Poor Enriches Us'

Highlights Challenges Faced by Marginalized People

    

Vatican City, February 16, 2015 (Zenit.org) Deborah Castellano Lubov | 646 hits

Pope Francis has highlighted how helping the poor is a call to our humanity, which not only helps them, but us too.

In Rome on the occasion of their pilgrimage to the tombs of the Apostles, the Holy Father welcomed the Pro Petri Sede Association, praised their nourishing their faith and manifesting their fidelity to the Successor of Saint Peter, and lauded their serving the poor.

The "Pro Petri Sede" Association is made up of members from Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg. The association annually offers economic assistance for the needs of the Holy See.
Thanking them for their service, the Pope said: “The growing number of marginalized people who live in great precariousness challenges us and calls for an impetus of solidarity to give them the material and spiritual support of which they are in need.”

He went on to say how helping the poor helps us. “In the throes of their difficulties,” he said, “they are often witnesses of what is essential, of family values; they are capable of sharing with one who is poorer than they are and they know how to rejoice."

Warning them that indifference and egoism are always lurking, the Jesuit Pope reminded them that to forget the poor is not Christian.

"Care of the poor," he said, "enriches us, putting us on a path of humility and truth."
Their presence, he said, is a call to our common humanity, to the fragility of life, to our dependence on God and on brothers.

The Pontiff invited those gathered to ask the Lord to give them merciful and poor hearts, "which know their own poverties and which spend themselves for others," and exhorted them to pray insistently for peace, "that political leaders might find ways of dialogue and reconciliation."

The Holy Father concluded, entrusting them to the intercession of Mary, Saint Peter, and their nations’ saints, and imparting his Apostolic Blessing.

Many in Pews Are 'Wounded' Waiting to Be Healed

Pope's Morning Homily: Many in Pews Are 'Wounded' Waiting to Be Healed

Compares Church to Field Hospital During Mass at Casa Santa Marta

   

Vatican City, February 05, 2015 (Zenit.org) Deborah Castellano Lubov | 390 hits

Pope Francis says there are many “wounded” waiting in the aisles of the Church for a minister of Christ to heal them from their pains and sorrows and liberate them from the demons that plague them.

  
According to Vatican Radio, the Holy Father described the Church as a field hospital and explained what is proper service to those in need during his morning Mass at Casa Santa Marta.

“I sometimes describe the Church as a field hospital," Francis reaffirmed, saying, "There are many wounded, how many wounded! How many people who need their wounds to be healed!”

To heal and care for its people, the Pope said, is the mission of the Church. This requires, he said, “healing the wounded hearts, opening doors, freeing [people], and saying that God is good, forgives all, is our Father, is tender, and is always waiting for us ... "

Reflecting on today’s Gospel, in which Jesus sends his disciples out to the villages to preach, heal the sick and drive out "unclean spirits," the Pope stressed the disciples needed a certain attitude. The Gospel, Jesus said, must be proclaimed in poverty, and must be done for no reason other to bring the good news of liberty to the oppressed.

Although the Apostles preached with no food, sack, or money in their belts, the Pope stressed that the purity and simplicity of how they wished to help others made them happy and satisfied.
Francis added that Christ’s ministers must always remember, however, that they are simple “servants of the Kingdom.”

These proclaiming 'servants,' he stressed, must have alleviating the miseries of the poor as their sole aim and must never forget their service is not done through human hands, but through the Holy Spirit.
The Pope reminded those gathered that the nature of proclaiming the good news and bringing Christ to the poor, blind, and imprisoned must not take on the wrong form.

"It’s true, we have to help and create organizations that help in this: yes, because the Lord gives us the gifts for this. But when we forget this mission, forget poverty, forget the apostolic zeal and instead, place our hope in these [human] means, the Church slowly slips into becoming an NGO, it becomes a beautiful organization.”

This organization, the Pope concluded, is “powerful,” but not “evangelical,” because “it lacks that spirit, that poverty, that power to heal."