VATICAN INFORMATION SERVICE   
   YEAR XXII - # 146   
   DATE 03-09-2014   
      
   Summary:   
   - MARY: MODEL OF MOTHERLY COURAGE FOR THE CHURCH   
   - TO THE FAITHFUL OF IRAQ: THE CHURCH SUFFERS BY YOUR SIDE AND IS PROUD OF YOU   
   - HOLY FATHER'S CALENDAR FOR SEPTEMBER   
   - POPE FRANCIS' ACTIVITIES IN AUGUST   
   - ACTIVITIES OF THE HOLY SEE IN AUGUST   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
    MARY: MODEL OF MOTHERLY COURAGE FOR THE CHURCH   
    Vatican City, 3 September 2014 (VIS) - "We do not become Christians by   
   ourselves, of our own will, autonomously, but rather we are generated and grow   
   in faith within the great body of the Church", said Pope Francis during this   
   morning's general audience. "The Church is truly a mother, a mother who gives   
   life in Christ and who enables us to live with all our brethren in the   
   communion of the Holy Spirit".   
    The Holy Father explained that the Church has a model for this maternity in   
   the Virgin Mary. "The maternity of the Church is in continuity with that of   
   Mary. ... The Church, in the fruitfulness of the Spirit, continues to generate   
   new sons and daughters in Christ. .. The birth of Jesus from Mary's womb is   
   indeed the prelude to the rebirth of every Christian and He is the first-born   
   of a multitude of brothers. Therefore, we are able to understand the depth of   
   the relationship between Mary and the Church; when we look to Mary, we see the   
   most beautiful and most tender face of the Church; when we look to the Church,   
   we recognise the sublime features of Mary. We Christians are not orphans".   
    He remarked that the Church is our mother as she gave birth to us in our   
   Baptism, and, "since that day, like an affectionate mother, brings us up in   
   faith and shows us, through the strength of God's Word, the path of salvation,   
   defending us from evil". The maternity of the Church is particularly evident   
   in the service of evangelisation, in which she is "committed, like a mother,   
   to offering her sons the spiritual nourishment that nurtures them and renders   
   Christian life fruitful. The path of salvation, by which the Church guides us   
   and accompanies us with the strength of the Gospel and the support of the   
   Sacraments, gives us the capacity to defend ourselves against evil, like a   
   courageous mother who protects her children from danger.   
    The Pope warned that, although God has defeated Satan, he always returns with   
   his temptations. "We must not be ingenuous", he said, "but must instead remain   
   vigilant and firm in our faith, with the counsel and the help of the mother   
   Church who ... accompanies her children in difficult moments". Similarly,   
   Francis encouraged those present to remember that we, all baptised persons,   
   are the Church, and must not be afraid to bear witness to this maternity. "Let   
   us entrust ourselves to Mary", he concluded, "so that she may teach us to have   
   the same maternal spirit towards our brethren, with a sincere capacity to   
   accept, forgive, give strength and infuse trust and hope".   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
    TO THE FAITHFUL OF IRAQ: THE CHURCH SUFFERS BY YOUR SIDE AND IS PROUD OF YOU   
    Vatican City, 3 September 2014 (VIS) - In his greetings in various languages,   
   following his catechesis during today's general audience, the Pope addressed   
   Arab-speaking pilgrims, especially those from Iraq, reminding them that the   
   Church is a mother and therefore, like all mothers, know how to accompany her   
   child when in need, to seek him out when he is lost, and to "defend the   
   defenceless and persecuted". "Today, I especially wish to assure the latter,   
   the defenceless and persecuted, of my closeness - you are in the heart of the   
   Church, the Church suffers with you and is proud of you, proud to have sons   
   and daughters like you. You are the strength and the concrete and authentic   
   example of her message of salvation, forgiveness and love. I embrace all of   
   you, all of you. May the Lord bless you and protect you always".   
    He went on to address Polish-speaking pilgrims and recalled that, during   
   these days various cities in Poland commemorate the 75th anniversary of the   
   outbreak of the Second World War. "Let us entrust to God's mercy those who   
   lost their lives for the love of their homeland and their brothers, and let us   
   invoke the gift of peace in all the nations of Europe and throughout the   
   world, by the intercession of Mary, Queen of Peace".   
    Finally, he greeted the faithful from the Italian diocese of Te   
   ni-Narni-Amelia, to whom he expressed his concerns regarding the difficult   
   situation experienced by many families in Terni due to the plans of the   
   Thyssenkrupp Corporation, and renewed his appeal that "the logic of profit may   
   not prevail, but rather that of solidarity and justice. The person and his or   
   her dignity is at the heart of every issue, including that of work. We must   
   not joke about work. Those who, for the sake of money, business and greater   
   profit, leave people without work, must be aware that this means removing   
   their dignity".   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
    HOLY FATHER'S CALENDAR FOR SEPTEMBER   
    Vatican City, 3 September 2014 (VIS) - The Office of Liturgical Celebrations   
   of the Supreme Pontiff has published the following calendar of liturgical   
   celebrations at which the Holy Father will preside during the month of   
   September:   
    Saturday, 13: Pastoral visit to the military monument of Redipuglia, Italy,   
   and Holy Mass.   
