WYD Echoes: Go, do not be afraid, and serve.

Here is the homily given by Pope Francis at the Closing Mass of the 28th World Youth Day at Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro. 

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Brother Bishops and Priests,

Dear Young Friends,

“Go and make disciples of all nations”. With these words, Jesus is speaking to each one of us, saying: “It was wonderful to take part in World Youth Day, to live the faith together with young people from the four corners of the earth, but now you must go, now you must pass on this experience to others.” Jesus is calling you to be a disciple with a mission! Today, in the light of the word of God that we have heard, what is the Lord saying to us? Three simple ideas: Go, do not be afraid, and serve.

Fr Joachim "J" Plan in the Jamboland

Great was the joy yesterday in the Don Orione House of Nairobi.

Three events, the Feast of St. Anne and Joachim, the end of an academic year crowned with grace and an accomplished year of life in Kenya, he affectionately called "Jamboland".

With Father Joachim Ake (Fr Lerionka his Maasai's name) surrounded by some friends, we gave thanks to God by a beautiful Eucharistic celebration and a fraternal and overt expression of joy meal. We wish more beautiful years of “Kenyanization” to Father Lerionka and we accompany him with our prayer for the significant contribution he is for us and for our young men in formation. May God our Lord bless.

WYD Echoes: Pope Francis in the Neighborhood of Varginha in the Manguinhos Favela

Here is the Pope's address during his visit to the Neighborhood of Varginha in the Manguinhos Favela.

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Dear Brothers and Sisters,

It is wonderful to be here with you! From the start, my wish in planning this visit to Brazil was to be able to visit every district throughout the nation. I would have liked to knock on every door, to say good morning, to ask for a glass of cold water, to take a cafezinho, to speak as one would to family friends, to listen to each person pouring out his or her heart parents, children, grandparents ... But Brazil is so vast! It is impossible to knock on every door! So I chose to come here, to visit your community, which today stands for every district in Brazil. How wonderful it is to be welcomed with such love, generosity, and joy! One need only look at the way you have decorated the streets of the community; this is a further mark of affection, it comes from your heart, from the heart of all Brazilians in festive mood. Many thanks to each of you for this kind welcome! And I thank Archbishop Orani Tempesta as well as Rangler and Joana for their kind words.

Delegation News: Annual General Meeting London, UK

Yesterday 24th July, 2013, in the house of Hampton Wick in London was held the annual general meeting of the legal entity - charity, Sons of Divine Providence. Together we celebrated the Holy Mass. Following the Mass, a meeting of the administrative team and the day ended with a buffet that involved all present at the meeting.

The Members have nominated Fiducari to lead the association for the next three years, 2013-2016.

Fr Malcolm

WYD Echoes : homily given by Pope Francis in Aparecida

Here is the homily given by Pope Francis during the Mass celebrated this morning at the Basilica of the National Shrine of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception in Aparecida.

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My Brother Bishops and Priests,

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

What joy I feel as I come to the house of the Mother of every Brazilian, the Shrine of our Lady of Aparecida! The day after my election as Bishop of Rome, I visited the Basilica of Saint Mary Major in Rome, in order to entrust my ministry as the Successor of Peter to Our Lady. Today I have come here to ask Mary our Mother for the success of World Youth Day and to place at her feet the life of the people of Latin America.

There is something that I would like to say first of all. Six years ago the Fifth General Conference of the Bishops of Latin America and the Caribbean was held in this Shrine. Something beautiful took place here, which I witnessed at first hand. I saw how the Bishops – who were discussing the theme of encountering Christ, discipleship and mission – felt encouraged, supported and in some way inspired by the thousands of pilgrims who came here day after day to entrust their lives to Our Lady. That Conference was a great moment of Church. It can truly be said that the Aparecida Document was born of this interplay between the labours of the Bishops and the simple faith of the pilgrims, under Mary’s maternal protection. When the Church looks for Jesus, she always knocks at his Mother’s door and asks: "Show us Jesus". It is from Mary that the Church learns true discipleship. That is why the Church always goes out on mission in the footsteps of Mary.

Kandisi : OCTC is growing

Greeting  from  Kenya,

We  are  glad  to  shear with all  of  you the  progress of  our  new Orione Center  in  kenya,

It will be a daily center with special school, rehabilitation  center  and  farming  project.

Remember us in your prayer and God bless,

 

Fr  Alex

WYD Echoes : "To gain access to the Brazilian people, it is necessary to pass through its great heart"

Here is a the address Pope Francis gave yesterday when he arrived in Brazil for this week's World Youth Day.

* * *

Madam President,

Distinguished Authorities,

Brothers and Sisters and Friends!

