Pope Francis prays for over 150 victims of Syria terror attacks

Pope Francis has asked God to 'convert the hearts of those who sow death and destruction' following a series of deadly attacks by the Islamic State group (ISIS) in Syria.
While speaking during his weekly audience in St Peter's Square, on Wednesday, May 25, the pontiff prayed for "eternal rest to the victims" and "consolation to their relatives" after suicide attacks in the regime's coastal heartland that killed more than 150 people on Monday.
Francis said almost all the victims of the seven explosions targeting bus stations, hospitals and other civilian sites in the seaside cities of Jableh and Tartus were "unarmed civilians". Eight of them were children.
"It is the duty of everyone to protect children, most of all those exposed to a high risk of exploitation, trafficking and deviant behaviours," He added, "prayer is not a magic wand," it is our daily bread, our powerful weapon and the staff for our journey."
"We pray in this Mass, for the victims of this cruelty - so many of them - we pray also for the perpetrators of such cruelty, that the Lord might change their hearts,"
On Monday, a series of seven deadly coordinated blasts targeted Syrian cities of Tartus and Jableh killing over 150 people including children. ISIS claimed responsibility for the attacks.

For Pope Francis, missionary work is 'love without limits'

On Pentecost, Pope Francis praised missionary work as a massive work of mercy based on the desire for everyone to be saved and loved.



The mission to the nations is “a great, immense work of mercy, both spiritual and material,” he said.

The Church’s missionary mandate means that the Church “cares for those who do not know the Gospel, because she wants everyone to be saved and to experience the Lord’s love.” Pope Francis said the Church must “announce the mercy of God, the beating heart of the Gospel” and proclaim mercy in every part of the world to reach every person, young and old.

“Faith is God’s gift and not the result of proselytizing. Rather, it grows thanks to the faith and charity of evangelizers who witness to Christ,” he explained. “As they travel through the streets of the world, the disciples of Jesus need to have a love without limits, the same measure of love that our Lord has for all people. We proclaim the most beautiful and greatest gifts that he has given us: his life and his love.”

Pope Francis spoke about mission work in his message for World Missionary Day, celebrated Oct. 23. The message’s text was released on Pentecost Sunday, May 15.



“Mercy finds its most noble and complete expression in the Incarnate Word. Jesus reveals the face of the Father who is rich in mercy,” the pontiff said.

“When we welcome and follow Jesus by means of the Gospel and sacraments, we can, with the help of the Holy Spirit, become merciful as our heavenly Father is merciful; we can learn to love as he loves us and make of our lives a free gift, a sign of his goodness,” he continued.

According to Pope Francis, through God’s love the Church “discovers its mandate, lives it and makes it known to all peoples through a respectful dialogue with every culture and religious belief.”



He said everyone is invited to go out as missionary disciples who offer their talents, creativity, wisdom and experience. They go out “in order to bring the message of God’s tenderness and compassion to the entire human family.”

Mercy is a part of God’s greatness, he explained.

“When mercy encounters a person, it brings deep joy to the Father’s heart; for from the beginning the Father has lovingly turned towards the most vulnerable, because his greatness and power are revealed precisely in his capacity to identify with the young, the marginalized and the oppressed.”

In the face of his children’s weaknesses and infidelity, God’s heart is “overcome with compassion.”

Pope Francis invoked the Bible’s use of the word “mercy” when using the word for a mother’s womb. This word “refers to the love of a mother for her children, whom she will always love, in every circumstance and regardless of what happens, because they are the fruit of her womb,” he said.

He praised the growing presence of women in missionary work as “a significant sign of God’s maternal love.” He also praised the role of lay and religious women and many families who carry out their missionary vocation. They often better understand people’s problems and can deal with them in a fresh way.

He encouraged habits like focusing “on people rather than structures” and building good relations, harmony, peace, solidarity, dialogue, cooperation and fraternity.

The pontiff described the Virgin Mary as the model of missionaries and he prayed that she “foster and safeguard the living and mysterious presence of the Risen Lord in every place.”

Pope Francis said that evangelization in many places begins with the patient work of education. This helps bring forth a people who are able to evangelize and “take the Gospel to those places where it otherwise would not have been thought possible.”

The Pope suggested there is a right to be evangelized.

“All peoples and cultures have the right to receive the message of salvation which is God’s gift to every person,” he said. “This is all the more necessary when we consider how many injustices, wars, and humanitarian crises still need resolution.
Missionaries know from experience that the Gospel of forgiveness and mercy can bring joy and reconciliation, justice and peace.”

