Pope Calls for Action on Climate Change, Free From Political and Economic Pressures... from ZENIT of Roswell, Georgia, for Tuesday, 15 November 2016Like
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Pope Calls for Action on Climate Change, Free From Political and Economic Pressures by Kathleen Naab
Pope Francis says we have a “grave ethical and moral responsibility” to act on climate change “without delay,” setting aside particular interests and moving forward “in a manner as free as possible from political and economic pressures.” The poorest and future generations, especially, are depending on it.
The Pope said this in a message released today and addressed to the Moroccan minister for foreign affairs, Salaheddine Mezouar.
The minister is chairing the 22nd meeting of the Conference of Parties to the United Nations Framework Agreement on Climate Change (COP22), taking place in Morocco through Friday.
“The current situation of environmental degradation, closely connected to the human, ethical and social degradation that unfortunately we experience every day, calls upon all of us, each with his or her own role and competences, and leads us to meet here with a renewed sense of awareness and responsibility,” the Pope said.
The Holy Father noted that the Paris Agreement has just gone into force, and said the adoption of that resolution less than a year ago “represents the important awareness that, faced with issues as complex as climate change, individual and / or national action is not enough; instead it is necessary to implement a responsible collective response truly intended to ‘work together in building our common home.’”
Francis said that the agreement strengthens our conviction that “we can and we must employ our intelligence to guide technology, as well as to cultivate and also to limit our power, and to ‘put it at the service of another type of progress, one which is healthier, more human, more social, more integral’, able to put the economy at the service of the human person, to build peace and justice and to safeguard the environment.”
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Here is the full text of his message, as released by the Vatican press office:
“The current situation of environmental degradation, closely connected to the human, ethical and social degradation that unfortunately we experience every day, calls upon all of us, each with his or her own role and competences, and leads us to meet here with a renewed sense of awareness and responsibility.
The Kingdom of Morocco hosts the COP22 a few days after the entry in force of the Paris Agreement, adopted less than a year ago. Its adoption represents the important awareness that, faced with issues as complex as climate change, individual and / or national action is not enough; instead it is necessary to implement a responsible collective response truly intended to ‘work together in building our common home’. On the other hand, the rapid entry into force of the Agreement strengthens the conviction that we can and we must employ our intelligence to guide technology, as well as to cultivate and also to limit our power, and to ‘put it at the service of another type of progress, one which is healthier, more human, more social, more integral’, able to put the economy at the service of the human person, to build peace and justice and to safeguard the environment.
The Paris Agreement has traced a clear path on which the entire international community is called to engage; the COP22 represents a central stage in this journey. It affects all humanity, especially the poorest and the future generations, who represent the most vulnerable component of the troubling impact of climate change, and call us to the grave ethical and moral responsibility to act without delay, in a manner as free as possible from political and economic pressures, setting aside particular interests and behaviour.
In this regard I convey my greetings to you, Mr. President, and to all the participants in this Conference, along with my strong encouragement that your work in these days be inspired by the same collaborative and constructive spirit expressed during COP21. After this latter there began the phase of implementing the Paris Agreement: a delicate moment of exchange, entering in a more concrete way into the formulation of rules, institutional mechanisms and the elements necessary for correct and effective implementation. These are complex aspects that cannot be delegated solely to technical expertise but which require continual political support and encouragement, based on the recognition that we are ‘we are one single human family. There are no frontiers or barriers, political or social, behind which we can hide, still less is there room for the globalisation of indifference’.
One of the main contributions of this Agreement is that of stimulating the promotion of strategies for national and international development based on an environmental quality that we could define as fraternal; indeed, it encourages solidarity in relation to the most vulnerable and builds on the strong links between the battle against climate change and that of poverty. Although there are many elements of a technical nature involved in this field, we are also aware that it cannot all be limited solely to the economic and technological dimension: technical solutions are necessary but they are not enough; it is essential and proper to take into careful consideration also the ethical and social aspects of the new paradigm of development and progress.
Here we enter into the fundamental fields of education and the promotion of lifestyles that favour sustainable models of production and consumption; and we are reminded of the need to promote the growth of a responsible awareness of our common home. In this task, all the States Parties are called to give their contribution, along with the non-party stakeholders: civil society, the private sector, the scientific world, financial institutions, sub-national authorities, local communities, indigenous populations.
In conclusion, Mr. President and all participants in the COP22, I convey my best wishes that the works of the Marrakech Conference be guided by that awareness of our responsibility that must drive each one of us to promote seriously a ‘culture of care which permeates all society’, care in relation to creation, but also for our neighbour, near or far in space and time. The lifestyle based on the throwaway culture is unsustainable and must have no place in our models of development and education. This is an educational and cultural challenge which must respond also to the process of implementing the Paris Agreement if it is to be truly effective. While I pray for the successful and fruitful work of the Conference, I invoke upon you and all the participants the Blessing of the Almighty, which I ask you to convey to all the citizens of the countries you represent”.
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Advent as a Liturgical Season by Fr. Edward McNamara
Answered by Legionary of Christ Father Edward McNamara, professor of liturgy and dean of theology at the Regina Apostolorum university.
Q: May you help me on the issue of Advent season, since we are approaching it? What is its formation and its theology? — D.K., Harare, Zimbabwe
A: This is a vast question and it is not easy to respond briefly. However, we will attempt to give at least some basic ideas.
Our present system of organizing the liturgical cycle begins with Advent. This is perfectly logical as everything in the Church begins with the coming of Christ.
However, the year was not always ordered in this way and is not so organized in all liturgical families. The earliest traces of a liturgical cycle followed Jewish customs and began the year with Easter, whose date still determines many other feasts.
This was also in harmony with the beginning of the civil year which at that time began, not in January, but in March. According to some Christian traditions the spring equinox, which fell on March 25, was the first day of creation, the day of the Incarnation, and that of the Crucifixion. As a witness to this tradition we have the oldest known lectionary, that of the palimpsest of Wolfenbüttel (composed before 452), which has a cycle of readings that begins on Easter and finishes on Holy Saturday the following year.
As the celebration of the feast of Christmas became more widespread, along with the fact that some churches transferred the celebration of the Annunciation to before Christmas so as to remove it from Lent, the idea of beginning the liturgical year around this time gradually seeped in. This is reflected in the liturgical books of the sixth and seventh century which begin with Christmas. A century or two later, when Advent is conceived as a preparation for Christmas, we find the books beginning with the first Sunday of Advent, and this use is common after the ninth century.
It would appear that the liturgical celebration of Advent originated in southern France and Spain, at times with a marked penitential character. In Rome we find the first traces of this liturgical celebration in the sixth century sometimes with five or six Sundays. The four-Sunday Advent might have been established by Pope Gregory the Great after the year 546, although the longer Advent is still found in some places up until the 11th century and still exists in the Ambrosian rite of Milan.
Under the influence of Spanish and French liturgical practice the Roman Advent began to slowly take on a penitential character with fasting, the use of violet vestments, the omission of the Te Deum and the Gloria, the silencing of the organ and the removal of flowers. The penitential character, however, did not enter into the liturgical texts of Mass and Divine Office which generally express the desire to receive the Lord who comes.
From a historical point of view the prayers used during Advent are taken from the ancient manuscripts known as the Scroll of Ravenna (fifth to sixth centuries) and the Gelasian sacramentary (seventh century). Their constant theme is the coming of Christ, both in the incarnation (first coming) and at the end of time (second coming). They mention the necessary purification needed to worthily receive him, but with no trace of fear or sadness.
The current reforms of the calendar and missal, while retaining some of these elements as required for the spiritual preparation for Christmas, have toned down somewhat the penitential aspect, permitting a moderate use of flowers and a wider use of the organ.
Thus the General Instruction of the Roman Missal 305 says:
“During Advent the floral decoration of the altar should be marked by a moderation suited to the character of this season, without expressing prematurely the full joy of the Nativity of the Lord.”
And GIRM 313:
“In Advent the organ and other musical instruments should be used with a moderation that is consistent with the season’s character and does not anticipate the full joy of the Nativity of the Lord.”
Therefore although Advent is no longer to be considered as a penitential season, the retention of some of the earlier elements such as violet vestments and the suppression of the Gloria help to emphasize the contrast the period of preparation with the festive joy of Christmas.
With respect to the spirituality of Advent the general norms for the liturgical calendar state:
“39. Advent has a twofold character: as a season to prepare for Christmas when Christ’s first coming to us is remembered; as a season when that remembrance directs the mind and heart to await Christ’s Second Coming at the end of time. Advent is thus a period for devout and joyful expectation.
“40. Advent begins with evening prayer I of the Sunday falling on or closest to 30 November and ends before evening prayer I of Christmas.
“41. The Sundays of this season are named the First, Second, Third, and Fourth Sundays of Advent.
“The weekdays from 17 December to 24 December inclusive serve to prepare more directly for the Lord’s birth.”
The commentary that accompanied the introduction to the general norms of the calendar stated:
“The liturgical texts of Advent display a unity demonstrated by the almost daily reading of the prophet Isaiah. Nevertheless, two parts of Advent can be clearly distinguished, each with its own significance, as the new prefaces clearly illustrate. From the first Sunday of Advent until December 16 the liturgy expresses the eschatological character of Advent and urges us to look for the second coming of Christ. From December 17-24, the daily propers of the Mass and Office prepare more directly for the celebration of Christmas.”
