VISION AND MISSION OF POPE

Page created by Lorraine Berry
 
CONTINUE READING
VISION AND MISSION OF POPE
"Vidit ergo Iesus publicanum et quia miserando atque eligendo vidit, ait
illi: 'Sequere me'" ("Jesus saw a tax collector and, because with feelings of
compassion and choosing him he saw him, he said to him: 'Follow me.'")." --The
Venerable Bede (672-735), Homily on the Gospel of St Matthew, Latin text and Englsih
translation; the words in the middle of this phrase, "miserando et eligendo" meaning
"looking upon him with compassion and choosing him" describe the moment when Christ
called Matthew, Levi, the tax collector, to come and follow him; the words were chosen by
Pope Francis as his episcopal motto, and will remain his motto as Pope.

(Caravaggio, The Calling of St Matthew, in the Church of St Louis of the French, near the Piazza
Navona in Rome. The traditional interpretation of this painting is that Matthew is the old man.
However, it seems to some -- to an increasing number -- that the young man with his head down at the
end of the table is Matthew, whom Christ is calling to look up, stand up, and follow Him)

                                 Pope Francis, the Mystic
"The more we love God and enter into intimate contact with Him through
prayer, the more He makes Himself known and enflames our hearts with
His love." —Emeritus Pope Bedict XVI, speaking on mystical union with God
at his Wednesday General Audience on January 12, 2011
Why is Pope Francis so simple, so genuine, so evidently filled with the love
of Christ?
Part of the answer may be... because God filled him with His love.
Part of the answer may lie in what seems to have been a sort of mystical
experience which occurred to Francis on September 21, 1953, when he was
17 years old. We found out about this experience only today, in an official
Vatican press release.
One of the central claims of the Catholic faith is not only that God exists,
that He is real, but also that He can communicate with human beings, that
human beings can be "pierced" by the actual sense of the divine presence,
can experience and be aware of this real presence, can -- as the very first
verse of the old Baltimore Catechism taught -- "know" God, then "love
and serve Him."
 Today in Rome, the Vatican released a statement about the new Pope's
coat-of-arms. But hidden in the statement was something that few knew up
until now: that there was a mystical experience at the origin of this Pope's
religious life.
That this Pope, at the age of 17, while deep in prayer, was touched by God.
 That this Pope, at the age of 17, was filled with the Spirit of God, in a very
special way, and given the grace to begin a life of total commitment to God,
which has ended up bringing his to the throne of St Peter, which he will
receive in tomorrow morning's Mass of installation, March 19, 2013.
 We know that many young people pass through a period of time when they
seek with great intensity to know their place in this world -- to hear their
calling, to find their true vocation.
 And now we know that Pope Francis passed through this process of
discernment, too.
 The homily of the Venerable Bede on the calling of St Matthew "is a
tribute to the divine mercy and is reproduced in the Liturgy of the Hours
for the Feast of St Matthew,".
This homily "has a particular meaning in life and the spiritual journey of
the Pope. "On the Feast of St Matthew [September 21] in the year 1953,
the young Jorge Mario Bergoglio experienced at the age of 17 years, in a
very special way, the loving presence of God in his life. "Following a
confession, he felt his heart touched and sensed the descent of the mercy of
God, who with a look of tender love, called him to the religious life,
following the example of St Ignatius of Loyola." In these few, spare words,
we are told of an experience which transformed the life of young Jorge.
 He felt his heart "touched" and he "sensed" the "descent of the mercy of
God." He felt, "in a very special way," the "loving presence of God in his
life." He felt, we are told, as if God were gazing upon him, "with a look of
tender love." These are all the elements of a personal experience of Christ
(for Christ is God, and Christ is God's mercy).
This is the secret of Pope Francis: that he experienced personally, in a powerful way, the
goodness and mercy of God, and found the experience so powerful, that it changed his entire
life, led him to become a priest, a Jesuit, and now the Bishop of Rome and head of the
Church.

                                On the Feast of St Matthew
And it is significant that this experience occurred on the Feast of St Matthew, September 21.

