  Vatican Radio REPORT A Christian who constantly complains, fails to be a good Christian: they become whiners. Christians should endure their difficulties in silence, in patience to bear witness to the joy of Christ. This was the message at the heart of Pope Francis’ homily Tuesday morning, during Mass with staff from the Fabric of St. Peter.Commenting on the first reading of the day, Acts chapter 16, Pope Francis said even in troubling times, Christians are full of joy and never sad, like Paul and Silas who were persecuted and imprisoned for witnessing to the Gospel. They were joyful, he said, because they followed Jesus in on the path of his passion. A path the Lord travelled with patience: "Being patient: that is the path that Jesus also teaches us Christians. Being patient ... This does not mean being sad. No, no, it's another thing! This means bearing, carrying the weight of difficulties, the weight of contradictions, the weight of tribulations on our shoulders. This Christian attitude of bearing up: of being patient. That which is described in the Bible by a Greek word, that is so complete, Hypomoné, in life bearing ever day tasks; contradictions; tribulations, all of this. These - Paul and Silas - bear their tribulations, endure the humiliation: Jesus bore them, he was patience. This is a process - allow me this word 'process' - a process of Christian maturity, through the path of patience. A process that takes some time, that you cannot undergo from one day to another: it evolves over a lifetime arriving at Christian maturity. It is like a good wine. " The Pope recalled that so many martyrs were joyful, such as the martyrs of Nagasaki who helped each other, as they "waited for the moment of death." Pope Francis recalled it was of some martyrs that "they went to martyrdom" as if they were going to a "wedding party". This attitude of endurance, he added, is a Christian’s normal attitude, but it is not a masochistic attitude. It is an attitude that leads them "along the path of Jesus": "When the difficulties arrive, so do temptations. For example, the complaint: 'Look what I have to deal with ... a complaint. And a Christian who constantly complains, fails to be a good Christian: they become Mr. or Mrs. Whiner, no? Because they always complain about everything, right? Silence in endurance, silence in patience. That silence of Jesus: Jesus in His Passion did not speak much, only two or three necessary words ... But it is not a sad silence: the silence of bearing the Cross is not a sad silence. It is painful, often very painful, but it is not sad. The heart is at peace. Paul and Silas were praying in peace. They were in pain, because then it is said that the jailer washed their wounds while they were in prison – they had wounds - but endured in peace. This journey of endurance helps us deepen Christian peace, it makes us stronger in Jesus. " Thus, concluded Pope Francis, a Christian is called to endure their troubles just like Jesus, "without complaint, endure in peace." This patience, “renews our youth and makes us younger". "The patient is the one that, in the long run, is younger! Just think of those elderly people in the hospices, those who have endured so much in life: Look at their eyes, young eyes, they have a youthful spirit and a renewed youth. And the Lord invites us to this: to be rejuvenated Easter people on a journey of love, patience, enduring our tribulations and also - I would say – putting up with one another. We must also do this with charity and love, because if I have to put up with you, I'm sure you will put up with me and in this way we will move forward on our journey on the path of Jesus. Let us ask the Lord for the grace of Christian endurance that gives us peace, this bearing things with a good heart, this joyful bearing to become younger and younger, like good wine: younger with this renewed Easter youth of the spirit. So be it. "
SHARED FROM RADIO VATICANA
SCHEDULE OF POPE'S TRIP TO RIO DE JANEIRO FOR WORLD YOUTH DAY
Vatican City, 7 May 2013 (VIS) – Pope Francis will make an apostolic trip to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil from 22 to 29 July of this year on the occasion of the 28th World Youth Day (WYD).
The Pope will depart from Rome's Ciampino Airport at 8:45am on 22 July and will arrive in Rio de Janeiro around 4:00pm (local time). The welcoming ceremony will take place an hour later in the gardens of the Guanabara Palace, seat of the state's government, where the Pope will be received by the president of the Brazilian Republic.
Until Wednesday, 24 July, the Holy Father will reside at the Sumare Residence in Rio de Janeiro. That morning, at 8:15am he will travel by helicopter to the Shrine of our Lady of Aparecida where he will celebrate Mass. After lunching with the bishops and seminarians of the province at the Bom Jesus Missionary Seminary, he will return to Rio de Janeiro by helicopter. That evening he will visit the St. Francis of Assisi of the Providence of God Hospital.
On Thursday, 25 July, the Pope will receive the keys to the city of Rio de Janeiro and will bless the Olympic flags at the City Palace. That same morning he will visit a community in Varginha (in the Manguinhos neighbourhood of north Rio de Janeiro). That evening there will be a welcoming ceremony by the youth along the Copacabana beachfront.
On Friday, 26 July, the Pope will hear the confession of some youth participating in the WYD at the Quinta da Boa Vista Park at 10:00am. At 11:30am he will meet with some juvenile detainees in the St. Joaquim Palace of the Archbishop. From the central balcony of that palace, the Pope will pray the Angelus at noon. At 12:15pm he will greet the organization committee and patrons of the 28th WYD and then will have lunch, still at the Archbishop's Palace, with a group of youth. At 6:00pm a Via Crucis will be held with the youth along the Copacabana beachfront.