After the Second Vatican Council the new lectionary for the Advent season greater increased the number of readings. The compilers of the new lectionary made an exhaustive study of all the lectionaries of the Western Church covering a period of 1,500 years and selected all that was best and most traditional. The result is some 75 readings in all. The first two Sundays announce the coming of the Lord in judgment, the third expresses the joy of a coming already very near, the fourth and last “appears as a Sunday of the fathers of the Old Testament and the Blessed Virgin Mary, in anticipation of the birth of Christ.” The weekday readings follow the theology expressed in the preceding Sunday.
Whereas the extraordinary-form missal only had proper prayers for Sunday and December Ember days, the present Roman Missal has a proper collect for each day of Advent, a wider selection of the other Mass prayers and two proper seasonal prefaces where none existed before.
Finally, another element that is characteristic of this season are the wonderful O Antiphons, attributed by some authors to Gregory the Great although introduced into the liturgy at a later date. They are used in the Liturgy of the Hours and in the lectionary in the days from December 17 through 24 and proclaim the coming of Christ to the nations.
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Readers may send questions to zenit.liturgy@gmail.com. Please put the word “Liturgy” in the subject field. The text should include your initials, your city and your state, province or country. Father McNamara can only answer a small selection of the great number of questions that arrive.
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Pope: God’s Mercy Recreates Us as His Children by Deborah Castellano Lubov
The Holy Year makes us enter even more into relationship with Jesus Christ, the face of the Father’s mercy.
Pope Francis said this today to pilgrims from the dioceses of the Netherlands, who have journeyed together to Rome for the occasion of the Jubilee Year.A Mass was celebrated for them this morning at the altar of the Cathedra of St. Peter’s Basilica. At the end of the Eucharistic celebration, the Holy Father greeted the pilgrims in the basilica. “We can never exhaust this great mystery of God’s love!” he said. “It is the source of our salvation: the whole world, all of us are in need of God’s mercy. It saves us, it gives us life, it recreates us as true sons and daughters of God.”
In the Sacraments of Penance and Reconciliation, he noted, we experience God’s saving goodness in a particular way.
“Confession is the place in which we receive the gift of God’s forgiveness and mercy, which has initiated the transformation of each one of us and the reform of the life of the Church.”
The Holy Father encouraged them to open their hearts and let themselves “be molded by God’s mercy.”
As this happens, he told the pilgrims, they will become instruments of mercy.
“Embraced by the merciful Father, who always offers us His forgiveness, you will be able to witness His love in every day life.”
Stressing that men and women today thirst for God, Francis reminded them they can help quench this thirst, and accordingly help so many people “to rediscover Christ, Savior and Redeemer of humanity.”
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On Zenit’s web page:
Full text: https://zenit.org/articles/popes-greeting-to-pilgrims-from-netherlands/
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Pope’s Morning Homily: The Lukewarm Miss Out on the Beautiful Things of God by Deborah Castellano Lubov
Do not become a lukewarm Christian, for you will miss out on the beauty of God.
According to Vatican Radio, Pope Francis stressed this to faithful during his daily morning Mass at Casa Santa Marta, drawing from today’s readings, which featured the warning in the Book of Revelations against those Christians of the Church of Laodicea “who are neither hot nor cold: I am about to spit you out of my mouth.”
The Lord, the Pope reminded, warns against that calm “without substance” of the lukewarm, calling it “a calm which deceives.”
“But what does a lukewarm person think?” Francis asked, noting, “The Lord says it here: He thinks he is rich. ‘I have grown rich and have need of nothing. I am calm.’ That calm which deceives. If, in the heart of the Church, of a family, of a community, of a person there is an ever-present calm, God is not there.”
The Pope urged those who may be currently ‘lukewarm’ not to fall asleep in the false belief of needing nothing.
“The lukewarm are not aware they are naked,” he said, noting they also “lose the capacity to contemplate, the capacity to see the great and beautiful things of God.”
“For this the Lord seeks to awaken us, to help us convert. But, he continued, the Lord is “present in another way: He is there to invite us: ‘Behold, I knock at the door.’”
When the Lord knocks at our door, the Jesuit Pontiff highlighted, we need to be able to discern. There are Christians, the Pope lamented, who “are not aware when the Lord knocks.”
“For them, every noise is the same,” the Pope said, noting, “We must ‘understand well’ when the Lord knocks, when He wants to bring us His consolation.”
“The initiative is from the Spirit towards the Lord. He raises His eyes and says: ‘But come; invite me into your house.” The Lord is there… He is always there with love: whether to correct us, to invite us to supper, or to be invited by us. He is there to tell us: ‘Awake’… ‘Open’… ‘Come down’. It is always He.”
“Do I know how to distinguish in my heart when the Lord tells me to awake, to open, or to come down?” the Pope asked, praying the Holy Spirit give us the grace to know how to discern these calls.
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Report Warns of Global Rise of Religious ‘Hyper-Extremism’ by ZENIT Staff
The Religious Freedom in the World 2016 report, produced by international Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need, warns of the global impact of “a new phenomenon of religiously-motivated violence—‘Islamist hyper-extremism.’” The report points to the Islamic State (ISIS) as the prime example.
Key characteristics of “Islamist hyper-extremism” include systematic attempts to drive out all dissenting groups—including moderates, unprecedented levels of cruelty, global reach and the effective use of social media, often used to glamorize violence.
The report, which assesses the situation regarding religious freedom in each of the world’s 196 countries, charges: “In parts of the Middle East, including Iraq and Syria, this hyper-extremism is eliminating all forms of religious diversity and is threatening to do so in parts of African and the Asian sub-continent.”
In an introduction to the report, Father Jacques Mourad—a Christian monk who was held by ISIS in Syria for five months before escaping in October 2015—writes that “our world teeters on the brink of complete catastrophe as extremism threatens to wipe out all trace of diversity in society.”
Compiled every two years, the report, which draws on research by journalists, academics and clergy, records that in the two-year period under review which ended last June, attacks linked to “hyper-extremism” had taken place in one out of five countries worldwide—from Australia to Sweden as well as 17 African countries.
With refugee numbers at a new high of 65.3 million according to the UN, the report describes extremist Islamism as a “key driver” in the massive displacement of people fleeing countries such as Afghanistan, Somalia and Syria. The report also highlights the impact on countries in the West, whose socio-religious fabric is being destabilized by the challenge of having to absorb unprecedented numbers of refugees.
However, the report stresses that not all problems regarding religious freedom are linked to militant Islam—with a “renewed crackdown” on religious groups reported in China and Turkmenistan and an ongoing denial of human rights for people of faith in worst-offending North Korea and Eritrea.
Nor is the outlook universally bleak – looking at Bhutan, Egypt and Qatar, countries notorious for religious freedom violations, the report found that the situation had improved for faith minorities during the period under review.
Bishop Gregory Mansour, who heads the Maronite Eparchy of St. Maron in Brooklyn, NY, and serves on the Advisory Board of ACNUSA, expressed hope that the report will “help the Trump Administration in developing a strategy to step up US support for persecuted religious minorities around the world—in particular the Christians in Iraq and Syria.”
The ‘Religious Freedom in the World’ 2016 report’ is available atwww.religion-freedom-report.org
To read the Executive Summary of the Report, please click here.
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Aid to the Church in Need is an international Catholic charity under the guidance of the Holy See, providing assistance to the suffering and persecuted Church in more than 140 countries. www.churchinneed.org (USA); www.acnuk.org (UK); www.aidtochurch.org (AUS); www.acnireland.org (IRL); www.acn-aed-ca.org (CAN)www.acnmalta.org (Malta)
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Full Body of US Bishops Backs Statement Assuring Support for Migrants, Refugees by ZENIT Staff
On Monday, the first day of the US’ bishops fall General Assembly, Archbishop Joseph E. Kurtz, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, asked his brother bishops to support a post-election statement released last week by Bishop Eusebio Elizondo, repeating the words to our brothers and sisters who come to the country seeking a better life: “We are with you.”
Below is the original statement now supported by the body of bishops.
November 11, 2016
WASHINGTON—
Bishop Eusebio Elizondo, Auxiliary Bishop of Seattle
Chairman, U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Migration:
We would first like to congratulate President-elect Donald J. Trump and give our support for all efforts to work together to promote the common good, especially those to protect the most vulnerable among us. I personally pledge my prayers for Mr. Trump, all elected officials, and those who will work in the new administration. I offer a special word to migrant and refugee families living in the United States: be assured of our solidarity and continued accompaniment as you work for a better life.
We believe the family unit is the cornerstone of society, so it is vital to protect the integrity of the family. For this reason, we are reminded that behind every “statistic” is a person who is a mother, father, son, daughter, sister or brother and has dignity as a child of God. We pray that as the new administration begins its role leading our country, it will recognize the contributions of refugees and immigrants to the overall prosperity and well-being of our nation. We will work to promote humane policies that protect refugee and immigrants’ inherent dignity, keep families together, and honor and respect the laws of this nation.
Serving and welcoming people fleeing violence and conflict in various regions of the world is part of our identity as Catholics. The Church will continue this life-saving tradition. Today, with more than 65 million people forcibly displaced from their homes, the need to welcome refugees and provide freedom from persecution is more acute than ever and 80 of our dioceses across the country are eager to continue this wonderful act of accompaniment born of our Christian faith. We stand ready to work with a new administration to continue to ensure that refugees are humanely welcomed without sacrificing our security or our core values as Americans. A duty to welcome and protect newcomers, particularly refugees, is an integral part of our mission to help our neighbors in need.
We pray for President-elect Trump and all leaders in public life, that they may rise to the responsibilities entrusted to them with grace and courage. And may all of us as Catholics and Americans remain a people of solidarity with others in need and a nation of hospitality which treats others as we would like to be treated.
