VATICAN INFORMATION SERVICE
YEAR XXIV - # 99
DATE 27-05-2014

Summary:
- FRANCIS ON THE MOUNT OF OLIVES: STAND BY THOSE CROSSES WHERE JESUS CONTINUES
TO BE CRUCIFIED
- IN THE CENACLE, WHERE THE CHURCH WAS BORN TO GO FORTH
- FRANCIS: TERRORISM IS BAD IN ITS ORIGINS AND ITS RESULTS
- THE POPE RETURNS TO THE VATICAN AND SPEAKS TO JOURNALISTS ON THE FLIGHT
- HOLY FATHER'S CALENDAR FOR JUNE TO AUGUST 2014
- OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS

___________________________________________________________

 FRANCIS ON THE MOUNT OF OLIVES: STAND BY THOSE CROSSES WHERE JESUS CONTINUES
TO BE CRUCIFIED
 Vatican City, 26 May 2014 (VIS) - At 11.45 a.m., after a five-kilometre
journey by car, the Holy Father arrived at the Notre Dame of Jerusalem Centre
where he received in audience the prime minister of Israel, Benjamin
Netanyahu. An hour and a half later, the Pontiff was scheduled to lunch with
the papal entourage, but instead he changed his plans and decided to eat in
the refectory of the Convent of San Salvador with the Franciscans. At 2.15
p.m., after blessing the Tabernacle of the chapel in the centre built by the
Legionaries of Christ in Galilee, he left the centre for the small Greek
Orthodox "Viri - Galilaei" church on the Mount of Olives. From there he paid a
brief private visit to the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, after which
they both blessed a group of faithful gathered outside the church. The Pope
departed for the Gethsemane church, located on the slopes of the Mount of
Olives and entrusted to the Custodian of the Holy Land. Upon entry, he
venerated the rock upon which Jesus prayed before his arrest, situated at the
foot of the altar. He then entered, where he was awaited by priests,
consecrated persons and seminarians.
 "At the hour which God had appointed to save humanity from its enslavement to
sin, Jesus came here, to Gethsemane, to the foot of the Mount of Olives", said
the Pope. "We now find ourselves in this holy place, a place sanctified by the
prayer of Jesus, by his agony, by his sweating of blood, and above all by his
'yes' to the loving will of the Father. We dread in some sense to approach
what Jesus went through at that hour; we tread softly as we enter that inner
space where the destiny of the world was decided. In that hour, Jesus felt the
need to pray and to have with him his disciples, his friends, those who had
followed him and shared most closely in his mission. But here, at Gethsemane,
following him became difficult and uncertain; they were overcome by doubt,
weariness and fright. As the events of Jesus' passion rapidly unfolded, the
disciples would adopt different attitudes before the Master: attitudes of
closeness, distance, hesitation.
 "Here, in this place, each of us - bishops, priests, consecrated persons, and
seminarians - might do well to ask: Who am I, before the sufferings of my
Lord? Am I among those who, when Jesus asks them to keep watch with him, fall
asleep instead, and rather than praying, seek to escape, refusing to face
reality? Or do I see myself in those who fled out of fear, who abandoned the
Master at the most tragic hour in his earthly life? Is there perhaps duplicity
in me, like that of the one who sold our Lord for thirty pieces of silver, who
was once called Jesus' 'friend', and yet ended up by betraying him? Do I see
myself in those who drew back and denied him, like Peter? Shortly before, he
had promised Jesus that he would follow him even unto death; but then, put to
the test and assailed by fear, he swore he did not know him. Am I like those
who began planning to go about their lives without him, like the two disciples
on the road to Emmaus, foolish and slow of heart to believe the words of the
prophets?
 "Or, thanks be to God, do I find myself among those who remained faithful to
the end, like the Virgin Mary and the Apostle John?" he continued. "On
Golgotha, when everything seemed bleak and all hope seemed pointless, only
love proved stronger than death. The love of the Mother and the beloved
disciple made them stay at the foot of the Cross, sharing in the pain of
Jesus, to the very end. Do I recognise myself in those who imitated their
Master to the point of martyrdom, testifying that he was everything to them,
the incomparable strength sustaining their mission and the ultimate horizon of
their lives? Jesus' friendship with us, his faithfulness and his mercy, are a
priceless gift which encourages us to follow him trustingly, notwithstanding
our failures, our mistakes, also our betrayals."
 Pope Francis emphasised that "the Lord's goodness does not dispense us from
the need for vigilance before the Tempter, before sin, before the evil and the
betrayal which can enter even into the religious and priestly life. We are all
exposed to sin, to evil, to betrayal. We are fully conscious of the
disproportion between the grandeur of God's call and of own littleness,
between the sublimity of the mission and the reality of our human weakness.
Yet the Lord in his great goodness and his infinite mercy always takes us by
the hand lest we drown in the sea of our fears and anxieties. He is ever at
our side, he never abandons us. And so, let us not be overwhelmed by fear or
disheartened, but with courage and confidence let us press forward in our
journey and in our mission".
 He reminded those present that they were called to follow the Lord with joy
in this holy land. "It is a gift and also a responsibility. Your presence here
is extremely important", and added that the whole Church was grateful for
their work and sustains them with her prayers. He also offered his greetings
to all Christians in Jerusalem: "I would like to assure them that I remember
them affectionately and that I pray for them, being well aware of the
difficulties they experience in this city. I urge them to be courageous
witnesses of the passion of the Lord but also of his resurrection, with joy
and hope". He concluded, "let us imitate the Virgin Mary and Saint John, and
stand by all those crosses where Jesus continues to be crucified. This is how
the Lord calls us to follow him: this is the path, there is no other! 'Whoever
serves me must follow me, and where I am, there will my servant be also'".

