“The proclamation made by Peter and the Apostles,” he
emphasized, “does not merely consist of words: fidelity to Christ
affects their whole lives, which are changed, given a new direction, and it is
through their lives that they
bear witness to the faith and to the proclamation of Christ. In today’s
Gospel, Jesus asks Peter three times to feed his flock, to feed it with his
love, and He prophesies to him: 'When you are old, you will stretch out your
hands, and another
will gird you and carry you where you do not wish to go'. These words are
addressed first and foremost to those of us who are pastors: we cannot
Subject: VISnews130415
From: Vatican Information Service - Eng - txt
feed God’s flock unless we let ourselves be carried by God’s will
even where we would rather not
go, unless we are prepared to bear witness to Christ with the gift of
ourselves, unreservedly, not in a calculating way, sometimes even at the cost
of our lives.”
“But this also applies to everyone: we all have to proclaim and bear
witness to the Gospel. … In God’s great plan, every detail is
important, even yours, even my humble little witness, even the hidden witness
of those who live
their faith with simplicity in everyday family relationships, work
relationships, friendships. There are the saints of every day, the 'hidden'
saints, a sort of 'middle class of holiness', as a French author said, that
'middle class of holiness' to
which we can all belong.”
“But in different parts of the world, there are also those who suffer
... on account of the Gospel; there are those who give their lives in order to
remain faithful to Christ ... Let us all remember this: one cannot proclaim
the Gospel of Jesus
without the tangible witness of one’s life. I am thinking now of some
advice that Saint Francis of Assisi gave his brothers: 'Preach the Gospel and,
if necessary, use words'. Preaching with your life, with your witness.
Inconsistency on the part
of pastors and the faithful between what they say and what they do, between
word and manner of life, is undermining the Church’s credi
ility.”
“All this is possible only if we recognize Jesus Christ, because it
is He who has called us, He who has invited us to travel his path, He who has
chosen us. Proclamation and witness are only possible if we are close to him,
just as Peter, John
and the other disciples in today’s Gospel passage were gathered around
the Risen Jesus. … And this is important for us: living an intense
relationship with Jesus, an intimacy of dialogue and of life, in such a way as
to recognize him as
'the Lord'. Worshipping him!”
“I would like all of us to ask ourselves this question: [ask
yourself, ask myself] Do we worship the Lord? Do we turn to God only to ask
him for things, to thank him, or do we also turn to him to worship him? What
does it mean, then, to worship
God? … All of us, in our own lives, consciously and perhaps sometimes
unconsciously, have a very clear order of priority concerning the things we
consider important. Worshipping the Lord means giving him the place that He
must have; worshipping
the Lord means stating, believing—not only by our words—that He
alone truly guides our lives; worshipping the Lord means that we are convinced
before him that He is the only God, the God of our lives, the God of our
history.”
“This has a consequence in our lives,” the pontiff noted.
“We have to empty ourselves of the many small or great idols that we
have and in which we take refuge and upon which we often seek to base our
security. They are idols that
we sometimes keep well hidden; they can be ambition, careerism, a taste for
success, placing ourselves at the centre, the tendency to dominate others, the
claim to be the sole masters of our lives, some sins to which we are bound,
and many others. This
evening I would like a question to resound in each of your hearts, and I would
like you to answer it honestly: Have I considered which idol lies hidden in my
life that prevents me from worshipping the Lord? Worshipping is stripping
ourselves of our
idols, even the most hidden ones, and choosing the Lord as the centre, as the
privileged path of our lives.”
“The Lord,” concluded the Bishop of Rome, “calls us each
day to follow him with courage and fidelity. He has made us the great gift of
choosing us as his disciples. He invites us to proclaim him with joy as the
Risen one, but He
asks us to do so by word and by the witness of our lives, in daily life. The
Lord is the only God of our lives, and He invites us to strip ourselves of our
many idols and to worship him alone. To proclaim, to witness, to
worship.”
___________________________________________________________
POPE REMEMBERS PERSECUTED CHRISTIANS AT THE REGINA COELI
Vatican City, 14 April 2013 (VIS) – The episode narrated in the Acts
of the Apostles that tells of the time Jesus first preached in Jerusalem and
the attempts of the high priests and city leaders to stop the growth of the
community of believers
in Christ was the central theme of the Regina Coeli this third Sunday of
Easter.
