Pope Francis on Paradise

I was looking at our church bulletin and our Pastor published the following by Pope Francis on Paradise.  As a 73 year old, I am thinking more and more about "the last things".  This is very beautiful and profound... enjoy!

"Paradise is not a fantasy place, nor is it an enchanted garden. Paradise is the embrace of God, infinite Love, and we enter thanks to Jesus, Who died on the cross for us. Where there is Jesus, there is mercy and happiness; without Him there is cold and darkness. In the hour of death, the Christian repeats to Jesus, 'Remember me'. And even if there were noone to remind Him of us, Jesus is there, next to us. He wants to take us to the most beautiful place that exists. He wants to take us there with the good there has been in our life, great or small, because nothing is lost of what He had already redeemed. And in the house of the Father He will also take all that which in us still needs to be redeemed: the shortcomings and errors of an entire life. And this is the goal of our existence: that everything is fulfilled, and is transformed into love."

"If we believe this, we stop fearing death, and we can also hope to depart from this world in a serene and trustful way. He who has known Jesus no longer fears anything. And we too will be able to repeat the words of the elderly Simeon, also blessed by the encounter with Jesus, after an entire life consumed in expectation: “Lord, now you are letting Your servant depart in peace, according to Your word; for my eyes have seen Your salvation” (Lk 2: 29-30)."

"And in that instant, finally, we will no longer need anything, we will no longer see in a confused way. We will no longer weep pointlessly, because everything is passed; even the prophecies, even knowledge. But love no, that remains. Because 'love abides' (cf 1 Cor 13: 8)."

Pope Emeritus Benedict did NOT criticize Pope Francis

Pope Francis and Pope Emeritus Benedict

Recently, several Conservative sources quoted Pope Emeritus Benedict as saying that the Catholic church was close to "capsizing".  

This was a partial quote out of context in an attempt to change the meaning.  Not surprisingly, Pope Emeritus Benedict was upset about the misrepresentation and through his secretary, released an article clarifying things.

"Almost capsizing" was a phrase Benedict used often but never without the other part of it, assuring his listeners that even though the church rode in difficult waters, the Lord is always with His Church.  He was upset that he had been misquoted and portrayed as if he was criticizing Pope Francis. 

The article his secretary released can be found at the following link:

Benedict did not criticize Pope Francis

Pope inspires more Mass attendance

Today, the church was filled and I figured it must be Pope Francis, who has charmed everyone. (above pictured celebrating Mass)

Then, just before the Mass had ended, one of the guys from St Vincent dePaul's got up and asked for donations - everyone knows St Vincent's helps a lot of people (even Time magazine admitted that the Catholic church feeds 3/4 of the hungry).  And yet, people started getting up and leaving.

After the Mass exodus (pun intended), what was left in church, was the usual group we see at Sunday Mass.

Like Pope Benedict said, there will be a smaller but more ardent group who continue to be Catholic.

Touchy-feel-y is nice but that's not what Christianity is all about - it's sacrificing for others (which the Pope has emphasized in a few of his homilies) and eventually or not so eventually, embracing the Cross in our own lives.  Like Jesus says "Unless you pick up your cross and follow Me, you are not worthy of Me".

Too bad, God couldn't design an easier way but then, He came to be one of us - which must have been horrendous - think what it would be like to be a cockroach and still retain our human brains - well we are much closer to cockroaches than God is to us, but and I guess this all, will make sense when we get to Heaven.  And whatever He would plan for me, I'd love Him anyway because what's not to love about God?

Pope Francis - much loved by the poor and lowly and hated by the media

Pope Francis reaching out to people

It seems that the Media hates Papa Francis - they are doing the "Sarah Palin" thing with him, ranting and raving and taking his speeches out of context etc. I would hope that Catholics would educate themselves so they can defend - sadly many believe the media more than they do the Gospel.

The following quote was taken from the article a friend on a "social networking site" provided.... The author of this article in a newspaper called "the federalist" wrote:  "The encyclical tells us much about the man who delivers it. Straightaway, it certifies the depth and span of this pope’s megalomania. A breathtaking strut into absolutism, it is addressed not simply to Catholics but, like the “Communist Manifesto,” to the whole world. "

Megalomania.... the humble character who until he was Pope, rode the city bus to work... really? "Communist Manifesto"? Notice the "author" of this article discounts Pope Francis' strong statements about how what is ruining the ecology is the widespread immorality and millions of humans aborted. That's the real bottom line - they hate his strong stand on abortion. Good going, Papa Francis... you are walking in the Footsteps of our Blessed Savior with your unpopularity with the media - afterall, we follow a man who was crucified for similar views...  I just hope people are smart enough to realize what the media is doing or trying to do - and therein lies my worry, because I know several Catholics who believe the media like it's gospel and question the Gospel like it's the media...

My wise husband's comment about this all,  was "You can imagine what CNN would have done to Jesus!" ;)  (He also, added that CNN would have had Jesus on the cross quicker than those who crucified Him did!)