The Pope cited his apostolic exhortation “Evangelium Gaudium,” which said every Christian and every Christian community must discern how to “reach all the ‘peripheries’ in need of the light of the Gospel.”

World Missionary Day was first approved in 1926 under Pope Pius XI. It was organized by the Pontifical Society for the Propagation of the Faith.

The Pope noted the day’s 90th anniversary and stressed the importance of parish, diocesan and religious community offerings. These offerings support Christian communities in need and support “the proclamation of the Gospel even to the ends of the earth.”

“Let us not close our hearts within our own particular concerns, but let us open them to all of humanity,” he said.

Pope Francis: You can't love your pet more than your neighbor

People in need deserve more love from us than the animals do, Pope Francis has said.
In off-the-cuff remarks Saturday, he said: “How often do we see people greatly attached to cats, to dogs,” but fail to “help their neighbor, their neighbor who is in need... This will not do.”
The Pope’s catechesis for the Jubilee of Mercy audience discussed the theme of piety and how it shows God’s mercy through compassion for the suffering and afflicted.
“The piety of which we speak is a manifestation of God’s mercy,” the Pope told the rain-soaked crowds gathered in St. Peter's Square.


The pontiff explained that piety, or “pietà” – which in Italian can also be translated as compassion, pity, or mercy – should not “be confused with compassion which we feel for the animals who live with us.”
“It happens, in fact, that at times one feels this sentiment toward animals, and remains indifferent to the suffering of one’s brothers and sisters,” he added.
The May 14 gathering at the Vatican was the latest in a series of special audiences for the Jubilee Year of Mercy, which are being held throughout the year in addition to the weekly general audiences on Wednesdays.

The Jubilee of Mercy is an Extraordinary Holy Year that officially commenced December 8 – the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception – with the opening of the Holy Door in St. Peter's Basilica. It will close Nov. 20, 2016 with the Solemnity of Christ the King.
Pope Francis centered Saturday’s catechesis on piety with regard to those “who need love.” Piety is an aspect of mercy, and one of the Seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit, he said.



As noted in the English language synthesis of the address, the word piety denotes a sense of “religiosity or devotion,” but it also relates to compassion and mercy.
The concept of piety existed in the Greco-Roman world, the Pope explained in Italian, where it referred to being submissive toward superiors, such as the gods, one's parents, the elderly, etc.
“Today, however, we must be careful not to identify piety with that pietism, fairly widespread, which is only a superficial emotion and which offends the dignity of others,” he said.
The pontiff cited the many instances in the Gospel in which persons who were sick, possessed, in poverty, or otherwise afflicted would call on Jesus to “Have mercy” (“Abbi pietà” in Italian).
“Jesus responded to everyone with his gaze of mercy and the comfort of his presence,” he said.
In asking Jesus for help or mercy, each of these persons demonstrated their faith, referring to him as
“Teacher,” “Son of David,” or Lord, the Pope explained.
“They intuited that in him there was something extraordinary, that could help them leave behind the condition of sadness in which they had found themselves. They perceived in him the love of God himself.”
Jesus, in turn, took pity, and called the suffering and wounded persons “to have faith in him and in his Word.”


The pontiff explained that Jesus “shares the sadness of those he encounters,” while at the same time works in them to “transform them in joy.”
Pope Francis said “we too are called to cultivate” attitudes of compassion when confronted with situations which shake us from “the indifference that prevents us from recognizing the needs of our brothers and sisters,” and free us from the “slavery of material goods.”
He concluded his catechesis by invoking the example of Mary, who “cares for each of her children and for us believers,” and who is “the icon of piety.”

Pope Francis: Be witnesses of the Gospel every day

Pope Francis commemorated the Feast of the Ascension of Jesus into Heaven by reminding the faithful of their duty to be witnesses of the Gospel every day of the week, in all areas of life – and not just on Sundays.
“We must carry this witness every week: Christ is with us; Christ has gone up into Heaven, and is with us; Christ is alive!” the Pope said during his May 8 Regina Caeli address to the crowds gathered in St. Peter's Square.

Citing the words of Jesus in the day's Gospel taken from Luke, the pontiff explained how the Apostles were “witnesses” of Christ's death, resurrection, and now Ascension; indeed, they returned to Jerusalem and joyfully testified about the risen Christ, in whose name they would preach conversion and “repentance, for the forgiveness of sins.