The Pope explained to the thousands of persons gathered in St. Peter's
Square that the Twelve, who had been jailed with the order to not teach any
more in Christ's name, responded to their persecutors: “We must obey God
rather than men. The God
of our ancestors raised Jesus … God exalted him at his right hand as
leader and saviour … We are witnesses of these things, as is the Holy
Spirit.” “They then had the Apostles flogged and ordered them
again not to speak any
more in Jesus' name. And [the Twelve] went, as it says in Scripture,
'rejoicing that they had been found worthy to suffer dishonour for the sake of
the name' [of Jesus].”
“I ask myself,” the Bishop of Rome said, “ where did the
first disciples find the strength for their witness? Not just that: Where did
their joy and courage to proclaim, in spite of the obstacles and violence,
come from? Let's not
forget that the Apostles were simple people. They weren't scribes, doctors of
the law, or members of the priestly class. How could they, with their limits
and the opposition made to them by the authorities, 'have filled Jerusalem
with your teaching'? It
is clear that only the Risen Lord's presence to them and the Holy Spirit's
action can explain this fact. … Their faith was based on such a strong
and personal experience of Christ, died and risen, that they had no fear of
anything or anyone. In
fact, they saw persecution as a badge of honour that allowed them to follow in
Jesus' footsteps and to be like him, witnessing with their lives.”
“This story of the first Christian community tells us something very
important, which holds for the Church in every age, even for us: when a person
truly knows Jesus Christ and believes in him, they experience his presence in
their life and the
strength of his Resurrection, and they cannot help but to communicate this
experience. If this person encounters misunderstanding or adversity, they act
as Jesus did at his Passion: they respond with love and with the strength of
truth.”
“Praying the Regina Coeli together,” the Pope concluded,
“we ask Mary Most Holy's assistance so that the Church throughout the
world might proclaim, with sincerity and courage, the Lord's Resurrection, and
might give effective
witness to it with signs of fraternal love. Fraternal love is the closest
witness that we can give that Jesus is alive with us, that Jesus is risen. Let
us pray in a special way for the Christians who are suffering persecution. In
these days there are
many Christians who are suffering persecution, so very many in many countries.
Let us pray wholeheartedly for them with love. May they feel the living and
comforting presence of the Risen Lord.”
After the Regina Coeli, the Holy Father noted that yesterday, in Venice,
Italy, Don Luca Passi, 19th century founder of the Pious Society of St.
Dorothy for the Laity and the Institute of the Teaching Sisters of St Dorothy,
was beatified. He also
spoke of the Day of the Sacred Heart University, which is celebrated today in
Italy, the theme of which is “New Generations: Beyond the Crisis”
this year.
“This university,” he said, “born of the mind and heart
of Fr. Agostino Gemelli, with great popular support, has trained thousands
upon thousands of young people to be competent and responsible citizens,
builders of the common good.
I invite you to always support this University so that it might continue to
offer an excellent education to new generations, so that they can face the
challenges of our present time.”
___________________________________________________________
AUDIENCES
Vatican City, 15 April 2013 (VIS) – This morning the Holy Father
received:
- His Beatitude Fouad Twal, patriarch of Jerusalem of the Latins, and his
entourage, and
seven prelates of the Triveneto region of the Italian Episcopal Conference
on their "ad limina" visit:
- Patriarch Francesco Moraglia of Venice,
- Archbishop Antonio Mattiazzo, bishop of Padua,
- Bishop Giuseppe Zenti of Verona,
- Bishop Lucio Soravito de Franceschi of Adria-Rovigo,
- Bishop Giuseppe Andrich of Belluno-Feltre,
- Bishop Beniamino Pizziol of Vicenza, and
- Bishop Adriano Tessarollo of Chioggia.
___________________________________________________________
OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS
Vatican City, 15 April 2013 (VIS) – Today, the Holy Father accepted
the resignation from the pastoral care of the Apostolic Vicariate of Alep of
the Latin Rite, Syria, presented by Bishop Giuseppe Nazzaro O.F.M., upon
having reached the age
limit. At the same time, the Holy Father has appointed Fr. Georges
Abou-Khazen, O.F.M., as apostolic administrator "sede vacante et ad nutum
Sanctae Sedis" of the same vicariate.
The Holy Father Francis has named Cardinal Jean-Louis Pierre Tauran,
president of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, as his
special envoy to the 400th anniversary of the arrival of the Icon of the
Blessed Virgin Mary in Budslau,
Belarus, which is scheduled to take place from 5 to 6 July 2013 at the
National Shrine in the Archdiocese of Minsk-Mohilev.
___________________________________________________________
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