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St. Mary Magdalene, pray for us! (July 22nd)
Posted on 07/22/2024 13:00 PM (St. Anthony Church)
Pope warns against falling victim to hectic 'dictatorship of doing'
Posted on 07/22/2024 08:30 AM (USCCB News Releases)
VATICAN NEWS (CNS) -- In order to be compassionate and respond best to the needs of others, it is necessary to take time out to relax and not be anxious about getting things done, Pope Francis said.
It is also a "social injustice" when working parents hardly see their children because of long hours away from home, he said, before praying the Angelus in St. Peter's Square July 21. "In families, fathers and mothers should have time to share with their children, to let love grow within their family and in order not to fall into the dictatorship of doing."
The pope reflected on the day's Gospel reading from St. Mark (6:30-34) about Jesus telling the apostles to rest after their return from their mission of preaching and healing. However, when Jesus saw the vast crowd that had gathered, "his heart was moved with pity for them, for they were like sheep without a shepherd; and he began to teach them many things," the verse says.
The pope said, "On the one hand, there is an invitation to rest, and on the other, Jesus' compassion for the crowd." Resting and being compassionate "may seem like two incompatible things, while they actually go together."
"Only if we learn how to rest can we have compassion. Indeed, it is only possible to have a compassionate gaze, which knows how to respond to the needs of others, if our heart is not consumed by the anxiety of doing, if we know how to stop and how to receive the grace of God, in the silence of adoration," he said.
There is a danger that "can threaten us when, for instance, our enthusiasm in carrying out our mission or our work, as well as the roles and tasks entrusted to us, make us fall victim to a kind of activism which is overly concerned with things to do and with results, and this is a bad thing," he said.
"It then happens that we become agitated and lose sight of what is essential. We risk exhausting our energies and falling into bodily and spiritual fatigue," the pope said.
A person's life, society in general and even the church in its pastoral work may often be "held prisoner by haste," he said. "Brothers and sisters, let us beware of the dictatorship of doing!"
This can also happen out of necessity in families, he added, when one or both parents have to earn a living and sacrifice time that could have been spent with the family, for example, having to leave before the kids are awake and getting home after they are asleep.
"This is a social injustice," he said. "Let us think about what we can do to help people who are forced to live in this way."
Pope Francis encouraged Catholics to ask themselves: "Am I able to stop during my day? Am I capable of taking a moment to be with myself and with the Lord, or am I always in a hurry, in a constant hurry for things to do?"
He asked the faithful to find an "inner" place of rest even in the midst of a busy day and to be compassionate towards others.
Chaldean bishops insist on two-state solution in Holy Land
Posted on 07/22/2024 07:59 AM ()
Wrapping up their annual Synod in Baghdad, the Iraqi bishops express their deep concern over the impact of the war in Gaza on the entire region, and reaffirm two-state solution as the only way for a lasting peace.
Knowing when to step down
Posted on 07/22/2024 07:35 AM ()
In "L’Osservatore Romano", the deputy director of Vatican media, Alessandro Gisotti, writes on Joe Biden and the value of saying farewell. The decision by the American president recalls the decision made by Nelson Mandela in 1999 when he chose not to run for a second term as South Africa’s president.
Sudanese civilians subjected to horrendous levels of violence
Posted on 07/22/2024 07:07 AM ()
Fifteen months of ferocious civil war in Sudan has killed over 150,000 people and forced more than nine million to flee their homes and their lands.
UN: Child casualties in West Bank have risen by 250% since October
Posted on 07/22/2024 05:17 AM ()
UNICEF highlights the “horrific violence” against children in Palestine’s West Bank, where 143 have been killed since the outbreak of the war in Gaza,
Cardinal Parolin to Ukraine: 'Nothing is impossible for God'
Posted on 07/22/2024 03:54 AM ()
During his visit to Ukraine, the Holy See's Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, brings Pope Francis' message of closeness and affirms that even when we may lose hope, nothing is impossible for God.
Democratic US Presidential nominee uncertain as Biden withdraws
Posted on 07/22/2024 02:57 AM ()
US President Joe Biden withdraws his candidacy for the November elections in the United States, leaving the country's Democrats to decide who will be the party's nominee for the presidential race.
Planting Peace in Cameroon – the art exhibition at the Apostolic Nunciature
Posted on 07/22/2024 02:53 AM ()
The Apostolic Nunciature in Cameroon, Yaoundé recently opened its doors to host the photographic exhibition Planting Peace from 13 July 2024. The exhibition presents the results of a workshop held recently at the Schools of the Piarist Fathers in Cameroon. Emily Pinna is the visual story teller of the photographs on display.
Cardinal Tagle invites Catholics to share God's gifts
Posted on 07/21/2024 09:49 AM ()
The National Eucharistic Congress in the US city of Indianapolis concludes with the celebration of Mass and a homily by Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, who calls for a renewed commitment to Eucharistic and missionary conversion.