In his loving providence, God wished that the first international trip of my pontificate should take me back to my beloved Latin America, specifically to Brazil, a country proud of its links to the Apostolic See and of its deep sentiments of faith and friendship that have always kept it united in a special way to the Successor of Peter. I am grateful for this divine benevolence.

I have learned that, to gain access to the Brazilian people, it is necessary to pass through its great heart; so let me knock gently at this door. I ask permission to come in and spend this week with you. I have neither silver nor gold, but I bring with me the most precious thing given to me: Jesus Christ! I have come in his name, to feed the flame of fraternal love that burns in every heart; and I wish my greeting to reach one and all: The peace of Christ be with you!

“Go and make disciples of all nations!” (cf. Mt 28:19)

MESSAGE OF HIS HOLINESS
BENEDICT XVI
FOR THE TWENTY-EIGHTH WORLD YOUTH DAY
2013

“Go and make disciples of all nations!” (cf. Mt 28:19)

Dear young friends,

I greet all of you with great joy and affection. I am sure that many of you returned from World Youth Day in Madrid all the more “planted and built up in Jesus Christ, firm in the faith” (cf. Col 2:7). This year in our Dioceses we celebrated the joy of being Christians, taking as our theme: “Rejoice in the Lord always” (Phil 4:4). And now we are preparing for the next World Youth Day, which will take place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in July 2013.

Before all else, I invite you once more to take part in this important event. The celebrated statue of Christ the Redeemer overlooking that beautiful Brazilian city will be an eloquent symbol for us. Christ’s open arms are a sign of his willingness to embrace all those who come to him, and his heart represents his immense love for everyone and for each of you. Let yourselves be drawn to Christ! Experience this encounter along with all the other young people who will converge on Rio for the next World Youth Day! Accept Christ’s love and you will be the witnesses so needed by our world.

I invite you to prepare for World Youth Day in Rio de Janeiro by meditating even now on the theme of the meeting: “Go and make disciples of all nations!” (cf. Mt 28:19). This is the great missionary mandate that Christ gave the whole Church, and today, two thousand years later, it remains as urgent as ever. This mandate should resound powerfully in your hearts. The year of preparation for the gathering in Rio coincides with the Year of Faith, which began with the Synod of Bishops devoted to “The New Evangelization for the Transmission of the Christian Faith”. I am happy that you too, dear young people, are involved in this missionary outreach on the part of the whole Church. To make Christ known is the most precious gift that you can give to others.

WYD 2013: Pope Francis is embarking on his first foreign trip

Pope Francis has left Rome this Monday morning for Brazil for his first foreign trip, on the occasion of World Youth Day (WYD) in Rio.

The pontiff will be greeted by some two million young people from all over the world present in Rio de Janeiro for this twenty-eighth World Youth Day.

Still have not stepped foot on Brazilian soil that already Pope Francis has changed the cards on the table in the itinerary of his trip for World Youth Day. Just landed at the airport Galeão, the Holy Father will not meet with the authorities - as expected from the beginning of May - but will go directly to greet the crowd of the faithful gathered in the streets. The meeting with the President Dilma Rousseff and Rio's governor Sérgio Cabral will then take place later in the Guanabara Palace. There the Pope will arrive from the airport (about 8 km) in open car in order to have an easier contact with young people.

This is the first time that the 76-year-old Argentine Jesuit tread the soil of the New World since he took over in March to Benedict XVI at the head of a Church.

Orionine Missionary Year

ORIONINE FAMILY: Announced the Orionine Missionary Year in the centenary of the first 'mission'.

In a conjoint letter dated on July 11th, 2013, Sister Mary Mabel Spagnuolo, Superior General of the PSMC (Little Missionary Sisters of the Charity) and Don Flavio Peloso, Superior General of the FDP (Sons of Divine Providence), announced the celebration of the Orionine Missionary Year that will extend from 20th October 2013 to 8th December 2014.

The Orionine Missionary Year coincides with the 100th anniversary of the start of the first orionines missionaries. In December 17th of 1913, Don Orione sent his first missionary group in Brazil. They departed from Genoa and landed at the port of Santos, the December 29th of 1913, and then came by train to their destination, Mar de Espanha, in the State of Minas Gerais, in January 2nd, 1914.

Orione Kenya Financial team : Mid-Term Meeting

Father Stan and Father Alex - Nairobi account exposition

This day July 15th, 2013 was held a mid-term meeting of the bursars of our three communities present here in Kenya. Were expected to attend this meeting the following Fathers Alejandro Ruiz of Kandisi, Stanislas ACHI of Nairobi and James NJOROJE of Kaburugi. This one being unable, he was represented by Father Raphael KAILEMIAH, Director and Parish Priest of St. Peter's of Kaburugi.

