VATICAN INFORMATION SERVICE
YEAR XXII - # 1
DATE 04-01-2016

Summary:
- Angelus: open the doors of our heart to the Word of Jesus
- In joyful and sad moments, let us trust in the Lord
- Pope Francis opens the Holy Door of St. Mary Major
- Francis: we are called to immerse ourselves in the ocean of mercy
- Angelus: the enemy of peace is not only war, but also indifference
- Te Deum: good always prevails
- To the Pueri Cantores: "Let us not forget the hidden saints"
- Entry into force of agreement between the Holy See and the State of Palestine
- Other Pontifical Acts

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 Angelus: open the doors of our heart to the Word of Jesus
 Vatican City, 3 January 2016 (VIS) - On the first Sunday of the year and the
second after Christmas, Pope Francis appeared at the window of his study in the
Vatican Apostolic Palace at midday to pray the Angelus with the faithful and
pilgrims gathered in St. Peter's Square. "The Word - that is, the creative Word
of God - was made flesh, and dwelt among us", he said, referring to the
prologue
of the Gospel of St. John. "That Word, which dwells in heaven, that is, in the
dimension of God, came to earth so that we might listen and be able to know and
touch with our hand the love of the Father. The Word of God is the
Only-begotten
Son, made man, full of love and of faithfulness, Jesus Himself".
 The Pope explained that the Evangelist "does not conceal the dramatic nature
of
the Incarnation of the Son of God, emphasising that the gift of God's love is
countered with its non-acceptance on the part of man. The World is light, but
men have preferred darkness;. They closed the door in the face of the Son of
God. It is the mystery of evil that undermines our life and that necessitates
vigilance and attention on our part, so that it does not prevail. The Book of
Genesis offers us a beautiful phrase that helps us to understand this: it says
that evil 'lies in wait at our door'. Woe to us if we allow it to enter, as it
would then close our door to anyone else. Instead we are called upon to throw
open the door of our heart to the Word of God, to Jesus, thus to become His
children".
 The Holy Father reiterated that once again the Church invites us to welcome
the
Word of salvation, this mystery of light. "If we welcome Jesus, we will grow in
understanding and in the love of the Lord, and will learn to be merciful like
Him", he said. "Especially in this Holy Year of Mercy, let us be sure that the
Gospel becomes ever more incarnate in our own lives too. Approaching the
Gospel,
meditating on it and incarnating it in daily life is the best way of
understanding Jesus and bringing Him to others. This is the vocation and joy of
every baptised person - showing Jesus and bringing Him to others - but to do
this we must first know Him and have Him within us, as the Lord of our life. He
will defend us from evil, from the devil, who always lies in wait by our door
and wants to enter".
 He concluded, "With the renewed zeal of filial abandon, let us entrust
ourselves yet again to Mary, whose sweet image as the Mother of Jesus and as
our
Mother we contemplate in the nativity during these days".

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 In joyful and sad moments, let us trust in the Lord
 Vatican City, 3 January 2016 (VIS) - After the Marian prayer, the Pope greeted
the pilgrims present and reiterated his hope for peace and good in the Lord.
"In
moments of joy and of sadness, let us trust in Him, our mercy and our hope".
 He also mentioned the commitment we undertake on the first day of the year,
the
World Day of Peace: "overcome indifference and win peace". "With God's grace,
we
can put this into practice", he said, again encouraging those present to keep a
copy of the Gospel to hand at all times and to read a paragraph every day "to
know Jesus better, to open our heart to Jesus, and to enable others to know Him
better".