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Houston, LA Prelates Elected to Lead US Bishops’ Conference by ZENIT Staff
Cardinal Daniel DiNardo, archbishop of Galveston-Houston, Texas, and Archbishop José Gomez of Los Angeles were elected president and vice president, respectively, of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops at their annual meeting this morning in Baltimore.
The president and vice president are elected to three-year terms, which begin at the conclusion of the meeting.
At that time, Archbishop Joseph E. Kurtz of Louisville, Kentucky, and Cardinal DiNardo will complete their terms as president and vice president, respectively.
The bishops are also voting on new chairmen of the following five USCCB committees:
Committee on Canonical Affairs and Church Governance,
Committee on Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs,
Committee on Evangelization and Catechesis,
Committee on International Justice and Peace, and the
Committee on the Protection of Children and Young People.
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Pope’s Greeting to Pilgrims From Netherlands by ZENIT Staff
This morning, at the altar of the Cathedra of St. Peter’s Basilica, Mass was celebrated for pilgrims from the Netherlands, in Rome on the occasion of the Jubilee of Mercy. At the end of the Eucharistic celebration, the Holy Father greeted the pilgrims in the basilica. Here is a ZENIT translation of his words.
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Dear Brothers and Sisters,
I am very happy to greet you here, in the Saint Peter’s Basilica, on the occasion of the “Dutch Day” of the Jubilee of Mercy. It is good that you have come together, Pastors and faithful of all the Netherland Dioceses, in a common pilgrimage to Rome. In this way you manifest the life and communion of the Church in the Low Countries and the unity with the Successor of Peter.
The Holy Year makes us enter even more in relation with Jesus Christ, face of the Father’s mercy. We can never exhaust this great mystery of God’s love! It is the source of our salvation: the whole world, all of us are in need of God’s mercy. It saves us, it gives us life, it recreates us as true sons and daughters of God. And we experience God’s saving goodness in a particular way in the Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation. Confession is the place in which we receive the gift of God’s forgiveness and mercy, which has initiated the transformation of each one of us and the reform of the life of the Church.
Therefore, I encourage you to open your hearts and to let yourselves be molded by God’s mercy. Thus you will become in turn instruments of mercy. Embraced by the merciful Father, who always offers us His forgiveness, you will be able to witness His love in every day life. The men and women of today thirst for God, they thirst for His goodness and His love. And you also, as “channels” of mercy, can help to placate this thirst; you can help so many people to rediscover Christ, Savior and Redeemer of humanity. As missionary disciples of Jesus you can “irrigate” society with the proclamation of the Gospel and with charity, especially towards the poorest and persons abandoned to themselves.
I entrust you and the whole Church of the Low Countries to the maternal protection of Mary Most Holy, Mother of Mercy, and I bless you from my heart. Please, pray for me too.[Original text: Italian] [Translation by ZENIT]
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Pope’s Message to Conference on Climate Change by ZENIT Staff
Here is a ZENIT working translation of the message Pope Francis sent to the Minister of Foreign Affairs and of Cooperation of the Kingdom of Morocco and President of the 22nd Session of the Conference of States Parties to the United Nations Convention-Framework on Climate Change (COP22), taking place in Marrakesh from November 7-18:
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To His Excellency Mister Salaheddine Mezouar, Minister of Foreign Affairs and of Cooperation of the Kingdom of Morocco and President of the 22nd Session of the Conference of the States Parties to the United Nations Convention-Framework on Climate Change (COP22) (Marrakesh, November 7-18, 2016).
Excellency, the present situation of environmental degradation, strongly connected with human, ethical and social degradation (Encyclical Laudato Si’, 48.56.122) which, unfortunately, we experience daily, questions all of us, each one with his own roles and competencies, and it leads us to be gathered here with a renewed sense of awareness and responsibility.
In fact, the Kingdom of Morocco hosts the COP22 a few days after the coming into force of the Paris Agreement, adopted less than a year ago. Its adoption represents a strong awareness that, in face of such a complex subject as climate change, individual and/or national action is not sufficient, but it is necessary to give a collective, responsible answer intended really to “collaborate to build our common home” (Ibid., 13). On the other hand, the speedy coming into force of the Agreement reinforces the conviction that we can and must direct our intelligence to address the technology as well as to cultivate and also limit our power (cf. Ibid., 78), and put them “at the service of another type of progress, healthier, more human, more social and more integral” (Ibid., 12), capable of putting the economy at the service of the human person, of building peace and justice <and> of safeguarding the environment.
The Paris Agreement traced a clear path on which the entire International Community is called to commit itself; the COP22 represents a key stage in this course. It affects the whole of humanity, in particular the poorest and future generations, which represent the most vulnerable component of the worrying impact of climate change and calls for the grave ethical and moral responsibility to act without delay in the way that is most free from political and economic pressures, surmounting particularistic interests and behavior.
In this perspective, I transmit my greeting to you, Mister President, and to all the participants in this Conference, with my earnest encouragement that these days’ works be animated by the same collaborative and purposeful spirit, manifested during the COP21. Initiated after the implementation of the Paris Agreement, a delicate moment’s been confronted, one involving a more concrete entering into an elaboration of the rules, of the institutional mechanisms and of the necessary elements for its correct and effective implementation. They are complex aspects that cannot be delegated to technical interlocution alone, but need continuous support and political encouragement, based on the awareness that “we are only one human family. There are no borders and political or social barriers that permit us to be isolated, and because of this, neither is there room for the globalization of indifference” (Ibid., 52).
One of the principal contributions of this Agreement is that of stimulating the promotion of strategies of national and international development, based on an environmental quality that we can describe as solidaristic; it, in fact, encourages to solidarity in the relations of the most vulnerable populations and appeals to the strong existing ties between the struggle against climate change and against poverty. Although there are multiple elements of a technical character called into question in this ambit, we are also aware that the whole cannot be limited to the sole economic and technological dimension: the technical solutions are necessary but not sufficient. It is also essential and rightful to take into consideration attentively the ethical and social aspects of the new paradigm of development and progress.
Entered here are the fundamental fields of education and lifestyles geared to foster sustainable models of production and consumption (cf. Ibid., 180); and the need is recalled to have a responsible conscience grow towards our common home (cf. Ibid., 202.231). Called to this task to make their own contribution are all the States Parties as well as the non-Party stakeholders: the civil society, the private sector, the scientific world, the financial institutions, the sub-national Authorities, the local communities and the native populations.
In conclusion, Mister President and Gentlemen participants in the COP22, I express my best wishes so that the works of the Marrakech Conference are guided by that awareness of our responsibility that should spur each one of us to promote seriously a “culture of care that permeates the whole society” (Ibid., 231), care in relations with Creation, but also with one’s neighbor, close or distant, in space and in time. The style of life based on the disposable culture is unsustainable and must have no room in our models of development and of education. This is an educational and cultural challenge in which, for it to be really effective in attaining its demanding objectives, the process of implementation of the Paris Agreement also cannot be lacking in responding. While I pray for the profitable and fruitful work of the Conference, I invoke upon you and upon all the participants the Blessing of the Almighty, which I ask you to take to all the citizens of the countries you represent.
Receive, Mister President, my most heartfelt and cordial greeting.
From the Vatican, November 10, 2016-11-15[Original text: Italian] [Translation by ZENIT]
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Message for World Fisheries Day by ZENIT Staff
Here is the message from the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People for World Fisheries Day Message, Nov. 21, .
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World Fisheries Day since 1998 is celebrated each year on November 21 to highlight the importance of conserving the ocean and marine life that provides food for billions and employment opportunities for over 50 million people worldwide.
Pope Francis in his Encyclical Letter Laudato Sì mentions some of the threats which are affecting and destroying the natural marine resources:“Many of the world’s coral reefs are already barren or in a state of constant decline. “Who turned the wonder world of the seas into underwater cemeteries bereft of colour and life?” [1] This phenomenon is due largely to pollution which reaches the sea as the result of deforestation, agricultural monocultures, industrial waste and destructive fishing methods, especially those using cyanide and dynamite (No. 41)”. Since these are a common patrimony of humanity, Pope Francis calls everyone to:”…cooperate as instruments of God for the care of creation, each according to his or her own culture, experience, involvements and talents (No. 14)”.
For this reason, we appreciate and wait with expectation for the implementation of The Agreement on Port State Measures to Prevent, Deter and Eliminate Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing (PSMA), adopted as a FAO Agreement in 2009. After several years of diplomatic efforts finally it went into effect, last June 5, and is now legally binding for the 29 countries and one regional organization which signed it.[2] Through the adoption and implementation of effective port State measures, the PSMA is the first ever-binding international treaty seeking to prevent, deter and eliminate the illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing, a major environmental problem which causes great economic damages and threaten food security in many countries.[3]
However, our concern is not only for the marine resources. The fishing industry has been widely recognized as one of the most unsafe for the frequency of occupational accidents and high death rates. On this World Fisheries Day we would like to call our attention also on the many fishers which find themselves in situation of exploitation and abuses.
Unfortunately it is not well known the tragic reality that, within the fishing industry, there are hundreds of thousands of internal/transnational migrants who are smuggled/ trafficked for forced labor on board of fishing vessels.
This is favored by a network of criminal organizations and individuals who prey on people coming from situation of poverty, eagerly seeking an employment that could help them to break away from the circle of misery. Instead, they end up in a situation of trafficking, debt bondage and slavery often without a way out. In fact, the fishing vessels stay out at sea for long periods (from a few months to several years), and the victims of these crimes find it difficult, if not impossible, to report their predicaments.
