“Like Mary, the mother of Christ, Pope Francis continually points to Christ".

 

With new pictures and stories going viral every week, our 76-year-old Holy Father is dominating the conversation on the Internet. But is the Gospel message getting across?

12.11.2013
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Brantly Millegan

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Jeffrey Bruno

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We already know he’s the most influential world leader on Twitter, but a new report shows Pope Francis’ reach on the digital continent goes far beyond that. According to Global Language Monitor’s 14th annual global survey of the English language, “Pope Francis” is the most discussed name on the 1.83 billion person English-language portion of the Internet.

And “name” here is understood fairly broadly, encompassing not only people but also organizations, programs, and even laws. The next five most discussed names are “Obamacare”, “NSA”, “Ed Snowden”, “Kate Middleton”, and “IRS” - and Pope Francis bests them all.

Among the most commonly used words in the English-language portion of the Internet, “@Pontifex” (Pope Francis’ English username on Twitter) comes in at fourth, beating out terms like “drones”, “surveillance”, “deficit”, and “twerking”, and losing out only to “404”, “fail”, and “hashtag”.

Seemingly without even trying, and in spite of a Vatican media team that at times has been known for its comical inadequacies, Pope Francis simply can’t stay out of the news. With new pictures, statements, and stories going viral every week, it’s fully confirmed: Pope Francis is a mega-celebrity of the highest order.

He’s also a mega-celebrity of a different kind of order. While others are famous for lying, twerking, or their supposed good looks, Pope Francis seems to be uber-famous for the best of reasons. He’s the supreme leader of a 1.2 billion member religion, yet he goes out of his way to embrace a man with a disfigured face. He personally calls up an unwed mother and offers to baptize her child. When the world seems to be on the brink of war, he organizes and leads a world day of prayer for peace - and it works.

But should we be surprised?


“Jesus Christ’s Representative”

“It's not at all surprising that Pope Francis is the most talked about name on the Internet,” says Tim Drake, New Evangelization Coordinator with the Holdingford Area Catholic Community in the Diocese of St. Cloud, Minnesota. “He is, after all, Jesus Christ's representative, and the leader of the Roman Catholic Church and its more than one billion worldwide members.”

Drake compares Pope Francis to Jesus. “Some have said that Pope Francis is shaking things up, and this is why he's drawing so much attention. Again, Christ was an unconventional figure. He shook up the establishment of His time, and out of love embraced the lost, the forgotten, the broken, and those who needed healing. Pope Francis, as demonstrated through the many press reports and photos that show him reaching out to those in prison, the handicapped, the ill, and the disfigured, appears to be doing the same. He's not drawing the attention for himself, but to demonstrate Christ's love. Thus, he's being talked about for good reasons.”

“Like Mary, the mother of Christ, Pope Francis continually points to Christ. Therefore, any attention he is getting only serves to give attention to Christ. That is a great thing. Our world needs Christ more than ever.”

Fr. Roger Landry, an expert on the teachings of Pope Bl. John Paul II, also sees Jesus behind Pope Francis’ fame. “I think the fundamental reason has less to do with Pope Francis the man and much more with what, or better Whom, he represents. People are searching for God, hungering for signs of his presence, his mercy, his love, his goodness in the world. Pope Francis lives, acts, speaks and embraces in a way that not only doesn't contradict people's expectations for God but are fully consistent with them. The interest in him is fundamentally positive.”

Andrew Seeley, professor at Thomas Aquinas College and the Executive Director of the Institute for Catholic Liberal Education, thinks Pope Francis’ method of pastoring is similar to Jesus’. “From my vantage point, it looks as though Pope Francis wants to shepherd his flock as Our Lord did, not simply as Chief Teacher, but more intimately, through sharing his heart and soul with us.

“As hearing about Our Lord caused many to ask about Him, ‘Who is this man?’, so much of what hear about Pope Francis causes people to wonder about him. Many were content to judge Our Lord based on the reports about Him, but for some, like Nicodemus, the reports led them to seek Him out, to get to know Him more intimately. The interest that reports about Pope Francis has generated are having a similar effect. The social media possibilities today allow for us to get know Francis more intimately than ever. We should take advantage of them and not be content with what is simply reported to us. What we will find, I believe, is a heart aflame with the love for us inspired by Our Lord and His Church.”


“A Great Help for the New Evangelization”

Church historian Fr. C. John McCloskey sees Francis’ popularity as contributing to the work begun by his predecessors. “It is a sign that the world is indeed attracted to the Church and it's new leader. They are at least listening and watching. This is a great help for the New Evangelization that our last three popes have pushed during their pontificates.”

Ronald J. Rychlak, Butler Snow Lecturer and Professor of Law at the University of Mississippi School of Law, thinks Pope Francis is bringing to light long-standing Church teaching that wasn’t always well-known. “Pope Francis captures the fascination of the public because he has brought some emphasis to aspects of the Catholic faith that are often overlooked by the popular media.The teachings are no different, and Francis is quite orthodox when it comes to traditional Catholic social positions. With a new face and a new voice, however, people are finally seeing and hearing a message that has always been there. That is a very good thing, both for those who are hearing this message for the first time and for those who have a deep understanding of the Catholic faith.”

Msgr. Charles M. Mangan, Director of the Office of the Marian Apostolate Diocese of Sioux Falls, thinks Francis’ message of love is drawing spiritual seekers. "In a rather short time, Pope Francis has caught the attention of millions of persons. His gestures and words have encouraged many to look again at the Gospel of Christ and His Church. The Holy Spirit chose Pope Francis, as He did his Predecessors, to proclaim the message of Jesus. It is not surprising that we 'searchers,' in the midst of these perilous times, find in Pope Francis a much appreciated reassurance that God deeply loves us and cares for us."

