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Vatican Weekend for April 15th, 2017 features a reflection on the Easter Vigil by Mons. Fleetwood, our popular Latin lover Father Foster focuses on the image of light, a reflection for this Easter season by Mons. Millea from the Vatican’s Secretariat of State and a musical meditation that looks ahead to the Resurrection.

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Young Adult Section of Youth Ministry of Seoul Archdiocese held the prayer rally titled "Way of Cross for youth with Cardinal Yeom" at Myeongdong Cathedral on April 7.

Cardinal Andrew Yeom Soo-jung of Seoul led a special prayer service for young people bringing home to them the visceral passion of Jesus and the meaning of Lent.

Cardinal Yeom read out the Holy Father's message to young people in preparation for the 32nd World Youth Day 2017 and then said, "I wish you to follow the model of our Blessed Virgin Mary who passed the earthly pilgrimage with firm belief. Also, I wish the Way of Cross that we will take today be the first step of God's work fulfilled through us." His message reflects the theme  of Pope’s World Youth Day message this year which is ‘The Mighty One has done great things for me’ (Lk1:49).

Attendees did not only get to see Cardinal Yeom but also his auxiliaries including Bishops Benedict Son Hee-song, Timothy Yu Gyoung-chon ad Peter Chung Soon-taick. (UCAN)

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(Vatican Radio)  Pope Francis on Thursday presided over the Chrism Mass, during which the sacred oils used for the Sacraments and Ordinations were blessed.

In his homily for the Mass, the Holy Father spoke about the “joy of the Gospel”.

He explored three “icons” of the good news: the stone water jars at the wedding feast of Cana, the jug with its wooden ladle that the Samaritan woman carried on her head in the midday sun, and the fathomless vessel of the Lord’s pierced Heart.

Please find below the official English translation of the Pope’s homily:

Homily of His Holiness Pope Francis

Holy Thursday Chrism Mass

13 April 2017

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor.  He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed” (Lk 4:18).  Jesus, anointed by the Spirit, brings good news to the poor.  Everything he proclaims, and we priests too proclaim, is good news.  News full of the joy of the Gospel – the joy of those anointed in their sins with the oil of forgiveness and anointed in their charism with the oil of mission, in order to anoint others in turn. 

Like Jesus, the priest makes the message joyful with his entire person.  When he preaches – briefly, if possible! –, he does so with the joy that touches people’s hearts with that same word with which the Lord has touched his own heart in prayer.  Like every other missionary disciple, the priest makes the message joyful by his whole being.  For as we all know, it is in the little things that joy is best seen and shared: when by taking one small step, we make God’s mercy overflow in situations of desolation; when we decide to pick up the phone and arrange to see someone; when we patiently allow others to take up our time…

The phrase “good news” might appear as just another way of saying “the Gospel”.  Yet those words point to something essential: the joy of the Gospel.  The Gospel is good news because it is, in essence, a message of joy.

The good news is the precious pearl of which we read in the Gospel.  It is not a thing but a mission.  This is evident to anyone who has experienced the “delightful and comforting joy of evangelizing” (Evangelii Gaudium, 10).

The good news is born of Anointing.  Jesus’ first “great priestly anointing” took place, by the power of the Holy Spirit, in the womb of Mary.  The good news of the Annunciation inspired the Virgin Mother to sing her Magnificat.  It filled the heart of Joseph, her spouse, with sacred silence, and it made John leap for joy in the womb of Elizabeth, his mother.

In today’s Gospel, Jesus returns to Nazareth and the joy of the Spirit renews that Anointing in the little synagogue of that town: the Spirit descends and is poured out upon him, “anointing him with the oil of gladness” (cf. Ps 45:8).

Good news.  A single word – Gospel – that, even as it is spoken, becomes truth, brimming with joy and mercy.  We should never attempt to separate these three graces of the Gospel: its truth, which is non-negotiable; its mercy, which is unconditional and offered to all sinners; and its joy, which is personal and open to everyone. 

The truth of the good news can never be merely abstract, incapable of taking concrete shape in people’s lives because they feel more comfortable seeing it printed in books.

The mercy of the good news can never be a false commiseration, one that leaves sinners in their misery without holding out a hand to lift them up and help them take a step in the direction of change. 

This message can never be gloomy or indifferent, for it expresses a joy that is completely personal.  It is “the joy of the Father, who desires that none of his little ones be lost” (Evangelii Gaudium, 237).  It is the joy of Jesus, who sees that the poor have the good news preached to them, and that the little ones go out to preach the message in turn (ibid., 5) The joys of the Gospel are special joys.  I say “joys” in the plural, for they are many and varied, depending on how the Spirit chooses to communicate them, in every age, to every person and in every culture.  They need to be poured into new wineskins, the ones the Lord speaks of in expressing the newness of his message.  I would like to share with you, dear priests, dear brothers, three images or icons of those new wineskins in which the good news is kept fresh, without turning sour but being poured out in abundance.

