Assisi Pilgrimage for Peace

Today marks the twenty-fifth anniversary of the historic meeting for peace in the Italian town of Assisi, called by Blessed John Paul II. For the occasion, His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI has made a pilgrimage to the city of St. Francis, accompanied by representatives of other religions and by non-believers, for a Day of reflection, dialogue and prayer for peace and justice in the world under the theme: "Pilgrims of Truth, Pilgrims of Peace".

The Pontiff and the members of the various delegations left the Vatican by train at 8 a.m. today, reaching Assisi at 9.45 a.m. where they were greeted by the civil and religious authorities in front of the Basilica of Santa Maria degli Angeli. As the ceremony unfolded inside the basilica, the large numbers of faithful present were able to follow events on giant screens set up in the square outside.

Following the meeting in the basilica, Pope Benedict XVI and the delegations made their way to the Franciscan convent of Porziuncola. A frugal lunch was followed by a period of silence for individual refection and prayer before the participants moved on to the Basilica of St. Francis for the concluding ceremonies of the Day.
PV-ITALY/ VIS 20111027 (1610)

http://visnews-en.blogspot.com/2011/10/assisi-religion-can-never-be.html

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Twenty-five years have passed since Blessed Pope John Paul II first invited representatives of the world’s religions to Assisi to pray for peace. What has happened in the meantime? What is the state of play with regard to peace today?

…The world is unfortunately full of discord. It is not only that sporadic wars are continually being fought – violence as such is potentially ever present and it is a characteristic feature of our world. Freedom is a great good. But the world of freedom has proved to be largely directionless, and not a few have misinterpreted freedom as somehow including freedom for violence. Discord has taken on new and frightening guises, and the struggle for freedom must engage us all in a new way….

The God in whom we Christians believe is the Creator and Father of all, and from him all people are brothers and sisters and form one single family. For us the Cross of Christ is the sign of the God who put “suffering-with” (compassion) and “loving-with” in place of force. His name is “God of love and peace” (2 Corinthians 13:11). It is the task of all who bear responsibility for the Christian faith to purify the religion of Christians again and again from its very heart, so that it truly serves as an instrument of God’s peace in the world, despite the fallibility of humans.

…I would like to assure you that the Catholic Church will not let up … in her commitment for peace in the world. We are animated by the common desire to be “pilgrims of truth, pilgrims of peace”.

From the Address of His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI

At the Meeting for Peace in Assisi

27 October 2011

For the complete text please visit:

http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/speeches/2011/october/documents/hf_ben-xvi_spe_20111027_assisi_en.html

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Pilgrims of Truth, Pilgrims of Peace

The Lord says this:

“Rejoice heart and soul, daughter

of Zion! Shout with gladness,

daughter of Jerusalem! See

now, your king comes to you;

he is victorious, he is triumphant,

humble and riding on a donkey,

on a colt, the foal of a donkey.

He will banish chariots from

Ephraim and horses from

Jerusalem; the bow of war will

be banished. He will proclaim

peace for the nations. His empire

shall stretch from sea to sea,

from the River to the ends of

the earth.”

Zechariah 9, 9-10

Prayers for Preparation

Pilgrims of Truth, Pilgrims of Peace

http://www.vatican.va/news_services/liturgy/libretti/2011/20111026_preghiera_assisi.pdf

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VATICAN CITY, 26 OCT 2011 (VIS) - Because of the rain, the Holy Father presided over this morning's celebration of the Word in the Paul VI Hall, rather than in St. Peter's Square as had been scheduled. The celebration of the Word took the place of the usual general audience, in view of the event due to take place tomorrow in the Italian town of Assisi: "Day of Reflection, Dialogue and Prayer for Peace and Justice in the World: Pilgrims of Truth, Pilgrims of Peace". Before the celebration this morning, the Holy Father greeted pilgrims gathered in the Vatican Basilica who had been unable to find

space in the Paul VI Hall…

"As Christians", he said, "we are convinced that prayer is the most precious contribution we can make to the cause of peace. For this reason we, the Church of Rome and pilgrims from elsewhere, are gathered here today to listen to the Word of God and to invoke the gift of peace".

