In case you did not see Pope Francis’ tweet today: May artists spread the beauty of the faith and proclaim the grandeur of God’s creation and His boundless love for all.
FYI: The October 20, 21 and 22 Damien and Marianne Catholic Conference that I am attending, covering and speaking at will be streamed via Youtube as well as on www.hictv.com (Hawaii Catholic TV). Hawaii Catholic TV, by the way, has been kind enough to help me film my segments for my Monday and Thursday appearances on “At Home with Jim and Joy.”
The schedule of conference events including speakers, break out sessions and the Tongan Mass on Saturday with Cardinal Mafi is here: www.dmcchawaii.org Check the time in your part of the world. Honolulu is 6 hours behind the East Coast (ET) and 3 behind Pacific Time.
POPE FRANCIS ON CHRISTIAN HOPE AND THE REALITY OF DEATH
The papal catechesis this morning at the weekly general audience in St. Peter’s Square focused, as Francis himself told pilgrims, “on Christian hope and the reality of death, a reality which our modern world so often leaves us unprepared to face. Past civilizations had the courage to face death, and older generations taught the younger to see that inescapable event as a call to live for something enduring, greater than themselves. For our days, no matter how many they are, pass like a breath.”
Francis explained that, “It is Jesus, however, who ultimately helps us to confront this mystery. He shows us that it is natural to mourn the loss of a loved one. For he too wept at Lazarus’ death. But he did not only mourn; he also prayed to the Father and called Lazarus from the tomb.”
The Holy Father also spoke of the Gospel story of Jairus who turned to Jesus to ask him to save his sick daughter. Jesus answered Jairus’ faith-filled request: “Do not fear, only believe.” And this is what the Pope urged Christians: belief, not fear.
Francis said: “We are all small and defenseless before the mystery of death, but if we keep the flame of faith alive in our hearts, Jesus will take us by the hand, just as he did with Jairus’ daughter when he said: ‘Talitha cum’ which means, ‘Little girl, I say to you, arise’. To each of us, he will say: ‘I say to you, arise’.”
“Here is our Christian hope,” the Pope summarized. “Jesus has come to heal us, to save us from death. He says: ‘I am the resurrection and the life’; if we believe in him, even if we die, we will live. In the face of our sorrow, Jesus invites us to faith in him. This is our hope: when we mourn, we know that Christ remains always close to us. And one day, when we too face death, we will hear Jesus’s voice: “I say to you, arise.”.
FRANCIS DEPLORES TERROR ATTACK IN MOGADISHU
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis has condemned the terrorist attack that killed over 300 people, including children, in the Somali capital Mogadishu. (photo news.va)
Speaking during the weekly general audience in St. Peter’s Square, the Pope said he wished to express his sorrow for the massacre that took place on Saturday.
“This terrorist act , he said, deserves to be most strongly deplored, also because it falls on a population that is already suffering deeply”. Linda Bordoni reports:
The Pope said he is praying for the dead, for the wounded, for their families and for the whole people of Somalia.
“I implore the conversion of those who are violent and send my encouragement to those, who with enormous difficulties, are working for peace in that tortured land” he said.
On the ground in Mogadishu nearly 70 people are still missing from Saturday’s bomb blast that killed more than 300 people in one of the world’s deadliest attacks in years
The death toll of 302 is expected to rise.
Somalia’s government has blamed the attack on the al-Shabab extremist group, which has not commented.
POPE MEETS RELIGIONS OF PEACE DELEGATION
Pope Francis on Wednesday met a delegation of 80 members of “Religions for Peace,” in a small room of the Paul VI Hall before presiding at the weekly general audience. He told them, “Religions, with their spiritual and moral resources, have a specific and unique role to play in building peace. They cannot be neutral, much less ambiguous, where peace is concerned.”
Religions for Peace is the world’s largest and most representative multi-religious coalition that advances common action among the world’s religious communities to transform violent conflict, advance human development, promote just and harmonious societies, and protect the earth.
Joan's Rome 