Inflame Our Hearts

Increase our faith in you, O Lord, 

and let the light of the Holy Spirit inflame our hearts always.

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In Pope Francis’ homily on Pentecost, he began by focusing on Sunday’s readings saying that, “the word of God, tells us that the Spirit is at work in individuals and communities filled with the Spirit.

Expanding on this theme of the Spirit, Pope Francis said that, in the Gospel, Jesus promises his disciples that, when he has returned to the Father, the Holy Spirit will come to guide them into all the truth. Indeed he calls the Holy Spirit “the Spirit of truth”.

The  Holy Father underlined that the gift of the Holy Spirit “has been bestowed upon the Church and upon each one of us, so that we may live lives of genuine faith and active charity, that we may sow the seeds of reconciliation and peace.”

Concluding his homily, Pope Francis prayed that strengthened by the Spirit and his many gifts, we would be able uncompromisingly to battle against sin and corruption, devoting ourselves with patient perseverance to the works of justice and peace.

For more information please visit:  http://www.news.va/en/news/pope-francis-the-gift-of-the-holy-spirit-renews-th

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     I offer cordial greetings and encouragement to the participants of the Second International Conference on Women, meeting in Rome from 22 to 24 May 2015.  This Conference, organized by the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, in cooperation with the World Union of Women’s Catholic Organizations and the World Women’s Alliance for Life and Family, has for its theme Women and the Post-2015 Development Agenda: The Challenges of the Sustainable Development Goals 

            I was pleased to learn of this timely initiative, which highlights the concerns of Catholic women’s organizations in the international discussions leading to the drafting of a new Post-2015 Development Agenda at the level of the United Nations.  Many women and men wish to contribute to this Agenda, as they work to defend and promote life, and to combat the poverty, the forms of enslavement and the many injustices which women of all ages, and throughout the world, too often experience.

            Women face a variety of challenges and difficulties in various parts of the world.  In the West, at times they still experience discrimination in the workplace; they are often forced to choose between work and family; they not infrequently suffer violence in their lives as fiancées, wives, mothers, sisters and grandmothers.  In poor and developing countries, women bear the heaviest burdens: it is they who travel many miles in search of water, who too often die in childbirth, who are kidnapped for sexual exploitation or forced into marriages at a young age or against their will.  At times they are even denied the right to life simply for being female.  All of these problems are reflected in the proposals for the Post-2015 Development Agenda presently being discussed in the United Nations.

            Issues relating to life are intrinsically connected to social questions.  When we defend the right to life, we do so in order that each life – from conception to its natural end – may be a dignified life, one free from the scourge of hunger and poverty, of violence and persecution.  Pope Benedict XVI, in his encyclical Caritas in Veritate, highlighted how the Church “forcefully maintains this link between life ethics and social ethics, fully aware that a society lacks solid foundations when, on the one hand, it asserts values such as the dignity of the person, justice and peace, but then, on the other hand, radically acts to the contrary by allowing or tolerating a variety of ways in which human life is devalued and violated, especially where it is weak or marginalized” (No. 15).

            I encourage you, who are engaged in defending the dignity of women and promoting their rights, to allow yourselves to be constantly guided by the spirit of humanity and compassion in the service of your neighbour.  May your work be marked first and foremost by professional competence, without self-interest or superficial activism, but with generous dedication.  In this way you will manifest the countless God-given gifts which women have to offer, encouraging others to promote sensitivity, understanding and dialogue in settling conflicts big and small, in healing wounds, in nurturing all life at every level of society, and in embodying the mercy and tenderness which bring reconciliation and unity to our world.  All this is part of that “feminine genius” of which our society stands in such great need.

            With renewed gratitude for your work, I send cordial good wishes for the Conference that you have organized and whose theme is so urgent.  I pray for all of you, and I ask you to pray for me and my intentions.  To you and your loved ones, I willingly impart my Apostolic Blessing.

Pope Francis

From the Vatican, 22 May 2015

For more information please visit: http://www.news.va/en/news/pope-francis-letter-to-cardinal-turkson

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Merciful Like the Father

We want to live in the light of the word of the Lord: “Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful” (cf. Lk 6:36)….

This Holy Year will commence on the next Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception  (8 December 2015) and will conclude on Sunday, 20 November 2016, the Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe and living face of the Father's mercy.

