Halloween party ideas 2015
Tweet Share Share Share Share Share

Saturday, February 06, 2016
Surprise from Bunda Aridha
 
PHOTO: link
My friend Bunda Aridha gives me surprise today. I saw a message in my Facebook. He tagged me. He took the link of my article in my blog ‘the Pilgrims’. In this link, I wrote some prose about the writing. I know, I do not write long text, but short text like the message on the hand phone. I did it because I cannot write long text in English. I learned this language from the junior high school to university. Now, I am not studying it. Sometimes, I read an article in English, but it is not a long text.

Well, I am happy to read this message in my Facebook. Bunda Aridha gives a new inspiration to write and write. I write in Italian and Indonesian but I left my task to write in English. I named it task because I had the hope to write every week or every two or three days. Therefore, this is a new energy to go on. Thank for you Bunda Aridha. Maybe my English is not perfect, but I think I give a message in every article.

Parma, 5 February 2016

Gordi


Read more »
Tweet Share Share Share Share Share

Saturday, February 06, 2016
Surprise from Bunda Aridha
 
PHOTO: link
My friend Bunda Aridha gives me surprise today. I saw a message in my Facebook. He tagged me. He took the link of my article in my blog ‘the Pilgrims’. In this link, I wrote some prose about the writing. I know, I do not write long text, but short text like the message on the hand phone. I did it because I cannot write long text in English. I learned this language from the junior high school to university. Now, I am not studying it. Sometimes, I read an article in English, but it is not a long text.

Well, I am happy to read this message in my Facebook. Bunda Aridha gives a new inspiration to write and write. I write in Italian and Indonesian but I left my task to write in English. I named it task because I had the hope to write every week or every two or three days. Therefore, this is a new energy to go on. Thank for you Bunda Aridha. Maybe my English is not perfect, but I think I give a message in every article.

Parma, 5 February 2016

Gordi


Read more »
Tweet Share Share Share Share Share

Saturday, February 06, 2016
PORTARE IL SIGNORE

FOTO: qui

È strano ascoltare qualcuno che dice, portare il Signore. Mi viene in mente la domanda, come può portare il Signore che è astratto? È difficile no. Noi per portare acqua bisogna avere una media, o un bicchiere, o un vassoio, eccetera. Portare il Signore è un'altra cosa. Anzi, fisicamente non possiamo farlo. È come portare il sole o la luna. Credo che il Signore sia più grande ancora del sole e della luna. Quindi, non possiamo portarlo. Anche perché il Signore è fuori della parte fisico.

Questo è un modo di dire. È vero che noi portiamo il Signore. Il Signore in questo senso è il viatico, l’ostia, il corpo di Cristo. Quindi, quando qualcuno porta il viatico vuol dire anche portare il Signore. Quindi, fisicamente è giusto. Possiamo capirlo in questo senso.

È quello che abbiamo fatto oggi. Insieme Padre Raimondo, sono andato ad una famiglia a portare la comunione. Era la prima volta per me. Volevo avere una bella esperienza. Raimondo mi ha preparato con qualche istruzione. Ho studiato il metodo che mi ha insegnato. Peccato che durante la celebrazione ho dimenticato qualcosa. Non ho letto più la preghiera preparata prima. C’erano il marito di questa signora e anche Raimondo. Quindi, facciamo insieme la preghiera. Ero un po nervoso anche. Quindi, non ho potuto esprimersi tutto quello che ho preparato. Mi sudavo molto. Raimondo alla fine guidava la celebrazione. Ero sudato molto e molto.

Dopo aver fatto la celebrazione abbiamo fatto le foto con questa famiglia. È la famiglia di monsignor Conforti. La nonna del marito era la sorella di Conforti. Questo anche il mio motivo di andare lì cioè per incontrare questa famiglia.

Grazie a Raimondo, il marito Piva, la moglie e il figlio Paolo. Ci vediamo alla prossima volta.

Parma, 5/2/2016
Gordi 
Read more »
Tweet Share Share Share Share Share

Friday, February 05, 2016
LA MESSA CON IL GAMS

P Renzo in una celebrazione in santuario Conforti

Oggi, 4 febbraio 2016, si celebra la messa con il GAMS (gli amici dei missionari saveriani) in santuario Conforti. Padre Renzo Larcher, SX è il celebrante di questa messa. La messa infatti è proprio dedica a lui. È come un saluto finale. Fra un mese lui partirà per il Camerun, la sua nuova missione.