Heeding the call of Pope Francis: ”Human trafficking is a crime against humanity. We must unite our efforts to free the victims and stop this increasingly aggressive crime which threatens not only individuals but the basic values of society and of international security and justice, to say nothing of the economy, and the fabric of the family and our coexistence.”, [4] we as Catholic Church would like to renew our appeal to the Governments to ratify the Work in Fishing Convention, 2007 (No. 188), to create a safe working environment on board of fishing vessels and better welfare provisions for fishers. As of October 2016 the Convention has been ratified by nine coastal states[5], and one more country is necessary for the entry into force of the Convention.
While we express our gratitude to the chaplains and volunteers of the Apostleship of the Sea (AOS) for their dedication and commitment, we would like to call on them to be vigilant and intensify their presence in fishing harbors to identify and rescue victims of human trafficking. It is also necessary that AOS work more closely with leaders of fishing communities to educate and prevent human trafficking by providing viable alternative of employment and live hood.
May Mary Stella Maris continue to be the source of strength and protection to all the fishers and their families.
Antonio Maria Card. Vegliò
President
Fr. Gabriele Bentoglio, cs
Under-Secretary
—[1] Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines, Pastoral LetterWhat is Happening to our Beautiful Land? (29 January 1988).[2] Australia, Barbados, Chile, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominica, the European Union (as a member organization), Gabon, Guinea, Guyana, Iceland, Mauritius, Mozambique, Myanmar, New Zealand, Norway, Oman, Palau, Republic of Korea, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Seychelles, Somalia, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Thailand, Tonga, the United States of America, Uruguay, and Vanuatu. [3] Illicit fishing may account for up to 26 million tonnes of fish a year, or more than 15 percent of the world’s total annual capture fisheries output. [4] Address of Pope Francis to the new Ambassadors accredited to the Holy See on the occasion of the presentation of the letters of credence. 12th December 2013 [5] Angola, Argentina, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Congo, Estonia,France, Morocco, Norway, South Africa.
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Knowing and Building by God’s Design by Antonio Gaspari
Art and the sacred, the beautiful and the true, the art of building in consonance with the mystery of the liturgy, study and research of the geometry used by God in the structure of the universe, the harmony of the measurements and forms used to build according to God’s design, the study and use of gold, different technological systems, the use of new materials, the imagination of telematicsytems gracefully integrated into traditional constructions.
The Master’s degree of the 2nd level in “Architecture, Sacred Art, and Liturgy” will consider this and more. The program is organized by the European University of Rome, under the patronage of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments.
The cultural objective is not just that of knowing how to build sacred buildings with wisdom and liturgical precision, but to try to know and to reproduce the geometry used by the Creator in all human constructions.
This is the only Master’s program dedicated to the discipline of sacred art and architecture known to Italian academia and recognized legally by the MIUR and by the Italian government.
The credits earned go to obtaining the Master’s Diploma of the 2nd level from the European University, for those who already possess a university degree or, for all other students, to obtaining a Certificate of Completion.
Ever since its first year in 2007, the Master’s program has enjoyed participation from a broad range of cultures. There are approximately 230 students originating from every part of Italy and of the world, such as Argentina, Brazil, Cuba, Mexico, Spain and Germany.
The Course, initially instituted by the patronage of the Pontifical Commision for the Cultural Goods of the Church, has a year-long duration and consists in classroom lessons, seminars, exercises, activities, apprenticeships and guided visits, totaling a sum of 1500 hours of learning, 300 of which are classroom lessons, subdivided in four disciplinary areas: theology, art and music for the liturgy; projection and architectonic composition; cultural heritage.
At the end of the didactic/formative itinerary and after passing the exams, the participants will have acquired 60 credits, according to what is laid out by the Ministry of the University and Scientific Research. The first objective of the Master’s is that of knowing and using a beautiful architecture that is in consonance with the search for the sacred.
Paradoxally, in a world that seems to wish to live without God, nevertheless, the search and the interest for mystery, for the sacred, for harmonies and arts that express the language of the soul continue to grow. More than 50 years after the close of the II Vatican Council, a point of contact between the Church and Art, between culture and religion, still begs to be sought, in order to rediscover the bases of the very productive collaboration between architecture and the sacred.
The objective is also that of instilling the soul of beauty in sacred buildings. The beauty of buildings, of churches, of the arts, of music, can recreate places where humans can be elevated and so approach God with more ease.
For information on the program, the organization, the lessons, the professors, the cost and the length of the Master’s, contact:
*
The administrative assistant of the Master’s: prof. Maria Caterina Calabrò
mc.calabro@gmail.com
tel. 349.8085890
Responsable for Institutional relations: arch. AldoCianfarani
studio.cianfarani@alice.it
tel. 333.6976534
http://www.universitaeuropeadiroma.it/doc-post-lauream/REG-MASTER-ARCH-16-17.pdf
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Pope to Soccer Players: Remember the Young Look to You... from ZENIT of Roswell, Georgia, United States for Monday, 14 November 2016Like
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Pope to Soccer Players: Remember the Young Look to You by Abdo Abou Kassam
Remember your are role models for so many young people and children, and the great responsibility this entails…
This was at the heart of Pope Francis’ address to Germany’s national soccer squad, Deutsche Fußballnationalmannschaft, when he received them in audience this morning in the Vatican.
In his remarks, the Argentine Pontiff acknowledged that competitive sport requires not only much discipline and personal sacrifice, but also respect for one’s neighbor and a team spirit.
“This leads you to success,” Francis pointed out, and “at the same time, it leads you to recognize your responsibility beyond the soccer field, especially towards young people who often take you as a model.”
The Holy Father went on to thank them for the charitable ways they help support children and young people, and their commitments to “some important social objectives.”
“In this realm, I am especially pleased with your supporting the ‘Sternsinger,’ the Star Singers, to concretely help children and young people of poor countries,” he said, noting, “such an initiative shows how it is possible to overcome barriers together, which seem insurmountable and seem to penalize needy and marginalized persons.”
“In this way, you also contribute to the building of a more just and solidaristic society.”
Pope Francis concluded, thanking them for their visit and wishing them all the best for their sports and social activities. He also asked them to pray for him and offered his “heartfelt blessing” to them and their families.
***
On ZENIT’s Web page:
Full Text: https://zenit.org/articles/popes-address-to-germanys-national-soccer-squad/
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Pope at Last Jubilee Audience: ‘How Are Our Hearts?’ by Deborah Castellano Lubov
How are our hearts? Are we inclusive? Do we show mercy?
Pope Francis urged faithful to ask themselves these questions during his last “Jubilee Audience” of this Holy Year of Mercy. The Jubilee Audiences were open to the public and were generally scheduled one Saturday morning a month in St. Peter’s Square during the Holy Year.
This week, the Holy Father reflected on an important aspect of mercy: inclusion.
“In His plan of love God, in fact, does not want to exclude anyone, but wants to include all,” Francis began, noting through Baptism, “He makes us His children in Christ.”
All to Be Included
“We Christians are invited to use the same criterion: mercy is that way of acting, that style with which we seek to include others in our life, avoiding withdrawing into ourselves and our egoistic securities.”
Recalling Jesus’ invitation in Matthew’s Gospel “Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest (11:28),” Francis underscored, “No one is excluded from that appeal.”
But for this to be a reality, the Pontiff stressed, we must open our hearts.
With Open Arms
Inclusion, he explained, is manifested in opening one’s arms wide to receive without excluding, without classifying others on the basis of their social condition, language, race, culture or religion.
“Before us,” he underscored, “there is only a person to be loved as God loves him.”
“How many tired and oppressed persons we meet also today! — on the street, in public offices, etc.” On each of these faces, Francis stressed, Jesus’ gaze rests, and also He does so through our very eyes.
“And how is our heart?” the Pope asked. “Is it merciful? And is our way of acting inclusive?”
Our Great Work
The Gospel, he reminded, calls us to recognize in humanity’s history the plan of “a great work of inclusion, which, respecting fully every person’s, community’s and peoples’ freedom.”
“How true are Jesus’ words who invites all those who are tired, exhausted to go to Him to find rest! His wide-open arms on the cross demonstrate that no one is excluded from His love and from His mercy.”
Forgiveness, he said, is the most immediate expression with which we feel received and inserted in Him.
“We are all in need of being forgiven by God. And we are all in need of encountering brothers and sisters who help us to go to Jesus, to open ourselves to the gift He gave us on the Cross.”
Let Us Not Be…
“Let us not be obstacles to one another! Let us not exclude anyone! Rather, with humility and simplicity let us make ourselves instruments of the Father’s inclusive mercy.”
Pope Francis concluded, praying, “Let us allow ourselves to be involved in this movement of inclusion of others, to be witnesses of the mercy with which God has received and receives each one of us.”
In his remarks to Italian speaking pilgrims, Francis also invited all present to live this last Jubilee Audience “with faith to experience in their lives the forgiveness, the mercy and the love of God.”
****
On ZENIT’s Web page:
Full Text: https://zenit.org/articles/jubilee-audience-on-inclusion/
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In Congratulating Trump, Bishops’ Official Offers Word of Solidarity to Migrant, Refugee Families by Kathleen Naab
Auxiliary Bishop Eusebio Elizondo of Seattle, chairman of the U.S. Bishops’ Committee on Migration, has congratulated President-elect Donald Trump on his election, but in the same statement, offered a “special word” to migrant and refugee families, assuring the bishops’ solidarity with them.
