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(Vatican Radio) The Prefect-emeritus of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, Cardinal Francis Arinze, shared a reflection with Vatican Radio for the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Our Lord, Jesus Christ.

The central focus of Cardinal Arinze’s extended meditation was the abiding Eucharistic faith of the Church, and the great joy of Christians in giving witness to that faith – especially in the Eucharistic processions that mark the Feast of Corpus Christi here at Rome and in countless towns and cities around the world. “Everybody is there,” he exclaimed. “Flowers, singing – the excellent Eucharistic hymns that incorporate very much the faith of the Church in the Holy Eucharist – listen to them, sing them, read them,” he said. “It is just a wonderful feast.”

Click below to listen to Cardinal Arinze’s extended meditation

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(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis delivered the homily at Mass being celebrated on the steps of Rome's cathedral Basilica of St. John Lateran on Thursday, to mark the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Our Lord. Below, please find the full text of the Holy Father's prepared remarks, in their official English translation.

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« Do this in remembrance of me » (1 Cor 11 :24-25).

Twice the Apostle Paul, writing to the community in Corinth, recalls this command of Jesus in his account of the institution of the Eucharist.  It is the oldest testimony we have to the words of Christ at the Last Supper. 

“Do this”.  That is, take bread, give thanks and break it; take the chalice, give thanks, and share it.  Jesus gives the command to repeat this action by which he instituted the memorial of his own Pasch, and in so doing gives us his Body and his Blood.  This action reaches us today: it is the “doing” of the Eucharist which always has Jesus as its subject, but which is made real through our poor hands anointed by the Holy Spirit. 

“Do this”.  Jesus on a previous occasion asked his disciples to “do” what was so clear to him, in obedience to the will of the Father.  In the Gospel passage that we have just heard, Jesus says to the disciples in front of the tired and hungry crowds: “Give them something to eat yourselves” (Lk 9:13).  Indeed, it is Jesus who blesses and breaks the loaves and provides sufficient food to satisfy the whole crowd, but it is the disciples who offer the five loaves and two fish.  Jesus wanted it this way: that, instead of sending the crowd away, the disciples would put at his disposal what little they had.  And there is another gesture: the pieces of bread, broken by the holy and venerable hands of Our Lord, pass into the poor hands of the disciples, who distribute these to the people.  This too is the disciples “doing” with Jesus; with him they are able to “give them something to eat”.  Clearly this miracle was not intended merely to satisfy hunger for a day, but rather it signals what Christ wants to accomplish for the salvation of all mankind, giving his own flesh and blood (cf. Jn 6:48-58).  And yet this needs always to happen through those two small actions: offering the few loaves and fish which we have; receiving the bread broken by the hands of Jesus and giving it to all.

Breaking: this is the other word explaining the meaning of those words: “Do this in remembrance of me”.  Jesus was broken; he is broken for us.  And he asks us to give ourselves, to break ourselves, as it were, for others.  This “breaking bread” became the icon, the sign for recognizing Christ and Christians.  We think of Emmaus:  they knew him “in the breaking of the bread” (Lk 24:35).  We recall the first community of Jerusalem:  “They held steadfastly… to the breaking of the bread” (Acts 2:42).  From the outset it is the Eucharist which becomes the centre and pattern of the life of the Church.  But we think also of all the saints – famous or anonymous – who have “broken” themselves, their own life, in order to “give something to eat” to their brothers and sisters.  How many mothers, how many fathers, together with the slices of bread they provide each day on the tables of their homes, have broken their hearts to let their children grow, and grow well!  How many Christians, as responsible citizens, have broken their own lives to defend the dignity of all, especially the poorest, the marginalized and those discriminated!  Where do they find the strength to do this?  It is in the Eucharist:  in the power of the Risen Lord’s love, who today too breaks bread for us and repeats: “Do this in remembrance of me”. 

May this action of the Eucharistic procession, which we will carry out shortly, respond to Jesus’ command.  An action to commemorate him; an action to give food to the crowds of today; an act to break open our faith and our lives as a sign of Christ’s love for this city and for the whole world. 

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(Vatican Radio)  This week's World Humanitarian Summit in Istanbul that aimed to reach all vulnerable people appears to have left some behind. 

