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(Vatican Radio)  "Walk in the presence of God without reproach." That’s how Pope Francis says we can journey towards holiness.  During the Homily at Mass at Santa Marta Tuesday, the Pope said that for this commitment to succeed, Christians must be able to hope with courage, open themselves up to discussion, and freely welcome God's grace.

Holiness cannot be bought. Neither can it be earned by human strength. No, "the simple holiness of all Christians," "ours – the kind  we are called to every day," says the Pope, can only be attained with the help of four essential elements: courage, hope, grace, and conversion.

The path of courage

Taking the liturgical excerpt from the First Letter of St. Peter, which he called a "small treatise on holiness," Pope Francis said holiness means “to walk in the presence of God without reproach:"

"Holiness is a journey; holiness cannot be bought.  It can’t be sold. It cannot be given away. Holiness is a journey to God's presence that I must make: no one else can do it in my name. I can pray for someone to be holy, but he’s the one who has to work towards [holiness], not me. Walk in God's presence, in an impeccable way.”

Everyday holiness, the Pope continued, can also be “anonymous.” And the first element needed to achieve it is courage:  “The path to holiness takes courage."

Hope and grace

"Jesus’ Kingdom of Heaven," the Pope stressed, is for "those who have the courage to go forward" and courage, he observed, is generated by "hope," the second element of the journey that leads to holiness. The kind of courage that hopes "in an encounter with Jesus."

The third element of this journey towards holiness, the Pope observed, appears in Peter’s words: "Put all your hope in that grace:”

"We cannot achieve holiness on our own,” affirmed Pope Francis.  “No, it is a grace. Being good, being saintly, going every day a little 'a step forward in the Christian life is a grace of God and we have to ask for it. Courage, a journey. A journey one must take with courage, with hope and with the willingness to receive this grace. And hope: the hope of the journey.

Here, the Pope urged the faithful to read the “beautiful” chapter XI of the Letter to the Hebrews, which recounts the journey of “our forefathers, the first to be called by God.” “Of our father Abraham, it said: 'But, he went out without knowing where he was going.' But with hope."

Convert every day

In Peter’s letter, the Pope continued, we also see the importance of a fourth element: conversion as a continuous effort towards cleansing the heart.

"Conversion, every day,” recalled Pope Francis, does not mean one must beat oneself as penance for committing a wrong:   “No, no, no: small conversions... if you're able to not speak ill of another, you're on the right path to becoming saintly. It 'so easy! I know that you never speak ill of others, no? Little things ... 'I want to criticize a neighbor, a workmate': bite your tongue a bit. The tongue will swell a bit, but your spirit will be holier on this journey. Nothing grand, mortification: no, it's simple. The path to holiness is simple. Do not go back, but always moving forward, right? And with fortitude." 

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The Holy Father accepted the resignation of Msgr. Vincente M. Navarra from the pastoral care of the Diocese of Bacolod (Philippines)  and appointed Msgr. Patricio A. Buzon SDB, the new Bishop of the said diocese,  transferring him from the diocese of Kabankalan,  .  

Bishop Patricio Buzon, SDB, was born March 14, 1950, in Cebu City, central Philippines, where he finished elementary education at the Asilo de la Milagrosa school. He entered the Don Bosco Academy High School in San Fernando, Pampanga, and later the University of Santo Tomas (UST) in Manila where he got his Bachelor of Science degree in Industrial Education, majoring in Electricity. He completed his Bachelor of Sacred Theology in the same university.

His first religious profession in the Salesian order was on June 29, 1967, and his perpetual profession was on May 24, 1973. A year after his priestly ordination on Dec. 8, 1976, he became the spiritual moderator of Don Bosco Missionary Seminary in Talisay, Cebu (1977-1982) and later served as its rector (1982-1988). He was also rector of Don Bosco Technical High School in Punta Princesa, Cebu (1988-1992). 

For five years from 1992, he was his Salesian province's vice-provincial. Before his ordination as bishop on Feb. 19, 2003, at Our Lady of Lourdes Parish in Punta Princesa, he served as provincial of the Salesians' Mary Help of Christians Province-South. On March 12, 2003 he, was installed as the second bishop of the Diocese of Kabankalan, replacing a bishop who was transferred to another diocese. Presently, the bishop is a member of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines' Episcopal Commission on Youth. He is also the president of the UST Central Seminary Alumni Association. 

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Rome, Italy, May 24, 2016 / 03:02 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Hundreds of athletes took to the fields in Rome over the weekend for the launch of this year's “Special Olympics European Football Week,” an unique event which saw people both with – and without – intellectual disabilities competing side by side.