Bishop Elizondo reiterated two key points of Catholic doctrine in his message to the president-elect: that the family must be protected and that service of the vulnerable is part of Christian identity.
In this regard, he said the bishops will work to “promote humane policies that protect refugee and immigrants’ inherent dignity, keep families together, and honor and respect the laws of this nation.”
Pope Francis discussed the issue of immigration on his return from Sweden earlier this month. While the Pope has been a strong advocate for immigrants and refugees, during the post-Sweden press conference, he underlined the responsibility of nation’s to measure their capacity to integrate immigrants. “I believe that in theory one cannot close one’s heart to a refugee, but the prudence of those who govern is also necessary,” he said. “They must be very open to receive them, but also calculate how they can settle them, because a refugee must not only be received, but he must be integrated.”
The Pope’s response was to a question about Europe’s stance on refugees from Iraq and Syria.
—
Here is the full text of Bishop Elizondo’s statement:
We would first like to congratulate President-elect Donald J. Trump and give our support for all efforts to work together to promote the common good, especially those to protect the most vulnerable among us. I personally pledge my prayers for Mr. Trump, all elected officials, and those who will work in the new administration. I offer a special word to migrant and refugee families living in the United States: be assured of our solidarity and continued accompaniment as you work for a better life.
We believe the family unit is the cornerstone of society, so it is vital to protect the integrity of the family. For this reason, we are reminded that behind every “statistic” is a person who is a mother, father, son, daughter, sister or brother and has dignity as a child of God. We pray that as the new administration begins its role leading our country, it will recognize the contributions of refugees and immigrants to the overall prosperity and well-being of our nation. We will work to promote humane policies that protect refugee and immigrants’ inherent dignity, keep families together, and honor and respect the laws of this nation.
Serving and welcoming people fleeing violence and conflict in various regions of the world is part of our identity as Catholics. The Church will continue this life-saving tradition. Today, with more than 65 million people forcibly displaced from their homes, the need to welcome refugees and provide freedom from persecution is more acute than ever and 80 of our dioceses across the country are eager to continue this wonderful act of accompaniment born of our Christian faith. We stand ready to work with a new administration to continue to ensure that refugees are humanely welcomed without sacrificing our security or our core values as Americans. A duty to welcome and protect newcomers, particularly refugees, is an integral part of our mission to help our neighbors in need.
We pray for President -elect Trump and all leaders in public life, that they may rise to the responsibilities entrusted to them with grace and courage. And may all of us as Catholics and Americans remain a people of solidarity with others in need and a nation of hospitality which treats others as we would like to be treated.
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INTERVIEW: Cardinal-Designate Jozef De Kesel: Culture Is Secularized, Yes, But What an Opportunity by Anne Kurian
Archbishop Jozef De Kesel of Malines-Brussels, Belgium, is one of men who will be made a cardinal this Saturday.
In an interview with ZENIT, the cardinal-designate expresses his belief that Christians must “accept wholeheartedly the culture in which we are to accomplish our mission: a pluralistic culture, a secularized society.”
“This culture is also an opportunity,” he says, because it enables one to “discover the freedom of the faith.”
ZENIT: Your Eminence, did you expect this nomination?
Cardinal-designate De Kesel: I didn’t expect it at all. I was at Monaco for the meeting of Presidents of the European Episcopal Conferences. It was the end, Sunday after Mass. I was already on the bus to go to the airport and all of a sudden bishops came to see me to congratulate me. I didn’t know anything. I didn’t even know that the Pope had the intention to publish the names. I couldn’t believe it, I never even thought of it …
ZENIT: How do you see this new mission?
Cardinal-designate De Kesel: The “creation” will take place on November 19. I will see what is expected of me at Rome. Perhaps I must become a Consultor in a Congregation, but for the moment I don’t know anything. This nomination is a sign of confidence on the part of the Holy See, not only for me but also for our Church in Belgium, which is living certain difficulties, confronted with a secularized culture.
ZENIT: What are your wishes as Archbishop for your diocese?
Cardinal-designate De Kesel: My wish here is to revitalize the Church somewhat. I think that we must accept wholeheartedly the culture in which we have to accomplish our mission: a pluralistic society, a secularized society. It is a profound conviction in me. This culture is also an opportunity, a grace for the Church. In fact, previously Christians were led by society itself. This is no longer the case, but this new situation enables one to discover the freedom of the faith. As a pastor, I wish to encourage our Christian communities; I do not want to hold an anti-modern discourse. It’s our society; it’s in this society that we are called to accomplish our mission. We want a living Church open to the world, and a Church that is solidaristic, even if it’s smaller than previously. The joys, the pains and the anxieties of the men of today are also the joys, the pains and the anxieties of the disciples of Christ. I wish for a Church that accepts the culture in which she lives and that is open to the world, while remaining faithful to the treasure she has received from the Lord in the Gospel.
ZENIT: Have you priorities for the work of vocations?
Cardinal-designate De Kesel: The question of vocation is also the question of the revitalization of our communities. It’s when there are Christians that vocations can arise. Youth ministry has always implied also a pole of vocations; it’s evident, but the question of vocations is one of our Christian communities in general.
ZENIT: Brussels is also a European crossroads: does this give a particular visage to your mission?
Cardinal-designate De Kesel: Certainly. Perhaps this played a part in the Holy Father’s decision to create me Cardinal. There is here the seat of the Commission of the Bishops’ Conferences of the European Community (COMECE). I think there will be a mission to accomplish there as Cardinal.
ZENIT: What is your view on Europe?
Cardinal-designate De Kesel: Europe is in crisis and it is also a “spiritual” crisis. It’s not simply a Common Market. In the 50s what inspired the Founders was much more profound, much vaster than now: it was the question of peace, of justice. Today the European project is in question, notably with the increase of nationalisms. But I believe that we must continue, I think it’s a very important project. We have a rich tradition; Europe has something to give to the whole world.
ZENIT: How does the Church in Belgium intervene on ethical questions?
Cardinal-designate De Kesel: We live in a democratic society, there are laws; it is not the Gospel, or the Sharia or the Torah that decide the law. But the Church is there and takes part in society’s debate. She belongs to the civil society and from this fact she must make her voice heard. It’s not easy for us in Belgium on a number of ethical questions. There is on one side the democratic society that decides and makes the laws and on the other side the Christian’s conscience. Through Christians engaged in politics, we can make our voice heard, be present and take part in rendering society more human, more fraternal. For me ethics encompasses also the question of the poor, the question of the refugee.
ZENIT: Have you met the Pope already?
Cardinal-designate De Kesel: I went to Rome last June 29 to receive the pallium on the feast of Saints Peter and Paul. I was able to exchange <words> with him; he knew my name and is very accessible.[Translation by ZENIT]
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Pope Says Equal Access to Health Care a Question of Justice by Kathleen Naab
The Pope said this in an address to the 31st International Conference of the Pontifical Council for Health Care Workers, which was held last Thursday through Saturday.
The theme of this year’s conference was Towards a Culture of Health that is Welcoming and Supportive: at the Service of People with Rare and Neglected Pathologies.
In the Pope’s address, he highlighted three points, the first being that protection of the environment is also a health issue.
“But even when the causes [for these diseases] are genetic,” he said, “a polluted environment acts as a multiplier of damage. And the greatest burden falls on the poorest populations.”
He then emphasized the Church’s priority to be a “field hospital” for the marginalized of any situation.
Fundamental principles
The Holy Father’s third point dealt with justice, saying that equal access to health care is a way of “giving to each his or her due.”
He said that the reason for this rests on three “fundamental principles of the social doctrine of the Church.”
—Sociality, according to which the good of the person reverberates through the entire community. Therefore, care for health is not only a responsibility entrusted to the stewardship of the person himself or herself. It is also a social good, in the sense that the more individual health grows, the more ‘collective health’ will benefit from this, not least at the level, as well, of the resources that are freed up for other chapters of illness that require demanding research and treatment.
—Subsidiarity which, on the one hand, supports, promotes and develops socially the capacity of each person in attaining fulfilment and his or her legitimate and good aspirations, and, on the other, comes to the aid of a person where he or she is not able on his or her own to overcome possible obstacles, as is the case, for example, with an illness.
—Solidarity, with which a health-care strategy should be marked, and which must take the person as a value and the common good into account.
The Pontiff proposed that these three cornerstones “can be shared by anybody who holds dear the eminent value of the human being,” and that with them “one can identify realistic, courageous, generous and supportive solutions to addressing even more effectively, and to solving, the health-care emergency of ‘rare’ and ‘neglected’ diseases.”
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On ZENIT’s Web page:
Full text: https://zenit.org/articles/popes-address-to-health-care-workers/
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Archbishop Emeritus of Westminster to Consecrate New Cathedral in Norway by ZENIT Staff
Archbishop emeritus of Westminster, Great Britain, Cardinal Cormac Murphy O’Connor, will be the Pope’s special envoy for the new Cathedral in the territorial prelature of Trondheim, Norway on Nov. 19.
In a letter written in Latin and released by the Vatican on Saturday, the news of Pope Francis’ appointment was announced.
The mission accompanying the cardinal will be composed of Msgr. Torbjørn Olsen, of the prelature of Trondheim, and diocesan priest, Fr. Johannes Vu Mang Hung.
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JUBILEE AUDIENCE: On Inclusion by ZENIT Staff on 14 November, 2016
Below is a ZENIT working translation of Pope Francis’ address during his Jubilee Audience that was held Saturday morning in Saint Peter’s Square, a meeting that Francis decided to hold for pilgrims and faithful coming to Rome for the Jubilee of Mercy. This marked the last Jubilee audience of the Holy Year.
