CNA Daily News - Vatican

Pope Francis urges Christians to not be 'museum pieces'

Thu, 23 May 2013 16:07:00 -0600

Vatican City, May 23, 2013 / 04:07 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Pope Francis reflected May 23 on Jesus Christ's exhortation to be “salt of the earth,” warning that Christians who do not live their faith become “flavorless salt” and are fit to be museum pieces.

The pontiff said that God gives Christians the “salt” of faith, hope and charity. This salt should not be hoarded “because if the salt is preserved in a bottle it does not do anything: it is good for nothing.”

“We can show the salt: this is my salt – and how lovely it is! This is the salt that I received in Baptism, this is what I received in Confirmation, this is what I received in catechesis,” he said. “But look: museum-piece Christians! A salt without flavor, a salt that does nothing.”

The Pope’s comments came in his homily during morning Mass at the chapel of St. Martha's residence in the Vatican, Vatican Radio reports. The day’s gospel reading, from the Gospel of Mark’s ninth chapter, contains Jesus’ question to his disciples: “if salt becomes insipid, with what will you restore its flavor?”

Pope Francis said that faith preached with this salt helps others receive it according to their own individual circumstances, as when it is used judiciously on food.

“Each with his own peculiarities receives the salt and becomes better,” he added. “The Christian originality is not a uniformity! It takes each one as he is, with his own personality, with his own characteristics, his culture – and leaves him with that, because it is a treasure.”

He said this “salt” also gives something more. “It gives flavor!” he said. “This Christian originality is so beautiful.”

He said those who want everything to be salted in the same way risk a situation where a cook throws in too much salt.

“One tastes only salt and not the meal,” he said. The Christian originality is this: each as he is, with the gifts the Lord has given him.”

He urged Christians to “get out there with the message, to get out there with this richness that we have in salt, and give it to others.”

The Pope said Christians may give this salt both in service to others and in service to God. The “salt” of faith also keeps its flavor through preaching, prayer and adoration.

“With the worship of the Lord I go beyond myself to the Lord, and with the proclamation of the Gospel I go out of myself to give the message,” he said.

He repeatedly encouraged Christians to share their faith.

“Salt makes sense when you (use) it in order to make things more tasty,” he said. “The salt that we have received is to be given out, to be given away, to spice things up. Otherwise, it becomes bland and useless.”

He said Christians should pray that God not let them become “Christians with flavorless salt that stays closed in the bottle.”

Pope says everyone can do good, regardless of belief

Wed, 22 May 2013 16:03:00 -0600

Vatican City, May 22, 2013 / 04:03 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Every human person despite his or her beliefs can do good, and a sharing in good works is the prime place for encounter among those who disagree, Pope Francis said at his Mass today.

“The Lord created us in his image and likeness, and we are the image of the Lord, and he does good and all of us have this commandment at heart: do good and avoid evil. All of us,” the Pope taught in his homily May 22 at St. Martha's residence in the Vatican.

“We must meet one another doing good. ‘But I don’t believe, Father, I am an atheist!’ But do good: we will meet one another there.”

The Mass was concelebrated by Cardinal Bechara Boutros Rai, the Maronite Patriarch of Antioch, and attended by employees of the Vatican's governorate, or executive branch.

During his homily, the Bishop of Rome reflected on Christ's response to his disciples, who thought that anyone outside their group could not do good.

“If he is not one of us, he cannot do good. If he is not of our party, he cannot do good.” This viewpoint, Pope Francis said, “was wrong...Jesus broadens the horizon.”

He went on to explain that all human persons are created in the image of God, who is goodness himself and the source of goodness.

“But, Father, this is not Catholic! He cannot do good.' Yes, he can. He must. Not can: must! Because he has this commandment within him.”

The pontiff called this view, that only Catholics can do good, an intolerance and a “closing off” that can lead to war and blasphemy. Blasphemy, he explained, includes “killing in the name of God.”

He emphasized the universality of Christ's saving act on the cross as a compliment to the universal call to holiness, regardless of religious belief.

“The Lord has redeemed all of us, all of us, with the Blood of Christ: all of us, not just Catholics. Everyone.”

“Even the atheists. Everyone,” Pope Francis stressed.

He said that the saving blood of Christ “makes us children of God of the first class. We are created children in the likeness of God and the blood of Christ has redeemed us all. And we all have a duty to do good.”

The Pope said that because to do good is inscribed on the human heart and does not derive from creeds, “it is an identity card that our Father has given to all of us, because he has made us in his image and likeness. And he does good, always.”