Nell’omelia Padre Larcher ci ha parlato della missione. La missione a un certo punto vuol dire anche la partenza. Padre Renzo ha detto che la partenza è la realizzazione della vocazione missionaria. Ha citato alcune parole belle dei confratelli saveriani sulla partenza. Anche di Santo Conforti, il fondatore.

Dopo la messa, abbiamo fatto il chiacchierato nel refettorio della casa madre. C’erano tanti amici del GAMS. Anche gli studenti e i padri saveriani in casa madre. È un momento di gioia, di condividere, di fraternità, di salutare, ecc. Grazie a Padre Renzo che ha dedicato per sei anni come rettore della casa madre. Buona missione in Camerun. Ti auguriamo con la nostra preghiera.


Parma, 4/2/2016
Gordi



Read more »
Tweet Share Share Share Share Share

Friday, February 05, 2016
LA CHIUSURA DELL’ANNO DELLA VITA CONSACARATA

il duomo di Parma

L’anno 2015 si è dedicato per la vita consacrata. Questa è la programmazione della chiesa cattolica sotto la guida di Papa Francesco. Durante l’anno ci sono tante attività per quanto riguarda la vita consacrata. Il cuore di queste attività è pregare per i consacrati affinché possano avere la relazione intima con Gesù, il centro della loro consacrazione.

Nel livello della diocesi di Parma questa chiusura si è celebrato con la messa insieme il vescovo monsignor Enrico Solmi. Ci sono tanti fedeli presenti insieme i religiosi e alcuni preti diocesani. Nell’omelia e il messaggio finale Mons Solmi ha citato la parola di Papa Francesco, non possiamo immaginare la chiesa senza i consacrati. Questa parola si sottolinea l’importanza della vita consacrata. Con la loro consacrazione, i consacrati hanno dato il grande merito alla chiesa nel mondo. Possiamo immaginare anche i missionari che portano il vangelo alla gente che non ancora conoscono Gesù Cristo. Questo compito ci dà la grande gioia. La gioia di essere uniti con tutti i fedeli e i consacrati.

Parma, 4/2/2016


Gordi
Read more »
Tweet Share Share Share Share Share

Thursday, February 04, 2016
GENERAL AUDIENCE POPE FRANCIS
Saint Peter's Square
Wednesday, 27 January 2016



5. God hears our cry and makes a covenant

Dear Brothers and Sisters, Good morning!
In Sacred Scripture, God’s mercy is present throughout the entire history of the people of Israel.

With his mercy, the Lord accompanies the journey of the Patriarchs, gives them children despite being barren, leads them on paths of grace and reconciliation, as demonstrated by the story of Joseph and his brothers (cf. Gen ch. 37-50). I think of the many brothers and sisters in a family who are distant and do not speak to each other. This Year of Mercy is a good opportunity to meet again, embrace, forgive and forget the bad things. But as we know, in Egypt, life is hard for the people. It is precisely when the Israelites are about to give in to resignation, that the Lord intervenes and works salvation.

One reads in the Book of Exodus: “In the course of those many days the King of Egypt died. And the people of Israel groaned under their bondage, and cried out for help, and their cry under bondage came up to God. And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. And God saw the people of Israel, and God knew their condition” (2:23-25). Mercy cannot remain indifferent to the suffering of the oppressed, to the cry of those who are subjected to violence, reduced to slavery, condemned to death. It is a painful reality that afflicts every era, including ours, and which often makes us feel powerless, tempted to harden our heart and think of something else. However, God “is not indifferent” (Message for the Celebration of the 2016 World Day of Peace, n. 1). He does not look away from our human pain. The God of mercy responds and takes care of the poor, of those who cry out in desperation. God listens and intervenes in order to save, raising men able to hear the groan of suffering and to work in favour of the oppressed.

And so begins the story of Moses as the mediator of freedom for the people. He confronts the Pharaoh to convince him to let the Israelites depart; and he then leads the people, across the Red Sea and the desert, toward freedom. Moses — whom just after his birth, divine mercy saved from death in the waters of the Nile — becomes the mediator of that very mercy, allowing the people to be born to freedom, saved from the waters of the Red Sea. In this Year of Mercy we too can do this work of acting as mediators of mercy through the works of mercy in order to approach, to give relief, to create unity. So many good things can be done.

