Joyful Announcers of the Gospel

Big cities are “fertile grounds” of evangelization that allows the Church to become a “leaven of Christian life” for citizens.  This was the reflection given by Pope Francis during a February 7, 2015 address to the participants of the Plenary Assembly of the Pontifical Council for the Laity. The Pontifical Council reflected on the theme: “Encountering God in the heart of the city: scenes of the evangelization for the third millennium.”

The Pope said that the Church is called to reach out to those individuals who are usually forgotten and abandoned by others. The lay faithful in particular, he noted, are called to “break the wall of anonymity and indifference” and to show that God is never absent from man’s heart.

“By becoming joyful announcers of the Gospel to their fellow citizens, the lay faithful discovers that there are many hearts that the Holy Spirit has already prepared to receive their witness, their closeness and their attention,” he said.

Saying that big cities are a  “fertile ground of apostolate”, the Pope stressed that the laity are called to live a “humble leadership” and become a “leaven of Christian life for the whole city.”

For more information, please visit:

http://www.news.va/en/news/pope-encourages-lay-faithful-to-be-a-leaven-of-chr

http://www.laici.va/content/laici/en/eventi/assemblee-plenarie/incontrare-dio-nel-cuore-della-citta.html

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His Holiness Pope Francis always encourages us to listen to and share the “liberating message of the love of God in its strength, beauty and simplicity.”    For some of us, listening may seem easier to do than sharing the message.  But remember the encouragement of Saint Francis of Assisi that we “preach the Gospel always and, when necessary, use words.”

We can all start with a smile, a look of kindness, perhaps hold a door open for another, or any of the “common courtesies” that are unfortunately not-so-common in today’s world.  Have you noticed that if you say “thank you” or pay a compliment to someone they frequently seem surprised--even shocked-- perhaps because they have become used to being taken for granted.  Are we not drawn to someone who calls us by name, asks how we are and waits for an answer?  

We are called by Baptism and Confirmation to exercise “humble leadership” to touch the hearts of those persons God has placed in our lives.  Let’s think of ways to begin to evangelize and transform our cities and our world so they reflect God’s beauty, grace, and peace.  Please share!

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Women First and Foremost in Transmitting Faith

The primary and indispensable role of women in transmitting the faith to new generations: this was the focus of Pope Francis’ remarks to the faithful following the readings of the day at Mass on January 26, 2015 in the chapel of the Santa Marta residence in the Vatican. On the day when the Church celebrates the memory of Saints Timothy and Titus – bishops and disciples of St Paul the Apostle-- Pope Francis commented in particular on the second letter of Paul to Timothy.

Paul reminds Timothy of where his “sincere faith” comes from: his faith comes from the Holy Spirit,  “through his mother and grandmother.” Pope Francis said, “Mothers and grandmothers are the ones who [in primis] transmit the faith.” The Holy Father went on to say:

It is one thing to pass on the faith, and another to teach the matters of faith. Faith is a gift: it is not possible to study Faith. We study the things of faith, yes, to understand it better, but with study [alone] one never comes to Faith. Faith is a gift of the Holy Spirit, which surpasses all [“academic”] formation.

Faith, moreover, is a gift that passes from generation to generation, through the “beautiful work of mothers and grandmothers, the fine work of the women who play those roles,” in a family, “whether they be maids or aunts,” who transmit the faith:

It occurs to me: why is it mainly women, who to pass on the faith? Simply because the one who brought us Jesus is a woman. It is the path chosen by Jesus. He wanted to have a mother: the gift of faith comes to us through women, as Jesus came to us through Mary.

 “We need,” said Pope Francis, “in our own day to consider whether women really are aware of the duty they have to transmit the faith.” Paul invites Timothy to guard the Faith, the deposit of Faith, avoiding “empty pagan chatter, empty chatter of the world.”  He went on to say, “We have – all of us – received the gift of faith: we have to keep it, at least in order that it not become watered down, so that it remains strong, with the power of the Holy Spirit who gave it to us.” We keep the faith by cherishing and nurturing it every day:

If we do not have this care, every day, to revive this gift of God which is Faith, but rather let faith weaken, become diluted, Faith ends up being a culture: ‘Yes, but, yes, yes, I am a Christian, yes yes,’ – a mere culture – or a gnosis, [specialized kind of] knowledge: ‘Yes, I know well all the matters of Faith, I know the catechism’. But how do you live your faith? This, then, is the importance of reviving every day this gift: to bring it to life.