The Pope then quoted from the reading from the Prophet Zechariah, in which God promises salvation through a king. "But the announcement does not refer to a king with human powers and force of arms", he explained. "It does not refer to a king who dominates with political and military might. This is a gentle king who reigns with humility and gentleness before God and man, a king quite different from the great sovereigns of the earth".

The Apostles recalled the prophet's words particularly "following Christ's passion, death and resurrection when, ... with the eyes of faith, they reconsidered their Master's joyful entry into the Holy City. He rode a donkey which had been lent to Him, ... not a horse as the powerful did. He did not enter Jerusalem accompanied by a mighty army of chariots and horsemen. He is a poor king, the king of the poor of God, ... of those who have inner freedom enabling them to overcome the greed and selfishness of the world, of those who know that God alone is their treasure. ... He is a king who will make the chariots and steeds of battle disappear, who will break the weapons of war, a king who brought peace on the Cross, uniting heaven and earth and building a bridge between all mankind. The Cross is the new arch of peace, the sign and instrument of reconciliation, ... the sign that love is stronger that any form of violence or oppression, stronger than death. Evil is overcome through goodness, through love".

"The kingdom that Christ inaugurates is universal. The horizon of this poor and meek king is not the territorial horizon of a State, it is the confines of the world. He creates communion, He creates unity. And where do we see His announcement take concrete form today? In the great network of Eucharistic communities covering the earth, wherein the prophecy of Zechariah re-emerges in splendour. ... Everywhere, in all cultures, ... He comes and is present; and by entering into communion with Him, mankind is united into a single body, overcoming divisions, rivalry and rancour. The Lord comes in the Eucharist to divest us of our selfishness, our fixations which exclude others, to make us a single body, a single kingdom of peace in a divided world.

"And yet", the Holy Father added, "how can we build this kingdom of peace in which Christ is king? ... Like Jesus, the messengers of peace of His kingdom must begin a journey. ...They must journey, but not with the might of war or the force of power. ... It is not with power, force or violence that Christ's kingdom of peace grows, but with the giving of self, with love carried to its extreme consequences, even towards out enemies. Jesus does not conquer the world by force of arms but by the power of the Cross, which is the true guarantee of victory".

Continuing his homily, Benedict XVI mentioned the statues of Sts. Peter and Paul which stand in front of the Vatican Basilica. St. Peter holds the keys and St. Paul a sword, "the weapon with which he suffered martyrdom, with which his blood was spilt", said the Pope. St. Paul "dedicated his life to transmitting the Gospel's message of reconciliation and peace, using his every energy to ensure it reached the ends of the earth. His strength lay in the fact that he did not seek a quiet life, ... free from difficulties and setbacks. Rather, he was consumed by the Gospel, he gave all of himself without reserve, and thus became the great messenger of peace and reconciliation in Christ. The sword St. Paul holds in his hand also recalls the power of truth, which can sometimes wound and inflict pain, The Apostle remained faithful to this truth unto the end, ... he gave his life for it. The same logic holds true for us, if we wish to bring the kingdom of peace announced by the Prophet Zechariah and achieved by Christ: we must be ready to pay in person, to suffer ... misunderstanding, rejection and persecution. It is not the sword of the conqueror that builds peace, but the sword of those who suffer and give up their own lives".

The Holy Father concluded: "As Christians, we wish to invoke the gift of peace from God, we wish to pray that He might make us instruments of His peace in a world still torn apart by hatred, division, selfishness and wars, we wish to ask him that tomorrow's meeting in Assisi might favour dialogue between people from different religions, and bring a ray of light to illuminate the minds and hearts of all men and women; that rancour may give way to forgiveness, division to reconciliation, hatred to love, violence to humility, and that peace may reign in the world".

AG/ VIS 20111026 (1020)

http://visnews-en.blogspot.com/2011/10/kingdom-of-christ-cannot-be-built-by.html

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VATICAN CITY, 26 OCT 2011 (VIS) - ...One group of pilgrims, unable to find space in the Paul VI Hall, gathered in the Vatican Basilica where the Holy Father went to greet them before the audience began. "I ask you to accompany me in prayer as I journey tomorrow to Assisi for the celebration of the Day of Reflection, Dialogue and Prayer for Peace and Justice in the World, together with representatives of different religions", he said.   His Holiness expressed the hope that "this pilgrimage for truth and peace may help us to march towards God together, and to reinforce our commitment to serve peace".