Notwithstanding  the fact that one of the five  “Core Responsibilities” at the heart of the Summit’s Agenda reads “Leave no one behind”, advocates for the rights of older people say between 10 and 20 percent of an aging world’s population has been let down.   

Present at the Summit together with world leaders, NGOs, faith based groups and civil society involved in delivering humanitarian aid, was HelpAge International, the global network that helps older people claim their rights, challenge discrimination and overcome poverty, so that they can lead dignified, secure and healthy lives.

HelpAge was also actively engaged in the Summit’s preparatory process to try and ensure that the significance of global ageing and its implications for humanitarian action were taken into account.

Toby Porter, Executive Director of HelpAge International spoke to Vatican Radio’s Linda Bordoni on the final day of the Summit and explained that although a recently released report on the needs of older people who require humanitarian assistance had been presented, their voices have, yet again, been ignored.  

Listen: 

“Our report, Toby Porter said, is called ‘Older voices in humanitarian action calling for change’ and the interviews were conducted with older men and women in probably the three worst humanitarian crises at the moment – the Syria crisis, the crisis in Ukraine, the crisis in South Sudan where there is a situation of conflict and drought at the same time.”

He explained that in each of these situations older people were asked what their situation was and whether they were satisfied with the standard of humanitarian assistance they were receiving.

They were also asked whether they were spoken to and whether they had been asked what their needs were.

“I’m afraid the picture (…) is one that should concern us all because it is a picture of neglect, a picture of exclusion” he said.

Amongst the main concerns of older people, Porter said, are those connected with health issues and diseases that are related to age, and being able to continue having access to their medicines.

Highlighting the fact that HelpAge applauds the concern of humanitarian actors to protect women, girls and children who are seen as the most vulnerable categories of society, he says that it is time to take older people into account as well.

“Older people are a very large group. Normally between 10% and 20% of an affected population could be expected to be aged 60 or more” he said.

He pointed out that the promise of humanitarian action is to reach the most vulnerable and it is time to take into account that there is a considerable group of vulnerable people out there that are being neglected.

“The promise of this summit is to ‘leave no one behind’, and what we’re saying is: ‘we have a problem here: for all the talk about leaving on one behind the evidence shows that older people are not routinely thought about” he said.

Porter explains that in the run-up to the Summit there was a consultation done during which participants were asked what they would like to see change in humanitarian action. One of the key promises that came out in the consultation document was “we must stop the continuing neglect of older people”.

Pointing out that the Summit was organized into Plenary Sessions and Round Tables involving the political leadership and the primary representatives of organizations, Porter said there was also a side-event city where agencies were allowed to make proposals to the UN for themes that they felt would be of particular interest.

“There were 15 side events that have in their title ‘children’, ‘youth’ or ‘young people’. How many were there for the aging? Zero! Did we make an application for a side event? Yes we did! Was it turned down? Yes it was!” he said.

Stressing the fact that it is a good and necessary thing to talk about education in emergencies and better protection for women and girls, Porter said that from a common sense point of view, from a purely demographic perspective, from a justice perspective, and from a human rights perspective: “to have no side events on older people at a World Humanitarian Summit when we are talking about a group that traditionally everybody admits, has not been well served” makes no sense at all.

“I don’t understand it; it seems to be perpetuating the same neglect.”

Porter concludes expressing his gratitude to Pope Francis whom, he says, has undoubtedly been the public figure over the past years who has done more than any other person alive to talk positively about old age.

“And also to be typically honest and uncompromising about what he sees as some of the changing attitudes and breakdown in societies’ values that have led to the neglect and abuse of older people” he said.

Tongue-in-cheek, Porter says: “we often say we must write to him and ask him to become an official ambassador for HelpAge International because he, more than anyone else, is out there saying all the right things, and feeling all the right things (…) he’s a great inspiration!”

For more information on the work of HelpAge International click here: 
    

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(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis celebrated Mass on the steps of Rome’s cathedral basilica of St. John Lateran Thursday evening, to mark the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Our Lord, Jesus Christ.

