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Pakistan’s Catholic Church has planned to mark Lent, among other things, with fundraising on behalf of widows, aid to the poor, as well as visits to the sick and disabled people.The time of fasting and penitence comes at a time of extreme difficulty and tensions, in a country touched by terrorist attacks in public places and places of worship. Despite this, Catholics will not stop supporting the poorest sections of the population and those who are in difficulty."We have raised funds to help more than 70 widows and their children,” said Bishop Shukardin Samson, bishop of Hyderabad (Sindh province). “Lent gives us the opportunity of engaging in campaigns to [show] Christ’s merciful face in our difficult country,” he added. In view of this, “I call on Christians throughout Pakistan to fast and pray for peace on the Friday before Palm Sunday,” he said, speaking to AsiaNews.For its part, the Sacred Heart Cathedral of the Archdiocese of Lah...
Pakistan’s Catholic Church has planned to mark Lent, among other things, with fundraising on behalf of widows, aid to the poor, as well as visits to the sick and disabled people.
The time of fasting and penitence comes at a time of extreme difficulty and tensions, in a country touched by terrorist attacks in public places and places of worship. Despite this, Catholics will not stop supporting the poorest sections of the population and those who are in difficulty.
"We have raised funds to help more than 70 widows and their children,” said Bishop Shukardin Samson, bishop of Hyderabad (Sindh province). “Lent gives us the opportunity of engaging in campaigns to [show] Christ’s merciful face in our difficult country,” he added. In view of this, “I call on Christians throughout Pakistan to fast and pray for peace on the Friday before Palm Sunday,” he said, speaking to AsiaNews.
For its part, the Sacred Heart Cathedral of the Archdiocese of Lahore plans to organise bus visits to mentally and physically disabled people. Catholic TV Pakistan is also broadcasting messages by priests and discussions about the Lenten fast.
In the south of the country, the Archdiocese of Karachi plans a twice-a-week, month-long ‘Open the doors of your heart’ programme at the archdiocese’s catechetical centre. “Parishioners have collected food every Sunday, to be divided into 250 baskets and distributed to the poor of the city,” said St Patrick's Cathedral Rector Fr Mario Rodrigues.
"We are trying to involve people of all ages in this Lenten season,” he added. “Sunday catechism students and parish groups will visit the elderly and people with disabilities”.
“We invited to the cathedral 350 over-50 couples this weekend. School children have been invited to share Easter preparations, and carry the cross on the Stations of the Cross."
(Source: AsiaNews)
(Vatican Radio) The compass of the Christian directs him to follow Christ crucified, not a disincarnate god, but God made flesh, Who bears in Himself the wounds of our brothers. That was the message of Pope Francis at the morning Mass at the Casa Santa Marta on Thursday.The invitation to be converted resounds strongly at the beginning of Lent. And the liturgy of the day, Pope Francis said, places this exhortation in the context of three realities: man, God, and the journey. The reality of man is that of choosing between good and evil: God has made us free, the choice is ours,” the Pope said, but He does not leave it to us alone; rather, he points out the path of goodness with the Commandments. Then there is the reality of God: “for the disciples, it was difficult to understand” the path of the Cross of Jesus. “Because God has taken all of human reality, except sin. There is no God without Christ. A God without Christ, ‘disincarnate,’ is a god th...
(Vatican Radio) The compass of the Christian directs him to follow Christ crucified, not a disincarnate god, but God made flesh, Who bears in Himself the wounds of our brothers. That was the message of Pope Francis at the morning Mass at the Casa Santa Marta on Thursday.
