SUMMARY:
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Francis: consecrated persons must guide people to Jesus, and let
themselves be guided by Him
-
Recognition of the martyrdom of Archbishop Oscar Romero, the friars
Michal Tomaszek and Zbigniew Strazalkowski, and Fr. Alessandro Dordi
-
8 February: First International Day of Prayer against Human
Trafficking
______________________________________
Francis:
consecrated persons must guide people to Jesus, and let themselves be
guided by Him
Vatican
City, 3 February 2015 (VIS) – The Feast of the Presentation of
Jesus in the Temple, 2 February, is the Day for Consecrated Life and
yesterday afternoon, as is customary on this occasion, the Holy
Father presided at Holy Mass in the Vatican Basilica with the members
of the Institutes of Consecrated Life and the Societies of Apostolic
Life. The ceremony began with the blessing of the veils and the
procession, and continued with the Eucharistic celebration, during
which the Pope gave a homily emphasising the characteristics of
consecrated life.
“Before
our eyes we can picture Mother Mary as she walks, carrying the Baby
Jesus in her arms”, he began. “She brings him to the Temple; she
presents him to the people; she brings him to meet his people. The
arms of Mother Mary are like the 'ladder' on which the Son of God
comes down to us, the ladder of God’s condescension. This is what
we heard in the first reading, from the Letter to the Hebrews: Christ
became 'like His brothers and sisters in every respect, so that He
might be a merciful and faithful high priest'. This is the twofold
path taken by Jesus: He descended, He became like us, in order then
to ascend with us to the Father, making us like Himself. In our heart
we can contemplate this double movement by imagining the Gospel scene
of Mary who enters the Temple holding the Child in her arms. The
Mother walks, yet it is the Child who goes before her. She carries
him, yet He is leading her along the path of the God who comes to us
so that we might go to Him. Jesus walked the same path as we do, and
shows us the new way, the 'new and living way' which is He Himself.
For us, consecrated men and women, this is the one way which,
concretely and without alternatives, we must continue to tread with
joy and perseverance”.
Francis
continued, “Fully five times the Gospel speaks to us of Mary and
Joseph’s obedience to the 'law of the Lord'. Jesus came not to do
His own will, but the will of the Father. This way – He tells us –
was His 'food'. In the same way, all those who follow Jesus must set
out on the path of obedience, imitating as it were the Lord’s
'condescension' by humbling themselves and making their own the will
of the Father, even to self-emptying and abasement. For a religious,
to advance on the path of obedience means to abase oneself in
service, that is, to take the same path as Jesus, who 'did not deem
equality with God a thing to be grasped'. By emptying himself he made
himself a servant in order to serve”.
For
consecrated persons, this path “takes the form of the rule, marked
by the charism of the founder. For all of us, the essential rule
remains the Gospel, yet the Holy Spirit, in His infinite creativity,
also gives it expression in the various rules of the consecrated life
which are born of the sequela Christi, and thus from this journey of
abasing oneself by serving. Through this 'law' which is the rule,
consecrated persons are able to attain wisdom, not something
abstract, but a work and gift of the Holy Spirit. An evident sign of
such wisdom is joy. The evangelical happiness of a religious is the
fruit of self-abasement in union with Christ”.
In
the account of Jesus’ Presentation in the Temple, wisdom is
represented by two elderly persons, Simeon and Anna: “persons
docile to the Holy Spirit, led by Him, inspired by Him”, emphasised
the Holy Father. “The Lord granted them wisdom as the fruit of a
long journey along the path of obedience to His law, an obedience
which likewise humbles and abases, but which also lifts up and
protects hope, making them creative, for they are filled with the
Holy Spirit. … Mary, the young mother, and Simeon, the kindly old
man, hold the Child in their arms, yet it is the Child himself who
guides them both”.
The
Pontiff noted that, on this occasion, it is the elderly, rather than
the young, who are creative: “the young, like Mary and Joseph,
follow the law of the Lord, the path of obedience. The elderly, like
Simeon and Anna, see in the Child the fulfilment of the Law and the
promises of God. And they are able to celebrate: they are creative in
joy and wisdom. And the Lord turns obedience into wisdom by the
working of His Holy Spirit”. However, “at times God can grant the
gift of wisdom to a young person, but always as the fruit of
obedience and docility to the Spirit. This obedience and docility is
not something theoretical; it too is subject to the economy of the
incarnation of the Word: docility and obedience to a founder,
docility and obedience to a specific rule, docility and obedience to
one’s superior, docility and obedience to the Church. It is always
docility and obedience in the concrete”.
In
persevering along along the path of obedience, “personal and
communal wisdom matures, and thus it also becomes possible to adapt
rules to the times; indeed, true 'renovation' is the fruit of wisdom
forged in docility and obedience. The strengthening and renewal of
consecrated life are the result of great love for the rule, and also
the ability to look to and heed the elders of one’s congregation.
