SUMMARY:
-
General audience: the final destination of the People of God
-
Pope's letter for the fifth centenary of the birth of St. Teresa of
Avila
-
Other Pontifical Acts
______________________________________
General
audience: the final destination of the People of God
Vatican
City, 2014 (VIS) – The final destination of the People of God was
the theme of Pope Francis' catechesis during this Wednesday's general
audience. The Holy Father began by recalling St. Paul's words to the
Thessalonians, when with anxiety they asked what would become of them
– “we will be with the Lord forever” – remarking that it was
one of the most beautiful phrases of the Sacred Scripture, and
inviting those present in St. Peter's Square to repeat it three
times.
He
went on to comment on how, in the Book of Revelation St. John,
returning to the intuition of the Prophets, describes the final and
definitive dimension in terms of “a new Jerusalem, coming down out
of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband”.
And this, then, is who the Church is: she is the people of God
following the Lord Jesus and who prepares herself, day by day, for
the encounter with Him, like a bride with her groom. And it is not
simply a turn of phrase: it will be a true espousal. Yes, because
Christ, who made Himself man like us, and making us one with Him, by
His death and resurrection, truly took us as His spouse. And this is
none other than the fulfilment of the plan of communion and love,
woven by God throughout history, the history of the People of God and
the history of each one of us”.
There
is another element that further consoles us and opens our heart: John
says that in the Church, bride of Christ, the “new Jerusalem” is
visible. This means that the Church, aside from being a bride, is
called to become a city, the quintessential symbol of co-existence
and human relations. How beautiful it is to already be able to
contemplate, according to another evocative image from Revelation,
all the peoples and populations gathered together in this city, as if
they were all under the same roof, in God's home. And in this
glorious setting there will be no more isolation, abuse or
distinctions of any type – social, ethnic or religious – but we
will all be one in Christ”.
“In
the presence of this unprecedented and wonderful scene, hope cannot
but be strongly confirmed in our heart”, he added, since “Christian
hope is not simply a wish, a hope; for a Christian, hope is awaiting,
fervently and with passion, the final and definitive fulfilment of a
mystery, the mystery of God's love, in which we are reborn and which
we already live. And it is the expectation of someone who is about to
arrive: the Lord Christ who is ever closer to us, day after day, and
who comes to finally introduce us to the fullness of His communion
and His peace”. Pope Francis underlined that the Church therefore
has “the task of keeping hope alight and clearly visible, so that
it may continue to shine as a sure sign of salvation and may
illuminate for all humanity the path that leads to the encounter with
the mysterious face of God”.
Pope's
letter for the fifth centenary of the birth of St. Teresa of Avila
Vatican
City, 2014 (VIS) – The Holy Father has sent a message to Bishop
Jesus Garcia Burillo of Avila on the occasion of the fifth centenary
of the birth of St. Teresa of Avila, whose feast day is celebrated
today. In his letter, Pope Francis mentions the joy the saint often
spoke of “in encountering the suffering of work and pain”, and
how she affirmed that “the Gospel is not a bag of lead that trails
heavily behind us, but rather a source of joy that leads the heart to
God and urges us to serve our brethren”: St. Teresa emphasised the
importance of cheerful perseverance and prayer. For her,
contemplative prayer was “a close sharing between friends; …
taking time frequently to be alone with him who we know loves us”.
The
Pope remarks that this advice is “perennially valid”: “In a
culture of the temporary”, he says, “to live faithfully 'forever
and ever and ever'; in a world without hope, to show the fruitfulness
of an enamoured heart; and in a society with many idols, to give
witness that 'only God is enough'”. A path that, the Holy Father
reiterated, we cannot walk alone; we must do so together and, as the
Saint said, with Christ. “Teresa of Jesus recommended three things:
to love each other, to free each other, to free oneself of
everything, and to aspire to true humility”.
“It
is this Teresian realism”, writes the Pope, “that demands works
instead of emotions, love in the place of dreams, and the realism of
humble love instead of eager asceticism”. He concludes, “Let us
hope that everyone may be infused by this holy impulse to travel the
roads of our own time, with the Gospel in our hand and the Spirit in
our heart!”.
Other
Pontifical Acts
Vatican
City, 2014 (VIS) – The Holy Father has appointed:
-
Bishop Antonio Fernando Brochini, C.S.S., of Jaboticabal, Brazil as
bishop of Itumbiara (area 21,152, population 313,000, Catholics
244,000, priests28, permanent deacons 2, religious 26), Brazil.
-
appointed Rev. Fr. Vittorio Francesco Viola, O.F.M., as bishop of
Tortona (area 2,350, population 281,310, Catholics 274,640, priests
175, permanent deacons 20, religious 409), Italy. The bishop-elect
was born in Biella, Italy in 1965, gave his solemn vows in 1991, and
was ordained a priest in 1993. He has served in a number of roles,
including definitor or the Seraphic Province of Friars Minor in
Umbria, custodian of the convent and the Papal Basilica of Santa
Maria degli Angeli alla Porziuncola, guardian of the convent at St.
Clare's Basilica in Assisi, head of the Liturgical Office for the
region of Umbria, head of the diocesan office for Education, Schools
and University in Assisi, and head of the diocesan Caritas. He was
recently appointed as custodian of the protoconvent and shrine of
Porziuncola. He also teaches at the St. Anselm Pontifical Athenaeum,
Rome, in the Pontifical Liturgical Institute, in the Theological
Institute of Assisi, and the Institute of Religious Sciences, Assisi.
He succeeds Bishop Martino Canessa, whose resignation from the
pastoral care of the same diocese upon reaching the age limit was
accepted by the Holy Father.
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