Lawrence DiPaolo, Jr., Associate Dean and Associate Professor of Sacred Scripture at the University of St. Thomas, points out that Pope Francis isn’t simply in the news, but is in the news for positive reasons. “It is not surprising to me in the least that Pope Francis is the most talked about name on the internet. What is particularly noteworthy in the coverage is that it is almost without exception universally positive.”

“Whether it is Pope Francis embracing a child with cerebral palsy at St. Peter's Basilica, kissing a disfigured man or laughing as a child sits in his chair, the images show a very human Pontiff. Anytime a Pope becomes popular owing to his humility, charity and love for the people of God, that is indeed a good thing for the Church.”


“The Real Litmus Test”

Not everyone is convinced Pope Francis is famous for the right reasons, though. Fr. George Rutler is worried some his fame comes from an expectation among liberals he will fundamentally change the Church. “Many uninformed people are using Pope Francis as a sort of Rorschach inkblot test. What they see in him says more about themselves than about him.”

“His recent excommunication of an heretical Australian priest, and recent appointments of solid bishops are indications of his grasp of true reform. Those who have cast the Pope in the image of their own desires, will soon complain that he has not lived up to their expectations: rather like Blessed Pius IX and, in our own day, Blessed John Paul II.”

Writing for The Catholic Thing, Randall Smith, Professor of Theology at the University of St Thomas in Houston, says he likes Pope Francis but is worried his personality might be eclipsing his message in the media. “[A]lthough personally I enjoy Pope Francis, I also have a concern. Not because he says goofy things or does press conferences he probably shouldn’t. [...] No, what concerns me about Pope Francis’s current situation is a concern I think he would share if he became aware of the problem. My concern is that, increasingly, Francis is becoming the message. And if I understand Francis correctly, I think he would find that, not only odd, but practically intolerable.”

“Pope Francis isn’t exactly what most people would call ‘media savvy.’ The problem for a man of humility who has no real concern for the media is that he may not understand the degree to which his own personality and style has come to dominate the message. He has become ‘the story.’ It was similar for Pope John Paul II in his early days. But then he wrote Redemptor Hominis and Familiaris Consortio and defended Humanae Vitae with his ‘the theology of the body,’ and things started to change.”

Fr. Landry is tentative about whether Pope Francis’ celebrity is will turn out to be good for the Church. “In and of itself, his celebrity is a great opportunity, but whether it turns out to be a good or bad thing depends on whether people get beyond his celebrity status to ponder his words and example.”

“Many of those who are fascinated by Pope Francis readily say that the reason they ‘love’ him is because they don't think he judges them or is as interested as they believe most leaders of the Church are in getting them and the world to convert on those subjects where popular opinion and Church teaching aren't aligned.”

Fr. Landry thinks this confusion comes from a misreading of Francis. “But even a superficial following of Pope Francis reveals that the fundamental theme of his papacy is mercy. To talk about mercy implies the need for mercy. Pope Francis has called himself a sinner on whom the Lord has looked with mercy.”

“The real litmus test of whether his celebrity turns out to be a good or a bad thing for the Church is whether all of us will recognize that we, too, are sinners under the merciful glance of the Lord and called to come to receive his forgiveness and share it with others. It's not enough for people to like Pope Francis. It's far more important that people follow his Christian example. The Pope is interested not in winning popularity contests, but in saving people in the great field hospital of the Church.”


The following Aleteia Experts contribute to this article:

Lawrence DiPaolo, Jr. is Associate Dean and Associate Professor of Sacred Scripture at the University of St. Thomas.

Tim Drake is the New Evangelization Coordinator with the Holdingford Area Catholic Community in the Diocese of St. Cloud, Minnesota. He is an award-winning journalist, the author of six books on religion and culture, and a former radio host.

Fr. Roger Landry speaks widely on the thought of Pope John Paul II, Theology of the Body, apologetics, and on contemporary issues in the Church.

Msgr. Charles M. Mangan is Director of the Office of the Marian Apostolate Diocese of Sioux Falls, the Vicar for Consecrated Life, and the Canonical Adviser to the Most Reverend Paul J. Swain, D.D., the Bishop of Sioux Falls.

Fr. C. John McCloskey is a Church historian and Research Fellow at the Faith and Reason Institute in Washington DC. His personal website is www.frmccloskey.com.

Fr. George Rutler is pastor of the Church of St. Michael and administrator of the Church of the Holy Innocents, both in Manhattan. He has made documentary films in the United States and England, contributes to numerous scholarly and popular journals and has published 16 books.

Ronald J. Rychlak is the Butler Snow Lecturer and Professor of Law at the University of Mississippi School of Law.

Andrew T. Seeley is a professor at Thomas Aquinas College and the Executive Director of the Institute for Catholic Liberal Education. He co-authored 'Declaration Statesmanship: A Course in American Government'.

Randall Smith is holds the Scanlan Chair in Theology at the University of St Thomas in Houston.

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Taken from: http://www.aleteia.org/en/religion/article/pope-francis-internet-mega-celebrity-13734001

"The Church is a woman, a mother, that is what is beautiful". Pope Francis.