The Pope said this witness – “made not only with words but also with daily life” – should go beyond Church on Sunday. Rather, it should extend throughout the entire week in our “homes, offices, schools, in places of entertainment, in hospitals, in prisons, in homes for the elderly, in places crowded with immigrants, in the city's peripheries.”
Pope Francis centered his address on the Feast of the Ascension, which commemorates Jesus ascending into Heaven 40 days after his Resurrection from the dead. While this feast technically falls on a Thursday, many countries transfer the celebration to the following Sunday.

“We contemplate the mystery of Jesus who left our earthly space in order to enter in the fullness of God's glory, bringing with him our humanity,” the Pope said.
The pontiff reflected on the reaction of the disciples, who had previously witnessed Jesus being rejected by Jerusalem, “Judas' betrayal, Peter's denial, the dispersal of the disciples and the violence of a power” which left them feeling threatened.


“From that day, for the Apostles and for every disciple of Christ, it was possible to live in Jerusalem, and in every city of the world, even in those most troubled by injustice and violence,” he said. This is because every inhabitant of every city can turn their gaze upward "with hope.”
“Jesus, God, is true man; with his human body he is in Heaven! And this is our hope, our anchor, and we are firm in this hope if we look to heaven.”
“In this heaven lives that God who has revealed such closeness as to take the face of a man, Jesus of Nazereth,” the Pope continued. “And he remains always God-with-us” – that is, Emmanuel – “and he never leaves us alone!”
“In the Ascension of Jesus, the Crucified and Risen One, there is the promise of our participation in the fullness of life with God.”
Jesus assures the disciples that, in making this announcement and giving this testimony, we will be clothed in the Holy Spirit, the pontiff explained.
“Here lies the secret of this mission: the presence among us of the Risen Lord, who with the gift of the Spirit continues to open our minds and our hearts, to proclaim his love and mercy even in the most resistant areas of our cities.”


“The Holy Spirit is the real architect of the manifold testimony that the Church and every baptized make in the world.” For this reason, we should not neglect to gather together “in prayer to praise God and to invoke the gift of the Spirit.”
After leading the crowds in the Regina Caeli prayer, Pope Francis extended his “cordial greetings” to all who work in communications, acknowledging this Sunday's 50th World Day of Social Communications.
“I hope that the way we communicate in the Church always has a clear evangelical style, a style which combines truth and mercy,” he said.
The pontiff greeted the tens of thousands of people who took part in this year's March for Life in Rome, many of whom had made their way to St. Peter's Square at the end of the morning march.
Pope Francis then went on to acknowledge Mother's Day – celebrated this Sunday in many countries – and led the crowds in the Hail Mary for all mothers.


“We remember with gratitude and affection all mothers – those who are today in [St. Peter's] Square, our mothers, those who are among us and those who have gone to heaven – entrusting them to Mary, the mother of Jesus.”

Don't lock up the Holy Spirit in your heart, Pope Francis says

The Holy Spirit seems to be a “luxury prisoner” in many Christians’ hearts: someone who is welcomed to stay, but not allowed to act or move us forward, the Pope said during his homily at Mass on Monday.



“We keep the Holy Spirit as a ‘luxury prisoner’ in our hearts: we do not allow the Spirit to push us forward, to move us. The Spirit does everything, knows everything, reminds us what Jesus said, can explain all about Jesus,” the Holy Father said May 9 during his Mass at the chapel of Casa Santa Marta in the Vatican.

In the day's reading, when St. Paul speaks with the disciples in Ephesus (Acts 19: 1-8), Pope Francis pointed out that they had “not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.”

Likewise, while Christians today have a knowledge of the Holy Spirit as part of the Holy Trinity, they do not know what the Spirit’s role is in the Church.

“The Holy Spirit is the one who moves the Church, the one who works in the Church and in our hearts,” the Roman Pontiff said.



The Third Person of the Trinity is “the protagonist of the Living Church,” he said, while cautioning against simply reducing the Christian life to a code of “morals and ethics.”

The faith, the Pope said, is something more. It “is not just an ethical life: it is an encounter with Jesus Christ.”

The Holy Spirit “frees us from the ‘orphan-like’ condition which the spirit of the world wants to put us in.”

“The Holy Spirit is the one who “moves us to praise God, to pray to the Lord” and who “teaches us to see the Father and call him ‘Father.’”