Planned to start at 10am, it was only around 11:30 that all the confreres have been able to meet in the Community of Nairobi hosted this meeting. After the usual greetings and welcome by Father MBOCHE Paul, director of the Community, the cap was placed on the work. First it was the bursar of Nairobi to present the accounts of this entity. It was done in two phases, the first relating to the current life of the Community and the second concerning the project of the new chapel.

“Lumen Fidei”, Pope Francis' first encyclical,

Published yesterday, July 5th, 2013 and signed on June 29th of the same year.

Lumen fidei – The light of faith (LF) is the first Encyclical signed by Pope Francis. Divided into four chapters, plus an introduction and a conclusion, the Pontiff explains that the Letter supplements Benedict XVI’s Encyclicals on charity and hope, and takes up the “fine work” carried out by the Pope Emeritus, who had already “almost completed” the Encyclical on faith. The Holy Father has now added “further contributions” to this existing “first draft”.

The introduction (nos. 1-7) of LF illustrates the motivations at the basis of the document: firstly, it reiterates the characteristics of light typical of faith, able to illuminate all man’s existence, to assist him in distinguishing good from evil, especially in this modern age in which belief is opposed to searching and faith is regarded as an illusion, a leap into the void that impedes man’s freedom. Secondly, LF – precisely in this Year of Faith, 50 years following the Second Vatican Council, a “Council on faith” – seeks to reinvigorate the perception of the breadth of the horizons faith opens so that it might be confessed in unity and integrity. Indeed, faith is not a condition to be taken for granted, but rather a gift from God, to be nurtured and reinforced. “Who believes, sees”, the Pope writes, since the light of faith comes from God and is able to illuminate all aspects of man’s existence: it proceeds from the past, from the memory of Jesus’ life, but also comes from the future as it opens up vast horizons.

John Paul II and John XIII on the way for sainthood

Pope Francis on this Friday cleared two of the 20th century's greatest popes to become saints, approving a miracle needed to canonize Pope John Paul II and waiving Vatican rules to honor Pope John XXIII.

In a major demonstration of his papal authority, Pope Francis decided that John XXIII could be declared a saint even though the Vatican hasn't confirmed a second miracle attributed to his intercession. The Vatican said Pope Francis had the power to dispense with such requirements and proceed with only one confirmed miracle to his name.

The ceremony is expected before the end of the year. The date of Dec. 8 has been floated as one possibility, given it's the feast of the Immaculate Conception, a major feast day for the church. Polish prelates continue to press for October, to mark the 35th anniversary of the Polish-born John Paul's election, but Vatican officials have suggested that's too soon to organize such a massive event.

Don Orione, A Man of Our Time

Luigi Orione, my dear brethren, was not the kind of person the Church looks for when she wants to recruit priests. He was not much at home in the cloister, he was much more at home with the labourers who worked for his father, and he joints the gang and returned gang whoever he could.

When the Church is considering candidates for the seminary one of the things they look for is stability, determination, the kind of person who makes up his mind and perseveres. Luigi Orione wasn't like that, he was Just the reverse. By the time he was seventeen, he had tried two religious orders and failed in both. He tried to be a Franciscan first, and that didn't work, then he went to be a Salesian and that didn't last long, and this vas all by the time he was seventeen year old. The bishop gave him his chance and admitted him to the seminary. How did he get on there? Not very well.  He didn't get on with his studies, he was always minding somebody else's business. Whose business was he always trying to mind? The answer to that reveals the secret of Luigi Orione’s holiness of life.

BROTHER MORRIS MAWIRA GICHIA IS ORDAINED DEACON IN KABURUGI PARISH

Great day, this  30^th June 2013 at St. Peter Catholic Parish of Kaburugi. It is exactly 20 minutes to 10, the exact time the mess was to begin. The parishioners had gathered early in the morning to avoid the mistake of Bishop Kamau arriving before them as he had indicated.

It was a big ceremony, which brought along the eight chapels that makes Kaburugi parish. They all converged for one purpose; gather together as a “family”, this family, that brings about the meaning of today’s feast… “The feast of family day”.

It is in this occasion that the congregation of the Sons of Divine Providence in Kenya, thought of having one of their own, Morrice Mawira Gichia, be ordained deacon.

A big team represented Meru diocese, where Brother Morris hails from. Another formidable team came from Kandisi Parish in Gong Diocese where Morris have been helping for Sunday services.

The whole team of the Sons of Divine providence in Kenya was happily present; lead by the writer of this article Fr. Paul Mboche Mwangi, Fr. Raphael Kairemia Rimiri, Fr. Peter Wambulwa Wakomba, Fr. Alejandro Luiz Yanez, Fr. James Njoroge Waituika, Fr. Joachim Aboa Ake, brother John Bosco, brother Anthony Gachau and some students.