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(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis lamented on Tuesday that there are many following Christianity in a confused way, forgetting that Jesus is the only true way or path. He said these include the motionless or 'mummified' Christians, the vagabond and stubborn Christians and the Christians who stop half way along their journey. The Pope was speaking during his homily at morning Mass celebrated in the Santa Marta residence.

Taking his inspiration from the gospel reading where Jesus tells the Apostles that “I am the way,” Pope Francis reflected on the need for Christians to consistently follow Jesus and not get waylaid or blocked on their journey of faith.  He said there are many different types of Christians who are following Jesus in a confused manner like the embalmed mummy Christian, the vagabond Christian, the stubborn Christian and the half way Christian. 

Turning to an examination of these different types of Christians, the Pope pointed first to the Christian who doesn’t move or journey forward and who gives the idea, he said, of being like an (embalmed) mummy.

“Christians who stay still, who don't go forward, are non-Christian Christians. We don’t know exactly what they are. They are slightly ‘paganized’ Christians: who are there, who stay still and don’t go forward in their Christian lives, who don’t make the Beatitudes bloom in their lives, who don’t do Works of mercy… they are motionless. Excuse me for saying it, but they are like an (embalmed) mummy, a spiritual mummy there. There are Christians who are ‘spiritual mummies,’ motionless, there.  They don’t do evil but they don’t do good things.”

Moving next to the profile of the stubborn Christian, the Pope said these types of Christians realize that they are taking the wrong direction but worst still they insist it’s the right path and don’t heed the voice of our Lord, telling them to turn back and take the right path. The next category, he explained, is the vagabond Christian who travels here and there but doesn’t know where he or she is going.

“They are wanderers in the Christian life, vagabonds.  During their life they turn here and there and thus lose the beauty of drawing close to Jesus in the Jesus’ life.  They lose their way because they are constantly turning and often this turning is wrong and takes them to a dead end. Turning so many times, (the road) becomes a labyrinth and then they don’t know how to get out. They have lost that call from Jesus. They don't have a compass to get out and they keep on turning and searching. There are other Christians who whilst journeying are seduced by the beauty of an object and they stop half way, fascinated by what they see, by some idea,  a proposal or a landscape. And they stop! Christian life is not a fascination: it’s the truth!  It’s Jesus Christ!”

After looking at these different types of Christians, Pope Francis said we’d do well to examine our own lives and question whether we too have stopped or lost our way. Are we standing in front of the things that we like such as worldliness and vanity or are we journeying forward and “putting into practice the beatitudes and Works of mercy” in our daily life. He concluded by saying that Jesus’ way “is full of consolations, glory and also the Cross. But always with peace in our souls.”

“We remain here today with that question: let’s do it for just five minutes…  How am I doing on this Christian journey?  Am I standing still, making mistakes,  turning here and there, stopping in front of the things that I like, or (am I following) Jesus “I who am the Way.’?  And let us implore the Holy Spirit to teach us to journey along the right road, always!  And when we get tired, a little rest and then we go forward again. Let us ask for this grace.” 

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(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis’ prayer intention for May is for the Respect for Women: That in every country of the world, women may be honored and respected and that their essential contribution to society may be highly esteemed. 

The Apostleship of Prayer has produced the Pope’s Video on this prayer intention.

The full text of the Pope’s Video is below

Women

The contribution of women in all areas of human activity is undeniable, beginning with the family.

But only to recognize it…Is that enough?

We have done little for the women who are in very difficult situations--despised, marginalized, and even reduced to slavery.

We must condemn sexual violence against women and remove the barriers that prevent their full integration into social, political, and economic life.

If you think this is clearly right, join my petition. It is a prayer--that in all countries of the world women may be honored and respected and valued for their essential contribution to society.

I DO MY JOB AS WELL AS A MAN.

I WILL NEVER BE A SLAVE.

NO GENDER VIOLENCE.

ENOUGH OF DISCRIMINATION AT WORK.

MEN AND WOMEN ARE CHILDREN OF GOD.

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Vatican City, May 3, 2016 / 03:31 am (CNA).- Lead guitarist The Edge from Irish rock band sensation U2 played “the most beautiful parish hall in the world” this weekend – the Sistine Chapel.

The performance, the first-ever rock concert in the historic chapel, was given for about 200 doctors researchers who attended a conference at the Vatican last week on regenerative medicine. The conference discussed the use of adult stem cells to cure difficult and rare diseases such as cancer.

The Edge, whose real name is David Evans, wore his signature black beanie while he played and sang a cover of Leonard Cohen’s “If it be your will,” and renditions of U2 songs “Yahweh,” “Ordinary love” and “Walk on.”

The rock star, who has experienced the effects of cancer in his own life – his father died from cancer last month and his daughter once had leukemia – peppered his performance with references to some technical cancer terms.

