Sunday, May 17, Pope Francis canonizes four religious sisters.
Two of them are Palestinians:
Marie-Alphonsine, founder of Palestine’s first congregation, the Sisters of the Most Holy Rosary of Jerusalem, and
Mariam of Jesus Crucified Baouardy, the founder of Carmelite Convents in Bethlehem and India.
Speaking of the two Arab Palestinian women, His Beatitude Fouad Twal, Patriarch of the Latin Patriarchate Jerusalem, said, “Now, we have two new saints who represent a model of perfection for Christians, as well as for Muslims and Jews alike. They are both named Mary, and this name is widespread and commonly used among all three traditions. It is a sign of our modern time which suggests that we can talk about the three religions without any discrimination.”
Mother Mary, Marie-Alphonsine and Mariam of Jesus Crucified, all in heaven, pray for all who live in your native, mother land.
As I walked into my retirement residence, once the papers were signed and it was really mine and really real that I would one day be living there, a prayer and a blessing came from somewhere within me: “God, please make this home healthy, happy and holy.”
The very first thing I carried into my new [healthy, happy and holy] home was a book. It is waiting for my arrival.
My hope is to be able to do a lot of reading and reflecting and praying in my upcoming days of less administration/pastor responsibilities. I will not stop being a priest, maybe even become more of a priest, in the days ahead. Perhaps it will be a time of retrieving something of being a priest that has been set aside or neglected as the years have been spent. That is my hope.
The book that I have carried to my new, future residence is one that Pope Francis has said was very significant book for him. It will be the first book that I will read in my new home, come July 1.
May the mercy of God rest me. Hmmm. As I just typed that, it stopped me. I wondered if it was a mistake. But I leave it. There may be more in those words than I realize.
The First Sunday of Advent is always the Sunday nearest the Feast of St. Andrew, November 30.
Since today is November 30, and since today is a Sunday, this is as close as the First Sunday of Advent every gets to the Feast of St. Andrew.
For Catholics throughout the world today is also the beginning of the Year of Consecrated Life. And for us at St. Andrew it our patronal feast day.
Here is what I said after the Gospel at this morning’s 8 o’clock Mass in Milford:
Here is the text and the music of the song we sang at the end of Mass – and which we will sing on every Sunday during Advent and often during this year of consecrated life:
This is the official soundtrack of the song:
You gotta love this smile and that scarf:
Don’t miss the words of Francis at the bottom of the picture.
The inter-religious soccer match is played in Rome’s Olympic Stadium today, gathering greats from around the world, featuring Muslim, Christian, Jewish, Hindu and Buddhist players. The match is intended to promote peace and to raise money for at-risk kids. The event has the backing of Pope Francis.
This video has the match’s mascot, Plim Plim, playing Pope Francis.
Okay, it is silly. But the music and the pope’s eyes made me smile.
Two phenomena come together, when young people use opportunities to take selfies with Francis: the popularity and playfulness of the selfie itself, the playfulness and the popularity of Pope Francis.
The Holy Father seems delighted in this video. I know that it delights me when young people make a point of saying hello to me in public, unabashedly calling out to me as “Father,” and introducing their friends to me and me to their friends, “This is my priest.” Many of them I do not recognize from being in Mass on Sundays, BUT the fact that they feel comfortable and even proud to approach the local Catholic priest is a blessing to them and to me. It is a holy connection and a holy communion.
The gun of an Israeli soldier rests on a window-like opening of the separation wall between Jerusalem and Bethlehem. It is pointed toward Palestinian youth during a clash at the entrance to Bethlehem.
There is something particularly sad about this screenshot taken from a Reuter news video. During his pilgrimage to the Holy Land Pope Francis stopped at this very place to pray. Notice the closed window just to his right, and the “Bethlehem look …” just above his head.
It is the same place at which he fired a prayed to heaven. This time a gun fires.
Many, all too many, of those children have been innocent victims of war and violence, saplings cut down at the height of their promise.
Dear Presidents, our world is a legacy bequeathed to us from past generations, but it is also on loan to us from our children: our children who are weary, worn out by conflicts and yearning for the dawn of peace, our children who plead with us to tear down the walls of enmity and to set out on the path of dialogue and peace, so that love and friendship will prevail.
I am profoundly grateful to you for accepting my invitation to come here and to join in imploring from God the gift of peace. It is my hope that this meeting will mark the beginning of a new journey where we seek the things that unite, so as to overcome the things that divide.
Peacemaking calls for courage, much more so than warfare. It calls for the courage to say yes to encounter and no to conflict: yes to dialogue and no to violence; yes to negotiations and no to hostilities; yes to respect for agreements and no to acts of provocation; yes to sincerity and no to duplicity. All of this takes courage, it takes strength and tenacity.
History teaches that our strength alone does not suffice. More than once we have been on the verge of peace, but the evil one, employing a variety of means, has succeeded in blocking it. That is why we are here, because we know and we believe that we need the help of God. We do not renounce our responsibilities, but we do call upon God in an act of supreme responsibility before our consciences and before our peoples. We have heard a summons, and we must respond. It is the summons to break the spiral of hatred and violence, and to break it by one word alone: the word “brother”. But to be able to utter this word we have to lift our eyes to heaven and acknowledge one another as children of one Father.
O God, you sent your Son to break down the barriers between us, to bring reconciliation between peoples. Make good on your intention and satisfy your desire that all divisions cease and all separations end.
When we build walls, teach us to want bridges. As we put up fences, move us to open gates.
Bring security and safety to your people on both sides of this wall. End the sadness and the frustration on both sides. End the hated and the violence from both sides. Give freedom of movement to all and bring an end to all humiliation.
In due time tear down this wall of mistrust and fear, this barrier to peace and justice.
Sunday, May 17, Pope Francis canonizes four religious sisters. 
With Open Doors 