woman, of all humanity. He continues to invite us to rediscover the lost or   
   obscured meaning of our human path and to hope to see again the shining horizon   
   on which there shines in all its fullness the dignity of the human person.   
   Honouring Dante Alighieri, as Paul VI has already invited us to do, we are able   
   to enrich ourselves with his experience in order to cross the many dark forests   
   still scattered on our earth and to happily complete our pilgrimage in history,   
   to reach the destination dreamed of and wished for by every man: 'the love that   
   moves the sun in heaven and all the stars'".   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
    Visit to the Roman parish of Santa Maria Regina Pacis   
    Vatican City, 4 May 2015 (VIS) - Yesterday afternoon Pope Francis visited   
   another parish in his diocese - Santa Maria Regina Pacis at the Ostia Lido.   
   Before celebrating Mass, the bishop of Rome visited the community of the Little   
   Sisters of Jesus, of Charles de Foucauld, also known as the "Luna Park   
   Fraternity" since they live in caravans, and met with the elderly, the sick,   
   and   
   young scouts from the parish, as well as parents who have baptised their   
   children this year.   
    The Pope greeted the elderly, emphasising that they possess the wisdom of   
   life,   
   experience, pain and patience, as well as the memory of the people and the   
   family. He remarked that the sick "resemble Jesus: they suffer like Jesus and   
   bear the cross like Jesus", and praised the parish community for lovingly   
   caring   
   for the sick and the elderly, since "when they are not cared for by the   
   community, that community does not function; it lacks something".   
    To the scouts, he commented that "in the art of climbing, the important thing   
   is not that you do not fall, but rather that you do not stay on the ground". He   
   continued, "We all fall, we all make mistakes, even sins, all of us. But what   
   is   
   witness? It is getting up again with God's grace. ... This is what the world   
   needs   
   from you, the witness of going ever onwards; although weak, we must go ahead".   
   He also encouraged the young to transmit their faith with joy and, in difficult   
   moments when joy is obscured, to "overcome those moments with dignity, in the   
   hope that the Holy Spirit gives us strength ... and consolation ... until our   
   joy   
   returns".   
    Finally, he reminded the parents of recently baptised children that baptism is   
   not an isolated event, and invited them to walk with their children along the   
   new path of faith, staying close to the parish community.   
    In the Pope's homily, in which he commented on the Gospel reading of the vine   
   and the branches, he insisted on the importance of remaining united with   
   Christ,   
   which also means "wanting to be forgiven by Him, but also to be 'pruned', so as   
   to bear more fruit". He added, "abiding with Jesus means doing the same as He   
   did: doing good, helping others, praying to the Father, healing the sick,   
   helping the poor, having the joy of the Holy Spirit".   
    "There are also other branches, to which Jesus does not refer here, but He   
   does   
   so elsewhere; those that present themselves as Jesus' disciples, but do the   
   opposite of what a disciple does, and these branches are hypocrites. Perhaps   
   they go to Mass every Sunday, perhaps they show themselves to be saintly and   
   pious, but then they live as if they were pagans. And Jesus, in the Gospel,   
   calls them hypocrites. Jesus is good, he invites us to abide in Him. He gives   
   us   
   strength, and so if we slide into sinfulness - and we are all sinners - He   
   forgives us, because He is merciful. But He wants two things - that we abide in   
   Him and that we are not hypocrites. And this is how Christian lives go   
   onwards".   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
    Regina Coeli: true Christians who do good for society   
    Vatican City, 3 May 2015 (VIS) - The union of Jesus with those who follow Him,   
   explained through the image of the vine and the branches that Christ presents   
   to   
   the disciples at the Last Supper, was the central theme considered by the Pope   
   during this Sunday's Regina Coeli.   
    "We can all be joined to Jesus in a new way. If, on the contrary, one loses   
   this union with Him, he becomes sterile, indeed harmful to the community. And   
   to   
   express this reality, Jesus uses the image of the vine and the branches, and   
   says: 'As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine,   
   neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches'".   
   ... Through Him - like the sap in a tree - the love of God Himself, the Holy   
   Spirit, passes to the branches; through this parable Jesus enables us to   
   understand the importance of remaining united with Him. The branches are not   
   self-sufficient, but depend totally on the vine, the source of their life".   
