There seems to be an interfaith contingency present for this Mass:
The Pope reminded the Bishops that they are “servants to all,” the great and the least, always servants, always at the service of others.
“Do not forget,” he said, “that the first duty of the Bishop is prayer… the second duty, the proclamation of the Word.” Everything else follows. If a Bishop does not pray, Pope Francis said, he can do nothing.
The Pope also emphasized the importance of loving those the Lord has entrusted to their care, and especially the priests and deacons. They are the closest collaborators of the Bishop, his first “neighbour.” If the Bishop does not learn to love those closest to him, he will not be able to love everyone.
And Pope Francis called on Bishops to really look at the faithful – not obliquely, but looking them in the eye, so they can see them with the heart.
The Holy Father concluded his homily with the prayer that the Lord might accompany the new Bishops, and be close to them on the new journey that they have begun.
1 comment:
he Feast of St. Joseph
God,who is sufficient unto Himself,and needs nothing from us, makes necessary to His Divine plan our good actions in accordance with His Divine will,because out of His love for us, He desires that we have a participation and sharing in His creative power and design. No greater can this be seen than in the Son of God becoming Incarnate and submitting Himself into the care of two of His earthly creatures.
Christ, being the son of God, and therefore in no need of instruction from earthly creatures, would nonetheless "honor his father and mother" and submit His will to the instruction and guidance of of Joseph and Mary, being that it would go against His Divine nature not to obey His own laws. Does this not inform us that Joseph was a very holy man? One who was given the grace necessary so as not to ask or command Jesus to do anything which would be contrary to His Divine and Holy Will? The role which he accepted and carried out with great dignity was to be the guardian of the Son of God and the caretaker of the Mother of God. Joseph was given to understand that Mary's fiat was her assent to enter into a everlasting covenant with her Divine Spouse and so she was not to "know man". The Immaculate Virgin, having conceived by the Holy Spirit and who was therefore bound to God alone, could not enter into a spousal relationship with any other. Joseph consented to this arrangement to be the earthly guardian of Jesus and the caretaker of the Blessed Virgin. Since Joseph was the one entrusted with the role he was given, it can therefore be said that God considered he above all others to be indispensable for it. How could things have proceeded according to God's ordained plan without St Joseph? In those times a woman being with child without benefit of marriage would have been in a perilous position and the cause of great scandal. It is right and proper that Joseph, of whom no word was recorded, is recognized as one of the great saints and the patron of the Church, given that God entrusted him with the care of His Divine Son and His Son's Holy and Immaculate Mother.
If one wishes to cultivate a flower, it is necessary to have a source of light and also a seed to plant, along with something to fertilize the seed, and good soil to place it in. These are each and all necessary, but to be able to grow and flourish the flower also needs water which by it working provides what is necessary to the seed and the soil.
At the Incarnation, the Divine Sun sent down it rays upon the Blessed Virgin, who provided the seed which was then fertilized by the Holy Spirit, and she likewise provided the pristine, grace-filled soil of her virginity. One thing was still needed however, and that was water. St Joseph represents this necessary element since he provided by his labor and work, and spousal and fatherly presence, what was necessary to the Mother of God and the Christ child.
Post a Comment