Pope Francis: Unity is in the ‘DNA’ of Christian community

Vatican City, May 12, 2019 / 07:05 am (CNA).- On Sunday, Pope Francis advised listening to and speaking with Christ the Good Shepherd in prayer, so that one can be guided on the right paths of life.

“Listening to and recognizing [Jesus’] voice implies intimacy with him, which is consolidated in prayer, in the meeting heart to heart with the divine Master and Shepherd of our souls,” he said May 12.

“This intimacy with Jesus, this being open, talking with Jesus, strengthens in us the desire to follow him,” the pope continued, “to come out of the labyrinth of wrong paths, to abandon selfish behaviors, to set out on the new paths of fraternity and the gift of ourselves, in imitation of Him.”

Speaking before the Regina Coeli on “Good Shepherd Sunday,” Pope Francis reminded people that Jesus is the only Shepherd who speaks to us, knows us, gives us eternal life and keeps us.”

“We are his flock and we must only strive to listen to his voice, while with love he scrutinizes the sincerity of our hearts,” he said. “And from this continuous intimacy with our Shepherd comes the joy of following him, allowing us to lead to the fullness of eternal life.”

Jesus the Good Shepherd welcomes and loves, not only one’s strengths, but one’s faults, he said.

“The Good Shepherd — Jesus — is attentive to each of us, seeks us and loves us, addressing his word to us, knowing our heart, our desires and our hopes, as well as our failures and disappointments.”

He asked for the Blessed Virgin Mary’s intercession, especially for priests and consecrated, who, he said, are called “to welcome Christ’s invitation to be his most direct collaborators in the proclamation of the Gospel.”

After the Regina Coeli, Francis noted the celebration, in many countries, of Mother’s Day. He sent his warm greetings to all mothers and thanked them for “their precious work in raising their children and protecting the value of the family.”

The pope also recalled all the mothers who “look at us from heaven and continue to watch over us with prayer.”

Recalling the May 13 feast day of Our Lady of Fatima, “our heavenly mother,” he said “we entrust ourselves to her to continue our journey with joy and generosity.”

He also prayed for vocations to the priesthood and religious life.

Earlier in the day, Pope Francis ordained 19 new priests in St. Peter’s Basilica. The men had been studying for the priesthood in Rome and are mostly Italian, with others coming from Croatia, Haiti, Japan, and Peru.

Eight are from the Priestly Society of the Sons of the Cross, one from the Family of Disciples. Eight were ordained for the Neocatechumenal Way.

Pope Francis gave the homily prescribed in the Ritual for the Ordination of Priests, to which he added a few of his own thoughts.

He recommended the new priests regularly read and meditate on the Scriptures, and advised they always prepare to give a homily with time in prayer and with “the Bible in hand.”

“Let your teaching be therefore nourishment to the People of God: when it comes from the heart and is born of prayer, it will be so fruitful,” he said.

He also told the new priests to be careful in their celebration of the Mass, asking them not to “mess it up with petty interests.”

“Aware of having been chosen among men and constituted in their favor to await the things of God, exercise in joy and charity, with sincerity, the priestly work of Christ, solely intent on pleasing God and not yourselves,” the pope said. “Priestly joy is found only on this path, seeking to please God who has elected us.”

The priest, he added, should be “close to God in prayer, close to the bishop who is your father, close to the presbytery, to other priests, as brothers… and close to the People of God.”

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Vatican City, Nov 23, 2017 / 10:09 am (CNA/EWTN News).- With plans to visit South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo this year thwarted by ongoing conflict, Pope Francis on Thursday led a prayer vigil for peace in the two countries, asking for an end to war and comfort for victims of the violence.  

“We want to sow seeds of peace in the lands of South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo, and in all lands devastated by war,” the Pope said Nov. 23.

Pope Francis had planned to visit South Sudan this fall alongside Anglican Primate Archbishop Joseph Welby for an ecumenical trip aimed at promoting peace in the conflict-ridden country. However, due to safety concerns, the visit was postponed until the situation on the ground stabilizes.

Though he was unable to go, Pope Francis said in his homily for the prayer vigil that “we know that prayer is more important, because it is more powerful: prayer works by the power of God, for whom nothing is impossible.”