At the end of the celebration of the Word in the Paul VI Hall, Benedict XVI addressed the young, the sick and newlyweds. "May the example of St. Francis of Assisi, over whose tomb I will pray tomorrow, support you, dear young people, in your daily commitment to Christ", he said. "May it encourage you, dear sick people, always to follow the example of Jesus in your trials and suffering; and may it help you, dear newlyweds, to make your family a place of constant encounter with the love of God and of our fellows".AC/ VIS 20111026 (250)

http://visnews-en.blogspot.com/2011/10/pope-asks-for-prayers-for-assisi.html

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Let us accompany our Holy Father in prayer on this pilgrimage for truth and peace to meet the Lord and to do His will.

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God's Mercy Endures Forever

VATICAN CITY, 19 OCT 2011 (VIS) - Some 20,000 pilgrims attended Pope Benedict XVI's general audience, which was held this morning in St. Peter's Square. Continuing a series of catecheses dedicated to the Psalms, the Holy Father focused his attention on Psalm 136, "a great hymn of praise which celebrates the Lord in the many and repeated manifestations of His goodness down human history".

The Pope explained how, in Jewish tradition, this Psalm is sung at the end of the Passover supper, and therefore it was probably also pronounced by Jesus at the last Passover He celebrated with His disciples. The text enumerates God's many interventions in favour of His people "and each proclamation of a salvific action by the Lord is answered by an antiphon reiterating the main cause for praise: God's eternal love, a love which, according to the Hebrew term used, implies faithfulness, mercy, goodness, grace and tenderness".

God is first presented as "He Who 'does great wonders', first among them that of the creation: heaven, earth and stars. ... With the creation the Lord shows Himself in all His goodness and beauty. He commits Himself to life, revealing a desire for good whence all other salvific actions arise".

The Psalm goes on to consider God's manifestations in history, evoking the great moment when the Israelites were freed from slavery in Egypt. The forty years of wandering in the desert were "a decisive period for Israel which, allowing itself to be guided by the Lord, learned to live on faith, obedient and docile to the laws of God. Those were difficult years, marked by the harshness of life in the desert, but also a happy time of confidence and filial trust in the Lord".

"The history of Israel has known exhilarating moments of joy, of fullness of life, of awareness of the presence of God and His salvation", said the Pope. "But it has also been marked by episodes of sin, painful periods of darkness and profound affliction. Many were the adversaries from whom the Lord liberated His people". The Psalm speaks of these events, in particular the Babylonian exile and the destruction of Jerusalem, "when it seemed that Israel had lost everything, even its own identity, even its trust in the Lord. However, God remembers, and frees. The salvation of Israel and of all mankind is bound to the Lord's faithfulness, to His memory. While man forgets easily, God remains faithful: His memory is a precious casket containing that 'love which endures forever' about which our Psalm speaks".

The Psalm concludes by reminding us that God feeds His creatures, "caring for life and giving bread. ... In the fullness of time the Son of God became man to give life, for the salvation of each one of us; and He continues to gives Himself as bread in the mystery of the Eucharist, so as to draw us into His covenant, which makes us children. So great is God's merciful goodness, the sublimity of His 'love which endures forever'". In conclusion the Pope read a quote from the First Letter of St. John, advising the faithful to bear it in mind in their prayers: "See what love the Father has given us, that that we should be called children of God; and that is what we are".AG/ VIS 20111019 (560)

http://www.news.va/en/news/man-forgets-but-god-remains-faithful

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Praise the LORD, for he is good;

for his mercy endures forever;

Praise the God of gods;

for his mercy endures forever;

Praise the Lord of lords;

for his mercy endures forever;

Who alone has done great wonders,

for his mercy endures forever;

Who skillfully made the heavens,

for his mercy endures forever;

Who spread the earth upon the waters,

for his mercy endures forever;

Who made the great lights,

for his mercy endures forever;

The sun to rule the day,

for his mercy endures forever;

The moon and stars to rule the night,

for his mercy endures forever;

Who struck down the firstborn of Egypt,

for his mercy endures forever;

And led Israel from their midst,

for his mercy endures forever;

With mighty hand and outstretched arm,

for his mercy endures forever;

Who split in two the Red Sea,

for his mercy endures forever;

And led Israel through its midst,

for his mercy endures forever;

But swept Pharaoh and his army into the Red Sea,

for his mercy endures forever;

Who led the people through the desert;

for his mercy endures forever;

Who struck down great kings,

for his mercy endures forever;

Slew powerful kings,

for his mercy endures forever;

Sihon, king of the Amorites,

for his mercy endures forever;

Og, king of Bashan,

for his mercy endures forever;

And made their lands a heritage,

for his mercy endures forever;

A heritage for Israel, his servant,

for his mercy endures forever.