God’s mercy always operates to save. It is quite the opposite of the work of those who always act to kill: for example, those who wage war. The Lord, through his servant Moses, guides Israel in the desert as if Israel were a son, educates the people to the faith and makes a covenant with Israel, creating a bond of the strongest love, like that of a father with his child and of a groom with his bride.

Divine mercy goes that far. God offers a special, exclusive, privileged relationship of love. When he gives instructions to Moses regarding the covenant, he says: “if you will obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my own possession among all peoples; for all the earth is mine, and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation” (Ex 19:5-6).

Of course, God already possesses all the earth because he created it; but his people become for him a different, special possession: his personal “reserve of gold and silver” such as King David stated he had given for the construction of the Temple.
So we become thus for God, by accepting his covenant and letting ourselves be saved by him. The Lord’s mercy renders man precious, like a personal treasure that belongs to him, which he safeguards and with which he is well pleased.

These are the wonders of divine mercy, which reaches complete fulfillment in the Lord Jesus, in the “new and eternal covenant” consummated in his blood, which annuls our sin with forgiveness and renders us definitively Children of God (cf. 1 Jn 3:1), precious gems in the hands of the good and merciful Father. And as we are Children of God and have the opportunity to receive this legacy — that of goodness and mercy — in comparison to others, let us ask the Lord that in this Year of Mercy we too may do merciful things; let us open our heart in order to reach everyone with the works of mercy, to work the merciful legacy that God the Father showed toward us.


Special greetings:
I address a warm welcome to Italian-speaking pilgrims. I greet the circus artists and workers and I thank them for their fine performance; you are champions of beauty and beauty is good for the soul. Beauty brings us closer to God, but behind this spectacle of beauty there are so many hours of training!

I greet the English-speaking pilgrims and visitors taking part in today’s Audience, especially those from the United States of America. With prayerful good wishes that the current Jubilee of Mercy will be a moment of grace and spiritual renewal for you and your families, I invoke upon all of you joy and peace in our Lord Jesus Christ. God bless you all!

May the Extraordinary Jubilee, with the passage through the Holy Door, invite us to emerge from selfishness — we all have some amount of selfishness. We must emerge from this. We must emerge from selfishness and foster in each person the exercise of the works of mercy toward our brothers and sisters.

A special thought goes to young people, the sick and to newlyweds: Tomorrow is the liturgical memorial of St Thomas Aquinas, Patron Saint of Catholic Schools. May his example impel you, dear young people, to see in the merciful Jesus the one teacher of life; may his intercession obtain for you, dear sick people, the serenity and peace present in the mystery of the Cross; and may his doctrine be an encouragement for you, dear newlyweds, to entrust yourselves to the wisdom of heart in order to fulfil your mission.
          
© Copyright - Libreria Editrice Vaticana


Read more »
Tweet Share Share Share Share Share

Wednesday, February 03, 2016
LA GIOIA IN OSPEDALE
 
FOTO: qui
Essere ammalato in un certo punto è essere limitato. Non può girare troppo, non può avere o fare quello che vuole, non vuole camminare dove vuoi. Qui si vede proprio la limita d’essere ammalato. Quello che può fare è immaginare, pregare, girare la fantasia qua e là, sognare, ecc. Quando questa attività si rompe, è arrivata il momento di tornare nel mondo reale. Magari sei ancora nella fantasia quando l’infermiere viene per fare una iniezione nel sangue.

Il tornare nel mondo reale si fa anche quando qualcuno ti visita. È proprio momento molto bello di scambiare le parole. Come succede oggi con noi. Siamo andati alla casa di cura delle piccole figlie a trovare una signora anziana. Lei è molto contenta quando ci ha visti dalla stanza. Dobbiamo aspettare per trentina di minuti prima che venga in mezzo con noi. Lei e la sua infermiere stavano facendo qualcosa quando siamo arrivati. Allora noi dobbiamo aspettare fuori.

Ci siamo seduti in sala d’attesa. Ho letto qualche pagine della rivista che c’era lì. Anche abbiamo parlato tra di noi tre, Carlos, Padre Raimondo e io. La signora è arrivata dopo aver aspettato per trenta minuti. Una parola che ci ha detto per prima volta è sono contenta di vedervi qui insieme con me. È una parola con senso forte. Vuol dire che lei sta aspettando qualcuno che venisse a trovarla. Anzi, lei anche ha bisogna di qualcuno per chiacchiere, per stare insieme, per condividere, e per essere vicini con lei. Per me è stato molto bella questa visita.