The invitation to be converted resounds strongly at the beginning of Lent. And the liturgy of the day, Pope Francis said, places this exhortation in the context of three realities: man, God, and the journey. The reality of man is that of choosing between good and evil: God has made us free, the choice is ours,” the Pope said, but He does not leave it to us alone; rather, he points out the path of goodness with the Commandments. Then there is the reality of God: “for the disciples, it was difficult to understand” the path of the Cross of Jesus. “Because God has taken all of human reality, except sin. There is no God without Christ. A God without Christ, ‘disincarnate,’ is a god that is not real”:
“The reality of God is God made Christ, for us. To save us. And when we distance ourselves from this, from this reality, and we distance ourselves from the Cross of Christ, from the truth of the wounds of the Lord, we distance ourselves also from love, from the charity [carità] of God, from salvation and going along an ideological street from God, far away: [This] is not God who came to us and made Himself close to us to save us, and died for us. This [God made Christ for us, to save us] is the reality of God.”
The Pope cited the dialogue between an agnostic and a believer, recorded by a French writer of the last century:
“The agnostic of good will asked the believer, ‘But how can I… for me, the problem is how Christ is God: I can’t understand this. How is Christ God?’ And the believer responded, ‘Eh, for me this is not a problem. The problem would be if God would not have been made Christ.’ This is the reality of God: God made Christ, God made flesh; and this is the foundation of the works of mercy. The wounds of our brothers are the wounds of Christ, they are the wounds of God, because God is made Christ. The second reality. We cannot live Lent without this reality. We must convert, not to an abstract God, but to the concrete God who is made Christ.”
Finally, there is the third reality, that of the journey. Jesus says, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow Me.”:
“The reality of the journey is that of Christ: following Christ, doing the will of the Father, as He did, taking up the daily crosses and denying oneself in order to follow Christ. Not doing what I want, but what Jesus wants; following Jesus. And He says that on this street we lose our life, in order to gain it back later; it is a continual loss of life, loss of doing what I want, loss of comforts, being always on the path of Jesus who was at the service of others, [who was] was in adoration of God. That is the right path.”
“The only sure path,” Pope Francis concluded, “is following Christ crucified, the scandal of the Cross. And these three realities – man, God, and the journey – “are the compass of the Christian, which will not allow us to take the wrong path.
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis’ prayer intention for March is Support for Persecuted Christians: That persecuted Christians may be supported by the prayers and material help of the whole Church.The Apostleship of Prayer has produced the Pope’s Video on this prayer intention, with the help of Aid to the Church in Need.The full text of the Pope’s Video is below:How many people are being persecuted because of their faith, forced to abandon their homes, their places of worship, their lands, their loved ones! They are persecuted and killed because they are Christians. Those who persecute them make no distinction between the religious communities to which they belong.I ask you: how many of you pray for persecuted Christians? Do it with me, that they may be supported by the prayers and material help of all the Churches and communities.
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis’ prayer intention for March is Support for Persecuted Christians: That persecuted Christians may be supported by the prayers and material help of the whole Church.
The Apostleship of Prayer has produced the Pope’s Video on this prayer intention, with the help of Aid to the Church in Need.
The full text of the Pope’s Video is below:
How many people are being persecuted because of their faith, forced to abandon their homes, their places of worship, their lands, their loved ones!
They are persecuted and killed because they are Christians. Those who persecute them make no distinction between the religious communities to which they belong.
I ask you: how many of you pray for persecuted Christians?
Do it with me, that they may be supported by the prayers and material help of all the Churches and communities.
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Thursday addressed the parish priests of the Diocese of Rome, reflecting with them on the ‘progress of faith’ in the life of a priest.He spoke to them about the progress of faith in the life of a priest in three main points: memory, hope, and discernment of the moment.In remarks prepared for the event, the Holy Father said, “Memory, as the Catechism says, is rooted in the faith of the Church, in the faith of our fathers; hope is that which sustains our faith; and discernment of the moment I hold present at the moment of acting, of putting into practice that ‘faith which operates through charity’.”Growth in faithHe said that “growing in faith” implies a “path of formation and of maturation in the faith”.Turning to Evangelii Gaudium as a guide, he said, “Taking this seriously means that ‘it would not be right to see this call to growth exclusively or primarily in terms of do...
