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Jesus laid down his life out of love for each person, pope says

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- When Jesus called himself the "good shepherd," he was telling people not only that he was their guide, but that they were important to him and "that he thinks of each of us as the love of his life," Pope Francis said.

"Consider this: for Christ, I am important, he thinks of me, I am irreplaceable, worth the infinite price of his life," which he laid down for the salvation of all, the pope said April 21 before reciting the "Regina Coeli" prayer with visitors in St. Peter's Square.

Jesus was not just saying something nice, the pope said. Each believer should recognize that "he truly gave his life for me; he died and rose again for me. Why? Because he loves me, and he finds in me a beauty that I often do not see myself."

Many people think of themselves as inadequate or undeserving of love, he said. Or they believe their value comes from what they have or are able to do.

In the day's Gospel reading, Jn 10:11-18, "Jesus tells us that we are always infinitely worthy in his eyes," the pope said.

To understand and experience the truth of that statement, Pope Francis said, "the first thing to do is to place ourselves in his presence, allowing ourselves to be welcomed and lifted up by the loving arms of our good shepherd."

St. Peter's Square
Pope Francis talks to visitors gathered in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican April 21, 2024, for his recitation of the "Regina Coeli" prayer. (CNS photo/Vatican Media)

The pope asked people in the square to consider if they find or make the time each day "to embrace this assurance that gives value to my life" and "for a moment of prayer, of adoration, of praise, to be in the presence of Christ and to let myself be caressed by him."

That time in prayer, he said, will remind a person that "he gave his life for you, for me, for all of us. And that for him, we are all important, each and every one of us."

After reciting the "Regina Coeli," Pope Francis told the crowd that he continues to follow the tensions in Israel, Palestine and throughout the Middle East "with concern and also with grief."

"I renew my appeal not to give in to the logic of vengeance and war. May the paths of dialogue and diplomacy, which can do so much, prevail," he said. "I pray every day for peace in Palestine and Israel, and I hope that these two peoples may stop suffering soon."

He also asked Catholics to continue to pray for peace in Ukraine and for the people who are suffering because of the war.

 

Did St. George really slay a dragon?

Edward Burne-Jones, “St. George Kills the Dragon,” 1866 / Credit: Public Domain

Washington D.C., Apr 23, 2024 / 04:00 am (CNA).

St. George defied an emperor and stared into the eyes of his torturers and executioner, unyielding in his faith.

St. Thomas Aquinas—Truth is the equation of thought and the thing.

Truth is the equation of thought and thing. — St. Thomas Aquinas

The post St. Thomas Aquinas—Truth is the equation of thought and the thing. appeared first on Catholic Digest.

Italy set to pass amendment allowing pro-life groups into family planning clinics 

Participants in Italy's pro-life demonstration in Rome on May 21, 2022. / Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/CNA

Rome, Italy, Apr 22, 2024 / 14:15 pm (CNA).

The provision attached to a health care system law would allow pro-life groups to offer women alternatives to abortion.

Interview: Big changes are coming for the Gregorian—Rome’s oldest and largest pontifical university


The Gregorian’s American-born rector, Mark Lewis, S.J., describes how three Jesuit academic institutes in Rome will be integrated to better serve a changing church.

Cardinal Grech in Ireland talks LGBT issues, the synod and the Vatican’s same-sex blessings doc


Speaking at a conference about the synod in Knock, County Mayo, Cardinal Mario Grech, secretary-general of the synod, said that “Fiducia Supplicans,” will not affect the forthcoming second session of the Synod on Synodality.

Cardinal Pierre warns against U.S. church not working with the universal church


Speaking with Catholic News Service before formally taking possession of his titular church in Rome April 21, Cardinal Christophe Pierre described the reality of the church in the United States as a “paradox.”

Pope's representative to U.S. warns of 'auto-referential' church

ROME (CNS) -- The Catholic Church in the United States is grappling with a tendency to become more "auto-referential" and withdraw itself from the international stage and universal church, Pope Francis' representative to the United States said.

Speaking with Catholic News Service before formally taking possession of his titular church in Rome April 21, Cardinal Christophe Pierre described the reality of the church in the United States as a "paradox." He said that while the U.S. church has "always been very faithful to the Holy Father," he also noted that "the difficulty in America, like in every country in a world which is globalized but becomes more and more individualistic, (is) to receive the message of the pope, especially to work together."