Abbiamo raccontato la nostra giornata in questi giorni. Poi, le ho chiesto sulla sua condizione. Sta bene, normalmente. Nel senso che lei sta curando quindi è ovvio che debba stare sempre lì finché il giorno che già fissato dai medici. Siamo tornati dopo aver chiacchierato circa 30 minuti, perché abbiamo ancora un altro impegno cioè la messa in cattedrale di Parma; la chiusura dell’anno santo di vita consecrata.


Grazie a Padre Raimondo che ci ha chiesto di andare insieme con lui a visitare questa signora. Grazie signora e grazie ancora a Padre Raimondo.

Parma, 2/2/2016

Gordi
Read more »
Tweet Share Share Share Share Share

Wednesday, February 03, 2016


Sono contentissimo perché oggi (sabato 30 gennaio) ho finito esame di questo semestre. Ho tre esami. Ho cominciato da mercoledì 21 scorso. Poi, seguito il giorno dopo. Credo che sia più difficile farlo perché in due giorni vicini. Però, il risultato era abbastanza, sopratutto quello del secondo giorno.

Ultimo esame era più difficile di tutti. Così anche dicono gli altri studenti. Perciò hanno fatto già nel primo giorno cioè nel lunedì 18 gennaio scorso. Ho messo una settimana per preparare questo esame. Credo che non sia diversa la mia opinione con loro. È vero che sia difficile. Io non ho fatto proprio nel primo giorno. Ho messo nell'ultimo perché ho molto tempo da prepararlo.

L’idea comunque resta nella testa. Nella sera prima dell’esame ho preparato tutte le matteria con 17 domande, ma non ho potuto finirle tutte. Perciò, all’mattino ho studiato ancora. Anche a Reggio mentre stavamo aspettava l’orario dell’esame. Ho preoccupato perché non ho preparato bene. Anzi, ho dimenticato tutto quello che ho preparato.

È arrivato l’orario per noi saveriani. Nessuno di noi tre (io, Berto e Innocent) pronto ad andare al professore. Berto è andato dopo aver aspettato cinque minuti. Poi, seguo dopo di lui. Mentre lui stava facendo l'esame, ho preparato ancora. Ho sentito il suono della porta. È uscito Berto e anche il professore. Berto mi ha mostrato con le sue mani per dire che ha superato esame. Poi, sono entrato nella sala dell’esame.


Il professore mi ha accolto molto bene. Mi ha dato benvenuto. Poi, abbiamo cominciato. Mi ha fatto la prima domanda. Prima di risponderla mi sono fermato. Ho pensato la risposta ma alla fine non ho ricordato bene. Poi, ho provato di risponderla con qualche parole chiave. È superato la prima domanda. Poi, la seconda domanda. Ho chiesto al professore di aiutarmi la parola chiave perché l'ho dimenticata. Mi ha aiutato e ho potuto risponderla. Così anche nella terza domanda. Grazie al professore.

Mi sono sentito libero rispetto alla prima esame con lui. Oggi, infatti, è molto bene. Ho scoperto che bisogna anche un pò di coraggio nel dare la risposta. Se no, ci ha messo nella paura. Il risultato era molto buono. È contrario di quello che ho preparato molto bene. Oggi, nonostante non ho ricordato tutto la risposta il risultato era buono.

Grazie ancora professore.

Parma 2/2/16

Gordi
Read more »
Tweet Share Share Share Share Share

Monday, February 01, 2016
ANGELUS POPE FRANCIS
Saint Peter's Square Sunday, 24 January 2016



Dear Brothers and Sisters, Good morning!

In today’s Gospel, before presenting Jesus’ programmatic speech in Nazareth, Luke the Evangelist briefly recounts the work of evangelization. It is an activity that Jesus carries out with the power of the Holy Spirit: his Word is original because it reveals the meaning of the Scriptures; it is an authoritative Word because he commands even impure spirits with authority, and they obey him (cf. Mk 1:27). Jesus is different from the teachers of his time. For example, he doesn’t open a law school but rather goes around preaching and teaching everywhere: in the synagogues, on the streets, in houses, always moving about! Jesus is also different from John the Baptist, who proclaims God’s imminent judgment. Instead Jesus announces God’s fatherly forgiveness.

