Pope Francis at Mass: the Devil is behind every persecution

Pope in Santa Marta: The devil persecutes human beings to destroy them - Published on Friday, 1 Jun 2018




Pope Francis at Mass: the Devil is behind every persecution - Published on Friday, 1 Jun 2018



 

https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope-francis/mass-casa-santa-marta/2018-06/pope-santa-marta-homily-devil-persecution.html

 

 

During his homily at Mass on Friday, Pope Francis reflected on how the Devil is the cause of all forms of persecution: from cultural colonization to war, hunger, and slavery.

 

 

Today, said Pope Francis, we are not only witnessing the persecution of Christians, but of every man and woman, "through cultural colonization, war, hunger, and slavery". But the Lord gives us the grace to fight back and to restore the image and likeness of God that is within us.

Persecution is part of Christian life

 

In the first reading, St Peter refers specifically to how the persecution of Christians "broke out…like fire". Pope Francis explained how such persecution is "part of Christian life"…

“Persecution is rather like the ‘air’ that Christians breathe even today. Because even today there are many martyrs, many people who are persecuted for their love of Christ. There are many countries where Christians have no rights. If you wear a cross, you go to jail. And there are people in jail. There are people condemned to death today simply because they are Christians. The number of people killed is higher than the number of early martyrs. It’s higher! But this doesn’t make news. Television newscasts and newspapers don’t cover these things. Meanwhile Christians are being persecuted”. 

Persecution of humanity as the image of God

The Pope went on to say there is another kind of persecution in the world today: the persecution of men and women because they are made in the image and likeness of God.

“The Devil is behind every persecution, both of Christians and all human beings. The Devil tries to destroy the presence of Christ in Christians, and the image of God in men and women. He tried doing this from the very beginning, as we read in the Book of Genesis: he tried to destroy that harmony that the Lord created between man and woman, the harmony that comes from being made in the image and likeness of God. And he succeeded. He managed to do it by using deception, seduction…the weapons he uses. He always does this. But there is a powerful ruthlessness against men and women today: otherwise how to explain this growing wave of destruction towards men and women, and all that is human”.

The Devil as the Father of Persecutions

 

Pope Francis described hunger as an "injustice" that "destroys men and women because they have nothing to eat", even if there is a lot food available in the world. He went on to speak of human exploitation, of different forms of slavery, and recalled how he recently saw a film shot inside a prison where migrants are locked up and tortured to turn them into slaves. This is still happening, he said, "70 years after the Declaration of Human Rights". The Pope also reflected on cultural colonization. This is exactly what the Devil wants, he said, "to destroy human dignity" – and that is why the Devil is behind all forms of persecution.

“Wars can be considered a kind of instrument to destroy people, made in the image of God. But so are the people who make war, who plan war in order to exercise power over others. There are people who promote the arms industry to destroy humanity, to destroy the image of man and woman, physically morally, and culturally… Even if they are not Christians, the Devil persecutes them because they are the image of God. We must not be ingenuous. In the world today, all humans, and not only Christians are being persecuted, because the Father of all persecutions cannot bare that they are the image and likeness of God. So he attacks and destroys that image. It isn’t easy to understand this. We have to pray a lot if we want to understand it”.

 

 

 

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“The tendency to debase the sick man as a machine to be repaired, without respect for moral principles, and to exploit the weakest, discarding what does not correspond to the ideology of efficiency and profit, must be opposed,” the Pope stressed.

Papa ai medici cattolici: il malato non è una macchina da riparare





Pope urges respect for moral norms regarding human life - Monday, May 28th, 2018

https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2018-05/pope-francis-catholic-doctors-life.html

Pope Francis on Monday addressed representatives of the World Federation of the Catholic Medical Associations (FIAMC) ahead of their 25th world congress in the Croatian capital Zagreb.

By Robin Gomes

Pope Francis on Monday encouraged Catholic doctors to continue being faithful and consistent in their commitment to spread and implement the pro-life teaching of the Church, so that nothing goes against human life in its concrete existence, no matter how weak,  defenceless, undeveloped or less advanced it may be.

He made the exhortation to some 22 representatives of the World Federation of the Catholic Medical Associations (FIAMC) ahead of their 25^th world congress in the Croatian capital Zagreb.    “Sanctity Of Life and the Medical Profession from ‘Humanae Vitae’ to ‘Laudato Si’”, is the theme of the May 30-June 2 congress. 

Right to life vs efficiency, profit

Speaking in Italian, the Holy Father noted that even the field of medicine and health care has not been spared by the advance of what he called the “technocratic cultural paradigm”, by the adoration of human power without limits and by a practical relativism, where everything becomes irrelevant if it does not serve one’s own interests.

Listen to our report

In this situation, he said, Catholic doctors are “called to affirm the centrality of the sick person as a person and his dignity with inalienable rights, first and foremost his right to life.”  

“The tendency to debase the sick man as a machine to be repaired, without respect for moral principles, and to exploit the weakest, discarding what does not correspond to the ideology of efficiency and profit,  must be opposed,” the Pope stressed.

Humanizing medicine

The Holy Father called for the defence of the personal dimension of the sick person, saying it is essential for the humanization of medicine, and also in a sense of “human ecology”.   

He called on the doctors whether in their respective countries or at the international level, to involve themselves not just in specialist circles but also in discussions on legislation on sensitive ethical issues, such as the termination of pregnancy, the end of life and geneticmedicine.  

The Pope also called on them to show concern for the “defence of freedom of conscience of doctors and of all health care workers.”  He said,  “It is unacceptable that your role be reduced to simply carry out the will of the sick person or the needs of the health system in which you work.” 

The Pope said that today it necessary and urgent that the action of the Catholic doctor  have a “character of unmistakable clarity” on the level of both personal and associative witness.

