Pope Francis: It’s time to rediscover amazement, surprise, gratitude

• In Catholic News Agency, Vatican
• Catholic News Agency
  Jun 25, 2018
  CATHOLIC NEWS AGENCY

Pope Francis has said Christians should model the amazement, surprise and gratitude of Elizabeth and Zechariah - and their community - at the birth of their son, John.

ROME - Pope Francis has said Christians should model the amazement, surprise and gratitude of Elizabeth and Zechariah - and their community - at the birth of their son, John.
“The whole event of the birth of John the Baptist is surrounded by a joyful sense of amazement, surprise and gratitude,” the pope said in his weekly Angelus address in Rome.
“Looking at this, let us ask ourselves: How is my faith? Is it a joyful faith, or is it always the same faith, a ‘flat’ faith? Do I have a sense of amazement when I see the works of the Lord?”


Sunday was the solemnity of the Nativity of John the Baptist.


In Sunday’s Gospel reading, Elizabeth and Zechariah rejoice at the birth of their son, whom they name John. Elizabeth and Zechariah were past childbearing age, so their community was shocked and amazed by the miracle of John’s birth.
The pope said Elizabeth and Zechariah’s community “immediately understood that something great - although humble and private - had taken place.”


Francis then reflected on the miracle of life. He said married couples act as collaborators of God when they have children; and every child has an imprint of God.


“[It is] a truly sublime mission that makes every family a sanctuary of life and awakens - at every birth of a child - joy amazement and gratitude.”
He also said the story of Elizabeth and Zechariah illustrates God is beyond our imagination.
“God does not depend on our logic and our limited human capacity,” the pope said.
“It is necessary to learn to trust and remain silent before the mystery of God and to contemplate in humility and silence his work, which reveals itself in history and which often surpasses our imagination.”


After praying the Angelus, Francis noted the June 23 beatification in Paraguay of the Carmelite nun Maria Felicia de Jesus Sacramentado. The 20th-century nun is remembered for her enthusiastic service of the elderly, sick and imprisoned. She died at the age of 34.

“Her witness is an invitation to all young people, especially those from Paraguay, to live their lives with generosity, gentleness and joy.”




https://cruxnow.com/vatican/2018/06/25/pope-francis-its-time-to-rediscover-amazement-surprise-gratitude/

Pope Francis: God works in mysterious ways – trust him

• In Catholic News Agency, Vatican
• Elise Harris
  Jun 17, 2018
  CATHOLIC NEWS AGENCY

Pope Francis leads pilgrims in praying the Angelus Jan. 6, 2018. (Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/CNA.)

On Sunday Pope Francis compared the action of grace to the growth of seeds planted in a garden, saying God often works in ways that are both unknown and surprising, but which always bring fruit, and because of this it is important to always trust and never lose faith.

VATICAN CITY - On Sunday Pope Francis compared the action of grace to the growth of seeds planted in a garden, saying God often works in ways that are both unknown and surprising, but which always bring fruit, and because of this it is important to always trust and never lose faith.
In his June 17 Angelus address, the pope noted that if one looks back at history, it can seem like the world is going “in an opposite direction to the design of the heavenly Father, who wants justice, brotherhood and peace for all of his children.”
Catholics, he said, are invited to live these periods “as seasons of trial, hope and of vigilant waiting for the harvest.”
Pointing to the parable of the seeds in the day’s Gospel reading from Mark, Francis explained that both in the past and today, the Kingdom of God “grows in the world in a mysterious and surprising way, awakening the hidden power of the small seed and its victorious vitality.”
“Inside the wounds of personal and social events which at times seem to mark the shipwreck of hope, we must remain confident in the subdued but powerful action of God,” he said.
Because of this, when moments of darkness and difficulty come along, “we must not break down, but remain anchored to the fidelity of God and to his presence, which always saves…Remember this: God always saves, he’s the savior..”
Pope Francis spoke to pilgrims present in St. Peter’s Square during his Sunday Angelus address, in which he focused on the two parables Jesus told his disciples in the day’s Gospel reading, the first being about a seed which is scattered and grows of its own accord, culminating with the gathering of the harvest.
The second parable is about the mustard seed, which is the smallest seed but which grows to be one of the biggest shrubs.
In the first parable, the message conveyed is that through Jesus’ preaching and action, “the Kingdom of God is announced, he made it burst into the field of the world and, like the seed, it grows and develops on its own, with its own strength and according to criteria that are not humanly understandable.”
This growth and sprouting inside history, he said, is not dependent on the work of man, but is “expressed by the power and goodness of God.”
On the parable of the mustard seed, Francis noted how the small seed grows to become one of the biggest plants in the garden, which is “an unpredictable, surprising growth.”
“It’s not easy for us to enter into this logic of the unpredictability of God and to accept it in our lives,” he said, explaining that Lord encourages each person to have “an attitude of faith which overcomes our own projects, our calculations, our provisions.”

