MERCY AND JUSTICE - POPE FRANCIS GENERAL AUDIENCE Saint Peter's Square Wednesday, 3 February 2016 --- & --- Why Catholic - Testimony of Steven Ray

Pope Francis: address God in difficult times, even if it sounds like an self-interested prayer - Published on Jan 18, 2017

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http://www.news.va/en/news/general-audience-of-3-february-2016-6-mercy-and-ju

POPE FRANCIS

GENERAL AUDIENCE

Saint Peter's Square
Wednesday, 3 February 2016

 

http://w2.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/audiences/2016/documents/papa-francesco_20160203_udienza-generale.html

6. Mercy and justice

 

 

The Pope at general audience: explains the relationship between justice and mercy in God

- Published on 3 Feb 2016

 

Pope on justice and mercy  - Published on Feb 3, 2016

 

 

 

Pope Francis: Human justice only limits evil, divine justice overcomes it - Published on Feb 3, 2016

 

 

 

more...



We have a WEAK God --- He has a heart of a merciful father ! ...even for crusty rebels ...

Why Catholic - Testimony of Steven Ray Published on Sep 16, 2016




Pope: No one is irretrievable; God forgets sins -
Published on Sep 12, 2016





 

 

Pope Francis: Without mercy, there is no justice - Published on 23 Mar 2015

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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By December 2016 - New Catholic application called Gaudete that helps prepare Catholics for Christmas - from The Society of the Infant Jesus, in Singapore

 

GAUDETE - free application - to download in mobile

Search in mobile Google Play, choose the logo, like the one just below &  install ---
GAUDETE  App - the official mobile app of the Society of the Infant Jesus

The Society of the Infant Jesus in Singapore offers free app with various Catholic resources. 

http://www.romereports.com/2016/12/23/gaudete-new-app-helps-prepare-catholics-for-christmas

The Society of the Infant Jesus in Singapore has launched a new Catholic application called Gaudete, meaning "Rejoice” in Latin. 

Its creators desire that the Biblical resources, and information about the saints and Church will help instill hope and increase the faith of each user. 

DOLORES DON

President, Society of the Infant Jesus 

"We feel that the world now more than ever has an immense desire and need to find the reason to rejoice amid all the tempestuous challenges it is confronted with.” 

The application features new saints and reflections from the pope, including various writings for special feast days and seasons of the Church, like Advent or Lent. 

There are also sections focusing on one's particular vocation and stage in life, whether it's a married person, religious or a child. 

RODNEY CHUA

Gaudete App 

"The intent is to help our users belonging to these segments to more fully live out their respective vocation or their respective stage in life as a Catholic. We have resources that will help enhance our users knowledge and appreciation of the deeper underlying spirituality related to some of the popular devotions of the Catholic faith.”

The resources also include daily reflections on faith and mercy, as well as a space for users to write in prayer petitions for the Society of the Infant Jesus to intercede on their behalf.

A Facebook, Twitter and YouTube page are all also linked to the app and it is available for free in Android, iOS and HTML 5.

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What Do the Nativity Ox & Donkey Symbolize? --- & --- Can God be just and merciful at the same time?

 

   1Pt 5:5 “Alla jeqfilhom lill-kburin,

     imma lill-umli jagħtihom il-grazzja.”

Food for thought:
To what extend does the evil spirit of pride tries to infect us humans ? Animals and all creation praise God, our Creator ... and we, invaded by deceit, are fooled to think that we can live without God, in our fantasy bubble of irresponsible way of living and indifferent behaviour...and yet... God sees BEYOND our rebellion, our rejection, our despair, our apathy, our hatred, our weakness, our foolishness, our self-destruction, our lack of good education, our lack of good information - BECAUSE HE KNOWS THAT WHATEVER WE DO, GOOD OR BAD, INTENTIONALLY OR UNINTENTIONALLY, THE ROOT OF ALL MAN'S ACTIONS IS TO BE LOVED, APPRECIATED ... Why is that person acting so, is living so ? Only God knows all. He takes into consideration the bad environment, the bad influences and the vulnerable character - the scandals he has seen and learnt from those around him .