Pope Francis: Women's role should be 'service' not 'servitude' in Catholic Church

• From: AFP
• October 13, 20134:25AM

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Pope Francis believes women's role in the Catholic Church should be of "service", not "servitude". Picture: AP Photo/Riccardo De Luca Source: AP


THE role of women in the Roman Catholic Church should be one of "service" and not "servitude", the pope said at a Vatican conference on Saturday.

Pope Francis said he "suffered" when he saw "in the Church, or in certain Church organisations... that the woman's service role slips into one of servitude," the agency I-Media quoted him as saying.
He also singled out two dangers facing Catholic women, beginning with "motherhood being reduced to a social role".
On the other hand, he said that the "sort of emancipation" that allows women to enter traditionally male domains may rob them of "the very femininity that characterises them".
The 76-year-old Argentine pontiff, elected in March, also said he likes to think of the Church as feminine.
"The Church is a woman, a mother, that is what is beautiful," he told some 150 people attending the conference marking the 25th anniversary of the publication of papal text on the woman's vocation.
Francis said the text, an encyclical by pope John Paul II titled "Mulieris dignitatem", was a "historic document, the first from the papacy that was entirely devoted to the subject of the woman."
Whatever cultural and social changes have occurred or may occur, "the fact remains that it is the woman who conceives, carries and brings into the world the children of men," the pontiff said.

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Taken from: http://www.news.com.au/world-news/pope-francis-womens-role-should-be-service-not-servitude-in-catholic-church/story-fndir2ev-1226739002326

Pope Francis to canonise John XXIII and John Paul II on same day

October 1, 2013 – 3:14AM

Elisabetta Povoledo and Alan Cowell

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Pope John XXIII (right) celebrating Christmas Eve mass in 1962, and cardinal Karol Wojtyla on October 16, 1978 who was elected Pope John Paul II. The late popes will be made saints at an unprecedented joint ceremony on April 27, 2014 in a bid to unite Catholic conservatives and liberals. Photo: AFP Photo
Vatican City: Pope Francis said Monday he would canonise two of his most influential predecessors, John Paul II and John XXIII, on the same day next spring, a highly unusual move that was taken as a gesture designed to promote unity within the Roman Catholic Church.
The two popes, who have disparate followings among reformers and conservatives within the church, will be declared saints on April 27, Francis said during a meeting with cardinals at the Vatican. Each achieved considerable international stature: John Paul II for encouraging the fall of communism in his native Poland and across Eastern Europe, and John XXIII for assembling the liberalising Second Vatican Council, which ran from 1962 to 1965.

To celebrate them together is a sign of appreciation of the holiness of two popes who paid witness to our time

“To celebrate them together is a sign of appreciation of the holiness of two popes who paid witness to our time,” the Vatican spokesman, the Rev. Federico Lombardi, said during a news conference on Monday.

Pope Francis arrives to lead a Holy Mass on the occasion of the Day for Catechists at St Peter’s square at the Vatican on Sunday.

The pope announced in July that he would canonise the two men but did not set a date, and there were initial indications that he would act this year. Father Lombardi said April 27, the first Sunday after Easter, would be “a good date for pilgrims who might already be in Rome.”

The date is also known as Divine Mercy Sunday. John Paul II promoted the devotion to the Feast of the Divine Mercy and was beatified — a step toward canonisation — on that day in 2011, Father Lombardi noted.

Candidates for sainthood usually have two miracles attributed to them. But Francis approved the canonisation of John XXIII with only one — the curing of an ailing woman — which Father Lombardi said in July was a result of eagerness to honour “the great pope of the Second Vatican Council.”
On Monday, he said the canonisation should be seen “in the context of the 50th anniversary of the Second Vatican Council, and the universally heartfelt fame that surrounds John XXIII.” He said that while John was the council’s initiator, John Paul was “its great implementer.”
He added that Francis described John Paul II as a “great visionary, the new St. Paul,” during an impromptu news conference on the papal plane returning from World Youth Day in Brazil in July.
A Vatican committee credited John Paul II with interceding to cure a French nun, Marie Simon-Pierre Normand, of Parkinson’s, the disease he died from in 2005.
His second designated miracle was the healing of a woman who prayed to him on the day of his beatification.
At that ceremony, which drew 1.5 million people to Rome, Benedict XVI, now retired, lauded John Paul II as a central figure in the history of the 20th century and a hero of the church.
“He was witness to the tragic age of big ideologies, totalitarian regimes,” Benedict said, “and from their passing John Paul II embraced the harsh suffering, marked by tension and contradictions, of the transition of the modern age toward a new phase of history, showing constant concern that the human person be its protagonist.”
On Monday, Father Lombardi said that Benedict might join Francis in the canonisation ceremony.
“There is no reason — either doctrinal or institutional — that he couldn’t participate in the public ceremony,” Father Lombardi said, responding to news reports from Poland that the retired pope would be present.
Benedict stepped down in February and has been living in self-imposed isolation in a monastery inside the Vatican walls.

The New York Times

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/world/pope-francis-to-canonise-john-xxiii-and-john-paul-ii-on-same-day-20131001-2uoqf.html#ixzz2gQ7nyHzc

The Divine Mercy



Top 10 Mercy Quotes of Pope Francis

EDITOR's NOTE: Only two months into his papacy, Pope Francis has been eminently quotable. We've culled a few of our favorite quotes. If you have any you'd like to share, please do so in the comments section below. Enjoy!

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I think we too are the people who, on the one hand, want to listen to Jesus, but on the other hand, at times, like to find a stick to beat others with, to condemn others. And Jesus has this message for us: mercy. I think — and I say it with humility — that this is the Lord's most powerful message: mercy.

