In a pastoral letter, Cardinal Vincent Nichols of Westminster wrote: “For the next six months, I ask you all to focus on one particular corporal work of mercy: caring for the sick. Caring for the sick is a daily, practical expression of the mercy we have first received from God. This means that our caring for the sick arises from our faith in God and is most fully completed when it takes its shape from that faith.”
Pope’s prayer intention for persecuted Christians
Pope Francis’ prayer intention for March is “that persecuted Christians may be supported by the prayers and material help of the whole Church”. In a monthly reflection on the papal prayer intention, the Apostleship of Prayer notes that Pope Francis has asked for special prayers for persecuted Christians during one month each year, and this year’s request falls at the start of Lent, “a good time to include fasting and almsgiving for them”.
In his April 12, 2016, homily he had said that Christians face two kinds of persecution: One is bloody. It began right after the birth of Jesus when King Herod killed babies as he sought to eliminate Christ. “From that time until today there have been martyrs in the Church – men and women persecuted simply for saying that Jesus Christ is Lord.” Persecution “is the daily bread of the Church: after all, Jesus said so.”
Warning against populism
Bishop Stephan Ackermann, president of the German bishops’ justice and peace commission, together with lay leader Thomas Sternberg, said the global common good should be the concern of all. They were writing in preparation for the September German elections.
They said “populism does not resolve the problems” adding that appeals for a homogenous, prosperous Germany are “deceptive”.
“We can only achieve and secure a good life for all, clean air, security and prosperity, if we place the common good in the first place,” they continued. Warning that “walls” and “fences” do not “achieve greater security,” they called for a greater investment in work, education, and peacekeeping forces worldwide.
Dutch bishops support EU
Auxiliary Bishop Theodorus Hoogenboom of Utrecht, who led a delegation of Dutch bishops visiting the EU’s institutions, said: “We hope our visit will strengthen the ties with all those who contribute to the future of an organised and living Europe, in which there are three main objectives: a return to the values of the founding fathers of the EU; the need to solve common problems together building on the Member States’ shared history and culture; and to work on the European peace project as being more than just a common market.”
Restoration of Christ’s tomb to be compled by Easter
The Franciscan Custody of the Holy Land has announced that the restoration work at the site of the empty tomb in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre will be finished by Easter.
Restoration work on sacred shrines where Jesus died and was buried has taken nine months. The costs in the region of €1 million euros were borne by the Franciscan Custody, the Greek Orthodox Church and the Armenian Orthodox Church. Among those who contributed to the fund one finds Jordan’s King Abdallah II and the Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
(Compiled by Fr Joe Borg)