EASTER VIGIL: DON'T BE AFRAID OF GOD'S SURPRISES. “HE ALWAYS SURPRISES US!”

Vatican City, 31 March 2013 (VIS) – Yesterday at 8:30 in the evening, the Holy Father presided at the Easter Vigil in St. Peter's Basilica. The liturgy began in the church atrium with a blessing of the new fire and the preparation of the Paschal candle. After processing to the altar with the lit candle and the singing of the “Exsultet”, the celebration continued with the Liturgy of the Word, the Baptismal Liturgy, and the Liturgy of the Eucharist.

During the Vigil, the Pope administered the sacraments of Christian initiation (Baptism, Confirmation, and Eucharist) to four catechumens: one from Italy, one from Albania, one from Russia, and one from the United States. After the Gospel was read, the Holy Father dedicated his homily to discussing the holy women who went to the tomb and found it empty. “We are afraid of God's surprises! He always surprises us!” Following is the full text of his homily:

“Dear Brothers and Sisters,

In the Gospel of this luminous night of the Easter Vigil, we are the first to meet the women who went to Jesus' tomb with spices to anoint his body (cf. Lk 24:1-3). They go to perform an act of compassion, of affection, of love. It is a traditional gesture for a beloved person who has died, just as we would do too. They had followed Jesus, listened to him, felt themselves to be understood in their dignity, and they had accompanied him to the end, on Calvary, an at the moment he was taken down from the cross.”

“We can imagine how they felt as they made their way to his tomb: a certain sadness, sorrow because Jesus had left them and was dead, his story was over. Now they would go back to their previous lives. But the women continued to feel love and their love for Jesus compelled them to go to his tomb. At this point, however, something completely unexpected happens, something new, which upsets their hearts and their plans and which will upset their whole lives: They see the stone rolled away from the tomb. They draw near and they do not find the Lord's body. It is a reality that leaves them perplexed, doubtful, full of questions: 'What is happening?', What does this all mean?' (cf. Lk 24:4).”

“Isn't that also what happens to us when something truly new occurs in our everyday lives? We stop, don't understand, don't know how to handle it. New things often frighten us, even the newness that God brings us, the newness that God asks of us. We are like the Apostles in the Gospel: we often prefer to hold on to our sureties, to stop at the tomb, to stop at just thinking about the departed one who, in the end, lives only in our memory like great persons of the past. We're afraid of God's surprises. Dear brothers and sisters, in our lives we are afraid of God's surprises! He always surprises us! That is how the Lord is!”

“Brothers and sisters, let's not close ourselves to the newness that God wants to bring to our lives! Often we are tired, disheartened, sad; We feel the weight of our sins and think we're not going to make it. Let's not get locked up in ourselves. Let's not lose our confidence. Let us never give up. There are no situations that God cannot change; There is no sin that He won't forgive if we open ourselves to him.”

“But let's go back to the Gospel, to the women, and take a step forward. They find the tomb empty. Jesus' body is not there. Something new has happened but this still doesn't tell them anything certain. It raises questions and leaves them perplexed without offering an answer. And then, two men in dazzling garments who say: 'Why do you seek the living one among the dead? He is not here, but He has been raised.' (Lk 24:5-6). What had been a simple gesture, an act certainly undertaken in love—going to the tomb—now transforms into an occurrence, a truly life-changing event.”

“Nothing remains as it was before, not only in the lives of those women, but also in our lives and in our story of humanity. Jesus isn't someone who has died. He is risen. He is the Living One! He has not simply come back to life but is life itself because He is the Son of God who is the Living God. Jesus is no longer in the past but lives in the present and is projected toward the future. Jesus is God's eternal 'today'.This is how God's newness presents itself to the eyes of the women, of the disciples, of all of us: victory over sin, over evil, over death, over everything that oppresses our lives and gives them a less human face.”

“This is a message that is addressed to me, to you, dear sister, to you, dear brother. How many times do we need Love to tell us: Why do you seek the living one among the dead? Our problems and our everyday worries tend to wrap us up in ourselves, in sadness and bitterness... and that is where death lies. Let's not look there for He who is alive!”

“Accept the Risen Jesus into your life, then. Welcome him as a friend, with confidence. He is life! If up to now you have been distant from him, take a small step: He will welcome you with open arms. If you are indifferent, take the risk: You will not be disappointed. If following him seems difficult to you, don't be afraid: entrust yourself to him and rest assured that He is close to you. He is with you and will give you the peace you are seeking and the strength to live as He wants you to.”

“There is one last, simple element that I would like to emphasize in the Gospel of this luminous Easter Vigil. The women encounter the newness of God. Jesus is risen, He is the Living One. But, faced with the empty tomb and the two men in dazzling garments, their first reaction is one of fear: They 'bowed their faces to the ground', St. Luke notes. They didn't even have the courage to look. But, when they hear the announcement of the Resurrection, they accept it with faith. And the two men in dazzling garments introduce a fundamental word: remember. 'Remember what He said to you while He was still in Galilee … And they remembered his words.' (Lk 24:6,8).”

“This is a call to remember their encounter with Jesus, with his words, his deeds, his life. It is precisely this loving remembrance of their experience with the Master that leads the women to overcome every fear and to take the announcement of the Resurrection to the Apostles and to all the others (cf. Lk 24:9). Remembering what God has done and continues to do for me, for us; remembering the path we have travelled—this opens wide our hearts to hope for the future. Let's learn to remember what God has done in our lives!”

“On this radiant night, calling upon the intercession of the Virgin Mary who keeps all things in her heart (Lk 2:19,51), let us ask the Lord to give us a share in his Resurrection. May He open us to the newness that transforms, to God's surprises that are so beautiful. May He make us men and women who are capable of remembering what He does in our personal lives and in the history of the world. May He make us capable of hearing him as the Living One, who lives and is at work amongst us. May He teach us every day, dear brothers and sisters, to not seek among the dead for He who is living. Amen.”

A Good Friday reflection

From: Fr. Kevin J Barr

TOO many Christians today have spiritualised the death of Jesus and are satisfied to say simply that Jesus died for our salvation - "the blood of the Lamb has washed away our sins".