In the homily he prepared for the occasion, Pope Francis focused on the Eucharist as the source of Christian strength. “From the outset,” he said, “it is the Eucharist which becomes the centre and pattern of the life of the Church: but we think also of all the saints – famous or anonymous – who have ‘broken’ themselves, their own life, in order to ‘give something to eat’ to their brothers and sisters.” The Holy Father went on to say, “How many mothers, how many fathers, together with the slices of bread they provide each day on the tables of their homes, have broken their hearts to let their children grow, and grow well; how many Christians, as responsible citizens, have broken their own lives to defend the dignity of all, especially the poorest, the marginalized and those discriminated;  where do they find the strength to do this?” he asked. “It is in the Eucharist: in the power of the Risen Lord’s love, who today too breaks bread for us and repeats: ‘Do this in remembrance of me’.”

Click below to hear our report

The liturgy was followed by a torchlight Eucharistic procession from the Lateran Basilica to the nearby Basilica of St. Mary Major: an occasion for parish groups, sodalities and charitable and fraternal organisations of all kinds to give public witness to the central mystery of the faith: that Jesus Christ is really, truly, substantially present: body, blood, soul and divinity, under the species of bread and wine.

Ordinary citizens participated too, whether watching from the windows and balconies of the buildings that line the route from the Lateran basilica along the via Merulana to the Basilica of St Mary Major, or joining on foot in the procession itself.

All told, the Mass and procession rad roughly two and a half hours, and ended as the fullness of night fell on the city in late spring, with the Pope leading the faithful in Eucharistic adoration and offering solemn benediction.

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Rome, Italy, May 26, 2016 / 11:44 am (CNA/EWTN News).- In breaking bread for his disciples Christ gave an example of what it means to allow oneself to be broken for the good of others, Pope Francis said on the feast of Corpus Christi, explaining that it is the Eucharist which gives us the strength to do this.

“Jesus was broken; he is broken for us. And he asks us to give ourselves, to break ourselves, as it were, for others,” the Pope said May 26, during his homily for the Mass of the feast, said before the Archbasilica of St. John Lateran, the cathedral of Rome.

Corpus Christi celebrates the institution of the Holy Eucharist and is marked by special displays of devotion to the Blessed Sacrament, most notably Eucharistic processions.

During his homily, Pope Francis pointed to the many mothers and fathers who, “together with the slices of bread they provide each day on the tables of their homes, have broken their hearts to let their children grow, and grow well!”

Francis also noted how many Christians “as responsible citizens have broken their own lives to defend the dignity of all, especially the poorest, the marginalized and those discriminated against!”

“Where do they find the strength to do this? It is in the Eucharist: in the power of the Risen Lord’s love, who today too breaks bread for us and repeats: ‘Do this in remembrance of me.’”

The Pope recalled that the epistle for the Mass – St. Paul's recounting of the institution of the Eucharist in First Corinthians – is “the oldest testimony we have to the words of Christ at the Last Supper.”

By telling his disciples “do this,” Christ gives the command to repeat his own actions by which he gave us his own Body and Blood.

“Jesus gives the command to repeat this action by which he instituted the memorial of his own Pasch, and in so doing gives us his Body and his Blood. This action reaches us today: it is the 'doing' of the Eucharist which always has Jesus as its subject, but which is made real through our poor hands anointed by the Holy Spirit.”

Francis pointed to the day’s Gospel passage from John, which recounted the miracle of the multiplication of the loaves and fish that fed a crowd of 5,000.

When Christ tells his disciples to “give them something to eat yourselves,” he is indicating that while he is the one who blesses and breaks the bread, providing enough to feed the entire hungry crowd, it is the disciples who offer the loaves and fish.

“Jesus wanted it this way: that, instead of sending the crowd away, the disciples would put at his disposal what little they had.”

The Pope then pointed to how the pieces of bread, once broken “by the holy and venerable hands” of Jesus, were then placed into “the poor hands of the disciples,” who distributed them to the people.

In distributing the bread to the hungry crowd, the disciples are able to share in Christ’s own action, giving the people something to eat.

“Clearly this miracle was not intended merely to satisfy hunger for a day, but rather it signals what Christ wants to accomplish for the salvation of all mankind, giving his own flesh and blood. And yet this needs always to happen through those two small actions: offering the few loaves and fish we have; receiving the bread broken by the hands of Jesus and giving it to all.”

