Vatican City, 11 January 2014 (VIS) - This morning in the Sistine Chapel the   
   Holy Father presided at a Eucharistic celebration during which he baptised   
   thirty-three children of Vatican employees. In his homily, citing the first   
   reading, the Pope remarked that the Lord is concerned for his children, like a   
   parent, and therefore ensures they receive substantial nourishment. "God, like   
   a good father or a good mother, wishes to give good things to his children.   
   And what is this nourishment that God gives us? It is His Word".   
    The Word "enables us to grow and to be fruitful in life, like the rain and   
   the snow are good for the earth and make it fecund. Therefore you, parents and   
   godparents, grandparents, aunts and uncles, will help these children to grow   
   well if you give them the Word of God, te Gospel of Jesus. And also offer this   
   to them by example! Every day, get used to reading a passage from the Gospel,   
   a short one, and always carry a copy of the Gospel in your pocket, in your   
   bag, so you can read it. And this will be an example for your children -   
   seeing their father, mother, godparents, grandfather, grandmother, aunts and   
   uncles all reading the Word of God".   
    "You, mothers, give you children milk - and even now, if they cry with   
   hunger, feel free to feed them. Let us give thanks to the Lord for the gift of   
   milk and pray for those mothers - there are many, unfortunately - who are not   
   able to give their children food to eat. Let us pray and try to help these   
   mothers. So, what the milk does for the body, the Word of God does for the   
   spirit: the Word of God enables faith to grow. As we heard in the words of the   
   apostle John: 'Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is begotten by   
   God". Your children are baptised in this faith. Today it is your faith, dear   
   parents and godparents. It is the faith of the Church, in which these little   
   ones will receive Baptism. But tomorrow, but the grace of God, it will be   
   their faith, their personal 'yes' to Jesus Christ, who gives us the love of   
   the Father".   
    He continued, "Baptism brings us within the body of the Church, as part of   
   God's holy people. And in this body, in this journeying people, faith is   
   transmitted from generation to generation: it is the faith of the Church. It   
   is the faith of Mary, our mother, the faith of St. Joseph, of St. Peter, of   
   St. Andrew, of St. John, of the apostles and the martyrs, that has arrived   
   with us through Baptism: a chain that transmits faith".   
    "The candle of faith is passed from one hand to another", explained the Pope,   
   alluding to the Paschal candle that is lit during Baptismal rites and which   
   represents Christ, resurrected and living in our midst. You, families, take   
   from Him this light of faith to transmit to your children. You take this light   
   from the Church, the body of Christ, the people of God that journeys through   
   every time and every place. Teach your children that it is not possible to be   
   Christian outside the Church, and it is not possible to follow Christ outside   
   the Church, as the Church is our mother, and lets us grow in the love of Jesus   
   Christ".   
    Francis then turned to the final aspect to emerge from today's biblical   
   readings: that in Baptism we are consecrated in the Holy Spirit. "The word   
   'Christian' means consecrated like Jesus, in the same Spirit in which Jesus   
   was immersed in all his earthly existence. He is the 'Christ', the anointed,   
   the consecrated, and the baptised are Christians, that is, consecrated,   
   anointed. And therefore, dear parents and godparents, if you want your   
   children to become true Christians, help them to grow 'immersed' in the Holy   
   Spirit, that is, in the warmth of God's love, in the light of His Word".   
      
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    Angelus: deafness to the voice of the Holy Spirit leads to muteness in   
   evangelisation   
    Vatican City, 11 January 2014 (VIS) - The feast of the Baptism of the Lord   
   concludes the season of the Nativity and the Pope, during the Angelus at   
   midday today, commenting on the passage in the Gospel of St. Mark - when the   
   heavens open at the moment at which John the Baptist baptises Jesus in the   
   Jordan - affirmed that this event marks the end of "the time of the closed   
   heavens, which indicated the separation of God and man as a consequence of   
   sin".   
    Sin "alienates us from God and ruptures the bond between earth and heaven,   
   causing misery and failure in our lives. The open heavens indicate that God   
   has given His grace so that the earth may bear His fruit. Thus the world   
   transforms into God's dwelling amid humanity, and each one of us has the   
   opportunity to meet the Son of God, experiencing all of His love and infinite   
   mercy. We find Him truly present in the Sacraments, especially the Eucharist.   
   We are able to recognise Him in the face of our brothers, especially the poor,   
   the sick, the imprisoned, and refugees; they are the living flesh of the   
   suffering Christ and the visible image of the invisible God".   
    With the Baptism of Jesus, not only did the heavens open, but also "God   
   speaks, making his voice resound anew: 'You are my beloved Son: with you I am   
   well pleased'. ... And then the Holy Spirit descends, in the form of a dove:   
   this enables Christ, the consecrated of the Lord, to inaugurate His mission,   
   which is our salvation". The Holy Father remarked that the Holy Spirit is   
   forgotten in our prayers: "We need to ask for His help, His strength, His   
   inspiration. The Holy Spirit, that fully inspired the life and ministry of   
   Jesus, is the same Spirit that today guides Christian existence, the existence   
   of a man and a woman who say they wish to be Christians. Placing under the   
   action of the Holy Spirit our life as Christians and the mission that we have   
   all received by virtue of our Baptism means rediscovering the apostolic   
   courage necessary to overcome easy worldly comforts. ... A Christian or a   
   community that is deaf to the voice of the Holy Spirit, Who urges us to take   
   the Gospel to the outermost limits of the world and of society, also becomes a   
   mute Christian or community, unable to speak or to evangelise".   
    "Remember to pray often that the Holy Spirit might help us and give us   
   strength and inspiration, leading us forward", concluded Pope Francis who,   
   following the Angelus prayer, asked the faithful gathered in St. Peter's   
   Square, especially those from Sri Lanka and the Philippines, to pray for him   
   during his apostolic trip to these two countries, to commence tomorrow.   
      