In the Jewish world and society of that time - the time of Christ - no one
was more shunned than a publican, a Jew working for the Roman
authorities by collecting taxes from his own people and making a large
personal profit. Publicans were not allowed to trade, eat, or even pray
with others Jews. One day, while seated at his table of books and money,
Jesus looked at Matthew and said two words: "Follow me." Matthew rose,
leaving his pieces of silver to follow Christ. In the painting by Caravaggio
above, that is what is depicted.
Matthew's original name, Levi, in Hebrew means "Adhesion." His new
name, Matthew, meant "Gift of God."
Matthew is also mentioned in the Gospels as the host of a dinner party for
Christ and His companions to which Matthew invited his fellow tax-
collectors. The Jews were surprised to see Jesus with a publican, but Jesus
explained that he had come "not to call the just, but sinners."
St Matthew is known to us principally as the writer of one of the four
Gospels -- his Gospel is the first in the New Testament. Matthew's Gospel
is believed to have been written in Aramaic, the language that Jesus spoke,
and it was written to convince the Jews that their Messiah had come in the
person of Jesus.
 This explains, in part, why Pope Francis is so open to those who are
outside of the Church because he wishes to bring them in, as Matthew was
brought in. He does not want anything that he does to exclude them, to
keep them outside. He wants to call to them, he wants them to hear his call,
so that they, like Matthew in the painting, with his head down, almost in
despair, can look up, see Christ, and follow, beginning a new life.
 St John of the Cross, the great Spanish mystic, wrote: "Very few people
have the courage to be happy. It is difficult to tear the heart away from the
things of earth, from riches, from honours. Yet happiness is not outside us,
in these things: 'The kingdom of God is within you.' For the kingdom of
God does not consist in food and drink, but in justice, peace and joy in the
Holy Spirit."
St Ignatius Loyola, the founder of the Jesuits, was born in 1491, one of 13
children of a family of minor nobility in northern Spain. As a young man,
Ignatius was inflamed by the ideals of courtly love and knighthood and
dreamed of doing great deeds. But in 1521 Ignatius was gravely wounded
in a battle with the French. While recuperating, Ignatius Loyola
experienced a conversion.
 It was in Manresa, on the banks of the river Cardoner, that he had a vision
which is regarded as the most significant in his life. The vision was more of
an enlightenment; he later said that he learned more on that one occasion
than he did in the rest of his life. Ignatius never revealed exactly what the
vision was, but it seems to have been an encounter with God as He really is
so that all creation was seen in a new light and acquired a new meaning
and relevance, an experience that enabled Ignatius to find God in all
things. This grace, finding God in all things, is one of the central
characteristics of Biblical spirituality.
 So Pope Francis, after much prayer, also experienced something
extraordinary. For Ignatius, it was a vision; for Pope Francis, "the descent
of the mercy of God."

                  MOTTO AND EMBLEM
LO SCUDO
  Nei tratti, essenziali, il Papa Francesco ha deciso di conservare il suo stemma anteriore, scelto fin
             dalla sua consacrazione episcopale e caratterizzato da una lineare semplicità.

