As I start this column, I have no idea if I will have Internet or not when I am ready to post. My home phone landline and Internet have been down for most of three days and that is why I was unable to post a column on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Obviously if the line goes down again, you will not be able to read this explanation!
My cell phone was my vehicle of communication for emails and for posting on Facebook. I was able to go to news.va and, for those stories I wanted to post, I simply hit “share” and it went to both Facebook and Twitter. I could access my blog but not that section that allows me to write, post photos, etc.
Unless I have previously stated a reason for not posting a column and you see a blank page in the future, it means Internet and phone lines are down. Many of us in this neighborhood who use Telecom for phone and Internet service suffered the same fate. What has been really strange is that everything worked in the morning but went down at the same time for 3 days running – between 2:30 and 2:35 pm!
Here are a few interesting stories for your edification. As you recall, when the Vatican published the Pope’s Holy Week schedule, I noted that nothing had been indicated for the Holy Thursday Mass of the Lord’s Supper. Well, today we got that news…..
Pope Francis issued an invitation at morning Mass at the Santa Marta residence:
“I invite you today to take five minutes, ten minutes, sitting, no radio, no TV; sit and think about your own story: the blessings and troubles, everything. Both grace and sin… I am sure that, in the midst of the things that may be bad – we all have them, many bad things in life – if today we do this, we will discover the beauty of God’s love, the beauty of His mercy, the beauty of hope. And I’m sure we all will be filled with joy.”
POPE TO WASH FEET OF INMATES AT HOLY THURSDAY MASS
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis will wash the feet of inmates at Paliano prison, south of Rome, during the Mass of Our Lord’s Supper on Holy Thursday.
The Vatican announced on Thursday that the pope will travel to the penitentiary on the afternoon of April 13th for a private visit and the celebration of Mass marking Jesus’ Last Supper with his disciples on the day before his Crucifixion.
Pope Francis began the tradition of travelling to a prison for the traditional Last Supper Mass in March 2013, just a few days after the inauguration of his pontificate. On that occasion he travelled to Rome’s Casal del Marmo youth detention center where he included, for the first time, women and Muslims among the inmates whose feet he washed.
The following year, he celebrated the Last Supper Mass at Rome’s Don Gnocchi center for the disabled, again including women among those who had their feet washed in memory of Jesus’ gesture of humility and service.
In 2015 Pope Francis travelled to Rome’s Rebibbia prison for the Holy Thursday celebration, while last year he washed the feet of refugees, including Muslims, Hindus and Coptic Orthodox men and women at a center for asylum seekers in Castelnuovo di Porto, just north of Rome.
MEDUGORJE HAS MANY EXPRESSIONS OF FAITH, ALSO CHALLENGES
Apr 5, 2017 / 12:10 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Pope Francis’ envoy to Medjugorje said Wednesday that the site seems to be bearing numerous expressions of faith and vocations. However, he added, the final determination of the apparition’s authenticity remains to be seen.
Archbishop Henryk Hoser was sent by the Pope to evaluate the pastoral situation for residents and pilgrims in Medjugorje. He clarified that he was not tasked with anything beyond this scope.
“The same as you, I expect a final decision from the commission, and of course the Holy Father Pope Francis,” Archbishop Hoser said at an April 5 press conference in Medjugorje. “I do not know what the Holy Father thinks, he never told me,” he said. “The Holy Father also needs to see what are the conclusions of the commission.”
The apparitions are under investigation by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, which is to submit its final document to the Pope for a final decision. Read more here: http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/papal-envoy-sees-great-fruits-but-also-challenges-in-medjugorje-96900/
POPE SUPPORTS NONVIOLENCE CAMPAIGN IN CHICAGO DIOCESE
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis has sent a letter to the Cardinal Archbishop of Chicago, Blasé J. Cupich, in support of local efforts to promote nonviolence.
The Chicago Archdiocese launched a campaign on nonviolence on 4 April to coincide with the 49th anniversary of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
The event culminates with a march for peace on Good Friday.
In his letter, Pope Francis assured the people of Chicago of his support for the initiative and of his prayers for those who “have lost loved ones to violence”. He wrote that he will remember the city in prayer as he leads the Way of the Cross in Rome that same day. http://www.news.va/en/news/pope-francis-sends-letter-to-cardinal-cupich-prays
Joan's Rome 