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Thursday addressed the parish priests of the Diocese of Rome, reflecting with them on the ‘progress of faith’ in the life of a priest.
He spoke to them about the progress of faith in the life of a priest in three main points: memory, hope, and discernment of the moment.
In remarks prepared for the event, the Holy Father said, “Memory, as the Catechism says, is rooted in the faith of the Church, in the faith of our fathers; hope is that which sustains our faith; and discernment of the moment I hold present at the moment of acting, of putting into practice that ‘faith which operates through charity’.”
Growth in faith
He said that “growing in faith” implies a “path of formation and of maturation in the faith”.
Turning to Evangelii Gaudium as a guide, he said, “Taking this seriously means that ‘it would not be right to see this call to growth exclusively or primarily in terms of doctrinal formation.’ (EG, n.161) Growth in faith happens through encounters with the Lord during the course of our lives. These encounters act as a treasure of memory and are our living faith, in a story of personal salvation.”
To illustrate, he gave the example of a basketball player who pivots on a stable foot while remaining flexible with the rest of his body to protect the ball from his opponent. “For us that foot pinned to the ground, around which we pivot, is the cross of Christ.”
Memory is remembering the promise of the Lord
Pope Francis said a faith nourished on memory of past graces “confers on our faith the solidity of the Incarnation”.
“Faith feeds on and is nourished by memory: The memory of the Covenant which the Lord has made with us. He is the God of our fathers and grandfathers. He is not a God of the last moment, a God without a family history, a God which – to respond to each new paradigm – should throw out precedents as if they were old and ridiculous.”
He said faith can even progress “backwards” in a “revolutionary return to the roots”.
“The more lucid the memory of the past, the more clear the future opens up, because it is possible to see the truly new path and distinguish it from the path already taken, which has never brought one anywhere meaningful.”
Hope is the guiding star which indicates the horizon
The Holy Father went on to speak of hope, which “opens faith to the surprises of God.”
“Faith is sustained and progresses thanks to hope. Hope is the anchor anchored in the Heavens, in the transcendent future, of which the temporal future –considered in a linear form – is only an expression. Hope is that which gives dynamism to the rearwards-looking glance of faith, which conduces one to find new things in the past – in the treasures of the memory – so that one can encounter the same God, which hopes to see into the future.”
Discernment at every fork in the road to find next step in love
The Pope then examined discernment, which “is what makes faith concrete…, what permits us to give credible witness”.
He said, “The discernment of the opportune time (Kairos) is fundamentally rich in memory and in hope: remembering with love, I aim my gaze with clarity to that which best guides to the Promise.”
He also spoke of two moments in the act of discernment: first, a step back “to better see the panorama”; second, a step forward “when, in the present moment, we discern how to concretize love in the possible good, that is, for the good of the other”.
Rome, Italy, Mar 2, 2017 / 12:04 am (CNA/EWTN News).- The theological legacy of Benedict XVI continues, four years after his pontificate came to an end.A group of graduate students has gathered around the Ratzinger Foundation to further their studies and discussions on the thought of the former Pope, cardinal, and theology professor. Professor Pierluca Azzaro, a collaborator of the Ratzinger Foundation who translated Ratzinger’s complete works into Italian, told CNA these students reflect “the increasing interest toward Joseph Ratzinger’s theology.”In one gathering, the students heard Father Stephan Horn, the coordinator of the Ratzinger Schuelerkreis, the circle of Joseph Ratzinger’s former students.Azzaro summed up Fr. Horn’s remarks: “Joseph Ratzinger never wanted to assert himself and his ideas. He rather wanted to open people’s gaze to the Church.”The priest stressed Benedict XVI’s own identity as a priest and his...
Rome, Italy, Mar 2, 2017 / 12:04 am (CNA/EWTN News).- The theological legacy of Benedict XVI continues, four years after his pontificate came to an end.