This is an invitation to open oneself with greater generosity to God’s plan on both a personal and community level, Francis said, adding that every community must pay special attention to “the small and the great opportunities for goodness that the Lord offers to us, allowing  us to be involved in his dynamics of love, of welcome, and of mercy toward all.”
The authenticity of the Church’s mission, he said, is not measured “by success or the gratification of results, but by going forward with the courage of trust and the humility of abandonment to God.”
“It’s the knowledge of being small and weak instruments, which in the hands of God and with his grace can fulfill great works, advancing his Kingdom, which is justice, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit,” he said, and prayed that Mary would help Catholics to be attentive to God and to collaborate in helping the Kingdom of God grow “in hearts and in history.”
After leading pilgrims in the traditional Marian prayer, Francis offered prayers for Yemen, as fighting continues to escalate near the port city of Hudaydah. If the port closes, desperately needed food and other aid would be cut off from thousands of people who already face starvation in the country, increasing the already dire humanitarian situation.
Francis appealed to the international community on behalf of Yemen, asking that they bring conscience “to the table of discussions in order to avoid a worsening of the already tragic humanitarian situation.” He then led pilgrims in praying a Hail Mary.
He then kicked off the “Global Action Week,” which is part of the Share the Journey initiative of the papal charity organization Caritas International, urging governments to adopt the global U.N. compacts on migrants and refugees in order to “reach an agreement to ensure the assistance and protection of whomever is forced to leave their own home.”

https://cruxnow.com/vatican/2018/06/17/pope-francis-god-works-in-mysterious-ways-trust-him/

Pope Francis says abortion is the 'white glove' equivalent to Nazi eugenics program

 

Pope Francis has denounced abortion as the "white glove" equivalent of the Nazi-era eugenics program and urged families to accept the children that God gives them.
 

Pope Francis spoke off-the-cuff to a meeting of an Italian family association.

The Vatican didn't immediately provide a transcript of his remarks, but the ANSA news agency and the SIR agency of the Italian bishops' conference quoted him as denouncing the pre-natal tests that can result in parents choosing to terminate a pregnancy if the foetus is malformed or suffering other problems.

"Last century, the whole world was scandalised by what the Nazis did to purify the race," the agencies quoted Francis as saying.

"Today, we do the same thing but with white gloves."

The Pope urged families to accept children "as God gives them to us".

Pope Francis has repeated the strict anti-abortion stance of his predecessors and integrated it into his broader condemnation of what he calls today's "throw-away culture."

He has frequently lamented how the sick, the poor, the elderly and the unborn are considered unworthy of protection and dignity by a society that prizes instead individual prowess.

He also decried how women are often considered part of this "throw-away culture", sometimes forced to prostitute themselves.
"How many of you pray for these women who are thrown away, for these women who are used, for these girls who have to sell their own dignity to have a job?" Francis asked during his morning homily on Friday.

Pope Francis has dedicated much of his pontificate to preaching about families, marriage and the problems that families today encounter.

He is expected to highlight these issues during his August trip to Ireland where he'll close out the Catholic Church's big family rally.