The Lord remembered us in our low estate,

for his mercy endures forever;

Freed us from our foes,

for his mercy endures forever;

And gives bread to all flesh,

for his mercy endures forever.

Praise the God of heaven,

for his mercy endures forever.

http://usccb.org/bible/scripture.cfm?bk=Psalms&ch=136

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Pope Benedict XVI Announces "The Year of Faith"

VATICAN CITY, 16 OCT 2011 (VIS) - During Mass this morning in the Vatican Basilica, celebrated to mark the end of an international meeting on new evangelisation organised by the Pontifical Council for Promoting New Evangelisation, Benedict XVI announced that he was calling a forthcoming "Year of Faith".

The Year will begin on 11 October 2012, fiftieth anniversary of the opening of Vatican Council II, and will come to an end on 24 November 2013, Feast of Christ the King. Its aim "is to give renewed energy to the Church's mission to lead men and women out of the desert in which they so often find themselves, and towards the place of life, towards friendship with Christ Who gives us life in all its fullness". The Year will likewise be an opportunity "to strengthen our faith in Christ and joyfully to announce Him to the men and women of our time", the Pope said.

"In order to be effective evangelisation needs the strength of the Spirit, which enlivens the message and infuses the person who bears it with the 'full conviction' of which St. Paul speaks. ... New evangelisers are called to be the first to walk along the Path which is Christ, in order to lead others to the beauty of the life-giving Gospel. On this Path we are never alone, but always in company; it is an experience of communion and fraternity which is offered to everyone we meet, bringing them to share in our experience of Christ and His Church. Thus, witness associated with announcement can open the hearts of those who seek the truth, helping them discover the meaning of their own lives".

http://www.news.va/en/news/benedict-xvi-announces-the-year-of-faith

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"The 'door of faith' is always open for us, ushering us into the life of communion with God and offering entry into His Church. It is possible to cross that threshold when the word of God is proclaimed and the heart allows itself to be shaped by transforming grace".

"Ever since the start of my ministry as Successor of Peter, I have spoken of the need to rediscover the journey of faith so as to shed ever clearer light on the joy and renewed enthusiasm of the encounter with Christ. ... Whereas in the past it was possible to recognise a unitary cultural matrix, broadly accepted in its appeal to the content of the faith and the values inspired by it, today this no longer seems to be the case in large swathes of society, because of a profound crisis of faith that has affected many people".

 

"Through His love, Jesus Christ attracts to Himself the people of every generation: in every age He convokes the Church, entrusting her with the proclamation of the Gospel by a mandate that is ever new. Today too, there is a need for stronger ecclesial commitment to new evangelisation in order to rediscover the joy of believing and the enthusiasm for communicating the faith. In rediscovering His love day by day, the missionary commitment of believers attains force and vigour that can never fade away. Faith grows when it is lived as an experience of love received and when it is communicated as an experience of grace and joy".

http://www.news.va/en/news/apostolic-letter-motu-proprio-data-porta-fidei

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Apostolic Letter

"Motu Proprio Data"

Porta Fidei

of The Supreme Pontiff

Benedict XVI

for the Indiction of the Year of Faith

For the complete text please visit:

http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/motu_proprio/documents/hf_ben-xvi_motu-proprio_20111011_porta-fidei_en.html 

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Human History is a History of Salvation

VATICAN CITY, 12 OCT 2011 (VIS) - During his general audience this morning the Holy Father dedicated his catechesis to Psalm 126 which, he said, "celebrates the great things which the Lord has done for His people, and which He continues to do for all believers".  