The Pope said the breaking of the bread signifies another meaning of Christ's command to “do this in remembrance of me” – allowing ourselves to make sacrifices and to be broken for the good of others.

He noted how “breaking bread” became a sign for recognizing Christ and Christians, and pointed to several passages in scripture recounting how the disciples broke bread together.

“From the outset it is the Eucharist which becomes the center and pattern of the life of the Church.”

The Pope then pointed to the saints, both famous or anonymous, who have allowed themselves to be “broken” in order to “give something to eat” to their brethren.

Pope Francis concluded his homily by praying that the Eucharistic procession after Mass would be a response to Christ's command: “an action to commemorate him; an action to give food to the crowds of today; an act to break open our faith and our lives as a sign of Christ’s love for this city and for the whole world.”

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IMAGE: CNS/Paul Haring

By Carol Glatz

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The former secretary to a saint and the oldest member of the College of Cardinals died May 26 at the age of 100.

Italian Cardinal Loris Capovilla, who served St. John XXIII before and after he became pope, died in Bergamo, near Milan.

Cardinal Capovilla was born in Pontelongo, Italy, on Oct. 14, 1915, and ordained to the priesthood in 1940.

A journalist before starting to work for the future saint, he was an energetic and eloquent storyteller, drawing on his remarkable and vividly detailed memory.

When the freshly named patriarch of Venice, Cardinal Angelo Roncalli, chose 37-year-old Father Capovilla as his private secretary in 1953, a skeptical adviser told the cardinal -- who would become Pope John XXIII -- that the priest looked too sickly to bear the strain of his new job.

But the cardinal outlived his employer by half a century and was a dedicated custodian of his legacy, running a small museum dedicated to the saint's memory in the late pope's native town of Sotto il Monte Giovanni XXIII, near Milan.

A friend and confidant, he was by the pope's side during a pivotal point in the church and the world's history: for the launch of the Second Vatican Council and the escalation of political and military tensions of the Cold War.

He turned many of his stories into numerous writings, including a memoir published in English as "The Heart and Mind of John XXIII."

The papal secretary also served Pope Paul VI for a time after his election, following St. John's death in 1963. He was made archbishop of Chieti-Vasto in 1967 and appointed prelate of Loreto in 1971, retiring in 1988.

Pope Francis made him the world's oldest living cardinal when he elevated him to the College of Cardinals in 2014 at the age of 98.

Some observers saw the honor as an indirect tribute to Pope John, whom Pope Francis canonized just one month later.

But the then-cardinal-designate told Catholic News Service at the time, in a telephone conversation, that his elevation was a "sign of attention to all those thousands of priests around the world who have spent their lives in silence, in poverty, in obedience, happy to serve God and our humble people, who need, as Pope Francis continually says, tenderness, friendship, respect and love."

Cardinal Capovilla's death leaves the College of Cardinals with 213 members, 114 of whom are under the age of 80 and therefore eligible to vote in a conclave.

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Copyright © 2016 Catholic News Service/U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. www.catholicnews.com. All rights reserved. Republishing or redistributing of CNS content, including by framing or similar means without prior permission, is prohibited. You may link to stories on our public site. This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. To request permission for republishing or redistributing of CNS content, please contact permissions at cns@catholicnews.com.

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IMAGE: CNS photo/Paulo Cunha, EPA

By Cindy Wooden

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- When then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger met the press in 2000 for the formal release of the so-called Third Secret of Fatima, he said he knew many people would be disappointed.

Almost 16 years later, at the beginning of a yearlong preparation for the 100th anniversary of the apparition of our Lady of Fatima in 2017, now-retired Pope Benedict XVI is still dealing with people not convinced the secret is really out.

An online journal called OnePeterFive published an article May 15 claiming that shortly after then-Cardinal Ratzinger released the secret and his commentary, affirming that it was the complete text, he told a German priest that, in fact, it was not.

"There is more than what we published," the article claimed the cardinal told Father Ingo Dollinger. The article went further: "He also told Dollinger that the published part of the secret is authentic and that the unpublished part of the secret speaks about 'a bad council and a bad Mass' that was to come in the near future."