AP

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-06-17/pope-says-abortion-is-white-glove-equivalent-to-nazi-crimes/9878174

Pope Francis: Women are victims of a “throwaway culture”

 

• In Vatican
• Crux Staff
  Jun 15, 2018
  AUTHOR

Pope Francis on Friday said women suffer from a throwaway culture, and Jesus “changed history” by ending women’s second-class status in society.

Pope Francis on Friday said women suffer from a throwaway culture, and Jesus “changed history” by ending women’s second-class status in society.
Speaking during his morning Mass in the Domus Sanctae Marthae - which featured the Gospel account of Jesus speaking about “committing adultery in your heart” - Francis said Jesus’ words about women acknowledged their equality with men, when before they were little more than “slaves” that did not “even have complete freedom.”
“Jesus’ doctrine about women changes history. Before Jesus the view about women was one thing but after Jesus they are another,” Francis said, according to Vatican News, a service of the Vatican’s Secretariat for Communication.
“Jesus dignifies women and puts them on the same level as men because he takes that first word of the Creator, both are ‘the image and likeness of God,’ both of them; not first the man and then a little lower down the woman, no, both are. And a man without a woman beside him - whether as a mother, as a sister, as a bride, as a working companion, as a friend - that man by himself is not the image of God,” the pope continued.
However, Francis pointed out that women are still objectified in today’s world, and images used in advertising often “humiliated” women or featured them “wearing no clothes.”
He said women were victims of a “disposable mentality,” not just in “far away places,” but all around us.
“This is a sin against God the Creator, rejecting women because without her we men cannot be the image and likeness of God. There is an anger and resentment against women, an evil anger,” the pontiff said.
“Even without saying it… But how many times do young women have to sell themselves as disposable objects in order to get a job? How many times? ‘Yes, Father, I heard in that country…’ Here in Rome. There’s no need to go far away,” Francis continued.
“All this happens here in Rome, it happens in every city, anonymous women, women - we can describe as ‘faceless’ because shame covers their faces, women who do not know how to laugh and many of them do not know the joy of breastfeeding their baby and the experience of being a mother,” the pope said.
Francis spoke about women being sexually exploited - used and sold as if they are in a market. He said this happens in neighborhoods even in Rome.
“But, even in our everyday life, without going to those places, there is this ugly way of thinking, of rejecting women or seeing her as a ‘second class’ person. We need to reflect more deeply about this. And by doing this or saying this, by entering into this way of thinking, we despise the image of God, who made man and woman together with his image and likeness,” the pope said.
“This Gospel reading helps us to think about the marketing of women, a trade, yes, trafficking, that exploitation which is visible but also that trade which we can’t see but is taking place out of sight. A woman is trampled underfoot precisely because she is a woman,” he said.

The pope reminded his listeners that Jesus encountered many women - despised, marginalized, cast aside - and showed them great tenderness that restored their dignity, and had “many female friends who followed him to help him in his ministry…and provide support.”

....
Taken from: https://cruxnow.com/vatican/2018/06/15/pope-francis-women-are-victims-of-a-throwaway-culture/

 

“Yes! Adam was a priest”

 

 

 

 

“This brings us to Adam and his duty to till (‘abad) and keep (shamar) the garden. These words are better translated, “to serve” and “to guard.” These two Hebrew words are only used together elsewhere in Scripture to describe the duties of the Levites”.

 

Brian Pizzalato

 

 

 

 

The priesthood goes back well beyond Levi, all the way back to the first man Adam, in fact, according to Brian Pizzalato, who writes:

 

Adam: High priest of humanity

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Let us now look at the Sacrament of Holy Orders. This sacrament is extraordinarily important. Without holy orders, we would not have four of the other six sacraments, namely confirmation, Eucharist, reconciliation and anointing of the sick. I hope you realize what an absolute tragedy this would be. This is one important reason we must “pray therefore the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into the harvest” (Matthew 9:38).

 

In order to understand holy orders, we must take a journey back into the Old Testament. Most think of the priesthood of the Old Testament strictly in terms of the tribe of Levi. However, priesthood goes back much farther, way before Exodus 32 and the ordination of the Levites to the service of Yahweh, and Aaron’s ordination as high priest. How much farther back? All the way to Adam. Yes! Adam was a priest.

