Pope Francis: God has the ability to forget

The Pope offered Mass for the Fifth Sunday of Lent today in the parish church of the Vatican, Saint Anne’s. In the picture Francis is seen with Pietro Orlandi, the brother of Emanuela who disappeared in 1983; the Orlandi family were parishioners of Saint Anne’s and she sang in the choir, the father was an employee of the Vatican bank. Emanuela is presumed dead. The homily was unscripted but Vatican Radio offered this summary.

Francis with the brother of Emanuela Orlandi, Pietro.jpg

Pope Francis said, “If we are like the Pharisee before the altar, [who said], ‘Thank you, Lord, for not making me like all the other men, and especially not like that fellow at the door, like that publican…,’ well, then we do not know the heart of the Lord, and we shall not ever have the joy of feeling this mercy.” Pope Francis went on to say, “It is not easy trust oneself to the mercy of God, because [His mercy] is an unfathomable abyss – but we must do it!” Pope Francis continued, “He has the ability to forget, [which is] special: He forgets [our sins], He kisses you, He embraces you, and He says to you, ‘Neither do I condemn you. Go, and from now, on, sin no more.’ Only that counsel does He give you.” Pope Francis concluded, saying, “We ask for the grace of never tiring of asking pardon, for He never tires of pardoning.”

Through the Cross, that Wondrous Tree

Allegory of the Cross of Jesus TGaddi.jpg


On this Fifth Sunday of Lent we approach the Cross of Jesus, the Tree of Life!



Finding Jesus in the temple

Teaching, there the leaders brought

Forth a woman caught in sinning:

Trapping Him was in their thoughts.

Then, instead of giving answers,

Jesus wrote upon the ground.

“Let the sinless start the stoning.”

Looking up, no one was found.

“See,” the prophet said in gladness,

“God is doing something new!

Cleansing, living waters, flowing

For us all with mercy true.”

Each of us has known the wonder

Of forgiveness, full and free

In the mercy we are given

Through the Cross, that wondrous Tree.

Novena of Prayer to Saint Benedict, Day 5

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The order of prayer

No one can work these signs, unless God be with him. (antiphon)
Pray Psalm 96:1-16
The prayer of petition to Saint Benedict may be found here, and then pray the following prayer.
Let us pray.
God of power and might, You have shown forth Your goodness by the many miracles which You wrought through Your holy servant Benedict. Grant us the final grace of eternal blessedness. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Francis comments Giussani: on saying Yes to Christ

Pope Francis commenting on Monsignor Giussani: 


“When people say to Fr. Giussani, “How brave one has to be to say ‘Yes’ to Christ!” or, “This objection comes to my mind: it is evident that Fr. Giussani loves Jesus and I don’t love Him in the same way,” Giussani answers, “Why do you oppose what you think you don’t have to what you think I have? I have this yes, only this, and it would not cost you one iota more than it costs me…. Say “Yes” to Jesus. If I foresaw that tomorrow I would offend Him a thousand times, I would still say it.” Thérèse of Lisieux says almost exactly the same thing: “I say it, because if I did not say ‘Yes’ to Jesus I could not say ‘Yes’ to the stars in the sky or to your hair, the hairs on your head…” Nothing could be simpler: “I don’t know how it is, I don’t know how it might be: I know that I have to say ‘Yes.’ I can’t not say it,” and reasonably; that is to say, at every moment in his reflections in this book, Giussani has recourse to the reasonableness of experience.”

Francis: Pope of a New World by Andrea Tornielli

Tornielli Francis Pope of a New World.jpg

Available for pre-order:
Francis: Pope of a New World by Andrea Tornielli

“Francis, rebuild my Church!” That is how St. Francis of Assisi heard the call of Christ. It is also how Jorge Mario Bergoglio, at the age of 76, and a Jesuit, seems to have accepted his election to the papacy with the choice of a name that no other pope has ever chosen.