— Homily on March 17, 2013

It is not easy to entrust oneself to God's mercy, because it is an abyss beyond our comprehension. But we must! ... "Oh, I am a great sinner!" "All the better! Go to Jesus: he likes you to tell him these things!" He forgets, he has a very special capacity for forgetting. He forgets, he kisses you, he embraces you and he simply says to you: "Neither do I condemn you; go, and sin no more" (Jn 8:11).

— Homily on March 17, 2013

Jesus' attitude is striking: we do not hear the words of scorn, we do not hear words of condemnation, but only words of love, of mercy, which are an invitation to conversation. "Neither do I condemn you; go, and do not sin again." Ah! Brothers and Sisters, God's face is the face of a merciful father who is always patient. Have you thought about God's patience, the patience he has with each one of us? That is his mercy. He always has patience, patience with us, he understands us, he waits for us, he does not tire of forgiving us if we are able to return to him with a contrite heart. "Great is God's mercy," says the Psalm.

— Angelus on March 17, 2013

In the past few days I have been reading a book by a Cardinal ... Cardinal Kasper said that feeling mercy, that this word changes everything. This is the best thing we can feel: it changes the world. A little mercy makes the world less cold and more just. We need to understand properly this mercy of God, this merciful Father who is so patient. ... Let us remember the Prophet Isaiah who says that even if our sins were scarlet, God's love would make them white as snow. This mercy is beautiful.

— Angelus on March 17, 2013

God's mercy can make even the driest land become a garden, can restore life to dry bones (cf. Ez 37:1-14). ... Let us be renewed by God's mercy, let us be loved by Jesus, let us enable the power of his love to transform our lives too; and let us become agents of this mercy, channels through which God can water the earth, protect all creation and make justice and peace flourish.

— Easter Urbi et Orbi message on March 31, 2013

Together let us pray the to the Virgin Mary that she helps us ... to walk in faith and charity, ever trusting in the Lord's mercy; he always awaits us, loves us, has pardoned us with his Blood and pardons us every time we go to him to ask his forgiveness. Let us trust in his mercy!

— Regina Caeli on Divine Mercy Sunday, April 7, 2013

In today's Gospel, the Apostle Thomas personally experiences this mercy of God. ... Thomas does not believe it when the other Apostles tell him: "We have seen the Lord." ... And how does Jesus react? With patience: Jesus does not abandon Thomas in his stubborn unbelief ... he does not close the door, he waits. And Thomas acknowledges his own poverty, his little faith. "My Lord and my God!": with this simple yet faith-filled invocation, he responds to Jesus' patience. He lets himself be enveloped by divine mercy; he sees it before his eyes, in the wounds of Christ's hands and feet and in his open side, and he discovers trust.

— Homily on Divine Mercy Sunday, April 7, 2013

Let us ... remember Peter: three times he denied Jesus, precisely when he should have been closest to him; and when he hits bottom he meets the gaze of Jesus who patiently, wordlessly, says to him: "Peter, don't be afraid of your weakness, trust in me." Peter understands, he feels the loving gaze of Jesus and he weeps. How beautiful is this gaze of Jesus — how much tenderness is there! Brothers and sisters, let us never lose trust in the patience and mercy of God!

— Homily on Divine Mercy Sunday, April 7, 2013

I am always struck when I reread the parable of the merciful Father. ... The Father, with patience, love, hope and mercy, had never for a second stopped thinking about [his wayward son], and as soon as he sees him still far off, he runs out to meet him and embraces him with tenderness, the tenderness of God, without a word of reproach. ... God is always waiting for us, he never grows tired. Jesus shows us this merciful patience of God so that we can regain confidence and hope — always!

— Homily on Divine Mercy Sunday, April 7, 2013

God's patience has to call forth in us the courage to return to him, however many mistakes and sins there may be in our life. ... It is there, in the wounds of Jesus, that we are truly secure; there we encounter the boundless love of his heart. Thomas understood this. Saint Bernard goes on to ask: But what can I count on? My own merits? No, "My merit is God's mercy. I am by no means lacking merits as long as he is rich in mercy. If the mercies of the Lord are manifold, I too will abound in merits." This is important: the courage to trust in Jesus' mercy, to trust in his patience, to seek refuge always in the wounds of his love.

— Homily on Divine Mercy Sunday, April 7, 2013

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Mary is with us in our struggles, Pope Francis teaches [Assumption]



Vatican City, Aug 15, 2013 / 11:11 am (CNA/EWTN News).- During his homily for the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Pope Francis said that this feast helps us reflect on the Christian themes of struggle, resurrection, and hope.

“Mary … has of course already entered, once and for all, into heavenly glory. But this does not mean that she is distant or detached from us,” the Pope preached Aug. 15 during a Mass said at the Piazza of Liberty in Castel Gandolfo.

“Rather Mary accompanies us, struggles with us, sustains Christians in their fight against the forces of evil.”

While pontiffs have customarily spent August in Castel Gandolfo, Pope Francis has remained in Rome this month, traveling this morning to the resort town by helicopter to say Mass for today's holy day of obligation.

He began his homily by reflecting on “Lumen Gentium,” Vatican II's Constitution on the Church, which refers twice to Mary's assumption, body and soul, into heaven.

The first of the themes found in “Lumen Gentium” is Mary's solidarity with our struggles, which was found also in the Mass' first reading, from Revelation, of a struggle between a woman and a dragon.