THE MERCY OF GOD GOES BEYOND THE LAW WITH JUSTICE - HE KNOWS THAT THERE IS SOME GOOD AND HOPE IN EVERY SINNER AND THIS KNOCKS US CONSCIOUS OF THE UGLINESS OF SIN AND THE BEAUTY OF HIS LOVE ! 


Pope says do not be afraid of resistance in your heart, but use it against sin

 

Messa Santa Marta 05-12-2016

 

L’intuito di Maddalena

>>> http://www.osservatoreromano.va/it/news/lintuito-di-maddalena 

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Pope: Jesus brings true change, renewing the heart
http://www.news.va/en/news/pope-jesus-brings-true-change-renewing-the-heart <<<



Messa Santa Marta 05-12-2016
Papa Francesco ha celebrato la messa nella cappella della Casa Santa Marta e ha centrato l’omelia sul cambiamento radicale operato da Ġesù.



LET US INVITE JESUS INTO OUR HEART - AND LET HIM CHANGE US INTO NEW, HUMBLE AND GRATEFUL PERSONS !

JESUS IS WAITING FOR US TO SEE US HAPPY WITHIN, OVERFLOWING WITH HIS GENUINE JOY, HOPE, COURAGE AND SERENITY...




...THERE IS NO MERCY WITHOUT JUSTICE...





Lk 10:21-24 -- Jesus...through the Holy Spirit - Ġesù tqanqal bil-ferħ mill-Ispirtu s-Santu.


TUESDAY GOSPEL OF WEEK 1 OF ADVENT

Evanġelju
Ġesù tqanqal bil-ferħ mill-Ispirtu s-Santu.
Lq 10, 21-24

Qari mill-Evanġelju skont San Luqa

F’dak iż-żmien, Ġesù tqanqal bil-ferħ mill-Ispirtu s-Santu u qal: “Infaħħrek, Missier, Sid is-sema u l-art, għax int dawn il-ħwejjeġ ħbejthom lil min għandu l-għerf u d-dehen u wrejthom liċ-ċkejknin. Iva, Missier, għax lilek hekk għoġbok. Kollox kien mogħti lili minn Missieri, u ħadd ma jagħraf min hu l-Iben ħlief il-Missier, anqas min hu l-Missier ħlief l-Iben u dak li lilu l-Iben irid jgħarrafhulu”. Imbagħad dar lejn id-dixxipli u qal lilhom weħidhom: “Henjin l-għajnejn li jaraw dak li qegħdin taraw intom. Għax kif ngħidilkom jien, ħafna profeti u slaten riedu jaraw dak li qegħdin taraw intom u ma rawhx, u jisimgħu dak li qegħdin tisimgħu intom u ma semgħuhx”.

Il-Kelma tal-Mulej
R/. Tifħir lilek Kristu
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Fear of the Lord is not terror: no, it is putting into practice God’s commandment that he gave to our father Abram: ‘Live in my presence, be perfect,’ Humble – this is humility, fear of the Lord is humility.”



Pope: Christian humility is the virtue of “the childlike” -
FOR - TUESDAY 29 NOVEMBER 2016

http://thechurchinmalta.org/en/posts/64462/pope-christian-humility-is-the-virtue-of-the-childlike

Pope: Christian humility is the virtue of “the childlike

Pope Francis said on Tuesday that true Christian humility is the virtue of the childlike and is never a theatrical humility. His words came at his morning Mass celebrated in the chapel of the Santa Marta residence.

Taking his inspiration from the day’s readings the Pope’s homily was a reflection on how God reveals himself to the humble and childlike rather than the wise and learned as recounted in the gospel of Luke. He noted that the day’s first reading from the book of Isaiah is also full of references to little things such as the small shoot that “shall sprout from the stump of Jesse” rather than an army that will bring about liberation. Pope Francis went on to explain how in the Christmas story too the leading figures are the small and the humble.

