Nov 2013 - two - abbey

9. Papal Mass draws thousands in Assisi
Pope Francis called for an end to armed conflict and clarified the notion of Franciscan peace during the Mass he presided for the feast of St. Francis on Friday in Assisi. A few thousand people gathered for the late morning celebration in St. Francis Square, situated before the world-famous shrine dedicated to the patron saint of the poor.
The Pope celebrated at a simple altar, behind which stood a giant two-bar wooden cross and on which hung a representation of the San Damiano Cross. St. Francis was praying before the San Damiano Cross when Jesus commissioned him to rebuild the Church. Preaching his homily, the Pope underlined the relevant witness St. Francis continues to offer.
“His first and most essential witness is this: that being a Christian means having a living relationship with the person of Jesus; it means putting on Christ, being conformed to him,” he said.
“Where did Francis’ journey to Christ begin? It began with the gaze of the crucified Jesus,” he said. “With letting Jesus look at us at the very moment that he gives his life for us and draws us to himself. …When we let the crucified Jesus gaze upon us, we are re-created, we become ‘a new creation’.”

NOT A PANTHEISTIC PEACE
St. Francis also teaches “that everyone who follows Christ receives true peace”, which only Christ can give and the world cannot. Many people associate St. Francis with peace, however their understanding of this peace is not profound. “Franciscan peace is not something saccharine,” he said emphatically. “Hardly! That is not the real St. Francis! Nor is it a kind of pantheistic harmony with forces of the cosmos… That is not Franciscan either,” he continued to applause. “It is a notion some people have invented!

“The peace of St. Francis is the peace of Christ, and it is found by those who ‘take up’ their ‘yoke’, namely, Christ’s commandment: Love one another as I have loved you. This yoke cannot be borne with arrogance, presumption or pride, but only with meekness and humbleness of heart,” he said.

RESPECT FOR LIFE
Finally, he said, St. Francis “bears witness to the need to respect all that God has created, and that men and women are called to safeguard and protect, but above all he bears witness to respect and love for every human being.” …“From this City of Peace, I repeat with all the strength and the meekness of love: Let us respect creation, let us not be instruments of destruction! Let us respect each human being,” he said.
He called for an end to armed conflict and for care for those who are suffering and dying because of violence, terrorism or war in the Holy Land, in Syria, throughout the Middle East and worldwide. He concluded by petitioning St. Francis to obtain the gift of God’s harmony and peace for the world. Before the final blessing, a special votive lamp, dedicated to St. Francis and filled with oil from the local region, was lit. The Pope then prayed a special prayer for Italy, of whom St. Francis is the patron.

Below the Pope's prepared English text of his Homily:
I give you thanks, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding, and revealed them to babes” (Mt 11:25). Peace and all good to each and every one of you! With this Franciscan greeting I thank you for being here, in this Square so full of history and faith, to pray together.
Today, I too have come, like countless other pilgrims, to give thanks to the Father for all that he wished to reveal to one of the “little ones” mentioned in today’s Gospel: Francis, the son of a wealthy merchant of Assisi. His encounter with Jesus led him to strip himself of an easy and carefree life in order to espouse “Lady Poverty” and to live as a true son of our heavenly Father. This decision of Saint Francis was a radical way of imitating Christ: he clothed himself anew, putting on Christ, who, though he was rich, became poor in order to make us rich by his poverty (cf. 2 Cor 8:9). In all of Francis’ life, love for the poor and the imitation of Christ in his poverty were inseparably united, like the two sides of a coin.
What does Saint Francis’s witness tell us today? What does he have to say to us, not merely with words – that is easy enough – but by his life?

