On Sunday, July 19, His Holiness Pope Francis reiterated his appeal for a global ceasefire to allow conflict-torn populations to receive humanitarian aid and to combat the coronavirus pandemic that continues to claim lives and wreak havoc on the economies of the world.
He said “In this time in which the pandemic continues, I want to assure all those suffering from the illness of my thoughts and prayers.”
Now is the time to take a close look at the first two of three secrets which we don’t want to hear about that Our Lady gave the children at Fatima over a century ago.
Why do most people ignore the first and second of the three secrets given by Our Lady at Fatima on July 103 years ago? The first one is about hell. Do we really want to pay attention to that one? The answer seems to be ‘No.” The answer comes in the way the world has been heading, especially in the last few years.
THE FIRST SECRET
His Holiness Pope Francis had earlier said that Blessed Virgin Mary is the Mother of the Church. She is also the mother of all the people who need a passionate mother, those who lost their mothers, those suffering from illnesses, and those who lost hope in life, as well as others who need a divine Mother whose care for her children is infallible.
A MIRACLE THAT DATES BACK TO 1531
“Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more”. During the course of Christian eschatology when we comment on this passage of Revelation 21, there is always someone who is very sorry that among the beauties of creation that will be in the definitive Kingdom, the sea itself will be eliminated. For the biblical author, the sea represents evil, chaos, the indefinite, the abyss, and more profoundly the dark side of the human heart.
The elderly Bavarian priest had been hospitalized in Regensburg, in Bavaria, where he lived and where he received his brother Joseph’s final visit, with whom he had been ordained on the same day.
In the past, there was discussion about the interpretation of the conciliar texts. Now, the Vatican documents themselves are sometimes being called into question. Let’s look back at a document that has left its mark on the history of the Church.
“This Vatican Council declares that the human person has a right to religious freedom.”
Fifty-five years ago, on 7 December 1965, the Bishops assembled in Saint Peter’s Basilica approved one of the most-discussed conciliar documents, the Declaration Dignitatis humanae, On Religious Freedom.
“A voice of one crying in the wilderness, prepare the way for the Lord.” Isaiah 40:3
When Mary visited and greeted Elizabeth the mother of St. John the Baptist, Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit (cf. Luke 1: 39-41). This passage from St. Luke forms a theological basis that John the Baptist, while not conceived without original sin, was born without it.
Characteristics of St. John
These days I recall the 25th anniversary of my priestly ordination which is usually referred to as the “priestly silver jubilee”. I have had the honor to work in the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem since 1995 (which included Jordan, Palestine and Cyprus) during the era of Patriarch Michel Sabbah, the first Arab patriarch of the Holy City, Jerusalem. I can talk about two aspects, namely the priestly work and the media work.
In the past, there was discussion about the interpretation of the conciliar texts. Now, the Vatican documents themselves are sometimes being called into question. Let’s look back at a document that has left its mark on the history of the Church.
Following is the text of the homily Chrism Mass 2020 delivered by Most Rev. Archbishop Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Apostolic Administrator of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, at the Basilica of Gethsemane, June 18, 2020 in Jerusalem:
Most Reverend Excellencies
Dear priests and religious,
I greet you with the words of the Apocalypse that we have just heard: “Grace to you and peace from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the Firstborn from the dead and the King of kings of the world!”