Now let us imagine that we too enter the synagogue of Nazareth, the village where Jesus has grown up, until he is about 30 years old. What happens is an important event, which delineates Jesus’ mission. He stands up to read the Sacred Scripture. He opens the scroll of the Prophet Isaiah and takes up the passage where it is written: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor” (Lk 4:18). Then, after a moment of silence filled with expectation on the part of everyone, he says, in the midst of their general amazement: “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing” (v. 21).

Evangelizing the poor: this is Jesus’ mission. According to what he says, this is also the mission of the Church, and of every person baptized in the Church. Being a Christian is the same thing as being a missionary. Proclaiming the Gospel with one’s word, and even before, with one’s life, is the primary aim of the Christian community and of each of its members. It is noted here that Jesus addresses the Good News to all, excluding no one, indeed favouring those who are distant, suffering sick, cast out by society.

Let us ask ourselves: what does it mean to evangelize the poor? It means first of all drawing close to them, it means having the joy of serving them, of freeing them from their oppression, and all of this in the name of and with the Spirit of Christ, because he is the Gospel of God, he is the Mercy of God, he is the liberation of God, he is the One who became poor so as to enrich us with his poverty. The text of Isaiah, reinforced with little adaptations introduced by Jesus, indicates that the messianic announcement of the Kingdom of God come among us is addressed in a preferential way to the marginalized, to captives, to the oppressed.

In Jesus’ time these people probably were not at the centre of the community of faith. Let us ask ourselves: today, in our parish communities, in our associations, in our movements, are we faithful to Christ’s plan? Is the priority evangelizing the poor, bringing them the joyful Good News? Pay heed: it does not only involve doing social assistance, much less political activity. It involves offering the strength of the Gospel of God, who converts hearts, heals wounds, transforms human and social relationships according to the logic of love. The poor are indeed at the centre of the Gospel.

May the Virgin Mary, Mother of evangelizers, help us to strongly perceive the hunger and thirst for the Gospel that there is in the world, especially in the hearts and the flesh of the poor. May she enable each of us and every Christian community to tangibly bear witness to the mercy, the great mercy that Christ has given us.
After the Angelus:
Dear brothers and sisters, I warmly greet all of you from various parishes in Italy and other countries, as well as associations and families.

I wish everyone a happy Sunday. Please do not forget to pray for me! Have a good lunch! Arrivederci!


© Copyright - Libreria Editrice Vaticana
Read more »
Tweet Share Share Share Share Share

Thursday, January 28, 2016
Il desiderio di scrivere ancora

fotolia

Da tanto tempo non scrivo in questo blog-diario. Più di una volta ho messo nella mia programma di scrivere sempre su questo blog. Ho provato anche e sono riuscito a scrivere qualcosa. Quindi, ho portato avanti questo impegno personale. Però, c'è anche la limite da parte mia, cioè a volte ho lasciato questo impegno. Non sono riuscito a scrivere almeno un articolo alla settimana. A volte ho tanti impegni e ovvio che l’ho lasciato. Però, a volte proprio non ho il desiderio di portarlo avanti.

Dopo aver cercato il motivo di questo caso, ho scoperto che il problema non è nei miei impegni, neanche nel desiderio di scrivere. Il problema sarebbe non sono riuscito a mettere apposto la mia giornata.

Certo che gli impegni vengono sempre. La vita senza impegno è vuoto. Credo che non ci sia un uomo che non abbia impegno. Anche un disabilita abbia impegno. Leggere un libro, cantare una canzone, guardare il TV, ascoltare la notizia su radio o telegiornale, eccetera. Tutti noi abbiamo impegno.

Come anche il mio desiderio. Ho sempre il desiderio di scrivere qualcosa nel mio diario. Anzi, ho scritto tanti articoli in indonesiano e ho pubblicato almeno su tre o quattro blog/sito. Mi chiedo, perché non scrivo in italiana? Perché la mia lingua non è ancora bene? Direi che anche se non ho ancora la capacità di scrivere bene in italiano, voglio scrivere. Nessuno è perfetto dice sempre qualcuno. Va meglio secondo me se imparo anche attraverso la scrittura. Per rafforzami in questo impegno, voglio leggere prima gli articoli che a me piacciono di più. Ho trovato almeno un autore che mi piace di più. Mi piace a leggere il suo articolo. Ho trovato anche gli altri però non sono come Padre Alex Zanotelli, un missionario comboniano che scivere sempre su Ningrizia.