A first icon of the good news would be the stone water jars at the wedding feast of Cana (cf. Jn 2:6).  In one way, they clearly reflect that perfect vessel which is Our Lady herself, the Virgin Mary.  The Gospel tells us that the servants “filled them up to the brim” (Jn 2:7).  I can imagine one of those servants looking to Mary to see if that was enough, and Mary signaling to add one more pailful.  Mary is the new wineskin brimming with contagious joy.  She is “the handmaid of the Father who sings his praises” (Evangelii Gaudium, 286), Our Lady of Prompt Succour, who, after conceiving in her immaculate womb the Word of life, goes out to visit and assist her cousin Elizabeth.  Her “contagious fullness” helps us overcome the temptation of fear, the temptation to keep ourselves from being filled to the brim, the temptation to a faint-heartedness that holds us back from going forth to fill others with joy.  This cannot be, for “the joy of the Gospel fills the hearts and lives of all who encounter Jesus” (ibid., 1)

A second icon of the good news is the jug with its wooden ladle that the Samaritan woman carried on her head in the midday sun (cf. Jn 4:5-30).  It speaks to us of something crucial: the importance of concrete situations.  The Lord, the Source of Living Water, had no means of drawing the water to quench his thirst.  So the Samaritan woman drew the water with her jug, and with her ladle she sated the Lord’s thirst.  She sated it even more by concretely confessing her sins.  By mercifully shaking the vessel of that Samaritan women’s soul, the Holy Spirit overflowed upon all the people of that small town, who asked the Lord to stay with them. 

The Lord gave us another new vessel or wineskin full of this “inclusive concreteness” in that Samaritan soul who was Mother Teresa.  He called to her and told her: “I am thirsty”.  He said: “My child, come, take me to the hovels of the poor.  Come, be my light.  I cannot do this alone.  They do not know me, and that is why they do not love me.  Bring me to them”.  Mother Teresa, starting with one concrete person, thanks to her smile and her way of touching their wounds, brought the good news to all.

The third icon of the good news is the fathomless vessel of the Lord’s pierced Heart: his utter meekness, humility and poverty which draw all people to himself.  From him we have to learn that announcing a great joy to the poor can only be done in a respectful, humble, and even humbling, way.  Evangelization cannot be presumptuous.  The integrity of the truth cannot be rigid.  The Spirit proclaims and teaches “the whole truth” (cf. Jn 16:3), and he is not afraid to do this one sip at a time.  The Spirit tells us in every situation what we need to say to our enemies (cf. Mt 10:19), and at those times he illumines our every small step forward.  This meekness and integrity gives joy to the poor, revives sinners, and grants relief to those oppressed by the devil.

Dear priests, as we contemplate and drink from these three new wineskins, may the good news find in us that “contagious fullness” which Our Lady radiates with her whole being, the “inclusive concreteness” of the story of the Samaritan woman, and the “utter meekness” whereby the Holy Spirit ceaselessly wells up and flows forth from the pierced heart of Jesus our Lord. 

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Vatican Weekend for April 16th, 2017 features our weekly reflection on the Easter Sunday Gospel reading, “There’s more in the Sunday Gospel than Meets the Eye,” plus a timely musical meditation and a couple of spiritual reflections.

Listen to this program produced and presented by Veronica Scarisbrick:

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(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis celebrated the Chrism Mass of the Rome diocese on the morning of Holy Thursday in St. Peter’s Basilica.

The liturgy is held every year in every diocese, and is typically celebrated on the morning of Holy Thursday, with the clergy gathered around the bishop in a sign of unity.

It is called the “Chrism Mass” because it is during the liturgy that the sacred oils to be used in the Sacraments are blessed: the Oil of the Infirm, the Oil of the Catechumens, and the Sacred Chrism – which is used to anoint the newly baptized and in conferring Confirmation, and to consecrate priests and bishops to their special and peculiar divine service.

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In his homily, Pope Francis spoke of the truth, mercy, and joy of the Gospel, which each priest is called to witness with his whole life: embodying and personifying each of the three characteristics.

“The truth of the good news can never be merely abstract, incapable of taking concrete shape in people’s lives because they feel more comfortable seeing it printed in books,” Pope Francis said.

“The mercy of the good news can never be a false commiseration, one that leaves sinners in their misery without holding out a hand to lift them up and help them take a step in the direction of change,” he continued.