While this may be true theologically, these Christians tend to ignore the stark reality of the gospel story and the real historical context in which Jesus lived, preached and died.

Moreover this approach can keep us trapped in a devotional Christianity often unrelated to the world in which Jesus lived and in which he preached his message of the Kingdom.

The events of Jesus' passion and death need to be seen within the historical context of his times and the complexity of this socio-political context.

We need to understand realistically the reason why Jesus was crucified. And the stark reality is that Jesus was killed because of what he said and did.

Jesus lived out his life in a particular historical context and what he said and did can only be fully understood in relation to that context.

He came into a world where there was great inequality, injustice and poverty and where, for many, the covenant had been reduced to the observance of strict laws and rituals.

The ruling class was made up of the high priestly families and the Saducees, the great landowners, businessmen and the court circles around Herod.

There was tension between this rich upper class and the masses of poor people. Matthew tells us that Jesus made a tour of all the towns and villages (Mt. 9:35f) and saw with his own eyes the consequences of the economic and religious regime of his day.

His heart was moved with compassion for those marginalised by these regimes - the poor, the outcasts, the so-called "sinners", the sick and the suffering. Many groaned under the burden of taxes and tithes. Jesus spoke out strongly about the selfish rich, the oppressed poor and the great inequality evident in his society. He was undeniably very concerned about the consequences of economic injustice in the world of his time.

Despite the scandal he gave to many of the "religious" people, Jesus spent much of his time in the company of the poor, the outcasts, the sick and the marginalised and was known as the friend of tax collectors, prostitutes and so-called sinners. He called them "the little ones" but the Pharisees referred to them as "the rabble who know nothing of the law". In their eyes Jesus was nothing but trouble.

"He hung out with the wrong people, healed at the wrong time, visited the wrong places, and said the wrong things. His active non-violence was dangerous and threatening. His actions and teaching outraged the religious authorities and threatened their economic and political privilege." (John Dear 2011:6).

The company he kept and the great compassion he showed to the poor and oppressed had most important implications.

As Walter Brueggemann points out: "Compassion constitutes a radical form of criticism, for it announces that the hurt is to be taken seriously, that the hurt is not to be accepted as normal and natural, but is an abnormal and unacceptable condition of humanness. Thus compassion that might be seen simply as generous goodwill is in fact criticism of the system, forces and ideologies that produce the hurt."

Jesus, through his message of the Kingdom of God, spoke of a new way of structuring relationships which required a radical change of mind and heart and challenged those with wealth and power in the society of his day— including the religious leaders.

He scandalised many "religious" people because he spent time with those who were rejected as "sinners" and was seen as the friend of tax collectors, prostitutes and outcasts.

He lifted up the poor and encouraged people to have compassion and reach out with love towards people of any race, religion or social level.

He turned upside down the way people viewed the Law, the Temple and the Sabbath—the great institutions of Jewish society. He even publicly challenged the sincerity and integrity of some of the religious leaders of his day.

But above all, his preaching about the Kingdom of God challenged the accepted values of his time. Instead of stressing the importance of having riches, power and prestige, Jesus wanted his followers to share their wealth with others and place themselves at the service of others. All this did not make Jesus very popular with the religious leaders and those who were wealthy—those who profited from the status quo.

His message was welcomed by some but caused friction with others because they felt that Jesus was turning their world upside down and calling into question the dominant values of their society and the securities that they had accepted for so long.

He challenged the rich elites of his day as well as the religious leaders to think and act differently. They considered him to be dangerous and thought he should be got rid of.

Jesus called on people to change. Some did, but many did not. Those who would not change and stubbornly clung to a system which ensured them power, wealth and authority ultimately prevailed and Jesus was crucified.

Monika Hellwig (1983:12ff) states clearly the danger that Jesus found himself in because he challenged the "establishment" and called for a radical change of heart from his followers:

"Jesus was most certainly not crucified for staying quietly at home to say his prayers and minding the carpentry business. The preaching and ministry of Jesus was in every way a challenge to the unjust structures of oppression and therefore in every way a provocation to those who profited from them."

Jim Wallis (2008), the founder of Sojourners in Washington, recalls an incident when he asked his students: "Why was Jesus crucified?"

After some hesitation one student replied: "Well, to save us from our sins."

Wallis replied: "So you think Pontius Pilate was sitting there thinking, 'How am I going to save these American evangelicals from their sins? I'm gonna kill this guy and that will do it'. No! He was killed because he was seen as a threat to the rulers — both religious and political."

Consequences of challenging injustice

One of the huge implications of spiritualising the death of Jesus is that Christians today often fail to accept that they have a responsibility to challenge the injustices they see in the world around them.

Those motivated by an unrealistic devotional Christianity take a passive stance towards the problems of the world and remain unchallenged by Jesus' message of the Kingdom of God.

While Good Friday recalls the crucifixion of Jesus, we should also remember that Jesus was not the only one who was killed for challenging and questioning the injustices in his society and presenting an alternative vision of how the world could be.

We have people like Mahatma Gandhi, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Martin Luther King (Jn), John F Kennedy, Archbishop Oscar Romero — all of whom were assassinated.

We have Nelson Mandela who spent 28 years in prison, Aung San Suu Kyi, and the exiled Dalai Lama.

All these individuals fought against powerful forces of injustice and sought to make the world a better and more just place.

Like the classical prophets of ancient Israel, Marcus Borg (2004:130) would describe them as "God-intoxicated voices of protest against the human suffering created by the unjust systems imposed by the powerful and wealthy".

So, what happened to Jesus continues to happen today and throughout history.

Those who challenge the vested interests of the powers-that-be and expose the unjust structures of oppression, those who seek to "pull down the mighty from their thrones", those who challenge the rich to share and care for their brothers and sisters in poverty, those who challenge the hypocrisy of powerful religious authorities, those who accept people of all races and religions as their brothers and sisters … these are not only unpopular but find themselves persecuted in one form or another. As Trish Mc Bride notes: "When one speaks out for truth, justice and compassion against the vested interests of the powers-that-be, crucifixion, literal or metaphorical is a highly likely outcome."

