In an address before and after reciting the Angelus prayer on the feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Pope Francis said: “Our lives, seen in the light Mary’s Assumption into Heaven, is not a wandering without meaning, but a pilgrimage that, with all its uncertainties and sufferings, has a sure destination: the house of Our Father.
“The Gospel also shows us the true reason for Mary’s greatness and blessedness: the reason is faith. In fact, Elizabeth greets her with these words: ‘Blessed are you who believed that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled’ (Lk. 1,45). Faith is the heart of the whole history of Mary; She is the believer, the great believer; she knows – and says – that the violence of the mighty, the pride of the rich, the hubris of the arrogant weighs down in history.
“Still, Mary believes and proclaims that God does not abandon His humble and poor children, but helps them with mercy, with care, overthrowing the mighty from their thrones, scattering the proud from the plots in their hearts. This is the faith of Our Mother, Mary.”
Growing interest in Pope’s visit to UN
In an interview on Vatican Radio, Archbishop Bernardito Auza, Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the UN, said the encyclical Laudato Si’ was very well received in the UN. He added that this positive reaction brought with it great interest and expectations for the Pope’s planned visit to the UN next month.
Auza said there was particular interest in what the Pope wrote about a more integral economy. He also stressed that “an economy more attentive to the poor, more attentive to the ecology, is precisely the spirit the UN wants to put at the centre of the agenda on sustainable development until 2030”. The encyclical will also influence the Paris Conference in November-December, he added.
Church charity brings hope in Ukraine
The Soviet Union is long gone, but its dark legacy persists in Ukraine, a leading Church official charged. According to a report penned by Eva-Maria Kolmann of Aid to the Church in Need, Cardinal Lubomyr Husar, the 82-year-old former head of Ukraine’s Greek Catholic Church, is concerned that many people, generally the old, are still influenced by the Soviet mentality, particularly in politics and the economy.
He added that on the other hand, the model adopted in Western Europe has many good points but is not an ideal model due to its belief in moral liberalism.
Poverty is on the increase because of the fighting in the east of the country, and consequently a growing number of people are dependent on Church-run soup kitchens, clothing banks or other forms of practical assistance. As a result, the first encounter of many people with the Church is through its charitable works.
Campaign to destroy crosses in China
Cardinal John Tong of Hong Kong described the Chinese government campaign to destroy crosses as unlawful and appealed for it to stop.
Tong said the crosses were built after permits were requested and received. The cardinal noted, too, that in some cases, clergy and lay people have been arrested for attempting to save the crosses from destruction. He urged Catholics to fast and pray for their brethren in Zhejiang.
Last year, Xia Baolong, secretary of the Communist Party in the Zhejiang province, complained that “too many crosses” were cluttering the skyline. Since then, over 1,000 crosses have been pulled down.
(Compiled by Fr Joe Borg)