Similarly, doing good “is a duty” for all people. The universal commandment to do good, he said, “is a beautiful path towards peace.”

“If we, each doing our own part, if we do good to others, if we meet there, doing good, and we go slowly, gently, little by little, we will make that culture of encounter: we need that so much.”

Noting the memorial of Saint Rita of Cascia, he concluded saying, “let us ask of her this grace, this grace that all, all, all people would do good and that we would encounter one another in this work.”

Pope praises Missionaries of Charity's 'beautiful' Vatican ministry

Wed, 22 May 2013 12:04:00 -0600

Vatican City, May 22, 2013 / 12:04 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Pope Francis thanked the Missionaries of Charity for their work and described one of their houses located inside the Vatican “a beautiful reality” and “a school of charity.”

“I thank all those who in various ways support this beautiful reality of the Vatican,” said Pope Francis during a May 21 evening visit to celebrate the residence’s 25th anniversary.

“This house is a place that teaches charity, a school of charity, that teaches us to go out to every person, not for profit, but out of love,” he stated at the Gift of Mary House.

He noted that “at the border between the Vatican and Italy, it is a powerful reminder to all of us, to the Church, to the city of Rome, to always be more of a family, a home in which we are open to welcome, to attention, and to fraternity.”

Blessed John Paul II placed the house under the care of the sisters on May 21, 1998.

“How many people have you fed in these years, how many wounded, above all wounded spiritually, have you cared for!” he emphasized.

“My presence here tonight is to give first of all my heartfelt thanks to the Missionaries of Charity, founded by Blessed Teresa of Calcutta, working here for 25 years, with many volunteers, in favor of so many people in need of help, thank you!” he told them.

Around 25 homeless women are allowed to live in the residence, and the sisters feed around 60 people each day at the house.

“A home represents the most precious human wealth, that of encounter, that of the relationships between persons of different ages, cultures, and histories who live together and who, together, help one another to grow, and that is what this house has sought to be for 25 years,” said Pope Francis.

Archbishop Georg Gänswein, Prefect of the Papal Household, and Monsignor Alfred Xuereb, the Pope’s personal secretary, accompanied the pontiff on his 5:30 p.m. visit.

The meeting was held in the courtyard located between the Gift of Mary House, the Palace of the Holy Office and the Atrium of the Paul VI Hall.

Cardinal Angelo Comastri and the Mother General of the Missionaries of Charity, Sister Mary Prema Pierick, welcomed Pope Francis.

The sisters then placed a garland of flowers around the Pope’s neck, following Indian tradition.

Over 100 people were also at the house, including its patrons, employees, friends and guests as well as Missionaries of Charity from other different communities around Rome.

The Pope described the homeless women living at the house as its “gift” and “a gift to the Church.”

“You tell us that loving God and our neighbor is not something abstract but profoundly concrete,” he stated.

“It means seeing in every person the face of the Lord to serve and serving him concretely,” he added.

According to the Pope, people everywhere must recover the entire sense of gift, gratuity and solidarity.

“A savage capitalism has taught the logic of profit at any cost, give in order to get, exploitation without looking at persons, and we see the results in the crisis we are living through!” said the pontiff.

Pope Francis noted that another feature of the house is that it is “qualified as a gift of Mary” and she is an example of living charity towards our neighbor, “not out of social duty, but starting from God's love.”

Vatican's financial intelligence unit nets suspicious activity

Wed, 22 May 2013 09:59:00 -0600

Vatican City, May 22, 2013 / 09:59 am (CNA/EWTN News).- The Vatican revealed that its enhanced procedures have enabled it to flag more suspicious transactions in 2012 than it did in 2011.

“I’m not saying that everything is great and perfect, but that a lot of progress has been made in the last two years,” said Rene Brülhart, director of the Financial Information Authority, at the Vatican’s press office.

“It’s important that we’re setting a system here to protect the Holy See,” he added.

The Vatican’s Financial Information Authority made the statistics public at a May 22 press conference, where it made its first-ever annual report available.

The report shows that in 2012 there were six reports of suspicious activity, versus one in 2011.

Brülhart said this proves that his department and its system, which became operational in April 2011, are working well.

The director explained that the six suspicious transactions involved sums of money greater than 10,000 Euros ($13,000) but would not provide additional details.

He also revealed that the Financial Authority asked the Promoter of Justice’s office within the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith to study two of the cases and said that they could be related to money laundering.

He stressed that international cooperation to help combat money laundering was “absolutely key and crucial” and that the Vatican is “a key player in global fight of money laundering.”