“The figure of the woman, representing the Church, is, on the one hand, glorious and triumphant and yet, on the other, still in travail,” the Pope noted.

The Church, whose “dual condition” Mary shares, is both “already associated in some way” with Christ's glory in heaven and still living “the trials and challenges” of the conflict between God and Satan.

This struggle is faced by every Christian disciple, and “Mary does not leave them alone,” Pope Francis said. “The Mother of Christ and of the Church is always with us. She walks with us always, she is with us.”

The Pope recommended the rosary as a prayer with Mary that “has this 'suffering' dimension, that is, of struggle, a sustaining prayer in the battle against the evil one and his accomplices. The Rosary also sustains us in the battle.”

He chided his listeners to pray the rosary daily, saying: “Do you pray the Rosary every day? But I'm not sure you do … Really?”

Mary's assumption also shows her solidarity with the resurrection of the dead and with Christ's resurrection, the event and “fundamental truth” that is the basis of Christian faith.

In his resurrection, Christ “entered into eternal life with all the humanity he had drawn from Mary; and she, the Mother, who followed him faithfully throughout her life, followed him with her heart, and entered with him into eternal life, which we also call heaven.”

In her solidarity with her son in the “martyrdom of the Cross,” Mary lived the Passion “to the depths of her soul” and so was given “the gift of resurrection.”

“Christ is the first fruits from the dead and Mary is the first of the redeemed, the first of 'those who are in Christ.'”

“She is our Mother, but we can also say that she is our representative, our sister, our eldest sister, she is the first of the redeemed, who has arrived in heaven.”

The final theme of the assumption, Pope Francis taught, is hope: the hope of those who live the struggle between good and evil and who believe in Christ's resurrection.

The Magnificat, Mary's song of praise at the Visitation, he said, is “the song of hope,” which is also “the song of many saints … some famous, and very many others unknown to us but known to God: moms, dads, catechists, missionaries, priests, sisters, young people, even children and grandparents.”

“These have faced the struggle of life while carrying in their heart the hope of the little and the humble.”

The Pope linked hope to persecution and the Cross, saying the Magnificat is “particularly strong” in the places “where the Body of Christ is suffering the Passion.”

“If there is no hope, we are not Christian. That is why I like to say: do not allow yourselves to be robbed of hope.”

He exhorted his listeners, “may we not be robbed of hope, because this strength is a grace, a gift from God which carries us forward with our eyes fixed on heaven.”

He concluded by encouraging Christians to pray the Magnificat with Mary, who accompanies and suffers with us.

“With all our heart let us too unite ourselves to this song of patience and victory, of struggle and joy, that unites the triumphant Church with the pilgrim one, earth with heaven, and that joins our lives to the eternity towards which we journey.”

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Taken from: http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/mary-is-with-us-in-our-struggles-pope-francis-teaches/

Pope to consecrate world to Mary's Immaculate Heart

 



 

Pope Francis in St. Peter's Square on Pentecost Sunday, May 19, 2013. Credit: Stephen Driscoll/CNA.

 

Vatican City, Aug 14, 2013 / 12:03 am (CNA).- Pope Francis will consecrate the world to the Immaculate Heart of Mary this Oct. 13 as part of the Marian Day celebration that will involve the statue of Our Lady of the Rosary of Fatima.

 

“The Holy Father strongly desires that the Marian Day may have present, as a special sign, one of the most significant Marian icons for Christians throughout the world and, for that reason, we thought of the beloved original Statue of Our Lady of Fatima,” wrote Archbishop Rino Fisichella.

Archbishop Fisichella, who serves as president of the pontifical council for the Promotion of the New Evangelization, made his remarks in a letter to Bishop Antonio Marto of Leiria-Fatima.

 

According to the Portuguese shrine's website, the statue of Our Lady of Fatima will leave for Rome on the morning of Oct. 12 and return on the afternoon of Oct. 13. The statue normally resides in the shrine’s Little Chapel of Apparitions.

 

The archbishop said that “all ecclesial entities of Marian spirituality” are invited to take part in the celebration. Hundreds of movements and institutions that emphasize Marian devotion are expected to attend, the Shrine of Our Lady of Fatima says.

 

The two-day observance includes an Oct. 12 pilgrimage to the tomb of St. Peter and moments of prayer and meditation. On Oct. 13, Pope Francis will celebrate Mass in St. Peter’s Square.

Our Lady of Fatima appeared to three shepherd children in the village of Fatima in Portugal in 1917. She warned of violent trials in the twentieth century if the world did not make reparation for sins. She urged prayer and devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

 

At the request of Pope Francis, Cardinal Jose Polycarp, the Patriarch of Lisbon, consecrated the Pope’s pontificate to Our Lady of Fatima on May 13, her feast day.

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Taken from: http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/pope-to-consecrate-world-to-marys-immaculate-heart/#.UgxPIO4gb48.email

Marian Coredemption and St. Maximilian Mary Kolbe

By Fr Stefano Maria Manelli F I

•February 11, 2012•
 

Co-redemptrix & Fifth Marian Dogma•

Pope Paul VI placed St. Maximilian Mary Kolbe “among the great Saints and enlightened spirits who have understood, venerated and sung the mystery of Mary,” (1) and Pope John Paul II placed in relief the prophetic vision and great value of St. Maximilian’s life and Mariology for the Church today. (2) Consequently, St. Maximilian’s Mariological doctrine has already been the subject of studies at the highest level of systematic research and scholarship. (3) With regards to his doctrine on Marian Coredemption, there is a detailed study by L. Iammorrone. (4)