“Then at Christmas, we see this smallness, this little thing: a baby, a stable, a mother, a father… little ones.  (They have) big hearts but the attitude of a child.  And the Spirit of the Lord, the Holy Spirit comes to rest on this shoot and this small shoot will have the virtue of the childlike and the fear of the Lord.  He will walk in the fear of the Lord. Fear of the Lord is not terror: no, it is putting into practice God’s commandment that he gave to our father Abram: ‘Live in my presence, be perfect,’ Humble – this is humility, fear of the Lord is humility.”

The Pope stressed that only the childlike are capable of fully understanding the sense of humility and the fear of the Lord because they walk in front of the Lord, watched over and protected, feeling that the Lord gives them the strength to journey forward and this is true humility.

“Living our humility, Christian humility means having this fear of the Lord which, I repeat, is not terror but is: ‘You are God, I am a person, I journey forward in this way with the little things of life but walking in Your presence and trying to be perfect.’ Humility is the virtue of the childlike and this is true humility and not a rather theatrical humility: no, not that: the humility of somebody who said: ‘I am humble but proud of being so.’ No, that is not true humility. The humility of the childlike is that of somebody who walks in the presence of the Lord, does not speak badly about others, looks only at serving and feels that he or she is the smallest …. That is where their strength lies.

In the same way, the Pope continued, we see the great humility of that girl to whom God sent His Son and who immediately afterwards hastened to her cousin Elizabeth and who said nothing about what had happened. He said humility is like this, journeying in the presence of the Lord, happy, joyful because they are humble just as we see in today’s gospel reading.

“Looking at Jesus who rejoiced because God reveals his mystery to the humble, we can ask for the grace of humility for all of us, the grace of fear of God, of walking in his presence trying to be perfect. And in this way with this humility, we can be vigilant in prayer, carrying out works of brotherly charity and rejoicing and giving praise.”

Source: Vatican Radio
http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2016/11/29/pope_christian_humility_is_the_virtue_of_%E2%80%9Cthe_childlike%E2%80%9D_/1275580

Pope Francis says humility is not speaking poorly about others






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SILENCE - film director Martin Scorsese meets Pope Francis --- & --- The hidden Japanese Christian painting of Our Lady Of The Snows

Bishop Barron on “Silence” [Spoilers] - Published on Jan 12, 2017




Check out thrilling new Hollywood superproduction about Jesuits in Japan - Published on 7 Dec 2016





Pope Francis meets film director Martin Scorsese - Published on Dec 1, 2016
 Pope Francis has met the Italo-American movie director Martin Scorsese whose latest film “Silence” recounts the persecution of a group of Jesuit missionaries in 17th century Japan. Scorsese was accompanied at the audience in the Vatican by his wife, his two daughters, the producer of the “Silence” film, and the Prefect of the Secretariat for Communications Monsignor Dario Viganò. Pope Francis told those present that he had read the novel on which the film “Silence” was based, written by the late Japanese author Shusaku Endo. Scorsese gave the Pope two paintings on the theme of “hidden Christians,” one of them a much-venerated image of the Madonna painted by a 17th century Japanese artist. ...





Vatican Magazine "Il silenzio di Dio", 02-12-2016







A unique example of Japanese Christian art, this Our Lady of the Snows was hidden in one of the houses of Nagasaki's secret Christians throughout the long ban on Christianity. | TWENTY-SIX MARTYRS MUSEUM

 

Discovering Nagasaki’s secret Christian past
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2016/01/20/business/discovering-nagasakis-secret-christian-past/#.WD9yutIzWmh