The Financial Information Authority was set up to help combat money laundering and the financing of terrorism and hired Brülhart as its director just a few months ago.

According to the Swiss native, combating money laundering in the Vatican began back in 2010 after Pope Benedict XVI released a “motu proprio” that laid out the procedures.

“There’s no financial sector in the Vatican, no stock exchange, so it’s a completely different environment,” Brülhart said.

He noted that his office has two functions: to work as an intelligence unit and to supervise the so-called Vatican bank, which is officially called the Institute for Works of Religion.

The Vatican bank also recently received a new president, Ernst von Freyberg, who announced May 13 that it will make its annual report public and launch a website to better inform the public about its mission.

Pope: Ask if your life promotes unity or division

Wed, 22 May 2013 06:44:00 -0600

Vatican City, May 22, 2013 / 06:44 am (CNA/EWTN News).- The Holy Spirit made it possible for everyone to hear the apostles in their own language on Pentecost, uniting people who were divided, Pope Francis said, calling on Christians to witness to the faith in a way that reconciles and is forgiving.

“We should all ask ourselves: ‘how do I let myself be guided by the Holy Spirit so that my witness of faith is one of unity and communion? Do I bring the message of reconciliation and love that is the Gospel to the places where I live?’” the Pope said in his May 22 message for the general audience.

The descent of the Holy Spirit undid “the dispersion of peoples and the confusion of tongues” that began with the Tower of Babel, the Pope noted, explaining that the men of the time acted with “arrogance and pride” in wanting to build the tower on their “own strength, and without God.”

Pope Francis address to the crowd of around 50,000 pilgrims in St. Peter’s Square was dedicated to examining the phrase from the Creed, “We believe in One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church.” The talk was part of an ongoing series of reflections during the Year of Faith on the Creed that was started by Benedict XVI.

The pontiff stated that the previous line of the Creed on the Holy Spirit has “a deep connection” to the mission and characteristics of the Church that he dwelt on today.

The Holy Spirit “gives life to the Church, guides her steps. Without the presence and the incessant action of the Holy Spirit, the Church could not live and could not accomplish the task that the Risen Jesus has entrusted her: to go and make disciples of all nations,” the Pope explained.

For that reason, he focused his reflection on three ways that the anointing of the Holy Spirit changes people, marks the Church and prepares it to evangelize.

“Sometimes it seems that what happened at Babel is repeated today; divisions, the inability to understand each other, rivalry, envy, selfishness,” the Holy Father observed.

So he asked the crowd to think about the questions, “What do I do with my life? Do I bring unity? Or do I divide with gossip and envy?”

“Bringing the Gospel means we in the first place must live reconciliation, forgiveness, peace, unity, love that the Holy Spirit gives us. Let us remember the words of Jesus: ‘By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another,’” the Pope said, quoting John 4.

The second way the Spirit prepares believers to share the Gospel is by instilling courage in them, he told the crowd.

“Here is another effect of the Holy Spirit: Courage! – the courage to proclaim the newness of the Gospel of Jesus to all, with self-confidence (parrhesia), in a loud voice, in every time and in every place,” he said.

“And this happens even today for the Church and for each of us,” Pope Francis insisted, urging people, “never be closed to this action!”

“Because evangelizing, announcing Jesus, evangelizing brings us joy! It energizes us. Being closed up within ourselves brings bitterness. Proclaiming the joy and hope that the Lord brings to world lifts us up!” the Pope proclaimed.

But all of this is not possible without a “faithful and intense relationship with God,” the pontiff said as he moved into his third point.

“I will only mention a third element, but it is particularly important: a new evangelization, a Church that evangelizes must always start from prayer, from asking, like the Apostles in the Upper Room, for the fire of the Holy Spirit.

“Without prayer our actions become empty and our proclamation soulless; it is not animated by the Spirit,” he stressed.

Pope Francis encouraged Christians to entrust themselves to the Holy Spirit because he “enables us to live and bear witness to our faith, and enlighten the hearts of those we meet.”

He finished his thoughts on the connection between the Church and the Holy Spirit by recalling Benedict XVI’s statement that the Church today “especially feels the wind of the Holy Spirit that helps us, shows us the right path, and so, with new enthusiasm, we are on our journey and we thank the Lord.”

At the end of the audience the Pope also offered a special message the Catholic in China, who will celebrate the feast of Our Lady Help of Christians on May 24.

May they proclaim Christ “dead and risen, with humility and joy; be faithful to his Church and the Successor of Peter; and live their everyday lives in service to their country and their fellow citizens in a manner consistent with the faith they profess,” he said.

