Pope: October, month dedicated to missions, with the power of faith and Rosary prayer
Vatican City ( AsiaNews) - "In this month of October, which is especially dedicated to the missions, we think of many missionaries, men and women, who have overcome obstacles of all kinds to proclaim the Gospel, who have really given their lives; as St. Paul says to Timothy: So do not be ashamed of your testimony to our Lord, nor of me, a prisoner for his sake; but bear your share of hardship for the gospel with the strength that comes from God" ( 2 Tim 1:8 ) " . At the Sunday Angelus , with tens of thousands of pilgrims in St Peter's Square , referring to the liturgy of the day (XVII Sunday during the year , C ) , Pope Francis recalled the tradition of dedicating the month of October to mission and of the universal Churches' solidarity with missionaries. In fact , the month of October begins with the memory of St. Therese of Lisieux , Carmelite patroness of the missions and in one of last Sundays we celebrate World Mission Day , which falls on October 20.
Knowing about the missions is
always a way to develop one's own missionary activity. Francis
himself added: " However, this affects all of us: each of us , in our daily
lives, can bear witness to Christ , by the power of God, the power of faith
."
The
Pope continued: "And how do we draw strength? From God in prayer . Prayer
is the breath of faith : in a relationship of trust , love , that cannot lack
dialogue , and prayer is the dialogue of the soul with
God. October is also the month of the Rosary , and on this first Sunday it is
traditional to recite the Supplication to our Lady of Pompeii , the Blessed
Virgin Mary of the Rosary. We unite ourselves spiritually in this act of faith
in our Mother , and receive from her hands
the crown of the Rosary: It is a school of prayer, a school of faith . "
Previously,
recalling the Gospel of the day, in which the disciples ask, " Increase
our faith! '" (Luke 17:5-6 ), the Pope said that this is also our question
in the Year of Faith : "Yes,
Lord , our faith is small , our faith is weak, fragile , but I offer it as it
is, for you to make it grow . Once again all together : Lord, increase our faith!
." And invited all
the faithful to repeat this three times.
He
adds: "And what does the Lord respond? He responds : " If you have faith the size of a
mustard seed, you would say to (this) mulberry tree, 'Be uprooted and planted
in the sea,' and it would obey you"(v. 6 ) .
The mustard seed is very small , but Jesus says that even such a small, but
real, sincere, faith, can do humanly impossible , unthinkable things. And it's
true ! We all know simple, humble , people but with a very strong faith , who
really can move mountains ! I think about the mothers and fathers who face very
hard situations or certain sick people, some even very serious, who convey
serenity to those who visit them. These people, because of their faith, do not
boast of what do,
indeed, as requested by Jesus in the Gospel , they say : " We are useless
servants . We did what we had to do" ( Luke 17:10 ) . " "
How many people among us have this strong, humble, faith that does so much good
! "
The
pontiff began his speech before the Angelus , " thanking God " for
his pilgrimage to Assisi . "Just
think - he said - it was my first time in Assisi and a great gift to make this
pilgrimage on the feast of St. Francis ."
After
the Marian prayer , Francis began by noting that " yesterday, Rolando Rivi
was beatified in Modena, a seminarian from Emilia , who was killed in 1945 at
14, out of hatred for his faith , guilty only of wearing a cassock in that
period of violence unleashed against the clergy, who raised his voice to
condemn the massacres in the name of God the immediate postwar period . But
faith in Jesus overcomes the spirit of the world ! Let us thank God for this
young martyr,
for his heroic witness of the Gospel". The Pope added: "Young people under
14 now have an example in him, he knew what was important , full of
courage."
"Together
with you all - he added immediately after - I would like to remember the people
who have lost their lives in Lampedusa last Thursday. Let us all pray in
silence for these our brothers and sisters , men, women , children. Let our
hearts cry. Let us pray in silence" . On
3 October, about a mile from the island of Lampedusa a boat carrying about 500
refugees sunk. Many of
them, perhaps 300, were trapped and drowned.
27/10/2019 12:39