 “We ask the Lord’s grace,” he concluded, “that we might have a sincere Faith, a Faith that is not negotiable depending on the opportunities that come, a Faith that every day I try to revive or at least ask the Holy Spirit to revive it, and make it bear much fruit.” 

For more information, please visit:http://www.news.va/en/news/pope-francis-women-first-and-foremost-in-transmitt

Consider Your Calling

Consider your own calling…. Not many of you were wise by human standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth.  Rather, God chose the foolish of the world to shame the wise, and God chose the weak of the world to shame the strong, and God chose the lowly and despised of the world, those who count for nothing, to reduce to nothing those who are something, so that no human being might boast before God.  It is due to Him that you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God, as well as righteousness, sanctification, and redemption, so that, as it is written, “Whoever boasts, should boast in the Lord.”

I Corinthians 1:  26-31

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“I have heard it said that families with many children and high birth rates are among the causes of poverty. It seems to me a simplistic opinion. I can say that the main cause of poverty is an economic system that has removed the person from the center and replaced him with the god of money; an economic system that excludes and creates the throwaway culture in which we live. … It is necessary to protect families, which face various threats, so that they can bear witness to the beauty of the family in God's plan”.

Pope Francis

General Audience

 21 January 2015

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“But when families are strong and united, children can see God's special love in the love of their father and mother and can grow to make their country a loving and prayerful place. The child is God's best gift to the family and needs both mother and father because each one shows God's love in a special way. The family that prays together stays together, and if they stay together they will love one another as God has loved each one of them. And works of love are always works of peace.”

Mother Teresa

Message to the Fourth UN Women’s Conference

Beijing, 1997

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“Consider your own calling.”  Saint Paul’s words to the Corinthians are also directed to us.  At times it may be easy to list reasons why we can’t--or won't--do something.  But when the Lord is calling us and giving us the grace to do more than we believe may be humanly possible, we must put aside any and all excuses. 

God has chosen each of us to do something that only we can do.  Each and every day God presents us with opportunities to be signs of His love and care for all those we meet.  What is He calling you to do today?

May we witness our faith, hope and love, as spiritual mothers and fathers, especially to the weakest and most vulnerable among us.  Let us pray for each other!

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We Saw His Glory

And the Word became flesh 

and made His dwelling among us,

and we saw His glory, 

the glory as of the Father’s only Son,

full of grace and truth.

John 1:14

May our newborn Saviour grant you

the gift of Love,

the blessing of Hope,

and the fullness of His Peace.

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Blessed Christmas

Joyeux Noël

Feliz Navidad

Fröhliche Weihnachten

                                                                                

Advent Journey

In days to come,

The mountain of the LORD’s house

shall be established as the highest mountain

and raised above the hills.

All nations shall stream toward it;

many peoples shall come and say:

“Come, let us climb the LORD’s mountain,

to the house of the God of Jacob,

That he may instruct us in his ways,

and we may walk in his paths.”

Isaiah 2:  2-3

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I rejoiced when they said to me,

“Let us go to the house of the LORD.”

And now our feet are standing

within your gates, Jerusalem.

Psalm 122:  1

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As we prayerfully begin the holy season of Advent we truly are on a journey to a grace-filled place, a life-changing encounter with God.  It is a time to watch ever more closely for the coming of Jesus:  the many times during a day that we are consciously aware of His being present to us.  How can we more closely unite our heart to His so that we are always aware that He is with us?  What walls might we have built which need to be surmounted?  What earthly distractions might blind us to the radiance of Christ’s love and peace?

Let us pray for and encourage each other as we climb the Lord’s holy mountain so that we may rejoice in the presence of our loving God.

Blessed Advent!

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Pope Francis’ Prayer Intentions for December

Our Holy Father's universal prayer intention is:

“That the birth of the Redeemer may bring peace and hope to all people of good will”.