“This message,” the Holy Father went on to say, “can never be gloomy or indifferent, for it expresses a joy that is completely personal – it is ‘the joy of the Father, who desires that none of his little ones be lost’,” and “the joy of Jesus, who sees that the poor have the good news preached to them, and that the little ones go out to preach the message in turn.”

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Vatican City, Apr 13, 2017 / 03:00 am (CNA/EWTN News).- During his annual Chrism Mass for Holy Week Pope Francis told priests to always convey the truth and mercy of the Gospel with joy, saying the “Good News” brought by Jesus can never be rigid or presumptuous, but is rather meek and humble.

“Everything (Jesus) proclaims, and we priests too proclaim, is good news,” the Pope said April 13. “News full of the joy of the Gospel – the joy of those anointed in their sins with the oil of forgiveness and anointed in their charism with the oil of mission, in order to anoint others in turn.”

The phrase “good news” can at times appear as just another way of saying “the Gospel,” he said, but in reality, the words “point to something essential: the joy of the Gospel.”

“The Gospel is good news because it is, in essence, a message of joy,” he said, explaining that just as Jesus did, a priest makes the Gospel message joyful “with his entire person.”

When a priest preaches, “briefly, if possible,” the Pope jested, “he does so with the joy that touches people’s hearts with that same word with which the Lord has touched his own heart in prayer.”

The Good News “is the precious pearl of which we read in the Gospel,” he said, stressing that “it is not a thing but a mission.”

Pope Francis gave his homily during the annual Holy Week Chrism Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica, during which he blesses the oils that will be used for the sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation, Holy Orders and the Anointing of the Sick during the coming year.

With the symbol of anointing being a strong presence throughout the Mass, the Pope typically directs his homily to priests, using it as an opportunity to offer a special message for them and their ministry in particular.

In his homily, Francis told priests that when the word “Gospel” is spoken, it “becomes truth, brimming with joy and mercy.”

“We should never attempt to separate these three graces of the Gospel: its truth, which is non-negotiable; its mercy, which is unconditional and offered to all sinners; and its joy, which is personal and open to everyone,” he said.

The truth “can never be abstract” or lack concreteness in people’s lives, he said, but at the same time cautioned that mercy can never be “a false commiseration” that leaves people in misery “without holding out a hand to lift them up and help them take a step in the direction of change.”

Similarly, the message of the Good News “can never be gloomy or indifferent, for it expresses a joy that is completely personal,” he said, and offered priests three “icons” of how to keep the Gospel fresh in every age without going sour or being poured out.

The first icon the Pope pointed to were the stone jars used at the wedding feast in Cana, which he said “clearly reflect that perfect vessel which is Our Lady herself, the Virgin Mary.”

Mary, he said, “is the new wineskin brimming with contagious joy. She is the handmaid of the Father who sings his praises.”

As someone who promptly responded to the angel’s announcement by going to visit her cousin Elizabeth, Mary helps us overcome fear and “the temptation to keep ourselves from being filled to the brim, the temptation to a faint-heartedness that holds us back from going forth to fill others with joy.”

A second image the Pope pointed to was the jug and wooden ladle carried by the Samaritan woman who met Jesus at the well.

The image of the jug and ladle point to the crucial importance “of concrete situations,” Francis said, explaining that since Jesus had no way to draw water, the woman with her jug and ladle was able to quench the Lord’s thirst.

“She sated it even more by concretely confessing her sins,” he said, and pointed to Mother Teresa as another example of a new wineskin filled with “inclusive concreteness.”

In starting her mission with one concrete person, Mother Teresa, “thanks to her smile and her way of touching their wounds, brought the good news to all,” he said.

Pope Francis then pointed a third image of the Good News, which he said is “the fathomless vessel of the Lord’s pierced heart: his utter meekness, humility and poverty which draw all people to himself.”

“From him we have to learn that announcing a great joy to the poor can only be done in a respectful, humble, and even humbling, way,” he said, stressing that “evangelization cannot be presumptuous. The integrity of the truth cannot be rigid.”

In every situation, the Holy Spirit tells us what we need to say to our enemies and guides our steps forward, he said, adding that “this meekness and integrity gives joy to the poor, revives sinners, and grants relief to those oppressed by the devil.”

Pope Francis closed his homily praying that as priests contemplate these three “icons” of the Gospel, the Good News would find in them “that contagious fullness which Our Lady radiates with her whole being, the inclusive concreteness of the story of the Samaritan woman, and the utter meekness whereby the Holy Spirit ceaselessly wells up and flows forth from the pierced heart of Jesus our Lord.”

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