    Sunday, 14: Festivity of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross. 9 a.m., in St.   
   Peter's Basilica, Holy Mass with the rite of marriage.   
    Sunday, 21: Apostolic trip to Albania.   
    Sunday, 28: 10.30 a.m. in St. Peter's Square, Holy Mass with the elderly.   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
    POPE FRANCIS' ACTIVITIES IN AUGUST   
    Vatican City, 3 September 2014 (VIS) - The following is a list of Pope   
   Francis' activities during the month of August, including the Angelus,   
   audiences, other pontifical acts, telegrams, messages and other news. The   
   activities are presented in chronological order within the respective   
   categories.   
    ANGELUS   
    3: Francis comments on the three messages that Jesus offers with the   
   multiplication of the loaves and the fishes: compassion, sharing and the   
   Eucharist. In this Gospel reading, Christ shows us the path which will enable   
   us to face the needs of this world in a brotherly way, and which will lead us   
   beyond this world.   
    10: The Gospel tells that Jesus walks on water and, when Peter tests him, he   
   too is able to walk on water. "Jesus tells us that we are able to perform   
   miracles with our faith, faith in God, faith in His Word, faith in His voice".   
    24: Simon, in the name of the the Twelve, professes his faith in Jesus as   
   "the Christ, the Son of the living God"; Jesus calls him "blessed" for his   
   faith, recognising that this is a special gift from the Father, and says to   
   him, "you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my Church". The Pope   
   explains that "the Lord intends to construct, to imagine his community, as a   
   building. Therefore, when he hears Simon's sincere profession of faith, he   
   calls him a 'rock' and declares his intention to build His Church on this   
   faith".   
    31: Jesus, after ensuring that Peter and the other eleven disciples believe   
   in Him as the Messiah and Son of God, begins to explain that He must go to   
   Jerusalem where He will suffer greatly, will die, and will rise again on the   
   third day. "It is a critical moment in which Jesus' and the disciples' method   
   of thinking emerges".   
    WEDNESDAY GENERAL AUDIENCES   
    6: The Pope describes the Church as the new People of God, founded on the new   
   Covenant sealed with the blood of Jesus, and emphasises the importance of John   
   the Baptist as he prepares the people to receive Jesus.   
    20: First General Audience following the Holy Father's return from Korea.   
   Francis recounts to the faithful the main events of his visit - the   
   beatification of 124 martyrs and his meeting with the young, which enabled him   
   to present the Church as a family which transmits to the new generations the   
   faith received from their ancestors.   
    27: "When we recite the Creed", says the Pope, "we say that the Church is   
   'one', and 'holy', even though we know from experience that she is made up of   
   sinners and there is no lack of divisions". Francis recalls that "in a   
   Christian community, division is one of the most serious sins, as it does not   
   allow God to act".   
    MESSAGES AND TELEGRAMS   
    4: Message from the Pope to Scouts in Europe to mark the Eurojamboree, held   
   in Saint-Evroult-Notre-Dame-du-Bois in Normandy, France from 1 to 10 August   
   2014.   
    4: Telegram of condolences from the Holy Father for the death of Cardinal   
   Edward Bede Clancy, titular of Santa Maria in Vallicella, archbishop emeritus   
   of Sydney, Australia.   
    6: Message from the Holy Father to the 1st Latin-American Congress for Family   
   Pastoral, held in Panama from 4 to 9 August.   
    9: Letter from Pope Francis to his special envoy to the celebration of the   
   3rd (WACOM III), which took place in Bogota, Colombia from 15 to 19 August.   
    11: Video message from Pope Francis broadcast in Korea by the KBS on the   
   occasion of his apostolic trip to the Republic of Korea for the 6th Asian   
   Youth Day.   
    11: Telegram of condolences from the Holy Father to the victims of the air   
   crash at the international airport of Mehrabad-Teheran, Iran.   
    13: Letter from the Pope to the Secretary General of the United Nations, Ban   
   Ki-Moon, on the dramatic situation unfolding in the north of Iraq.   
    18: Letter from the Holy Father to the special envoy to the solemn   
   Eucharistic Celebration to mark the 250th anniversary of the foundation of St.   
   Louis in the U.S.A., on 24 August.   
    22: Telegram from the Pope for the death in Novi, Michigan, U.S.A. of   
   Cardinal Edmund Casimir Szoka, title of Sts. Andrew and Gregory at Monte   
   Celio, president emeritus of the Pontifical Commission for the Governorate of   
   Vatican City State.   
    23: Message from the Holy Father for the 35th edition of the Summer Festival   
   for Friendship Among Peoples, held on 24 August in Rimini, Italy, on the   
   theme: "To the ends of the world and of existence. Destiny has not left man   
   alone".   
    25: Telegram from the Pope on the occasion of the Synod of the Waldensian   
   Methodist Church, which began on 24 August in Torre Pellice, Piedmont, Italy.   
      
   --- MPost/386 v1.21   
    * Origin: Sursum Corda! BBS=Huntsville AL=bbs.sursum-corda.com (1:396/45)