"We baptised sons and daughters of the Church, all of us, are called upon to   
   always welcome newly the presence of God among us and to help others to   
   discover this presence, or to rediscover it if they have forgotten. It is a   
   beautiful mission, similar to that of John the Baptist: guiding people towards   
   Jesus - not to ourselves! - because it is towards Him that the human heart   
   tends when it seeks joy and happiness".   
    "St. Paul, in today's liturgy, indicates the conditions for being   
   missionaries of joy: pray diligently, always give thanks to God, follow His   
   Spirit, seek that which is good and avoid evil", continued the Pope. "If this   
   is our way of life, then the Good News will be able to enter into many homes   
   and to help people and families rediscover that in Jesus, there is salvation.   
   In Him it is possible to find inner peace and the strength to face each day   
   the different situations of life, even the most onerous and difficult. We   
   never hear about a sad saint or a saint with a gloomy appearance. It would be   
   contradictory. A Christian is a person whose heart is filled with peace   
   because he or she knows to place joy in the Lord even when experiencing   
   difficult moments in life. To have faith does not mean not having difficult   
   moments, but rather having the strength to face them knowing that we are not   
   alone. And this is the peace God gives to His sons and daughters".   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
    The Pope gives a prayerbook to the faithful   
    Vatican City, 14 December 2014 (VIS) - After today's Angelus prayer, Pope   
   Francis greeted all those present in St. Peter's Square - families, parish   
   groups, associations and, in particular, faithful from Poland where today the   
   Christmas candle is lit, and commitment to solidarity is reaffirmed,   
   especially in the current Polish "Year of Caritas".   
    He then addressed the children who had brought him the figures from their   
   Nativity displays to be blessed, thanking them for their presence and for the   
   joy they brought to the square, where a sign was held that read "With Jesus,   
   there is joy in our home". The Pope wished them a happy Christmas and asked   
   them to pray for him in front of their Nativity display at home, as he does   
   for them.   
    "Prayer is the breath of the soul: it is important to find moments during the   
   day to open our heart to God, even with the simple and short prayers of the   
   Christian people. Therefore, I thought of giving a gift to all of you here in   
   the square - a surprise, a gift: I will give you a little pocket-sized book   
   that gathers together a few prayers, for various moments in the day and   
   different situations in life. Some volunteers will distribute to them to you.   
   Take one each and keep it with you always, as a help to live the whole day   
   with God, and so we do not forget that beautiful message you have brought here   
   on your banner: 'With Jesus, there is joy in our home'. Once again: 'With   
   Jesus, there is joy in our home'".   
    The book offered by the Pope contains Psalms, the Magnificat, invocations of   
   Mary, the Gloria, the prayer to the Angel of the Guard, prayers to recite   
   during the day and blessings for the table, in confession and for specific   
   intentions. It is published in Italian by the Vatican Publishing House.   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
    Audience with Matteo Renzi: common concern about persistent social and   
   economic problems   
    Vatican City, 13 December 2014 (VIS) - This morning the Holy Father Francis   
   received Matteo Renzi, prime minister of the Italian Republic, on an official   
   visit. Following the papal audience, Renzi met with Cardinal Secretary of   
   State Pietro Parolin, accompanied by Archbishop Dominique Mamberti, Secretary   
   for Relations with States.   
    The discussions took place in a serene and cordial atmosphere. Attention   
   focused on, among other issues, the current context of persistent difficulties   
   of an economic and social nature, with negative consequences especially in   
   relation to youth employment. In addition, the importance of education to   
   promote the future of new generations was emphasised.   
    Various themes relating to international politics were then considered, and   
   the Parties shared their serious concerns for the gradual worsening of   
   conflicts in the Middle East.   
    With regard to the term of the Italian Presidency of the European Union, the   
   Parties affirmed the importance of the themes mentioned by the Holy Father   
   during his recent address to the European Parliament in Strasbourg. These were   
   held to be fundamental to the harmonious development of European peoples.   
    Finally, the Parties renewed their commitment to continuing their joint   
   cooperation to resolve various issues of a bilateral nature.   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
    St. Lucy, patroness of the blind and visually-impaired, teaches us the secret   
   of true happiness   
    Vatican City, 15 December 2014 (VIS) - "Your association is non-confessional;   
   however you have proposed to meet on this specific day, confirming that the   
   tradition retains a certain significance for you", said the Pope as he   
   received in audience the members of the National Council of the Italian Union   
   of the Blind and Visually-Impaired, on the feast day of St. Lucy. Francis   
   spoke about the human values the saint suggests, the first of which was   
   courage. "We all need courage in order to face the challenges of life. ... In   
   particular, the blind and visually-impaired need courage in order not to close   
   themselves up, not to assume a victim mentality, but rather to open themselves   
   to reality, to others, to society; to learn how to recognise and make good use   
   of the capabilities the Lord has given to each person, without exception".   