* * *
THE HOLY FATHER’S CATECHESIS
Dear Brothers and Sisters, good morning! In this last Saturday Jubilee Audience, I would like to present an important aspect of mercy: inclusion. In His plan of love God, in fact, does not want to excludeanyone, but wants to include all. For instance, through Baptism He makes us His children in Christ, members of His Body, which is the Church. And we Christians are invited to use the same criterion: mercy is that way of acting, that style with which we seek to include others in our life, avoiding withdrawing into ourselves and our egoistic securities.
In the passage of Matthew’s Gospel that we just heard, Jesus expressed a truly universal invitation: “Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened,* and I will give you rest.”(11:28). No one is excluded from that appeal, because Jesus’ mission is to reveal to every person the Father’s love. It is for us to open our heart, to trust Jesus and to receive this message of love, which makes us enter the mystery of salvation.
This aspect of mercy, inclusion, is manifested in opening one’s arms wide to receive without excluding, without classifying others on the basis of their social condition, language, race, culture or religion: before us there is only a person to be loved as God loves him.
How many tired and oppressed persons we meet also today! — on the street, in public offices, in medical surgeries. Jesus’ gaze rests on each one of those faces, also through our eyes. And how is our heart? Is it merciful? And is our way of acting inclusive? The Gospel calls us to recognize in humanity’s history the plan of a great work of inclusion,which, respecting fully every person’s, community’s and peoples’ freedom, calls all to form a family of brothers and sisters, in justice, in solidarity and in peace, and to be part of the Church, which is the Body of Christ.
How true are Jesus’ words who invites all those who are tired, exhausted to go to Him to find rest! His wide-open arms on the cross demonstrate that no one is excluded from His love and from His mercy. The most immediate expression with which we feel received and inserted in Him is His forgiveness. We are all in need of being forgiven by God. And we are all in need of encountering brothers and sisters who help us to go to Jesus, to open ourselves to the gift He gave us on the cross. Let us not be obstacles to one another! Let us not exclude anyone! Rather, with humility and simplicity let us make ourselves instruments of the Father’s inclusive mercy. The Holy Mother Church continues the great embrace of Christ dead and Risen in the world. With its colonnade, this Square also expresses this embrace. Let us allow ourselves to be involved in this movement of inclusion of others, to be witnesses of the mercy with which God has received and receives each one of us.[Original text: Italian] [Translation by ZENIT]
In Italian
A warm welcome goes to the Italian-speaking pilgrims. I am happy to receive the faithful of the Shalom Movement, with the Bishop of San Miniato; the Catholic Union of Middle School Teachers of Puglia; the Federation of Italian Farmers; Anas’ dependents; the Federation of Veterinaries and the Confederation of Free Professions, which is observing the 50th <anniversary> of its foundation.
Dear brothers and sisters, live this last Jubilee Audience with faith to experience in your life the forgiveness, the mercy and the love of God.
With special affection I greet you, volunteers of the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy, from different Nations, and I thank you for your precious service so that pilgrims could live well this experience of faith. In the course of these months, I have noted your discreet presence in the Square with the Jubilee logo and I admire the dedication, the patience and the enthusiasm with which you carried out your work.
A special greeting goes to young people, the sick and newlyweds. Yesterday we remembered Saint Martin of Tours, Patron of beggars, the 17th centenary of whose birth occurs this year. May his example arouse in you, dear young people, especially you students of Erasmus of Europe, the desire to engage in gestures of concrete solidarity; may his trust in Christ the Lord sustain you, dear sick, in the trials of sickness; and may his moral rectitude remind you, dear newlyweds, of the importance of values in the education of children.[Original text: Italian] [Working Translation by ZENIT]
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Pope’s Address to Germany’s National Soccer Squad by ZENIT Staff
Below is a ZENIT translation of Pope Francis’ address to Germany’s national soccer squad, Deutsche Fußballnationalmannschaft, whom he received this morning in the Vatican:
***
Gentlemen and Ladies,
I am happy to greet the soccer world champions present here in the Vatican. I thank their president, Mr. Grindel, and captain, Mr. Neuer, for their kind words.
I have often heard that your victories are team victories. Therefore, Mannschaft has become a common description of your group. In fact, competitive sport requires not only much discipline and personal sacrifice, but also respect for one’s neighbor and a team spirit. This leads you to success as “Mannschaft” and, at the same time, it leads you to recognize your responsibility beyond the soccer field, especially towards young people who often take you as a model. And it also leads you to commit yourselves together to some important social objectives. In this realm, I am especially pleased with your supporting the “Sternsinger,” the “Star Singers,” to concretely help children and young people of poor countries. Such an initiative shows how it is possible to overcome barriers together, which seem insurmountable and seem to penalize needy and marginalized persons. In this way, you also contribute to the building of a more just and solidaristic society.
I thank you for your visit and I wish you every good for your sports and social activity. I ask you, please, to pray for me and I give each of you and your families my heartfelt blessing.[Original text: Italian] [Translation by ZENIT]
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Pope’s Message to Health Care Workers by ZENIT Staff
On Saturday, Pope Francis sent a message to participants in the 31st International Conference of the Pontifical Council for Health Care Workers. The theme of this year’s conference, Nov. 10-12, was ‘Towards a Culture of Health that is Welcoming and Supportive: at the Service of People with Rare and Neglected Pathologies.’ Here is the Vatican-provided translation of his message:
***
To the Most Reverend Monsignor
JEAN-MARIE MUPENDAWATU
Secretary of the Pontifical Council for Health Care Workers
I wish to send my cordial greetings to those taking part in the thirty-first international conference on the subject ‘Towards a Culture of Health that is Welcoming and Supportive, at the Service of People with Rare and Neglected Pathologies’, organised by the Pontifical Council for Health Care Workers, which I thank for this initiative. I also address grateful thoughts to the memory of my much lamented brother in the episcopate, H.E. Msgr. Zygmunt Zimowski, the former President of the Pontifical Council, who returned to the House of the Father last July.
Qualified experts, from every part of the world, have come together to explore the subject of ‘rare’ pathologies and ‘neglected’ diseases in their various aspects: from the medical-epidemiological to the socio-political and from the economic to the juridical-ethical. The conference intends to engage in a survey of the present situation, as well as an identification and a re-launching of practicable guidelines for action in this special medical/health-care scenario; having as founding values respect for the lives, the dignity and the rights of patients, together with a welcoming and supportive approach; and producing strategies for care and treatment that are moved by a sincere love for the actual person who suffers – from a ‘rare’ or ‘neglected’ disease as well.
The data that are available on these two chapters of medicine are emblematic. The most recent calculations of the World Health Organisation indicate that 400 million people in the world as a whole suffer from diseases defined as ‘rare’. The scenario of ‘neglected’ diseases is even more dramatic because they affect over a billion people. They are for the most part infectious diseases and they are widespread amongst the poorest populations of the world, often in countries where access to health-care services is insufficient to cover essential needs, above all in Africa and Latin America, in areas that have a tropical climate, with insecure drinking water and deficient hygienic/alimentary, housing and social conditions.
The challenge, from an epidemiological, scientific, clinical/care, hygienic and economic point of view is, therefore, enormous because it involves responsibilities and commitments on a global scale: international and national health-care and political authorities, health-care workers, the biomedical industry, associations of citizens/patients, and lay and religious volunteers.
This is an enormous challenge, but not an impossible one. Given the complexity of the subject, indeed, a multidisciplinary and joint approach is necessary; an effort that calls on all the human realities involved, whether institutional or otherwise. Amongst them there is also the Catholic Church which has always found a motivation and impulse in her Lord, Jesus Christ, who was crucified and rose again, the figure both of the patient (‘Christus patiens’) and the physician (‘Christus medicus’, the Good Samaritan).
At this point, I would like to offer some observations that can contribute to your reflections.
The first is that if the human person is the eminent value, it follows that each person, above all a person who suffers, because of a ‘rare’ or ‘neglected’ disease as well, without any hesitation deserves every kind of commitment in order to be welcomed, treated and, if possible, healed.
The effective addressing of entire chapters of illness, as is the case with ‘rare’ and ‘neglected’ diseases, requires not only qualified and diversified skills and abilities in health-care but also ones that are beyond health care – one may think of health-care managers, of administrative and political health-care authorities, and of health-care economists. An integrated approach, and careful assessments of contexts directed towards the planning and implementation of operational strategies, as well as the obtaining and management of the necessary sizeable resources, are required. At the base of every initiative, however, lies, first and foremost, free and courageous good will directed towards the solving of this major problem of global health: an authentic ‘wisdom of the heart’. Together with scientific and technical study, the determination and wisdom of those who set themselves to work not only in the existential fringes of the world but also in its fringes at the level of care, as is of often the case with ‘rare’ and ‘neglected’ diseases, are, therefore, crucial.
Amongst the many who give of themselves generously, the Church, as well, has always been active in this field and will continue with this exacting and demanding pathway of nearness to, and the accompanying of, the person who suffers. It is no accident, therefore, that this 31st international conference wanted to adopt the following key words to communicate the sense – understood as meaning and direction – of the presence of the Church in this authentic work of mercy: to inform, in order to establish the state of present knowledge at a scientific and clinical/care level; to care for the life of patients in a better way in a welcoming and supportive approach; to steward the environment in which man lives.