Sue

Pope Francis affirms the Gospel of Life as a tool of Evangelization

The following is the text of Pope Francis speech to gynecologists and medical providers on Sept 20, 2013.  The original text is in Italian and not available in English - I've done my best to translate:

ADDRESS OF JOHN PAUL FRANCIS
TO THE PARTICIPANTS IN ORGANIZED BY THE
INTERNATIONAL FEDERATION OF ASSOCIATIONS OF CATHOLIC DOCTORS

Clementine Hall
Friday , September 20, 2013

Pope Francis - remarks to gynecologists and medical providers:

I apologize for the delay, because today ... this is a morning too complicated for audiences ... I apologize.

1. The first point that I would like to share with you is this: [what] we are witnessing today is a paradoxical situation, in dealing with the medical profession. On the one hand we see - and thank God [for this] - the progress of medicine, thanks to the work of scientists who, with passion and with sparing no effort, are dedicated to finding new cures. On the other hand, however, we find also the danger that the doctor might lose his/her identity as a servant of life. The cultural disorientation has also affected what looked like an unassailable area: your medical care, as by the nature at their service of life, the health professions are sometimes induced to disregard life itself. Instead, as we remember the Encyclical Caritas in Veritate , "openness to life is at the center of true development." There is no true development without this openness to life. "If you lose the personal and social sensitivity towards the acceptance of a new life, then other forms of acceptance of lives that are valuable for society also wither away. The acceptance of life strengthens moral fiber and makes people capable of mutual help "(n. 28). The paradoxical situation is seen in the fact that while you give the person new rights, sometimes even alleged rights, this does not always protect the life as a primary value and basic right of every man. The final objective of doctor is always the defense and promotion of life.

2. The second point:  which in this context, should be heard, is that the Church appeals to the conscience, the conscience of all health care professionals and volunteers. In a special way you Gynecologists, are called to collaborate in the creation of new human lives. Yours is a unique vocation and mission, which requires study, conscience and humanity. At one time, the women who helped in childbirth called "co-mothers"  i.e. midwives were like a mother to the infant, and the mother. You too are "co-mothers" and "co-fathers", too.

A widespread mentality of profits, the "culture of waste", which now enslaves the hearts and minds of many, has a very high cost: it requires eliminating human beings, especially if they are physically or socially weaker. Our response to this mentality is a "yes" to life first, without hesitation! "The first right of the human person is his/her life. S/He has other goods and some of them are more precious than other things, but the right to life, is the fundamental right, before all other rights or things. "(Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith , Declaration on Procured Abortion , November 18, 1974, 11). Things have a price and are sold, but people have a dignity, worth more than things and do not have monetarial value i.e. are priceless. Many times, we find ourselves in situations where we see what happens when life is devalued. For this attention to human life in its totality has become in recent years a real priority of the Magisterium of the Church, particularly to the most defenseless, that is, the disabled, the sick, the unborn child, the child, the elderly, i.e. the most defenseless life.

In the fragile human, each of us is invited to recognize the face of the Lord, who in his human flesh has experienced the indifference and loneliness that often condemn the poorest, both in countries in the developing world, as well as in affluent societies . Every child not [allowed to be] born, but unjustly condemned to be aborted, has the face of Jesus Christ, the Lord's face before s/he was born, and likewise, every newborn, many of whom have experienced rejection in the world. And also, every senior,  - I talked about the child: let's go to the elderly, another point! Every elderly person, sick, or even if at the end of his/her days, carries the face of Christ. You can not discard [any life], as we proposed [what happens in] the "culture of waste"! You can not discard life!

3. The third aspect is a mandate: be witnesses and speakers of this "culture of life" . Your being Catholic entails greater responsibility: first of all to yourself, for the effort to be consistent with the Christian vocation, and then to contemporary culture, to help recognize the transcendent dimension in human life, the imprint of the creative work of God, from the very first moment of conception. This is a commitment to the new evangelization that often requires going against the current, and often, paying for your stand in popularity. The Lord counts on you to spread the "Gospel of life."

In this perspective the gynecology hospital departments are privileged places of witness and evangelization, because wherever the Church is, "the vehicle of the presence of God" living at the same time becomes an "instrument of the true humanization of man and the world" (Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith , Doctrinal Note on Some Aspects of Evangelization , 9). Growing awareness that the focus of medical care is the human person in a position of weakness, the health facility becomes' the place where the care relationship is not merely, a job - the job is of caring relationship - but a mission , where the charity of the Good Samaritan is the defining precept and the face of the sufferer, the Face of Christ "(Benedict XVI, Address at the University Cattolica del Sacro Cuore in Rome , May 3, 2012).

Dear Friends and doctors, who are called to take care of human life in its initial phase, remind everyone, with facts and words, life is always, in all its phases and at any age, sacred and is always quality. And not for the reason of faith - no, no - but with science and reason! There is no human life more sacred than another, as there is a no human life qualitatively more significant than another. The credibility of a health care system is measured not only for efficiency, but also for the attention and love [extended] towards people, whose life is always sacred and inviolable.

Do not ever neglect to pray to the Lord and the Virgin Mary for having the strength to do your job well and bear witness with courage - courage! Today it takes courage - with courage witness with the "Gospel of life"! Thanks a lot.

http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/francesco/speeches/2013/september/documents/papa-francesco_20130920_associazioni-medici-cattolici_it.html