VATICAN INFORMATION SERVICE
YEAR XXII - # 066
DATE 08-04-2015
Summary:
- What do the angels of children tell God about us?
- Francis praises the late Cardinal Jean-Claude Turcotte
- Holy Week
- Holy Thursday: the tasks of a priest demand compassion
- The Pope washes the feet of twelve detainees in Rebibbia prison
- Good Friday: In Christ abandoned, we see all those abandoned in the world
- Easter Vigil Mass: learn from the women how to enter into the Paschal mystery
- Easter Sunday: may the consoling and healing voice of the Lord reach us all
- Regina Coeli: Christ is risen! Repeat this with our witness of life
- Pope's telegram for the attack on Garissa University College
- Other Pontifical Acts
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What do the angels of children tell God about us?
Vatican City, 8 April 2015 (VIS) - During today's Wednesday general audience
in
St. Peter's Square, the Holy Father continued with his cycle of catechesis on
the family, completing his reflection on children, "the most beautiful fruit of
the blessing that the Creator has bestowed on man and woman". This week he
focused on the "stories of passion" that many children sadly experience. "Many
children, from the very beginning, are rejected, abandoned, robbed of their
childhood and their future. One might even dare say, almost as a justification,
that it was a mistake to bring them into the world. This is shameful! Please,
let us not punish them for our own errors! Children are never a mistake!"
"Those who have the task of governing and educating - indeed, I would say, all
adults - are responsible for children, and everyone must do what he can to
change this situation. I refer to the passion of children. Every marginalised,
abandoned child, living on the streets by begging or by any other expedient,
without schooling, without medical care, is a cry lifted up to God and an
accusation against the system we have constructed. ... However, none of these
children are forgotten by the Father in Heaven. None of their tears are in
vain.
And our responsibility must not be forgotten either, the social responsibility
of persons and countries".
Francis recalled how Jesus urged the apostles to let the children come to Him,
and remarked that "thanks to God, children with serious difficulties very often
find extraordinary parents, willing to make any sacrifice and to spare no act
of
generosity". However, he added, "these parents should not be left alone! We
must
accompany them in their efforts, but also offer them moments of shared joy and
carefree pleasure, so that they are not entirely consumed by the routines of
therapy". The Pope also mentioned that often children suffer the consequences
of
lives damaged by precarious or underpaid employment, unreasonable working
hours,
immature relationships and irresponsible separations. "Often they experience
violence that they are not able to overcome, and before the eyes of adults are
forced to grow accustomed to degradation".
The Holy Father emphasised that the well-being of children must always be
taken
seriously, and noted that now, as in the past, the Church offers her maternity
in the service of children and families. "Imagine a society that decided, once
and for all, to establish the principle that ... where the children who come
into
this world are concerned, no sacrifice on the part of adults may be judged as
too costly or too great, so as to avoid any child believing himself to be a
mistake, without value, or being abandoned to the wounds inflicted by life". He
concluded, "May the Lord judge our life by listening to what the angels of
children bring to Him, those angels that always see the face of the Father in
heaven. Let us always ask ourselves, what do they tell God about us, these
children's angels?"
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Francis praises the late Cardinal Jean-Claude Turcotte
Vatican City, 8 April 2015 (VIS) - Pope Francis has sent a telegram of
condolences to Archbishop Christian Lepine of Montreal, Canada, for the death
of
Cardinal Jean-Claude Turcotte, archbishop emeritus of the same city, at the age
of 78. The Holy Father expresses his sadness upon learning of the passing of
the
cardinal and offers his condolences to his family and former diocesans. "At
this
time, in which we celebrate the resurrection of the Lord", he writes, "I ask
Him
to welcome in the light of eternal life this faithful pastor who served the
Church with devotion, not only in his diocese but also at national level, as
president of the Episcopal Conference of Canada, and as an accomplished member
of several Roman dicasteries".