1. His first and most essential witness is this: that being a Christian means having a living relationship with the person of Jesus; it means putting on Christ, being conformed to him. Where did Francis’s journey to Christ begin? It began with the gaze of the crucified Jesus. With letting Jesus look at us at the very moment that he gives his life for us and draws us to himself. Francis experienced this in a special way in the Church of San Damiano, as he prayed before the cross which I too will have an opportunity to venerate. On that cross, Jesus is depicted not as dead, but alive! Blood is flowing from his wounded hands, feet and side, but that blood speaks of life. Jesus’ eyes are not closed but open, wide open: he looks at us in a way that touches our hearts. The cross does not speak to us about defeat and failure; paradoxically, it speaks to us about a death which is life, a death which gives life, for it speaks to us of love, the love of God incarnate, a love which does not die, but triumphs over evil and death. When we let the crucified Jesus gaze upon us, we are re-created, we become “a new creation”. Everything else starts with this: the experience of transforming grace, the experience of being loved for no merits of our own, in spite of our being sinners. That is why Saint Francis could say with Saint Paul: “Far be it for me to glory except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Gal 6:14).
We turn to you, Francis, and we ask you: Teach us to remain before the cross, to let the crucified Christ gaze upon us, to let ourselves be forgiven, and recreated by his love.

2. In today’s Gospel we heard these words: “Come to me, all who labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart” (Mt 11:28-29). This is the second witness that Francis gives us: that everyone who follows Christ receives true peace, the peace that Christ alone can give, a peace which the world cannot give. Many people, when they think of Saint Francis, think of peace; very few people however go deeper. What is the peace which Francis received, experienced and lived, and which he passes on to us? It is the peace of Christ, which is born of the greatest love of all, the love of the cross. It is the peace which the Risen Jesus gave to his disciples when he stood in their midst and said: “Peace be with you!”, and in saying this, he showed them his wounded hands and his pierced side (cf. Jn 20:19-20).
Franciscan peace is not something saccharine. Hardly! That is not the real Saint Francis! Nor is it a kind of pantheistic harmony with forces of the cosmos… That is not Franciscan either; it is a notion some people have invented! The peace of Saint Francis is the peace of Christ, and it is found by those who “take up” their “yoke”, namely, Christ’s commandment: Love one another as I have loved you (cf. Jn 13:34; 15:12). This yoke cannot be borne with arrogance, presumption or pride, but only with meekness and humbleness of heart. We turn to you, Francis, and we ask you: Teach us to be “instruments of peace”, of that peace which has its source in God, the peace which Jesus has brought us.

3. “Praised may you be, Most High, All-powerful God, good Lord… by all your creatures (FF, 1820). This is the beginning of Saint Francis’s Canticle. Love for all creation, for its harmony. Saint Francis of Assisi bears witness to the need to respect all that God has created, and that men and women are called to safeguard and protect, but above all he bears witness to respect and love for every human being. God created the world to be a place where harmony and peace can flourish. Harmony and peace! Francis was a man of harmony and peace. From this City of Peace, I repeat with all the strength and the meekness of love: Let us respect creation, let us not be instruments of destruction! Let us respect each human being. May there be an end to armed conflicts which cover the earth with blood; may the clash of arms be silenced; and everywhere may hatred yield to love, injury to pardon, and discord to unity. Let us listen to the cry of all those who are weeping, who are suffering and who are dying because of violence, terrorism or war, in the Holy Land, so dear to Saint Francis, in Syria, throughout the Middle East and everywhere in the world. We turn to you, Francis, and we ask you: Obtain for us God’s gift of harmony and peace in this our world!

Finally, I cannot forget the fact that today Italy celebrates Saint Francis as her patron saint. The traditional offering of oil for the votive lamp, which this year is given by the Region of Umbria, is an expression of this. Let us pray for Italy, that everyone will always work for the common good, and look more to what unites us, rather than what divides us. I make my own the prayer of Saint Francis for Assisi, for Italy and for the world: “I pray to you, Lord Jesus Christ, Father of mercies: Do not look upon our ingratitude, but always keep in mind the surpassing goodness which you have shown to this City. Grant that it may always be the home of men and women who know you in truth and who glorify your most holy and glorious name, now and for all ages. Amen.”