There is one thing the Holy Spirit “can’t do” the Pope said: “The Holy Spirit cannot make us ‘virtual’ Christians who are not virtuous.” Instead, “The Holy Spirit makes real Christians. The Spirit takes life and prophetically reads the signs of the times pushing us forward.”

Ahead of Pentecost Sunday the Holy Father invited Christians to prepare by opening up our hearts to the Holy Spirit.



“This is what we must do this week: think of the Spirit and talk to him.”

Pope Francis also greeted the Vincentian Sisters of Charity who work in Casa Santa Marta. Today they are celebrating the feast of St. Louise de Marillac who, along with St. Vincent de Paul, founded their order.

Teaching Children to Pray the Rosary in Small Steps

by
Kevin Di Camillo

I am not a teacher. Let me rephrase that: I am a terrible teacher. Ask any poor undergraduate who suffered under my lame attempts to impart knowledge. Indeed, my end-of-semester teacher evaluations were so poor I didn’t keep them, as they could only prevent me from ever teaching in the future. Mercifully, my future didn’t include teaching.



But as a father I am, by default and design, a teacher to our twins. And one thing I have to teach the twins is how to pray. In particular, how to pray the Rosary. This is not easy. Or maybe it is and I’m just as bad at teaching “How To Pray the Rosary” as I was at teaching “Introduction To Poetry” and “English Composition 101”.

That said, I think I’ve hit on a formula that is, if not exactly successful, at least not a total failure (yet). It’s based on small steps and starts when your kids are able to speak and begins right at your front door.

For years now, before we come in the house I stop and tell the twins: “We must say a ‘Hail Mary’ here: this is the ‘Hail Mary’ door, and it’s what monks do before they walk in their cell.” I started this practice some time ago, so by now it’s second nature to the kids. They had the “Hail Mary” down in no time. And they learned that in a Carthusian Charterhouse, the monks pray an “Ave Maria” before entering.


Next, we always said the Angelus en route to school in the morning, and again after dinner. I could only pray, literally, that the kids said it at noon at their school too, but apparently that’s too much to ask of a Catholic school. Sigh.

Once we had the “Ave Maria” at the door down, and the Angelus, I introduced the kids to the Seven Sorrows (Dolors) of the Blessed Virgin Mary. This was actually easier than I thought it would be. My son takes the opening “Our Father”—which isn’t actually part of the Seven Sorrows, but I added it, figuring it would make learning the Rosary easier, and for once I guessed correctly. Next, we took turns with the Seven Dolors, and I tried to mix up who said which ones. Now that they know all seven by heart—the Prophecy of Simeon in the Temple, the Flight into Egypt, the Loss of the Child Jesus in the Temple, Jesus and Mary meeting on the Way of the Cross, the Crucifixion, the Pieta— they get a chance to say a “new” sorrow and not the same one every day.



Once we had the Dolors of Mary down, so to speak, I added a “Glory Be” to finish it off, and, after scratching my head added three more Hail Marys for the Holy Father, and the Fatima Prayer, which we said at Night Prayer. So over the course of the months leading to their First Holy Communion, the twins could do a decade of the Rosary without even knowing it.

We take a lot of car trips, and in New Jersey that’s basically like saying we sit in traffic more than the average American family. My parents first taught my siblings and me the Holy Rosary on long vacation car trips and, since every car trip in Jersey is by default, I began by saying, “Who thinks papa can say a whole Rosary before we get to school?” Naturally the kids wisely bet against me, but since gridlock is endemic here, I had time on my side and always keeping some extra rosaries in the minivan, and had them follow along.

I think the revelation for me in all this is that second-graders have no real sense of time. (I know I didn’t.) When I was young and my dad would announce we were going to say the Rosary I could have sworn it took at least an hour (or longer) to do so. But those were long, boring car rides to very distant destinations. My kids know their route to school, they know it’s about “as long as an episode of ‘Jessie’ or ‘Kickin’ It’ or ‘Dog With A Blog’” so I think—think—they are way ahead of where I was as a kid in terms of the Rosary. It’s not a huge black hole of time. In twenty-five minutes you can pray St. John Paul the Great’s favorite prayer, the Holy Rosary.

So when the kids received their rosaries the past year as part of the First Holy Communion presents, it was not with a sense of “what do I do with this?” but “Wow! Now I have my own rosary!”