In this way, the 'deposit', the charism of each religious family, is
preserved by obedience and by wisdom, working together. By means of
this journey, we are preserved from living our consecration
“lightly”, in an disembodied manner, as if it were some sort of
gnosis which would ultimately reduce religious life to caricature, a
caricature in which there is following without renunciation, prayer
without encounter, fraternal life without communion, obedience
without trust, and charity without transcendence.
“Today
we too, like Mary and Simeon, want to take Jesus into our arms, to
bring Him to his people”, the Pope concluded. “Surely we will be
able to do so if we enter into the mystery in which Jesus Himself is
our guide. Let us bring others to Jesus, but let us also allow
ourselves to be led by Him. This is what we should be: guides who
themselves are guided”.
Recognition
of the martyrdom of Archbishop Oscar Romero, the friars Michal
Tomaszek and Zbigniew Strazalkowski, and Fr. Alessandro Dordi
Vatican
City, 3 February 2015 (VIS) – Today the Holy Father Francis
received in a private audience Cardinal Angelo Amato, S.D.B., prefect
of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, during which he
authorised the Congregation to promulgate the following decrees:
MARTYRDOM
-
Servant of God Oscar Arnulfo Romero Galdamez (El Salvador,
1917-1980), archbishop of San Salvador, El Salvador, killed in hatred
of the faith on 24 March 1980.
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Servants of God Michal Tomaszek (Poland, 1960) and Zbigniew
Strazalkowski (Poland, 1958), professed priests of the Order of
Friars Minor Conventual, and Alessandro Dordi, Italian diocesan
priest, killed in hatred of the faith in Peru on 9 and 25 August
1991.
HEROIC
VIRTUES
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Servant of God Giovanni Bacile, Italian priest (1880-1941).
8
February: First International Day of Prayer against Human Trafficking
Vatican
City, 3 February 2015 (VIS) – This morning a press conference was
held in the Holy See Press Office to present the first International
Day of Prayer and Awareness against Human Trafficking. The Day will
be held on 8 February, the feast day of Sudanese slave St. Josephine
Bakhita who, after being freed, became a Canossian Sister and was
canonised in 2000, and will be entitled: “A light against human
trafficking”. The Day is promoted by the Pontifical Council for the
Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant Peoples, the Pontifical
Council “Justice and Peace” and the International Union of
Superiors General (UISG).
The
conference was attended by Cardinal Joao Braz de Aviz, prefect of the
Congregation for the Institutes of Consecrated Life and the Societies
of Apostolic Life; Cardinal Antonio Maria Veglio, president of the
Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant
Peoples; and Cardinal Peter Kodwo Appiah Turkson, president of the
Pontifical Council “Justice and Peace”. The other speakers were
Sister Carmen Sammut, MSOLA, president of the International Union of
Superiors General; Sister Gabriella Bottani, SMC, coordinator of
Talitha Kum (the International Network of Consecrated Life against
Trafficking in Persons); Sister Valeria Gandini, SMC; and Sister
Imelda Poole IBVM, coordinator of the European Talitha Kum network.
Cardinal
Turkson, speaking in English, reiterated that “millions of people
today – children, women and men of all ages – are deprived of
freedom and are forced to live in conditions akin to slavery. For
those who cry out – usually in silence – for liberation, St
Josephine Bakhita is an exemplary witness of hope. We, victims and
advocates alike, could do no better than be inspired by her life and
entrust our efforts to her intercession”.
He
continued, “the Holy Father invites us all to recognise that we are
facing a global phenomenon which exceeds the competence of any one
community or country. In order to eliminate it, we need a
mobilisation comparable in size to that of the phenomenon itself”.
The prelate explained that the International Day against Human
Trafficking constitutes “a mobilisation of awareness and prayer on
a global scale. Our awareness must expand and extend to the very
depths of this evil and its farthest reaches … from awareness to
prayer … from prayer to solidarity … and from solidarity to
concerted action, until slavery and trafficking are no more”.
On
the occasion of this first day of prayer and reflection, all
dioceses, parishes, associations, families and individuals are
invited to reflect and pray in order to cast light on this crime, as
indicated by the theme of the initiative. In addition, prayer vigils
will be held in different countries, culminating in the Angelus
prayer in St. Peter's Square on 8 February.
On
the day, the faithful are invited to recite the following prayer:
“O
God, when we hear of children and adults
deceived
and taken to unknown places for
purposes
of sexual exploitation, forced labour, and
organ
‘harvesting’, our hearts are saddened and
our
spirits angry that their dignity and rights are
ignored
through threats, lies, and force.
We
cry out against the evil practice of this modern
slavery,
and pray with St. Bakhita for it to end.
Give
us wisdom and courage to reach out and
stand
with those whose bodies, hearts and spirits
have
been so wounded, so that together we may
make
real your promises to fill these sisters and
brothers
with a love that is tender and good.
Send
the exploiters away empty-handed to be
converted
from this wickedness, and help us all to
claim
the freedom that is your gift to your
children.
Amen”.
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