SUMMARY:
-
THE EUCHARIST INSPIRES FORGIVENESS AND ENCOUNTER WITH OTHERS
-
AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE HOLY SEE AND HUNGARY
-
PROGRESS OF THE BILATERAL COMMISSION BETWEEN THE HOLY SEE AND THE
STATE OF ISRAEL
-
OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS
______________________________________
THE
EUCHARIST INSPIRES FORGIVENESS AND ENCOUNTER WITH OTHERS
Vatican
City, 12 February 2014 (VIS) – The Eucharist and its relation to
our life, as Church and as Christians, was the theme of Pope Francis'
catechesis during this Wednesday's general audience in St. Peter's
Square.
“How
do we live the Eucharist … when we go to Mass on a Sunday? What is
it for us? Is it just an opportunity to celebrate, a consolidated
tradition, a way of getting one's bearings and feeling better, or is
it something more?” asked the Holy Father, who then went on to
indicate three signs for understanding how we experience this
relation.
The
first is our way of living with others. “In the Eucharist Christ
renews the gift of Himself that He made on the Cross”, he
explained. “His entire life is an act of the fullest sharing of
Himself for love. This is why He loved to stay with the disciples and
with those He met. For Him, this meant sharing their yearnings, their
problems, that which stirred their soul and their life. Now, when we
participate in the Holy Mass, we find ourselves with many people …
but the Eucharist that I celebrate, does it lead me to consider them
as brothers and sisters? Does it inspire me to go towards the poor,
the sick, the marginalised? Does it help me to recognise Christ's
face in them?”
The
grace of being forgiven and willing to forgive is a second sign. “In
reality, those who celebrate the Eucharist do not do so because they
believe themselves to be better, or wish to appear better than
others, but because they are aware that they are always in need of
being accepted and regenerated in God's mercy, made flesh in Jesus
Christ. If anyone among us does not feel in need of God's mercy, if
he does not consider himself to be a sinner, it is better that he not
go to Mass! We go to Mass because we are sinners and because we wish
to receive God's forgiveness, to participate in Christ's redemption,
his forgiveness. That 'I confess' that we say at the beginning is not
merely a 'pro forma', it is a true act of penance! … In that bread
and that wine we offer and around which we gather, the gift of the
body and blood of Christ for the forgiveness of our sins is renewed
every time. This best summarises the deepest sense of the sacrifice
of the Lord Jesus, and in turn it opens our hearts to the forgiveness
of our brothers and to reconciliation”.
The
relationship between the Eucharistic celebration and the life of our
Christian communities is the third sign. “It must always be clear
that the Eucharist is not something that we do; it is not our
commemoration of what Jesus said and did. No. It is an act of Christ!
It is a gift from Christ, Who is made present and gathers us around
Him, to nourish us with His Word and His life. This means that the
mission and the very identity of the Church spring from this, from
the Eucharist, and there they assume their form. … a celebration
may prove to be impeccable, beautiful, from an external point of
view, but if it does not lead to an encounter with Jesus, the risk is
that it does not lead to the nourishment of our hearts and lives.
Through the Eucharist, instead, Christ wishes to enter into our
existence and the permeate it with his grace, so that in every
Christian community there is coherence between liturgy and life”.
The
Pope concluded by encouraging us to “live the Eucharist with a
spirit of faith and prayer, of forgiveness, of care for the needs of
many of our brothers and sisters, in the certainty that the Lord will
grant that which he has promised – eternal life”.
Following
the catechesis the Pontiff greeted, among others, a delegation from
the Czech Republic, which included a group of prelates from the Czech
Bishops' Conference on their “ad limina” visit. Pope Francis
asked all those present to pray for him and blessed the Czech Church
and population, along with the crowns for the Palladium of the
Bohemian Lands, an ancient icon of the Virgin Mary with the child
Jesus which is venerated in Stara Boleslav, a few kilometres from
Prague, to which the people have always appealed in times of war or
danger for the country and the Czech population.
AGREEMENT
BETWEEN THE HOLY SEE AND HUNGARY
Vatican
City, 12 February 2014 (VIS) – On Monday 10 February, at the seat
of the Hungarian parliament in Budapest, Archbishop Alberto Bottari
de Castello, titular of Oderzo and apostolic nuncio to Hungary, and
Zoltan Balog, minister of human resources in Hungary, exchanged the
instruments of ratification of the “Agreement between the Holy See
and Hungary on the amendment of the Agreement, signed on 20 June
1997, on the financing of public service and other religious
activities (“of the life of faith”) undertaken in Hungary by the
Catholic Church and on some issues of property ownership, signed in
Budapest on 21 October 2013.
The
agreement, in conformity with article 7 (2), will enter into force
upon the exchange of the instruments of ratification.
PROGRESS
OF THE BILATERAL COMMISSION BETWEEN THE HOLY SEE AND THE STATE OF
ISRAEL
Vatican
City, 12 February 2014 (VIS) – On February 11 the Bilateral
Permanent Working Commission between the Holy See and the State of
Israel met in plenary session in the David Citadel Hotel, Jerusalem,
to continue negotiations pursuant to article 10, paragraph 2 of the
“Fundamental Agreement”.
The
meeting was chaired by Mr. Ze’ev Elkin, deputy minister of foreign
affairs and by Msgr. Antoine Camilleri, under-secretary for the Holy
See's Relations with States.