"The pope feels that if we don't work together, we are not a church," he stressed.

Cardinal Pierre pointed to a growing "tendency to withdraw, to be more auto-referential," both in the United States and worldwide.

"We have to share our riches, our goods," particularly in an increasingly individualistic world, he told CNS. "And I see that as a challenge for the church."

Cardinal Christophe Pierre processes into Mass.
French Cardinal Christophe Pierre, apostolic nuncio to the United States, proceeds into Mass in Rome April 21, 2024, to formally take possession of his titular church, the Church of St. Benedict Outside St. Paul's Gate. (CNS photo/Pablo Esparza)

The cardinal was in Rome to take possession of his titular church -- the Church of St. Benedict Outside St. Paul's Gate -- to seal his cardinal's identity as a member of the clergy of Rome. In ancient times, the cardinals who elected popes were pastors of the city's parishes.

The cardinal celebrated Mass in the Rome church joined by local parishioners, members of the Roman Curia, U.S. Cardinal James Harvey, ambassadors he has worked with over the course of his 47-year diplomatic career representing the Holy See and some 15 members of his family from the Brittany region of France.

Joe Donnelly, U.S. ambassador to the Holy See, attended the liturgy and told CNS that Cardinal Pierre "has been a bridge that has helped to break down differences" between the United States and the Vatican, praising the cardinal for "trying to connect the American church with the Vatican."

At the beginning of the Mass, French Xavière Missionary Sister Nathalie Becquart, undersecretary of the Synod of Bishops, read aloud Pope Francis' formal declaration from Sept. 20, 2023, granting Cardinal Pierre the title and privileges of a cardinal and assigning him his titular church.

Joe Donnelly, U.S. ambassador to the Holy See, attends Mass.
Joe Donnelly, U.S. ambassador to the Holy See, attends Mass in Rome April 21, 2024, celebrated by Cardinal Christophe Pierre, apostolic nuncio to the United States, to formally take possession of his titular church, the Church of St. Benedict Outside St. Paul's Gate. (CNS photo/Pablo Esparza)

Four U.S. seminarians and two deacons studying at the Pontifical North American College in Rome served at the Mass.

In his homily, Cardinal Pierre recalled how as a seminarian he initially thought his vocation was to remain a pastor in the diocese of his native Rennes, France, but that after almost 50 years of traveling the world in diplomatic service "the pope called me to give me a parish, the parish I never had."

He said that while a cardinal is a "universal figure" who can "float" between many roles, "the pope says 'no,' you should not float, quite the opposite, you should have deep roots in the church."

While representing the Holy See in nine countries on five continents, Cardinal Pierre said he always found "a local church, a local country, a local culture."

Pectoral cross of Cardinal Christophe Pierre.
The pectoral cross of French Cardinal Christophe Pierre, apostolic nuncio to the United States, is seen before the cardinal celebrates Mass in Rome April 21, 2024, to formally take possession of his titular church, the Church of St. Benedict Outside St. Paul's Gate. (CNS photo/Pablo Esparza)

"We encounter Christ in the church, and the church is not an idea, it is not a structure outside of our lives," he said. "The church is the presence of God in our existence."

The cardinal also reflected on the role of a nuncio as a missionary, and he said that the two words that highlight Pope Francis' mission for the church are "encounter" and "conversion."

"The work of a priest, of a missionary, is precisely to create this encounter, but not the encounter of myself with another person -- the encounter of Christ through me or through the other person," he said, which "helps us make a conversion."

Prior to being sent to the United States in 2016, Cardinal Pierre had postings as apostolic nuncio in Mexico, in Uganda and Haiti. He also served at Vatican diplomatic missions in Switzerland, Brazil, Cuba, Zimbabwe, Mozambique and New Zealand.

The spiritual veteran

There are two kinds of “veterans.” There is the traditional veteran who confronts fear with selfless abandon, facing a known enemy and fighting for others. And then there is the spiritual veteran who clings to faith, facing an unseen enemy and fighting for souls. Neither veteran runs from fear nor indulges in self-pity. Both are […]

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A preacher should offer the congregation a challenge—not cheap grace


Listen to Gemma’s homily for the Fifth Sunday of Easter, Year B, in which she explains how her experience of poverty in Brazil gave radical significance to Christ’s words: “Make your home in me as I make mine in you.”