The Pope describes the departed cardinal as a "committed pastor, attentive to
the challenges of the contemporary Church", recalling his participation in the
Synod of Bishops in 1994 dedicated to "Consecrated life and its role in the
Church and in the World", and his key role in the 1997 Synod on America.
Francis
also imparts a special apostolic blessing to the cardinal's family and loved
ones, his parishioners and all those who will attend the funeral.
___________________________________________________________
Holy Week
___________________________________________________________
Holy Thursday: the tasks of a priest demand compassion
Vatican City, 2 April 2015 (VIS) - At 9.30 this morning, in St. Peter's
Basilica, Pope Francis presided at the Chrism Mass, the liturgy celebrated
today, Holy Thursday, in all cathedral churches. The cardinals, bishops and
priests (diocesan and religious) present in Rome concelebrated with the Holy
Father.
During the Eucharistic celebration, the priests renewed the vows made during
their ordination. The oil used to anoint the sick and catechumens, and the
Chrism, were then blessed.
"'My hand shall ever abide with him, my arms also shall strengthen him'. This
is what the Lord means when he says: 'I have found David, my servant; with my
holy oil I have anointed him'. It is also what our Father thinks whenever he
'encounters' a priest. And he goes on to say: 'My faithfulness and my steadfast
love shall be with him. He shall cry to me, "You are my Father, my God and the
rock of my salvation"'.
"It is good to enter with the Psalmist into this monologue of our God. He is
talking about us, his priests, his pastors. But it is not really a monologue,
since he is not the only one speaking. The Father says to Jesus: 'Your friends,
those who love you, can say to me in a particular way: "You are my Father"'. If
the Lord is so concerned about helping us, it is because he knows that the task
of anointing his faithful people is not easy, it is demanding; it can tire us.
We experience this in so many ways: from the ordinary fatigue brought on by our
daily apostolate to the weariness of sickness, death and even martyrdom.
"The tiredness of priests! Do you know how often I think about this weariness
which all of you experience? I think about it and I pray about it, often,
especially when I am tired myself. I pray for you as you labour amid the people
of God entrusted to your care, many of you in lonely and dangerous places. Our
weariness, dear priests, is like incense which silently rises up to heaven. Our
weariness goes straight to the heart of the Father.
"Know that the Blessed Virgin Mary is well aware of this tiredness and she
brings it straight to the Lord. As our Mother, she knows when her children are
weary, and this is her greatest concern. 'Welcome! Rest, my child. We will
speak
afterwards'. 'Whenever we draw near to her, she says to us: 'Am I not here with
you, I who am your Mother?'. And to her Son she will say, as she did at Cana,
'They have no wine'.
"It can also happen that, whenever we feel weighed down by pastoral work, we
can be tempted to rest however we please, as if rest were not itself a gift of
God. We must not fall into this temptation. Our weariness is precious in the
eyes of Jesus who embraces us and lifts us up. 'Come to me, all who labour and
are overburdened, and I will give you rest'. "Whenever a priest feels dead
tired, yet is able to bow down in adoration and say: 'Enough for today Lord',
and entrust himself to the Father, he knows that he will not fall but be
renewed. The one who anoints God's faithful people with oil is also himself
anointed by the Lord: 'He gives you a garland instead of ashes, the oil of
gladness instead of mourning, the mantle of praise instead of a faint spirit'.
"Let us never forget that a key to fruitful priestly ministry lies in how we
rest and in how we look at the way the Lord deals with our weariness. How
difficult it is to learn how to rest! This says much about our trust and our
ability to realise that that we too are sheep: we need the help of the
Shepherd.
A few questions can help us in this regard.