A group of graduate students has gathered around the Ratzinger Foundation to further their studies and discussions on the thought of the former Pope, cardinal, and theology professor.
Professor Pierluca Azzaro, a collaborator of the Ratzinger Foundation who translated Ratzinger’s complete works into Italian, told CNA these students reflect “the increasing interest toward Joseph Ratzinger’s theology.”
In one gathering, the students heard Father Stephan Horn, the coordinator of the Ratzinger Schuelerkreis, the circle of Joseph Ratzinger’s former students.
Azzaro summed up Fr. Horn’s remarks: “Joseph Ratzinger never wanted to assert himself and his ideas. He rather wanted to open people’s gaze to the Church.”
The priest stressed Benedict XVI’s own identity as a priest and his care for the communication of the faith.
Besides the gathering with Fr. Horn, the students have held an introductory meeting and have met with Father Federico Lombardi, president of the Ratzinger Foundation and former Vatican spokesperson.
Azzaro said that he first met the students at the Ratzinger Library, located in the heart of the Vatican, at the Campo Santo Teutonico.
The Ratzinger Foundation inaugurated the library in November 2015. Students or people interested in Joseph Ratzinger’s work can access to the library for their studies. Two days per week, Azzaro stays in the library and helps students in their research.
The group of students is composed mostly of doctoral students or of those seeking a post-graduation diploma from the universities of Rome.
As he came to know the students through their common interests, Azzaro got the idea to involve them in Ratzinger Foundation activities.
Professor Azzaro said that the spirit of their meetings is taken from German universities. Every two months, a professor gathers his doctoral students in a conversation during which every student has the chance to explain his or her work. The professor coordinates the discussion.
The group of students includes 11 doctoral students, two researchers and five students working on their graduation theses. The group is composed of three Italians, two students from India, and one student each from Albania, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Madagascar, Mexico, Croatia, and Vietnam.
Their theses deal with a variety of subjects: systematic theology, moral theology, and even sacred music and Joseph Ratzinger.
The supervisor for two of these theses is James Corkery, an Irish professor well known for his studies on Benedict XVI and liberation theology. He will give a lecture to the students in May.
The former Pope’s work continues to be published in new forms.
Azzaro noted that Benedict XVI’s book “Teaching and Learning the Love of God” has now been printed in a second edition in every language since it was published in mid-2016 for the 65th anniversary of Benedict’s ordination. The book collects his homilies on the priesthood.
The Ratzinger Foundation itself was launched in December 2007 on the initiative of some of Ratzinger’s former students. The foundation aims to promote theology “in the spirit of Joseph Ratzinger.” It funds scholarships for poor students around the world.
Since 2010, the foundation has awarded its Ratzinger Prize to noted theologians. Some compare the honor to the Nobel Prize of Theology.
Madrid, Spain, Mar 2, 2017 / 05:43 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Pablo Ráez was just 21 years old when he died last Saturday in Spain. But the young man, a devout Catholic, made a difference in the world, helping increase bone marrow donations in his home city by more than 1,000 percent.Ráez was a native of Marbella in Malaga, Spain. After being diagnosed with leukemia two years ago, he began to share his daily struggles and positive attitude with his more than 300,000 followers on Facebook.With a strong faith and a desire to live, he fought to encourage donations of bone marrow, which are critical in fighting leukemia.About 1,000 people attended the funeral Mass for Ráez, which was held at the Incarnation parish in Marbella.Fr. José López Solórzano, pastor of the church and godfather to Ráez, presided over the Mass.“I don't know how to bury Pablo, what I want to do is weep with all of you,” the priest said, visibly moved, acco...
Madrid, Spain, Mar 2, 2017 / 05:43 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Pablo Ráez was just 21 years old when he died last Saturday in Spain. But the young man, a devout Catholic, made a difference in the world, helping increase bone marrow donations in his home city by more than 1,000 percent.