 

In order to make this clear, we must understand that the primary role of the priest is to offer sacrifice. “Now every high priest is appointed to offer gifts and sacrifices…” (Hebrews 8:3). With that in mind let’s dig a little deeper into Sacred Scripture.

 

First of all, we must understand that the Israelite’s, because of God’s revelation to them, understood all of creation to be a macro-temple. God, speaking to Job, describes creation this way: “Who determined its size…Who stretched out the measuring line for it? Into what were its pedestals sunk, and who laid the cornerstone…?” (38:5-6). As God created the cosmos in six days and then consecrated and blessed it on the seventh, so too Solomon built the temple in seven years and seven months and during a seven day-liturgy, where he offers seven petitions, he blessed and consecrated the temple (cf. 1 Kings 5-9). This, of course, also means that they understood the temple to be a micro-cosmos.

 

Other parallels also confirm this notion. The tree of life was located in both the garden and the Jerusalem temple. The tree of life was extremely significant in the garden, as we know. As well, the menorah, a seven branched candelabrum, was considered a stylized tree of life, which is made clear in the description of it given in Exodus 25:31-40.

 

Every temple, however, needs a sanctuary, and every sanctuary needs a high priest to minister in it, and every high priest is “appointed to offer gifts and sacrifices.” That sanctuary is none other than the garden of Eden. The garden of Eden was not viewed as simply a piece of farmland but as an archetypal sanctuary. Many of the aspects of the garden can be found in later sanctuaries, such as the tabernacle and the Jerusalem temple.

 

We can see a parallel with what is said in Genesis 3:8, about God walking in the garden. The word hithallek that is used for this action of God is also used in 2 Samuel 7:6-7 describing God’s presence, which abided in the tabernacle in the days of the exodus. A second parallel can be drawn with the mention of the cherubim being stationed east of the garden to guard it (cf. Genesis 3:24). The east was the entrance to the garden, comparatively, so the tabernacle and the Jerusalem temple were entered from the east. As well, cherubim were on the top of the tabernacle, forming the throne of God in the inner sanctuary (cf. Exodus 25:18-22). Further, two cherubim guarded the inner sanctuary of the temple (cf. 1 Kings 6:23-28).

 

This brings us to Adam and his duty to till (‘abad) and keep (shamar) the garden. These words are better translated, “to serve” and “to guard.” These two Hebrew words are only used together elsewhere in Scripture to describe the duties of the Levites. In Numbers 3:7-8 and Numbers 8:26 the Lord gives the Levites the authority to minister in the tabernacle.

 

There are some other parallels that help us understand that Adam is the high priest of humanity. As Aaron was clothed at God’s command, so too Adam is clothed with garments by God (Genesis 3:21; Exodus 28:42; Deuteronomy 23:13-14). The high priests garments were arrayed with gold and onyx; so too is there mention of gold and onyx in Eden (Genesis 2:11-12; Exodus 25:7). As Aaron cannot draw near to God with his nakedness exposed, so too, after the fall Adam cannot draw near to God with his nakedness exposed (Genesis 3:10; Exodus 20:26, 28:42).

 

Adam was to fulfill the duties of a priest, which are to minister in the sanctuary and what all priests do: offer sacrifice. He must guard (shamar) the garden; this implies that there must be something to guard it from. This leads us to the question of what Adam is called to sacrifice.

 

When the serpent enters the garden, i.e. the sanctuary, we have a good idea of what he is supposed to be guarding against, namely Satan, sin and death. Now, most of all, he is to attend to his priestly duties. The “gifts and sacrifices” Adam is called to offer is none other that the gift and sacrifice of his very self, for his bride, so as to save her from Satan, sin and death. This is made most clear when we consider what Jesus, the new Adam, did (cf. 1 Corinthians 15:45). He offered the gift and sacrifice of himself for his bride, the church, so as to save her from Satan, sin and death. Unfortunately, Adam stands by silently as his bride deals with the life-threatening serpent, and we have been affected by the consequences ever since. ….