Pope makes fourth appeal for Oklahoma tornado victims

Wed, 22 May 2013 03:52:00 -0600

Vatican City, May 22, 2013 / 03:52 am (CNA/EWTN News).- As he hosted his weekly Wednesday audience in St. Peter’s Square, Pope Francis made his fourth appeal for prayer for the victims of the tornado that killed 24 people in Oklahoma.

Before he greeted all of the English-speaking people at the May 22 general audience, Pope Francis invited everyone present to pray for those who were killed or injured by the May 20 tornado that ravaged the Oklahoma City suburb of Moore.

The death toll was originally reported as 91 people, including 20 children, but subsequent counts showed that some casualties were counted twice in the chaos. According to the state’s chief medical officer Doctor Eric Pfeifer, the correct number of dead stands at 24, with nine of those being children.

Besides his request at the general audience, the Pope also sent a May 21 message to Archbishop Paul S. Coakley of Oklahoma City, in which he asked the archbishop to “convey to the entire community the assurance of his solidarity and closeness in prayer.”

“Conscious of the tragic loss of life and the immensity of the work of rebuilding that lies ahead, he asks Almighty God to grant eternal rest to the departed, comfort to the afflicted, and strength and hope to the homeless and injured,” reads the message sent by Secretary of State Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone.

In his first two requests for prayer – during the prayer intentions for his daily Mass and then via Twitter – Pope Francis singled out for particular prayer the tragic death of the children who were killed by the storm.

He repeated that plea in his message to the Oklahoma City archbishop, saying, “in particular way he commends to the Father of Mercies the many young children among the victims and their grieving families.”

“Upon the local civil and religious leaders, and upon all involved in the relief efforts His Holiness invokes the Risen Lord's gifts of consolation, strength and perseverance in every good,” his telegram concluded.

Pope: power struggles outside Jesus' vision of Church

Tue, 21 May 2013 13:39:00 -0600

Vatican City, May 21, 2013 / 01:39 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- While acknowledging that power struggles have existed in the Church since it began, Pope Francis said Jesus’ teaching on power leaves no room for them.

“In the Church the greatest is the one who serves most, the one who is at the service of others,” said Pope Francis on May 21.

“This is the rule, yet from the beginning until now there have been power struggles in the Church, even in our manner of speech,” he said in his homily, which was based on the day’s Gospel reading from Mark 9.

In the reading, Jesus catches the disciples arguing about which of them is the greatest.

“In the Gospel of Jesus, the struggle for power in the Church must not exist because true power, that which the Lord by his example has taught us, is the power of service,” said the Pope.

But the Pope believes the struggle for power in the Church is “nothing new” and that it first appearing when Jesus was forming his disciples.

Pope Francis noted, “when a person is given a job, one that in the eyes of the world is a superior role, they say ‘ah, this woman has been promoted to president of that association, or this man was promoted.’”

“This verb, to promote, yes, it is a nice verb and one we must use in the Church,” he said.

“Yes, he was promoted to the Cross, he was promoted to humiliation,” the Pope remarked.

“True promotion,” he underscored, “is that which makes us seem more like Jesus.”

“If we do not learn this Christian rule, we will never, ever be able to understand Jesus’ true message on power,” said Pope Francis.

“Real power is service as he did, he who came not to be served but to serve, and his service was the service of the Cross,” he said.

The pontiff explained that Jesus “humbled himself unto death, even death on a cross for us, to serve us, to save us and there is no other way in the Church to move forward.”

Pope Francis also drove home his point by recalling that Saint Ignatius of Loyola, the founder of his religious order the Jesuits, asked Jesus for the grace of humiliation.

“This is the true power of the service of the Church, this is the true path of Jesus, true and not worldly advancement,” said the pontiff.

“The path of the Lord is being in his service as he carried out his service, we must follow him, on the path of service, that is the real power in the Church,” he stated.

The congregation included the president and vice-president of the Focolare Movement, Maria Voce and Giancarlo Faletti, as well as the director of the magazine Civiltà Cattolica, Jesuit Father Antonio Spadaro.

Staff from Vatican Radio and the Office of the Vatican City State Governatorate also attended.

During the prayers of the faithful, Pope Francis prayed for the victims of the tornado that hit the Oklahoma City suburb of Moore on the afternoon of May 20. The twister claimed the lives of at least 91 people, including 20 children.

