Pope
asks all Christians to respond to the Lord's call
(Vatican
Radio) Pope Francis' first engagement after landing in Philadelphia on Saturday
was to celebrate Mass in the city's Cathedral with bishops, clergy and men and
women religious.
During
his homily he said that every single Christian has a personal responsibility in
responding to the Lord's call.
Philadelphia
welcomed Pope Francis to the theme music from the film "Rocky". Aside
from the city being the setting for the Sylvester Stallone movies of the same
name, I'm not quite sure what the connection was. Or maybe I'm missing
something...
Pop
culture references aside, the City of Brotherly Love welcomed Pope Francis with
open arms. His first stop was at its beautiful old Cathedral to celebrate Mass
at the same altar where Pope John Paul celebrated during his visit to
Philadelphia in 1979. But his message to the Bishops, priests, men and women
religious of the State of Pennsylvania was completely new.
He
began by recognizing the history and beauty of this building - but quickly
added the hope that the history of the Church in this state and in this city
may not be about "building walls but about breaking them down". He
spoke of the "creativity" that will be needed "to carry forward
the legacy of the past not primarily by maintaining our structures and
institutions" - but "by being open to the possibilities" that
the Spirit offers us.
Pope
Francis centered his reflection on a question Pope Leo XIII asked St Katherine
Drexel, who lived and worked here in Philadelphia. The question was: "What
about you?" and was in reference to her personal response to the mission
she had received. We have all received a "mission", said Pope
Francis. "Each one of us has to respond, as best we can, to the Lord's
call". Part of that means empowering young people, the laity, and families
- so that all may contribute to fostering, what the Pope called "a sense
of collaboration and shared responsibility in planning for the future".
Did
I miss anything?
With
Pope Francis here in Philadelphia - I'm Seán-Patrick Lovett
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