Conclusion

It is very important for us today to remember exactly why Jesus was crucified otherwise we will be in danger of over-spiritualising the death of Jesus and ignoring the demands that the "dangerous memory of Jesus" makes on us today.

A new world is possible! However, when anyone challenges the powerful forces vested in those with wealth and power, there is bound to be a strong reaction from those who profit from the status quo.

But the encouraging thing is that, although those who worked for a new world may have been crucified, assassinated, exiled or imprisoned, that was not the end. The message has been delivered and the courageous example of the messenger lives on to inspire us today so that we continue to question and challenge injustice and oppression and to fight for a better world. It is important to remember that, after the crucifixion came the RESURRECTION.

Archbishop's Newsletter

1^st March 2013                                            Archbishop’s House

Newsletter No. 2/2013                                     P O Box 393, Suva

Greeting: May our Lenten observance place us in the loving presence of God!

Emergency: Last Wednesday, 29^th February my eye doctor advised me that my eyes have cataract and they need cleaning. He has arranged for the operations for next week.  I leave for Auckland on Friday, 8^th March and hope to return on Easter Monday if not before. 

Chrism Mass: I humbly ask for your indulgence that we will do this after Easter. We will have the Mass in the Cathedral and invite priests and lay people representatives from the three Regions to attend and take their Chrism and oils back.  A date will be set on my return. Also the Confirmations’ schedule will then be put together and published.    

Deacon Ordination: The ordination of deacons is scheduled for 3^rd Sunday of Easter, 14^th April 2013. This will take place at the 10.00 am Holy Mass at the Cathedral of the Sacred Heart, Suva.

Healing &Renewal Time: The front page of the Fiji Times – Thursday 28^th February, carried the story of a priest being accused of rape. We ask for the truth to come out. We must not hide or deny the truth. The truth will set us free and we can grow. I ask that we pray for the victims and the accused priest. We are responsible for their pastoral care. I apologize and beg for forgiveness from all. Those who knew the truth are to be ashamed for not sharing it with the proper authority.

Sexual abuse of women and children is an evil that is eating our society and the Church ~ let us all join hands to eradicate this evil human failing by prayer, fasting and almsgiving. The agents of change are: each individual, the family, the community, the Church, the government and the NGOs. 

God bless.

POPE FRANCIS WANTS “IN COENA DOMINI” MASS TO BE SIMPLE AND INTIMATE

Vatican City, 26 March 2013 (VIS) – The Mass of the Lord's Supper that Pope Francis will celebrate on Holy Thursday in the chapel of the Casal del Marmo Penitential Institute for Minors (IPM) will be, by his express desire, very simple, as reported by the Director of the Holy See Press Office, Fr. Federico Lombardi, S.J. Concelebrating with the Holy Father will be Cardinal Agostino Vallini, vicar general of the Diocese of Rome, and Fr. Gaetano Greco, chaplain of the Institute.

Around 10 girls and 40 boys will take part in the Mass. The Pope will wash the feet of 12 of them, who will be chosen from different nationalities and diverse religious confessions. The youth will also say the readings and the prayers of the faithful.

After the Mass, the Pope will meet with the youth and the IPM's personnel in the Institute's gym. Around 150 persons are expected to attend, including the Minister for Justice, Paola Severino, accompanied by the Head of the Department of Justice for Minors, Caterina Chinnici, the Commander of the Institute's Penitentiary Police, Saulo Patrizi, and the Institute's director, Liana Giambartolomei.

The youth will give the Pope a wooden crucifix and kneeler, which they made themselves in the Institute's workshop. The Holy Father will bring Easter eggs and “colomba” (the traditional Italian Easter cake in the shape of a dove) for all.

Given the intimate nature of the pastoral visit, journalists will be restricted to the area outside the building and no live coverage will be transmitted.

Biography: the life of Pope Francis

Our new Pope, Francis, was born on Dec. 17, 1936 in Buenos Aires as Jorge Mario Bergoglio. He is 76 years old, and while an Argentinian by birth, his surname betrays his Italian roots. His father was a railway worker who immigrated to Argentina from Italy, and Bergoglio is one of five children.

After earning a secondary school degree as a chemical technician, Bergoglio felt a call to the priesthood.

He joined the Society of Jesus, entering the novitiate in 1958. He received a philosophy degree in 1963 and spent the next three years teaching literature and psychology.

Bergoglio then studied theology from 1967 to 1970, during which time he was ordained a priest. His priestly ordination was on Dec. 13, 1969.

Father Bergoglio did the final state of Jesuit formation from 1970 to 1971, and was novice master at the Jesuit seminary in San Miguel, a Buenos Aires suburb, from 1972 to 1973, where he taught theology.

In 1973, he made his perpetual vows in the Society, and that year was elected provincial for Argentina. After his time as provincial, from 1980 to 1986, he served as rector of the seminary at San Miguel, where he had studied, and was pastor of a parish in the city.

He went to Germany in 1986 to finish his doctoral thesis, after which he served as a professor, confessor and spiritual director.

In 1992, he was consecrated auxiliary bishop of Buenos Aires, and given the titular see of Auca. He became Buenos Aires’ coadjutor bishop in 1997, and succeeded as the see’s archbishop the following year. His role as Archbishop of Buenos Aires made him also the Bishop of the ordinariate for Eastern rite Catholics in Argentina. (Except those of the Armenian Catholic Church in Argentina, who have their own bishop.)

Bergoglio was elevated to cardinal in 2001 and was appointed cardinal-priest of San Roberto Bellarmino, a Roman parish associated with the Jesuit order.

He served as an official of the 10th General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops in 2001 and was for a time the president of the Argentine bishops’ conference.

While Archbishop of Buenos Aires, Bergoglio was a member of the Congregations for Divine Worship; for the Clergy; and for Institutes of Consecrated Life, as well as the Pontifical Council for the Family and the Pontifical Commission for Latin America.

He was elected Pope on March 13, 2013, on the fifth ballot of the conclave, during its second day, taking the name Francis after St. Francis of Assisi.

