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Celebrating Easter in Mongolia: The modest joy of a people

Cardinal Giorgio Marengo, Apostolic Prefect of Ulaanbaatar, shares the rituals and traditions of the small Catholic community of Mongolia, saying they gather during the Triduum to share their Christian joy in a modest manner.

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South Sudan's Bishop Carlassare: An Easter of liberation and life

Bishop Christian Carlassare, bishop of the Diocese of Rumbek, sends an Easter message to the faithful of South Sudan, encouraging Christians to look to Christ to find the will to embrace one another in friendship.

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Pope on Holy Thursday: 'The Lord never tires of forgiving'

At the Mass of the Lord's Supper at the women's section of Rebibbia prison in Rome, Pope Francis reminds us to never tire of asking the Lord for forgiveness and learning to serve as He did.

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US: Movie about Sister Cabrini makes a splash

A powerful and inspiring film about the life of Sister Frances Saverio Cabrini has been a great success in the U.S, including among atheists and those of other faiths.

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Let 'tears of repentance' flow, pope tells priests at chrism Mass

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Just before some 1,500 priests, bishops and cardinals renewed their priestly promises, Pope Francis asked them to embrace "compunction," which he said was "an aspect of the spiritual life that has been somewhat neglected yet remains essential."

Looking at its etymology, he said that "compunction is 'a piercing of the heart' that is painful and evokes tears of repentance," but it also is the only path to spiritual growth and to a merciful ministry to others.

Presiding over the chrism Mass March 28 in St. Peter's Basilica, Pope Francis ended his lengthy homily by thanking the priests present and, by extension, those around the world.

Pope Francis at chrism Mass
Pope Francis listens to the Gospel reading during his celebration of the chrism Mass in St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican March 28, 2024. (CNS photo/Lola Gomez)

"Thank you, dear priests, for your open and docile hearts. Thank you for all your hard work and your tears. Thank you, because you bring the miracle of God's mercy to our brothers and sisters in today's world," he said. "May the Lord console you, strengthen you and reward you."

Pope Francis preached for more than 20 minutes without apparent difficulty. While he presided over the chrism Mass, which is named after the olive oil mixed with balsam that is blessed during the liturgy, the principal concelebrant at the altar was Cardinal Angelo De Donatis, the pope's vicar for Rome.

The Holy Week Mass was the first major liturgical celebration in the basilica since the towering baldachin over the main altar was wrapped in scaffolding for a 10-month restoration project funded by the Knights of Columbus.

Some 40 cardinals, 40 bishops and 1,500 priests concelebrated the liturgy.

After the homily, the clergy present renewed the promises made to their bishop at their ordinations and pledged to strive to be more united to Christ, "faithful stewards" of the sacraments and zealous pastors of souls.

Pope Francis breathes over chrism oil
Pope Francis breathes on the chrism oil, a gesture symbolizing the infusion of the Holy Spirit, as he celebrates Holy Thursday chrism Mass in St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican March 28, 2024. (CNS photo/Vatican Media)

Twelve deacons then wheeled large silver urns of oil down the center aisle of St. Peter's Basilica for the pope's blessing. The blessed oils will be distributed to Rome parishes and used for the sacraments of baptism, confirmation, ordination and the anointing of the sick in the coming year.

In his homily, Pope Francis said that compunction is "not a sense of guilt that makes us discouraged or obsessed with our unworthiness, but a beneficial 'piercing' that purifies and heals the heart" and often leads to the gift of tears, which are "the holiest waters after those of baptism."

Christians who feel compunction, he said, "increasingly feel themselves brothers and sisters to all the sinners of the world, setting aside airs of superiority and harsh judgments" and are "filled with a burning desire to show love and make reparation."

"Dear brother priests, from us, his shepherds, the Lord desires not harshness but love, and tears for those who have strayed," the pope said. "How greatly we need to be set free from harshness and recrimination, selfishness and ambition, rigidity and frustration, in order to entrust ourselves completely to God and to find in him the calm that shields us from the storms raging all around us."

In increasingly secular societies, Pope Francis said, priests and other church workers can be tempted to be "hyperactive" and yet feel completely inadequate.

"When that happens, we can become bitter and prickly," he said. But "if bitterness and compunction are directed not to the world but to our own hearts, the Lord will not fail to visit us and raise us up."

Compunction, Pope Francis said, should promote "a spirit of repentance," but one motivated by love for the Lord and certain of the Lord's love always.

"Let us rediscover our need to cultivate prayer that is not obligatory and functional, but freely chosen, tranquil and prolonged," he told the priests. "Let us return to adoration and the prayer of the heart. Let us repeat: Jesus, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner. Let us sense God's grandeur even as we contemplate our own sinfulness and open our hearts to the healing power of his gaze."

 

Pope asks priests to be brotherly, avoid harshness

Pope asks priests to be brotherly, avoid harshness

During his Chrism Mass, Pope Francis encouraged priests to be brotherly and avoid harshness.

Churches of Jerusalem reiterate plea for peace in Holy Land

The thirteen Patriarchs and Heads of Christian Churches in Jerusalem issue their annual Easter Message in which they reiterate their call for an immediate ceasefire and the release of all captives, and recall the Easter message of hope in the resurrection.

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South Korean Archbishop: ‘At Easter, our lives intertwine with the Eternal’

In an Easter message, Archbishop Peter Chung Soon-Taick reminds the faithful of his Archdiocese of Seoul “that our mortal existence transcends the temporal boundaries of this world and is connected to eternal life.”

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St. Venturino of Bergamo: Saint of the Day for Thursday, March 28, 2024

Dominican preacher and missionary crusader. A native of Bergamo, Italy, he joined the Dominicans in 1319 and soon distinguished himself as a brilliant preacher, attracting huge crowds throughout northern Italy. Pleased with his ability to reach large numbers of believers, he announced in 1335 his intention to go on a pilgrimage to Rome. When Pope Benedict XII (r. 1334-1342) learned of the pilgrimage, he feared Venturino might be planning to crown himself pope, and so forbade the friar to ...

Pope Francis: Jesus of Nazareth has shown us His face

In a message to the Church in Sonsonate, El Salvador, Pope Francis encourages the devotees of a famous image of Jesus of Nazareth to contemplate the face of God.

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Pope at Chrism Mass: Dear priests, let sorrow sanctify you

During Chrism Mass in the Vatican on Holy Thursday, Pope Francis thanks priests for heroic witness, but urges them to transform shortcomings, errors, and hardened hearts into an opportunity to draw closer to Christ and start anew.

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