The Psalm "speaks of 'restored fortunes'", the Pope explained, "in other words, fortunes restored to their original state". This was the experience of the People of Israel when they returned to their homeland after the Babylonian exile, which had been such a devastating experience not only in political and social terms but also from a religious and spiritual point of view.  

"Divine intervention often takes unexpected forms which go beyond what man might expect. ... God works marvels in the history of mankind. ... He reveals Himself as the powerful and merciful Lord, the refuge of the oppressed Who does not ignore the cry of the poor. ... Thus, with the liberation of the People of Israel, everyone recognises the great and wondrous things God has done for His People and celebrates the Lord as Saviour".  

However, the Holy Father went on, "the Psalm goes beyond the purely historical and opens to a broader, theological dimension". It uses images which "allude to the mysterious truth of redemption, in which the gift we have received and the gift we await, life and death, intertwine".  

The watercourses of the Neg'eb symbolise divine intervention which, like water, "is capable of transforming the desert into a vast expanse of green grass and flowers", the Pope explained. Later the Psalm also uses the image of peasants cultivating their fields "to speak of salvation. The reference here is to the annual cycle of agriculture: the difficult and arduous time of sowing then the overriding joy of the harvest. ... The seed sprouts and grows".  

"This is the hidden mystery of life, these are the 'great and wondrous things of salvation which the Lord achieves in the history of mankind, but the secret of which is unknown to man. Divine intervention, when fully expressed, has an overpowering dimension, like the watercourses of the Neg'eb and the grain in the fields. This latter image also evokes the disproportion typical of the things of God: disproportion between the fatigue of sowing and the immense joy of the harvest".  

"The Psalmist refers to all these things to speak of salvation. ... The deportation to Babylon, like other situations of suffering and crisis, ... with its doubts and the apparent distance from God is, in reality, ... like a seedbed. In the mystery of Christ and in the light of the New Testament, the message becomes even clearer and more explicit: the believer who passes through the darkness is like the seed of grain that falls to earth and dies, but brings forth much fruit".  

"This Psalm teaches us that ... we must remain hopeful and firm in our faith in God. Our history, though often marked by suffering, uncertainty and moments of crisis, is a history of salvation and 'restoration of fortunes'. In Jesus our exile ends: ... in the mystery of His cross, in death transformed into life, like the seed which splits in the earth and becomes an ear of wheat".

http://www.news.va/en/news/human-history-is-a-history-of-salvation

http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/audiences/2011/documents/hf_ben-xvi_aud_20111012_en.html

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"Pray that society might enjoy true peace, based on justice and respect for the freedom and dignity of all citizens.

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The Almighty has done great things for us...  (Luke 1:49)

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The Closeness of God Transforms Reality

VATICAN CITY, 5 OCT 2011 (VIS) - The Holy Father dedicated his catechesis during this morning's general audience to Psalm 23 which begins with the words: "The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want". "Addressing the Lord in prayer implies a radical act of confidence, the awareness of entrusting oneself to God Who is good", he said.

Psalm 23 is an example of such confidence. "The Psalmist expresses his tranquil certainty that he will be guided and protected, sheltered from all danger because the Lord is his shepherd. ... The image evokes an atmosphere of trust, intimacy, tenderness. The shepherd knows his sheep individually, he calls them by name and they follow him because they recognise and trust him. He takes care of them, protects them like a treasure, and is ready to defend them in order to guarantee their wellbeing, to ensure they live in peace. They shall want nothing if the shepherd is with them".

The Psalm describes the oasis of peace to which the shepherd leads his flock. The setting is a desert landscape, "yet the shepherd knows where to find pasture and water, which are essential for life, he knows the way to the oasis in which the soul can be 'restored' with new energies to start the journey afresh. As the Psalmist says, God guides him to 'green pastures' and 'still waters' where all things are in abundance. ... If the Lord is the shepherd, even in the desert, a place of scarcity and death, we do not lose our certainty in the radical presence of life".

The shepherd adapts his rhythms and his needs to those of his flock. "If we walk behind the 'Good Shepherd'", the Pope said, " however difficult, tortuous and long the paths of our life may seem, we too can be certain that they are right for us, that the Lord guides us and that He is always close".