Pope Francis is noted for his humble demeanor – as archbishop of Buenos Aires, he lived in an apartment, cooked his own meals and took public transit. In Rome, according to Father Zuhlsdorf, he carried himself not as a cardinal, but as a typical visiting priest.

As Archbishop of Buenos Aires, Pope Francis supported a liberal administration of baptism, recognizing the necessity of the sacrament and the secularizing forces pushing in on his country.

He told the Italian magazine “30 Days” in 2009 that illegitimate children should be baptized, even if their parents are not regular churchgoers.

“The child has no responsibility for the condition of his parents’ marriage. The baptism of children can, on the contrary, become a new beginning for the parents.”

He urged that evangelization must be done “by going to meet the people, not by waiting for the people to come to us…the sacraments are for the life of men and women as they are.”

Argentina was long ruled by right-wing military figures, and during the 1970s the government actively “disappeared” thousands of left-wing activists and militants. While head of the Argentine province of Jesuits, Bergoglio “opposed the tendency” of his brothers in religion to embrace Marxism, according to Sandro Magister’s article in “Chiesa.”

He is close to Communion and Liberation, an ecclesial lay movement founded in 1956 by Monsignor Luigi Giussani, whose writings Bergoglio wrote “have inspired me to reflect and have helped me to pray.”

“I am convinced that his (Msgr. Giussani’s) thought is profoundly human and reaches man’s innermost longings,” Bergoglio said in 2001.

When in 2010 Argentina was considering the legalization of same-sex marriage – which ended up passing – Bergoglio was opposed to it, as he was opposed to related proposals to allow adoption by gay couples.

In the weeks before the government voted on “gay marriage,” he wrote to the Carmelites in his archdiocese asking them to pray for the vote, saying legalization would “gravely harm the family” and that “the identity of the family, and its survival, are in jeopardy.”

He is friendly to the poor and concerned for their well-being, and is perceived as recognizing the legitimate concerns of liberation theology, while keeping those concerns within the Church’s heart.

“We live in the most unequal part of the world, which has grown the most, yet reduced misery the least,” Bergoglio said during a 2007 assembly of Latin American bishops. “The unjust distribution of goods persists, creating a situation of social sin that cries out to Heaven and limits the possibilities of a fuller life for so many of our brothers.”

He lived in tension with the Argentine government, at times chastising it for failing to do more for the impoverished.

He has shown compassion on the downcast, each year during Holy Week as archbishop washing the feet different social outsiders, including AIDS patients and the incarcerated, according to Bloomberg News.

In 2005, an Argentine monsignor told the BBC that Bergoglio was “as uncompromising as Pope John Paul II, in terms of the principles of the Church – everything it has defended regarding euthanasia, the death penalty, abortion, the right to life, human rights, celibacy of priests.”

While it has been asserted that as Archbishop of Buenos Aires he was hostile to the extraordinary form of the Roman Rite, access to which was liberalized by Benedict XVI, the circumstances allow a charitable interpretation.

The extraordinary form Mass has been available to the people of Buenos Aires, though not within the archdiocese itself, which is only 78 square miles and covers the city itself and none of its suburbs. The traditional Mass is available in Lomas de Zamora, a suburb which borders Buenos Aires, as well as in La Plata, 36 miles away, and Mercedes, 65 miles away.

“La Nacion,” a prominent Argentine publication, said that Bergoglio enjoys soccer and tango, and the books of Dostoyevsky and Jorge Luis Borges.

FRANCIS ASKS FOR A HEART THAT FOLLOWS CHRIST ENTHUSIASTICALLY

Vatican City, 24 March 2013 (VIS) – More than 250 thousand people gathered this morning to attend Palm Sunday Mass, which Pope Francis celebrated in St. Peter's Square. For the thirteenth consecutive year, the olive trees and branches that adorned St. Peter's Square and were distributed to the faithful present were a gift from the Puglia region of Italy. The floral design that decorated the altar this year reflected the geography of the five continents: 60,000 olive branches were mixed with grasses and peach leaves, thyme, myrtle, ferns, strawberries, broom, lilies, wallflowers, and celery-leaved buttercups. The two centuries-old olive trees that were placed at the foot of the statues of St. Peter and St. Paul in the square will be planted in the Vatican Gardens after the Mass.

The celebration began at 9:15am with a procession of palm branches in which 620 persons—cardinals, bishops, priests, deacons, children, and lay persons—participated. Some 2,000 palm branches were brought in from the Ligurian towns of San Remo and Bordighera in Northern Italy, as has been the tradition now for five centuries. The Pope entered the square while the choir and crowd sang the Hosanna. After reaching the foot of the square's obelisk, the Pope blessed the palms and olive branches of those in the square.

The procession then continued to the altar on the Sagrato of the Basilica. The Pope carried one of the three-metre long palm branches, which had been artistically braided so as to represent the Holy Trinity. Concelebrating with the Pope were: Cardinal Agostino Vallini, vicar general of the Diocese of Rome; Cardinal Stanislaw Rylko, president of the Pontifical Council for the Laity; and, Archbishop Filippo Iannone, O. Carm., vice gerent of the diocese of Rome.

The choir sang the Kyrie while the Pope venerated and incensed the altar. The Liturgy of the Word included readings from Isaiah and St. Paul's Letter to the Philippians. After the Gospel reading of the Passion, proclaimed by three deacons, the Pope's homily focused on three central aspects: Joy, the Cross, and Youth. His full homily can be read below.

As part of the closing rites of the Mass, the Pope prayed the Angelus. Then, re-entering the Vatican walls, the Pope took a long route through the square, greeting those gathered and being especially attentive to the young and the sick.

PALM SUNDAY HOMILY: WE MUST LIVE THE FAITH WITH A YOUNG HEART

Vatican City, 24 March 2013 (VIS) – Following is the whole text of Pope Francis' homily during the Palm Sunday Mass that begins the Holy Week celebrations. The Holy Father commented on the World Youth Day that the entire Church celebrates today, asking that we live the faith “with a young heart”. The pontiff urged the youth to “tell the world that it is good to follow Christ!”

