Don't procrastinate on faith, live today, pope says
http://www.myspiritfm.com/apps/articles/default.asp?blogid=0&view=post&articleid=150987&link=1&fldKeywords=&fldAuthor=&fldTopic=0
By Junno Arocho EstevesVATICANCITY (CNS) -- Christians are called to renew their faithfulness to God everyday and not procrastinate when it comes to their own personal conversion, PopeFrancis said. A hardenedheart that sets aside "receiving the love of God" for another day,may find that it is too late to enjoy the heavenly reward awaiting those whosehearts are strong in the faith, the pope said Jan. 12 in his homily during Massat the Domus Sanctae Marthae. "I saythis not to frighten you but simply to say that our life is a 'today' -- todayor never," he said. "Tomorrow will be an eternal 'tomorrow' with nosunset, with the Lord forever if I am faithful to this 'today.' And thequestion that I ask you is what the Holy Spirit asks: 'How do I live this'today?'" he said. The popecentered his homily on the day's reading from the Letter to the Hebrews inwhich the author urges the Christian community to "encourage yourselvesdaily while it is still 'today,' so that none of you may grow harden...
By Junno Arocho Esteves
VATICAN
CITY (CNS) -- Christians are called to renew their faithfulness to God every
day and not procrastinate when it comes to their own personal conversion, Pope
Francis said.
A hardened
heart that sets aside "receiving the love of God" for another day,
may find that it is too late to enjoy the heavenly reward awaiting those whose
hearts are strong in the faith, the pope said Jan. 12 in his homily during Mass
at the Domus Sanctae Marthae.
"I say
this not to frighten you but simply to say that our life is a 'today' -- today
or never," he said. "Tomorrow will be an eternal 'tomorrow' with no
sunset, with the Lord forever if I am faithful to this 'today.' And the
question that I ask you is what the Holy Spirit asks: 'How do I live this
'today?'" he said.
The pope
centered his homily on the day's reading from the Letter to the Hebrews in
which the author urges the Christian community to "encourage yourselves
daily while it is still 'today,' so that none of you may grow hardened by the
deceit of sin."
Hearts
"are at risk" of losing this "today," the opportunity of
living life to its fullness and not ruined by sin, he said.
Recalling
conversations with elderly people -- particularly priests and nuns -- the pope
said he was always struck by their requests to pray for their final moments
even if they led good lives in God's service.
"'But
are you afraid?'" the pope said he would ask them. They would respond that
they are not afraid of death, but requested prayers that they would be able to
live to the very end of their lives "with a heart strong in faith and not
ruined by sin, by vices, by corruption."
Christians,
Pope Francis added, must reflect on the state of their own "today" and
ask whether their hearts are "open to the Lord" or closed and seduced
by sin like "the doctors of the law; all those people who persecuted (Jesus),
who put him to the test to condemn him and in the end, were able to do
it."
Today may
well be a person's last, he told those at Mass. It is healthy to ask, "How
is my 'today' in the presence of the Lord? And how is my heart? Is it open? Is
it strong in faith? Is it led by the love of the Lord?"
- - -
Follow Arocho on Twitter: @arochoju.
- - -
Copyright © 2017 Catholic News Service/U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. www.catholicnews.com. All rights reserved. Republishing or redistributing of CNS content, including by framing or similar means without prior permission, is prohibited. You may link to stories on our public site. This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. To request permission for republishing or redistributing of CNS content, please contact permissions at cns@catholicnews.com.
Full Article
http://www.myspiritfm.com/apps/articles/default.asp?blogid=0&url=10&view=post&articleid=275461&link=1&fldKeywords=&fldAuthor=&fldTopic=0
Prayer house at San Simeone, Italy, September 2012. / Credit: Courtesy of Ricostruttori nella preghieraRome, Italy, Apr 28, 2024 / 06:00 am (CNA).Across Italy there are houses of prayer run by the Ricostruttori (Reconstructors) community, a Catholic movement dedicated to people who are far from the Church but attracted to spirituality, particularly Eastern meditation and Buddhist practices. The Reconstructors was founded in 1978 by Jesuit Father Gian Vittorio Cappelletto. "During the postconciliar period, the Church was faced with the need for new forms of evangelization and apostolate, to reach out to people who were drifting away," Don Roberto Rondanina, priest and superior of the Ricostruttori, explained to CNA. "It was a time when Eastern meditation, Hinduism, Buddhism, the New Age ... were beginning to spread in Europe." "Father Cappelletto, who lived in Turin, sought to understand the meaning of this 'flight to the East' and felt the need to find new forms of sp...
http://www.myspiritfm.com/apps/articles/default.asp?blogid=0&url=10&view=post&articleid=275460&link=1&fldKeywords=&fldAuthor=&fldTopic=0
Members of the Provincial Episcopal Assembly of Bukavu (ASSEPB). / Credit: Radio MotoACI Africa, Apr 28, 2024 / 07:00 am (CNA).Catholic bishops of the Ecclesiastical Province of Bukavu in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) have denounced the insecurity and violence in their dioceses.In their collective statement issued Sunday, April 14, the members of the Provincial Episcopal Assembly of Bukavu (ASSEPB) said: "Insecurity has become endemic, with its trail of killings even in the middle of the day, massacres and kidnappings of peaceful citizens in our towns and villages."ASSEPB members decried "the opening up of most of our territorial entities; the [rebel group] M23s surrounding of the town of Goma supported by Rwanda; and the strategy of paralyzing the economy by isolating and suffocating large and small towns.""Despite the holding of elections, the Congolese state remains weak and ineffective," they further lamented. The Catholic Church leaders faulted the President ...
http://www.myspiritfm.com/apps/articles/default.asp?blogid=0&url=10&view=post&articleid=275455&link=1&fldKeywords=&fldAuthor=&fldTopic=0
Father Leo Riley, age 68, continued to serve as a priest for years after a 2020 sexual abuse lawsuit was filed against him and the Diocese of Venice in Florida. / Credit: Charlotte County Sheriff's OfficeCNA Staff, Apr 27, 2024 / 19:18 pm (CNA).A Florida priest who was recently arrested on sex abuse charges was permitted to continue in active ministry for nearly three years after a civil sex abuse lawsuit was filed against him and the diocese in which he serves.Father Leo Riley, age 68, continued to serve as a priest for years after a 2020 sexual abuse lawsuit was filed against him and the Diocese of Venice in Florida. The matter came to the forefront this week after Riley was arrested on several sex abuse charges dating back to his time serving as a priest in Iowa decades ago. The Charlotte County, Florida Sheriff's Office said in a press release that deputies arrested Riley in Port Charlotte on April 24 "on multiple counts of capital sexual battery stemmin...