Da questo momento voglio continuare questo impegno. Vedo che ho già qualche articolo di Padre Alex che per me è come l’ispirazione di scrivere in modo semplice. Semplice nel senso che gli altri possano capire il mio articolo. Magari anche possano trovare tanti errori. Per me è importante scriverlo. Su errori o no, a me non importa.

Buon inizio ancora a me e buona lettura ai lettori.

Parma, 27/1/2016

Gordi
Read more »
Tweet Share Share Share Share Share

Thursday, January 28, 2016
GENERAL AUDIENCE POPE FRANCIS
Paul VI Audience Hall
Wednesday, 20 January 2016



Week of Prayer for Christian Unity
Dear Brothers and Sisters, Good morning!
We have listened to the Biblical text which this year guides the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, which is taking place this week from 18 to 25 January. That passage from the First Letter of St Peter was chosen by an ecumenical group from Latvia, commissioned by the World Council of Churches and by the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity.

At the centre of the Lutheran Cathedral of Riga there is a baptismal font that dates back to the 12th century, when Latvia was evangelized by St Meinhard. That font is an eloquent sign of the origin of the faith, recognized by all the Christians of Latvia: Catholics, Lutherans and Orthodox. That origin is our shared Baptism. The Second Vatican Council affirms that Baptism “constitutes the sacramental bond of unity existing among all who through it have been reborn” (Unitatis Redintegratio, n. 22). The First Letter of Peter is addressed to the first generation of Christians to make them aware of the gift they received at Baptism and of what that entails. We too, in this Week of Prayer, are invited to rediscover its significance, and to do so together, moving beyond our divisions.

First of all, sharing Baptism means that we are all sinners and need to be saved, redeemed, freed from sin. This is the negative aspect, which the First Letter of Peter calls “darkness” when it says: “[God] called you out of darkness into his marvelous light”. This is the experience of death, what Christ wanted to overcome, and what is symbolized in Baptism by immersion in water, followed by emergence, the symbol of the resurrection to new life in Christ.

When we Christians speak of sharing in one Baptism, we affirm that we all — Catholics, Protestants and Orthodox — share in the experience of being called out of the merciless and alienating darkness to the encounter with the living God, full of mercy. We all, unfortunately, also experience the selfishness, that creates division, withdrawal and contempt. Starting anew from Baptism means rediscovering the font of mercy, the font of hope for all, for no one is excluded from the mercy of God.

The sharing of this grace creates an indissoluble bond between us as Christians, such that, by virtue of Baptism, we can consider ourselves truly brothers and sisters. We are truly the holy people of God, even if, due to our sins, we are not yet a fully united people. The mercy of God, who acts in Baptism, is stronger than our divisions. To the extent that we accept the grace of mercy, we become ever more fully the people of God, and we also become better able to proclaim to all his marvelous deeds, starting with a simple and fraternal testimony of unity. We Christians can proclaim to all people the power of the Gospel by committing ourselves to sharing in the corporal and spiritual works of mercy. This is a concrete testimony of unity among us Christians: Protestant, Orthodox and Catholic.

In conclusion, dear brothers and sisters, we Christians have all, by the grace of Baptism, been shown mercy by God and been welcomed into his people. We, Catholics, Orthodox and Protestants, form one royal priesthood and one holy nation. This means that we have one common mission, which is to pass the mercy we have received on to others, beginning with the poor and abandoned. During this Week of Prayer, let us pray that all of us, disciples of Christ, may find a way to cooperate with one another to bring the mercy of the Father to every part of the earth.

Special greetings:
I greet the English-speaking pilgrims and visitors taking part in today’s Audience, including those from New Zealand and the United States of America. In the context of this Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, I offer a special greeting to the group from the Bossey Ecumenical Institute. Upon all of you, and your families, I invoke an abundance of joy and peace in our Lord Jesus Christ. God bless you all!
© Copyright - Libreria Editrice Vaticana


Read more »
Tweet Share Share Share Share Share

Monday, January 25, 2016
ANGELUS POPE FRANCIS
Saint Peter's Square
Sunday, 17 January 2016



Dear Brothers and Sisters, Good morning!