 

 

 

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Holy Father, Pope Francis explains the Hail Mary phrase by phrase. Know the True Face Of the Prayer We Love

https://mysticpost.com/2018/05/holy-father-explains-the-hail-mary-phrase-by-phrase-know-the-true-face-of-the-prayer-we-love/

https://aleteia.org/2018/05/14/pope-francis-explains-the-hail-mary-phrase-by-phrase-check-it-out/

 

We all recite the Hail Mary, but how many of us know its true meaning? What is the prayer really saying?

In the book, "Mary, Mother of All" ("María, Mamma di tutti"), Pope Francis himself teaches us the meaning of the words of this essential prayer.

Full of Grace

The Angel Gabriel calls Mary "full of grace" (Lk 1:28); in her, the pope explains, "there is no room for sin, because God has chosen her from all eternity to be the mother of Jesus, and has preserved her from original sin."
"The Word became flesh in her womb. We, too, are asked to listen to God, who speaks to us, and to accept His will. The Lord always speaks to us."

The Lord is with you

What happened in a unique way in the Virgin Mary, Francis says, "happens on a spiritual level in us as well when we welcome the Word of God with a good and sincere heart, and put it into practice. It happens as if God were to become flesh in us; He comes to live in us, because He makes His home in those who love Him and obey His Word. It's not easy to understand this, but, yes, it's easy to feel it in your heart."
"Do we think that the incarnation of Jesus is only a past event, that it doesn't affect us personally? Believing in Jesus means offering Him our body, with the same humility and courage as Mary."

Blessed are you among women

How did Mary live her faith? "She lived it," the pope answers, "in the simplicity of the many daily occupations and worries of every mom, such as providing food and clothing, and taking care of the house... Precisely this normal existence of the Virgin was the ground on which a singular rapport and profound dialogue between her and God, between her and her Son, developed."

Blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus.
Mary is receptive, but not passive, Francis explains.
"Just as she receives the power of the Holy Spirit at a physical level, but then gives flesh and blood to the Son of God who takes form in Her, so also on a spiritual level, she receives grace and responds to it with faith. For this reason, Saint Augustine says that the Virgin 'conceived in her heart before in her womb.' She conceived faith first, and then the Lord."

Holy Mary, Mother of God

The Mother of the Redeemer, the pope continues, "precedes us and constantly confirms us in the faith, in our vocation, and in our mission. With her example of humility and readiness to obey God's will, she helps us to translate our faith into a joyful proclamation of the Gospel, without borders.”

Pray for us sinners

In order to explain the meaning of this passage of the prayer, Francis relates an anecdote:
"I remember how once, at the Shrine of Luján, I was in the confessional, in front of which there was a long line. There was also a young man who was very modern, with earrings, tattoos, all those things... And he had come to tell me what was going on with him. It was a big problem, very difficult. And he said to me, 'I told my mom all of this, and my mom said: Go to the Blessed Virgin and she will tell you what to do.' Now, that's a woman who had the gift of counsel. She didn't know how to solve her son's problem, but she pointed out the right path: go to the Blessed Virgin, and she will tell you. This is the gift of counsel. That humble, simple woman gave her son the best advice. In fact, the young man said to me, 'I looked at the Blessed Virgin and I felt that I should do this, this, and this...' I didn't need to talk; his mom and the young man himself had already said everything. This is the gift of counsel. You moms, who have this gift: ask that it be given to your children. The gift of counseling your children is a gift of God."

Now, and at the hour of our death 

Let us entrust ourselves to Mary, Pope Francis says, "so that she, as the Mother of our first-born brother, Jesus, can teach us to have the same maternal spirit towards our brothers, with a sincere ability to accept, to forgive, to strengthen, and to infuse confidence and hope. And this is what a mom does."
Mary's path towards Heaven began "with that 'yes' she spoke in Nazareth, in reply to the heavenly Messenger who announced to her God's will for her. In reality, that's exactly how it is: every 'yes' to God is a step toward Heaven, toward eternal life."









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HELPING THE POTENTIAL IN EVERY PERSON TO BE EXPRESSED --- ARASAAC: Aragonese Portal of Augmentative and Alternative Communication

Are we sure that those who don't speak have nothing to say? Luca Errani states that, in order to communicate, all you need is to find the most appropriate way. He explains this together with his daughter Chiara who, despite her cognitive difficulties, was able to find her own personal language.

Luca Errani is a courageous father. His daughter Chiara has a cognitive disability and complex communicative needs. When Chiara was four, the Errani family started to feel the need to find a better way to communicate with their daughter. So, after trying speech therapy, aimed at stimulating a voice output as well as the desire to find new strategies to be able to interact with others, Chiara started to practice the AAC (Augmentative and Alternative Communication). Through this technique, words become symbols and the miracle of reading occurs. Luca Errani translated 'The Hobbit', the novel by J. R. R.  Tolkien, and, thanks to the AAC tools, he has started building a network of sharing and debate with other organizations.

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ARASAAC: Aragonese Portal of Augmentative and Alternative Communication

The portal offers ARASAAC graphic resources and materials to facilitate communication for those with some sort of problem in this area. This project has been financed by the Department of Education, Culture and Sports of the Aragonese Government and coordinated by the General Directorate of Innovation, Equality and Participation of this department.

http://www.arasaac.org/

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http://www.arasaac.org/software_caa.php


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http://aulaabierta.arasaac.org/

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Audio: "I visit parishes (during Catechism classes) to help children with autism" These learn by visual aid and not by audio only.

Awdjo: “Indur il-parroċċi biex ngħin it-tfal bl-awtiżmu”

https://www.newsbook.com.mt/artikli/2018/08/22/awdjo-indur-il-parrocci-biex-nghin-it-tfal-bl-awtizmu/

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