OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS

Vatican City, 24 April 2014 (VIS) – On Friday 18 the Holy Father accepted the resignation of Rev. Dom Umberto Beda Paluzzi, O.S.B., from the pastoral care of the territorial abbey of Montevergine in Italy, in accordance with canon 401 para. 2 of the Code of Canon Law.

On Thursday, 17 April, the Holy Father:

- appointed Rev. Jose Augusto Traquina Maria as auxiliary of the patriarchate of Lisbon (area 3,735, population 2,237,000, Catholics 1,871,000, priests 551, permanent deacons 86, religious 1,516), Portugal. The bishop-elect was born in Alcobaca, Portugal in 1954 and was ordained a priest in 1985. He holds a licentiate in theology from the Portuguese Catholic University. He has held a number of pastoral roles, including canon of the Cathedral of Lisbon, vicar, coordinator of the permanent secretariat of the diocesan presbyteral council, and spiritual director.

- appointed Jose Trinidad Fernandez Angulo as auxiliary of the archdiocese of Caracas (area 991, population 4,644,000, Catholics 3,960,000, priests 490, permanent deacons 9, religious 1,597), Venezuela. The bishop-elect was born in Merida, Venezuela in 1964 and was ordained a priest in 1989. He holds a licentiate in philosophy from the Pontifical Gregorian University, Rome, and has held a number of pastoral roles, including director of studies, deputy director of various seminaries, and professor.

- Rev. Can. Francisco Jose Villas-Boas Senra de Faria Coelho, as auxiliary of the archdiocese of Braga (area 2,857, population 964,800, Catholics 886,700, priests 465, permanent deacons 12, religious 676), Portugal. The bishop-elect was born in Mozambique in 1961 and was ordained a priest in 1986. He studied theology and philosophy, and holds a licentiate in history of the Church from the Pontifical Gregorian University, Rome. In 2008 he was awarded a doctorate from the Phoenix International University in the U.S.A. During his pastoral ministry he has served as a professor of theology, spiritual director, canon of the Cathedral, parish priest and religious assistant.

HOLY WEEK:

CHRISM MASS: ANOINTED WITH THE OIL OF GLADNESS

Vatican City, 17 April 2014 (VIS) – At 9.30 this morning, in the Vatican Basilica, Pope Francis presided over the Holy Chrism Mass which is celebrated today, Holy Thursday, in all Cathedral Churches throughout the world. The Holy Father concelebrated with the Cardinals, Bishops and priests (diocesan and religious) present in Rome. During the Eucharistic celebration, the priests renewed the vows they made on the day of their ordination; the oils used for catechumens, to anoint the sick, and for confirmation were then blessed. Following the Gospel reading, the Pope pronounced the following homily:

“In the eternal 'today' of Holy Thursday, when Christ showed his love for us to the end, we recall the happy day of the institution of the priesthood, as well as the day of our own priestly ordination. The Lord anointed us in Christ with the oil of gladness, and this anointing invites us to accept and appreciate this great gift: the gladness, the joy of being a priest. Priestly joy is a priceless treasure, not only for the priest himself but for the entire faithful people of God: that faithful people from which he is called to be anointed and which he, in turn, is sent to anoint.

Anointed with the oil of gladness so as to anoint others with the oil of gladness. Priestly joy has its source in the Father’s love, and the Lord wishes the joy of this Love to be 'ours' and to be 'complete'. I like to reflect on joy by contemplating Our Lady, for Mary, the 'Mother of the living Gospel, is a wellspring of joy for God’s little ones'. I do not think it is an exaggeration to say that the priest is very little indeed: the incomparable grandeur of the gift granted us for the ministry sets us among the least of men. The priest is the poorest of men unless Jesus enriches him by his poverty, the most useless of servants unless Jesus calls him his friend, the most ignorant of men unless Jesus patiently teaches him as he did Peter, the frailest of Christians unless the Good Shepherd strengthens him in the midst of the flock. No one is more 'little' than a priest left to his own devices; and so our prayer of protection against every snare of the Evil One is the prayer of our Mother: I am a priest because he has regarded my littleness. And in that littleness we find our joy. Joy in our littleness!