JOY

“Jesus enters Jerusalem. The crowd of disciples accompanies him in festive mood, their garments are stretched out before him, there is talk of the miracles he has accomplished, and loud praises are heard: 'Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord. Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!' (Lk 19:38).“

“Crowds, celebrating, praise, blessing, peace: joy fills the air. Jesus has awakened great hopes, especially in the hearts of the simple, the humble, the poor, the forgotten, those who do not matter in the eyes of the world. He understands human sufferings, he has shown the face of God’s mercy, he has bent down to heal body and soul.”

“This is Jesus. This is his heart that looks upon all of us, who sees our sicknesses, our sins. Jesus' love is great. And so He enters into Jerusalem with this love and looks upon all of us. It is a beautiful scene, full of light—the light of the Jesus' love, of his heart—joy, and celebration.”

“At the beginning of Mass, we repeated all this. We waved our palms. We also welcomed Jesus; we too expressed our joy at accompanying him, at knowing him to be close, present in us and among us as a friend, a brother, and also as a King: that is, a shining beacon for our lives. Jesus is God but He lowered himself to walk with us. He is our friend, our brother. He enlightens us along the journey. And thus today we have welcomed him.”

“And this is the first word that I want to tell you: 'Joy!' Do not be men and women of sadness: a Christian can never be sad! Never give way to discouragement! Ours is not a joy that comes from having many possessions, but it comes from having encountered a Person, Jesus, who is among us. It comes from knowing that with him we are never alone, even at difficult moments, even when our life’s journey comes up against problems and obstacles that seem insurmountable, and there are so many of them! This is the moment when the enemy comes, when the devil, often times dressed as an angel, comes and insidiously tells us his word. Don't listen to him! Follow Jesus! We accompany, we follow Jesus, but above all we know that he accompanies us and carries us on his shoulders. This is our joy, this is the hope that we must bring to this world of ours. Please don't let him steal our hope. Don't let him steal our hope, that hope that Jesus gives us.”

CROSS

“The second word. Why does Jesus enter Jerusalem? Or better: how does Jesus enter Jerusalem? The crowds acclaim him as King. And he does not deny it, he does not tell them to be silent (cf. Lk 19:39-40). But what kind of a King is Jesus? Let us take a look at him: He is riding on a donkey; He is not accompanied by a court; He is not surrounded by an army as a symbol of power. He is received by humble people, simple folk who had the sense to see something more in Jesus; those with a sense of faith that tells them: 'This is the Saviour. Jesus does not enter the Holy City to receive the honours reserved to earthly kings, to the powerful, to rulers. He enters to be scourged, insulted and abused, as Isaiah foretold in the First Reading (cf. Is 50:6). He enters to receive a crown of thorns, a staff, a purple robe: his kingship becomes an object of derision. He enters to climb Calvary, carrying his burden of wood.”

“And this brings us to the second word: Cross. Jesus enters Jerusalem in order to die on the Cross. And it is here that his kingship shines forth in godly fashion: his royal throne is the wood of the Cross! I think of what Benedict XVI said to the cardinals, 'You are princes, but of a crucified King.' That is Jesus' throne. Jesus takes it upon himself... Why the Cross? Because Jesus takes upon himself the evil, the filth, the sin of the world, including our own sin—all of us—and he cleanses it, he cleanses it with his blood, with the mercy and the love of God. Let us look around: how many wounds are inflicted upon humanity by evil! Wars, violence, economic conflicts that hit the weakest, greed for money, which none of us can take with us, it must be left behind.”

Here the Pope added a personal note: “My grandmother used to tell us children, 'A shroud has no pockets!'” Then he continued: “Loving money, power, corruption, divisions, crimes against human life and against creation! And also—each of us knows and recognizes—our personal sins: our failures in love and respect towards God, towards our neighbour and towards the whole of creation.”

“Jesus on the Cross feels the whole weight of the evil, and with the force of God’s love he conquers it, he defeats it with his resurrection. This is the good that Jesus' does for all of us upon his throne of the Cross. Christ’s Cross embraced with love does not lead to sadness, but to joy! It leads to the joy of being saved and of doing a little of what He did that day of his death.”

YOUTH

“Today in this Square, there are many young people: for 28 years Palm Sunday has been World Youth Day! This is our third word: Youth! Dear young people, I saw you in the procession when you entered. I think of you celebrating around Jesus, waving your olive branches. I think of you crying out his name and expressing your joy at being with him! You have an important part in the celebration of faith! You bring us the joy of faith and you tell us that we must live the faith with a young heart,” and here he emphasized, “a young heart, always, even at the age of seventy or eighty, a young heart. With Christ, the heart never grows old!”

“Yet all of us, all of you know very well that the King whom we follow and who accompanies us is very special: he is a King who loves even to the Cross and who teaches us to serve and to love. And you are not ashamed of his Cross! On the contrary, you embrace it, because you have understood that it is in giving ourselves, in giving ourselves and in going outside of ourselves, that we have true joy and through God's love He has conquered evil. You carry the pilgrim Cross through all the Continents, along the highways of the world! You carry it in response to Jesus’ call: “Go, make disciples of all nations” (Mt 28:19), which is the theme of World Youth Day this year. You carry it so as to tell everyone that on the Cross Jesus knocked down the wall of enmity that divides people and nations, and he brought reconciliation and peace.”

“Dear friends, I too am setting out on a journey with you today, in the footsteps of Blessed John Paul II and Benedict XVI. We are already close to the next stage of this great pilgrimage of the Cross. I look forward joyfully to this coming July in Rio de Janeiro! I will see you in that great city in Brazil! Prepare well in your communities—prepare spiritually above all—so that our gathering in Rio may be a sign of faith for the whole world.” Then, in an unscripted exhortation, the Pope called out: “Young persons, you must tell the world that it's good to follow Jesus, that it's good to go with Jesus. Jesus' message is good. It's good to go outside ourselves to the ends of the earth and of existence to bring Jesus! Three words: Joy, Cross, and Youth.”

“Let us ask the intercession of the Virgin Mary. She teaches us the joy of meeting Christ, the love with which we must look to the foot of the Cross, the enthusiasm of the young heart with which we must follow him during this Holy Week and throughout our lives. May it be so.”

