Mercy, mission go together, pope says
http://www.myspiritfm.com/apps/articles/default.asp?blogid=0&view=post&articleid=122728&link=1&fldKeywords=&fldAuthor=&fldTopic=0
IMAGE: CNS/Paul HaringBy Junno Arocho EstevesVATICAN CITY (CNS) Mercy andmission have a close relationship that calls all Christians to be missionarieswho share the joy of the Gospel without trying to force others to believe, PopeFrancis said. The joy that comes fromconveying God's love and mercy is "the concrete sign that we have metJesus," the pope said during his first jubilee audience Jan. 30. However, he added, "this does not meanproselytizing. This is making a gift: 'I am giving you what gives mejoy.'"An estimated 30,000 people gatheredin St. Peter's Square for the jubilee audience, an event that will be held oneSaturday each month throughout the Holy Year of Mercy. In his talk, the pope saidthe Holy Year is a reminder for Christians to never tire of feeling the needfor God's forgiveness "so thatwhen we are weak his closeness makes us strong and allows us to live our faithwith greater joy."Christiansare called to be missionaries of the Gospel like the first disciples, feeling...
IMAGE: CNS/Paul Haring
By Junno Arocho Esteves
VATICAN CITY (CNS) Mercy and
mission have a close relationship that calls all Christians to be missionaries
who share the joy of the Gospel without trying to force others to believe, Pope
Francis said.
The joy that comes from
conveying God's love and mercy is "the concrete sign that we have met
Jesus," the pope said during his first jubilee audience Jan. 30. However, he added, "this does not mean
proselytizing. This is making a gift: 'I am giving you what gives me
joy.'"
An estimated 30,000 people gathered
in St. Peter's Square for the jubilee audience, an event that will be held one
Saturday each month throughout the Holy Year of Mercy.
In his talk, the pope said
the Holy Year is a reminder for Christians to never tire of feeling the need
for God's forgiveness "so that
when we are weak his closeness makes us strong and allows us to live our faith
with greater joy."
Christians
are called to be missionaries of the Gospel like the first disciples, feeling
the need to share the good news they have received. "We feel within us
that we cannot hold back the joy that has been given to us and we want to
spread it," the pope said. "The joy that arises is what pushes us to
communicate it."
The
experience of the first disciples called by Jesus, he said, is an experience of
love that "transforms us and compels us" to share its strength with
others.
"In
some way, we can say that from the day of our baptism each one of us was given
an additional name to what our moms and dads had given us and this name is 'Christopher,'
which means 'Christ-bearer.' Every Christian is a bearer of Christ," he
said.
God's
mercy is not just a "private consolation" but a catalyst that
transforms Christians into "missionaries of mercy" to those in need. The
pope called on the faithful to take their calling seriously and to live their
lives as believers "because only then can the Gospel touch the hearts of
all people and open them to the grace of love."
Before
concluding the jubilee audience, Pope Francis led the crowd in praying for a woman
named Elvira who, along with her husband, worked at the Domus Sanctae Marthae,
the pope's residence. The long-time employee passed away Jan. 29 after a long
period of sickness, the pope said.
Saying
his residence is like a family, the pope told the crowd that he was sad at her
passing.
"I
invite you today to do two works of mercy: to pray for the deceased and console
the afflicted," he said. "I
invite you to pray a Hail Mary for Elvira's eternal peace and eternal joy, and pray
that the Lord may console her husband and her children."
- - -
Copyright © 2016 Catholic News Service/U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. www.catholicnews.com. All rights reserved. Republishing or redistributing of CNS content, including by framing or similar means without prior permission, is prohibited. You may link to stories on our public site. This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. To request permission for republishing or redistributing of CNS content, please contact permissions at cns@catholicnews.com.
Full Article
http://www.myspiritfm.com/apps/articles/default.asp?blogid=0&url=10&view=post&articleid=275679&link=1&fldKeywords=&fldAuthor=&fldTopic=0
Pope Francis on May 7, 2024, appointed Father James Mark Beckman, 61, a priest of the Diocese of Nashville, as the fourth bishop of the Diocese of Knoxville. / Credit: Diocese of NashvilleRome Newsroom, May 7, 2024 / 11:50 am (CNA).Pope Francis on Tuesday appointed a new bishop to the Diocese of Knoxville, Tennessee, following former Bishop Richard Stika's resignation last year. The Holy See Press Office announced that Father James Mark Beckman, 61, will be installed as the new bishop of the diocese. The installation will occur in July. The bishopric since June 2023 has been under the care of Louisville Archbishop Shelton Fabre, who has served as apostolic administrator following Stika's departure that month.Beckman, a Tennessee native, has been a priest with the Diocese of Nashville since his ordination on July 13, 1990. He received a bachelor's degree in history from St. Ambrose College in 1984 and a master's degree in religious studies from the Catholic University ...
http://www.myspiritfm.com/apps/articles/default.asp?blogid=0&url=10&view=post&articleid=275678&link=1&fldKeywords=&fldAuthor=&fldTopic=0
Singer-songwriter Garth Brooks (left), former NFL quarterback Tom Brady (right), and other celebrity guests will meet Pope Francis in an audience at Apostolic Palace on May 11, 2024, as participants in the Vatican's World Meeting on Human Fraternity. / Credit: SUZANNE CORDEIRO/AFP via Getty Images; Daniel Ibañez/CNA; TIMOTHY A. CLARY/AFP via Getty ImagesRome Newsroom, May 7, 2024 / 12:30 pm (CNA).Garth Brooks may have friends in low places, but this Saturday he will perform at a high-level Vatican event with Nobel Peace Prize winners, business leaders, and professional athletes, including former NFL quarterback Tom Brady.Brady, Brooks, and other celebrity guests will meet Pope Francis in an audience at the Apostolic Palace on the morning of May 11 as participants in the Vatican's World Meeting on Human Fraternity.It will be the second time that the longtime quarterback for the New England Patriots has met a pope. Brady met John Paul II in 2004 after winning the Super Bowl.Brady...
http://www.myspiritfm.com/apps/articles/default.asp?blogid=0&url=10&view=post&articleid=275677&link=1&fldKeywords=&fldAuthor=&fldTopic=0
null / Credit: © Mazur/catholicnews.org.ukACI Africa, May 7, 2024 / 13:32 pm (CNA).Catholic dioceses in Uganda have been notified of a limited stock of wine for Masses due to delays in shipping. In an April 30 letter to financial administrators of Uganda's various episcopal sees, the leadership of J.W. Interservices Ltd., a company under the auspices of the Uganda Episcopal Conference that is involved in the procurement and shipment of wine alongside other goods and services, provided details of the altar wine shortage. "This is to inform you that due to the Middle East wars, the ship's usual passage through the Mediterranean and the Red Sea were suspended and canceled," wrote Father Asiku Alfred Tulu, the director of J.W. Interservices Ltd."The ships have been diverted to take longer and safer routes through the Atlantic and the Indian Ocean, which has caused a major crisis and delays of their arrival to Mombasa Port [Kenya]," Tulu explained.The diversion of the ship...