The
Plenary received a report on the few remaining issues concerning the
Single Document. The Parties took note of the progress achieved, in a
thoughtful and constructive atmosphere, since the last Plenary of
June 2013, and agreed on future steps, in view of the next Plenary
meeting to be held in June 2014 in Vatican City.
OTHER
PONTIFICAL ACTS
Vatican
City, 12 February 2014 (VIS) – The Holy Father has:
-
appointed Fr. Antonio Carlos Cruz Santos, M.S.C. as bishop of Caico
(area 9,372, population 301,000, Catholics 288,000, priests 89,
permanent deacons 9, religious 104), Brazil. The bishop-elect was
born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in 1961 and was ordained a priest in
1992. He studied philosophy at the “Paulo VI” seminary in Nova
Iguacu and theology at the Jesuit faculty in Belo Horizonte, and
holds a licentiate in philosophy from the Pontifical Catholic
University of Minas Gerais. He has held a number of pastoral roles,
including vicar of the “Pai Eterno e Sao Jose” parish in Rio de
Janeiro, formator of “Juniores” in Contagem, Belo Horizonte,
formator of postulants in Belford Roxo, Nova Iguacu, and master of
novices in Pirassununga, Limeira. He is currently pro-provincial
superior of the Society of Missionaries of the Sacred Heart in
Niteroi.
-
appointed Bishop Nelson Francelino Ferreira as bishop of Valenca
(area 3,996, population 380,000, Catholics 275,000, priests 31,
religious 91), Brazil. Bishop Ferreira was previously auxiliary of
Sao Sebastiao do Rio de Janeiro. He succeeds Bishop Elias James
Manning, O.F.M. Conv., whose resignation from the pastoral care of
the same diocese the Holy Father accepted, upon having reached the
age limit.
On
Tuesday, 11 February the Holy Father:
-
appointed Bishop Daniel Fernando Sturla Berhouet, S.D.B., as
archbishop of Montevideo
(area
540, population 1,404,000, Catholics 889,000, priests 258, permanent
deacons 40, religious 631), Uruguay. Bishop Sturla Berhouet was
previously auxiliary of the same archdiocese.
-
appointed Msgr. Edward Bernard Scharfenberger as bishop of Albany
(area 26,975, population 1,374,000, Catholics 337,200, priests 248,
permanent deacons 105, religious 774) U.S.A. The bishop-elect was
born in Brooklyn, U.S.A. in 1948 and was ordained a priest in 1973.
He holds a bachelor's degree in philosophy from the “Cathedral
College of the Immaculate Conception” in Douglaston, a bachelor's
degree in theology from the Pontifical Gregorian University, a
licentiate in moral theology from the Alphonsianum Academy, Rome, a
licentiate in canon law from the Catholic University of America in
Washington, D.C., and a “Juris Doctor” in civil law from the
Fordham University in the Bronx. He has served in the following
pastoral roles: vicar in the parish of “St. Stanislaus Kostka” in
Maspeth and the “St. Ephrem” parish in Brooklyn; judicial vicar;
priest in the “St. Matthias” parish, Ridgewood; promoter of
justice and episcopal vicar for strategic planning. He is currently
episcopal vicar for the territory of Queens. He succeeds Bishop
Howard J. Hubbard, whose resignation from the pastoral care of the
same diocese the Holy Father accepted, upon having reached the age
limit.
-
appointed Fr. John Joale Tlhomola, S.C.P., as bishop of Mohale's Hoek
(area 5,799, population 691,000, Catholics 416,200, priests 16,
religious 94) Lesotho. The bishop-elect was born in Pulane Ha
Mosiuoa, Lesotho in 1966, gave his solemn vows in 1995 and was
ordained a priest in 1998. He has served in the following pastoral
roles: parish vicar and subsequently priest-in-charge in the
cathedral of Maseru; priest of the Christ the Priest Mission,
Motsekuoa; and bursar of the St. Augustine major seminary and
lecturer in liturgy and spirituality in the preparatory seminary,
Lesotho. He is currently director general of the Servants of Christ
the Priest in Hammanskraal, Pretoria, South Africa. He succeeds
Bishop Sebastian Koto Khoarai, O.M.I., whose resignation from the
pastoral care of the same diocese upon having reached the age limit
was accepted by the Holy Father.
-
appointed Msgr. Andrzej Jerzy Zglejszewski as auxiliary of the
diocese of Rockville Centre (area 3,164, population 3,529,000,
Catholics 1,738,000, priests 463, permanent deacons 276, religious
1,250), U.S.A. The bishop-elect was born in Bialystok, Poland in 1961
and was ordained a priest in 1990. He holds a master's degree in
theology from the seminary of the Immaculate Conception, Huntingdon.
He has served in a number of pastoral roles, including deputy priest
of the “St. Christopher” parish, Baldwin, the “St. Thomas the
Apostle” parish in West Hempstead, and the “St. Rose of Lima”
parish, Massapequa, and adjunct professor at the seminary of the
Immaculate Conception, Huntingdon. He has been director of the
diocesan office of worship since 2007 and co-chancellor of the
diocese of Rockville Centre since 2012. He was named Chaplain of His
Holiness in 2010.
You
can find more information at: www.visnews.org
The
news items contained in the Vatican Information Service may be used,
in part or in their entirety, by quoting the source:
V.I.S.
-Vatican Information Service.
Copyright
© Vatican Information Service 00120 Vatican City
No comments:
Post a Comment