Pope praying for children, others struck by Oklahoma tornado

Tue, 21 May 2013 08:08:00 -0600

Vatican City, May 21, 2013 / 08:08 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Pope Francis sent special condolences to those parents who lost their children in a tornado that killed around 100 people in Oklahoma.

“I am close to the families of all who died in the Oklahoma tornado, especially those who lost young children,” the Pope said on his Twitter account on May 21.

“Join me in praying for them,” he added. Pope Francis also tweeted the same message in Spanish.

Earlier in the day during his morning Mass in the Vatican, the Pope personally added a prayer intention for the tornado victims and those who are missing, especially the children.

There are 20 children among the 91 who have died, but officials said the death toll is expected to increase since the tornado hit southern Oklahoma City suburb of Moore on May 20.

The tornado, which was two miles wide at its greatest, touched down at 2:56 p.m. and lashed the area for 45 minutes with winds of up to 200 mph.

It destroyed homes, businesses, the local hospital and other buildings, including Plaza Towers Elementary School.

Local hospitals have treated at least 145 people in Oklahoma City.

President Obama declared the area a major disaster and will be sending federal aid.

In May 1999, Moore was hit by a tornado that broke records with a wind speed of 302 mph.

Vatican spokesman denies Pope conducted exorcism

Tue, 21 May 2013 04:31:00 -0600

Vatican City, May 21, 2013 / 04:31 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Pope Francis did not perform an exorcism when he prayed over a young disabled man in St. Peter’s Square on Pentecost Sunday, according to the Vatican’s spokesman.

“The Pope had no intention of doing an exorcism, so it is absolutely false that this has been done. He simply prayed for the sick person,” Vatican press office director Father Federico Lombardi told CNA May 21.

The idea that Pope Francis performed an exorcism was fueled by a video posted online by channel TV2000, which is overseen by the Italian bishops’ conference.

In the video, which is a preview of the May 24 episode of “Vade Retro” (“Go Back” in Latin), a young man is presented to the Pope by Legionary Father Juan Rivas.

What he said to the pontiff is unknown, but the Pope seemed to become serious and began praying over the young man in a wheelchair, placing both his hands on his head.

As the Pope prayed, what sounds like a growl can be heard coming from the young man as he opened his mouth and recoiled downward in his chair.

The Pope’s security detail can be seen hovering in the background, and one of them comes in to quickly take a letter from the Fr. Rivas, before the Pope passes on the next person.

“As usual, the Pope had many patients and many people in difficulty presented to him, and the Pope always prays intensely for them,” Fr. Lombardi said about the encounter.

Marta Jimenez Ibanez contributed to this report.

Pope tells Catholics to shout 'Jesus' instead of 'Francis'

Mon, 20 May 2013 16:02:00 -0600

Vatican City, May 20, 2013 / 04:02 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Pope Francis asked those gathered for the Pentecost Vigil Mass at the Vatican to chant Christ's name instead of his own, highlighting his role as Christ's vicar on earth.

“From now on no more 'Francis,' only 'Jesus,' alright?” he asked rhetorically during the Pentecost Vigil Mass said May 18 at Saint Peter's Square.

“All of you in the square shouted out 'Francis, Francis, Pope Francis,' but where was Jesus?” he admonished them. “I want to hear you shout out 'Jesus, Jesus is Lord, and he is in our midst.'”

During his homily, he spoke to the more than 200,000 people gathered from ecclesial movements from around the world.

The Pope told how his grandmother was the first to pass on the faith to him, and insisted that a person's faith begins through their family.

“I received my first Christian proclamation right from this woman, from my grandmother. That is something beautiful,” he exclaimed.

“The first proclamation is in the home, within the family. This makes me think of the love of many mothers and so many grandmothers in the transmission of the faith,” he said.

He told mothers to conscientiously transmit faith to their children, because “God puts people alongside us who help our journey of faith.”

He also told how, at the age of 16, he felt a sudden urge to go to confession one day. It was there that he heard the call to priesthood.

“After the confession I felt that something had changed, I was not the same. I felt a voice call me, and I was convinced that I had to become a priest.”

“This experience of faith is important,” he added. “We say that we must seek God, go to him to ask for forgiveness but when we go, he is waiting for us, he is the first one there.”

Attendants had posed four questions to the pontiff, which he answered during his homily. The first question inquired about how he has achieved “certainty of faith” and how he would guide each of them to “overcome our fragility of faith.”

“Fragility’s biggest enemy, curiously enough, is fear. But do not be afraid,” he advised. “We are weak, we know it. But Jesus is stronger and if you are with him, then there is no problem.”

The second question given him was on the challenge of evangelization for ecclesial movements and how to effectively communicate the faith in today’s world.