South Sudan has been in the middle of a brutal civil war for the past three-and-a-half years, which has divided the young country between those loyal to its President Salva Kiir and those loyal to former vice president Reik Machar. The conflict has also bred various divisions of militia and opposition groups.

Since the beginning of the war, some 4 million citizens have left the violence-stricken country in hopes of finding peace, food and work. In August alone Uganda received the one-millionth South Sudanese refugee, highlighting the urgency of the crisis as the world’s fastest growing refugee epidemic.

For those who have not fled the nation, many internally displaced persons (IDPs) are seeking refuge in churches for protection from violence. Most IDPs are typically women, children and those who have lost their families in the war.  

Many are too fearful to stay in their homes because they know they could be killed, tortured, raped or even forced to fight. And despite successful partnerships between the local Church, aid agencies and the government, refugees in many areas still need a proper supply of food.

In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, political unrest first erupted in 2015 after a bill was proposed which would potentially delay the presidential and parliamentary elections. The bill was widely seen by the opposition as a power grab on the part of Kabila.

Relations between the government and the opposition deteriorated further when a Kasai chief was killed last August, after calling on the central government to quit meddling in the territory, insisting it be controlled by the local leaders.

Catholic bishops in the country had helped to negotiate an agreement, which hoped to prevent a renewed civil war by securing an election this year for the successor of President Kabila. However, in January of this year, the bishops said the agreement was expected to fail unless both parties were willing to compromise. In March, the bishops withdrew from mediation talks.

With a history of bloody ethnic rivalries and clashes over resources, fears have developed that the violence in Kasai, a hub for political tension, will spread to the rest of the nation and even lead to the involvement of neighboring countries.

In the past year alone, more than 3,300 people have been killed in the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s Kasai region. The death toll includes civilians caught in the crossfire of a brutal fight between the Congolese army and an opposing militia group.

In his brief homily for the prayer vigil, Pope Francis noted how in the entrance hymn, the words “the risen Christ invites us, alleluia!” were sung in Swahili. As Christians, “we believe and know that peace is possible, because Jesus is risen,” he said.

The prayer vigil consisted of five prayers each followed by a song and prayers of intercession, as well as the famous prayer of St. Francis of Assisi asking God to make him an instrument of peace.  

The prayers consisted of petitions for conversion; to overcome indifference and divisions; for women who are victims of violence in war zones; for all those who cause war and for those who have responsibility at the local and international levels; for all innocent victims of war and violence and for all those committed to working for peace in South Sudan and the Congo.

Quoting from St. Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, Pope Francis said that Jesus Christ “is our peace,” and that on the cross, “he took upon himself all the evil of the world, including the sins that spawn and fuel wars: pride, greed, lust for power, lies.”

“Jesus conquered all this by his resurrection,” he said, and, speaking directly to God, said, that “without you, Lord, our prayer would be in vain, and our hope for peace an illusion. But you are alive. You are at work for us and with us. You are our peace!”

Francis then prayed that the Risen Christ would “break down the walls of hostility” that divide peoples throughout the world, particularly in South Sudan and the DCR.

He asked that God would comfort women who have been victims of violence in war zones, and protect children who suffer from various conflicts “in which they have no part, but which rob them of their childhood and at times of life itself.”

“How hypocritical it is to deny the mass murder of women and children,” he said, noting that “here war shows its most horrid face.”

The Pope closed his prayer with a series of appeals, the first being that God would help “all the little ones and the poor of our world to continue to believe and trust that the kingdom of God is at hand, in our midst, and is justice, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.”

He asked that God would support all those who work daily to combat evil with good through words and deeds of fraternity, respect, encounter and solidarity, and prayed that the Lord would strengthen government officials and leaders with a spirit that is “noble, upright, steadfast and courageous in seeking peace through dialogue and negotiation.”

“May the Lord enable all of us to be peacemakers wherever we find ourselves, in our families, in school, at work, in the community, in every setting,” he said.

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Vatican City, Apr 10, 2020 / 11:57 am (CNA).- Through his death on the cross, Jesus has redeemed all human pain, including the suffering caused by the coronavirus pandemic, Fr. Raniero Cantalamessa, OFM Cap., said at the Vatican on Good Friday.

The ap… […]