VATICAN INFORMATION SERVICE
YEAR XXII - # 168
DATE 01-10-2014

Summary:
- Charisms and their action in the Christian community
- Pope's greetings to the Little Apostles of Charity, invitation to pray the
rosary, and the memory of Blessed Alvaro del Portillo
- Pope Francis' prayer intentions for October
- Audiences

___________________________________________________________

 Charisms and their action in the Christian community
 Vatican City, 2014 (VIS) - The charisms that build the Church and make her
fruitful constituted the subject of Pope Francis' catechesis during today's
general audience in St. Peter's Square, attended by over 35,000 people.
 "Ever since the beginning, the Lord has filled his Church with the gifts of
His Spirit, making her forever alive ... and among these gifts, we find some
that are particularly valuable for the edification and the progress of the
Christian community: these are charisms", said the bishop of Rome, explaining
that in everyday language we often refer to "charisma" in relation to a talent
or natural ability. However, from a Christian point of view, a charism is far
more than a personal quality, a predisposition or a gift: it is a grace, a
gift from God the Father, by the action of the Holy Spirit ... so that with
the same gratuitous love it may be placed at the service of the entire
community, for the good of all".
 On the other hand, Pope Francis emphasised that alone it is impossible to
understand whether or not one has received a charism or what form it takes, as
it is within a community that we learn to recognise them as a sign of the
Father's love for all of His sons and daughters. It is therefore good for us
to ask ourselves, 'Has the Lord made a charism issue forth in me, in the grace
of His Spirit, that my brothers in the Christian community have recognised and
encouraged? And how do I act, in relation to this gift: do I experience it
with generosity, placing it at the service of all, or do I neglect it and end
up forgetting about it? Or does it perhaps become a pretext for pride, so that
I expect the community to do things my way?".
 "The most beautiful experience, however, is discovering how many different
charisms there are, and with how many gifts of the Spirit the Father fills His
Church. This must not be regarded as a cause for confusion or unease: they are
all gifts that God gives to the Christian community, so that it might grow
harmoniously, in faith and in His love, like one body, the body of Christ. The
same Spirit that grants this diversity of charisms also constructs the unity
of the Church". He warned, "Beware, lest these gifts become a cause for envy,
division or jealousy! As the apostle Paul remarks in his First Letter to the
Corinthians, all charisms are important in the eyes of God, and at the same
time, no-one is indispensable. This means that in the Christian community
everyone needs the other, and every gift received is fully realised when it is
shared with brothers, for the good of all. This is the Church! And when the
Church, in the variety of her charisms, is expressed in communion, she cannot
err: it is the beauty and the strength of the 'sensus fidei', of that
supernatural sense of faith, that is given by the Holy Spirit so that together
we can enter into the heart of the Gospel and learn to follow Jesus in our
life".
 Pope Francis went on to recall that today the Church commemorates St. Therese
of Lisieux, who died at the age of 24 and "loved the Church so much that she
wanted to be a missionary; she wanted to have every sort of charism. And in
prayer she realised that her charism was love. She said, 'In the heart of the
Church, I will be love', a beautiful phrase. And we all have this charism: the
capacity to love. Today let us ask St. Therese of the Child Jesus for this
capacity to love the Church, to love her dearly, and to accept all these
charisms with this filial love for the Church, for our hierarchical holy
mother Church".

___________________________________________________________

 Pope's greetings to the Little Apostles of Charity, invitation to pray the
rosary, and the memory of Blessed Alvaro del Portillo
 Vatican City, 2014 (VIS) - Before the catechesis of this Wednesday's general
audience in St. Peter's Square, the Pope received in the Paul VI Hall the
participants in the pilgrimage organised by the Secular Institute of the
Little Apostles of Charity, founded sixty years ago by Blessed Luigi Monza who
worked "with skill and love" in the care of the disabled. Pope Francis
mentioned the Institute in his catechesis as an example of the charism of care
for the most vulnerable, recalling that the work of Luigi Monza was supported
by Pope Paul VI when he was archbishop of Milan, Italy, and urged them to be
held as an example "for families and for those who hold public r
sponsibilities".
 After the catechesis and during his greetings in various languages, the Holy
Father addressed German and Polish pilgrims, reminding them that October is
the month of the Holy Rosary, and invited them to meditate on the path and
work of Christ through the eyes of Mary, and to pray the rosary to accompany
the work of the Synod of Bishops on the family.
 He also addressed the Portuguese-speaking faithful, including members of the
"Associacao Crista de Empresarios e Gestores" (Christian Association of
Businesspeople and Managers), encouraging them to persevere in their testimony
in society and to allow themselves to be guided by the Holy Spirit "to
understand the true path of history".
 "Keep the flame of faith burning, ignited on the day of your baptism and
sustained by the example of the holy martyrs, so that others may see the joy
of your life in Christ", he said to pilgrims from Croatia.
 "I also greet Bishop Javier Echevarria, prelate of Opus Dei, as well as the
faithful of the prelature present here to give thanks for the beatification of
Bishop Alvaro del Portillo", he concluded, in Spanish. "May the intercession
and the example of the new blessed help them to respond generously to God's
call to holiness and to the apostolate in ordinary life, in the service of the
Church and of the whole of humanity. Many thanks, and may God bless you".

___________________________________________________________

 Pope Francis' prayer intentions for October
 Vatican City, 2014 (VIS) - Pope Francis' universal prayer intention for
October is: "That Lord may grant peace to those parts of the world most
battered by war and violence".
 His intention for evangelisation is: "That World Mission Day may rekindle in
every believer zeal for carrying the Gospel into all the world".

___________________________________________________________

 Audiences
 Vatican City, 2014 (VIS) - The Holy Father received in audience Archbishop
Levon Boghos Zekiyan, apostolic administrator "sede plena" of Istanbul of the
Armenians, Turkey.
 On Tuesday, 30 September, the Holy Father received in audience Rev. Mariano
Fassio, regional delegate of the prelature of Opus Dei.

___________________________________________________________

For more information and to search for documents refer to the site:
www.visnews.org and www.vatican.va

Copyright (VIS):  the news contained in the services of the Vatican
Information Service may be reproduced wholly or partially by quoting
the source:  V. I. S. - Vatican Information Service.
http://www.vatican.va/news_services/press/vis/vis_en.html

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