Our Holy Father’s intention for evangelisation is:

“That parents may be true evangelisers, passing on to their children the precious gift of faith”.

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Pray for Peace

For the peace of Jerusalem pray:

“May those who love you prosper!

May peace be within your ramparts,

prosperity within your towers.”

For the sake of my brothers and friends I say,

“Peace be with you.”

For the sake of the house of the LORD, our God,

I pray for your good.

Psalm 122:  6-9

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As Jesus drew near Jerusalem,
he saw the city and wept over it, saying,
“If this day you only knew what makes for peace–
but now it is hidden from your eyes….
You did not recognize the time of your visitation.”

Luke 19:  41, 44

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“From the bottom of my heart, I make an appeal to the parties involved to put an end to the spiral of hatred and violence and to make courageous decisions for reconciliation and peace. Building peace is difficult, but living without peace is a torment!”

Pope Francis

http://www.news.va/en/news/pope-francis-calls-for-peace-after-series-of-jerus

“We condemn every act of violence and we call on Israelis and Palestinians for mutual respect, to work together so that a political solution to the conflict could be found. This vicious circle of violence, of counter-violence, of reprisals is seriously detrimental to the peace process.”

Bishop William Shomali, Vicar for Jerusalem

Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem

http://en.lpj.org/2014/11/20/religious-leaders-of-jerusalem-at-the-synagogue-target-of-an-attack/

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Candle burning in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, Jerusalem

Please support efforts to work and pray for peace in the Holy Land and all of the Middle East:

The Franciscan Custody for the Holy Land needs your help to assist the children and the poorest of the town where Jesus was born.  Their goal is to help 350 Christian Palestinian families and 2,000 children of Bethlehem for Christmas:

http://ffhl.org/newsmanagerdotnet2/templates/pr.aspx?articleid=548&zoneid=7

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ website offers Advent reflections as well as interfaith prayers:

http://www.usccb.org/issues-and-action/human-life-and-dignity/global-issues/middle-east/israel-palestine/pray-for-the-peace-of-jerusalem.cfm

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My Immaculate Heart Will Triumph

Statue of Our Lady of Fatima in the Chapel of the Apparitions

"My Immaculate Heart will be your refuge and the way that will lead you to God," said Our Lady to Lucia...

Lucia Santos, Francisco and Jacinta Marto
July 13, 1917

"You are going to have much to suffer, but the grace of God will be your comfort," said Our Lady to the children...

Our Lady of the Rosary

"Continue to pray the Rosary every day in honor of Our Lady of the Rosary in order to obtain peace for the world," said Our Lady to the three children.

Procession with the Statue of Our Lady of Fatima past the holmoak tree

The little shepherds began to be badly treated....  Our Lady promised to take Francisco and Jacinta to heaven very soon.  "But you," she said to Lucia, "are to stay here some time longer.  Jesus wishes to make use of you to make me known and loved...."

Site of the Second Apparition of the Angel to Lucia, Francisco and Jacinta

"Pray very much!  The Hearts of Jesus and Mary have designs of mercy on you," said the Angel to the little shepherds.

The niece of Sister Lucia

The most gracious hospitality was offered to us by the family of the little shepherds...

At the Santos' home

The home of Francisco and Jacinta Marto

An Angel visited the little shepherds three times to prepare them with a greater understanding of living and spreading Our Lady's message, the message of the Gospel.

Apparitions Chapel, left; Basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary

May we be inspired by the three little shepherds of Fatima to whom our Blessed Mother appeared six times:  Francisco, the contemplative, ever eager to console Our Lord; Jacinta, who so deeply loved the Immaculate Heart of Mary and was always looking for new  ways of making sacrifices for the conversion of sinners; and Lucia, the apostle of the Blessed Virgin Mary, who stayed a long time on earth to spread the message of Fatima.

Pope John Paul II beatified Francisco and Jacinta on May 13, 2000.  Sister Lucia died February 13, 2005.  The shepherds are buried at the Basilica.

Crucifix overlooking the Square

Basking in the candlelit glow of praying the nightly Rosary and
joining the procession around the Square

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excerpts from Fatima:  Place of Hope and Peace, Consolata Editora