St. Maximilian Mary Kolbe († 1941)

The coredemptive thought of St. Maximilian Mary Kolbe is of great value for several reasons. He was our contemporary, and more importantly, was a great mystic and Marian theologian, besides being such an extraordinary apostle and missionary of the Immaculate as to be called the “Fool of the Immaculate,” (5) and to be defined by the Ven. Fr. Gabriel Allegra, his contemporary, as an “Apostle of the end times,” (6) recalling the thought of St. Louis Mary Grignon de Montfort. (7)

First of all, it must be stated that St. Maximilian was not only diffusing and defending the truth of the Blessed Virgin Mary’s universal Mediation, but was writing, praying, and ardently longing for the solemn dogmatic definition of Mary as Mediatrix of salvation (Coredemption) and Mediatrix of all graces (Dispensatrix). As a matter of fact, as soon as he knew that Pope Benedict XV had named three commissions of study on the definability of Marian Mediation, he wrote an article in which he exhorted all to pray “so that our Most Holy Mother might hasten the moment of the Solemn proclamation of this her privilege.” (8)

In addition to the eternal predestination of Mary with Christ according to the celebrated Franciscan thesis, (9) St. Maximilian too based the Holy Virgin Mary’s coredemptive and distributive Mediation on the biblical-patristic foundation of Mary as the New Eve. Reflecting, as such, on the original fall of Adam and Eve, our first parents, St. Maximilian maintains that “from that moment God promised a Redeemer and a Coredemptrix saying: ‘I will place enmities between thee and the Woman, and thy seed and her Seed; She shall crush thy head.’” (10) “The Fathers and Doctors of the Church,” writes the Saint again, “proclaim that She, the second Eve, repaired that which the first had ruined; that She is the channel of the divine graces, She is our hope and our refuge; that we receive the grace of God through Her.” (11) One easily reads here the equivalence between the Reparation and the Coredemption, in parallel with the devastating action of the Eve of old with the salvific action of the New Eve: both Eves presented as protagonists, respectively, in the fall and ruin of humanity (the first Eve), and in their ransom and salvation (the second Eve).

It is clear from the writings of St. Maximilian that for him the most certain truth, the most secure and unquestionable doctrine, and therefore the least needy of demonstration, was that of Marian Coredemption; whether because of the very clear reference to the devastating work of the first Eve neutralized by the reparative work of the second Eve (Mary), or because of the very life of Our Lady utterly bound, spent, and consumed in an indivisible union with that of her divine Son in the work of the universal Redemption from beginning to end, that is from the Annunciation to the Crucifixion, from Nazareth to Calvary.

On the other hand, it seemed to St. Maximilian that the doctrine most in need of in-depth theological elaboration was that of Marian Mediation, the distributing of all graces, which is consequent to the Coredemption and which he links above all with the mystery of the ineffable union between the Holy Spirit and the Immaculate Virgin, a spousal union which creates a perfect collaboration in the distributive economy of all graces for the salvation and sanctification of men. (12)

All that aside, St. Maximilian did render an account of the complexity of things surrounding Marian Coredemption which were in the process of being clarified and developed. He wrote that, “It is clear that our relationship with Mary Coredemptrix and Dispensatrix of graces in the economy of Redemption was not understood from the beginning in all its perfection. But in these, our times, faith in the Blessed Virgin Mary’s mediation is always growing more and more each day.” (13)

As for his thought specifically on the Coredemption, however, we can say in summary that St. Maximilian, by reasoning and reflecting, profoundly grasped both the expressly Christological value of Marian Coredemption and the pneumatological value of Mary’s mediation of all graces; he affirms that “Mary, as Mother of Jesus the Savior, becomes Coredemptrix, while as Spouse of the Holy Spirit she takes part in the distribution of all graces.” (14) Fr. Domanski writes that according to the Mariological thought of St. Maximilian, it was the plan of God “that His own Mother, the Immaculate, should take part in the work of the Redemption, as she had likewise taken part in the work of the Incarnation.” (15) And the demonstration which St. Maximilian took from a study of Bittremieux affirms that “… as the first Eve, with truly free actions, contributed to our ruin, in that she exercised a real influence, so also Mary, with her own actions, collaborated in the reparation…: in this is contained, by now in a most clear manner and properly speaking, an authentic mediation.” (16)

The doctrine of St. Maximilian is presented as logical and luminous in its solidity of method and development: “In the thought of Fr. Kolbe,” writes Fr. Iammarrone, “Christ is the only universal Mediator between humanity and the Father… Mary is chosen by God as Mother of the Son and thus Mediatrix of grace because she must accompany Him inseparably in the realization of the Redemption. Son and Mother labor together in originating the life of grace (Redemption and Coredemption) and in distributing that life to men.” (17) Always retaining the complete subordination of the Mother with respect to the Son, the biblical-patristic reference to the first Eve with the first Adam once again pointedly and precisely indicates the camp of the opposing operations: that is, the operation of our ruin, which had as its absolute and primary operator the first Adam, with the first Eve as its relative and dependent co-operator, and the operation of our salvation, which had as its absolute and primary Operator the second Adam, Jesus, with the second Eve, Mary, as its relative and dependent Co-operator.