Who is Pope Francis, elected in one of the shortest conclaves in history? Who is the man chosen to be the first pope from the Americas and the first Jesuit pope?

Continue reading Francis: Pope of a New World by Andrea Tornielli

Novena of Prayer to Saint Benedict, Day 4

The order of prayer

Regola di S Benedetto.jpg
A wise man’s teaching is a fountain of life (antiphon)
Pray Psalm 19:8-12
The prayer of petition to Saint Benedict may be found here, and then pray the following prayer.
Let us pray.
God our Creator and supreme Legislator, You inspired Saint Benedict to compose a Christ-like rule of life, with the Gospel as his Rule, may we persevere to the end in keeping Your commandments. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Faithful catechists are “witnesses rather than teachers,” Pope Francis said

Catechism Clips

Catechism Clips (Photo credit: thicke)

As the archbishop of Buenos Aires Jorge Mario Bergoglio spoke of the importance of the ministry of catechesis, as a “pillar of the Church.” For him, as you would expect, catechesis is the sowing of seed in soil. No what type of soil, as the parable goes, you sow, cultivate, and pray. In a letter addressed to catechists, the cardinal stated, “In our task of evangelization, God asks us to accompany a people that walks in the faith.”

Cardinal Bergoglio paid attention to the ecclesial and evangelical nature of the catechetical ministry that is often overlooked, mismanaged, and otherwise dismissed by clergy and laity alike. You get a clearer sense of the the scope –successes and failures– in catechetical ministry throughout the last hundred plus years if you read George Weigel’s recent book, Evangelical Catholicism. And this why catechetical methods such as Catechesis of the Good Shepherd aim at doing what is consistent with the long-view of teaching the faith is about, and the emphases Pope Francis made in 2010.

Bergoglio, like Weigel, and other reasonably attentive pastors of the Church speak of the handing on the faith to others (children and adults alike) is a “splendid mission, ministry of the Word that catechists have been carrying out uninterruptedly for almost two thousand years”; it is “an ecclesial service that is expressed in many ways and in different places.”

 

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Ecumenical and Interfaith leaders respond to the election of Pope Francis

Surveying what the ecumenical crowd has to say about this papal election is mixed at best. Time will tell about our interfaith friends, namely the Jewish and Muslim communities. It is said that Pope Francis has had very strong friendships with the Jewish community of Argentina.


On Wednesday night when Pope Francis was introduced to the world on the loggia he said, “And now let us begin this journey, the bishop and people, this journey of the Church of Rome which presides in charity over all the churches, a journey of brotherhood in love, of mutual trust. Let us always pray for one another. Let us pray for the whole world that there might be a great sense of brotherhood.”

Pope Francis Portrait Painting

Pope Francis Portrait Painting (Photo credit: faithmouse)

His All Holiness the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew (of Constantinople) will attend the enthronement of the newly-elected Pope of Rome on March 19. This is the first time since 1054 that Orthodox bishops will be in attendance. Bartholomew will be accompanied by the Metropolitan of Pergamum, John (Zizoulas), the Metropolitan of Buenos Aires, Tarasios (a native of San Antonio, Texas) and the Metropolitan of Italy, Gennadios.

The Russian Orthodox Church’s Department for External Relations, Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk, spoke on Thursday that he thought a meeting between the Pope Francis and Patriarch Kirill of Moscow was “possible but the place and timing will depend on how quickly we will overcome the consequences of the conflicts from the turn of 1980s and 1990s.” Hilarion notes, “on several occasions, Pope Francis has shown spiritual sympathy towards the Orthodox Church and a desire for closer contacts.” The Orthodox still refuse to accept the fact that some Christians in the Byzantine East want, in their own freedom, be in communion with the bishop of Rome. Tensions run high when it comes to thinking about the Ukrainian Byzantine Church using the title of Patriarch for their head and the existence of Latin Catholic dioceses in Russia.

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