For me, there are three significant features of our priestly joy. It is a joy which anoints us (not one which 'greases' us, making us unctuous, sumptuous and presumptuous), it is a joy which is imperishable and it is a missionary joy which spreads and attracts, starting backwards – with those farthest away from us.

A joy which anoints us. In a word: it has penetrated deep within our hearts, it has shaped them and strengthened them sacramentally. The signs of the ordination liturgy speak to us of the Church’s maternal desire to pass on and share with others all that the Lord has given us: the laying on of hands, the anointing with sacred chrism, the clothing with sacred vestments, the first consecration which immediately follows … Grace fills us to the brim and overflows, fully, abundantly and entirely in each priest. We are anointed down to our very bones … and our joy, which wells up from deep within, is the echo of this anointing.

An imperishable joy. The fullness of the Gift, which no one can take away or increase, is an unfailing source of joy: an imperishable joy which the Lord has promised no one can take from us. It can lie dormant, or be clogged by sin or by life’s troubles, yet deep down it remains intact, like the embers of a burnt log beneath the ashes, and it can always be renewed. Paul’s exhortation to Timothy remains ever timely: I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God that is within you through the laying on of my hands.

A missionary joy. I would like especially to share with you and to stress this third feature: priestly joy is deeply bound up with God’s holy and faithful people, for it is an eminently missionary joy. Our anointing is meant for anointing God’s holy and faithful people: for baptising and confirming them, healing and sanctifying them, blessing, comforting and evangelising them.

And since this joy is one which only springs up when the shepherd is in the midst of his flock (for even in the silence of his prayer, the shepherd who worships the Father is with his sheep), it is a 'guarded joy', watched over by the flock itself. Even in those gloomy moments when everything looks dark and a feeling of isolation takes hold of us, in those moments of listlessness and boredom which at times overcome us in our priestly life (and which I too have experienced), even in those moments God’s people are able to 'guard' that joy; they are able to protect you, to embrace you and to help you open your heart to find renewed joy.

A 'guarded joy': one guarded by the flock but also guarded by three sisters who surround it, tend it and defend it: sister poverty, sister fidelity and sister obedience.

The joy of priests is a joy which is sister to poverty. The priest is poor in terms of purely human joy. He has given up so much! And because he is poor, he, who gives so much to others, has to seek his joy from the Lord and from God’s faithful people. He doesn’t need to try to create it for himself. We know that our people are very generous in thanking priests for their slightest blessing and especially for the sacraments. Many people, in speaking of the crisis of priestly identity, fail to realise that identity presupposes belonging. There is no identity – and consequently joy of life – without an active and unwavering sense of belonging to God’s faithful people. The priest who tries to find his priestly identity by soul-searching and introspection may well encounter nothing more than 'exit' signs, signs that say: exit from yourself, exit to seek God in adoration, go out and give your people what was entrusted to you, for your people will make you feel and taste who you are, what your name is, what your identity is, and they will make you rejoice in that hundredfold which the Lord has promised to those who serve him. Unless you 'exit' from yourself, the oil grows rancid and the anointing cannot be fruitful. Going out from ourselves presupposes self-denial; it means poverty.

Priestly joy is a joy which is sister to fidelity. Not primarily in the sense that we are all 'immaculate' (would that by God’s grace we were!), for we are sinners, but in the sense of an ever renewed fidelity to the one Bride, to the Church. Here fruitfulness is key. The spiritual children which the Lord gives each priest, the children he has baptised, the families he has blessed and helped on their way, the sick he has comforted, the young people he catechises and helps to grow, the poor he assists… all these are the 'Bride' whom he rejoices to treat as his supreme and only love and to whom he is constantly faithful. It is the living Church, with a first name and a last name, which the priest shepherds in his parish or in the mission entrusted to him. That mission brings him joy whenever he is faithful to it, whenever he does all that he has to do and lets go of everything that he has to let go of, as long as he stands firm amid the flock which the Lord has entrusted to him: Feed my sheep.

