prison; and behold, an angel of the Lord appeared, and a light shone in the   
   cell; and he struck Peter on the side ... And the chains fell off his hands'.   
    Let us think about how many times the Lord has heard our prayer and sent us an   
   angel? An angel who unexpectedly comes to pull us out of a difficult situation?   
   Who comes to snatch us from the hands of death and from the evil one; who   
   points   
   out the wrong path; who rekindles in us the flame of hope; who gives us tender   
   comfort; who consoles our broken hearts; who awakens us from our slumber to the   
   world; or who simply tells us, 'You are not alone'.   
    How many angels he places on our path, and yet when we are overwhelmed by   
   fear,   
   unbelief or even euphoria, we leave them outside the door, just as happened to   
   Peter when he knocked on the door of the house and the 'maid named Rhoda came   
   to   
   answer. Recognising Peter's voice, in her joy she did not open the door'.   
    No Christian community can go forward without being supported by persistent   
   prayer! Prayer is the encounter with God, with God who never lets us down; with   
   God who is faithful to his word; with God who does not abandon his children.   
   Jesus asked himself: 'And will not God vindicate his elect, who cry to him day   
   and night?'. In prayer, believers express their faith and their trust, and God   
   reveals his closeness, also by giving us the angels, his messengers.   
    A call to faith: in the second reading Saint Paul writes to Timothy: 'But the   
   Lord stood by me and gave me strength to proclaim the word fully ... So I was   
   rescued from the lion's mouth. The Lord will rescue me from every evil and save   
   me for his heavenly Kingdom'. God does not take his children out of the world   
   or   
   away from evil but he does grant them strength to prevail. Only the one who   
   believes can truly say: 'The Lord is my shepherd, there is nothing I shall   
   want'.   
    How many forces in the course of history have tried, and still do, to destroy   
   the Church, from without as well as within, but they themselves are destroyed   
   and the Church remains alive and fruitful! She remains inexplicably solid, so   
   that, as Saint Paul says, she may acclaim: 'To him be glory for ever and ever'.   
    Everything passes, only God remains. Indeed, kingdoms, peoples, cultures,   
   nations, ideologies, powers have passed, but the Church, founded on Christ,   
   notwithstanding the many storms and our many sins, remains ever faithful to the   
   deposit of faith shown in service; for the Church does not belong to Popes,   
   bishops, priests, nor the lay faithful; the Church in every moment belongs   
   solely to Christ. Only the one who lives in Christ promotes and defends the   
   Church by holiness of life, after the example of Peter and Paul.   
    In the name of Christ, believers have raised the dead; they have healed the   
   sick; they have loved their persecutors; they have shown how there is no power   
   capable of defeating the one who has the power of faith!   
    A call to witness: Peter and Paul, like all the Apostles of Christ who in   
   their   
   earthly life sowed the seeds of the Church by their blood, drank the Lord's   
   cup,   
   and became friends of God.   
    Paul writes in a moving way to Timothy: 'My son, I am already on the point of   
   being sacrificed; the time of my departure has come. I have fought the good   
   fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. From now on there is   
   laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge,   
   will award to me on that Day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved   
   his appearing'.   
    A Church or a Christian who does not give witness is sterile; like a dead   
   person who thinks they are alive; like a dried up tree that produces no fruit;   
   an empty well that offers no water! The Church has overcome evil thanks to the   
   courageous, concrete and humble witness of her children. She has conquered evil   
   thanks to proclaiming with conviction: 'You are the Christ, the Son of the   
   living God'.   
    Dear Archbishops who today receive the Pallium, it is a sign which represents   
   the sheep that the shepherd carries on his shoulders as Christ the Good   
   Shepherd   
   does, and it is therefore a symbol of your pastoral mission. The Pallium is 'a   
   liturgical sign of communion that unites the See of Peter and his Successor to   
   the Metropolitans, and through them to the other Bishops of the world'.   