“But what about ‘The Apostles’ Creed’?” I can hear someone asking. Good question. And it had me stumped for a while, too. However, when I realized at Mass the kids liked to follow along with their own missals, I was able to show them that the Nicene Creed is “simply” a longer version of the Apostles’ Creed—and let’s look at what is in the Apostle’s Creed. In essence, we made a bit of a game out of it.



Finally, there’s habit. Although my twins are adopted, they somehow both wound up insomniacs like me. Whenever I hear, “Papa, I can’t sleep!” My first question is: “Where is your rosary?” It’s usually under their pillow, so I kneel beside them and say, “Now how does the Apostle’s Creed begin?” I was amazed at how quickly they had learned it.

Again, I am a terrible teacher. And perhaps what I’ve shared won’t help you teach your children the Rosary. But so far it has worked for us, and I hope it does for you as well.

Catholic Bishops to Buhari: Build ranches in cattle-rearing states, declare attackers insurgents

The Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria has asked the Federal Government to focus on building cattle ranches in states where cattle rearing is prevalent.
A delegation of the CBCN, led by its president, Ignatius Kaigama, stated this during a meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari at the presidential villa in Abuja.
In an address, delivered by Mr. Kaigama, the Catholic Bishop of Jos Arch Diocese, the CBCN called on Mr. Buhari to investigate the recent attacks by herdsmen in Agatu, Benue State; Nimbo community in Umuchigbo, Enugu State, and parts of Delta as well as Nasarawa States, among others and declare the perpetrators of the attacks, insurgents.
“Cattle ranches should be created in states known for cattle breeding, with adequate water and fodder provided and nurtured.
“Farmland for root crops and other plants should be protected for their specific products in states known for such.
“This will reduce or eliminate clashes stemming from trespassing,” Mr. Kaigama said.
The CBCN leader charged the Federal Government to focus on disarming herdsmen, saying that the perpetrators of violence should not be allowed to force Nigerians to live in perpetual fear of their follow citizens.
“The fact that armed attacks and wanton killings have become a national threat, it should be declared an insurgency and treated as such, with the aim of dislodging the insurgents from occupied communities by the security and military operatives.
“Our people cannot continue to live in perpetual fear of attacks by fellow Nigerians with criminal intent,” the Bishop said.
The CBCN commended the president’s resolve to deal with the problem, and called for serious approach towards the proposed investigation.
“Happily, we understand that you have ordered some investigations into the Agatu and Nimbo killings.
“The Agatu killings, the Nimbo killings and many other killings in Benue, Taraba, Nassarawa, Ondo, Edo, Delta and elsewhere should be seriously investigated, with the perpetrators unmasked and decisively dealt with.
“For a more permanent peace between herdsmen and farmers in our country, some streamlining is necessary for the good of the cattle rearers in the North and for the welfare of farmers in the South and elsewhere in Nigeria,” Mr. Kaigama stated.
Mr. Kaigama also called on the president to continue the war against terror, as the law requires, and noted that the high rate of success in the battle against corruption is great relief for well meaning Nigerians.
“We commend your efforts in the fight against Boko Haram and against corruption. We encourage that justice be done according to the rule of law, with no sacred cows to be spared.
“These two monsters which you are tackling pretty well have threatened to destabilize Nigeria and to cripple our national growth and development. Although many people have been killed, many others rendered homeless and are without adequate means of livelihood, we commend you for being quite successful so far in repelling the insurgence from decimating Nigeria by halting its further advance,” the Bishops stated.
The Bishops also called on the Federal Government to increase support for missionary schools as a way of improving Nigeria’s educational sector.

Bishop weds 109 couples in Nassarawa State (PHOTO)

Most Rev. Mathew Audu, the Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Lafia, Nasarawa State, on Saturday in Masaka joined 109 couples in a mass wedding in the state.

Speaking during his third pastoral visit to St. Martin`s Catholic Church, Masaka, Audu appealed to relatives of the new couples to allow them to build their marriages and not interfere in their private lives.
“As newly wedded couples, you must love each other just as Christ Jesus loved the church and died to set souls free,” the priest said.
“You must respect each other’s feelings; care for each other, share views and reason together in peace and unity.
“You must not allow a third party to come into your matter; always invite God to intervene in your case.
“Ensure that you are coordinated in all your dealings and make the word of God your standard, your pillar, your faith and your hope.
“If you can keep these entire commandments, your marriage will be perfect and other couples will want to copy from you,” he said.