VATICAN INFORMATION SERVICE   
   YEAR XXII - # 038   
   DATE 23-02-2015   
      
   Summary:   
   - St. Gregory of Narek, Doctor of the Church   
   - Lent, time for spiritual battle against evil   
   - Spiritual exercises of the Pope and the Roman Curia   
   - Audience with the German Chancellor Angela Merkel   
   - The Pope again urges affiliates of organised crime to convert   
   - Audiences   
   - Other Pontifical Acts   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
    St. Gregory of Narek, Doctor of the Church   
    Vatican City, 23 February 2015 (VIS) - On Saturday, 21 February the Holy   
   Father received in audience Cardinal Angelo Amato, S.D.B., prefect of the   
   Congregation for the Causes of Saints. During the audience he confirmed the   
   proposal by the cardinals and bishops, members of the Plenary Session of the   
   Congregation, to concede the title of Doctor of the Universal Church to St.   
   Gregory of Narek, priest and monk, who was born in Andzevatsij (then Armenia,   
   present-day Turkey) in 1005 and died in Narek (then Armenia, present-day   
   Turkey) around 1005.   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
    Lent, time for spiritual battle against evil   
    Vatican City, 22 February 2015 (VIS) - Lent, the liturgical time that refers   
   to the forty days Jesus spent in the desert after his baptism in the river   
   Jordan, was the subject of the Pope's reflection before this Sunday's Angelus   
   prayer with the faithful gathered in St. Peter's Square.   
    On the first Sunday of Lent, Francis explained that during these forty days   
   of solitude in which Jesus prepared himself to announce the Gospel of the   
   Kingdom of God, he "faces Satan 'body to body', he unmasks his temptations and   
   is victorious. And in Him we all win, but it is up to us to protect this   
   victory in our daily life".   
    "The Church reminds us of this mystery at the beginning of every Lenten   
   period", he continued, "because it gives us the prospect and the meaning of   
   this time, which is a time of combat - during Lent one must fight - a time of   
   spiritual combat against the spirit of evil. And while we cross the Lenten   
   'desert', we keep our gaze fixed upon Easter, the definitive victory of Jesus   
   against the Evil One, against sin and against death. This, then, is the   
   meaning of this first Sunday of Lent: placing ourselves on the path of Christ,   
   the road that leads to life".   
    "And this, Jesus' path, passes through the desert, ... the place where both   
   the voice of God and the voice of the Tempter can be heard. Amid noise and   
   confusion; only superficial voices can be heard. Instead, in the desert we are   
   able to descend to the depths, where our destiny is truly played out, life or   
   death. And how do we hear the voice of God? We hear it in His Word. This is   
   why it is important to know the Scripture, as otherwise we do not know how to   
   respond to the deceptions of the Evil One. ... Always keep a copy of the   
   Gospel to hand. The Lenten desert helps us to say no to worldliness, to   
   'idols'; it helps us to make courageous decisions consistent with the Gospel   
   and to strengthen solidarity with our brothers".   
    "Therefore, let us enter into the desert without fear, because we are not   
   alone; we are with Jesus, with the Father and with the Holy Spirit", added the   
   Holy Father. "Lent is an auspicious time to lead us to be increasingly aware   
   of how much the Holy Spirit, received in baptism, has worked and can work in   
   us. At the end of the Lenten itinerary, on the Easter Vigil, we are able to   
   renew the baptismal alliance and the duties that derive from this with greater   
   awareness".   
    The Pope completed his reflection by entrusting to the Virgin the week of   
   Spiritual Exercises that began yesterday afternoon, and in which his   
   collaborators in the Roman Curia will also participate. He asked those present   
   to pray, "so that in this 'desert' of the Spiritual Exercises, we can hear the   
   voice of Jesus and also correct many flaws that we all have, and also to face   
   up to the temptations that assail us every day. I therefore ask you to   
   accompany us with your prayer".   
    Following the Angelus prayer, the Pope referred again to Lent, "a path of   
   conversion whose centre is the heart", and gave the faithful present in the   
   square a small booklet entitled "Custodisci il cuore", "Safeguard your heart".   
   Distributed by a group of volunteers, including various homeless persons, it   
   brings together a number of Jesus' teachings and the essential content of the   
   faith, such as for instance the seven Sacraments, the gifts of the Holy   
   Spirit, the ten commandments, the virtues, the works of mercy, and so on.   
    "As is always the case, today in the square the needy give us a great wealth:   
   the wealth of our doctrine to safeguard the heart", he remarked, referring to   
   the work of the homeless volunteers. "Take a booklet and carry it with you, to   
   help in spiritual conversion and growth, which always starts from the heart:   
   there, where the daily choices between good and evil are made, between   
   worldliness and the Gospel, between indifference and sharing. Humanity needs   
   justice, peace and love, and will obtain this only by returning wholeheartedly   
   to God, the source".   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
    Spiritual exercises of the Pope and the Roman Curia   
    Vatican City, 22 February 2015 (VIS) - At 6 p.m. today, the first Sunday of   
   Lent, at the House of the Divine Master in Ariccia, a few kilometres from   
   Rome, the Roman Curia began its Spiritual Exercises, in which the Holy Father   
   participates.   
    The meditations will be proposed by Fr. Bruno Secondin, O. Carm., and the   
   theme will be "Servants and prophets of the living God", a pastoral reading of   
   the prophet Elijah.   
    The Exercises will be concluded on the morning of Friday, 27 February.   
    During the week of the Spiritual Exercises all audiences will be suspended,   
   including the General Audience on Wednesday, 25 February.   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
    Audience with the German Chancellor Angela Merkel   
    Vatican City, 21 February 2015 (VIS) - This morning, 21 February 2015, the   
   Holy Father Francis received in Audience in the Vatican Apostolic Palace the   
   Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany, Her Excellency Angela Merkel,   
   who subsequently met with His Eminence Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro   
   Parolin, accompanied by His Excellency Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher,   
   Secretary for Relations with States.   
    During the cordial discussions, and in view of the upcoming G7 Summit to be   
   held in Bavaria, special attention was paid to various questions of an   
   International nature, with particular reference to the struggle against   
   poverty and hunger; the exploitation of human beings and the rights of women;   
   and the challenges of promoting world health and the protection of Creation.   
   The themes of human rights and religious freedom in various parts of the world   
   were also considered, emphasising the importance of spiritual values to social   
   cohesion.   
    Finally, the Parties considered the situation in Europe, underlining in   
   particular the commitment to reaching a peaceful solution to the conflict in   
   Ukraine.   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
    The Pope again urges affiliates of organised crime to convert   
    Vatican City, 21 February 2015 (VIS) - This morning in the Paul VI Hall the   
   Pope received in audience more than seven thousand people from the Italian   
   diocese of Cassano all'Jonio, in the region of Calabria, which Francis visited   
   last June, and whose church welcomes different rites and traditions that   
   express "the variety of gifts that enrich Christ's Church".   
      
   --- MPost/386 v1.21   
    * Origin: Sursum Corda! BBS=Huntsville AL=bbs.sursum-corda.com (1:396/45)