POPE FRANCIS' MESSAGE FOR ENTHRONEMENT OF ARCHBISHOP OF CANTERBURY

Vatican City, 21 March 2013 (VIS) – Pope Francis has sent a message to the Most Reverend Justin Welby, Archbishop of Canterbury, on the occasion of his enthronement at Canterbury Cathedral in London, UK, this past Thursday. Archbishop Welby is the 105 Archbishop of Canterbury and the head of the worldwide Anglican Communion.

“The pastoral ministry,” writes Francis, “is a call to walk in fidelity to the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. Please be assured of my prayers as you take up your new responsibilities, and I ask you to pray for me as I respond to the new call that the Lord has addressed to me.”

“I look forward to meeting you in the near future, and to continuing the warm fraternal relations that our predecessors enjoyed.”

FRANCIS WILL SAY HOLY THURSDAY MASS IN A ROMAN PRISON

Vatican City, 21 March 2013 (VIS) – On Holy Thursday, 28 March, the Holy Father Francis will celebrate the Chrism Mass in St. Peter's Basilica in the morning and then, at 5:30pm in the afternoon, will go to celebrate the Mass of the Lord's Supper at the Casal del Marmo youth detention centre instead of the Basilica of St. John Lateran, where it had been traditionally held in past years.

The Mass of the Lord's Supper is characterized by the announcement of the commandment of love and the gesture of washing the feet. In his ministry as Archbishop of Buenos Aires, Cardinal Bergoglio used to celebrate the Mass in a prison or hospital or hospice for the poor and marginalized. With this celebration at Casal del Marmo, Pope Francis will continue his custom, which is characterized by its humble context.

The other Holy Week celebrations will be held according to tradition, as established in a notification by the Office of Liturgical Celebrations.

Pope Benedict XVI also visited the Casal del Marmo youth detention centre, on 18 March in 2007, to celebrate Mass in the Chapel of the Merciful Father.

Pope picks Archbishop

FATHER Doctor Peter Loy Chong, a diocesan priest of the Archdiocese of Suva, is the next Archbishop of Suva.

Pope Benedict XVI announced this at the Vatican in Rome on Wednesday 19th December 2012.

He will replace long-serving Archbishop of Suva, Petero Mataca. Pope Benedict XVI has also accepted the resignation of Archbishop Mataca.

The 79-year-old prelate had tendered his resignation upon reaching the age of 75, in conformity with the church's canon 401 of the Code of Canon Law.

Father Chong was born on January 30, 1961, at Korovou, Tailevu. He comes from a family of seven, three boys and four girls.

His selection to head the church in Fiji, Rotuma, Rabi and Kioa came as a surprise to some of his family members in Suva yesterday.

His elder sister, Mary Mow, said they were "shocked" when the news was relayed to them.

"We are excited and worried at the same time," Ms Mow said.

"This is a huge responsibility for him because he is young.

"We've talked about this with our family that Father will need our support and prayers more than anything else."

Yesterday, his predecessor, retired Archbishop Mataca called on all clergy, religious and lay people to support through prayers and action for the new Archbishop of Suva.

A former lecturer at the Pacific Regional Seminary, Father Chong recently completed doctoral studies in the US and is expected to return to the country this week.

The Archbishop-elect received his primary school at Natovi Catholic Mission School and went on to St John's College, Cawaci, Levuka, for his secondary education.

He entered the Pacific Regional Seminary in 1984.

He was ordained a priest on January 11, 1992, by retired Archbishop Mataca at Natovi Catholic Mission, Tailevu.

After his ordination, he served pastorally in the parishes of Lautoka, Vatukoula and Solevu before being sent for further studies to the Jesuit School of Theology at the Santa Clara University in California, US.

Last September, he attained his doctorate in Theology Magna Cum Laude. It is planned that he will be elevated to archbishop on 8th June 2013.

POPE TO FRATERNAL DELEGATES: YOUR PRESENCE IS A TANGIBLE SIGN OF COOPERATION FOR COMMON GOOD OF HUMANITY

Vatican City, 20 March 2013 (VIS) – Early this afternoon in the Clementine Hall of the Vatican Apostolic Palace, Pope Francis received fraternal delegates, that is, representative envoys of Churches, Ecclesial Communities, and international ecumenical organizations, as well as representatives of non-Christian Religions, who have come to Rome for the inauguration of his ministry as Bishop of Rome and successor of the Apostle Peter.

On behalf of those present, the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, Bartholomew I, greeted the Pope, recalling the “elevated, serious, and difficult task” that his ministry bears with it. He also reiterated the need for the Churches to shun worldly distractions and to work on the unity between Christians.

Francis, who listened to the words of the Patriarch seated on an armchair rather than the throne that is customarily used in the Clementine Hall, thanked Bartholomew I, calling him “my brother Andrew”, since the patriarchs of Constantinople are considered the successors of the Apostle Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter. He then said that, thanks to the presence at yesterday's Mass of representatives of the various communities, he felt “in an even stronger way, the prayer for unity among the believers in Christ and [glimpsed] prefigured in some way, its full realization, which depends on God's plan and our sincere cooperation.”

“I begin my apostolic ministry,” he continued, “in this year that my venerated predecessor, Pope Benedict XVI, with a truly inspired intuition, proclaimed the Year of Faith for the Catholic Church. With this initiative, which I wish to continue and which I hope serves as a stimulus for each of us in our journey of faith, he wanted to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Second Vatican Council, proposing a type of pilgrimage to what is essential for every Christian: a personal and transforming relationship with Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who died and rose again for our salvation. The heart of the Council's message lies precisely in the desire to proclaim this ever-valid treasure of the faith to the persons of our time.”