10. Pope, cardinal advisers looking at major overhaul of Roman Curia

Pope Francis and his international Council of Cardinals are laying out plans to completely overhaul the Roman Curia, underlining its role of "service to the universal church and the local churches," the Vatican spokesman said on Thursday October 03. As the Pope and the eight cardinals he named to advise him were about to begin the final session of their Oct. 1-3 meeting, Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, the spokesman, said the role and responsibilities of the Vatican secretary of state, the revamping of the world Synod of Bishops, and the Vatican's attention to the role and responsibility of laity also were major themes of discussion. Father Lombardi said the group's agenda was partially dictated by the pope's own timetable. Pope Francis has named Archbishop Pietro Parolin to be his secretary of state and has given him an Oct. 15 start date, so it made sense to discuss how the pope and cardinals see his role in a renewed curia.
Regarding Blessed John Paul II's 1988 constitution "Pastor Bonus," on the running of the central government of the Catholic Church in the Vatican and its relations with the universal Church, Father Lombardi said the pope and the cardinals emphasized the role of the Secretariat of State as "the secretariat of the pope," and said the discussions included "the hypothesis of a new figure -- the 'moderator of the curia'" to ensure greater communication and cooperation among the Curia offices. Fr. Lombardi indicated the discussions are going clearly in the direction of a new apostolic constitution to replace "Pastor Bonus," and not simply "cosmetic retouches or marginal modifications" of the 1988 document. Possible changes to the organization of the world Synod of Bishops, which has been a periodic gathering of bishops from around the world to discuss a specific theme of church life, were moved to the top of the meeting's agenda because the synod council will meet at the Vatican Oct. 7-8, the spokesman said. Father Lombardi said the pope is expected to decide the theme for the next synod "in the coming days."

The eight cardinals - six of whom head dioceses - brought to the meeting with the pope suggestions they received from church leaders around the world. One of the topics mentioned most often, Father Lombardi said, was concern for the role of the laity in the Church and the world. The pope and his cardinal advisers talked about "how to ensure that this dimension of the church's reality is more adequately and effectively recognized and followed in the governance of the church," Father Lombardi said. The vast majority of the Catholic Church's 1.2 billion members are laypeople, the spokesman said. Their activities and needs are followed by the Pontifical Council for the Laity, which is "very active," he said, but does not have the profile or authority of a Vatican congregation, such as those for bishops, for priests and for religious.
Pope Francis has asked his eight cardinal advisers for counsel on the Vatican's finances, as well, Father Lombardi said, but the theme was not treated in depth at the October meeting because Pope Francis also appointed several special commissions to look into specific aspects of the Vatican's finances, budgeting process and the Vatican bank and those commissions are still at work.
The Council of Cardinals is expected to meet again in January or February, Father Lombardi said, and to continue corresponding with each other and with Pope Francis in the meantime. The eight members, who represent six continents, are: Cardinals Francisco Javier Errazuriz Ossa, retired Archbishop of Santiago, Chile; Oswald Gracias of Bombay, India; Reinhard Marx of Munich and Freising, Germany; Laurent Monsengwo Pasinya of Kinshasa, Congo; Sean P. O'Malley of Boston; George Pell of Sydney; Giuseppe Bertello, president of the Governatorate of Vatican City StateVatican City State; and Oscar Rodriguez Maradiaga of Tegucigalpa, Honduras, president of Caritas Internationalis, the worldwide confederation of national Catholic charities.

11. Pope Francis: Pacem in Terris a guide for a better, peaceful world

Blessed Pope John XXIII’s Cold War era Encyclical Pacem in Terris or “Peace on Earth,” remains “extremely contemporary” and can act as a guide to peace-building in today’s world. That’s what Pope Francis told participants of a three day Vatican conference celebrating the fiftieth anniversary of the 1963 Encyclical Letter.
Experts from Catholic universities and institutions, and from the UN, the Council of Europe, the African Union, and the Organization of American States have gathered in Rome at the request of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace to discuss the relevance of Pacem in Terris in the promotion today of a more peaceful world.
In his remarks Thursday, October 3, the second day of the conference, Pope Francis recalled John XXIII’s 1962 radio message calling for ‘peace, peace!’ as world powers came to the brink of nuclear war. And later, Blessed Pope John Paul II’s efforts at the time of the Iron Curtain which led to “an opening of spaces of freedom and dialogue.” John XXIII’s seeds of peace brought fruits, the Pope said, but despite “the fall of walls and barriers, the world continues to need peace” and Pacem in Terris remains extremely relevant.