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The logo and the motto together provide a fitting summary of what the Jubilee Year is all about. The motto Merciful Like the Father (taken from the Gospel of Luke, 6:36) serves as an invitation to follow the merciful example of the Father who asks us not to judge or condemn but to forgive and to give love and forgiveness without measure (cfr. Lk 6:37-38). The logo – the work of Jesuit Father Marko I. Rupnik – presents a small summa theologiae of the theme of mercy. In fact, it represents an image quite important to the early Church: that of the Son having taken upon his shoulders the lost soul demonstrating that it is the love of Christ that brings to completion the mystery of his incarnation culminating in redemption. The logo has been designed in such a way so as to express the profound way in which the Good Shepherd touches the flesh of humanity and does so with a love with the power to change one’s life. One particular feature worthy of note is that while the Good Shepherd, in his great mercy, takes humanity upon himself, his eyes are merged with those of man. Christ sees with the eyes of Adam, and Adam with the eyes of Christ. Every person discovers in Christ, the new Adam, one’s own humanity and the future that lies ahead, contemplating, in his gaze, the love of the Father.

The scene is captured within the so called mandorla (the shape of an almond), a figure quite important in early and medieval iconography, for it calls to mind the two natures of Christ, divine and human. The three concentric ovals, with colors progressively lighter as we move outward, suggest the movement of Christ who carries humanity out of the night of sin and death. Conversely, the depth of the darker color suggests the impenetrability of the love of the Father who forgives all. 

© Copyright Pontifical Council for the Promotion of New Evangelization, Vatican State. All rights reserved.

For more information please visit:

http://www.news.va/en/news/presentation-of-the-extraordinary-jubilee-of-mercy

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Prayer for the Jubilee of Mercy

Lord Jesus Christ,

you have taught us to be merciful like the heavenly Father,

and have told us that whoever sees you sees Him.

Show us your face and we will be saved.

Your loving gaze freed Zacchaeus and Matthew from being enslaved by money;

the adulteress and Magdalene from seeking happiness only in created things;

made Peter weep after his betrayal,

and assured Paradise to the repentant thief.

Let us hear, as if addressed to each one of us, the words that you spoke to the Samaritan woman:

“If you knew the gift of God!”

You are the visible face of the invisible Father,

of the God who manifests his power above all by forgiveness and mercy:

let the Church be your visible face in the world, its Lord risen and glorified.

You willed that your ministers would also be clothed in weakness

in order that they may feel compassion for those in ignorance and error:

let everyone who approaches them feel sought after, loved, and forgiven by God.

Send your Spirit and consecrate every one of us with its anointing,

so that the Jubilee of Mercy may be a year of grace from the Lord,

and your Church, with renewed enthusiasm, may bring good news to the poor,

proclaim liberty to captives and the oppressed,

and restore sight to the blind.  

We ask this through the intercession of Mary, Mother of Mercy,

you who live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit for ever and ever.

Amen.

© Copyright Pontifical Council for the Promotion of New Evangelization, Vatican State. All rights reserved.

For more information please visit:

http://www.iubilaeummisericordiae.va/content/gdm/en.html

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The Complementarity Between Man and Woman

Pope Francis continued his catechesis on the family by dedicating the 15 April 2015 General Audience to the difference and complementarity between man and woman, recalling first of all that the Book of Genesis insists that both are the image and semblance of God. “Not only man as such, not only woman as such, but rather man and woman, as a couple, are the image of God. The difference between them is not a question of contrast or subordination, but instead of communion and generation, always in the image and semblance of God”.

“Experience teaches us that for the human being to know him- or herself well and to grow harmoniously, there is a need for reciprocity between man and woman”, said our Holy Father. “We are made to listen to each other and to help each other…. Without mutual enrichment in this relationship – in terms of thought and action, in personal relationships and in work, and also in faith – the two cannot even fully understand what it means to be a man and a woman”.

“Modern and contemporary culture has opened up new spaces, new freedoms and new depths for the enrichment and understanding of this difference. But it has also introduced many doubts and much scepticism. I wonder, for example, if so-called gender theory is not an expression of frustration and resignation, that aims to cancel out sexual difference as it is no longer able to face it. Yes, we run the risk of taking step backwards. Indeed, the removal of difference is the problem, not the solution. To solve their problems in relating to each other, men and women must instead speak more, listen more, know each other better, value each other more. They must treat each other with respect and cooperate in friendship. With these human bases, supported by God's grace, it is possible to plan a lifelong matrimonial and family union. The marriage and family bond is a serious matter for all, not only for believers. I would like to encourage intellectuals not to ignore this theme, as if it were secondary to our efforts to promote a freer and more just society”.

“Undoubtedly we must do far more in favour of women, if we want to strengthen to the reciprocity between men and women. Indeed, it is necessary for a woman not only to be listened to, but also for her voice to carry real weight, recognised authority, in society and in the Church. The way in which Jesus Himself regarded women, in a context that was far less favourable than our own, casts a powerful light illuminating a road that takes us far, on which we have travelled only a short distance. It is a road we must travel with more creativity and boldness”.

He added, “a second point relates to the theme of man and woman created in God's image. I wonder if the crisis of collective trust in God, that is so harmful to us, that causes us to ail with resignation to incredulity and cynicism, is not also connected to the crisis in the alliance between man and woman. In effect, the biblical account, with the great symbolic fresco of earthly paradise and original sin, tells us precisely that communion with God is reflected in the communion of the human couple, and the loss of trust in the heavenly Father generates division and conflict between man and woman”.