This, according to St. Maximilian, is the plan of God. “In the divine plan of salvation,” writes again Fr. Iammorrone, “Mary is the New Eve who collaborates together with the New Adam, Jesus her Son, in the Redemption of man. In Fr. Kolbe’s thought Mary’s cooperation is subordinate to that of Christ the Redeemer, but it is immediate and proximate, active and direct… Mary, in the thought of Fr. Kolbe, participated in the Redemption in the objective sense (that is in the acquiring of salvation with her own proper activity united and associated to that original activity of the Son) and she participates in the Redemption in the subjective sense, that is in the distribution of the graces of salvation to each person in the course of time right up to the coming of the Lord in glory,” and in this way “Mary fully realizes her maternity with her maternal compassion on Calvary.” (18)

From his thought taken as a whole, it is obvious that for St. Maximilian such doctrine on Mary’s coredemptive and distributive mediation of grace is well founded and solid. And regarding his personal experience, it cannot be considered anything less than superlative, recalling his terrible martyrdom in the deathcamp of Auschwitz, which assimilated him in an extraordinary way to the coredemptive offering of the Blessed Mother. No one, in fact, is so close and so similar to the Coredemptrix as the martyr. The supreme glory of the Coredemptrix, in truth, is precisely that of being the Queen of the Martyrs. Even in this St. Maximilian has left us his orthodoxy (the doctrine on the Coredemptrix) which is perfectly united with his orthopraxy (the most concrete imitation of the Coredemptrix, that of shedding one’s own blood).

Master and Model of the doctrine and spirituality of Marian Coredemption: this is St. Maximilian Mary Kolbe. (19) Consequently, concerning the coredemptive and distributive mediation of Mary, one can say that, according to St. Maximilian, there is not much to discuss, but rather there is much need to pray so that the Immaculate “might hasten the moment of the solemn proclamation” of this dogma on the part of the Church.

Fr. Stefano Manelli, FI, is Founder and Minister General of the Franciscan Friars of the Immaculate. He is internationally known for his distinguished preaching and biblical, Mariological scholarship. His biblical Mariology has recently appeared in English under the title: All Generations Shall Call Me Blessed.

Endnotes

(1) Insegnamenti di Paulo VI, Rome, IT, 1971, vol. IX, p. 909.

(2) Cf. L’Osservatore Romano 8-9, XII, 1982.

(3) It is sufficient to cite the weighty volume of the Acts of the International Congress held at Rome in 1984: La Mariologia di san Massimiliano M. Kolbe, Rome, IT, 1985.

(4) This is one of the conferences held at the International Mariological Symposium “Maria Corredentrice. Storia e Teologia,” celebrated at Castelpetroso, IT, Sept. 8-12, 1997, where twenty theologians coming from every part of the world participated (cf. S.M. MANELLI, Cronistoria del Simposio con rilievi, spunti e riflessioni, in Corredemptrix in Annali Mariani, 1966, Castelpetroso, 1997, pp. 133-171). The conference of Fr. L. IAMMORRONE, Il mistero di Maria Corredentrice in san Massimiliano Maria Kolbe, is found in AA.VV., Maria Corredentrice, Frigento, IT, 1999, vol. II, pp. 219-256.

(5) One can profit from reading the life of this apostle synthesized by S.M. MANELLI, “Folle dell’Immacolata,” Frigento, IT 1990, 120 pages.

(6) G. ALLEGRA, Apostolo degli ultimi tempi, in Miles Immaculatae 18 (1982), pp. 156-162.

(7) Ibid., pp. 160, 162.

(8) ST. MAXIMILIAN MARY KOLBE, Scritti, Rome, IT 1997, n. 1029 (quotations abbreviated: Scritti and the margin number).

(9) “The participation of Mary in the redemptive work of her Son,” writes Fr. Iammarrone, “is founded, according to Fr. Kolbe, in the eternal decree of Mary’s predestination together with her divine Son.”: L. IAMMARRONE, work cited, p. 221; cf. also pp. 223-247.

(10) Scritti, 1069.

(11) Scritti, 1029.

(12) Cf. H.M. MANTEAU-BONAMY, La dottrina mariana di p. Kolbe. Lo Spirito Santo e l’Immacolata, Rome, IT, 1977; G. BARTOSIK, Rapporti tra lo Spirito Santo e Maria come principio della mediazione mariana, negli ultimi scritte (1935-1941) di s. Massimiliano Kolbe, in Miles Immaculatae 27 (1991), 244-68.

(13) Scritti, 1229.

(14) Ibid.

(15) G. DOMANSKI, Il pensiero mariano di P. Massimiliano M. Kolbe, Rome, IT 1971, p. 38.

(16) J. BITTREMIEUX, De Mediatione universale B.M.V., in Scritti, 1.c.

(17) Work cited, p. 237.

(18) Ibid., pp. 244, 245, 246.

(19) Certainly very little has been written on the coredemptive spirituality of St. Maximilian, coredemptive insofar as he was a martyr and one who suffered (illness of tuberculosis and always generous in sacrifices without number). There would indeed be much to discover and write in order to deeply comprehend the vital bond which united the Holy Martyr to the mystery of the Immaculate in her universal, coredemptive mission, and in order to make our own the school of life and Marian spirituality in a coredemptive key which he has left us, so that we might be ever closer and more faithful children of her whom Jesus gave us on Calvary, not only as Mother, but also as Coredemptrix, or, even better yet, as Mother Coredemptrix, that is, He has left the Coredemptrix as our very own Mother.

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Taken from: http://www.fifthmariandogma.com/co-redemptrix-fifth-marian-dogma/marian-coredemption-and-st-maximilian-mary-kolbe/

Neither silver nor gold, but the gift of Jesus Christ. Pope Francis in Brazil.