The relationship between these diseases and the environment is decisive. Indeed, many diseases have genetic causes; in the case of others, environmental factors have a major importance. But even when the causes are genetic, a polluted environment acts as a multiplier of damage. And the greatest burden falls on the poorest populations. It is for this reason that I want once again to emphasise the absolute importance of respect for, and the stewardship of, the creation, our common home.
A second observation that I would like to bring to your attention is that it remains a priority of the Church to keep herself dynamically in a state of ‘moving outwards’, to bear witness at a concrete level to divine mercy, making herself a ‘field hospital’ for marginalised people who live in every existential, socio-economic, health-care, environmental and geographical fringe of the world.
The third and last observation relates to the subject of justice. Although it is true that care for a person with a ‘rare’ or ‘neglected’ disease is in large measure connected with the interpersonal relationship of the doctor and the patient, it is equally true that the approach, at a social level, to this health-care phenomenon requires a clear application of justice, in the sense of ‘giving to each his or her due’, that is to say equal access to effective care for equal health needs, independently of factors connected with socio-economic, geographical or cultural contexts. The reason for this rests on three fundamental principles of the social doctrine of the Church. The first is the principle of sociality, according to which the good of the person reverberates through the entire community. Therefore, care for health is not only a responsibility entrusted to the stewardship of the person himself or herself. It is also a social good, in the sense that the more individual health grows, the more ‘collective health’ will benefit from this, not least at the level, as well, of the resources that are freed up for other chapters of illness that require demanding research and treatment. The second principle is that of subsidiarity which, on the one hand, supports, promotes and develops socially the capacity of each person in attaining fulfilment and his or her legitimate and good aspirations, and, on the other, comes to the aid of a person where he or she is not able on his or her own to overcome possible obstacles, as is the case, for example, with an illness. And the third principle, with which a health-care strategy should be marked, and which must take the person as a value and the common good into account, is that of solidarity.
On these three cornerstones, which I believe can be shared by anybody who holds dear the eminent value of the human being, one can identify realistic, courageous, generous and supportive solutions to addressing even more effectively, and to solving, the health-care emergency of ‘rare’ and ‘neglected’ diseases.
In the name of this love for man, for every man, above all for suffering man, I express to all of you, participants in the 31st international conference of the Pontifical Council for Health Care Workers, the wish that you will have a renewed impetus and generous dedication towards sick people, as well as a tireless drive towards the greatest common good in the health-care field.
Let us ask the Most Holy Mary, Health of the sick, to make the deliberations of this conference of yours bear fruit. To her we entrust the commitment to making increasingly human that service which, every day, the various professional figures of the world of health perform for suffering people. I bless from my heart all of you, your families, and your communities, as I do those whom you meet in hospitals and nursing homes. I pray for you; and you, please, pray for me.
From the Vatican, 12 November 2016
FRANCIS[Original text: Italian] [Vatican-provided translation]
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Summary of Jubilee Audience: On Inclusion by ZENIT Staff
Saturday morning, Pope Francis held one of his “Jubilee Audiences” — a general audience that during this Year of Mercy generally is held one Saturday a month.
Here is the English-language summary of his address:
* * *
Speaker:
Dear Brothers and Sisters: In this, the last of our special SaturdayAudiences for the Holy Year of Mercy, I would like to stress the importance of inclusion. God’s mercy, which excludes no one, challenges us to be merciful and open to the needs of others, especially the poor and all those who are weary and burdened. We, who have experienced that love and mercy, have a part to play in his saving plan, which embraces all of history. In his mercy, God calls all men and women to become members of the body of Christ, which is the Church, and to work together, as one family, in building a world of justice, solidarity and peace. God reconciled mankind to himself by the sacrifice of his Son on the cross. He now sends us, his Church, to extend that merciful embrace to our brothers and sisters throughout the world. The arms of the great colonnade surrounding this Square symbolize that embrace. They remind us not only of the Church’s mission to the human family, but also of our own call to bear faithful witness to God’s inclusive love through the mercy, love and forgiveness we show to others.
Speaker:
I greet the English-speaking pilgrims and visitors taking part in today’s Audience, particularly those from Ireland and Pakistan. With prayerful good wishes that the present 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.[Original text: English]
[Vatican-provided text]
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Where Is My Life Headed, Pope Invites Us to Ask... from ZENIT of Roswell, Georgia, United States for Sunday, 13 November 2016Like
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Where Is My Life Headed, Pope Invites Us to Ask by Kathleen Naab
Where do I look for security? This is the question posed by today’s liturgy, Pope Francis said as he celebrated Mass this morning in St. Peter’s Basilica during the jubilee for the socially excluded.
Are we looking for security in the Lord, he asked, “or in other forms of security not pleasing to God? Where is my life headed, what does my heart long for? The Lord of life or ephemeral things that cannot satisfy?”
The Pope drew from the 21st chapter of Luke to discuss how Jesus’ message is that all earthly things will pass away, even sacred things like the Temple of Jerusalem or St. Peter’s Basilica.
“Even the strongest kingdoms, the most sacred buildings and the surest realities of this world do not last for ever; sooner or later they fall,” the Pontiff affirmed.
Jesus’ disciples were alarmed by his message and asked when this would happen and what the sign would be.
“When and what… We are constantly driven by curiosity: we want to know when and we want to see signs,” Francis reflected. “Yet Jesus does not care for such curiosity. On the contrary, he exhorts us not to be taken in by apocalyptic preachers. Those who follow Jesus pay no heed to prophets of doom, the nonsense of horoscopes, or terrifying sermons and predictions that distract from the truly important things.”
Amid this din, the Pope continued, Jesus asks us to “distinguish between what is from him and what is from the false spirit” and he firmly tells us “not to be afraid of the upheavals in every period of history, not even in the face of the most serious trials and injustices that may befall his disciples.”
Straining away
This awareness of the ephemeral nature of earthly things does lead to a question, the Holy Father suggested, a question about the meaning of our lives.
“Using an image,” he explained “we could say that these readings [of the Mass] serve as a ‘strainer’ through which our life can be poured: they remind us that almost everything in this world is passing away, like running water. But there are treasured realities that remain, like a precious stone in a strainer. What endures, what has value in life, what riches do not disappear? Surely these two: the Lord and our neighbour. These two riches do no disappear!
“These are the greatest goods; these are to be loved. Everything else – the heavens, the earth, all that is most beautiful, even this Basilica – will pass away; but we must never exclude God or others from our lives.”
The Pope emphasized that exclusion refers to “concrete people.”
“The human person, set by God at the pinnacle of creation, is often discarded, set aside in favour of ephemeral things,” he lamented. “This is unacceptable, because in God’s eyes man is the most precious good.”
Reiterating one of his frequent warnings, the Pope said it is “ominous that we are growing used to this rejection.”
“We should be worried when our consciences are anaesthetized and we no longer see the brother or sister suffering at our side, or notice the grave problems in our world, which become a mere refrain familiar from the headlines on the evening news,” he said.
The Pope said that we must open our eyes “to our neighbour, especially to our brothers and sisters who are forgotten and excluded, to the ‘Lazarus’ at our door. That is where the Church’s magnifying glass is pointed,” he said. “May the Lord free us from turning it towards ourselves. May he turn us away from the trappings that distract us, from interests and privileges, from attachment to power and glory, from being seduced by the spirit of the world.”
After the Mass, during his address before praying the midday Angelus, Francis reiterated the same message:
“Jesus in the Gospel exhorts us to have clear in our minds and hearts the certainty that God guides our history and knows the ultimate end of things and events.
“History — with its uncertain progression and the interweaving of good and evil — develops under the merciful gaze of the Lord. Everything that happens is conserved in Him. Our life cannot be lost because it is in his hands.”
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On ZENIT’s Web page:
Full text of homily: https://zenit.org/articles/popes-homily-at-jubilee-for-socially-excluded/
Translation of Angelus address: https://zenit.org/articles/angelus-address-on-awaiting-the-end-times/
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Angelus Address: On Awaiting the End Timesby ZENIT Staff
Here is a ZENIT translation of the address Pope Francis gave today before and after praying the midday Angelus with those gathered in St. Peter’s Square.
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Dear brothers and sisters, good morning!
The Gospel for today gives us the first part of Jesus’ words on the end times, as related by St. Luke. Jesus speaks about this while in front of the Temple of Jerusalem, drawing from the people’s exclamations of admiration at the beauty of the sanctuary and its decorations. Jesus then says, “All that you see here — the days will come when there will not be left a stone upon another stone that will not be thrown down.”
We can imagine the effect of these words on Jesus’ disciples. He doesn’t want to offend the temple but rather to make them understand, and us today as well, that human constructions — even the most sacred — are passing, and we shouldn’t place our securities in them.
How many supposed certainties in our lives have we thought were definitive and then they turned out to be ephemeral. On the other hand, how many problems we’ve faced that seemed to have no way out, and then they were overcome!
Jesus knows that there are always people who speculate in the need that people have of securities. That’s why he says: “See that you not be deceived,” and puts them on guard against all the false messiahs who present themselves. Today we still have these. And Jesus adds that there is no need to become terrified or disoriented by wars, revolutions and calamities, because these are also part of the reality of this world.
The history of the Church is rich in examples of people who endured tribulations and terrible sufferings with serenity, because they were aware that they were safely in the hands of God. He is a faithful and attentive father who never abandons his children. Never. And we should have this certainty in our hearts. God never abandons us.
To stay firm in the Lord, to walk in the hope that he never abandons us, to work to build a better world despite the difficulties and the sad events that mark our collective and personal existence — this is what really counts.
