miniZibaldone

From the homily Never give in to “failure”. It is the “perfect terrain for the devil to sow his seeds” and leads to live like professional mourners, amid complaints and dissatisfactions . “The spirit of fatigue takes away our hope...tiredness is selective: it always causes us to see the negative in the moment we are living, and forget the good things we have received”. It also happens to us “When we feel desolated and cannot bear the journey, we seek refuge either in idols or in complaint... (…) This spirit of fatigue leads us Christians to be dissatisfied (…) and everything goes wrong… Jesus himself taught us this when he said we are like children playing games when we are overcome by this spirit of dissatisfaction.”. . . We must reverse the course, especially in this time that is preparing for Easter: “Brothers and sisters, we only remember this phrase: “The people of God could not bear the journey “, Francis concludes. “Christians do not bear hope. Christians do not endure...

[T]oday I would like to reflect with you on the enemies of hope, because hope has its enemies, as every good in this world has its enemies. See why it’s important to guard one’s heart, opposing temptations to unhappiness, which certainly don’t come from God. We can repeat that simple prayer, of which we also find traces in the Gospels and which has become the foundation of so many Christian spiritual traditions: “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the living God, have mercy on me a sinner!” – a beautiful prayer. “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the living God, have mercy on me a sinner!” It’s not true that “so long as there is life there is hope,” as is usually said. If anything, it’s the contrary: it’s hope that keeps life upright, that protects it, guards it and makes it grow. If men had not cultivated hope, if they were not supported by this virtue, they would never have comes out of the caves, and would have left no trace in the history of the world. It’s the most divine that can ex...

Patience in our work, in our sufferings...The Kingdom of God grows and what must we do? Guard it. Grow through hope and guard that hope. Because we have been saved through hope. From the audience The Kingdom of God is not a ‘show’ religion: one that is always seeking new things, revelations, messages … God spoke through Jesus Christ: this is the last Word of God. The other one is like fireworks that lit you up for a moment and then what is left behind?  Nothing. There is no growth, there is no light, there’s nothing: just an instant. And we have been tempted many times by this entertainment religion of seeking things that are extraneous to the revelation, to the meekness of the Kingdom of God that is among us and which grows. For this is not about hope, this is about the desire to have something in our hands. Our salvation comes from hope, the hope of a man who sows the seed or the woman who makes the bread, mixing yeast and flour: a hope that grows. Instead, this artificial...

In fact, sometimes our exhaustion is caused by having put our trust in things that are not essential, because we have distanced ourselves from what is really valuable in life. The Lord teaches us not to be afraid to follow Him, because the hope we place in Him will not be disappointed. From the audience Jesus projects to His disciples a path of knowledge and of imitation. Jesus is not a teacher who imposes on others with severity burdens that He does not carry: this was the accusation He made to the Doctors of the Law. He addresses the humble and little ones, the poor and the needy because He Himself made Himself little and humble. He understands the poor and the suffering because He Himself is poor and tried by sorrows. Jesus did not follow an easy way to save humanity; on the contrary, his path was painful and difficult. As the Letter to the Philippians reminds: “He humbled Himself and became obedient unto death, even death on a cross” (2:8). The yoke that the poor and the oppr...

A sign of hope, and this sign is called fraternity, because, in fact, in this world at war, we need fraternity, closeness, dialogue and friendship. And this is a  sign of hope: when there is fraternity. From the audience So, in this great Jubilee meeting, the young people of the world received the message of Mercy, to take it everywhere in spiritual and corporal works of mercy. I  thank all the young people that came to Krakow! And I thank those that joined us from all parts of the earth! — as in many countries small Youth Days were held in  connection with Krakow’s. May the gift you received become a daily answer to the Lord’s call....  And today Poland reminds the whole of Europe that the Continent cannot have a future without its founding values, which in turn have the Christian vision of man at  the center. Among these values is mercy, of which two great children of the Polish land were special apostles: Saint Faustina Kowalska and Saint John Paul II.....

In the library: http://bookslibrarycebu.blogspot.com/2016/03/books-sorted-health-and-medicine-library-Nagle-Sacks-Groopman-Whitehouse-Alzheimers-Hematology-neurology-cancer-Cooke-Folkman-Spiro-Mercer-pediatrics.html Vincent Nagle's slim book had and still has such a wide impact on me. It was reading it during my mother's illness and death that helped me "cope" as they say—but for me,  to face,  simply—the reality of a limit that is paradoxically crying for the unlimited. An interview excerpt: What does working with them mean for you? These patients continually remind you of our limitations. Technological medicine cannot accept this limitation, and always seeks to overcome it, but isn’t able to do so. Maybe it can nudge it a bit, but you get to a certain point and you can go no farther. Medicine can’t ignore these patients. It can’t propose death by dehydration as a solution to the problem they pose. It would be absolutely inhuman, and the next step would be r...

