Sept 2013 - three - abbey

14. Pope’s message to Brazil’s Family Week

Pope Francis is encouraging Brazilian parents to be God’s first collaborators by giving the fundamental orientation to the life of their children, guaranteeing them a bright future. For this it is very “important that within their families parents encourage shared expressions of faith which can help children gradually mature in their own faith,” the Pope said in a message for Brazil’s national family week, August 11-17, which had as its theme, “Transmission and education of Christian faith in the family.”
The Pope urged parents to pass on to their children, in words as much as by example, the fundamental truths of life, which acquire a new light from God’s revelation. Particularly in today’s culture of waste, that relativizes the value of human life, parents are called to make their children realize that life has to be defended always, even in the mother’s womb, recognizing it as God’s gift and the guarantee of mankind’s future. The Holy Father also urged for caring for the elderly, especially grandparents, who are a vivid reminder of a people and who hand down the wisdom of life.

15. Pope’s message to Muslims for Id-al-Fitr

As the world’s Muslims were preparing to celebrate Id-al-Fitr, marking the end of the fasting month of Ramadan, Pope Francis urged Christians and followers of Islam to promote mutual respect through education. The Pope’s exhortation came in his greeting and message that the Vatican released on July 30, ahead of this year’s Id-al-Fitr that was scheduled for August 8 / 9, depending on sighting of the new moon in various parts of the world.

The Vatican’s Pontifical Council for Inter-religious Dialogue (PCID), normally issues the annual message for the Muslim feast, but Pope Francis said, “This year, the first of my Pontificate, I have decided to sign this traditional message myself and to send it to you, dear friends, as an expression of esteem and friendship for all Muslims, especially those who are religious leaders.” This is the second time in over 40 years that a Pope is greeting Muslims for Id-al-Fitr, after that of Pope John Paul II in 1991, after the ravages of the Gulf War. Explaining the theme of this year’s message - Promoting Mutual Respect through Education – Pope Francis said, “Respect” means an attitude of kindness towards people for whom we have consideration and esteem.” “Mutual” means that this is not a one-way process, but something shared by both sides.”
The Argentine Pope, said, “What we are called to respect in each person is first of all his life, his physical integrity, his dignity and the rights deriving from that dignity, his reputation, his property, his ethnic and cultural identity, his ideas and his political choices.” He said followers of both religions are “therefore called to think, speak and write respectfully of the other, not only in his presence, but always and everywhere, avoiding unfair criticism or defamation.” Families, schools, religious teaching and all forms of media,” he said, “have a role to play in achieving this goal.” The 76-year old Pope particularly called for greater respect for religious leaders and places of worship, saying attacks on them are painful. He called on educating and bringing up Muslim and Christian youth “to think and speak respectfully of other religions and their followers, and to avoid ridiculing or denigrating their convictions and practices.”

16. Pope Francis: Gospel a message of hope, mercy

The Holy See on Tuesday August 6, published the 2013 Message for World Mission Day from Pope Francis. In his Message, the Holy Father says “The work of evangelization often finds obstacles, not only externally, but also from within the ecclesial community. Sometimes there is lack of fervour, joy, courage and hope in proclaiming the Message of Christ to all and in helping the people of our time to an encounter with him.”

Pope Francis says “[in] this complex situation, where the horizon of the present and future seems threatened by menacing clouds, it is necessary to proclaim courageously and in every situation, the Gospel of Christ, a message of hope, reconciliation, communion, a proclamation of God's closeness, his mercy, his salvation, and a proclamation that the power of God’s love is able to overcome the darkness of evil and guide us on the path of goodness.”

Pope Francis also writes that faith in Christ “is a gift, not reserved for a few but offered with generosity.” “Everyone should be able to experience the joy of being loved by God, the joy of salvation!” the Pope writes. “It is a gift that one cannot keep to oneself, but it is to be shared. If we want to keep it only to ourselves, we will become isolated, sterile and sick Christians.”