Priestly joy is a joy which is sister to obedience. An obedience to the Church in the hierarchy which gives us, as it were, not simply the external framework for our obedience: the parish to which I am sent, my ministerial assignments, my particular work … but also union with God the Father, the source of all fatherhood. It is likewise an obedience to the Church in service: in availability and readiness to serve everyone, always and as best I can, following the example of 'Our Lady of Promptness' who hastens to serve Elizabeth her kinswoman and is concerned for the kitchen of Cana when the wine runs out. The availability of her priests makes the Church a house with open doors, a refuge for sinners, a home for people living on the streets, a place of loving care for the sick, a camp for the young, a classroom for catechising children about to make their First Communion… Wherever God’s people have desires or needs, there is the priest, who knows how to listen (ob-audire) and feels a loving mandate from Christ who sends him to relieve that need with mercy or to encourage those good desires with resourceful charity.

All who are called should know that genuine and complete joy does exist in this world: it is the joy of being taken from the people we love and then being sent back to them as dispensers of the gifts and counsels of Jesus, the one Good Shepherd who, with deep compassion for all the little ones and the outcasts of this earth, wearied and oppressed like sheep without a shepherd, wants to associate many others to his ministry, so as himself to remain with us and to work, in the person of his priests, for the good of his people.

On this Holy Thursday, I ask the Lord Jesus to enable many young people to discover that burning zeal which joy kindles in our hearts as soon as we have the stroke of boldness needed to respond willingly to his call.

On this Holy Thursday, I ask the Lord Jesus to preserve the joy sparkling in the eyes of the recently ordained who go forth to devour the world, to spend themselves fully in the midst of God's faithful people, rejoicing as they prepare their first homily, their first Mass, their first Baptism, their first confession… It is the joy of being able to share with wonder, and for the first time as God’s anointed, the treasure of the Gospel and to feel the faithful people anointing you again and in yet another way: by their requests, by bowing their heads for your blessing, by taking your hands, by bringing you their children, by pleading for their sick… Preserve, Lord, in your young priests the joy of going forth, of doing everything as if for the first time, the joy of spending their lives fully for you.

On this Thursday of the priesthood, I ask the Lord Jesus to confirm the priestly joy of those who have already ministered for some years. The joy which, without leaving their eyes, is also found on the shoulders of those who bear the burden of the ministry, those priests who, having experienced the labours of the apostolate, gather their strength and rearm themselves: 'get a second wind', as the athletes say. Lord, preserve the depth, wisdom and maturity of the joy felt by these older priests. May they be able to pray with Nehemiah: 'the joy of the Lord is my strength'.

Finally, on this Thursday of the priesthood, I ask the Lord Jesus to make better known the joy of elderly priests, whether healthy or infirm. It is the joy of the Cross, which springs from the knowledge that we possess an imperishable treasure in perishable earthen vessels. May these priests find happiness wherever they are; may they experience already, in the passage of the years, a taste of eternity (Guardini). May they know, Lord, the joy of handing on the torch, the joy of seeing new generations of their spiritual children, and of hailing the promises from afar, smiling and at peace, in that hope which does not disappoint”.

MASS “IN CENA DOMINI” AT THE DON GNOCCHI CENTRE

Vatican City, April 2014 (VIS) – At 5 p.m. the Holy Father left the Vatican for the St. Mary of Providence Centre of the Don Carlo Gnocchi Foundation, where at 5.30 p.m. he celebrated Holy Mass “in Cena Domini”, with which the Easter Triduum begins. This Maundy Thursday celebration includes the announcement of the commandment to love and the ritual washing of the feet, a gesture of love and humility. When the Holy Father was Cardinal Archbishop of Buenos Aires, he used to celebrate this Mass in a hospital, a prison or a reception centre for the poor and marginalised, and likewise the Don Gnocchi Foundation is an institution dedicated to the care of people with all types of disabilities, both physical and mental.