That is what the Christian community is called to do to go out to meet the “day of the Lord.”
Precisely in this context we want to place the efforts that begin after these months in which we’ve lived with faith the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy, which today is wrapping up in the dioceses of the world with the closing of the Holy Doors in the cathedral churches. The Holy Year has called us, on one hand, to have our gaze set on the fulfillment of the Kingdom of God, and on the other hand, to build the future on this earth, working to evangelize the present, to bring about a time of salvation for all.
Jesus in the Gospel exhorts us to have clear in our minds and hearts the certainty that God guides our history and knows the ultimate end of things and events.
History — with its uncertain progression and the interweaving of good and evil — develops under the merciful gaze of the Lord. Everything that happens is conserved in Him. Our life cannot be lost because it is in his hands.
Let us pray to the Virgin Mary, so that she helps us through the good and the sad events of this world to stay firm in the hope of the eternity of God. Let us pray to the Virgin that she helps us to deeply understand the truth that God never abandons his children.[Angelus]
Dear brothers and sisters, this week the oldest wooden crucifix of St. Peter’s basilica has been reinstated for the devotion of the faithful; it dates from the 14th century. After a laborious work of restoration it’s been returned to its former splendor and will be hung in the chapel of the Blessed Sacrament, to recall the Jubilee of Mercy.
Today in Italy is celebrated the traditional day of Thanksgiving for the fruits of the earth and human work. I unite myself to the bishops in their desire that mother earth always be cultivated in a sustainable manner. The Church, with understanding and recognition, is beside the world of agriculture and does not forget those who in various parts of the world are deprives of essential gifts such as food and water.
I greet everyone, families, parishes, associations and faithful, who have come from Italy and so many other parts of the world. In particular, I greet and thank the associations that in these days have supported the jubilee for excluded peoples.
I greet the pilgrims from Río de Janeiro, Salerno, Piacenza, Veroli and Acri, and also “The Family” service of Milan, and the Italian fraternities of the secular Order of the Trinity.
I wish you all a good Sunday. Please don’t forget to pray for me. Have a good lunch and see you soon![Translation by ZENIT]
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Pope’s Homily at Jubilee for Socially Excluded by ZENIT Staff
Pope Francis today celebrated a Mass as part of activities held for this weekend’s jubilee for the socially excluded. Here is a Vatican translation of his homily:
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“For you… the sun of justice shall rise, with healing in its wings” (Mal 4:2). The words of the Prophet Malachi, which we heard in the first reading, shed light on today’s Jubilee. They come to us from the last page of the last Old Testament prophet. They are words directed to those who trust in the Lord, who place their hope in him, who see in him life’s greatest good and refuse to live only for themselves and their own interests. For those who are materially poor but rich in God, the sun of justice will rise. These are the poor in spirit, to whom Jesus promised the kingdom of heaven (cf. Mt 5:3) and whom God, through the words of the Prophet Malachi, calls “my special possession” (Mal 3:17). The prophet contrasts them with the proud, those who seek a secure life in their self-sufficiency and their earthly possessions. This last page of the Old Testament raises challenging questions about the ultimate meaning of life: where do I look for security? In the Lord or in other forms of security not pleasing to God? Where is my life headed, what does my heart long for? The Lord of life or ephemeral things that cannot satisfy?
Similar questions appear in today’s Gospel. Jesus is in Jerusalem for the last and most important page of his earthly life: his death and resurrection. He is in the precincts of the Temple, “adorned with noble stones and offerings” (Lk 21:5). People were speaking of the beautiful exterior of the temple, when Jesus says: “The days will come when there shall not be left here one stone upon another” (v. 6). He adds that there will be no lack of conflicts, famine, convulsions on earth and in the heavens. Jesus does not want to frighten us, but to tell us that everything we now see will inevitably pass away. Even the strongest kingdoms, the most sacred buildings and the surest realities of this world do not last for ever; sooner or later they fall.
In response, people immediately put two questions to the Master: “When will this be, and what will be the sign?” (v. 7). When and what… We are constantly driven by curiosity: we want to know when and we want to see signs. Yet Jesus does not care for such curiosity. On the contrary, he exhorts us not to be taken in by apocalyptic preachers. Those who follow Jesus pay no heed to prophets of doom, the nonsense of horoscopes, or terrifying sermons and predictions that distract from the truly important things. Amid the din of so many voices, the Lord asks us to distinguish between what is from him and what is from the false spirit. This is important: to distinguish the word of wisdom that the God speaks to us each day from the shouting of those who seek in God’s name to frighten, to nourish division and fear.
Jesus firmly tells us not to be afraid of the upheavals in every period of history, not even in the face of the most serious trials and injustices that may befall his disciples. He asks us to persevere in the good and to place all our trust in God, who does not disappoint: “Not a hair of your head will perish” (v. 18). God does not forget his faithful ones, his precious possession. He does not forget us.
Today, however, he questions us about the meaning of our lives. Using an image, we could say that these readings serve as a “strainer” through which our life can be poured: they remind us that almost everything in this world is passing away, like running water. But there are treasured realities that remain, like a precious stone in a strainer. What endures, what has value in life, what riches do not disappear? Surely these two: the Lord and our neighbour. These two riches do no disappear! These are the greatest goods; these are to be loved. Everything else – the heavens, the earth, all that is most beautiful, even this Basilica – will pass away; but we must never exclude God or others from our lives.
Today, though, when we speak of exclusion, we immediately think of concrete people, not useless objects but precious persons. The human person, set by God at the pinnacle of creation, is often discarded, set aside in favour of ephemeral things. This is unacceptable, because in God’s eyes man is the most precious good. It is ominous that we are growing used to this rejection. We should be worried when our consciences are anaesthetized and we no longer see the brother or sister suffering at our side, or notice the grave problems in our world, which become a mere refrain familiar from the headlines on the evening news.
Dear brothers and sisters, today is your Jubilee. Your presence here helps us to be attuned to God’s wavelength, to see what he sees. He sees not only appearances (cf. 1 Sam 16:7), but turns his gaze to the “humble and contrite in spirit” (Is 66:2), to the many poor Lazaruses of our day. What harm we do to ourselves when we fail to notice Lazarus, excluded and cast out (cf. Lk 16:19-21)! It is turning away from God himself. It is the symptom of a spiritual sclerosis when we are only interested in objects to be produced rather than on persons to be loved. This is the origin of the tragic contradiction of our age: as progress and new possibilities increase, which is a good thing, less and less people are able to benefit from them. This is a great injustice that should concern us much more than knowing when or how the world will end. Because we cannot go about our business quietly at home while Lazarus lies at the door. There is no peace in the homes of the prosperous as long as justice is lacking in the home of everyone.
Today, in the cathedrals and sanctuaries throughout the world, the Doors of Mercy are being closed. Let us ask for the grace not to close our eyes to God who sees us and to our neighbour who asks something of us. Let us open our eyes to God, purifying the eye of our hearts of deceitful and fearful images, from the god of power and retribution, the projection of human pride and fear. Let us look with trust to the God of mercy, with the certainty that “love never ends” (1 Cor 13:8). Let us renew our hope in the true life to which we are called, the life that will not pass away and that awaits us in communion with the Lord and with others, in a joy that will last forever, without end.
And let us open our eyes to our neighbour, especially to our brothers and sisters who are forgotten and excluded, to the “Lazarus” at our door. That is where the Church’s magnifying glass is pointed. May the Lord free us from turning it towards ourselves. May he turn us away from the trappings that distract us, from interests and privileges, from attachment to power and glory, from being seduced by the spirit of the world. Our Mother the Church looks “in particular to that portion of humanity that is suffering and crying out, because she knows that these people belong to her by evangelical right” (PAUL VI, Address at the beginning of the Second Session of the Second Vatican Council, 29 September 1963).
By right but also by evangelical duty, for it is our responsibility to care for the true riches which are the poor. In the light of these reflections, I would like today to be the “day of the poor”. We are reminded of this by an ancient tradition according to which the Roman martyr Lawrence, before suffering a cruel martyrdom for the love of the Lord, distributed the goods of the community to the poor, whom he described as the true treasure of the Church. May the Lord grant that we may look without fear to what truly matters, and turn our hearts to our true treasure.© Copyright – Libreria Editrice Vaticana
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Gospel for Sunday, Nov. 13 by ZENIT Staff
While some people were speaking about
how the temple was adorned with costly stones and votive offerings,
Jesus said, “All that you see here–
the days will come when there will not be left
a stone upon another stone that will not be thrown down.”
Then they asked him,
“Teacher, when will this happen?
And what sign will there be when all these things are about to happen?”
He answered,
“See that you not be deceived,
for many will come in my name, saying,
‘I am he,’ and ‘The time has come.’
Do not follow them!
When you hear of wars and insurrections,
do not be terrified; for such things must happen first,
but it will not immediately be the end.”
Then he said to them,
“Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.
There will be powerful earthquakes, famines, and plagues
from place to place;
and awesome sights and mighty signs will come from the sky.
“Before all this happens, however,
they will seize and persecute you,
they will hand you over to the synagogues and to prisons,
and they will have you led before kings and governors
because of my name.
It will lead to your giving testimony.
Remember, you are not to prepare your defense beforehand,
for I myself shall give you a wisdom in speaking
that all your adversaries will be powerless to resist or refute.
You will even be handed over by parents, brothers, relatives, and friends,
and they will put some of you to death.
You will be hated by all because of my name,
but not a hair on your head will be destroyed.
By your perseverance you will secure your lives.”
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