to pass through the Holy Door, and to hear the Holy Father speak.
Before the Marian prayer Francis spoke about the day's Gospel reading, which
narrates Jesus' first miracle, the transformation of water into wine during the
wedding party at Cana. "Miracles, then, are extraordinary signs that accompany
the preaching of the Good News, and are intended to kindle or strengthen faith
in Jesus. In the miracle at Cana, we can see an act of kindness by Jesus
towards
the newlyweds, a sign of God's blessing of the marriage. The love between man
and woman is therefore a good way to live the Gospel, that is, to walk with joy
on the path of holiness".
"But the miracle of Cana is not just about the bride and groom", he added.
"Every person is called to meet the Lord in his life. The Christian faith is a
gift we receive in Baptism, which enables us to meet God. Faith passes through
times of joy and sorrow, light and darkness, as in any authentic experience of
love. The story of the wedding at Cana invites us to rediscover that Jesus does
not come to us as a judge ready to condemn our sins, nor as a commander
demanding we blindly follow His orders. He appears as the Saviour of humanity
...
as the One who answers the expectations and promises of joy that dwell in the
heart of every one of us".
"Do I truly know the Lord in this way?" asked the Pope. "Do I feel Him next to
me, in my life? ... This means becoming aware that Jesus searches for us and
invites us to make room for Him deep in our heart. And in this journey of
faith,
with Him, we are not alone: we have received the gift of the Blood of Christ.
The large stone jars that Jesus filled with water to transform it into wine are
a sign of the passage from the Old to the New Covenant: instead of water used
for the purification ritual, we received the Blood of Jesus, poured in a
sacramental way in the Eucharist and in a brutal way in the Passion and on the
Cross. The Sacraments, which flow from the Paschal Mystery, imbue us with
supernatural strength and allow us to enjoy God's infinite mercy".
"May the Virgin Mary, model of meditation on the words and gestures of the
Lord, help us to rediscover faith with the beauty and richness of the Eucharist
and the other Sacraments, which manifest God's faithful love for us. In this
way
we may deepen our love for the Lord Jesus, our Spouse, and go towards Him with
lamps lit with our joyous faith, thus becoming His witnesses in the world", he
concluded.
___________________________________________________________
The Pope prays for the victims of the attacks in Indonesia and Burkina Faso,
and urges migrants not to let themselves be robbed of hope
Vatican City, 17 January 2016 (VIS) - After today's Angelus prayer, the Pope
affectionately greeted the members of the various ethnic communities present in
the Square.
"Dear migrants and refugees", he said, "each of you carries a history, a
culture, precious values; and often, unfortunately, experiences of poverty,
oppression and fear. Your presence in this square is a sign of hope in God. Do
not let yourselves to be robbed of hope and the joy of living, that spring from
the experience of divine mercy, thanks also to the people who welcome you and
help you".
"I now invite you all to pray to God for the victims of the attacks that have
taken place in recent days in Indonesia and Burkina Faso. May the Lord welcome
them into His home, and support the efforts of the international community to
build peace", Francis concluded, praying the Hail Mary with all those present.
___________________________________________________________
The Pope advocates a new humanism of work
Vatican City, 16 January 2016 (VIS) - Education, sharing and witness were the
three words that the Pope suggested to the members of the Christian Workers'
Movement for living the vocation of work, a vocation that "calls us to imitate
actively the tireless work of the Father and of Jesus Who, as the Gospel tells
us, are always working".
In the Paul VI Hall Francis spoke to seven thousand members of the
organisation
about the importance of education which "is not solely about teaching various
techniques or imparting ideas, but rather making ourselves and the reality that
surrounds us more human. And this applies in a special way to work: it is
necessary to teach a new 'humanism of work'. We live in a time of exploitation
of workers, in a time in which work is not at the service of the dignity of the
person, but is instead slave labour. We must instruct and educate in a new
humanism of work, in which mankind, and not profit, is at the centre; in which
the economy does not exploit but instead serves man".
Education is fundamental in helping us "not to be deceived into thinking that
work, our daily effort, the gift of oneself and study do not have any value. I
would add that nowadays, in the world of work - as in every environment - it is
urgent to educate in following the luminous and demanding road of honesty,
shunning the short cuts of favouritism and influential connections. These
temptations, great and small, are always present, but they must always be seen
as moral bargains unworthy of man: they are to be rejected, so that the heart
is
accustomed to staying free. Otherwise, they generate a false and harmful
mentality, which must be combated: that of illegality, which leads to the
corruption of the person and of society. Illegality is like an unseen octopus,
hidden and submerged but which grabs and poisons with its tentacles,
contaminating and causing great harm".