Hence the Psalmist adds: "Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I fear no evil; for you are with me". Benedict XVI explained how, although the Psalmist here uses a Hebrew expression which evokes the shadows of death, he nonetheless proceeds without fear because he knows the Lord is with him. "This is a proclamation of unshakeable trust and encapsulates a radical experience of faith: the closeness of God transforms reality, the darkest valley loses all its perils".

This image concludes the first part of the Psalm and opens the way to a change of scene. "You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows". The Lord is now presented "as the One Who welcomes the Psalmist with generous hospitality. ... Food, oil, wine are the gifts that enable us to live, they bring joy because they lie beyond what is strictly necessary, an expression of the gratitude and abundance of love". In the meantime the enemies look on powerlessly because "when God opens His tent to welcome us, nothing can harm us".

The Psalmist goes on "Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord my whole life long". The Psalmist's journey "acquires fresh meaning and becomes a pilgrimage towards the Temple of the Lord, the holy place in which he wishes 'to dwell' forever". Likewise, living near God and His goodness is what all believers long for, the Holy Father said.

This Psalm has accompanied the entire history and religious experience of the People of Israel, but only in Jesus Christ is its evocative strength "fulfilled and fully expressed: Jesus is the 'Good Shepherd' Who goes in search of the lost sheep, Who knows His sheep and gives His life for them. He is the way, the way that leads to life, the light that illuminates the dark valley and overcomes all our fears. He is the generous host Who welcomes us and saves us from our enemies, preparing the banquet of His Body and His Blood for us, and the definitive banquet ... in heaven. He is the regal Shepherd, King in meekness and mercy, enthroned on the glorious seat of the cross".

Psalm 23 invites us to renew our trust in God, the Pope concluded, "to abandon ourselves completely in His hands. Let us, then, trustingly ask the Lord to allow us always to walk on His paths, even along the difficult paths of our own times, as a docile and obedient flock; let us ask Him to welcome us into His house, at His table, and to lead us to 'still waters' so that, in welcoming the gift of His Spirit, we may drink from His spring, source of that living water which 'gushes up to eternal life'".

http://www.news.va/en/news/the-closeness-of-god-transforms-reality

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The Testimony of Saint Francis of Assisi

Fresco, Saint Francis with Jesus and Blessed Mother Mary
Bishop's Office, Assisi

O how happy and blessed are those who love the Lord and do as the Lord himself said in the gospel:  You shall love the Lord your God with your whole heart and your whole soul, and your neighbor as yourself.  Therefore, let us love God and adore him with pure heart and mind.  This is his particular desire when he says:  True worshipers adore the Father in spirit and truth.  For all who adore him must do so in the spirit of truth.  Let us also direct to him our praises and prayers saying:  Our Father, who are in heaven, since we must always pray and never grow slack.

- From a letter written to all the faithful by Saint Francis of Assisi

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It has been said that Francis represents an alter Christus, that he was truly a living icon of Christ. He has also been called "the brother of Jesus". Indeed, this was his ideal: to be like Jesus, to contemplate Christ in the Gospel, to love him intensely and to imitate his virtues. In particular, he wished to ascribe interior and exterior poverty with a fundamental value, which he also taught to his spiritual sons. The first Beatitude of the Sermon on the Mount "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 5: 3) found a luminous fulfilment in the life and words of St Francis. Truly, dear friends, the saints are the best interpreters of the Bible. As they incarnate the word of God in their own lives, they make it more captivating than ever, so that it really speaks to us. The witness of Francis, who loved poverty as a means to follow Christ with dedication and total freedom, continues to be for us too an invitation to cultivate interior poverty in order to grow in our trust of God, also by adopting a sober lifestyle and a detachment from material goods.

Francis' love for Christ expressed itself in a special way in the adoration of the Blessed Sacrament of the Eucharist. In the Fonti Francescane (Writings of St Francis) one reads such moving expressions as: "Let everyone be struck with fear, let the whole world tremble, and let the heavens exult, when Christ, the Son of the living God, is present on the altar in the hands of a priest. Oh stupendous dignity! O humble sublimity, that the Lord of the universe, God and the Son of God, so humbles himself that for our salvation he hides himself under an ordinary piece of bread" (Francis of Assisi, Scritti, Editrici Francescane, Padova 2002, 401).