The celebration took place in the church within the Centre, and the participants included the guests of the Centre accompanied by their relatives, as well as staff, volunteers, and directors. During the Mass, the Pope washed the feet of twelve disabled persons of various ages, ethnic origins and religious beliefs, representing the patients assisted in the 29 Don Gnocchi Foundation Centres present in Italy, and he briefly explained the meaning of this gesture.

“We have heard what Jesus did, at the Last Supper: it was a farewell gesture. It is the legacy He leaves us. He is God Who made Himself our servant. And this is the legacy He leaves us: you to must serve one another. He took this path for love: you too must love one another and be servants, in love. This is the legacy Jesus leaves us. And washing the feet is a symbolic gesture: the slaves used to to this, servants used to do this for those who came to eat, to lunch or to dine, because in those times the roads were made of earth and, entering the house, it was necessary to wash one's feet. And Jesus carried out this gesture, the task of a slave or a servant. He leaves this as an inheritance to us. We must serve one another. And therefore the Church, which today commemorates the Last Supper when Jesus instituted the Eucharist, during the ceremony also carries out this gesture of washing feet, which reminds us that we must serve each other. Now I too will perform this gesture, but let us all, in our hearts, think of others and think of the love that Jesus tells us we must have for others, and let us think of how we can serve them better, because this is what Jesus wants from us”.

VIA CRUCIS: A GLORIOUS CROSS LIKE DAWN FOLLOWING A LONG NIGHT

Vatican City, 18 April 2014 (VIS) – At 9.15 p.m. this evening, Good Friday, the Bishop of Rome presided at the Via Crucis, or Way of the Cross, service at the Colosseum, where thousands of faithful accompanied Christ's path to the Cross by the light of candles and torches. From the Palatine Hill the Holy Father listened to the reflections that accompanied each of the fourteen stations, dedicated this year to the economic crisis that afflicts many countries, to immigration, poverty, and the situation of women and the marginalised in today's world. The cross was carried to the various stations by a worker and a businessman, two immigrants, two homeless people, two detainees, two former drug addicts, two patients, two children, a family, two elderly people, two nuns, the Custodians of the Holy Land and, in the first and last stations, the Cardinal Archbishop of Rome, Agostino Vallini.

At the end the Pope addressed some unscripted remarks to the participants, affirming that “God placed on Jesus' Cross all the weight of our sins, all the injustice perpetrated by every Cain against his brother, all the bitterness of the betrayals of Judas and Peter, all the vanity of tyrants, all the arrogance of false friends. It was a heavy Cross, like the night of abandoned people, as heavy as the death of loved ones, heavy because it carried all the ugliness of evil. However it is also a glorious Cross, like the dawn after a long night, as it represents all of God's love, which is greater than our iniquity and our betrayals. In the Cross we see the monstrosity of man, when we allow ourselves to be guided by evil; but we also see the immensity of God's mercy; He does not treat us according to our sins, but according to His mercy”.

He continued, “Before the Cross of Christ, we see, we can almost touch with our hands how much we are eternally loved; before the Cross, we feel like 'children' and not 'things ' or objects, as St. Gregory of Nazianzus affirmed when he turned to Christ with this prayer: 'If it were not for you, O my Christ, I would feel as a finished creature. … O, our Jesus, guide us from the Cross to the Resurrection and teach us that evil will not have the last word, but rather love, mercy, and forgiveness. O Christ, teach us to exclaim anew, “Yesterday I was crucified with Christ; today I am glorified with Him”'.

“And in the end, all together, let us recall the sick, let us think of all those people abandoned beneath the weight of the Cross, so that they might find in the trial of the Cross the strength of hope, of the hope of the Resurrection and the love of God”.