A statement released May 21 by the Vatican press office said Pope Benedict "declares 'never to have spoken with Professor Dollinger about Fatima,' clearly affirming that the remarks attributed to Professor Dollinger on the matter 'are pure inventions, absolutely untrue,' and he confirms decisively that 'the publication of the Third Secret of Fatima is complete.'"

The Vatican's publication of "The Message of Fatima" in 2000 included a photocopy of the text handwritten in 1944 by Carmelite Sister Lucia dos Santos, the last survivor of the three children who saw Mary at Fatima in 1917.

Speculation naturally swirls around secrets, and when a secret is held for decades, the assumptions gain ground and followers.

The common message of Marian apparitions throughout the centuries has been: pray and convert. But a message read only by a few popes and their closest aides? There had to be something more to it to justify keeping it so secret, many people thought.

When Cardinal Ratzinger presented the text in the Vatican press office June 26, 2000, he told reporters that the choice of St. John XXIII and Blessed Paul VI to withhold publication and St. John Paul II's decision to delay it was not a "dogmatic decision but one of prudence.''

But, he said, "looking back, I would certainly say that we have paid a price'' for the delay, which allowed the spread of apocalyptic theories about its contents.

Meeting the press that day, the first words out of his mouth were: "One who carefully reads the text of the so-called third secret of Fatima will probably be disappointed or surprised after all the speculation there has been."

The text, he said, uses "symbolic language" to describe "the church of the martyrs of the century now past," particularly the victims of two world wars, Nazism and communism.

But what was most difficult for many to believe after the secret spent more than 40 years in a Vatican vault was what the text did not contain. "No great mystery is revealed," Cardinal Ratzinger said. "The veil of the future is not torn."

In a 1996 interview with Portugal's main Catholic radio station, the cardinal -- who already had read the secret -- tried the reasonable, tradition-based approach to pointing out what was and was not in the message. "The Virgin does not engage in sensationalism; she does not create fear," he said. "She does not present apocalyptic visions, but guides people to her Son."

Cardinal Ratzinger became Pope Benedict XVI five years after the text was published. If there was more to the secret, he had eight years of complete freedom as supreme pontiff to share what supposedly was withheld.

Marianist Father Johann Roten, a former student of then-Father Joseph Ratzinger who for years headed the Marian Research Institute at the University of Dayton, said there is "no doubt there is truth" in what many Fatima devotees see as "the moral decline in the church."

"The difficulty is in the method" many of them choose to convince others of the need for conversion and prayer, Father Roten said in an email response to questions.

"The method tends to be magico-ritualistic, based on the conviction that a particular act," such as the consecration of Russia performed in a particular way, "will solve all problems," he said.

"Apparitions always stress the message of Christ," Father Roten said. Mary urges "prayer, conversion and practical manifestations of one's faith."

"Warnings are part of the message, not always, but especially in times of imminent social catastrophe," including Fatima before the Russian Revolution, he said. "Unfortunately, these general messages are frequently overlooked. Instead the attention is given to sensationalism -- a rosary turning golden -- or apocalypticism -- doomsday warnings -- which never represent the essential part and reasons of such events."

Speaking to reporters traveling with him to Fatima in 2010, Pope Benedict repeated what he had said 10 years earlier: The text was open to interpretation, but the heart of the Fatima message was a call "to ongoing conversion, penance, prayer and the three theological virtues: faith, hope and charity."

Yes, he said, the church constantly is under attack -- "attacks from within and without -- yet the forces of good are also ever present and, in the end, the Lord is more powerful than evil and Our Lady is for us the visible, motherly guarantee of God's goodness, which is always the last word in history."

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Editors: The Vatican's publication of "The Message of Fatima," including the photocopies of Sister Lucia's original description of the "secret" is still available online at: http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/cfaith/documents/rc_con_cfaith_doc_20000626_message-fatima_en.html.

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Follow Wooden on Twitter: @Cindy_Wooden.

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Copyright © 2016 Catholic News Service/U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. www.catholicnews.com. All rights reserved. Republishing or redistributing of CNS content, including by framing or similar means without prior permission, is prohibited. You may link to stories on our public site. This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. To request permission for republishing or redistributing of CNS content, please contact permissions at cns@catholicnews.com.

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