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Letter #61: "Prepare well"

[2013-03-24]
[Engleză]
March 24, 2013, Sunday -- "Prepare well"

"Prepare well – prepare spiritually above all – in your communities, so that our gathering in Rio may be a sign of faith for the whole world."--Pope Francis, Homily, Palm Sunday Mass, this morning in St. Peter's Square, to young people planning to go to World Youth Day in Brazil in July

======================

Also, will the Pope go to Jerusalem? He's been invited... (see below...)

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The Unique King: Joy, the Cross, the Young....

Pope Francis today, 11 days after his election as Pope, celebrated the first, joyous, Palm Sunday Mass of his pontificate.

He used the occasion, in his homily, to emphasize the contrast between the joy of Jesus' wonderful entry in Jerusalem -- "praise, blessing, peace: joy fills the air" -- and the suffering that awaits Jesus in just a few short days -- "Jesus enters Jerusalem to die on the cross."

(Pope Francis this morning in front of the Vatican obelisk to bless the palms for Palm Sunday. Behind him to the right is his Master of Ceremonies, Monsignor Guido Marini, who was also Master of Ceremonies under Pope Benedict XVI)

Special note: On the obelisk are written the words: "Plebem suam defendat." Not shown are the words above, which say "Christus vincit, Christus regnat, Christus imperat, ab omni malo"; so the words taken together mean "Christ conquers, Christ reigns, Christ rules, may He defend his people from every evil.")

Francis built his homily around three words: joy, cross, youth.

But, as on a several other occasions in the first days of his pontificate, he also referred to "the Evil One" (the devil), saying: "We must not believe the Evil One when he tells us: you can do nothing to counter violence, corruption, injustice, your sins! We must never grow accustomed to evil! With Christ we can transform ourselves and the world."

His references to the devil, to the Evil One, as a reality, as a real factor (that is, actor, agent, doer, and so, evidently, as a personal being) in our world, have struck many, across the spectrum of Catholic and secular thought.

It will take time to grasp this Pope's true meaning, the dimensions and nuances of his teaching on this subject, but we can take a first stab at an analysis. Clearly Francis is saying there is something "out there" that deceives, harms, must be fought against... or should I say, actually, someone who deceives, harms, must be fought against?

At the bedrock, in any case, Francis is saying that there is a real battle, that not everything, or everyone, is good, that choices must be made, difficult ones, to overcome "violence, corruption, injustice" and, not least, to overcome "your sins"...

In this sense, the essence of the Pope's preaching is to return to reality. Christian realism. Far from "pie in the sky" Christian avoidance of tough struggles for earthly social justice, but also, and importantly, personal sanctity.

Francis's actions have shown us that he wishes to live simply, poorly, with the poor. And his teaching is now echoing that: that we must work, and struggle, and be committed, first to Christ, then to our brothers and sisters, and in this way, with great realism, to "Incarnate" our faith.

And it is in this sense that he then turned to the question of World Youth Day, which is planned for July in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil, in July. He confirmed that he will go personally to Brazil (God willing), and he asked the young people to "prepare themselves," saying: "Prepare well – prepare spiritually above all – in your communities, so that our gathering in Rio may be a sign of faith for the whole world."

Again, "prepare well" means to take the journey seriously, as one would prepare for any trip, gathering together what one needs, but in this case, the preparations are those of faith, of the spirit. We could imagine that more specific recommendations for this "preparation" may soon be given -- prayer, study of the scriptures, discussion of the faith, spiritual reading, perhaps a study of Franciscan and Ignatian spirituality, a re-commitment to Christian life, a deepening participation in the sacraments. In short, a program of formation, which is also a program of renewal and reform, beginning with the young.

That seems to be Pope Francis's meaning.

After celebrating Palm Sunday Mass, Pope Francis made his way through St. Peter's Square in an open popemobile. He stopped many times along the way, blessing and kissing many babies and toddlers along the way. Once, the Pope got out of the vehicle to greet a group of people. He also blessed many pilgrims with physical disabilities.

