"Every time I read the Sacred Scripture, in the passages that speak about Our   
   Lady, three verbs come to my attention. I would like to pause and look at   
   these, with the intention of inviting the pastors and faithful of Cuba to put   
   them into practice.   
    "The first is to rejoice. It was the first word that the Angel Gabriel   
   addressed to the Virgin: "Rejoice, full of grace, the Lord is with you". The   
   life of those who have discovered Jesus is full of an inner joy so great that   
   nothing and no-one can take it away. Christ gives his people the necessary   
   strength not to be sad or overwhelmed, thinking that their problems have no   
   solution. Supported by this truth, the Christian has no doubt that what is   
   done with love engenders a serene joy, the sister of the hope that breaks down   
   the barrier of fear and opens the doors to a promising future. ... How good it   
   would be if all Cubans, especially the young, could say: "I am a man of   
   charity"; I live truly to love, and not to be trapped in the vicious circle of   
   an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. What joy there is in loving   
   authentically, in our daily actions, and not with plentiful but empty words   
   that amount to nothing".   
    "The second verb is to rise. St. Luke says that, with Jesus in her womb, Mary   
   rose and promptly went to help her kinswoman Elizabeth, who in her old age was   
   about to become a mother. She fulfilled God's will, making herself available   
   to anyone in need. She did not think of herself, but instead overcame setbacks   
   and gave herself to others. Victory belongs to those who rise again and again,   
   without giving up. If we imitate Mary, we cannot do so while sitting down,   
   merely complaining, or even at times passing the buck to others rather than   
   facing our own responsibilities. ... Mary was always with her people,   
   especially the least among them. She knew loneliness, poverty and exile, and   
   learned how to create fraternity and to make her home any place where goodness   
   grew. We implore her to give us a poor soul without pride, a pure heart that   
   sees God in the faces of the disadvantaged, and unwavering patience that does   
   not give up when faced with the difficulties of life".   
    "The third verb is to persevere. Mary, who had experienced God's goodness,   
   proclaimed the greatness He had worked in her. ... For this reason, she stood   
   by her Son, when everyone else had abandoned Him; she prayed without fail   
   alongside the apostles and other disciples, lest they lose their mind. ...We   
   too are called upon to continued in the love of God and to continue loving our   
   neighbours. In this world, in which eternal values are discarded and   
   everything is subject to change, in which a throwaway mentality triumphs, and   
   in which there is fear of lifelong commitments, the Virgin encourages us to be   
   men and women constantly engaged in good work, who maintain their word, who   
   are always faithful".   
    "Be joyful and share this with those around you. Lift your heart and do not   
   succumb to adversity, stay on the path of good, tirelessly helping those who   
   are oppressed by sorrows and troubles. These are the important lessons Our   
   Lady of Charity of El Cobre teaches us, and which are useful to us now and in   
   the future".   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
    THE POPE TO THE BISHOPS OF CAMEROON: EVANGELISATION IS CLOSELY LINKED TO   
   HUMAN DEVELOPMENT   
    Vatican City, 6 September 2014 (VIS) - Today Pope Francis received the   
   prelates of the National Episcopal Conference of Cameroon at the end of their   
   five-yearly "ad limina" visit. At the end of the audience the Pope expressed   
   his encouragement and confidence in the bishops, whose visit to Rome   
   underlined the spirit of communion with the Apostolic See, and handed them his   
   written discourse, in which he writes that "for the Gospel to profoundly touch   
   and convert hearts, we must remember that only our unity and love make it   
   possible to bear witness authentically and effectively". "You must keep unity   
   and diversity closely linked in order to accommodate the human and spiritual   
   wealth of your dioceses, that is expressed in many ways".   
    Pope Francis mentioned the good collaboration between the Church, the State   
   and society in Cameroon, as shown recently by the signing of a framework   
   agreement between the Holy See and the Republic of Cameroon, and invited the   
   prelates to put this agreement in practice, "so that legal recognition of many   
   ecclesial institutions will enable them to exercise greater influence, to the   
   benefit not only of the Church but also of the whole of society in Cameroon".   
   In this context, he also referred to the considerable commitment on the part   
   of the local churches in social work, especially in the fields of education,   
   health and charity, that is recognised and appreciated by the civil   
   authorities and must be the fulcrum of "a fruitful collaboration between the   
   State and the Church, with full respect for her freedom. Commitment to social   
   work is an integral part of evangelisation, as there is an intimate link   
   between evangelisation and human development, which must be expressed and   
   developed in all evangelising work".   
    The action of evangelisation will be more effective when the Gospel "is truly   
   lived by those who have received and profess it. This is how we find the way   
   of drawing to Christ those who do not yet know Him, demonstrating the power of   
   His love that is able to transform and illuminate human life". Given the   
   significant presence of Muslims in some dioceses, the Pope encouraged the   
   bishops to "develop a dialogue of life with them, in the spirit of mutual   
   trust", which is now "essential to maintain a climate of peaceful co-existence   
   and to discourage the development of the violence that Christians are victims   
   of in certain regions of the African continent".   