The dynamic unity in Christian life, the signs of which are living memory, the prophetic spirit, and the sure horizon of hope. From the homily The leaders of the people, in particular, are interested in erecting a wall of laws, a “closed juridical system”, and nothing else: “Memory is no concern: as for prophecy, it were better that no prophets come; and hope? But everyone will see it. This is the system through which they legitimate: the lawyers, theologians who always go the way of casuistry and do not allow the freedom of the Holy Spirit; they do not recognize God’s gift, the gift of the Spirit; and they cage the Spirit, because they do not allow prophecy in hope.” ...  “Do I have the memory of the wonders that the Lord has wrought in my life? Can I remember the gifts of the Lord? I am able to open my heart to the prophets, i.e. to him, who says to me, ‘this isn’t working, you have to go beyond: go ahead, take a risk’? This is what prophets do: am I open to that, or am I a...

Holiness is a journey; holiness cannot be bought.  It can’t be sold. It cannot be given away. Holiness is a journey to God's presence that I must make: no one else can do it in my name. I can pray for someone to be holy, but he’s the one who has to work towards [holiness], not me. Walk in God's presence, in an impeccable way. From the homily "Jesus’ Kingdom of Heaven," the Pope stressed, is for "those who have the courage to go forward" and courage, he observed, is generated by "hope," the second element of the journey that leads to holiness. The kind of courage that hopes "in an encounter with Jesus."  The third element of this journey towards holiness, the Pope observed, appears in Peter’s words: "Put all your hope in that grace:”  "We cannot achieve holiness on our own,” affirmed Pope Francis.  “No, it is a grace. Being good, being saintly, going every day a little 'a step forward in the Christian life is a grace of ...

No Christian can exist without joy. Christians live in joy and amazement because of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. From the homily "A Christian is a man, or a woman, of joy: a man and a woman with joy in their heart. There is no Christian without joy!”  You may be told that there are many such Christians, the Pope warned, but  “they are not Christians! They say they are, but they are not! They are missing something.” “The Christian identity card is joy, the Gospel’s joy, the joy of having been chosen by Jesus, saved by Jesus, regenerated by Jesus; the joy of that hope that Jesus is waiting for us, the joy that - even with the crosses and sufferings we bear in this life - is expressed in another way, which is peace in the certainty that Jesus accompanies us, is with us. " "The Christian,” he added,   “grows in joy through trusting in God. God always remembers his covenant." And in turn, "the Christian knows that God remembers him, that God loves him , ...

We need the mercy, the consolation that comes from the Lord. All of us need it. This is our poverty but also our grandeur: to plead for the consolation of God, who  in his tenderness comes to wipe the tears from our eyes. From the meditation At times of sadness, suffering and sickness, amid the anguish of persecution and grief, everyone looks for a word of consolation. We sense a powerful need for  someone to be close and feel compassion for us. We experience what it means to be disoriented, confused, more heartsick than we ever thought possible. We look around  us with uncertainty, trying to see if we can find someone who really understands our pain. Our mind is full of questions but answers do not come. Reason by itself is  not capable of making sense of our deepest feelings, appreciating the grief we experience and providing the answers we are looking for. At times like these, more  than ever do we need the reasons of the heart , which alone can help us ...

A Christian does not anesthetize pain. From the homily “This is (the impact of) what joy and hope together can have on our lives, when we are facing tribulations, when we have problems, when we are suffering.  It is not an anesthesia.  Pain is pain but if lived through with joy and hope it will open the door for you to the joy of a new being. This image of the Lord should give us great hope amidst our difficulties: difficulties that often are awful, horrible difficulties that can even make us doubt our faith… But with joy and hope we journey forward because after this tempest  a new man arrives, just like with a woman giving birth. And Jesus tells us that this is a lasting joy and hope that will not go away.” “A joy without hope is just enjoyment, a temporary happiness.  A hope without joy is not hope and doesn’t extend beyond a healthy optimism. Joy and hope always journey together and both of them create this explosion that the Church in her liturgy almost cr...

May the Virgin Mary give us the certainty of faith that suffered every step of our journey, illuminated by the light of Easter, will become a blessing and joy for us and for others, especially for those who suffer because of selfishness and indifference. From the Regina Caeli "Life - he said - has conquered death. Mercy and love won over sin! There is need for faith and hope to open this wonderful new horizon. Let us be pervaded by emotions that resonate in the Easter sequence: "Yes, we are certain: Christ is truly Risen". This truth indelibly marked the lives of the apostles after the Resurrection, who again felt the need to follow their Master and received the Holy Spirit, fearlessly going out to proclaim to everyone what they had seen with their own eyes and personally experienced". "In this Jubilee Year - he continued - we are called to rediscover and to welcome the comforting announcement of the resurrection with particular intensity: "Christ...