In those minutes, he seemed to share the joy that Jesus himself may have felt entering Jerusalem.

Here is a link to a video showing these joyous moments: Pope Francis and the children.

(Full text of the papal homily at bottom below)

=====================================

Will Francis travel to Jerusalem in the next 12 months?

"I've invited Pope Francis to the Holy Land"--Latin-rite Patriarch Fouad Twal of Jerusalem, speaking two days ago to the Aid to the Church in Need news service

by Oliver Maksan (ACN News, Friday, March 22, Israel)

The Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Fouad Twal, has invited Pope Francis to visit the Holy Land. The Patriarch announced this to the Catholic charity "Aid to the Church in Need" in Jerusalem.

At the same time he spoke about how he knew the new Pope:

"I met Pope Francis when he was still the Cardinal Archbishop of Buenos Aires. That was on the occasion of my visit to the Palestinian diaspora in Argentina about two years ago.

"Cardinal Bergoglio, as he then was, knew the situation of the Palestinians in Argentina and other Latin American countries very well.

"At that time I gave a talk in his presence in which I called for a just peace in the Middle East and for mutual respect and tolerance between the different peoples there. Cardinal Bergoglio expressed his agreement.

"But independently of this he will, I am sure, love the Holy Land as all Popes have done and will be concerned about us here."

Twal continued that this hope was also justified in the light of the Holy Father's reputation as the Pope of the poor: "Here in the Middle East, and especially in Syria, there are many people who live in poverty and are suffering."

In addition to the Latin Patriarch, both the Israeli President, Shimon Peres, and the President of the autonomous Palestinian National Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, have invited the Holy Father to visit the Holy Land.

Peres said that the new Pope was a welcome guest. He could help bring peace to a turbulent area.

Abbas has invited the Pope to visit Christ's place of birth in Bethlehem. In his letter of congratulation on the election he expressed his wish that Pope Francis would commit himself to the cause of peace in the Holy Land.

In the meantime the media are reporting that Pope Francis intends to visit Jerusalem in the coming year together with the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I.

The Pope had accepted a suggestion to this effect from the Patriarch when the latter traveled to Rome for the inauguration.

The Church leaders thus intended to recall the historical meeting between Pope Paul VI and the then Ecumenical Patriarch Athenagoras in the Holy City 50 years ago.

The Vatican has not yet confirmed this information.

=================================================

Papal Tweets

Here are the five Twitter messages that Pope Francis has "tweeted" since his election as Pope: two today, two on March 19 (Feast of St. Joseph, day of his inaugural Mass and installation) and one on March 17.

The powerful thing about "Twitter" that its brief messages can be "re-tweeted" to "lists" ranging from a handful of people to thousands of people, so that a "tweet" can be spread quickly to millions, even if those millions are not actually signed up for the Pope's tweet. So this method of communication, even though seemingly superficial -- the messages are limited to 140 characters, or about 20 words -- can be very powerful for instantaneously contacting millions of people.

Pope Francis ‏@Pontifex 2h
We must not believe the Evil One when he tells us that there is nothing we can do in the face of violence, injustice and sin.

Pope Francis ‏@Pontifex 2h
I am looking forward to next July in Rio de Janeiro! I hope to see all of you in that great Brazilian city!

Pope Francis ‏@Pontifex 19 Mar
True power is service. The Pope must serve all people, especially the poor, the weak, the vulnerable.

Pope Francis ‏@Pontifex 19 Mar
Let us keep a place for Christ in our lives, let us care for one another and let us be loving custodians of creation.

Pope Francis ‏@Pontifex 17 Mar
Dear friends, I thank you from my heart and I ask you to continue to pray for me. Pope Francis.

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Sursa: www.InsideTheVatican.com

Contor Accesări: 1095, Ultimul acces: 2026-05-27 04:47:01