… Francis was a great Saint and a joyful man. His simplicity, his humility, his faith, his love for Christ, his goodness towards every man and every woman, brought him gladness in every circumstance. Indeed, there subsists an intimate and indissoluble relationship between holiness and joy. A French writer once wrote that there is only one sorrow in the world: not to be saints, that is, not to be near to God. Looking at the testimony of St Francis, we understand that this is the secret of true happiness: to become saints, close to God!

His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI

General Audience, 27 January 2010

http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/audiences/2010/documents/hf_ben-xvi_aud_20100127_en.html

His Excellency Sergio Goretti, Bishop of Assisi; Fr. GianMaria Polidoro, OFM, WUCWO  Ecclesiastical Assistant;
Stella Bellefroid, WUCWO Treasurer General; Karen Hurley, Vice President for North America;
Vera Halperin de Tabanera, Vice President for Latin America-Caribbean; Elizabeth Twissa, Vice President for Africa;
Assisi, 2004

   

His Excellency Sergio Goretti, Bishop of Assisi, warmly welcomed the Executive Committee and affirmed the good work and mission of WUCWO.  He shared his personal experiences during the earthquake of September 1996 as well as the beautiful images of St. Francis with Baby Jesus and the Blessed Mother Mary, which were revealed within his office wall after the collapse of another wall.

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Gillian Badcock, WUCWO Secretary General
Reading at Mass in Chapel at Santa Maria degli Angeli, Assisi

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Dove, Assisi

Assisi Pax International is a peace association founded in St Francis’s native land of Assisi. Its aim is to further a methodology of peace  as envisaged by its founder, GianMaria Polidoro, a Franciscan friar, who looked at St. Francis’s experience of peace and love for nature.

http://www.assisipax.org/index-en.asp

The Franciscan Foundation for the Holy Land (FFHL) is a worldwide ecumenical organization operating under the auspices of the Franciscan Custody of the Holy Land. The principle purpose of the FFHL is to help stem the Christian exodus from the Holy Land by providing programs and projects that will serve as incentives for the Christians to remain as well as safeguarding the basic human rights of the Christian Palestinian minority living in the Holy Land.

http://ffhl.org/2006/default.asp

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Fr. GianMaria Polidoro, OFM, celebrating Mass at the Hermitage Cave of St. Francis
Monte Subiaso, Assisi, 2004
Karen Hurley; Vera de Tabanera; Maria Eugenia Diaz de Pfennich, WUCWO President General

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The Prayer of Saint Francis Before this Crucifix

Most high, glorious God, cast your light into the darkness of my heart. 
Give me Lord, right faith, firm hope, perfect charity and profound humility,
with wisdom and perception, so that I may carry out what is truly your holy will. 
Amen.

Assisi Sunset, September 2004

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Silence and Word: Path of Evangelization

VATICAN CITY, 29 SEP 2011 (VIS) - Given below is the text of an English-language note released today by the Pontifical Council for Social Communications, concerning the publication of the theme for World Communications Day Message 2012.

  "The extraordinarily varied nature of the contribution of modern communications to society highlights the need for a value which, on first consideration, might seem to stand in contradistinction to it. Silence, in fact, is the central theme for the next World Communications Day Message: 'Silence and Word: path of evangelisation'. In the thought of Pope Benedict XVI, silence is not presented simply as an antidote to the constant and unstoppable flow of information that characterises society today but rather as a factor that is necessary for its integration. Silence, precisely because it favours habits of discernment and reflection, can in fact be seen primarily as a means of welcoming the word. We ought not to think in terms of a dualism, but of the complementary nature of two elements which when they are held in balance serve to enrich the value of communication and which make it a key factor that can serve the new evangelisation. It is clearly the desire of the Holy Father to associate the theme of the next World Communications Day with the celebration of the forthcoming Synod of Bishops which will have as its own theme: 'The New Evangelisation for the Transmission of the Christian Faith'.

  "World Communications Day, the only worldwide celebration called for by Vatican Council II ('Inter Mirifica' 1963), is celebrated in most countries, on the recommendation of the bishops of the world, on the Sunday before Pentecost (in 2012, 20 May).

  "The Holy Father's message for World Communications Day is traditionally published in conjunction with the Memorial of St. Francis de Sales, patron of writers (January 24)".

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