“This leads to the great responsibility of the Church, of all believers, and above all of Christian families, to rediscover the beauty of the Creator's plan that inscribes the image of God also in the alliance between man and woman. The earth is filled with harmony and trust when the alliance between man and woman is lived well. And if men and women seek this together between them and with God, without doubt they will find it. Jesus explicitly encourages us to bear witness to this beauty, which is the image of God”, concluded the Pontiff.

For more information, please visit:

http://www.news.va/en/news/general-audience-the-complementarity-between-man-a

http://www.news.va/en/news/pope-more-weight-and-more-authority-must-be-given

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Christ is Risen!

Pope Francis recited the Regina Caeli on Easter Monday, leading the pilgrims in St. Peter’s Square in a rousing chant of “Christ is risen!”

 “In Him, through our Baptism, we are risen, we have passed from death to life, from the slavery of sin to the freedom of love,” said the Pope.

“This is the Good News that we are called to carry to others in every environment, animated by the Holy Spirit,” he said.

“Faith in the resurrection of Jesus and the hope He has brought to us is the most beautiful gift that a Christian can and must offer his brothers and sisters,” continued Pope Francis.

Pope Francis said the Good News of the Resurrection should “shine on our face, in our feelings and in our behaviour, in the way in which we treat others.”

“We proclaim the resurrection of Christ when his light illuminates the dark moments of our existence, and we are able share it with others; when we know when to smile with those who smile, and weep with those who weep; when we accompany those who are sad and at risk of losing hope; when we recount our experience of Faith to those who are searching for meaning and happiness,” Pope Francis said. “And there - with our attitude, with our witness, with our life - we say ‘Jesus is Risen,’ with our soul.”

 “Let our lives be conquered and transformed by the Resurrection,” he said.

For more information, please visit:

http://www.news.va/en/news/pope-francis-let-our-lives-be-conquered-and-transf

http://www.news.va/en/news/pope-francis-do-not-be-silentabout-persecuted-chri

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Queen of Heaven

Queen of Heaven rejoice, Alleluia;
The Son whom you merited to bear, Alleluia,
has risen as He said, Alleluia.
Pray for us to God, Alleluia.
Rejoice and be glad, O Virgin Mary, Alleluia,
For the Lord is truly Risen, Alleluia.

Latin

Regina Caeli

Regina caeli laetare, Alleluia;
Quia quem meruisti portare, Alleluia;
Resurrexit sicut dixit, Allelluia;
Ora pro nobis Deum, Alleluia.
Gaude et laetare, Virgo Maria, alleluia,
Quia surrexit Dominus vere, alleluia.

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We Will Take This Path Of Jesus

Pope Francis delivered the homily at Mass in Saint Peter's Square on Palm Sunday - the beginning of Holy Week, 2015.

“At the heart of this celebration, which seems so festive, are the words we heard in the hymn of the Letter to the Philippians: “He humbled himself” (2:8). Jesus’ humiliation.

These words show us God’s way and the way of Christians: it is humility.  A way which constantly amazes and disturbs us: we will never get used to a humble God!

This week, Holy Week, which leads us to Easter, we will take this path of Jesus’ own humiliation.  Only in this way will this week be “holy” for us too!

We will feel the contempt of the leaders of his people and their attempts to trip him up.  We will be there at the betrayal of Judas, one of the Twelve, who will sell him for thirty pieces of silver.  We will see the Lord arrested and carried off like a criminal; abandoned by his disciples, dragged before the Sanhedrin, condemned to death, beaten and insulted.  We will hear Peter, the “rock” among the disciples, deny him three times.  We will hear the shouts of the crowd, egged on by their leaders, who demand that Barabas be freed and Jesus crucified.  We will see him mocked by the soldiers, robed in purple and crowned with thorns.  And then, as he makes his sorrowful way beneath the cross, we will hear the jeering of the people and their leaders, who scoff at his being King and Son of God.

This is God’s way, the way of humility…

There is another way, however, opposed to the way of Christ.  It is worldliness, the way of the world.  The world proposes the way of vanity, pride, success…  the other way.  The Evil One proposed this way to Jesus too, during his forty days in the desert.  But Jesus immediately rejected it.  With him, we too can overcome this temptation, not only at significant moments, but in daily life as well.

In this, we are helped and comforted by the example of so many men and women who, in silence and hiddenness, sacrifice themselves daily to serve others.…

We think too of the humiliation endured by all those who, for their lives of fidelity to the Gospel, encounter discrimination and pay a personal price. 

We think too of our brothers and sisters who are persecuted because they are Christians, the martyrs of our own time.  They refuse to deny Jesus and they endure insult and injury with dignity….