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    Rebuilding the country means rebuilding the person: the Pope at the   
   conference on Haiti   
    Vatican City, 10 January 2014 (VIS) - This morning Pope Francis received in   
   audience the participants in the conference "The communion of the Church:   
   memory and hope for Haiti five years after the earthquake", organised by the   
   Pontifical Council "Cor Unum" and the Pontifical Commission for Latin America   
   in collaboration with the bishops of Haiti. He began by thanking those who "in   
   numerous ways came to the aid of the Haitian people following that tragedy   
   which left in its wake so much death, destruction and desperation". He   
   emphasised that, "through the help given to our brothers and sisters in Haiti,   
   we have shown that the Church is a great body, one in which the various   
   members care for one another. It is in this communion, prompted by the Holy   
   Spirit, that our charitable service finds its deepest motivation".   
    "How much has been done toward rebuilding the country in these five years!   
   Nevertheless, we cannot ignore the fact that much remains to be done. All that   
   has been done, and all that, with God's help, will yet be done, rests on three   
   solid pillars: the human person, ecclesial communion, and the local Church",   
   added the Pope, who went on to further explain these three pillars.   
    Firstly, "the person is at the centre of the Church's activity. We have just   
   celebrated Christmas, and it is precisely the Incarnation which tells us how   
   important man is to God, who wished to assume our human nature. Our first   
   concern must thus be that of helping everyone, each man and woman, to live   
   fully as persons. There can be no true rebuilding of a country without also   
   rebuilding each person in his or her totality. This means ensuring that the   
   material needs of every person in Haiti be met, and that they be able to be   
   free, to assume their responsibilities and to further their own spiritual and   
   religious lives. The human person has a transcendent dimension, and the Church   
   first of all cannot neglect this dimension, which finds its fulfilment in the   
   encounter with God. Consequently, in this phase of reconstruction,   
   humanitarian and pastoral activities are not in competition with one another,   
   but rather are complementary: each needs the other, and together they help   
   Haitians to be mature persons and Christians capable of devoting themselves to   
   the good of their brothers and sisters".   
    With regard to the second fundamental aspect, ecclesial communion, the Holy   
   Father remarked that Haiti has seen "effective cooperation between many   
   ecclesial institutions - dioceses, religious institutes, charitable   
   organisations" alongside many laypersons, all of whom have carried out   
   important charitable works. "This variety of agencies, and thus of ways of   
   offering assistance and development, is a positive factor, since it is a sign   
   of the vitality of the Church and of the generosity of so many. ... But   
   charity is even yet more authentic and more incisive when it is lived in   
   communion. Communion shows that charity is not merely about helping others,   
   but is a dimension that permeates the whole of life and breaks down all those   
   barriers of individualism which prevent us from encountering one another.   
   Charity is the inner life of the Church and is manifested in ecclesial   
   communion. Communion between bishops and with bishops, who are the first ones   
   responsible for the service of charity. Communion among the various charisms   
   and charitable institutions, since none of us works for or by themselves, but   
   rather in the name of Christ who has shown us the way of service. It would be   
   a contradiction to live charity apart from one another! I invite you therefore   
   to strengthen every possible means of working together. Ecclesial communion is   
   reflected as well in collaboration with the civil authorities and   
   international organisations, so that all may strive for authentic progress for   
   the Haitian people, in the spirit of the common good".   
    Finally, Pope Francis underlined the importance of the local Church, "because   
   it is here that the Christian experience is made tangible. The Church in Haiti   
   must become always more alive and fruitful, to witness to Christ and to make   
   its contribution to the development of the nation". In this regard, he   
   encouraged the bishops of Haiti, all the priests and those engaged in pastoral   
   work on the island to "inspire in the faithful renewed efforts in Christian   
   formation and in joyful and fruitful evangelisation. The witness of   
   evangelical charity is effective when it is sustained by a personal   
   relationship with Jesus in prayer, in listening to the word of God, and in   
   receiving the Sacraments. This is the true 'strength' of the local Church".   
    The Pope concluded by reiterating his heartfelt gratitude, and urging those   
   present to continue along their path, assuring them of his prayers and his   
   blessing.   
      
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    Meeting of the presidents of the European Episcopal Conferences   
    Vatican City, 10 January 2014 (VIS) - The presidents of the European   
   Episcopal Conferences and the superiors of the Congregation for the Doctrine   
   of the Faith will meet from 13 to 15 January in Esztergom, Hungary.   
      
   --- MPost/386 v1.21   
    * Origin: Sursum Corda! BBS=Huntsville AL=bbs.sursum-corda.com (1:396/45)