    Today, by these Pallia, I wish to entrust you with this call to prayer, to   
   faith and to witness. The Church wants you to be men of prayer, masters of   
   prayer; that you may teach the people entrusted to your care that liberation   
   from all forms of imprisonment is uniquely God's work and the fruit of prayer;   
   that God sends his angel at the opportune time in order to save us from the   
   many   
   forms of slavery and countless chains of worldliness. For those most in need,   
   may you also be angels and messengers of charity!   
    The Church desires you to be men of faith, masters of faith, who can teach the   
   faithful to not be frightened of the many Herods who inflict on them   
   persecution   
   with every kind of cross. No Herod is able to banish the light of hope, of   
   faith, or of charity in the one who believes in Christ!   
    The Church wants you to be men of witness. St. Francis used to tell his   
   brothers: 'Preach the Gospel always, and if necessary, use words!'. There is no   
   witness without a coherent lifestyle! Today there is no great need for masters,   
   but for courageous witnesses, who are convinced and convincing; witnesses who   
   are not ashamed of the Name of Christ and of His Cross; not before the roaring   
   lions, nor before the powers of this world. And this follows the example of   
   Peter and Paul and so many other witnesses along the course of the Church's   
   history, witnesses who, yet belonging to different Christian confessions, have   
   contributed to demonstrating and bringing growth to the one Body of Christ. I   
   am   
   pleased to emphasise this, and am always pleased to do so, in the presence of   
   the Delegation of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, sent by my   
   beloved brother Bartholomew I.   
    This is not so straightforward: because the most effective and authentic   
   witness is one that does not contradict, by behaviour and lifestyle, what is   
   preached with the word and taught to others.   
    Teach prayer by praying, announce the faith by believing; offer witness by   
   living!"   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
    Angelus: the legacy of Sts Peter and Paul is a source of pride for Rome   
    Vatican City, 29 June 2015 (VIS) - At midday, after celebrating Holy Mass with   
   the new metropolitan archbishops in the Vatican Basilica, the Pope appeared at   
   the window of his study to pray the Angelus with the faithful gathered in St.   
   Peter's Square.   
    "The solemnity of the Saints Peter and Paul is celebrated, as you know, by the   
   universal Church, but it is lived with particular joy by the Church of Rome, as   
   her foundations lie in their witness, sealed with blood. Rome nurtures a   
   special   
   affection and acknowledgement for these men of God, who came from a faraway and   
   to announce, at the expense of their lives, the Gospel of Christ to Whom they   
   were totally dedicated. The glorious legacy of these two apostles is a reason   
   for spiritual pride for Rome and, at the same time, is a reminder to live   
   Christian virtues and in particular faith and charity: faith in Jesus the   
   Messiah and Son of God, that Peter professed first and Paul announced to the   
   people; and charity, which this Church is called upon to serve with a universal   
   outlook".   
    "In the Angelus prayer", he explained, "we associate the memory of Saints   
   Peter   
   and Paul with that of Mary, the living image of the Church, Christ's spouse,   
   whom the two Apostles made fruitful with their blood". Peter personally knew   
   Mary and, conversing with her, especially in the days preceding Pentecost, he   
   was able to deepen his knowledge of the mystery of Christ. Paul, in announcing   
   the fulfilment of the salvific plan 'in the fullness of time', does not neglect   
   to mention the 'woman' to whom the Son of God was born in time. In the   
   evangelisation of the two apostles here in Rome there are also the roots of the   
   Romans' deep, centuries-long devotion to the Holy Virgin, invoked in particular   
   as Salus Populi Romani. Mary, Peter and Paul: they are our travelling   
   companions   
   in our search for God, they are our guides on the path of faith and holiness;   
   they drive us towards Jesus, to do all that He asks of us. Let us invoke their   
   help, so that our heart may always be open to the suggestions of the Holy   
   Spirit   
   and encounter with our brothers".   