    "The same is true for us as Christians. Grafted to Christ through Baptism, we   
   have received from Him the freely-given gift of new life; we can stay in vital   
   communion with Christ". However, the Pontiff emphasised, "it is necessary to   
   stay faithful to Baptism, and to grow in friendship with the Lord through   
   prayer, the prayer of every day, through listening and obedience to His Word -   
   read the Gospel - and participation in the Sacraments, especially the Eucharist   
   and the Sacrament of Reconciliation", as "if one is intimately joined to Jesus,   
   he or she receives the gifts of the Holy Spirit, which - as St. Paul tells us -   
   are 'love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness,   
   self-control'. As a consequence, a Christian brings great good to his neighbour   
   and to society. Indeed, from these characteristics, it is possible to recognise   
   who is a true Christian, just as we can recognise a tree from its fruits. The   
   fruits of this deep union with Jesus are wonderful. ... We receive a new way of   
   being, the life of Christ becomes our own; we can think like Him, act like Him,   
   see the world and other things through Jesus' eyes. As a consequence, we are   
   able to love our brothers, beginning with the poorest and the suffering ... and   
   thus bring into the world the fruits of goodness, charity and peace. ... Let us   
   trust in the intercession of Our Lady, so that we too may be living branches in   
   the Church and give coherent witness of our faith, consistency between life and   
   thought, life and faith - aware that we all, according to our specific   
   vocations, participate in the sole salvific mission of Christ".   
    Following the Regina Coeli the Pope mentioned that yesterday in Turin the   
   Italian Luigi Bordino was proclaimed blessed. A consecrated layman of the   
   Priestly Society of St. Joseph Benedict Cottolengo, the new blessed "devoted   
   his   
   life to the sick and those who suffer, and dedicated himself tirelessly to the   
   poorest, curing and cleansing their wounds".   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
    The Pope presides at the Mass and day of reflection dedicated to Friar   
   Junipero   
   Serra   
    Vatican City, 2 May 2015 (VIS) - Today the Pontifical North American College   
   holds a day of reflection dedicated to "Friar Junipero Serra, apostle of   
   California, witness of holiness", with the aim of spreading knowledge of the   
   life, mission and witness of holiness of this blessed who will be canonised in   
   Washington on 23 September during the Holy Father's apostolic journey to the   
   United States. The day, organised by the Pontifical Commission for Latin   
   America   
   and the Pontifical North American College, with the sponsorship of the   
   archdiocese of Los Angeles, culminated with the celebration of a Holy Mass at   
   the college at midday, at which Pope Francis officiated.   
    In his homily, the Pope emphasised three aspects of the life of the future   
   saint: his missionary impulse, his Marian devotion and his witness of holiness.   
    "First of all, he was a tireless missionary", the Pontiff affirmed. "What made   
   Friar Junipero leave his home and country, his family, university chair and   
   Franciscan community in Mallorca to go to the ends of the earth? Certainly, it   
   was the desire to proclaim the Gospel ad gentes, that heartfelt impulse which   
   seeks to share with those farthest away the gift of encountering Christ: a gift   
   that he had first received and experienced in all its truth and beauty. Like   
   Paul and Barnabas, like the disciples in Antioch and in all of Judea. ... These   
   missionary disciples who have encountered Jesus, the Son of God, who have come   
   to know him through his merciful Father, moved by the grace of the Holy Spirit,   
   went out to all the geographical, social and existential peripheries, to bear   
   witness to charity. They challenge us! Sometimes we stop and thoughtfully   
   examine their strengths and, above all, their weaknesses and their   
   shortcomings.   
   But I wonder if today we are able to respond with the same generosity and   
   courage to the call of God, who invites us to leave everything in order to   
   worship him, to follow him, to rediscover him in the face of the poor, to   
   proclaim him to those who have not known Christ and, therefore, have not   
   experienced the embrace of his mercy. Friar Junipero's witness calls upon us to   
   get involved, personally, in the mission to the whole continent, which finds   
   its   
   roots in Evangelii Gaudium".   
