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Pope Angelus: Jesus Wanted United Christians

January 25, 2015 breaking Comments Off on Pope Angelus: Jesus Wanted United Christians

(Vatican Radio) On Sunday and before the Angelus, the Pope recalled the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity and its theme, “Give me a drink”, the sentence uttered by Jesus to the Samaritan woman. He told the faithful gathered that the “desire for unity” of the disciples of Jesus is part of our “thirst not only material for water, but above all our thirst for a full life, free from the slavery of evil and death.” He went on to say that “Jesus is the fulfillment of God’s promises because it is he who gives to the Holy Spirit, the ‘living water’ that quenches our restless hearts, hungry for life, love, freedom, peace : thirsty for God. Pope Francis continued…Continue Reading

Pope Francis: Religious who pray for Christian unity an “invisible monastery”

January 24, 2015 breaking Comments Off on Pope Francis: Religious who pray for Christian unity an “invisible monastery”

(Vatican Radio) The vital role that men and women religious of different Christian Churches play in the ecumenical journey was at the heart of Pope Francis’s meeting on Saturday with participants in a conference on consecrated life and the search for Christian Unity. The three day meeting, which concludes on Sunday, comes in the context of both this Week of Prayer for Christian Unity and the Year of Consecrated Life. Participants are concluding each day with Vespers in the Orthodox, Anglican and Catholic traditions, including the liturgy presided over by Pope Francis in the Basilica of St Paul’s Outside the Walls on Sunday. In his meeting with the men and women religious, Pope Francis recalled the words of the Second…Continue Reading

Pope Francis: Thursday Mass in Santa Marta

January 23, 2015 breaking Comments Off on Pope Francis: Thursday Mass in Santa Marta

(Vatican Radio) The most important thing is not the grace of a physical healing, but the fact that Jesus saves us and intercedes for us: this was the focus of Pope Francis’ remarks following the readings of the day at Mass on Thursday morning in the chapel of the Santa Marta residence in the Vatican. Commenting on the Gospel of the day (Mark 3:7-12), which tells of great crowds rushing to Jesus from every region, Pope Francis said that the people of God see in the Lord “a hope, because His way of acting, teaching, touches their heart, reaches the heart, because it has the power of the Word of God”: “The people feel this, and see that promises are…Continue Reading

Pope Francis Blesses The Lambs On The Feast Of St. Agnes

January 22, 2015 breaking Comments Off on Pope Francis Blesses The Lambs On The Feast Of St. Agnes

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis marked the Feast of St. Agnes with a centuries-old rite: the blessing of the lambs, from whose wool the Pallium will be made. As per tradition, the small lambs, traditionally less than a year old, were carried to the Casa Santa Marta, where the Pope blessed them in the atrium, in baskets. Come summer these same lambs will be shorn to supply the wool from which religious sisters will weave the Pallium. Agnes means “lamb” in Latin. The saint of the same name was a martyr of the early 4th century, known for her consecrated virginity, she was killed as a young girl  for refusing to worship pagan gods. She is buried in the Basilica named…Continue Reading

Pope Gives Thanks For Apostolic Journey To Asia

January 21, 2015 breaking Comments Off on Pope Gives Thanks For Apostolic Journey To Asia

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Wednesday thanked the Lord for his just-ended pastoral visit to Sri Lanka and Philippines. Speaking to pilgrims gathered in the Paul VI Hall because of the rain, the Pope recalled his journey last week mentioning the wealth of cultural and spiritual traditions of the Asian continent. He described his visit as a joy-filled encounter with the Catholic communities in the nations he visited and spoke of the occasion he had to encourage inter-religious dialogue a the service of peace, unity and social development. Highlighting some of the salient moments of his journey, the Pope said that in Sri Lanka he canonized Saint Joseph Vaz: “ a great missionary whose example of charity continues to inspire…Continue Reading

Pope concludes Asia tour with in-flight briefing

January 20, 2015 breaking Comments Off on Pope concludes Asia tour with in-flight briefing

(Vatican Radio) During an in-flight press conference on the return flight to Rome from the Philippines on Monday, Pope Francis touched on various topics ranging from openness to life in the family to his upcoming visit to the United States. The briefing came at the conclusion of the Holy Father’s 12-19 Jan. tour of Sri Lanka and the Philippines. The Pope told journalists he was impressed by the enthusiastic “gestures” of the Filipino people which he said are not based on protocol but rather come from the heart. During his trip the Pope met with victims of the 2013 typhoon Haiyan which devastated the island. He described the Filippino people as one which “knows how to suffer, and is capable of…Continue Reading

Pope Francis Concludes Trip To The Philippines

January 19, 2015 breaking Comments Off on Pope Francis Concludes Trip To The Philippines

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis left Manila on Monday morning, after a weeklong trip to Asia which took him to Sri Lanka and the Philippines. Hundreds of thousands of Filipinos lined the streets of Manila to catch a final glimpse of the Holy Father as he went to the airport. Pope Francis drew over 6 million to his final Mass in Manila’s Luneta Park on Sunday, the largest crowd for a Papal event in history. At a press conference after the Pope’s departure, the Archbishop of Manila, Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle said everyone in the Philippines was “overwhelmed right now with thanksgiving and gratitude to God” for the trip, and were “challenged” by Pope Francis to face problems such as inequality…Continue Reading

Pope at Mass in Manila : We are called to be God’s children

January 18, 2015 breaking Comments Off on Pope at Mass in Manila : We are called to be God’s children

(Vatican Radio)  Pope Francis celebrated Mass Sunday in Manila’s Luneta Park for enthusiastic crowds who had braved inclement weather to turn out to see their beloved pope.  The head of Vatican Radio’s English Service, Seàn-Patrick Lovett, is traveling with the Pope and sent this report: So? How many people were there at Pope Francis’ final Mass in Manila’s Luneta Park? According to the Metro Manila Development Authority, or local traffic department, there were 2.5 million along the route from the Nunciature alone, even before you reach the park which can hold another 1.5 million, give or take a few hundred thousand. You do the math. But, quite frankly – who cares? It never was a question of quantity so much…Continue Reading

US Supreme Court to Decide on Same-Sex ‘Marriage’

January 17, 2015 breaking Comments Off on US Supreme Court to Decide on Same-Sex ‘Marriage’

Archbishop: “It’s hard to imagine how the essential meaning of marriage … consistent with every society throughout all of human history, could be declared illegal” Washington, D.C., January 17, 2015 (Zenit.org) The U. S. Supreme Court granted a request Friday to review the November 2014 decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit upholding the constitutionality of marriage laws in Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky and Tennessee. The decision regarding same-sex marriage is expected in June or July. Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone of San Francisco, chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Subcommittee for the Promotion and Defense of Marriage, responded to the Court’s action, saying, “A decision by the Supreme Court on whether a state may define marriage…Continue Reading

Pope Francis: in all our trials, the Lord goes before us

January 17, 2015 breaking Comments Off on Pope Francis: in all our trials, the Lord goes before us

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis celebrated Mass on the grounds of the airport in Tacloban City, Philippines, on Saturday morning. An estimated 500 thousand people braved wind and often driving rain to take part in the liturgy. Putting aside his prepared text for the homily, the Holy Father spoke to the gathered faithful in his native Spanish. ********* We have a high priest who is capable of sympathising with our weaknesses. Jesus is like us. Jesus lived like us and is the same us in every respect, except sin because he was not a sinner. But to be more like us he assumed our condition and our sin. He made himself into sin. This is what St Paul tells us. And…Continue Reading