    Francis asked all those present to pray in a special way for Rome, for its   
   spiritual and material well-being, and that divine grace might support the   
   Roman   
   people to live Christian faith fully. After the Marian prayer he reminded those   
   present of his upcoming apostolic trip to Ecuador, Bolivia and Paraguay from 5   
   to 12 July, and again asked the faithful to accompany him in prayer to Our Lady   
   during the trip.   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
    Angelus: faith is touching Jesus and receiving the grace that saves us   
    Vatican City, 28 June 2015 (VIS) - The resurrection of Christ that acts   
   throughout history as the source of renewal and hope was the theme of the   
   Pope's   
   reflection during this Sunday's Angelus, in which which he commented on the two   
   readings of the day's liturgy, the awakening after death of the daughter of one   
   of the heads of the synagogue, and the healing of the bleeding woman.   
    In the first passage, Jesus is called by the father of the dead child, says   
   "Do   
   not fear, only believe" and, entering the house, he orders her to rise. The   
   child awakens and begins to walk. "Here we see Jesus' absolute power over   
   physical death, that for Him is like a slumber from which one can reawaken".   
    In the second reading, Jesus heals a woman who has suffered bleeding for two   
   years, an illness that in the cultural context of the time would have rendered   
   her "impure" and obliged her to avoid all human contact, "as if she were   
   condemned to a civil death", the Pope explained. "This anonymous woman, in the   
   midst of the crowd following Jesus, says to herself, 'If I touch even his   
   garments, I will be made well'. And so it was: the need to be freed drives her   
   to boldness and her faith 'seizes', as it were, the cure. Those who believe   
   touch Jesus and draw from Him the Grace that saves. It saves our spiritual life   
   and it saves us from many problems".   
    "These two episodes - healing and resurrection - have a sole centre: faith.   
   The   
   message is clear, and can be summarised in a question: do we believe that Jesus   
   can heal us and reawaken us from death? All the Gospel is written in the light   
   of this faith: Jesus is resurrected, he conquers death, and by this, his   
   victory, we too will rise again. ... Christ's Resurrection acts in history as a   
   source of renewal and hope. Whoever is desperate and tired, unto death, if he   
   trusts in Jesus and His love, may begin to live again. Also starting out on a   
   new life, changing one's life, is a way of rising again, of resuscitating.   
   Faith   
   is a force of life that gives fullness to our humanity; and he or she who   
   believes in Christ must recognise this so that it may promote life in every   
   situation, and enable everyone, especially the weakest, to experience God's   
   love   
   that liberates and saves".   
    "Let us ask the Lord, by the intercession of Our Lady, for the gift of strong   
   and courageous faith, that drives us to spread hope and life among our   
   brethren", concluded the bishop of Rome.   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
    The Pope's telegrams for the terrorist attacks in France, Tunisia and Kuwait   
    Vatican City, 28 June 2015 (VIS) - Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin   
   has sent telegrams on behalf of the Holy Father to the representatives of the   
   Holy See in France, Tunisia and Kuwait following the terrorist attacks on 26   
   June in Saint-Quentin Fallavier, Sousse and Kuwait City.   
    The Pope writes to the apostolic nuncio in France that he participates in   
   prayer in the suffering of the family of the victim of the attack in   
   Saint-Quentin Fallavier, and with the wounded and their relatives. He repeats   
   his condemnation of "violence that gives rise to so much suffering", invokes   
   the   
   Lord's gift of peace, and blesses the afflicted families and all the French   
   people.   
    In his telegram to the apostolic nuncio in Tunisia, Francis expresses his   
   heartfelt condolences to the Tunisian people and in particular to the families   
   of the deceased following the attack in Sousse. Again condemning violence, he   
   asks God to welcome the souls of the departed in His light, and blesses the   
   injured, their loved ones and all Tunisian citizens.   
    In his third telegram, the Holy Father declares his sadness at the tragic loss   
   of life and injuries caused by the attack on a mosque in Kuwait City, and   
   offers   
   his prayers for the victims and for all those who mourn. Deploring these acts   
   of   
   barbarism, he reaffirms his spiritual closeness to all the families affected   
   and   
   to the Kuwaiti people, encouraging them not to lose heart in the face of evil,   
   and invokes upon the nation the consoling and healing love of the Almighty.   
      
      
   --- MPost/386 v1.21   
    * Origin: Sursum Corda! BBS=Huntsville AL=bbs.sursum-corda.com (1:396/45)