This Sunday’s Gospel presents the prodigious event that occurred at Cana, a village in Galilee, during a wedding feast also attended by Mary and Jesus, with his first disciples (cf. Jn 2:1-11). The Mother points out to her Son that the wine has run out, and, after responding that his hour had not yet come, Jesus nevertheless accepts her request and gives to the bride and groom the best wine of the entire feast. The Evangelist underlines that this was the first of the signs Jesus performed; it “manifested his glory; and his disciples believed in him” (v. 11).

Miracles, thus, are extraordinary signs that accompany the Good News and have the purpose of causing or strengthening faith in Jesus. In the miracle performed at Cana, we are able to glimpse an act of benevolence on the part of Jesus toward the bride and groom, a sign of God’s blessing on the marriage. The love between a man and a woman is therefore a good path through which to live the Gospel, that is, to set out with joy on the path of holiness.

Yet the miracle at Cana does not pertain only to spouses. Every human person is called to encounter the Lord in his or her life. Christian faith is a gift which we receive in Baptism and which allows us to encounter God. Faith intersects times of joy and pain, of light and darkness, as in every authentic experience of love. The narrative of the wedding at Cana invites us to rediscover that Jesus does not present himself to us as a judge ready to condemn our faults, nor as a commander who imposes upon us to blindly follow his orders; he is manifest as Saviour of mankind, as brother, as our elder brother, Son of the Father: he presents himself as he who responds to the expectations and promises of joy that dwell in the heart of each one of us.

Thus we can ask ourselves: do I really know the Lord like this? Do I feel him close to me, to my life? Am I responding to him on the wavelength of that spousal love which he manifests each day to everyone, to every human being? It is about realizing that Jesus looks for us and invites us to make room in the inner reaches of our heart. In this walk of faith with him we are not left alone: we have received the gift of the Blood of Christ. The large stone jars that Jesus had filled with water in order to transform it into wine (v. 7) are a sign of the passage from the old to the new covenant: in place of the water used for the rites of purification, we have received the Blood of Jesus, poured out in a sacramental way in the Eucharist and in the bloodstained way of the Passion and of the Cross. The Sacraments, which originate from the Pascal Mystery, instill in us supernatural strength and enable us to experience the infinite mercy of God.

May the Virgin Mary, model of meditation of the words and acts of the Lord, help us to rediscover with faith the beauty and richness of the Eucharist and of the other Sacraments, which render present God’s faithful love for us. In this way we fall ever more in love with the Lord Jesus, our Bridegroom, and we go to meet him with our lamps alight with our joyous faith, thus becoming his witnesses in the world.
After the Angelus:
Dear brothers and sisters, today the World Day of Migrants and Refugees, taking place in the context of the Holy Year of Mercy, is also celebrated as the Jubilee of Migrants. Therefore, I am pleased to greet with great affection the ethnic communities present here, all of you, from various regions of Italy, especially Lazio. Dear migrants and refugees, each of you carries within you a story, a culture, precious values; and often, sadly, also experiences of misery, oppression, fear. Your presence in this Square is a sign of hope in God. Do not let them rob you of the hope and joy of living, which springs from the experience of divine mercy, thanks also to the people who welcome you and help you. May your passing through the Holy Door and the Mass which you will experience shortly, fill your heart with peace. In this Mass I would like to thank — and you too, thank them with me — the detainees of the prison in Opera [Italy], for the gift of the hosts which they packaged themselves and which will be used in this celebration. Let us greet them with a round of applause from here, all together....

I affectionately greet all of you, pilgrims from Italy and other countries.

Now I invite everyone together to convey to God a prayer for the victims of the attacks that occurred in recent days in Indonesia and Burkina Faso. May the Lord welcome them in his house, and sustain the international community’s efforts to build peace. Let us pray to Our Lady: Hail Mary...

I wish you all a happy Sunday. Please do not forget to pray for me. Enjoy your lunch. Arrivederci!


© Copyright - Libreria Editrice Vaticana
Read more »
Tweet Share Share Share Share Share

Thursday, January 21, 2016
GENERAL AUDIENCE POPE FRANCIS
Paul VI Audience Hall
Wednesday, 13 January 2016
4. The Mercy of God

Dear Brothers and Sisters, Good morning!
Today we shall begin the catecheses on mercy according to the biblical perspective, in order to learn mercy by listening to what God himself teaches us through his Word. We shall start with the Old Testament, which prepares us and leads us to the full revelation of Jesus Christ, in whom the mercy of the Father is fully revealed.