Announce the Easter message, to awaken and resurrect hope in hearts burdened by sadness, in those who struggle to find meaning in life. This is so necessary today. However, we must not proclaim ourselves. Rather, as joyful servants of hope, we must announce the Risen One . From the Easter Vigil homily Peter was looking for Jesus, not himself. He preferred the path of encounter and trust. And so, he got up, just as he was, and ran towards the tomb from where he would return “amazed” (v. 12). This marked the beginning of Peter’s resurrection, the resurrection of his heart. [...]  We, like Peter and the women, cannot discover life by being sad, bereft of hope. Let us not stay imprisoned within ourselves, but let us break open our sealed tombs to the Lord so that he may enter and grant us life. Let us give him the stones of our rancour and the boulders of our past, those heavy burdens of our weaknesses and falls. Christ wants to come and take us by the hand to bring us out of...

Philippine Star  "A borderless war" As of yesterday, 14 people had died in the airport attack and 20 in the Metro train.  The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria has claimed responsibility for the worst terrorist attack in the city that hosts the headquarters of the European Union.  The attack is just the latest warning about the borderless war that ISIS is waging, if not directly then through adherents inspired by its gospel of hate.  In the Philippines, security officials have downplayed reports of local extremists pledging to support ISIS. The group is said to be trying to gain a solid foothold in the Philippines. This shouldn’t prove too hard, considering that the country is already home to several of Southeast Asia’s extremist troublemakers: the Abu Sayyaf, Jemaah Islamiyah, Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters and other rogue elements of the separatist Moro Islamic Liberation Front, and a faction of the Moro National Liberation Front.   [full text] Manila Bu...

And that which unites my Christian life to our Christian life, from one moment to another, in order to always go forward — sinners, but going forward — is hope. From the homily When there is no human hope, there is that hope that carries us forward, humble, simple—but it gives a joy, at times a great joy, at times only of peace, but the  security that hope does not disappoint: hope doesn’t disappoint. This “thread of hope” begins with Abraham, who spoke with God, and ends with Jesus. Pope Francis dwelt on the characteristics of this hope. If, in fact, one can say  that he has faith and charity, it is more difficult to speak about hope:  We are able to say this [about faith and charity] easily, but when we are asked, ‘Do you have hope? Do you have the joy of hope?’ ‘But, father, I don’t understand,   can you explain?’ Hope, that humble virtue, that virtue which flows under the water of life, but that bears us up so we don’t drown in so many difficulties, so ...

On this journey you may perhaps not be able to have the latest car model at the door, you will not have pockets filled with money, but you will have something that no one can take away from you, which is the experience of being loved, embraced and accompanied.   From an address You have asked me for a word of hope, and the one word I have to give you, which is the foundation of everything, is Jesus Christ. When everything seems too much,  when it seems that the world is crashing down on you, embrace his Cross, draw close to him and please, never let go of his hand, even if they are dragging you; and,  if you should fall, allow him to lift you up. Mountain climbers have a lovely song which I like to repeat to young people. As they go up the mountain they sing: “In  the art of climbing upwards, the triumph is not in not falling but rather in not staying down on the ground”. This is the art, and, who is the only one who can take  you by the hand so that you a...

From the homily The only way to humility is through humiliation. David’s destiny, which is holiness, comes through humiliation. The destiny of that holiness which God gives to his children, gives to the Church, comes through the humiliation of his Son, who allows himself to be insulted, who allows himself to be placed on the cross - unjustly ... And this Son of God who humbles himself, this is the way of holiness. And David, through his behavior,  prophesizes  this humiliation of Jesus. Let us ask the Lord for the grace of humility for each of us, for the whole Church - but also for the grace to understand that humility cannot be achieved without humiliation.   [full text] From an address to consecrated people Prophecy is to tell people that there is a way of happiness, of grandeur, a way that fills one with joy, which is precisely the way of Jesus. It is the way of being  close to Jesus. It is a gift; prophecy is a charism and it must be asked of the Holy Sp...

From the homily God is greater than our sins[...]  Hope is a Christian virtue that is a great gift from God and that allows us see beyond problems, pain, difficulties, beyond our sins. It allows us to see the beauty of God. Human calculations close hearts and shut out freedom, whilst hope gives us levity. [link]

Faith is a church, a cathedral rooted in the soil         of France . Charity is a hospital, a refuge taking in all the           wretchednesses of the world. But without Hope all of this would be but a               cemetery. Little hope walks between her two bigger sisters [faith and charity] and is not even noticed.  Since she is almost invisible, the ‘little’ sister seems to be led by her two bigger sisters’ hand, but with her childlike heart, she sees what the other sisters do not. And with her fresh, innocent joy, she brings along faith and love on Easter morning. It is she, the little one, who sets along everything.

Evolution's End by Joseph Chilton Pearce   Stephen Langton by Maurice Powicke   Benjamin Franklin: Way to Wealth edited by Walter Isaacson   The Man Who Changed the Way We Eat by Thomas McNamee   Power of Hope: Doctor's Perspective by Howard Spiro