Francis then recalled the image and words of Pope John XXIII at the opening of the Council: “The Catholic Church considers it her duty to actively work so as to bring about the great mystery of that unity for which Jesus Christ prayed so ardently to His Father in heaven on the eve of his sacrifice.” He continued saying: “Yes, dear brothers and sisters in Christ, we all feel intimately joined in our Saviour's prayer at the Last Supper, to his call: 'ut unum sint'. Let us call on our merciful Father that we may fully live that faith that we received as a gift on the day of our Baptism and to be able to witness to it freely, joyfully, and courageously. This will be the best way we can serve the cause of unity among Christians, a service of hope for a world that is still marked by divisions, differences, and rivalries.”

“For my part, I wish to assure you, following in the path of my predecessors, of my firm will to continue on the path of ecumenical dialogue ... I ask you to take my cordial greetings and assurance of my remembrance in the Lord Jesus to the Churches and Christian Communities that you represent here. I also ask of you the kindness of a special prayer for myself, so that I might be a Pastor in harmony with Christ's heart.”

Then, addressing the representatives of the Jewish communities, he emphasized “the very special spiritual bond” that they have with Christians. Quoting the Vatican II declaration Nostra Aetate, he said: “'The Church of Christ acknowledges that ... the beginnings of her faith and her election are found already among the Patriarchs, Moses and the prophets.' … I am confident that, with the help of the Almighty, we can profitably continue that fraternal dialogue that the Council hoped for and that has been carried out, bearing not few fruits, especially over the last few decades.”

The Pope then greeted those belonging to other religious traditions, first of all the Muslims who “adore the one, living, and merciful God and who call upon Him in prayer.” Then, addressing all those gathered, he said: “I really appreciate your presence. In it I see a tangible sign of the desire to grow in mutual respect and cooperation for the common good of humanity.”

“The Catholic Church is aware of the importance of the promotion of friendship and respect between men and women of different religious traditions. I want to repeat this: the promotion of friendship and respect between men and women of different religious traditions.”.. The Church “is also aware of the responsibility that we all bear to this our world, to all of creation, which we should love and protect. And we can do much for the good of the poorest, of the weak and suffering, to promote justice and reconciliation, to build peace. But, above all, we must keep alive the thirst for the Absolute in the world, not allowing a one-dimensional vision of the human person, in which humanity is reduced to that which it produces and consumes, to prevail. This is one of the most dangerous pitfalls of our times.”

“We know how, in recent times, violence has produced an attempt to eliminate God and the divine from the horizon of humanity, and we feel the value of witnessing in our societies to the original openness to the transcendent that is inscribed in the human heart. In this, we also feel close to all men and women who, although not claiming to belong to any religious tradition, still feel themselves to be in search of truth, goodness, and beauty, God's Truth, Goodness, and Beauty, and who are our precious allies in the effort to defend human dignity, in building a peaceful coexistence between peoples, and in carefully protecting creation.”

FRANCIS SENDS WELL WISHES TO BENEDICT XVI FOR HIS SAINT'S DAY

Vatican City, 20 March 2013 (VIS) – Yesterday afternoon, Pope Francis made a phone call to Pope emeritus Benedict XVI to express his well wishes on the Pope emeritus' saint's day—St. Joseph. Again he also declared his, and the Church's, gratitude for the Pope emeritus' service. It was a long and cordial call. The Pope emeritus has attentively followed the events of recent days, in particular the Mass of inauguration of the new pontiff's Petrine ministry, and he assured his successor of his continued closeness in prayer.

BEGINNING OF PONTIFICATE. POPE FRANCIS: “DON'T BE AFRAID OF TENDERNESS”

Vatican City, 19 March 2013 (VIS) – To protect with tenderness. That is the call to each of us. It is the new Pope's message. Perhaps it will be the directive of his government. Clear, simple, deep, compelling. Spoken in Italian and lasting no more than twenty minutes. The crowd gathered in St. Peter's Square remained attentive throughout the celebration, which lasted just under the two hours that had been planned.

“This is a punctual Pope. Even a bit ahead of schedule. At least that's how it was today,” said a German pilgrim, advanced in age, who had been waiting for hours in front of a giant screen set up in Via della Conciliazione, the street that runs in front of the Vatican. He had been watching as, little by little, thousands more gathered in the square. He was right. The Pope's Jeep appeared in St. Peter's Square around 8:50am. Standing up in the back, Pope Francis in his white cassock, his mozzetta, his black shoes, and his pectoral cross (the one he has had since being appointed bishop) smiled as he greeted and blessed those he passed. People began to run to him with their flags, their children, their friends, their sick... And then Francis picked up a baby in his arms and, to everyone's astonishment, got down from the car. What was going on? He had seen a handicapped man and wanted to embrace and bless him.

This is the new Pope: the Argentine, the first Pope from the Americas, the first Francis, leader of the Catholic Church who was presented to the world today and who, in the few days since his election, has excited so many. People already know him as the “close” Pope, the “simple” Pope, the Pope who “is like a father”, who greets the crowds with a “good afternoon” and says goodbye with an “enjoy your lunch”. He is the Pope who, first thing this morning, made a phone call to his native land where his countrymen and women had gathered in Buenos Aires' Plaza de Mayo. Surprising everyone with the call, live over the phone, he left them with a message: “Do not be afraid.” They were the same words spoken by one of his predecessors in 1978, the Polish Pope Karol Wojtyla, Blessed John Paul II.

This is the first time that Pope Francis has taken the Popemobile through the square and the people wanted to see him better, closer... The new Pope moved through them and then went back around again in what was, perhaps, the longest trip that a Roman pontiff has ever made around the square. He travelled over the ground that, twenty-one centuries earlier, had been occupied by the Circus of Nero. The ground where modern investigators have confirmed the tradition of the site of St. Peter's martyrdom: Peter the fisherman, the first Pope of the Catholic Church, whose remains are still conserved in the same place. Of that ancient vista perhaps the only thing that remains is the great obelisk, brought to Rome from Heliopolis by order of the emperor Caligula. It is the same obelisk that hundreds of workers have been toiling around all night to prepare for the historic event.