On Saturday, 27 July, the 28th WYD will open with Mass celebrated with the bishops and with priests, religious, and seminarians in Rio de Janeiro's St. Sebastian Cathedral. After that, the Pope will meet with Brazil's leaders at the Municipal Theatre. Upon that meeting's conclusion he will have lunch with Brazil's cardinals, the presidency of the National Conference of Bishops of Brazil, bishops from the region, and the papal entourage in the refectory of the Sumare Study Centre. At 7:30 pm a prayer vigil will be held with the youth at the Campus Fidei of Guaratiba.
On Sunday, 28 July, the Pope will celebrate Mass for the 28th WYD at the Campus Fidei. That afternoon he will meet with CELAM's (the Latin American Episcopal Council) coordination committee at the Sumare Study Centre. The Holy Father will leave Sumare shortly before 5:00pm to meet with the WYD volunteers and, at 6:30pm, the pontiff's farewell ceremony will take place at the Galeao–Antonio Carlos Jobim International Airport. The Pope will take off from Rio de Janeiro at 7:00pm and his plane will land in Rome on Monday, 29 July, at around 11:30am.
|
| PRESS OFFICE COMMUNIQUE ON COLLABORATION BETWEEN CONGREGATION FOR DOCTRINE OF THE FAITH AND CONGREGATION FOR INSTITUTES OF CONSECRATED LIFE Vatican City, 7 May 2013 (VIS) – “The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) and the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life have for some time been collaborating on a renewed theological vision of Religious Life in the Church. The concern of the Holy See, expressed partially in the Doctrinal Assessment of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious in the United States, is motivated by a desire to support the noble and beautiful vocation of Religious so that the eloquent witness of Religious Life may prosper in the Church to the benefit of future generations.” “The initiatives of the Holy See in this area are concerned primarily with the faith of the Church and its expression in Religious Life. The Church’s faith—in the loving plan of the Father who sent his Son to be our Saviour, in the inspiration of Sacred Scripture, in the gift of grace through the Sacraments, in the nature of the Church guided by the Holy Spirit—this faith is at the heart of the Evangelical Counsels. It motivates the passion for justice shared by so many Religious women and men, and it seeks ever to be expressed in active charity towards those most in need.” “Recent media commentary on remarks made on Sunday, 5 May, during the General Assembly of the International Union of Superiors General by Cardinal Joao Braz de Aviz, Prefect of the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life, has suggested a divergence between the CDF and the Congregation for Religious in their approach to the renewal of Religious Life. Such an interpretation of the cardinal’s remarks is not justified. The prefects of these two Congregations work closely together according to their specific responsibilities and have collaborated throughout the process of the Doctrinal Assessment of the LCWR. Archbishop Gerhard Muller, Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, and Cardinal Braz de Aviz met yesterday and reaffirmed their common commitment to the renewal of Religious Life, and particularly to the Doctrinal Assessment of the LCWR and the program of reform it requires, in accordance with the wishes of the Holy Father.” |
| TELEGRAM ON DEATH OF SENATOR GIULIO ANDREOTTI Vatican City, 7 May 2013 (VIS) - Today, Cardinal Secretary of State Tarcisio Bertone, S.D.B., sent a telegram of condolence on behalf of the Holy Father to Livia Danese Andreotti, widow of Senator Giulio Andreotti who died yesterday at the age of 94. “Having learned the news of the death, at the end of a long and fruitful life, of your beloved husband, Senator Giulio Andreotti, I would like to express to you and your family my heartfelt participation in your mourning for the loss of such an authoritative protagonist in Italian political life, such a valued servant of institutions, such a man of faith and devout son of the Church. I assure you of his fervent remembrance in my prayers and I invoke the comfort of Christian hope for all who are mourning his demise.” |
| OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS Vatican City, 7 May 2013 (VIS) – Today, the Holy Father: - appointed Fr. Denis Nulty as bishop of Kildare and Leighlin (area 4,170, population 255,400, Catholics 239,400, priests 171, religious 369), Ireland. The bishop-elect was born in Slane, County Meath, Ireland in 1963 and was ordained a priest in 1988. Since election he has served in several pastoral and administrative roles, most recently as vicar forane for the Duleek Deanery, chairperson of the Council of Priests in the Diocese of Meath, and pastor of St. Mary's a Drogheda. - appointed Fr. Antoine Kambanda as the bishop of Kibungo (area 2,670, population 1,047,000, Catholics 505,000, priests 59, religious 117), Rwanda. The bishop-elect was born in the Archdiocese of Kigali in 1958 and was ordained a priest in 1990 by Blessed John Paul II on the occasion of his pastoral visit to Rwanda. Since his ordination he has served in several academic, pastoral, and administrative roles, including: director of Caritas in the Diocese of Kigali; director of the Diocesan Commission on Justice and Peace; professor of Moral Theology in the Major Seminary of Nyakibanda, Butare; and spiritual director of the Major Seminary of Rutongo, Kigali. Most recently, since 2006, he has served as rector of the St. Charles of Nyakibanda Major Seminary in the Diocese of Butare. |
Comments