Let us set about with determination along this same path, with immense love for him, our Lord and Saviour.  Love will guide us and give us strength.  For where he is, we too shall be (cf. Jn 12:26).  Amen.”

For more information, please visit:

http://www.news.va/en/news/pope-francis-palm-sunday-homily

http://www.news.va/en/news/pope-francis-on-palm-sunday-remember-persecuted-ch

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To See Beyond

“A greeting to all women! To all the women who work every day to build a more human and welcoming society. And a fraternal thank you to those who in a thousand ways bear witness to the Gospel and work in the Church. This is for us an opportunity to reaffirm the importance and the necessity of their presence in life. A world where women are marginalised is a barren world, because women not only bring life, but they also give us the ability to see beyond – they see beyond themselves – and they transmit to us the ability to understand the world through different eyes, to hear things with more creative, more patient, more tender hearts. A prayer and a special blessing for all women...."

Pope Francis

Angelus

8 March 2015

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O Most Blessed Mother, heart of love, heart of mercy, ever listening, caring, consoling, hear our prayer. As your children, we implore your intercession with Jesus your Son. Receive with understanding and compassion the petitions we place before you today, especially ...(special intention).

We are comforted in knowing your heart is ever open to those who ask for your prayer. We trust to your gentle care and intercession, those whom we love and who are sick or lonely or hurting. Help all of us, Holy Mother, to bear our burdens in this life until we may share eternal life and peace with God forever.

Amen.

https://www.ewtn.com/Devotionals/heart/Im_novena.htm

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Immaculate Heart of Mary, help us to understand, see, and hear as with your most patient, tender heart, in union with the Sacred Heart of Jesus, your Son.

Ascend with Prayer, Descend to Proclaim

Jesus took Peter, James, and John
and led them up a high mountain apart by themselves.
And he was transfigured before them,
and his clothes became dazzling white,
such as no fuller on earth could bleach them.
Then Elijah appeared to them along with Moses,
and they were conversing with Jesus.
Then Peter said to Jesus in reply,
“Rabbi, it is good that we are here!
Let us make three tents:
one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.”
He hardly knew what to say, they were so terrified.
Then a cloud came, casting a shadow over them;
from the cloud came a voice,
“This is my beloved Son. Listen to him.”

Mark 9: 2-7

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From the event of the Transfiguration I would like to take two significant elements that can be summed up in two words: ascent and descent. We all need to go apart, to ascend the mountain in a space of silence, to find ourselves and better perceive the voice of the Lord. This we do in prayer. But we cannot stay there! Encounter with God in prayer inspires us anew to “descend the mountain” and return to the plain where we meet many brothers weighed down by fatigue, sickness, injustice, ignorance, poverty both material and spiritual. To these brothers in difficulty, we are called to bear the fruit of that experience with God, by sharing the grace we have received….  The Word of Christ grows in us when we proclaim it, when we give it to others! And this is what Christian life is. It is a mission for the whole Church, for all the baptized, for us all: listen to Jesus and offer him to others.

And now let us turn to our Mother Mary, and entrust ourselves to her guidance in pursuing with faith and generosity this path of Lent, learning a little more how to “ascend” with prayer and listen to Jesus and to “descend” with brotherly love, proclaiming Jesus.

Pope Francis

Angelus, 16 March 2014

For the complete text please visit:

https://w2.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/angelus/2014/documents/papa-francesco_angelus_20140316.html

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One of my favorite places in the Holy Land is the Mount of Transfiguration, Mount Tabor.  Although, if the truth be told, the Holy Land has even more of “My Favorite Things” than are listed in the song from “The Sound of Music”!  Whether sunny or stormy weather, it is good to be on that mountain top.  It is a gift to be led apart by Jesus and to experience the transforming power of His great love at work in our life and then to share that love with others as we return to our everyday existence on the plain.

Will you pause for a few moments and join me on an imaginary journey to the mountain top with Jesus?  Can you feel the sunshine warm on your face and the blue, cloudless sky so close overhead that you can almost reach out and touch it?  

Look:  Jesus is gloriously transfigured, his simple garments have become dazzling white.  He is brighter than the sun.  He is looking at you.  He wants you to be transformed also by His love and inspired by His words and actions.

Listen:  The voice of our heavenly Father is telling us to listen to His beloved Son Jesus… to do His will.

Jesus is calling you by name.  What is He saying to you?  What is your response to Him?

Each day make time to come apart with Jesus.  Climb that mountain.  Think of one of your favorite scripture passages where the Word of the Lord speaks to you.  Meditate on the Word.  Pray with the Word.  Ask Jesus to transform your life.  Share the gift of Love you have received.

God bless you! 

  

PS:  You can sing along with me if you now have “The Sound of Music” soundtrack going through your mind!

Aerial view of the Mount of Transfiguration

  

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