Today, twenty-one centuries later, there are other witnesses and the spectacle is different but the protagonist is again a “common man”. Jorge Mario Bergoglio, S.J., Argentine, 76 years-old, a chemical technician. His followers may number over 1,165,714,000: the number of Catholics in the world, which is, approximately, one out of every six. In the “bleachers” this time are men and women who have come from over 132 countries around the world. They have come “because they wanted to”, as the Holy See emphasized: “There were no 'invitations' sent out. All who wish to come are warmly welcomed. It must be made clear that no one has privileged status or will be refused.” And so they have come: six sovereigns, three crown princes, 31 heads of state, 11 heads of government... more than 250 Catholic bishops and 1200 priests and seminarians... But those numbers do not count the men, women, youth, elderly, those of every type, faith, language, culture, class, status, and opinion who also came.

On the terrace of the Charlemagne Wing (the left-hand side colonnade of the square, if you are facing the Basilica) were positioned the cameras of some of the nearly 6000 journalists covering the event. Some of them saw the dawn; others were even there at 4:00am. For many of them, this will be their final event to cover after following developments day-by-day, including the almost-daily press conferences held by Fr. Federico Lombardi, director of the Holy See Press Office, who yesterday was presented with a plaque and press pass by the Italian Agency for the Associated Press as a thank you on behalf of all the journalists.

But the ceremony begins. Within the Basilica, the Holy Father Francis venerates St. Peter at his tomb. At this important moment he chose to be accompanied by the ten Patriarchs and Major Archbishops of the Eastern Rite Catholic Churches who were in attendance. Why? Perhaps to demonstrate the universality of the Catholic Church with its two rites, Oriental and Latin, that are equal in essence and dignity. From the Confession, the tomb of St. Peter, the Pope reascended to the main floor of the Basilica, following the Book of the Gospels, the papal pallium, and the new Fisherman’s Ring.

Outside in the square, ecclesiastics who are not concelebrating have been seated to the left of the altar (always if you are facing the Basilica) and, to the right, political and civil authorities. Beauty is present in the splendour of the chants intoned by the Sistine Chapel Choir and the Pontifical Institute of Sacred Music. The first Gregorian chant is the “Laudes Regiae” (Christ is King). At the Offertory during the Mass a motet composed by Pierluigi da Palestrina precisely for the Inauguration of the Pontificate will be sung: “Tu es pastor ovium” (You Are the Shepherd of the Sheep). At the conclusion of the Mass will come the “Te Deum” with verses alternating between Gregorian chant and a melody by Tomas Luis de Victoria.

There are three important moments of the ceremony inaugurating the new pontiff's Petrine ministry before the Mass begins. The first is the imposition of the pallium made from lamb's wool. Cardinal proto-deacon Jean-Louis Tauran, the one who made the “habemus Papam” announcement from the Basilica’s loggia last Wednesday, today will place the pallium on the Holy Father's shoulders. It represents the “lost, sick, or weak sheep which the shepherd places on his shoulders and carries to the waters of life”.

Then the Dean of the College of Cardinals, Cardinal Angelo Sodano, will bestow the Fisherman's Ring on Francis. It bears the image of Peter holding the keys and is made of gold-plated silver. It was designed by the Italian artist Enrico Manfrini for Pope Paul VI but was never cast in metal. Its wax cast was conserved by Paul VI's personal secretary Archbishop Pasquale Macchi and, on his death, by Archbishop Macchi's colleague Msgr. Ettore Malnati who had it cast and proposed it, through Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, as one of the choices for the new Roman Pontiff.

Thirdly, six cardinals, two from each of the Orders, will make a symbolic act of obedience on behalf of all the other cardinals. This act of obedience was already made, by the Cardinal electors at the end of the Conclave and by the rest of the College of Cardinals when they met with him the next day. The people of God will be represented in the act of obedience made by the faithful who are present when the Pope takes possession of the Cathedral of Rome—St. John Lateran—in the next few days.

Now the Mass begins. It is the Mass for the Solemnity of St. Joseph, Patron of the Universal Church. Concelebrating are all the cardinals present in Rome, joined by six Patriarchs and Major Eastern Rite Archbishops; the Secretary of the College of Cardinals; Fr. Jose Rodriguez Carballo, O.F.M., superior general of the Order of Friars Minor; and Fr. Adolfo Nicolas Pachon, S.J., superior general of the Society of Jesus. In total they will be around 180 concelebrating with Pope Francis.

The Gospel, the culminating moment of the Liturgy of the Word is proclaimed in Greek, in deference to the Eastern Rite. Afterwards, Pope Francis gives his homily in Italian. The square is silent and the Holy Father is calm. “It seems like he has always been Pope,” someone remarks as soon as they hear his first words. The text was given to journalists beforehand with the warning, “Be attentive! This Pope loves to improvise!” But in this moment he stuck with the prepared text.

The Pope speaks of St. Joseph, the example he gives us, of his vocation, his fidelity, his availability, of how he knew how to listen to God, of how he was attentive to everything going on around him. This is the preamble of his homily, then he arrives at its heart, connecting St. Joseph's vocation to that of us all, each of us, and to the Pope's own vocation as well. He concludes with a resounding entreaty: our responsibility to protect with tenderness, to not destroy what we have received. From creation to ourselves and those around us, and especially the poorest. “We must not be afraid of goodness or even tenderness!” Pope Francis exhorted. We are all called “so that the star of hope will shine brightly. Let us protect with love all that God has given us!” So ended the homily of the new Bishop of Rome, the homily of the Mass inaugurating his pontificate.

In the square a young man says of the quiet: “We were silent but a seething volcano is within us.” He was one of the many young Italians who have come with their children, some of which are just babies. Beside him is a group from Lebanon who remember John Paul II and Benedict XVI's trips to their land. “Francis will come too. We're sure of it!”

At the end, after the Mass, the Pope went to pray before the statue of the Virgin that stood next to the altar. Then, amidst the crowd's cries of “Francesco, Francesco, Francesco”, the Gregorian chant, and the thundering bells of St. Peter's, the new Holy Father returned to the Basilica. After removing his liturgical vestments, he went to the Altar of Confession, standing in front of which he received the greetings of the diplomatic representatives of the 132 countries and various organizations that had attended the Mass.

In the next few days, Pope Francis will have to figure out how to answer the millions of email messages that have already been received, despite the fact that he still doesn't have an official address.