Words of love

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.
Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven.

Peace is not a balance of opposing forces

"True peace is not a balance of opposing forces. It is not a lovely ‘façade’ which conceals conflicts and divisions. Peace calls for daily commitment, starting from God’s gift, from the grace which he has given us in Jesus Christ” Pope Francis, Urbi et Orbi Message (25/12/2013)

In his Christmas message, delivered as usual from the loggia of St. Peter’s Square in Rome, Pope Francis prayed for peace, peace as an active commitment, peace as a fruit of God's grace and mercy, peace as something to be shared by every human being. 

The complete message is here

I have loved you with an everlasting love

Jeremiah 31:3

Pope Francis: interview with La Repubblica

Read it (in English) here.

And already the worries... like unreliable translations!

Nothing else

Pope Francis:

A fairly young man came up to me and said: “Father, it is nice to meet you, but I don’t believe in anything! I don’t have the gift of faith!”

He understood that faith is a gift. “I don’t have the gift of faith! What do you have to say to me?” 

“Don’t be discouraged. God loves you. Let yourself be gazed upon by him! Nothing else.”

'Contemplare et contemplata aliis tradere' as recommended by Pope Francis

Pope Francis addressed a gathering of catechists in Rome a couple of days ago. His address is up on the Vatican website. It's not very long, and it is well worth reading.

Over at the Jesuit journal, Catholic World Report, editor James V Schall SJ reviews the Holy Father's address and in so doing he links Francis's words to our Dominican motto.

If the first step is to “stand before the Master,” the second is to imitate Christ in going out of ourselves and meeting others. This advice reflects the Dominican motto, to pass on to others what we ourselves have first contemplated in our hearts through study and silence. To do this is also “a beautiful experience—and a little paradoxical.” 

To be true to ourselves we have to go out of ourselves. The faith itself contains this direction. In an age in which everything is centered on our rights, our pleasures, our freedom to do whatever we want, to talk about taking the faith to others seems odd. Are we not impinging on others? Yet, we are to receive the faith as a gift and this, not without God’s help. We are to give it to others.

And this is what Francis says about this gift (and where he says catechist, I hear Lay Dominican!)

Where there is true life in Christ, there follows an openness to others, and so a going out from oneself to encounter others in the name of Christ. And this is the job of the catechist: constantly to go forth to others out of love, to bear witness to Jesus and to talk about Jesus, to proclaim Jesus. This is important because the Lord does it: it is the Lord himself who impels us to go forth. 

The heart of a catechist always beats with this systolic and diastolic movement: union with Christ – encounter with others. Both of these: I am one with Jesus and I go forth to encounter others. If one of these movements is missing, the heart no longer beats, it can no longer live. 

The heart of the catechist receives the gift of the kerygma, and in turn offers it to others as a gift. What a little word: “gift”! The catechist is conscious of having received a gift, the gift of faith, and he or she then gives that gift in turn to others. This is something beautiful. We don’t keep a percentage for ourselves! Whatever we receive, we give! This is not commerce! It is not a business! It is pure gift: a gift received and a gift given. And the catechist is right there, at the centre of this exchange of gifts. That is the nature itself of the kerygma: it is a gift that generates mission, that compels us to go beyond ourselves. 

Saint Paul says that “the love of Christ compels us”, but this “compels us” can also be translated as “possesses us”. And so it is: love attracts us and sends us; it draws us in and gives us to others. This tension marks the beating of the heart of the Christian, especially the heart of the catechist. 

Let us all ask ourselves: Is this what causes my heart to beat as a catechist, union with Christ and encounter with others? With this movement of “systole and diastole”? Are we being fed by our relationship with the Lord, so that we can bring him to others, and not to keep it for ourselves?

'I am a sinner. It is not a figure of speech.'

 

I ask Pope Francis point-blank: “Who is Jorge Mario Bergoglio?” He stares at me in silence. I ask him if I may ask him this question. He nods and replies: “I ​​do not know what might be the most fitting description... I am a sinner. This is the most accurate definition. It is not a figure of speech, a literary genre. I am a sinner.”

The full interview is available at (and copyright) America, the magazine of the USA Jesuits.

Pope Francis and fr Bruno

The Master of the Order, fr Bruno, with Pope Francis.

The whole story is here.

Pope Francis: Saturday is for Syria

Pope Francis has made a global petition for everyone, regardless of religion or location, to fast and pray during the whole day of Saturday 7 September for world peace but particularly for peace in Syria.

On the vigil of the feast of the Birth of Our Lady, Queen of Peace, Catholics worldwide are asked to offer their fasting and prayer for Syria.

Pope Francis will begin the prayer at 7:00 pm and the Veni Creator Spiritus will be sung.

Four Swiss Guards will carry a statue of Mary, Protectress of the Roman People, starting from the obelisk in the square, accompanied by two girls strewing flowers before her.

The Pontiff will then begin praying the Rosary, invoking, at each mystery, the intercession of Our Lady, Queen of Peace.

There will then be a meditation by the Pope followed by a minute of silence and Eucharistic Adoration.

The vigil will include readings from Sacred Scripture and responsorial prayers for peace.

After Adoration there will be three minutes of silence followed by the Office of Readings.

At 10:15 pm there will be a period of extended, prayerful silence and the vigil will conclude later with Benediction.

Streaming TV coverage, live from Rome, is available online in the UK via EWTN UK.