The Encyclical, Pope Francis said, reminds us that the basis of peace-making exists in mankind’s “divine origin” and thus everyone, from individuals and families to society and States are called to “build peace, on the example of Jesus Christ… by promoting and practicing justice with truth and love…(and) contributing…to integral human development” through solidarity. And that means an end to “egotism, individualism, and group interests at every level.” But has today’s world learned any lessons from Pacem in Terris? the Pope asked: “Are the words justice and solidarity” found “solely in our dictionary or are we all working to realize them?” Pacem in Terris reminds us that “there can be no real peace and harmony if we fail to work for a more just” and jointly supportive society, the Pope said.
And if man, and indeed, society and authorities themselves share a common divine origin, then every human being shares a common dignity “to promote, respect and safeguard always.” Priority national and international action, said the Pope, must work towards a world where everyone is able “to effectively access food, water, shelter, health care, education and (be given) the possibility to form and support a family.” Lasting peace for all depends on it. It is not the Church’s job to indicate solutions to complex social issues which should be “left to free discussion,” Pope Francis said, noting that John XXIII’s call for peace in 1962 was an attempt to “orient the international debate” according to the virtues of “dialogue, listening, patience, respect of the other, sincerity and even an openness to reconsidering one’s own opinion.”
The Pope urged participants to seek guidance from Pacem in Terris as they discuss the challenges to peace today: what he described as an “educational emergency,” “the impact of the mass media on consciences, access to the earth’s resources,” the ethical use of biological research, “the arms race and national and international security measures.” The current world economic crisis, which the Pope called “a grave symptom of the disrespect for man and for truth with which Governments and citizens make decisions” is just another example of what needs to be fixed in an equitable way for lasting world peace to succeed.
Are we prepared to meet the challenge posed by Pacem in Terris? He wondered. As if in answer to his own question, Pope Francis described the world economic crisis as “inhuman” and expressed his deep sorrow for the latest maritime tragedy off the coast of the Italian island of Lampedusa in which many refugees lost their lives. Calling today’s tragedy “shameful”, he asked everyone to renew “our efforts to ensure that such tragedies are not repeated.”

12. Pope Francis offers prayers for victims of Lampedusa boat sinking

Pope Francis has offered prayers after a boat carrying African migrants sank off the southern Italian island of Lampedusa, October 3, morning. The boat carrying more than 500 migrants reportedly caught fire with the recovered bodies of victims reaching 366 as of date. (the estimated death toll could well have been 400 according to reliable sources) Around 150 survivors were rescued. In response to the tragedy Pope Francis tweeted: “We pray to God for the victims of the tragic shipwreck off the coast of Lampedusa.”
Pope Francis visited Lampedusa, his first trip as Pontiff outside Rome, in July. The small Italian island and its migrants’ centre is the first port of call for scores of migrants arriving in Italy from all over the world. Monsignor Francesco Montenegro, archbishop of Agrigento and president of the CEI for Migration, said: “This is news that gives rise to feelings of sadness and outrage because we cannot continue to count the dead as if we were simply witnesses. The stories of people who make the trip, as the Pope said when he visited Lampedusa, are stories that are intertwined with ours.”