“If we push ahead with planning and organization – beautiful things indeed – but without Jesus, then we are on the wrong road. Jesus is the most important thing,” emphasized Pope Francis.

The pontiff underscored the importance of prayer and “letting God gaze at you.”

He said that he prays the rosary daily, but often “nods off” in front of the tabernacle. “But he understands me. I feel so much comfort when I think that he is looking at me.”

The Bishop of Rome underscored the need for letting one’s self be guided by God. He reflected on St. Peter's vision of “the sheet with all the animals,” when Christ told him to eat non-kosher foods, Christ having made them clean.

Though St. Peter was at first reluctant and did not understand, “some non-Jews came to call him to go into a house, and he saw how the Holy Spirit was there.”

“Peter was guided by Jesus to reach that first evangelization to the Gentiles,” Pope Francis said. “Be guided by Jesus' own leadership,” he urged.

The third question was concerning suffering, and how the movements may address it for the good of the Church and of society.

“When the Church becomes closed in on itself, it gets sick,” Pope Francis said, appealing to people to “not close in on themselves, on their own friends and movements.”

“Think of a closed room, a room locked for a year, when you go in, has a smell of damp,” he said. “A Church that is closed in on itself is just the same – it is a sick Church.”

When Christians are “starched,” speaking “of theology calmly over tea,” rather than being courageous and encountering non-Christians and the poor, the Church is sick, he said.
The pontiff believes people cannot rest in peace knowing that a starving child is not news worthy.

“We cannot become starched Christians, too polite, who speak of theology calmly over tea, we have to become courageous Christians,” he said.

Catholics must themselves reach out to the poor and assist them on a personal level, he stressed.

“A poor Church for the poor begins with going to the flesh of Christ,” which he called the poor.

Personally helping the poor, for Pope Francis, is a theological response to Christ's own poverty. It is a loving response to God's own solidarity with us, since he “humbled himself” and “became poor, walking with us on the road.”

He also emphasized the danger of letting worldliness creep into the Church. “There is a problem that is not good for Christians: the spirit of the world, the worldly spirit, the spiritual worldliness.”

The final question asked of the pontiff regarded how Catholics can help and support those who are persecuted for their faith.

“We must try to make them feel, these brothers and sisters, that we are deeply united to their situation,” he said, highlighting the importance of praying in solidarity with them.

“In the prayer of every day we must say to Jesus, 'Lord, look upon this brother, look at this sister who suffers so much,'” he concluded.

Courageous prayer leads to miracles, Pope reflects

Mon, 20 May 2013 11:35:00 -0600

Vatican City, May 20, 2013 / 11:35 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Pope Francis encouraged bold prayer and faithful trust in God during his homily at Mass today at Casa Santa Marta in the Vatican.

“A courageous prayer, that struggles to achieve a miracle,” the Bishop of Rome said May 20. “Not prayers of courtesy: 'Ah, I will pray for you,' I say an Our Father, a Hail Mary and then I forget.”

Rather, he said, “strong prayer is needed. Humble and strong prayer that enables Jesus to carry out the miracle.”

Highlighting the importance of faith in Christ, he told of how an Argentine girl who fell ill and was expected to live but a few hours was miraculously healed after her father prayed intensely for her.

“Her father, an electrician, a man of faith … took a bus to the Marian shrine of Lujan, 70 kilometers (43 miles) away.”

“He finally arrived after 9:00 p.m., when everything was closed. And he began to pray to Our Lady, with his hands gripping the iron fence and he prayed, and prayed, and wept, and prayed … and that’s the way he remained all night long,” Pope Francis added.

The man returned to the hospital the following morning and found his wife weeping. She told him that the doctors came and said the fever was gone and that she would live.

“This still happens,” the Pope reminded his listeners. “Miracles do happen.”

Pope Francis was reflecting on the day's Gospel, which recounts the disciples’ failure to heal a child, and Jesus intervenes saying everything is possible for those who have faith.

According to him, a prayer for a miracle must be “an involved prayer, a prayer that unites us all.”

He took as models the prayer of Abraham, “who struggled with the Lord” to save Sodom and Gomorrah, and Moses' prayer, when he “held his hands high and tired himself out.”

“When people ask us to pray for the many people who suffer in wars, all refugees … pray. But with your heart to the Lord,” he exhorted.

“Do it, but tell him, 'Lord, I believe, help my unbelief.'”

The pontiff stated there is disbelief when “the heart will not open, when the heart is closed, when the heart wants to have everything under control.”

