Two of them I thought important enough to share on a blog that is, after all, called “Pray Tell“:
First is the Pope’s prayer intention for September, namely “That people today, often overwhelmed by noise, may rediscover the value of silence and listen to the voice of God and their brothers and sisters.”
Second is the Pope’s call for this coming Saturday, September 7, to be marked as a day of fasting and prayer for peace in Syria, in the entire Mideast region, and throughout the whole world.
I’m going to try especially to observe the one for Syria. It’s a dire situation, and none of the proposed actions seem likely to produce a good outcome. Not that I think one should only pray when things are desperate, but things are desperate and one should certainly pray.
Thanks, Teresa, for noting these.
@Rita Ferrone – comment #1:
I concur, Rita. I found in HHF’s clarion call repeated tones of faith, hope and love. Though S.Paul’s maxim is exemplified by HHF, we’re going to have to pray for more measures of faith and particularly hope for all in the Middle East, the Sudan, lower Asia, and even for those in the West.
Francis has hired a Secretary of State who has a reputation for accomplishing very difficult things by speaking softly, and who has been involved in the Middle East, among other hot spots. Greg Burke has said that the new Secretary of State will focus on relationships with nations. “Pope Francis will rely on him heavily for everything regarding international relations,”
The “big stick” of Francis is his ability to capture the world’s attention with a picture, increasingly on a regular basis, as with his “selfie” and his “bow to the Jordanian Queen.”
On the Prayer Vigil this coming Saturday evening . Rocco has full coverage:
To underscore the effort, Francis added that an open event would be held then in St Peter’s Square from 7pm until midnight Rome time (1-6pm Eastern, 10am-1pm Pacific). Across the globe, meanwhile, Papa Bergoglio requested today that “all the local churches” – per his definition, “the people and the bishop, all together” – follow suit “to gather and pray for this intention.”
http://whispersintheloggia.blogspot.com/2013/09/my-heart-is-deeply-wounded-for-syria.html
Given that this announcement occurred yesterday, and given the Labor Day holiday today where most parish offices are closed, it will be interesting to see what happens this coming weekend. Does Francis have the ability to organize the Catholic world through the internet in a rather spontaneous fashion?
I suspect the Prayer Vigil like other Papal Events will be covered live on Vatican TV, and also likely EWTN and Catholic TV. In this case live coverage would occur at easily accessible times on the East and West Coasts.
@Jack Rakosky – comment #2:
His timing to announce this was not good as we had to scramble to get word out. We missed our 4:30 pm vigil Mass and our 7:45 am Sunday Mass, but we were able to announce to our 9:30, 12:10 and 5 pm Masses as well as our 2 pm EF Mass the Holy Father’s call to Prayer & fasting this Saturday and to call upon Our Lady of Peace” to intercede for us on the Vigil of her Nativity, of course I was immediately able to place our parish plans and the pope’s call to fasting and prayer on my widely read blog. As well we will use “calling post” this Friday calling every parishioner to fast and pray for peace in Syria on our Blessed Mother’s nativity vigil as well as our parish’s Marian devotions and Benedtiction at 12 noon.
While many people will recognize Pope Francis words “War never again! Never again war!” which he used during the Angelus and tweeted again today as an echo of Pope Paul VI at the UN and therefore again inter-nation war, it is interesting what the Spanish version of his tweet says implicitly:
http://www.thelocal.it/20130902/popes-anti-war-tweet-perplexes-followers
“¡Nunca más!” means “no more!” in English, yet as a Spanish phrase holds huge significance for the Argentine Pope.
It is used to refer to Argentina’s military dictatorship, which ruled between 1976 and 1983, during which time thousands of people ‘disappeared’.
Jorge Mario Bergoglio, as he was then known, stayed in the country throughout the so-called ‘Dirty War’ and so his Monday message carries the weight of a person who has lived through civil conflict.
While the phrase “¡Nunca más!” is understood throughout the Spanish-speaking world as a term used to describe the horrors of war in Argentina, it is also the name of an official account of the period.
The Nunca más report is a 50,000 page document which includes the findings of Argentina’s National Commission on Disappeared People, which was set up in 1983. It concludes: “We are certain that the military dictatorship was responsible for the greatest and most savage tragedy in the history of Argentina”.
Pope Francis’ strong pacifist tone on Twitter, while confusing for some, therefore makes perfect sense for his Latin American followers.
In other words it condemns the Syrian regime very strongly since it classifies the civil war in Syria with the same terms that have been used to condemn the Argentinian civil war.
I just hope Saturday is not too late for the people of Syria!
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