13. Pope Francis: Women called to service, not servitude
Pope Francis on Saturday, October 12, spoke about “the vocation and the mission” of women, when addressing participants of a study seminar organized by the Women’s Section of the Pontifical Council for the Laity on the 25th anniversary of Blessed Pope John Paul II’s Apostolic Letter Mulieris Dignitatem. The letter was the first in papal teaching dedicated entirely to the theme of the woman, and the study seminar in particular discussed the point which says that God entrusts man, the human being, to woman in a special way.
“What does this ‘special entrusting’…of the human being to woman signify? It seems evident to me that my predecessor is referring to maternity,” said Pope Francis. “Many things can change and have changed in our cultural and social evolution, but the fact remains that it is the woman who conceives, carries in her womb and gives birth to the children of men,” the Pope continued. “And this is not simply a biological matter, but carries a wealth of implications for the woman herself, for her way of being, for her relationships, for the way in which we lend respect to human life and to life in general. Calling a woman to maternity, God entrusted the human being to her in an altogether special manner.”
The Pope warned that there are two dangers always present when speaking about this topic, calling them “two extreme opposites that destroy woman and her vocation. The first is to reduce maternity to a social role, to a task, albeit noble, but which in fact sets the woman aside with her potential and does not value her fully in the building of community. This is both in the civil sphere and in the ecclesial sphere,” explained the Holy Father. “And, in reaction to this, there is the other danger in the opposite direction, that of promoting a type of emancipation which, in order to occupy spaces taken away from the masculine, abandons the feminine with the precious traits that characterize it.”
Pope Francis also spoke about the special gifts given to women in the Church. “I would like to underline how the woman has a particular sensitivity for the ‘things of God’, above all in helping us to understand the mercy, tenderness and love that God has for us,” he said. “And it pleases me to think that the Church is not ‘il Chiesa’ [‘the Church’, masculine]: it is ‘la Chiesa’ [feminine]. The Church is a woman! The Church is a mother! And that’s beautiful, eh? We have to think deeply about this.”

The Pope said the document Mulieris Dignitatem arises in this context and offers a profound, organic reflection, with a solid anthropological base, enlightened by Revelation. “From here, we must restart that work of deepening and of promoting, for which I have already hoped many times. Even in the Church, it is important to ask oneself: what presence does the woman have?” he said.
“I suffer – speaking truthfully! – when I see in the Church or in some ecclesial organizations that the role of service that we all have, and that we must have - but that the role of service of the woman slips into a role of “servidumbre” [Spanish: servitude]. . . But when I see women that do things out of “servitude” and not out of service,” said Pope Francis. “And that it is not understood well what a woman ought to do. Can she be valued more? It is a reality that is close to my heart and for this I wanted to meet … and bless you and your commitment. Thank you, let us move this forward together! May most holy Mary – a great woman, eh? – the Mother of Jesus and of all God’s children, accompany us. Thank you!”

14. President Obama “hugely impressed” by Pope Francis’s public statements

It’s “not because of any particular issue” but because “he seems somebody who lives out the teachings of Christ,” Obama said in an interview Wednesday with CNBC.
Pope Francis has “incredible humility, an incredible sense of empathy to the least of these, to the poor,” the president said. “And he's also somebody who's, I think, first and foremost, thinking about how to embrace people as opposed to push them away, how to find what's good in them as opposed to condemn them.”
The pope has made recent comments arguing that the Catholic Church should focus on more than just a few hot-button social issues. In an interview last month, he said he “cannot insist only on issues related to abortion, gay marriage and the use of contraceptives.”

15. Pope’s Harley-Davidson for Caritas of Rome



The Harley-Davidson motorcycle of Pope Francis will soon be up for grabs in a sale or auction, the proceeds of which will go to restructuring of two centres for the poor run by Caritas in Rome. “It’s a precious gift which has made us happy once again, made us feel the closeness of our Bishop to the poor of the Church of Rome. We are extremely grateful to Pope Francis for this,” said Msgr. Enrico Feroci, the director of the Caritas of Rome Diocese, of which the Pope is Bishop. He spoke at a press conference on Saturday October 13, to present the restructuring plan of the two centres.

Two Harley-Davidsons was gifted to the Pope in June, when the famous US manufacturer held a massive rally of its bikers in Rome on the occasion of its 110th anniversary this year. On June 16, Pope Francis blessed thousands of Harley Davidsons and their riders. Fr. Luigi Di Liegro of Caritas centre near Rome’s Terminus railway station said the money from the sale of the motorcycle will go to restructuring a soup kitchen and a home that serve some 1000 poor and suffering people daily.