“It is a heart, then, that does not open and does not give control of things to Jesus,” he concluded. “Prayer does wonders, but we have to believe.”

Pope ties Church movements Mass to Pentecost

Sun, 19 May 2013 07:22:00 -0600

Vatican City, May 19, 2013 / 07:22 am (CNA/EWTN News).- St. Peter’s Square was “transformed into an open-air Cenacle,” Pope Francis said after he celebrated Pentecost with Church movements.

“This celebration of faith is about to end, which began yesterday with the Vigil and culminated this morning in the Eucharist.

“A renewed Pentecost that has transformed St. Peter's Square into an open-air Cenacle,” Pope Francis said May 19 before reciting the Regina Caeli Marian prayer with around 200,000 pilgrims.

His brief reflection prior to the prayer recapped his main message for the Mass, which was that the Holy Spirit brings “newness, harmony and mission” to the lives of Christians.

He saw newness in the pilgrims reliving “the experience of the early Church, who agreed in prayer with Mary, the Mother of Jesus.”

The harmony inspired by the Holy Spirit was evident in the Square with the “variety of charisms” and the beauty of those being united in the Church.

Finally, Pope Francis thanked the communities and associations for the gift they are to the Church. He then urged them to mission, the third aspect of the Spirit’s work in Christians’ lives.

“Always carry the power of the Gospel! Always have the joy and passion for communion in the Church! The Risen Lord is always with you and the Madonna protects you!” he proclaimed.

Spirit's surprises are way to happiness, Pope teaches

Sun, 19 May 2013 06:58:00 -0600

Vatican City, May 19, 2013 / 06:58 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Around 200,000 pilgrims packed St. Peter’s Square to celebrate Pentecost with Pope Francis, who called on them to be open to “God’s surprises” because they bring true happiness.

“This is not a question of novelty for novelty’s sake, the search for something new to relieve our boredom, as is so often the case in our own day,” the Pope said May 19.

“The newness which God brings into our life is something that actually brings fulfillment, that gives true joy, true serenity, because God loves us and desires only our good,” he stated.

Pope Francis gave his homily during a 10:30 a.m. Mass with Church movements and associations from Europe, Asia and Africa in St. Peter’s Square.

They arrived in Rome for a series of weekend events centered on the Year of Faith, which included a pilgrimage to St. Peter’s tomb, music and testimonies. Their encounter with the Pope began on Saturday afternoon when he held a prayer vigil with them, and it finished with today’s Mass.

The Holy Father dedicated his homily to three ways that the Holy Spirit works in the lives of Christians: “newness, harmony and mission.”

Speaking about the “newness” the Holy Spirit brings, he explained that it requires letting him be the soul and guide of our lives in our every decision.

But the newness and change he brings lasts because it is truly fulfilling and creates joy, the Pope said.

He then posed a series of questions to the crowd:

“Are we open to ‘God’s surprises?’ Or are we closed and fearful before the newness of the Holy Spirit? Do we have the courage to strike out along the new paths which God’s newness sets before us, or do we resist, barricaded in transient structures which have lost their capacity for openness to what is new?”

The second aspect of the Spirit’s work is that he gives different gifts to people, creating diversity in the Church that ends up all being united in harmony by him.

“One of Fathers of the Church has an expression which I love: the Holy Spirit himself is harmony – ‘Ipse harmonia est,’” the Pope said.

He warned that when “we are the ones who try to create diversity and close ourselves up in what makes us different and other, we bring division.”

The key, Pope Francis taught, is to “let ourselves be guided by the Spirit” and live in and with the Church.

“It is the Church which brings Christ to me, and me to Christ; parallel journeys are dangerous!” he cautioned.

“When we venture beyond (proagon) the Church’s teaching and community, and do not remain in them, we are not one with the God of Jesus Christ,” the Pope told the communities.

“So let us ask ourselves: Am I open to the harmony of the Holy Spirit, overcoming every form of exclusivity? Do I let myself be guided by him, living in the Church and with the Church?”

Pope Francis’ final point centered on how the “Holy Spirit is the soul of mission.”

“The older theologians,” he recalled, “used to say that the soul is a kind of sailboat, the Holy Spirit is the wind which fills its sails and drives it forward, and the gusts of wind are the gifts of the Spirit. Lacking his impulse and his grace, we do not go forward.”

He explained that the Holy Spirit “draws us into the mystery of the living God and saves us from the threat of a Church which is gnostic and self-referential, closed in on herself.”