Ráez was a native of Marbella in Malaga, Spain. After being diagnosed with leukemia two years ago, he began to share his daily struggles and positive attitude with his more than 300,000 followers on Facebook.
With a strong faith and a desire to live, he fought to encourage donations of bone marrow, which are critical in fighting leukemia.
About 1,000 people attended the funeral Mass for Ráez, which was held at the Incarnation parish in Marbella.
Fr. José López Solórzano, pastor of the church and godfather to Ráez, presided over the Mass.
“I don't know how to bury Pablo, what I want to do is weep with all of you,” the priest said, visibly moved, according to Diario Sur.
In his homily, he recalled that the young man “grew up in an atmosphere of simplicity; from that simplicity comes forth great things.”
Ráez, the priest said, “did what he had to do, he has left his mark on this world.”
Fr. López recalled how the young man used to say, “Leukemia is teaching me more than it has taken from me,” and “Death is part of life, and so you shouldn't fear it but love it.”
In a report filmed some time ago, the priest said that “when I hear that Pablo is thankful for his leukemia, it shakes me up…Many times things happen to us that slip by in our lives and so it is, but Pablo learns every day from what is happening to him.”
Fr. López also related that he met Ráez at the church of the Incarnation when they boy turned 14 years old and asked to receive the sacraments of Baptism and First Communion.
“I told him it was a personal decision of his. So he began a formation process that culminated with Baptism, Confirmation and First Communion,” the priest recalled.
In the same report, Ráez commented on his friendship with the priest. “He's my godfather but above all, he's my friend. He's a great friend to me and has been very present in my illness, he has really been one of the people closest to me, and always, always, always he has been able to be there to see me.”
Ráez had recalled that one of the most difficult days of his life was when “they were doing a transplant on me and I was very afraid and he (Fr. Lopez) arrived at the hospital. When I saw him, I cried a lot and then I knew that I was going to get better and I was going to be well. Besides all the people that were praying for me, that happened to me and made me recover.”
The young man, who became an icon in the fight against leukemia, was going to be awarded the City Medal on Tuesday, February 28. The medal commemorates the 1980 referendum which secured autonomy within Spain for Andalusia, the region where the city of Marbella is located.
An online petition has been launched to name a street in honor of the young man. That petition has more than 100,000 signatures and says that “Pablo increased donations of bone marrow in Malaga 1,300% in 2016, with a total of 11,201 new donors.”
It recalls Ráez as a “valiant fighter who has saved many lives. To remember him for posterity is an act of justice, as his was an immense act of courage, solidarity and love.”
Washington D.C., Mar 2, 2017 / 05:49 am (National Catholic Register).- Witches in the U.S. are offering a solution to those who say Donald Trump is not their president: cast a spell on him. It’s a planned monthly event that began Friday, Feb. 23 at the stroke of midnight Eastern Time.Witches from around the country are casting a mass spell to drive Trump from office. The plan is to continue every night of a waning crescent moon until he is no longer president.Organizers set up a Facebook page, called “A Spell to Bind Donald Trump and All Those Who Abet Him.” The spell is publicized on the Internet and includes a supply list such as an unflattering photo of Trump, a tarot card, a stub of an orange candle, and earth. Evil Will Not Do GoodThe ritual calls on spirits, which include the “Demons of the infernal realms,” and commands to “bind Donald J. Trump so that he may fail utterly…”The words in the spell: “That he may do no h...
Washington D.C., Mar 2, 2017 / 05:49 am (National Catholic Register).- Witches in the U.S. are offering a solution to those who say Donald Trump is not their president: cast a spell on him. It’s a planned monthly event that began Friday, Feb. 23 at the stroke of midnight Eastern Time.
Witches from around the country are casting a mass spell to drive Trump from office. The plan is to continue every night of a waning crescent moon until he is no longer president.
