A Voice of Hope - Pope Francis
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
Jesus revealed to his disciples the deepest meaning of his mission when he told them of his passion, death and resurrection, in fulfilment of the Father’s will. He then called the disciples to share in this mission for the salvation of the world.
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Elise Ann Allen Nov 19, 2020 - SENIOR CORRESPONDENT
A man in Orick, Calif, walks along the Redwood Highway by the Pacific Ocean Sept. 9, 2020, as smoke from wildfires fills the air. (Credit: Carlos Barria/Reuters via CNS.)
ROME – Historians say that Franciscan lending institutions in the 14th century, the montes pietatis, were a predecessor to modern banking and formed the foundation for today’s economy. Today, a pope named Francis is once again invoking the spirit of the Saint of Assisi, this time in an effort to reform the post-modern economy from the bottom up.
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Member of the faithful in St Peter's Square holding the new Encyclical "Fratelli tutti" (Vatican Media)
Fr Kevin Irwin suggests "Fratelli tutti" should be both read and prayed because it is "nothing less than about a way to reread and to live the Gospel for our times".
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Pope Francis signs the new Encyclical "Fratelli Tutti" before the tomb of St Francis of Assisi in Assisi, Italy. Image: Vatican Media/Vatican News.
By Mike Lewis, 10 October 2020
“The highly-anticipated encyclical Fratelli Tutti was released on 4 October. It is available here on the Vatican website.
It is a very wide-ranging document, touching on many themes. It’s difficult to do the entire thing justice, but here are some quotes on different issues that stood out to me.”
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St. Francis of Assisi attained the heights of contemplation through his penetrating vision of creation. The idea of transcending the world to contemplate true reality would have been foreign to his thinking. Rather, he regarded earthly life as possessing ideal, positive potential as God's creation. Image: detail of tempera and gold on parchment "Manuscript Leaf with Scenes from the Life of Saint Francis of Assisi," circa 1320-42, made in Bologna, Italy, for Hungarian use (Metropolitan Museum of Art/Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Edwin L. Weisl Jr., 1994)
Pope Francis issued his third encyclical, Fratelli Tutti, on the feast of St. Francis of Assisi, indicating his deep spiritual affinity with the founder of the Franciscan movement. The encyclical deepens the pope's vision of integral ecology laid out in his 2015 work, "Laudato Si', on Care for Our Common Home" now extended to the social order on the level of fraternity and social friendship.
The pope's writings are comprehensive in his depth of analysis of ecological, social and technocratic structures that have created systems of separation, manipulation and disregard for the poor. He begins Fratelli Tutti by taking his cue from the "Admonitions" of Francis of Assisi, who writes in his 25th admonition: "Blessed is the servant who would love and respect his brother as much when he is far from him as he would when he is with him; and who would not say anything behind his back which in charity he could not say to his face."
Like Francis of Assisi, Pope Francis builds his new vision of social order based on the core virtue of fraternal love. It is clear that he is making every effort to enfold the Gospel life into the interstitial tissues of social order and, prima facie, his efforts to do so are admirable, if not outstanding.
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By Vatican News
In St Luke’s Gospel on this Solemnity of the Assumption, the Evangelist records the words of Our Lady as she prays: "My soul magnifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour". Before reciting the Angelus, Pope Francis reflected on the two verbs in that prayer: to rejoice and to magnify.
“We rejoice when something so beautiful happens that it is not enough to rejoice inside, in the soul, but we want to express happiness with the whole body”, said the Pope. “Mary rejoices because of God… she teaches us to rejoice in God, because He does "great things".
“To magnify means to exalt a reality for its greatness, for its beauty”, continued Pope Francis. “Mary proclaims the greatness of the Lord… she shows us that if we want our life to be happy, God must be placed first, because He alone is great”. The Pope warned of getting lost in the pettiness of life, chasing after things of little importance: “prejudices, grudges, rivalries, envy, and superfluous material goods”. Mary, on the other hand, invites us to “look upward at the ‘great things’ the Lord has accomplished in her”.
“Mary, who is a human creature, one of us, reaches eternity in body and soul”, said Pope Francis. This is why we invoke her as the “Gate of Heaven”. “There she awaits us, just as a mother waits for her children to come home”. The Pope said we are like pilgrims on our way home to Heaven. Seeing that “in paradise, together with Christ, the New Adam, there is also her, Mary, the new Eve, gives us comfort and hope in our pilgrimage down here”.
For those who are afflicted with doubts and sadness, “and live with their eyes turned downwards”, the Feast of the Assumption is a call to “look upwards” and see that “Heaven is open”, continued Pope Francis. It is no longer distant, and we need no longer be afraid: “because on the threshold of Heaven there is a Mother waiting for us”. Mary constantly reminds us that we are precious in the eyes of God, and that we are made for the great joys of Heaven. “Every time we take the Rosary in our hands and pray to her”, he said, “we take a step forward towards our life’s great goal”.
“Let us be attracted by true beauty”, said the Pope, “let us not be drawn in by the petty things in life, but let us choose the greatness of Heaven”. Pope Francis concluded by praying that the Blessed Virgin Mary, Gate of Heaven, may help us daily to fix our gaze with confidence and joy “on the place where our true home lies”.
A MESSAGE FROM FR GENERAL ARTURO SOSA SJ ON COVID-19
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t1ajwigzXXk&feature=youtu.be
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