In Sacred Scripture, the Lord is presented as a “merciful God”. This is his name, through which he unveils, so to speak, his face and his heart to us. As the Book of Exodus recounts, on revealing himself to Moses he defined himself in this way: “the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness” (34:6). We also find this formula in other texts, with certain variations, but the emphasis is always placed on mercy and on the love of God who never tires of forgiving (cf. Gen 4:2; Joel 2:13; Ps 86 [85]: 15, 103 [102]: 8, 145[144]:8; Neh 9:17). Together let us consider, one by one, these words of Sacred Scripture which speak to us about God.

The Lord is “merciful”: this word evokes a tender approach like that of a mother toward her child. Indeed, the Hebrew term used in the Bible evokes the viscera or even the maternal womb. Therefore, the image it suggests is that of a God who is moved and who softens for us like a mother when she takes her child in her arms, wanting only to love, protect, help, ready to give everything, even herself. This is the image that this term evokes. A love, therefore, which can be defined in the best sense as “visceral”.

Then it is written that the Lord is “gracious”, in the sense of having grace, he has compassion and, in his greatness, he bends down to those who are weak and poor, ever ready to welcome, to understand, to forgive. He is like the father in the parable recounted in the Gospel of Luke (cf. Lk 15:11-32): a father who does not withdraw in resentment at the younger son for having forsaken him, but on the contrary, he continues to await him — he begot him — and then he runs to meet him and embraces him. He does not even let him explain — as though he had covered his mouth — so great is his love and joy at having found him again. Then the father also goes to call the older son who is offended and does not want to join in the celebration, the son who always stayed home and who lived more as a servant than as a son. To him too, the father bends down, invites him to enter, tries to open his heart to love, so that no one is excluded from the celebration of mercy. Mercy is a celebration!

It is also said of this merciful God that he is “slow to anger”, literally, “of great breadth”, that is, having a broad capacity of forbearance and patience. God knows how to wait, his time is not the impatient one of man; he is like the wise farmer who knows how to wait, allowing time for the good seed to grow, in spite of the weeds (cf. Mt 13:24-30).

Lastly, the Lord proclaims himself “abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness”. How beautiful this definition of God is! It is all-encompassing. For God is great and powerful, and this greatness and power are used to love us, who are so small, so incompetent. The word “love”, used here, indicates affection, grace, goodness. It is not soap opera love.... It is love which takes the first step, which does not depend on human merit but on immense gratuitousness. It is divine solicitude that nothing can impede, not even sin, because it is able to go beyond sin, to overcome evil and forgive it.

Abounding in “faithfulness”: this is the final word of God’s revelation to Moses. God’s faithfulness never fails, because the Lord is the guardian who, as the Psalm says, never slumbers but keeps constant vigil over us in order to lead us to life: “May he not suffer your foot to slip; may he slumber not who guards you: Indeed he neither slumbers nor sleeps, the guardian of Israel.... The Lord will guard you from all evil; he will guard your life. The Lord will guard your coming and your going, both now and forever” (Ps 121[120]:3-4, 7-8).

This merciful God is faithful in his mercy and St Paul says something beautiful: if you are not faithful to him, he will remain faithful, for he cannot deny himself. Faithfulness in mercy is the very being of God. For this reason God is totally and always trustworthy. A solid and steadfast presence. This is the assurance of our faith. Thus, in this Jubilee of Mercy, let us entrust ourselves to him totally, and experience the joy of being loved by this “God who is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in love and faithfulness”.

Special greetings:
Before concluding our meeting, in which we have reflected together on the Mercy of God, I encourage you to pray for the victims of the attack that occurred yesterday in Istanbul. May the Lord, the All Merciful, grant eternal peace to the victims, comfort to their families, steadfast solidarity to society as a whole, and convert the hearts of the aggressors.

I greet the English-speaking pilgrims and visitors taking part in today’s Audience, including the pilgrimage groups from Ireland, Finland and the United States of America. With prayerful good wishes that the Church’s celebration of the Jubilee of Mercy will be a moment of grace and spiritual renewal for all, I invoke upon you and your families an abundance of joy and peace in the Lord. God bless you all!
© Copyright - Libreria Editrice Vaticana
Read more »
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)

Contact Form

Name

Email *

Message *

LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL © 2010. All Rights Reserved. "FROM INDONESIA TO THE WORLD, ADESSO SONO IN THAILANDIA"
Powered by Blogger
Powered by Blogger.