With regard to sharing, the Pope remarked that work is not merely an
individual
vocation, but rather an opportunity to enter into relations with others. "Work
should unite people, not distance them from each other or cause them to be
closed and distant. ... It offers the chance to share daily life, to be
interested
in those near us, to receive as a gift and as a responsibility the presence of
others".
Referring to the "Civil Service projects", an initiative of the Movement which
enables it to bring people and new contexts together and occupy itself with
their problems and hopes, he emphasised that others should not simply receive
passing attention but should instead be the focus of genuine projects.
"Everyone
makes plans for himself, but planning for others allows us to take a step
further: to place intelligence at the service of love, making the person more
complete and life happier, through the capacity to give".
Finally, witness. "The apostle Paul encouraged the witness of faith through
activity, conquering laziness and indolence, and he set out a very strong and
clear rule: 'If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat'. In that time
too there were those who made others work so that they themselves could eat.
Today, instead, there are people who would like to work but they are not able
to, and struggle even to eat. You encounter many young people who do not work;
they are truly, as you have said, the new excluded people of our time. Just
think that in some countries in Europe, this cultured Europe of ours, youth
unemployment reaches 40 per cent, 47 per cent in other countries, 50 per cent
in
others. But what can a young person do without working? Where does he or she
end
up? As a victim of addiction, psychological illness, suicide. The statistics of
suicide among the young are not always published. It is a tragedy, a tragedy of
the excluded people of our time, who are deprived of their dignity. Human
justice requires access to work for all. Even divine mercy calls to us: faced
with people in difficulty and in situations of hardship - I think of young
people for whom getting married or having children is a problem, as they do not
have a sufficiently stable job or a house - it is not helpful to give sermons.
Instead it is necessary to transmit hope, comfort with presence, and support
with concrete assistance".
___________________________________________________________
The Pope begins his "Fridays of mercy"
Vatican City, 16 January 2016 (VIS) - Yesterday Pope Francis began his
"Fridays
of mercy" yesterday with a visit to a rest home for the elderly on the
outskirts
of Rome. He announced this initiative at the beginning of the Jubilee,
explaining that one Friday each month he would perform a special gesture of
mercy.
The Holy Father, accompanied by Archbishop Rino Fisichella, responsible for
the
organisation of the Jubilee of Mercy, arrived at 4 p.m. at the Bruno Buozzi
rest
home, which accommodates 33 elderly people. He spoke with all the residents,
who
were happy and surprised at the visit, which had not been announced in advance.
Before returning to the Vatican, the Pope also visited the Casa Iride, which
accommodates six patients in a vegetative state. The centre is not organised as
a hospital, but rather as a family house where the residents can be continually
assisted by members of their families.
According to a note from the Holy See Press Office, Pope Francis especially
wished to counter the "throwaway culture" on this occasion by highlighting "the
great importance and value of the elderly and grandparents, as well as the
value
and dignity of life in every situation".
___________________________________________________________
Audiences
Vatican City, January 2016 (VIS) - Today, the Holy Father received in
audience:
- Christine Lagarde, director general of the International Monetary Fund;
- Archbishop Antonio Mennini, apostolic nuncio in Great Britain;
- Archbishop Leo William Cushley of St. Andrews and Edinburgh, Scotland.
On Saturday 16 January the Holy Father received in audience:
- Cardinal Marc Ouellet, prefect of the Congregation for Bishops;
- Delegation of the Serbian Orthodox Patriarchate;
- Archbishop Luciano Russo, apostolic nuncio in Rwanda;
- Archbishop Hubertus Matheus Maria van Megen, apostolic nuncio in Sudan and
in
Eritrea.
___________________________________________________________
Other Pontifical Acts
Vatican City, 16 January 2016 (VIS) - The Holy Father has appointed:
- Bishop Stephen Lee Bun Sang, auxiliary of Hong Kong, China, as bishop of
Macau (area 30, population 607,500, Catholics 29,872, priests 88, religious
319), China. He succeeds Bishop Jose Lai Hung-seng, whose resignation from the
pastoral care of the same diocese in accordance with art. 401 para. 2 of the
Code of Canon Law was accepted by the Holy Father.
- Archbishop Luigi Pezzuto, apostolic nuncio in Bosnia and Herzegovina and in
Montenegro, as apostolic nuncio in Monaco.
___________________________________________________________
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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
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