    Secondly, "Friar Junipero entrusted his missionary activity to the Blessed   
   Virgin Mary. We know that before leaving for California, he wanted to   
   consecrate   
   his life to Our Lady of Guadalupe and to ask her for the grace to open the   
   hearts of the colonizers and indigenous peoples, for the mission he was about   
   to   
   begin. ... Since then, Our Lady of Guadalupe has become, in fact, the   
   Patroness of   
   the whole American continent. You cannot separate her from the hearts of the   
   American people. She represents our shared roots in this land. Indeed, today's   
   mission to the continent is entrusted to her, the first, holy missionary   
   disciple, a constant presence and companion, our source of comfort and hope.   
   For   
   she always hears and protects her American children".   
    Thirdly, the Pope invited those present to contemplate the witness of holiness   
   given by Friar Junipero, "one of the founding fathers of the United States, a   
   saintly example of the Church's universality and special patron of the Hispanic   
   people of the country. In this way may all Americans rediscover their own   
   dignity, and unite themselves ever more closely to Christ and his Church". He   
   went on to cite the example of many American saints, who have distinguished   
   themselves through their various charisms: contemplatives like Rose of Lima,   
   Mariana of Quito and Teresita de los Andes; pastors who bear the scent of   
   Christ   
   and of his sheep, such as Toribio de Mogrovejo, Francois de Laval, and Rafael   
   Guizar Valencia; humble workers in the vineyard of the Lord, like Juan Diego   
   and   
   Kateri Tekakwitha; servants of the suffering and the marginalised, like Peter   
   Claver, Martin de Porres, Damian of Molokai, Alberto Hurtado and Rose   
   Philippine   
   Duchesne; founders of communities consecrated to the service of God and of the   
   poorest, like Frances Cabrini, Elizabeth Ann Seton and Katharine Drexel;   
   tireless missionaries, such as Friar Francisco Solano, José de Anchieta, Alonso   
   de Barzana, Maria Antonia de Paz y Figueroa and Jose Gabriel del Rosario   
   Brochero; martyrs like Roque Gonzalez, Miguel Pro and Oscar Arnulfo Romero, and   
   so many other saints and martyrs, whom I do not mention here, but who pray   
   before the Lord for their brothers and sisters who are still pilgrims in those   
   lands. There ha been so much holiness in America, so much holiness sown".   
    "May a powerful gust of holiness sweep through all the Americas during the   
   coming Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy!" exclaimed the Holy Father. "Confident   
   in   
   Jesus' promise, which we heard today in the Gospel, we ask God for this special   
   outpouring of the Holy Spirit. We ask the Risen Jesus, Lord of all ages, that   
   the life of our American continent may be rooted ever more deeply in the Gospel   
   it has received; that Christ may be ever more present in the lives of   
   individuals, families, peoples and nations, for the greater glory of God. We   
   pray too that this glory may be manifested in the culture of life, brotherhood,   
   solidarity, peace and justice, with a preferential and concrete love for the   
   poor, through the witness of Christians of various confessions and communities,   
   together with believers of other religious traditions, and people of upright   
   conscience and good will. Lord Jesus, we are merely your missionary disciples,   
   your humble co-workers so that your Kingdom may come!"   
    "With this heartfelt prayer", he concluded, "I ask Our Lady of Guadalupe,   
   Friar   
   Junipero and all the American saints to lead me and guide me during my   
   approaching apostolic journeys to South America and North America. I ask all of   
   you to keep this intention in your prayers, and to continue to pray for me".   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
    Francis to the faithful of Molise and Abruzzo: job creation cannot be   
   postponed   
    Vatican City, 2 May 2015 (VIS) - More than seven thousand faithful of the   
   diocese of Isernia-Venafro, which the Pope visited in July last year, were   
   received in audience in the Vatican by the Holy Father this morning. Francis   
   thanked them for the warmth and joy with which they welcomed him, without   
   neglecting to mention the serious difficulties that continue to afflict the   
   area, which he spoke about during his visit.   
    The Pontiff mentioned first of all the chronic unemployment that especially   
   affects the youngest generations, who increasingly leave the area for other   
      
   --- MPost/386 v1.21   
    * Origin: Sursum Corda! BBS=Huntsville AL=bbs.sursum-corda.com (1:396/45)