by Simon Hull - Jan 20, 2016 
Special To The Japan Times - News

When people outside Japan hear the word “Nagasaki,” they often think only of the atomic bombing. This tragic event seems to have obliterated not only much of the city, but also global awareness about its rich and fascinating past.
Being proposed for UNESCO World Heritage status in 2016 are a collection of historical sites which tell of the city’s unique Christian history. These sites bear outstanding witness to Christianity’s development within the Nagasaki region over a period of four centuries. They speak of how Christianity briefly flourished there following its introduction in the mid-16th century, of how it was subsequently banned and forced underground, and of how it remarkably resurfaced over two centuries later and was revived with strength and speed across the Nagasaki region following the lifting of the ban on Christianity in 1873.
One reason these sites have been proposed for UNESCO status is owing to their architectural value. The churches that were built after 1873 display a subtle fusion of Western and Japanese architectural techniques, and many also incorporate Japanese details such as sliding doors and window shutters or tatami mat floors. They are also rich in local character. For instance, one depicts images of indigenous flora within its stained glass, while in another the floor around the altar is comprised of blue and white tiles made from a distinctive type of local porcelain.
Nagasaki’s churches also have profound contemporary relevance. As symbols of how Catholicism was revived across the Nagasaki region following a lengthy period of suppression, they speak of the survival of a religious minority that overcame intense persecution. At a time when many people around the world are still persecuted for their religious beliefs, Nagasaki’s churches bear important witness to the value of religious freedom.
Perhaps the most compelling reason these sites have universal appeal is because of the remarkable story that lies behind them. It is a story about hope, and one that is certainly capable of capturing the imagination of people across the world.
Christianity first arrived in Japan in 1549, when the Jesuit missionary Francis Xavier landed in Kagoshima. It briefly flourished, and the newly opened port of Nagasaki developed into one of Asia’s most important Christian centers, becoming known as “a little Rome.”
In 1614, a strict ban on Christianity was issued. Churches were destroyed, and Christians in Japan faced various possibilities. Some suffered exile, forbidden from ever returning. Others were martyred, refusing to renounce their faith despite, in many cases, being severely tortured. There were also those who committed apostasy, unable to bear the torment they were subjected to.
By the 1640s, not a single priest was left in the whole of Japan. Christians in Nagasaki realized that if they, too, were to die as martyrs, the Japanese church would die with them. As persecution raged and the prospect of the Christian faith’s complete eradication from Japan became imminent, these Christians made a decision that was to have dramatic consequences over two centuries later: to continue their faith in secret.
The story of the underground church is one of suffering. Throughout the ban on Christianity in Japan, people in Nagasaki were required at an annual ceremony to trample on an image of Christ or the Virgin Mary, known as a fumie, to prove they were not Christian. These ceremonies haunted the imaginations of the secret Christians, who were without priests to absolve them. Every year they would creep home and utter penitential prayers, begging God to forgive them for what one scholar has called “this most necessary of sins.”
As the years wore on, the plight of many of the Christians in hiding became increasingly desperate. Some were deprived of almost all tangible reminders of their Catholic faith. This was especially true of those who poverty and persecution drove to cross the sea in tiny fishing boats and live in inhospitable corners of remote islands. At these windswept extremes, the flame of faith had grown so fragile that the secret Christians living there had almost nothing, save for a firm hope that one day, missionaries would return to Japanese shores.
Following the opening of Japan in the mid-19th century, a Catholic church was erected in Nagasaki, the first to be built there since before the ban on Christianity. This ban remained strictly in force, and permission for the church was granted on the understanding that it was solely for use by foreigners residing within Nagasaki’s newly established foreign settlement.
Among the secret Christians, there was silent elation. By that point, they had been underground for over two hundred years. On March 17, 1865, a small group of them gathered courage and approached the church. Here they met a French priest named Father Petitjean. Kneeling before him, one whispered: “All of us have the same heart as you.” They then asked the stunned priest “Where is the statue of Santa Maria?”
This moving episode became known as the “Discovery of Christians,” and today the same statue of the Virgin Mary that Father Petitjean showed them can still be seen inside the church. In the wake of this event, thousands more secret Christians from across the Nagasaki region also came forward and confessed their faith.
The Catholic churches that were erected following the lifting of the ban on Christianity in 1873 stand in the remote locations where the secret Christians had lived. Each one being proposed for UNESCO status tells in its own unique way of how Christians in Nagasaki gave everything they had for the sake of their faith. At one church, for instance, the brickwork is slightly uneven, bearing poignant testimony to how former secret Christians themselves helped to finance and construct it. In another, it is thought that the altar stands in the exact spot where fumie trampling used to occur.
As such, Nagasaki’s churches and Christian sites speak to us today of a resurrection that had once seemed impossible. They stand as symbols of hope, inviting us to reflect upon what it means to be human.






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