World Mission Sunday will be observed this year on October 20. The Pope’s message for the occasion is dated May 19—the feast of Pentecost—and was released by the Vatican on August 6. The Pope stresses that every Christian is obliged to play a role in spreading the faith. “The Second Vatican Council emphasized in a special way how the missionary task, that of broadening the boundaries of faith, belongs to every baptized person and all Christian communities,” he notes. Evangelization necessarily involves leading people to the Church, the Pope continues. “Evangelization is not an isolated individual or private act; it is always ecclesial.”
More and more, in large areas of what were traditionally Christian regions, the number of those who are unacquainted with the faith, or indifferent to the religious dimension or animated by other beliefs, is increasing. Therefore it is not infrequent that, some of the baptized make lifestyle choices that lead them away from faith, thus making them need a "new evangelization." While the “new evangelization” proceeds in areas that were once predominantly Catholic, the Pope reminds readers that many parts of the world still have not heard the Gospel message. They, too, need evangelizing, he says—as do the “young churches” where the faith has only recently taken root.
Yet the Pope also observes that in many cases, “these same young churches are engaging generously in sending missionaries to the Churches that are in difficulty-- not infrequently churches of ancient Christian tradition-- and thus bring the freshness and enthusiasm with which they live the faith.”
Before closing his message, Pope Francis directs attention to the Christians who live in societies where religious freedom is restricted, and often suffer for their faith. “They are our brothers and sisters,” he notes: “courageous witnesses-- even more numerous than the martyrs of the early centuries -- who endure with apostolic perseverance many contemporary forms of persecution.”

17. Pope Francis: "restlessness of love" brings pastoral fruitfulness

The restless heart of Augustine has something to teach us, the Pope said at the Eucharist Wednesday August 28, evening, inviting us to reflect on “the restlessness of the spiritual quest, the restlessness of the encounter with God, the restlessness of love.” Pope Francis celebrated Mass at the Roman Basilica of Saint Augustine, where he met with members of the Augustinian order who are having their general chapter. The celebration was attended by Augustinians from 5 continents, religious women and men who follow the rule of the bishop of Hippo, along with a number of lay people. Before entering the Basilica, the Holy Father stopped to greet the people who were waiting to see him along the street.

In his homily at the Mass, Pope Francis spoke about the “restlessness” that Saint Augustine lived. “What fundamental restlessness did Augustine live in his life? Or perhaps I should say, what kind of restlessness does this great man, this saint, invite us to arouse in us and keep alive in our lives?” he asked.

The Pope said, “I would say to those who feel indifferent to God, towards the faith, to those who are far from God, or feel abandoned, and even to us, with our ‘distances’ and our ‘abandonment’ towards God, little, perhaps, but there are so many in daily life: look into the depths of your heart, look deep within yourself, and ask yourself: Do you have a heart that desires something great, or a heart that is put to sleep by material things?”

The restlessness of Augustine led him to an encounter with Christ, the Pope continued, but it did not induce him to turn in on himself. “even in the discovery of God and in the encounter with Him, Augustine doesn’t stop, doesn’t rest, doesn’t become closed in on himself like those who have already reached, but continues along the way. The restlessness of the quest for the truth, of the quest for God, becomes the restlessness of always coming to know Him better, and of going out of oneself in order to make Him known to others. And this is the restlessness of love.”
And, the Holy Father insisted, this restlessness becomes pastoral: “Augustine is left with the restlessness from God, he never tires of announcing it, of evangelising with courage, without fear, seeking to be the image of Jesus the Good Shepherd, who knows his sheep (cf. Jn 10,14), indeed, as I love to repeat, who 'smells like His flock', and goes out to seek those who are lost. Augustine lives what Saint Paul tells Timothy, and each one of us: announce the word, be urgent in season and out of season, announce the Gospel with the magnanimous, large heart (cf. 2 Tim 4,2) of a Pastor that is restless for his flock. The treasure of Augustine is precisely this attitude: Always go out towards God, go out towards the flock . . . He is a man in tension between these two ‘goings’; not to ‘privatize’ love . . . always on the journey! You should always be on the journey, says the Father. Always restless! And this is the peace of restlessness.”
But restlessness, he concludes, is also love, “always seeking . . . the good of others, of loved ones, with that intensity that also leads to tears.” The restlessness of love, he said, “always encourages us to reach out to the other”, without waiting for the other to express his needs”.