                                          THE SHIELD
In its essential elements, Pope Francis decided to keep his old coat-of-arms, chosen at the
time of his episcopal consecration and characterized by a linear simplicity.
Lo scudo blu è sormontato dai simboli della dignità pontificia, uguali a
quelli voluti dal predecessore Benedetto XVI (mitra collocata tra chiavi
decussate d'oro e d'argento, rilegate da un cordone rosso) . In alto,
campeggia l'emblema dell'ordine di provenienza del Papa, la Compagnia di
Gesù: un sole raggiante e fiammeggiante caricato dalle lettere, in rosso,
IHS, monogramma di Cristo. La lettera H è sormontata da una croce; in
punta, i tre chiodi in nero.
The blue shield is surmounted by the symbols of the papal dignity, the
same as those desired by his predecessor Benedict XVI (miter placed
between crossed keys of gold and silver, bound by a red cord). At the top,
stands the emblem of the order of origin of the Pope, the Society of Jesus: a
radiant and blazing sun containing the letters, in red, IHS, the monogram
of Christ. The letter H is surmounted by a cross; at the tip, the three nails
in black.
In basso, si trovano la stella e il fiore di nardo. La stella, secondo l'antica tradizione araldica,
simboleggia la Vergine Maria, madre di Cristo e della Chiesa; mentre il fiore di nardo indica
San Giuseppe, patrono della Chiesa universale. Nella tradizione iconografica ispanica,
infatti, San Giuseppe è raffigurato con un ramo di nardo in mano. Ponendo nel suo scudo
tali immagini, il Papa ha inteso esprimere la propria particolare devozione verso la Vergine
Santissima e San Giuseppe.
Below, are found the star and the flower of spikenard. The star, according
to the ancient heraldic tradition, symbolizes the Virgin Mary, Mother of
Christ and of the Church, while the flower of nard indicates St Joseph,
patron of the universal Church. In the Spanish iconographic tradition, in
fact, St Joseph is depicted holding a branch of spikenard. By placing these
images in his shield, the Pope wanted to express his particular devotion to
the Blessed Virgin and St. Joseph.
Il motto del Santo Padre Francesco è tratto dalle Omelie di San Beda il Venerabile,
sacerdote (Om. 21; CCL 122, 149-151), il quale, commentando l'episodio evangelico
della vocazione di San Matteo, scrive: "Vidit ergo Iesus publicanum et quia
miserando atque eligendo vidit, ait illi Sequere me" (Vide Gesù un pubblicano e
siccome lo guardò con sentimento di amore e lo scelse, gli disse: Seguimi).

MOTTO
The motto of the Holy Father Francis is taken from the Homilies of St
Bede the Venerable, priest (Om. 21, CCL 122, 149-151), who, commenting
on the Gospel story of the calling of St Matthew, writes: "Vidit ergo lesus
publicanum et quia miserando atque eligendo vidit, ait illi: 'Sequere me'"
("Jesus saw a tax collector and, because with feelings of compassion and choosing
him he saw him, he said to him: 'Follow me.'")
Questa omelia è un omaggio alla misericordia divina ed è riprodotta nella Liturgia delle Ore della
festa di San Matteo. Essa riveste un significato particolare nella vita e nell'itinerario spirituale del
Papa. Infatti, nella festa di San Matteo dell'anno 1953, il giovane Jorge Mario Bergoglio sperimentò,
all'età di 17 anni, in un modo del tutto particolare, la presenza amorosa di Dio nella sua vita. In
seguito ad una confessione, si sentì toccare il cuore ed avvertì la discesa della misericordia di Dio, che
con sguardo di tenero amore, lo chiamava alla vita religiosa, sull'esempio di Sant'Ignazio di Loyola.
This homily is a tribute to the divine mercy and is reproduced in the
Liturgy of the Hours for the Feast of St. Matthew. It has a particular
meaning in life and the spiritual journey of the Pope. In fact, on the Feast
of St. Matthew [September 21] in the year 1953, the young Jorge Mario
Bergoglio experienced at the age of 17 years, in a very special way, the
loving presence of God in his life. Following a confession, he felt his heart
touched and sensed the descent of the mercy of God, who with a look of
tender love, called him to the religious life, following the example of St.
Ignatius of Loyola.
 Una volta eletto Vescovo, S.E. Mons. Bergoglio, in ricordo di tale avvenimento che segnò gli inizi della
sua totale consacrazione a Dio nella Sua Chiesa, decise di scegliere, come motto e programma di vita,
l'espressione di San Beda miserando atque eligendo, che ha inteso riprodurre anche nel proprio stemma
pontificio.
 Once he was elected bishop, His Excellency Monsignor Bergoglio, in
memory of the event which marked the beginning of his total consecration
to God in His Church, decided to choose, as his motto and his program of
life, the expression of St. Bede miserando atque eligendo, which he decided
to reproduce also in his pontifical coat-of-arms.
You can also read