Instead, the Spirit “impels us to open the doors and go forth to proclaim and bear witness to the good news of the Gospel, to communicate the joy of faith, the encounter with Christ,” the Pope preached.

Although the events of Pentecost took place “almost 2,000 years ago,” they are not “something far removed from us; they are events which affect us and become a lived experience in each of us.”

“The Holy Spirit,” Pope Francis noted, “makes us look to the horizon and drive us to the very outskirts of existence in order to proclaim life in Jesus Christ.

“Let us ask ourselves: do we tend to stay closed in on ourselves, on our group, or do we let the Holy Spirit open us to mission?”

He closed his homily by asking God the Father to pour out the Holy Spirit again, using the Latin invocation, “Veni, Sancte Spiritus!” (Come Holy Spirit!).

After Mass Pope Francis recited the Regina Caeli prayer with the assembly, thanking them for their presence and saying that the Holy Spirit renewed Pentecost and changed St. Peter’s Square into an open-air Upper Room.

Gossip is like slapping Jesus, Pope asserts

Sat, 18 May 2013 09:15:00 -0600

Vatican City, May 18, 2013 / 09:15 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Pope Francis spoke today about how gossip by Christians is a “slap” to Jesus “in the person of his children.”

“All three - disinformation, defamation and slander - are sins! This is sin! It is to slap Jesus in the person of his children, his brothers,” the Pope said May 18 in the chapel of St. Martha’s House.

The topic came up in Pope Francis’ homily because of the day’s Gospel reading from John 21 in which Peter asks if John will be alive when Jesus returns to earth.

“What is it to you?” the pontiff began his homily, referring to Jesus’ response to Peter, who was being tempted “to interfere in the lives of others.”

Peter became “nosy,” Pope Francis remarked, noting that there are two ways people are tempted to get involved in others’ lives. The first is “to compare oneself with others” and the second is to gossip.

“It seems nice to chat,” he reflected, “I do not know why, but it looks nice. Like sweet of honey, right? You take one and then another, and another, and another, and in the end you have a stomach ache. And why? The chatter is like that eh? It is sweet at first and it ruins you, it ruins your soul!”

The Pope then referred back to Genesis, saying that gossip is “‘a little’ like the spirit of Cain who killed his brother, his tongue; it kills his brother!”? The consequence of gossiping is that “we become Christians of good manners and bad habits,” he warned, later repeating the description.

According to Pope Francis, people fail in this area in three ways: by giving “misinformation,” by making known the faults of others, and by telling lies about others.

“That is why Jesus does with us what he did with Peter when he says: ‘What is it to you? Follow me.’ The Lord in this instance points the way,” he said.

“This kind of talk will not do you any good,” the Pope stated, “because it will just bring to the Church a spirit of destruction. ‘Follow me!’ These are the beautiful words of Jesus, it is so clear, that he has so much love for us. As if to say: ‘Don’t have fantasies, believing that salvation is in the comparisons with others or in gossip. Salvation is to go behind me.’”

Pope Francis finished his homily by saying, “Today we ask the Lord Jesus to give us this grace not to ever get involved in the lives of others, not to become Christians of good manners and bad habits, it is to follow Jesus, to walk behind Jesus on his way. And this is enough.”

American seminarians win Clericus Cup second time

Sat, 18 May 2013 07:30:00 -0600

Rome, Italy, May 18, 2013 / 07:30 am (CNA/EWTN News).- The North American Martyrs succeeded in clinching the Clericus Cup for the second year in a row, beating the seminarians from Mater Ecclesiae by a score of 1-0.

The game was closely fought, with the Martyrs scoring the game’s only goal about 25 minutes into the second half on a crossing pass to Andrew Mattingly who bested a two-on-one situation to put the ball into the net.

The match was primarily a showcase of defense, with the Martyrs appearing to have a slight edge over Mater Ecclesiae throughout the game.

In keeping with tradition, the boisterous American fans showed up dressed as super heroes, including Batman, Captain America and Uncle Sam. They sang patriotic songs, chanted as a drum thumped out the beat, and blew air horns.

The Mater Ecclesiae supporters also turned out for the game in strong numbers, filling the stands and backing their team with the occasional cheer and beating of a drum.

The match was held at the Knights of Columbus Fields, which meant the seminarians could see St. Peter’s Basilica in the background as they duked it out.

As the final whistle sounded, the North American Martyrs fans could be heard changing their chant from “We believe we will win,” to “We believe we have won!”

The Clericus Cup is organized by the Centro Sportivo Italiano, and this year it brought together 13 teams from local Roman seminaries to compete for the prize.