"Do I know how to rest by accepting the love, gratitude and affection which I
receive from God's faithful people? Or, once my pastoral work is done, do I
seek
more refined relaxations, not those of the poor but those provided by a
consumerist society? Is the Holy Spirit truly 'rest in times of weariness' for
me, or is he just someone who keeps me busy? Do I know how to seek help from a
wise priest? Do I know how to take a break from myself, from the demands I make
on myself, from my self-seeking and from my self-absorption? Do I know how to
spend time with Jesus, with the Father, with the Virgin Mary and St. Joseph,
with my patron saints, and to find rest in their demands, which are easy and
light, and in their pleasures, for they delight to be in my company, and in
their concerns and standards, which have only to do with the greater glory of
God? Do I know how to rest from my enemies under the Lord's protection? Am I
preoccupied with how I should speak and act, or do I entrust myself to the Holy
Spirit, who will teach me what I need to say in every situation? Do I worry
needlessly, or, like Paul, do I find repose by saying: 'I know him in whom I
have placed my trust'?
"Let us return for a moment to what today's liturgy describes as the work of
the priest: to bring good news to the poor, to proclaim freedom to prisoners
and
healing to the blind, to offer liberation to the downtrodden and to announce
the
year of the Lord's favour. Isaiah also mentions consoling the broken-hearted
and
comforting the afflicted.
"These are not easy or purely mechanical jobs, like running an office,
building
a parish hall or laying out a soccer field for the young of the parish. The
tasks of which Jesus speaks call for the ability to show compassion; our hearts
are to be 'moved' and fully engaged in carrying them out. We are to rejoice
with
couples who marry; we are to laugh with the children brought to the baptismal
font; we are to accompany young fiancΘs and families; we are to suffer with
those who receive the anointing of the sick in their hospital beds; we are to
mourn with those burying a loved one. All these emotions, if we do not have an
open heart, can exhaust the heart of a shepherd. For us priests, what happens
in
the lives of our people is not like a news bulletin: we know our people, we
sense what is going on in their hearts. Our own heart, sharing in their
suffering, feels 'com-passion', is exhausted, broken into a thousand pieces,
moved and even 'consumed' by the people. Take this, eat this. These are the
words the priest of Jesus whispers repeatedly while caring for his faithful
people: Take this, eat this; take this, drink this... In this way our priestly
life is given over in service, in closeness to the People of God, and this
always leaves us weary.
"I wish to share with you some forms of weariness on which I have meditated.
There is what we can call 'the weariness of people, the weariness of the
crowd'.
For the Lord, and for us, this can be exhausting - so the Gospel tells us - yet
it is a good weariness, a fruitful and joyful exhaustion. The people who
followed Jesus, the families which brought their children to him to be blessed,
those who had been cured, those who came with their friends, the young people
who were so excited about the Master, they did not even leave him time to eat.
But the Lord never tired of being with people. On the contrary, he seemed
renewed by their presence. This weariness in the midst of activity is a grace
on
which all priests can draw. And how beautiful it is! People love their priests,
they want and need their shepherds! The faithful never leave us without
something to do, unless we hide in our offices or go out in our cars wearing
sunglasses. There is a good and healthy tiredness. It is the exhaustion of the
priest who wears the smell of the sheep, but also smiles the smile of a father
rejoicing in his children or grandchildren. It has nothing to do with those who
wear expensive cologne and who look at others from afar and from above. We are
the friends of the Bridegroom: this is our joy. If Jesus is shepherding the
flock in our midst, we cannot be shepherds who are glum, plaintive or, even
worse, bored. The smell of the sheep and the smile of a father. Weary, yes, but
with the joy of those who hear the Lord saying: 'Come, O blessed of my Father'.
"There is also the kind of weariness which we can call 'the weariness of
enemies'. The devil and his minions never sleep and, since their ears cannot
bear to hear the word of God, they work tirelessly to silence that word and to
distort it. Confronting them is more wearying. It involves not only doing good,
with all the exertion this entails, but also defending the flock and oneself
--- MPost/386 v1.21
* Origin: Sursum Corda! BBS=Huntsville AL=bbs.sursum-corda.com (1:396/45)
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