Neither Silver Nor Gold, I Bring The Most Precious Thing Given to Me, Jesus Christ: People's Pope in Brazil
 

• By Catholic Online

• 7/23/2013
• Catholic Online (www.catholic.org)

I am here to meet young people coming from all over the world, drawn to the open arms of Christ the Redeemer. They want to find a refuge in his embrace, close to his heart, to listen again to his clear and powerful appeal:
 

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I have learned that, to gain access to the Brazilian people, it is necessary to pass through its great heart; so let me knock gently at this door. I ask permission to come in and spend this week with you. I have neither silver nor gold, but I bring with me the most precious thing given to me: Jesus Christ! I have come in his name, to feed the flame of fraternal love that burns in every heart; and I wish my greeting to reach one and all: The peace of Christ be with you!

Pope Francis greeting the thousands who gathered upon his arrival in Brazil
 

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RIO De JANEIRO, Brazil (Catholic Online) - We offer below the full text of the opening remarks of Pope Francis upon his arrival in Brazil for the 2013 World Youth Day:
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Opening Words of Greeting From Pope Francis
Madam President, Distinguished Authorities,Brethren and Friends!

In his loving providence, God wished that the first international trip of my pontificate should take me back to my beloved Latin America, specifically to Brazil, a country proud of its links to the Apostolic See and of its deep sentiments of faith and friendship that have always kept it united in a special way to the Successor of Peter. I am grateful for this divine benevolence.
I have learned that, to gain access to the Brazilian people, it is necessary to pass through its great heart; so let me knock gently at this door. I ask permission to come in and spend this week with you. I have neither silver nor gold, but I bring with me the most precious thing given to me: Jesus Christ! I have come in his name, to feed the flame of fraternal love that burns in every heart; and I wish my greeting to reach one and all: The peace of Christ be with you!
I cordially greet the President and the distinguished members of her government. I thank her for her warm welcome and for the words by which she expressed the joy of all Brazilians at my presence in their country. I also greet the state governor who is hosting us in the government palace, and the mayor of Rio de Janeiro, as well as the members of the Diplomatic Corps accredited to the government of Brazil, the other authorities present and all those who worked hard to make my visit here a reality.
I would like to greet affectionately my brother bishops - to whom falls the serious task of guiding God's flock in this vast country, as well as their beloved local churches. With this visit, I wish to pursue the pastoral mission proper to the Bishop of Rome of confirming my brothers in their faith in Christ, of encouraging them to give an account of the reasons for the hope which comes from him, and of inspiring them to offer everyone the inexhaustible riches of his love.
As you know, the principal reason for my visit to Brazil goes beyond its borders. I have actually come for World Youth Day. I am here to meet young people coming from all over the world, drawn to the open arms of Christ the Redeemer. They want to find a refuge in his embrace, close to his heart, to listen again to his clear and powerful appeal: "Go and make disciples of all nations".
These young people are from every continent, they speak many languages, they bring with them different cultures, and yet they also find in Christ the answer to their highest aspirations, held in common, and they can satisfy the hunger for a pure truth and an authentic love which binds them together in spite of differences.
Christ offers them space, knowing that there is no force more powerful than the one released from the hearts of young people when they have been conquered by the experience of friendship with him. Christ has confidence in young people and entrusts them with the very future of his mission, "Go and make disciples".
Go beyond the confines of what is humanly possible and create a world of brothers and sisters! And young people have confidence in Christ: they are not afraid to risk for him the only life they have, because they know they will not be disappointed.
As I begin my visit to Brazil, I am well aware that, in addressing young people, I am also speaking to their families, their local and national church communities, the societies they come from, and the men and women upon whom this new generation largely depends.
Here it is common for parents to say, "Our children are the apple of our eyes". How beautiful is this expression of Brazilian wisdom, which applies to young people an image, drawn from our eyes, which are the window through which light enters into us, granting us the miracle of sight! What would become of us if we didn't look after our eyes? How could we move forward? I hope that, during this week, each one of us will ask ourselves this thought-provoking question.
Young people are the window through which the future enters the world, thus presenting us with great challenges. Our generation will show that it can realize the promise found in each young person when we know how to give them space; how to create the material and spiritual conditions for their full development; how to give them a solid basis on which to build their lives; how to guarantee their safety and their education to be everything they can be; how to pass on to them lasting values that make life worth living; how to give them a transcendent horizon for their thirst for authentic happiness and their creativity for the good; how to give them the legacy of a world worthy of human life; and how to awaken in them their greatest potential as builders of their own destiny, sharing responsibility for the future of everyone.
As I conclude, I ask everyone to show consideration towards each other and, if possible, the sympathy needed to establish friendly dialogue. The arms of the Pope now spread to embrace all of Brazil in its human, cultural and religious complexity and richness.
From the Amazon Basin to the pampas, from the dry regions to the Pantanal, from the villages to the great cities, no one is excluded from the Pope's affection. In two days' time, God willing, I will remember all of you before Our Lady of Aparecida, invoking her maternal protection on your homes and families. But for now I give all of you my blessing.

Thank you for your welcome!

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Pope Benedict XVI's Prayer Intentions for January 2013
General Intention: The Faith of Christians. That in this Year of Faith Christians may deepen their knowledge of the mystery of Christ and witness joyfully to the gift of faith in him.
Missionary Intention: Middle Eastern Christians. That the Christian communities of the Middle East, often discriminated against, may receive from the Holy Spirit the strength of fidelity and perseverance.

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Taken from: http://www.catholic.org/international/international_story.php?id=51813&wf=rsscol