Catholic News 2

(Vatican Radio) “Perhaps we have not yet encountered Jesus personally,” Pope Francis said in his Angelus address on Sunday. “Perhaps we have not recognized Him as our Saviour.”

The Holy Father was commenting on the day’s Gospel, which relates the “dialogue” between Jesus and the Samaritan woman at the well. Because of the great respect Jesus shows her — despite her being a Samaritan, and despite her disordered life — she is open to the words of Christ, when He speaks to her about the true faith. She recognizes Him as a prophet, and intuits that He could be the Messiah, and Jesus tells her plainly that He is, in fact, the Messiah — something that happens very rarely in the Gospels, the Pope said.

“Dear brothers,” Pope Francis continued, “the water that gives eternal life was poured out in our hearts on the day of our Baptism;” on that day, “God transformed us and filled us with His grace.” However, the Pope said, we sometimes forget about the grace of our Baptism, or treat it merely as a piece of biographical data. When that happens we go looking for “wells” filled with water that cannot quench our thirst. “And so this Gospel is for us!” the Pope said, “not just for the Samaritan woman.”

Lent, he said, is a good opportunity for us “to draw near” to Jesus, “to encounter Him in prayer in a heart-to-heart dialogue… to see His face in the face of a brother or a sister who is suffering.” In this way, the Pope said, “we can renew within ourselves the grace of Baptism, quenching our thirst at the font of the Word of God and of the Holy Spirit; and thereby discovering, too, the joy of becoming artisans of reconciliation and instruments of peace in our daily lives. “

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Kenyan Cardinal John Njue on Friday expressed satisfaction with donations of food made by parishioners in the Archdiocese of Nairobi. The donations are destined for Kenya’s drought-stricken dioceses of Isiolo and Marsabit.

“The decision to mobilise food from our parishes came about from the realisation that nearly half of the counties in Kenya are adversely affected by drought with millions of people facing starvation and in desperate need of food and water,” the Archbishop of Nairobi said.

The donations weighing 80 tonnes and valued at KShs 8 Million (about US$78,000) were received from the 111 parishes within the Archdiocese of Nairobi.

 “We are very impressed that after the appeal to Christians in the Archdiocese of Nairobi, food and non-food items amounting to 80 tonnes have been contributed within the last month. The monetary value of all donated items stands at about Kshs 8 million. Along with the donations, funds amounting to Kshs 1.7 million were also received. Some donations have been dispatched directly to East Pokot in the Diocese of Nakuru,” Cardinal Njue said.

The Cardinal noted that 23 out of 47 counties in Kenya are affected by the current drought crisis with the hardest hit being Garissa, Isiolo, Mombasa, Malindi, Marsabit, Maralal, Lodwar, Nakuru and Kitale.

Cardinal Njue called upon individuals and institutions to play their part in assisting people in these areas. 

“I extend my appeal to Christians and people of goodwill to join hands in solidarity with the Church and our brothers and sisters in Kenya and continue donating food and non-food items to save lives. The true meaning of loving your neighbour is in extending a hand of support,” he said.

On 10 February, President Uhuru Kenyatta declared the ongoing drought a national disaster and appealed for international aid.

(CISA in Nairobi)

email: engafrica@vatiradio.va

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Vatican City, Mar 19, 2017 / 06:47 am (CNA/EWTN News).- On Sunday Pope Francis said that Lent is the perfect time to remind ourselves of the life-giving water we received at our Baptism, turning away from things of the world, which ultimately leave us unsatisfied.

“The water that gives eternal life has been poured out in our hearts the day of our Baptism; then God has transformed us and filled us by his grace,” Pope Francis said March 19.

“But it may be that we have forgotten this great gift, or reduced it to a mere piece of personal data; and maybe we go in search of ‘wells’ where the water will not quench.”

In this case, Francis said, then this Sunday’s Gospel on the Samaritan woman and her encounter with Jesus at the well is for us. “Jesus speaks to us like the Samaritan woman,” he said.

“Of course, we already know him, but perhaps we have not yet met him in person, and we have not yet recognized him as our Savior.”

Before leading the Angelus, the Pope spoke to a crowd of around 40,000 people in St. Peter’s Square about the encounter between Jesus and the Samaritan woman at the well as recounted in the fourth chapter of John.

Asking for a drink of water, Jesus, a Jew, begins a dialogue with the woman, the Pope said. She asks why he would deign to ask something of her, a Samaritan. Jesus answers her that he is alone can give her “living water, water that satisfies every thirst.”

At first, she thinks it is a type of temporal water that would mean she no longer has to go to the well to draw water. “But Jesus peaks of a different water.”

We are, in some ways, like this woman, he said. “Her thirst for affection and a full life was not satisfied” by the world – in this case, by her five husbands. “We know who Jesus is, but maybe we have not met him in person, talking with him, and we have not yet recognized him as our Savior.”

“This time of Lent is a good time to approach him, meet him in prayer in a heart to heart conversation, see his face in the face of a brother or sister suffering,” Francis explained.

By approaching the Lord in prayer and strengthening our personal relationship with him, he said, “we can renew in us the grace of Baptism, quench our thirst at the source of the Word of God and his Holy Spirit; and so discover the joy of becoming artisans of reconciliation and peace tools in everyday life.”

After the Angelus, the Pope prayed for Peru, which, because of heaving rains in the last few days, has been hit by floods and mudslides, resulting in the deaths of 72 people, BBC News reports.

“I want to assure my closeness to the dear people of Peru, hit hard by devastating floods. I pray for the victims and for those engaged in relief operations,” he said.

The worst floods the country has seen in 30 years, the capital city of Lima has been without water since Monday, services only now being restored, and more than 800 towns and cities have declared a state of emergency, according to BBC News.

Pope Francis also drew attention to the beatification Saturday of Blessed Josef Mayr-Nusser in Bolzano, Italy, who was martyred for his refusal to join the Nazis in faithfulness to the Gospel.

“For his great moral and spiritual stature, he is a model for the lay faithful, especially for dads,” Francis said, “that today we remember with great affection, though the liturgical feast of St. Joseph, their patron.”

Because March 19 is the feast of St. Joseph – also Father’s Day in Italy – Pope Francis concluded with a special greeting for all fathers, asking for a round of applause from the crowd.

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