“This is about the athletes, about their abilities, about giving them a chance,” said Logan Ludwig, deputy supreme knight for the Knights of Columbus, which sponsored the event.

“The Special Olympics athletes don’t ask for special treatment. They just ask for a chance,” he told CNA.

Nearly a hundred players took part in the games on Friday at the Knights-run Pio XI Sport Center, which launched the May 21-29 “Special Olympics European Football Week.”

Thousands of athletes – divided into male and female teams and including athletes both with and without intellectual disabilities – will take part in various football matches over the course of the week organized by the five participating countries: Italy, Hungary, Poland, Lithuania, and France.

While those with intellectual disabilities are playing alongside those without disabilities, it's still “the same rules, same competition,” said Colin Kenny, a member of Special Olympics International’s fundraising team.

He told CNA that the aim of the Special Olympics “is to improve the lives of people with intellectual disability,” giving them access to sports as well as other programs, such as those geared toward education and health programs.

“But, the big thing we are working on now is also to get the wider community, people without disabilities, involved in the movement. So, we can make an inclusive society.”

“People can work, play sports together, go to the cinema together,” Kenny said, so “that there’s no barriers anymore.”

The Special Olympics was founded in the 1960s by Eunice Kennedy Shriver, and the Knights of Columbus has been involved in the initiative from t he start. In 2000, the movement launched first Special Olympics European Football Week.

The Knights continue to be involved with the Special Olympics, including sponsoring the European branches of the initiative.

Ludwig said he felt it was “providential” that this year's event is taking place during the Jubilee Year of Mercy. The Holy Year, he said, is a time in which “we reach out to individuals, and show that everyone in the world has talents, God-given talents, that they can use, and that although we may be different in some ways, we are alike and are all God’s children.”

“There’s a special relationship between the KoC and Special Olympics,” Ludwig continued. “Both of us, as organizations, are very much concerned about fostering the dignity of man,” along the lines of the teachings by St. John Paul II.

CNA also spoke with some of the athletes taking part in the weekend games, including Vincenzo, the goalkeeper for the Italian A.S.A.D. (assocazione sportiva Biella team).

Vincenzo, who spoke shyly, said he enjoyed playing. He already previously competed in the Los Angeles games last year, which he said had been an “ottimo opportunita” – “an excellent opportunity.”

Martino, who plays defense, said his past experiences playing in the Special Olympics “remain in his heart,” and is “truly happy to be part of this great family” which gives so much.

The event “is all about the footballers on the pitch,” Kenny told CNA. “It’s great to see that they are enjoying themselves. They’re very passionate about what they do.”

“If you were here today, you would see that what we do is not just sports for sports sake: it’s real passion, it’s real competition, it’s like the champion’s league final. It’s so important to all the athletes.”

Alexey Gotovskiy contributed to this article.



 

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(Vatican Radio) Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle of Manila is taking part in the World Humanitarian Summit as the President of aid agency Caritas Internationalis. In an interview with Vatican Radio’s Linda Bordoni, Cardinal Tagle identified three important ideas that can help to re-shape or re-think humanitarian assistance.

Drawing from the experience of the Church—and especially the experience of the local churches—he said the first concrete step is to consider human beings seriously. He said it is “sad” if policy-makers think only in terms of statistics and theories. “While that might be necessary,” he said, “I think the first concrete [step] is to go back to the human beings. Hold the hand of a survivor of a calamity. Enter the shack of a refugee family. Listen to the stories.”

Cardinal Tagle also spoke of the importance of the principle of solidarity. International donors and agencies offer much-needed help to victims of natural or man-made disasters, but they must be respectful of the local communities, which “know their cultures, their needs, their situations better.” He said it is important to enable local communities “to really get involved in their own rehabilitation, the rebuilding of their lives.”

Finally, he said, it is necessary “to address the process of the conflicts that drive people away from their homes.” Confronting and dealing with the causes of calamities “would help us cope with these changes, prevent disasters, etc.”

During the Summit, Cardinal Tagle spoke to the participants on the importance of religion in humanitarian aid efforts. In his interview with Vatican Radio, he said he had proposed tapping into “the wisdoms and the treasures contained in the different religions to address the conflicts, not just extending compassion to the victims.” He asked what resources religions have to instil peace, to build bridges, and to help humanity become more reconciled and peace-loving. “I’m sure the different religions have enough resources,” Cardinal Tagle said. “But can we tap them?”

Listen to the full interview of Cardinal Luis Tagle with Linda Bordoni: 

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