___________________________________________________________

 IN THE CENACLE, WHERE THE CHURCH WAS BORN TO GO FORTH
 Vatican City, 26 May 2014 (VIS) - The Cenacle or "Upper Room", the first
location of the nascent Church and the place in which the priesthood, the
Eucharist and the Reconciliation were instituted, was the last stage of the
Holy Father's pilgrimage to the Holy Land. Francis celebrated Mass there
yesterday afternoon, in which the Ordinaries of the Holy Land and the clergy
in the Pope's entourage concelebrated. Due to limited space, the ceremony was
not open to the public.
 Christian tradition regarding the authenticity of the Upper Room is ancient
and dates back to the third century. In the fourth century the new church next
to the Upper Room, the "Holy Zion", was built. Destroyed by the Persians in
614, it was restored and then destroyed again by Muslims. It was in ruins,
with the exception of the chapel two floors from the Upper Room, when the
Crusaders arrived in the Holy Land; they built a basilica with three naves. In
1187, Jerusalem came under the rule of Saladin, who permitted access to
pilgrims and the celebration of the Eucharist by priests. By the time the
Franciscans arrived in the Holy Land in 1335, the Basilica had been almost
entirely destroyed, and so the Friars rebuilt it and, in addition, established
a convent. From then on the Superior of the Custodians of the Holy Land
assumed the title of "Guardian of Mount Zion". In 1524, the Muslims
appropriated the rooms below the Cenacle, claiming that they were the "Tomb of
the prophet David". Subsequently, an Ottoman decree expelled the Franciscans
from the Upper Room; they were also forced to abandon the adjacent monastery,
and the Cenacle was converted into a mosque to which Christians were denied
access. The building including the Upper Room is currently the property of the
Israeli State (since 1948), but remains under the jurisdiction of the Waqf
(Custodian of Islamic holy places) of Jordan, exclusively for use for
religious purposes. The supreme head of the Waqf is the Jordan monarch, King
Abdullah II.
 "It is a great gift that the Lord has given us by bringing us together here
in the Upper Room for the celebration of the Eucharist", said the Pope in his
homily. "I greet you with fraternal joy and I wish to express my affection to
the Oriental Catholic Patriarchs who have taken part in my pilgrimage during
these days. I want to thank them for their significant presence, particularly
dear to me and I assure them of a special place in my heart and in my prayers.
Here, where Jesus shared the Last Supper with the apostles; where, after his
resurrection, he appeared in their midst; where the Holy Spirit descended with
power upon Mary and the disciples, here the Church was born, and she was born
to go forth. From here she set out, with the broken bread in her hands, the
wounds of Christ before her eyes, and the Spirit of love in her heart. In the
Upper Room, the risen Jesus, sent by the Father, bestowed upon the apostles
his own Spirit and with his power he sent them forth to renew the face of the
earth. To go forth, to set out, does not mean to forget. The Church, in her
going forth, preserves the memory of what took place here; the Spirit, the
Paraclete, reminds her of every word and every action, and reveals their true
meaning".
 He continued, "The Upper Room speaks to us of service, of Jesus giving the
disciples an example by washing their feet. Washing one another's feet
signifies welcoming, accepting, loving and serving one another. It means
serving the poor, the sick and the outcast, those whom I find difficult, those
who annoy me. The Upper Room reminds us, through the Eucharist, of sacrifice.
In every Eucharistic celebration Jesus offers himself for us to the Father, so
that we too can be united with him, offering to God our lives, our work, our
joys and our sorrows... offering everything as a spiritual sacrifice. The
Upper Room also reminds us of friendship. 'No longer do I call you servants -
Jesus said to the Twelve - but I have called you friends'. The Lord makes us
his friends, he reveals God's will to us and he gives us his very self. This
is the most beautiful part of being a Christian and, especially, of being a
priest: becoming a friend of the Lord Jesus, and discovering in our hearts
that he is our friend. The Upper Room reminds us of the Teacher's farewell and
his promise to return to his friends: 'When I go... I will come again and will
take you to myself, that where I am you may be also'. Jesus does not leave us,
nor does he ever abandon us; he precedes us to the house of the Father, where
he desires to bring us as well".
 "The Upper Room, however, also reminds us of pettiness, of curiosity - 'Who
is the traitor?' - and of betrayal. We ourselves, and not just others, can
reawaken those attitudes whenever we look at our brother or sister with
contempt, whenever we judge them, whenever by our sins we betray Jesus. The
Upper Room reminds us of sharing, fraternity, harmony and peace among
ourselves. How much love and goodness has flowed from the Upper Room! How much
charity has gone forth from here, like a river from its source, beginning as a
stream and then expanding and becoming a great torrent. All the saints drew
from this source; and hence the great river of the Church's holiness continues
to flow: from the Heart of Christ, from the Eucharist and from the Holy
Spirit".
 "Lastly, the Upper Room reminds us of the birth of the new family, the
Church, our holy Mother the hierarchical Church established by the risen
Jesus; a family that has a Mother, the Virgin Mary. Christian families belong
to this great family, and in it they find the light and strength to press on
and be renewed, amid the challenges and difficulties of life. All God's
children, of every people and language, are invited and called to be part of
this great family, as brothers and sisters and sons and daughters of the one
Father in heaven".
 "These horizons are opened up by the Upper Room, the horizons of the Risen
Lord and his Church", concluded the Holy Father. "From here the Church goes
forth, impelled by the life-giving breath of the Spirit. Gathered in prayer
with the Mother of Jesus, the Church lives in constant expectation of a
renewed outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Send forth your Spirit, Lord, and renew
the face of the earth!".

--- MPost/386 v1.21
 * Origin: Sursum Corda! BBS=Huntsville AL=bbs.sursum-corda.com (1:396/45)