18. Pope celebrates Mass with hosts made by Argentine prisoner

Since July 18, Pope Francis has been celebrating Mass each day in the chapel of the Santa Martha Residence in the Vatican, with hosts made by a woman in prison in his native Argentina. Pope Francis sent a letter to the woman, known as “Gaby C,” thanking her for a previous letter she had sent him. “I thank you for confiding in me...and for the hosts,” the Holy Father wrote on July 17. “Starting tomorrow I will celebrate Mass with them and I assure you that I am moved. Your letter made me think, and it has led me to pray for you...but it gives me joy and assures me that you are praying for me,” the Pope wrote. “May Jesus bless you and the Holy Virgin care for you,” Pope Francis told her, adding that he keeps the photos she sent in his office. “This brings comfort not only to me but to my parents, who are believers, as well,” Gaby C said.
The woman began making hosts a year ago after meeting Father Jorge Garcia Cueva, the prison chaplain, and Father Juan Ignacio Pandolfini, a local pastor. The two priests explained that the project “brought meaning to her life in captivity” and has helped her from falling into discouragement. The Benedictine Sisters of San Isidro provided her with training on how to make the hosts, and soon parishes in the diocese began placing orders. “Gaby and the prison ministry team were immensely thrilled upon receiving the letter written by Pope Francis. From the Vatican to the prison!” the priests said. They noted that ever since she began serving her sentence, she has endured typical hardships of female prisoners, such as harassment and mistreatment. “There are many Gabys,” they added. “Today she is the symbol of those who are incarcerated. She is the voice of all the excluded we accompany and visit in each pavilion, in each cell.” “We have no doubt that it is the voice of Jesus in prison in each one of them, who shouts to society to be heard, accompanied and recognized. The prison brings us the mercy of God to make heard the voices of the forgotten and marginalized, those who society refuses to look at and listen to.”

19. Pope meets the National Football players of Argentina and Italy

Pope Francis met on Tuesday, August 13, a delegation of the National Football players of Argentina and Italy in the Clementine Hall in the Vatican. During the meeting, the Pope reminded the players that they are role models on and off the field ‘for better or worse’. Both teams play a friendly match in the Olympic stadium in Rome as a homage to Pope Francis.
Addressing to the players present, the Pope said: you are very popular: people following you very much, not only when you are in the field but also outside. This is a social responsibility! He explained further saying ‘in the game, when you are on the field, you will find the beauty, generosity and fellowship. If a game lack sportsman spirit, it loses strength, even if the team wins. There is no place for individualism there, the Pope said.

‘Prior to being champions, you are men, human beings, with your strengths and your weakness, with your heart and your ideas, your aspirations and your problems. Always remain men, in sports and in life. Men, bearers of humanity, the Pope exhorted them.
Pope Francis emphasized that ‘the sport is important, but it must be true sport! Football, as some other disciplines, has become a big business! Work not to lose your sporting spirit. He also advised them to promote the attitude of "amateurs", to eliminate the danger of discrimination.
Pope Francis offered his prayers for pursuing their vocation to the noble sport, and also asked their prayers since he is also in the ‘field’ in which God has placed him, and that he can play an honest and courageous game for the sake of all of us.
“The Pope is very interested in football because he is a fan of football, he is a fan of sport. In fact the Pope is a fan in particular of the team of Buenos Aires de Almagro”, said Max Castellani from Avvenire, the newspaper of the Italian Catholic Bishops Conference.
He also added that Wednesday’s friendly match has a spiritual dimension. “The importance of the match is spiritual because many of the players of the two teams are very religious”.