Organizers set up a Facebook page, called “A Spell to Bind Donald Trump and All Those Who Abet Him.” The spell is publicized on the Internet and includes a supply list such as an unflattering photo of Trump, a tarot card, a stub of an orange candle, and earth.
Evil Will Not Do Good
The ritual calls on spirits, which include the “Demons of the infernal realms,” and commands to “bind Donald J. Trump so that he may fail utterly…”
The words in the spell: “That he may do no harm,” sugarcoat the reality that the devil wants the destruction of mankind and never has our best interest at heart.
The Power of Spells
Spells can have power, according to Father Vincent Lampert, the designated exorcist for the archdiocese of Indianapolis since 2005 and also the pastor for St. Malachy in Indianapolis. “I think there’s power, but it’s not coming from God,” Father Lampert said. “Anyone who would dare say they want to challenge that God is in charge is using the power of evil as their own. They should realize that we can’t use the devil; the devil uses us. People can’t control it and the devil ends up using them for his own purposes.”
Spells, according to Father Lampert, only have an effect in people who are spiritually weak. If we are anchored in God, he said Scripture tells us we have nothing to fear. “Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places,” (Ephesians 6:10-18).
Father Lampert pointed out that in Deuteronomy 18:10-12, using witchcraft is condemned as detestable to God. He has known a few people who derive a sense of power and make money from people paying to have spells cast. Hundreds of people have come to Father Lampert for help after spells were cast on them.
The Solution
“You can’t stop someone from placing a curse, but as a Christian, if you are you praying to God and going to him, the curse will have no power,” Father Lampert said. For Catholics, he said going to Mass, receiving the Eucharist and going to Confession, is strong protection against evil. “Curses are effective when people are weak,” Father Lampert explained. “People are fearing devil more than trusting God.”
As for the call for those casting the spell, Father Lampert said they are relying on evil that feeds on anger and revenge. “The end result of all this for people will be to find themselves more deeply entangled with the devil,” he said. “Their lives will continue to spiral out of control because they do not have God as an anchor.”
Prayers for protection are very effective, according to Father Lampert, but we should not just be reactionary. “We should always be proactive in our faith and praying for our leaders—both civic and religious—as a normal part of our everyday action,” he said. “I would hate to think our faith is just reactionary. Scripture tells us to pray unceasingly.”
Coming out in the Open
Msgr. John Esseff, a priest for 63 years and an exorcist in the Diocese of Scranton, Pa. for over 40 years, said the face of the devil that is becoming more clearly seen in public. Previously, he said we saw more of what he calls an apathetic demon that appeals to the lower weaknesses of human nature such as the sexual revolution and all that comes with it.
“Then, came the apostate demon,” Msgr. Esseff said, “that denies the sacrificial nature of human life is possible. We are told we will never able to achieve this kind of holiness or goodness or unity—it just can’t be done,” he said. “This is a real apostasy; not just in politics but also in churches, convincing people that holiness is unattainable.”
Now, according to Msgr. Esseff, we are seeing the stage of the antichrist where the evil one is not afraid to show himself to humanity. Msgr. Esseff referred to Scripture: “This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world.” (1 John 4: 2-3)
“It’s not Trump they are against but Jesus,” Msgr. Esseff said. “The devil is saying, ‘no way are you reigning in this country, we are coming out against you!’”
The spell is nothing to fear if our trust and our hope is in God, Msgr. Esseff said. “Anyone who would even begin to put God back into place is going to have the forces of hell against them,” he said. “Our Lady of Fatima has given us the key to deal with this: Increase prayer and reparation [such as making Five First Saturdays].
“It’s the Fatima message and it’s coming at this time of the 100th year anniversary much more clearly,” Msgr. Esseff said. “Our Lady warned us about it at Fatima where she said the final battle will be against marriage and the family. This is not about politics, it’s about God.”
This article was originally published by the National Catholic Register.
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