May 1 - 20, 2017
PHILIPPINE ASIAN NEWS TODAY
25
Fatima reminds us to care for
the faith of children
On
Sunday
Pope
Francis reflected on the May
13 canonization of the child
visionaries St. Francisco and
Jacinta Marto, saying that
their faithfulness, despite their
young age, reminds us to pay
special attention to children
in the ministry of the Church.
“In Fatima the Virgin
chose the innocent heart
and the simplicity of little
Francisco, Jacinta and Lucia,
as guardians of her message.
These children received it
worthily, so to be recognized
as reliable witnesses to the
apparitions, and to become
models of Christian life.”
“With the canonization
of Francisco and Jacinta,
I wanted to propose to the
whole Church their example
of adherence to Christ and
of evangelical witness, and I
also wanted to propose to the
whole Church to take care of
children,” he said May 14.
The holiness of these
children is not a consequence
of the apparitions they
received, he said, but of the
“fidelity and ardor with which
they returned the privilege
they received of being able to
see the Virgin Mary.”
“After the encounter
with the ‘beautiful lady,’
as they called her, they
frequently recited the Rosary,
they did penance and offered
sacrifices for the end of the
war and for the most needy
souls of divine mercy.”
This is what made them
saints, he said.
Pope Francis addressed
around 25,000 people in
St. Peter’s Square Sunday
afternoon before praying the
Regina Coeli.
In his greeting, he
expressed his gratefulness
to God for the opportunity to
make a pilgrimage to Fatima
May 12-13 for the centenary
of the apparitions, going “to
the feet of the Virgin Mother
as a pilgrim of hope and
peace.”
He also thanked the
bishops of Portugal, and in
particular the Bishop of Leiria-
Fátima, António Augusto dos
Santos Marto, as well as the
local authorities and everyone
who helped to organize the
visit.
“Last night I returned
from the pilgrimage to
Fatima,” he said, pausing
to add a greeting to “the
Madonna
of
Fatima!”
followed by cheers from those
present.
“In Fatima, I was
immersed in the prayer of the
holy faithful people, a prayer
that flows there for a hundred
years as a river, to beg Mary’s
maternal protection on the
whole world,” he went on.
“From
the
very
beginning, when in the
Chapel of the Apparitions
I stayed for a long time in
silence, accompanied by
the prayerful silence of all
the pilgrims, a together and
contemplative climate was
created where
the
various
moments of
prayer took
place.”
And at
the center of
all of this, he
said, was the
Risen
Lord
present in the
Eucharist.
E v e n
100
years
after the first
appearance
of Our Lady of
Fatima there
is still a great need for prayer
and penance for the grace of
conversion, Francis said. We
also need prayers “to implore
the end of so many wars that
are everywhere in the world…
and which disfigure the face
of humanity.”
“Let us be guided by
the light coming from Fatima.
The Immaculate Heart of
Mary is always our shelter, our
consolation, and the way that
leads us to Christ,” he said.
Following the prayer, the
Pope spoke with sympathy for
the people affected by wars
and conflicts in the Middle
East, both Christians and
Muslims, who suffer from
violence and discrimination.
“My
solidarity
accompanies the memory
of prayer,” he said, thanking
all those who provide
humanitarian
aid
and
encouraging “the various
communities
to
follow
the path of dialogue and
reconciliation to build a
future of respect, security
and peace.”
He also mentioned the
beatification in Dublin May 13
of Jesuit priest John Sullivan,
who lived during the 19th and
20th centuries in Ireland. He
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was devoted to the teaching
and training of young people,
the Pope said, “and was loved
and respected as a father to
the poor and the suffering.”
Pope Francis concluded
his address by mentioning
the celebration of Mother’s
Day in several countries. “Let
us remember with gratitude
and affection all moms, even
our moms in heaven, trusting
them to Mary, the mother of
Jesus,” he said, concluding
with a moment of silent prayer
for mothers. (H. Brockhaus,
CNA)
.