    He continues, "Families, equally, must continue to be the focus of your   
   particular care, especially today as they experience grave hardships -   
   poverty, the displacement of peoples, lack of security, the temptation to   
   return to ancestral practices incompatible with the Christian faith, or even   
   new lifestyles promised by a secularised world".   
    It is also essential that the clergy "offer witness to a life inhabited by   
   the Lord, coherent with the demands and the principles of the Gospel", he   
   writes, inviting the prelates to be fathers attentive to their priests, so   
   that they are helped to avoid the temptations of power, honours and money. "In   
   relation to this latter point, the negative example that may be given by poor   
   management of goods, personal enrichment or wastefulness will be particularly   
   scandalous in a region where many people lack basic necessities". Similarly,   
   "the unity of the clergy is an indispensable element in the witness to the   
   risen Christ ... and which depends upon unity among bishops, who are often   
   faced with the same challenges and called upon to offer common and joint   
   solutions, as well as the unity of the 'presbyterium' that the Lord calls on   
   us to build every day, setting aside all forms of prejudice, especially on the   
   basis of ethnicity".   
    The Pontiff finally offers encouragement to consecrated persons, whose life   
   is "always a prophetic witness and model in matters of reconciliation, justice   
   and peace" and concludes by urging the prelates of Cameroon not to fear   
   difficulties and to continue to proclaim the Good News with a renewed   
   missionary spirit "to all those who still await it or are most in need".   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
    28 SEPTEMBER: DAY OF PRAYER FOR THE SYNOD ON THE FAMILY   
    Vatican City, 6 September 2014 (VIS) - According to a communique issued by   
   the Secretariat for the Synod of Bishops, Sunday 28 September will be   
   dedicated to prayer for the Third General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, to   
   take place from 5 to 19 October on the theme "Pastoral challenges to the   
   family in the context of evangelisation".   
    The particular Churches, parish communities, Institutes of consecrated life,   
   associations and movements are invited to pray during Eucharistic celebrations   
   and other liturgical occasions in the days preceding and during the work of   
   the Synod.   
    In Rome, there will be prayers every day in the Chapel of Salus Populii   
   Romani in the Basilica of St. Mary Major. The faithful, especially families,   
   may include this intention in their personal prayers, and are recommended to   
   pray the Rosary for the work of the Synod.   
    The Secretariat of the Synod will shortly publish a leaflet in various   
   languages with the prayer of the Holy Family for the Synod, composed by Pope   
   Francis and with other suggested intentions for the prayers of the faithful.   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
    CARDINAL ORTEGA Y ALAMINO, POPE'S SPECIAL ENVOY TO THE ANNIVERSARY OF THE   
   "MOTHER CHURCH OF NORTH AMERICA"   
    Vatican City, 6 September 2014 (VIS) - A letter was published today, written   
   in Latin and dated 25 July 2014, by which the Holy Father appoints Cardinal   
   Jaime Lucas Ortega y Alamino, archbishop of Havana, Cuba, as his special envoy   
   to the celebration of the 350th anniversary of the foundation of the parish of   
   Notre Dame-de-Quebec, Canada, the "mother Church of North America", scheduled   
   to take place on 15 September.   
    The members of the mission accompanying the Cardinal will be Msgr. Denis   
   Belanger, parish priest of Notre Dame-de-Quebec and rector of the   
   Basilica-Cathedral of the same name, and Rev. Pierre Gingras, parish priest of   
   St. John the Baptist and St. Dominic in Quebec City.   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
    AUDIENCES   
    Vatican City, 8 September 2014 (VIS) - Today the Holy Father received in   
   audience:   
    - Annette Schavan, new ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany to the   
   Holy See, presenting her letters of credence.   
    - Cardinal Gottfried Danneels, archbishop emeritus of Mechelen-Brussel,   
   Belgium.   
    - Rev. Fr. Jose Ornelas Carvalho, superior general of the priests of the   
   Sacred Heart of Jesus (Dehonians).   
    - Professor Matteo Truffelli, national president of Italian Catholic Action.   
    - Kenan Gursoy, ambassador of Turkey to the Holy See, on his farewell visit.   
    On Saturday, 6 September, the Holy Father received in audience:   
    - Cardinal Marc Ouellet, P.S.S., prefect of the Congregation for Bishops.   
    - Tamar Grdzelidze, new ambassador of Georgia to the Holy See, presenting her   
   letters of credence.   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
    OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS   
    Vatican City, 8 September 2014 (VIS) - The Holy Father has accepted the   
   resignation from the pastoral care of the archdiocese of Armagh, Ireland,   
   presented by Cardinal Sean Baptist Brady, upon reaching the age limit. He is   
   succeeded by Archbishop Eamon Martin, formerly coadjutor of the same diocese.   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
   For more information and to search for documents refer to the site:   
   www.visnews.org and www.vatican.va   
      
   Copyright (VIS):  the news contained in the services of the Vatican   
   Information Service may be reproduced wholly or partially by quoting   
   the source:  V. I. S. - Vatican Information Service.   
   http://www.vatican.va/news_services/press/vis/vis_en.html   
      
   --- MPost/386 v1.21   
    * Origin: Sursum Corda! BBS=Huntsville AL=bbs.sursum-corda.com (1:396/45)