April 2013 – Page 2

The Weekly Francis – 7 April 2013

This version of The Weekly Francis covers material released in the last week from 27 March 2013 – 7 April 2013 (subscribe here; get as an eBook version for your Kindle, iPod, iPad, Nook, or other eBook reader):

General Audiences

27 March 2013

Regina Caeli

1 April 2013 – Easter Monday

Papal Tweets

“Being with Jesus demands that we go out from ourselves, and from living a tired and habitual faith” @pontifex, 27 March 2013
“To experience Holy Week is to enter more and more into God’s logic of love and self-giving” @pontifex, 27 March 2013
“Support your priests with your love and prayers, that they may always be shepherds after Christ’s heart” @pontifex, 28 March 2013
“Accept the risen Jesus into your life. Even if you have been far away, take a small step towards him: he awaits you with open arms.” @pontifex, 31 March 2013
“God loves us. We must not be afraid to love him. The faith is professed with the lips and with the heart, through words and through love.” @pontifex, 4 April 2013
“How beautiful is the gaze with which Jesus regards us – how full of tenderness! Let us never lose trust in the patience and mercy of God.” @pontifex, 7 April 2013

8 things to know and share about the Annunciation

This Monday we’re going to be celebrating the solemnity of the Annunciation.

This day celebrates the appearance of the Angel Gabriel to the Virgin Mary to announce of the birth of Christ.

What’s going on and why is this day important?

Here are 8 things you need to know.

1. What does the word “Annunciation” mean?

It’s derived from the same root as the word “announce.” Gabriel is announcing the birth of Christ in advance.

“Annunciation” is simply an old-fashioned way of saying “announcement.”

Although we are most familiar with this term being applied to the announcement of Christ’s birth, it can be applied in other ways also.

For example, in his book Jesus of Nazareth 3: The Infancy Narratives, Benedict XVI has sections on both “The annunciation of the birth of John” and “The annunciation to Mary,” because John the Baptist’s birth was also announced in advance.

2. When is the Annunciation normally celebrated and why does it sometimes move?

Normally the Solemnity of the Annunciation is celebrated on March 25th.

This date is used because it is nine months before Christmas (December 25th), and it is assumed that Jesus spent the normal nine months in the womb.

However, March 25th sometimes falls during Holy Week, and the days of Holy Week have a higher liturgical rank than this solemnity (weekdays of Holy Week have rank I:2, while this solemnity has a rank of I:3; see here for the Table of Liturgical Days by their ranks).

Still, the Annunciation is an important solemnity, and so it doesn’t just vanish from the calendar. Instead, as the rubrics in the Roman Missal note:

Whenever this Solemnity occurs during Holy Week, it is transferred to the Monday after the Second Sunday of Easter.

It is thus celebrated on the first available day after Holy Week and the Octave of Easter (which ends on the Second Sunday of Easter).

3. How does this story parallel the birth of John the Baptist?

KEEP READING.

9 things you need to know about Divine Mercy Sunday

We’re almost up to Divine Mercy Sunday.

It’s a recent addition to the Church’s calendar, and it has links to both private revelation and the Bible.

Millions of people look forward to and are profoundly moved by this day.

What is it, and why is it so important to them?

Here are 9 things you need to know.

1. What is Divine Mercy Sunday?

Divine Mercy Sunday is celebrated on the Second Sunday of Easter. It is based on the private revelations of St. Faustina Kowalska, which recommended a particular devotion to the Divine Mercy.

It also has links to the Bible and the readings of this day.

To learn more about St. Faustina, you can CLICK HERE.

2. When was it made part of the Church’s calendar?

In 2000, Pope John Paul II canonized St. Faustina and, during the ceremony, he declared:

4. It is important then that we accept the whole message that comes to us from the word of God on this Second Sunday of Easter, which from now on throughout the Church will be called “Divine Mercy Sunday”.

In the various readings, the liturgy seems to indicate the path of mercy which, while re-establishing the relationship of each person with God, also creates new relations of fraternal solidarity among human beings [Homily, April 30, 2000].

3. If this is based on private revelation, why is it on the Church’s calendar?

KEEP READING.

Meet the Popes Who Thought About Resigning–But Didn’t

francis-tornielli — Long-time Vatican expert's new book contains a fascinating look at the recent popes who almost resigned but didn't. You'll be surprised how many there are!

Benedict XVI’s resignation may have been the first papal resignation in hundreds of years, but it didn’t come completely out of the blue.

He’d already indicated that he had been thinking about the subject of resignation.

What is less well known is that other recent popes had been thinking about it, too.

A lot of recent popes.

Here’s the story . . .

An Increasingly Heavy Cross

For some time, I had been aware that several recent popes, including Pius XII, Paul VI, and John Paul II had thought about resignation–or even made contingency plans for it.

But recently I was reading Andrea Tornielli’s fascinating new book Francis: Pope of a New World, and he includes a passage discussing the thoughts and plans of recent popes regarding resignation.

He reports:

The topic of resignation came to light again in the past century.

Advances in medicine have considerably extended life, and from Pius IX on, the job itself of the successor of Peter has been burdened with responsibilities and functions to the point of making it more and more difficult to carry out for a person who is not fully in possession of physical and intellectual strength.

He then lists the particular popes and what is known about their thoughts on resignation . . .

Pius XI

KEEP READING.