    Another value suggested by St. Lucy, he continued, is "the fact that she was   
   not alone, but rather was part of a community, a member of a body of which   
   Christ was the head, a stone in the edifice of which Christ was the   
   foundation. ... An association is not the sum of the individuals that   
   constitute it - it is much more. ... To form a group, to be united, to meet up   
   with one another, to share experiences and pool resources ... all this is part   
   of the civil patrimony of a group. And often people who live with   
   disadvantages or disabilities can show everyone, with their experience, that   
   we are not 'monads', we are not made to be isolated, but rather to relate to   
   one another, to complete each other, to help, accompany and support each   
   other".   
    "Finally, St. Lucy tells us the life is made to be given away. She lived this   
   in the extreme form of martyrdom, but the value of giving oneself is   
   universal: it is the secret to true happiness. Humanity cannot be fully   
   realised in having or even in doing; it is realised in loving, that is, the   
   giving of oneself. And this may be understood as the secret of the name   
   'Lucy': a person is luminous to the extent that he or she is a gift for   
   others. And every person, in reality, is a precious gift". The Pope concluded   
   by remarking that even today living according to these values can mean   
   encountering incomprehension and the struggle of at times going against the   
   grain, and that it is necessary to fight, with the example and intercession of   
   St. Lucy. He encouraged those present to confront this challenge with courage   
   and with the joy of doing so together.   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
    Francis gives thanks to the foundation of Notre Dame des Sans-Abri for its   
   work with the homeless   
    Vatican City, 13 December 2014 (VIS) - "Notre Dame des Sans-Abri (Our Lady of   
   the Homeless)! What a beautiful name! The mother of Jesus, who gives shelter   
   to her sons", said Pope Francis this morning as he received in audience the   
   Foyer de Notre Dame des Sans-Abri, the association founded in Lyon in 1952 by   
   Gabriel Rosset to assist the thousands of homeless men, women and children who   
   lived under bridges, or in unsanitary and overcrowded huts.   
    "I would like you to know how much I appreciate your commitment to the   
   poorest, to those who society turns away, those who have no roof over their   
   heads or food to eat, those who are without work and therefore without   
   dignity. Your founder listened to the cry of the poor; he was moved by the   
   suffering of others, and responded generously. This call is none other than   
   the call of the suffering Christ Himself; in the people you serve, you touch   
   their wounds and cure them; and at the same time, they offer you profound   
   teaching, since through them you encounter Jesus. The poor always evangelise   
   us, they communicate God's wisdom to us, mysteriously. Today's world urgently   
   needs this witness of divine mercy. At a time in which the human being is   
   frequently rejected as useless when no longer productive, God, on the other   
   hand, always acknowledges the dignity and nobility of his beloved son and   
   daughter, who has a privileged position in His heart. The poor are the Lord's   
   most favoured, and are at the centre of the Gospel".   
    "I thank you for this witness of mercy that you offer with many concrete   
   actions, simple and warm gestures through which you alleviate the misery   
   people suffer, giving them new hope and restoring their dignity to them. There   
   is no better way to announce to today's world the joy of the Gospel. The   
   option for the last among us, for those society rejects and casts aside, is a   
   sign that we can always give, a sign that effectively bears witness to Christ,   
   Who died and rose again".   
    Finally, Pope Francs invited the members of the foundation to remain faithful   
   to their name, recalling the Marian dimension of their work. "Mary's heart is   
   full of compassion for all people, especially for the poorest and most   
   disadvantaged, those who are most in need; and it is her maternal tenderness -   
   along with that of the Church - that is made manifest through you".   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
    The Pope prays to the Virgin of Guadalupe that the future of Latin America be   
   forged for the poor   
    Vatican City, 13 December 2014 (VIS) - Yesterday afternoon, on the liturgical   
   solemnity of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Guadalupe, patroness of Latin America,   
   the Holy Father celebrated Mass in the Vatican Basilica. The celebration was   
   accompanied by hymns from the "Misa Criolla", by the Argentine composer Ariel   
   Ramirez. Extensive extracts from the homily pronounced by the Pontiff are   
   published below:   
    "Today, with gratitude and joy, the peoples and nations of our great Latin   
   American homeland commemorate the feast of their 'patroness', Our Lady of   
   Guadalupe, whose devotion extends from Alaska to Patagonia. ... On this feast   
   of Our Lady of Guadalupe ... we sing with her the 'Magnificat', we entrust to   
   her the lives of our people and the continental mission of the Church. When   
   she appeared to St. Juan Diego in Tepeyac ... this led to a new visitation.   
   She tenderly hastened to embrace the new people of the Americas at the   
   dramatic moment they came into being: 'A great sign appeared in the sky, a   
   woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet' that assumed within   
   herself the cultural and religious symbolism of the native people, announcing   
   her Son and giving Him to the new and suffering people of mixed race. ... The   
   most perfect disciple of the Lord became the 'great missionary who brings the   
   Gospel to our America'. The Son of Mary most Holy, his Immaculate Mother,   
   reveals himself from the origins of this new peoples' history, as the 'true   
   God who gives us Life'".   
      
   --- MPost/386 v1.21   
    * Origin: Sursum Corda! BBS=Huntsville AL=bbs.sursum-corda.com (1:396/45)