“I can tell this is a really cool audience because normally when I say ‘angiogenesis,’ eyes glaze over,” he said, according to Reuters. Angiogenesis is the process through which new blood vessels are formed that feed the growth of tumors. Researchers and scientists are looking for ways to prevent angiogenesis.

The Edge, who was accompanied by a choir of seven Irish teenagers during his performance, also joked that he was a bit shocked when he was asked to play and sing at the Vatican.  

“When they asked me if I wanted to become the first contemporary artist to play in the Sistine Chapel, I didn’t know what to say because usually there’s this other guy who sings,” he said, referring to U2’s lead singer Bono.

He also thanked Pope Francis and Vatican officials for allowing him to play in “the most beautiful parish hall in the world.”

“Being Irish you learn very early that if you want to be asked to come back it’s very important to thank the local parish priest for the loan of the hall,” he said.

The singer dedicated his performance of the 2000 song “Walk On” to Pope Francis, who he called “the people’s pope.”

“He’s doing an amazing job and long may he continue,” he said.

The Cellular Horizons conference was hosted at the Vatican by the U.S.-based Stem for Life Foundation. Speakers at the conference included Pope Francis and U.S. Vice President Joe Biden, who is advocating for a global push to end cancer.

 

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Kathmandu, Nepal, May 3, 2016 / 12:04 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Members of the international Catholic aid agency Caritas visited Nepal last week to mark the anniversary of a devastating earthquake that left millions homeless, bringing aid and a spirit of solidarity.

A delegation of Caritas International participated in a conference in the Nepali capital Kathmandu April 25 – 27, and visited outlying areas affected by the quake. They evaluated the relief effort of the Church thus far, and planned future projects for the agency.

“I am really amazed by the resilience of the earthquake affected people in Nepal,” Bishop Tarcisio Isao Kikuchi of Niigata told CNA May 2. Bishop Kikuchi participated in the delegation as head of Caritas Asia.

“People have not lost their hope for future,” he said, though “one year after the disaster, people are still living in shelters, unable to reconstruct their houses.”

“Though they have been facing terrible difficulties and a delay of official assistance, they are confident of rebuilding their life in due time.”

A 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck Kathmandu April 25, 2015, killing more than 8,000 persons, and was followed by some 120 aftershocks. A second major quake, magnitude 7.3, hit eastern Nepal May 12, 2015.

Bishop Kikuchi and the other delegates visited quake-hit areas outside Kathmandu, going to villages in the Himalayas often accessible only by dirt roads, and where the path to recovery will be a long one.

Among these was was Balthali, one of the worst-affected areas which is more than 25 miles southeast of Kathmandu, where nearly 190 houses were destroyed.

Nepalis there are continuing their lives despite continuing to live in makeshift shelters made of tarps or sheets of tin. Very few of the estimated 800,000 buildings destroyed by the earthquakes have been rebuilt, and the Red Cross believes some 4 million persons continue to live in substandard, temporary shelters.

The Nepali government has given some payments to earthquake victims for hardship, but most of its pledged funds of $2,000 for each family to rebuild a home have not been paid. The slow government response in releasing grants, the delay of official assistance, and bureaucratic hurdles are frustrating locals as well as international aid workers.

Caritas and Catholic Relief Service quickly released initially basic relief materials after the quakes, to reach out to more than 15,000 households with emergency food, blankets, tents, clean water, medicine, personal hygiene kits, and other basic items.

CRS and Caritas Nepal have also begun rebuilding efforts in four of the country's 75 districts.

According to CRS, 25 percent of the population of Nepal live in extreme poverty, and 83 percent of Nepal’s people live in rural areas, and for them  “the impact of the quake on lives, livelihoods, and dignity was immense.”

Bishop Kikuchi, whose own country was recently struck by earthquakes, commented that “based on our experience of disaster in Japan and also my own encounters with so many victims of natural disaster in different countries, I know it takes quite long time for victims to recover normal life as before the disaster, both in rich, developed countries and in poor, underdeveloped countries.”

“Materially speaking, people in rich countries such as Japan have an advantage in receiving relief goods without much delay, and in abundance,” Bishop Kikuchi continued.

“However, that does not mean victims in rich countries have an advantage in psychological compensation, because in many cases in rich countries, human relationship in local communities have been lost in individualism.”

Ananda Pokharel, the Nepali minister for culture and tourism, told participants at the Caritas Symposium that the government appreciates the Catholic Church's aid in relief efforts.

Though only 7,000 of Nepal's 29.8 million people are Catholics, the national and local governments appreciate the Church's social action and pastoral services.

Bishop Kikuchi explained that the Church is adept at providing disaster assistance because it is “there with the people even before disaster happens, as well as during the disaster and after the disaster.”

During the conference the bishops and Caritas members also prayed in solidarity with the victims who lost their lives, and encouraged the Nepali people to look to the future with optimism and hope.

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