VATICAN INFORMATION SERVICE   
   YEAR XXII - # 178   
   DATE 15-10-2014   
      
   Summary:   
   - General audience: the final destination of the People of God   
   - Pope's letter for the fifth centenary of the birth of St. Teresa of Avila   
   - Other Pontifical Acts   
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    General audience: the final destination of the People of God   
    Vatican City, 2014 (VIS) - The final destination of the People of God was the   
   theme of Pope Francis' catechesis during this Wednesday's general audience.   
   The Holy Father began by recalling St. Paul's words to the Thessalonians, when   
   with anxiety they asked what would become of them - "we will be with the Lord   
   forever" - remarking that it was one of the most beautiful phrases of the   
   Sacred Scripture, and inviting those present in St. Peter's Square to repeat   
   it three times.   
    He went on to comment on how, in the Book of Revelation St. John, returning   
   to the intuition of the Prophets, describes the final and definitive dimension   
   in terms of "a new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as   
   a bride adorned for her husband". And this, then, is who the Church is: she is   
   the people of God following the Lord Jesus and who prepares herself, day by   
   day, for the encounter with Him, like a bride with her groom. And it is not   
   simply a turn of phrase: it will be a true espousal. Yes, because Christ, who   
   made Himself man like us, and making us one with Him, by His death and   
   resurrection, truly took us as His spouse. And this is none other than the   
   fulfilment of the plan of communion and love, woven by God throughout history,   
   the history of the People of God and the history of each one of us".   
    There is another element that further consoles us and opens our heart: John   
   says that in the Church, bride of Christ, the "new Jerusalem" is visible. This   
   means that the Church, aside from being a bride, is called to become a city,   
   the quintessential symbol of co-existence and human relations. How beautiful   
   it is to already be able to contemplate, according to another evocative image   
   from Revelation, all the peoples and populations gathered together in this   
   city, as if they were all under the same roof, in God's home. And in this   
   glorious setting there will be no more isolation, abuse or distinctions of any   
   type - social, ethnic or religious - but we will all be one in Christ".   
    "In the presence of this unprecedented and wonderful scene, hope cannot but   
   be strongly confirmed in our heart", he added, since "Christian hope is not   
   simply a wish, a hope; for a Christian, hope is awaiting, fervently and with   
   passion, the final and definitive fulfilment of a mystery, the mystery of   
   God's love, in which we are reborn and which we already live. And it is the   
   expectation of someone who is about to arrive: the Lord Christ who is ever   
   closer to us, day after day, and who comes to finally introduce us to the   
   fullness of His communion and His peace". Pope Francis underlined that the   
   Church therefore has "the task of keeping hope alight and clearly visible, so   
   that it may continue to shine as a sure sign of salvation and may illuminate   
   for all humanity the path that leads to the encounter with the mysterious face   
   of God".   
    Pope's letter for the fifth centenary of the birth of St. Teresa of Avila   
    Vatican City, 2014 (VIS) - The Holy Father has sent a message to Bishop Jesus   
   Garcia Burillo of Avila on the occasion of the fifth centenary of the birth of   
   St. Teresa of Avila, whose feast day is celebrated today. In his letter, Pope   
   Francis mentions the joy the saint often spoke of "in encountering the   
   suffering of work and pain", and how she affirmed that "the Gospel is not a   
   bag of lead that trails heavily behind us, but rather a source of joy that   
   leads the heart to God and urges us to serve our brethren": St. Teresa   
   emphasised the importance of cheerful perseverance and prayer. For her,   
   contemplative prayer was "a close sharing between friends; ... taking time   
   frequently to be alone with him who we know loves us".   
    The Pope remarks that this advice is "perennially valid": "In a culture of   
   the temporary", he says, "to live faithfully 'forever and ever and ever'; in a   
   world without hope, to show the fruitfulness of an enamoured heart; and in a   
   society with many idols, to give witness that 'only God is enough'". A path   
   that, the Holy Father reiterated, we cannot walk alone; we must do so together   
   and, as the Saint said, with Christ. "Teresa of Jesus recommended three   
   things: to love each other, to free each other, to free oneself of everything,   
   and to aspire to true humility".   
    "It is this Teresian realism", writes the Pope, "that demands works instead   
   of emotions, love in the place of dreams, and the realism of humble love   
   instead of eager asceticism". He concludes, "Let us hope that everyone may be   
   infused by this holy impulse to travel the roads of our own time, with the   
   Gospel in our hand and the Spirit in our heart!".   
    Other Pontifical Acts   
    Vatican City, 2014 (VIS) - The Holy Father has appointed:   
    - Bishop Antonio Fernando Brochini, C.S.S., of Jaboticabal, Brazil as bishop   
   of Itumbiara (area 21,152, population 313,000, Catholics 244,000, priests28,   
   permanent deacons 2, religious 26), Brazil.   
    - appointed Rev. Fr. Vittorio Francesco Viola, O.F.M., as bishop of Tortona   
   (area 2,350, population 281,310, Catholics 274,640, priests 175, permanent   
   deacons 20, religious 409), Italy. The bishop-elect was born in Biella, Italy   
   in 1965, gave his solemn vows in 1991, and was ordained a priest in 1993. He   
   has served in a number of roles, including definitor or the Seraphic Province   
   of Friars Minor in Umbria, custodian of the convent and the Papal Basilica of   
   Santa Maria degli Angeli alla Porziuncola, guardian of the convent at St.   
   Clare's Basilica in Assisi, head of the Liturgical Office for the region of   
   Umbria, head of the diocesan office for Education, Schools and University in   
   Assisi, and head of the diocesan Caritas. He was recently appointed as   
   custodian of the protoconvent and shrine of Porziuncola. He also teaches at   
   the St. Anselm Pontifical Athenaeum, Rome, in the Pontifical Liturgical   
   Institute, in the Theological Institute of Assisi, and the Institute of   
   Religious Sciences, Assisi. He succeeds Bishop Martino Canessa, whose   
   resignation from the pastoral care of the same diocese upon reaching the age   
   limit was accepted by the Holy Father.   
      
      
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