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 Pope Francis opens the Holy Door of St. Mary Major
 Vatican City, 1 January 2016 (VIS) - On the afternoon of Friday, 1 January,
Pope Francis celebrated Mass at the Basilica of St. Mary Major, where he then
opened the Holy Door.
 The following is the full text of the homily pronounced by the Holy Father:
 "Salve, Mater Misericordiae! With this invocation we turn to the Blessed
Virgin
Mary in the Roman Basilica dedicated to her under the title of Mother of God.
It
is the first line of an ancient hymn which we will sing at the conclusion of
this Holy Eucharist. Composed by an unknown author, it has come down to us as a
heartfelt prayer spontaneously rising up from the hearts of the faithful: 'Hail
Mother of mercy, Mother of God, Mother of forgiveness, Mother of hope, Mother
of
grace and Mother full of holy gladness'. In these few words we find a summary
of
the faith of generations of men and women who, with their eyes fixed firmly on
the icon of the Blessed Virgin, have sought her intercession and consolation.
 "It is most fitting that on this day we invoke the Blessed Virgin Mary above
all as Mother of mercy. The door we have opened is, in fact, a Door of Mercy.
Those who cross its threshold are called to enter into the merciful love of the
Father with complete trust and freedom from fear; they can leave this Basilica
knowing - truly knowing - that Mary is ever at their side. She is the Mother of
mercy, because she bore in her womb the very Face of divine mercy, Jesus,
Emmanuel, the Expectation of the nations, the 'Prince of Peace'. The Son of
God,
made incarnate for our salvation, has given us His Mother, who joins us on our
pilgrimage through this life, so that we may never be left alone, especially at
times of trouble and uncertainty.
 "Mary is the Mother of God, she is the Mother of God who forgives, who bestows
forgiveness, and so we can rightly call her Mother of forgiveness. This word -
'forgiveness' - so misunderstood in today's world, points to the new and
original fruit of Christian faith. A person unable to forgive has not yet known
the fullness of love. Only one who truly loves is able to forgive and forget.
At
the foot of the Cross, Mary sees her Son offer Himself totally, showing us what
it means to love as God loves. At that moment she heard Jesus utter words which
probably reflected what He had learned from her as a child: 'Father, forgive
them; for they do not know what they are doing'. At that moment, Mary became
for
all of us the Mother of forgiveness. Following Jesus' example and by His grace,
she herself could forgive those who killed her innocent Son.
 "For us, Mary is an icon of how the Church must offer forgiveness to those who
seek it. The Mother of forgiveness teaches the Church that the forgiveness
granted on Golgotha knows no limits. Neither the law with its quibbles, nor the
wisdom of this world with its distinctions, can hold it back. The Church's
forgiveness must be every bit as broad as that offered by Jesus on the Cross
and
by Mary at His feet. There is no other way. It is for this purpose that the
Holy
Spirit made the Apostles the effective ministers of forgiveness, so what was
obtained by the death of Jesus may reach all men and women in every age.
 "The Marian hymn continues: 'Mother of hope and Mother of grace, Mother of
holy
gladness'. Hope, grace and holy gladness are all sisters: they are the gift of
Christ; indeed, they are so many names written on His body. The gift that Mary
bestows in offering us Jesus is the forgiveness which renews life, enables us
once more to do God's will and fills us with true happiness. This grace frees
the heart to look to the future with the joy born of hope. This is the teaching
of the Psalm: 'Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right
spirit
within me. [...] Restore to me the joy of your salvation'. The power of
forgiveness is the true antidote to the sadness caused by resentment and
vengeance. Forgiveness leads to joy and serenity because it frees the heart
from
thoughts of death, whereas resentment and vengeance trouble the mind and wound
the heart, robbing it of rest and peace. What horrible things are resentment
and
vengeance.
 "Let us, then, pass through the Holy Door of Mercy knowing that at our side is
the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Holy Mother of God, who intercedes for us. Let us
allow her to lead us to the rediscovery of the beauty of an encounter with her
Son Jesus. Let us open wide the doors of our heart to the joy of forgiveness,
conscious that we have been given new confidence and hope, and thus make our
daily lives a humble instrument of God's love.
 "And with the love and affection of children, let us cry out to Our Lady as
did
the faithful people of God in Ephesus during the historic Council: 'Holy Mother
of God!' I invite you to repeat together this acclamation three times, aloud
and
with all your heart and with all your love: 'Holy Mother of God! Holy Mother of
God! Holy Mother of God!'".

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 Francis: we are called to immerse ourselves in the ocean of mercy
 Vatican City, 1 January 2016 (VIS) - Today, solemnity of Holy Mary Mother of
God and the octave of Christmas, the Holy Father presided at Mass in the
Vatican
Basilica, concelebrated by cardinals, bishops and priests and attended by the
Pueri Cantores, who have concluded their fortieth International Congress. Today
is also the 49 th World Day of Peace, whose theme this year is "Overcome
difference and win peace".
 The following is the full text of the homily pronounced by Pope Francis:
 "We have heard the words of the Apostle Paul: 'When the fullness of time had
come, God sent his Son, born of a woman'. What does it mean to say that Jesus
was born in 'the fullness of time'? If we consider that particular moment of
history, we might quickly be deluded. Rome had subjugated a great part of the
known world by her military might. The Emperor Augustus had come to power after
five civil wars. Israel itself had been conquered by the Roman Empire and the
Chosen People had lost their freedom. For Jesus' contemporaries, it was
certainly not the best of times. To define the fullness of time, then, we
should
not look to the geopolitical sphere.
 "Another interpretation is needed, one which views that fullness from God's
standpoint. It is when God decided that the time had come to fulfil His
promise,
that the fullness of time came for humanity. History does not determine the
birth of Christ; rather, His coming into the world enables history to attain
its
fullness. For this reason, the birth of the Son of God inaugurates a new era, a
new computation of time, the era which witnesses the fulfilment of the ancient
promise. As the author of the Letter to the Hebrews writes: 'God spoke to our
ancestors in many and various ways by the prophets, but in these last days He
has spoken to us by a Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom
He
also created the world. He is the reflection of God's glory and the exact
imprint of God's very being, and He sustains all things by His powerful word'.
The fullness of time, then, is the presence of God Himself in our history. Now
we can see His glory, which shines forth in the poverty of a stable; we can be
encouraged and sustained by His Word, made 'little' in a baby. Thanks to Him,
our time can find its fullness. The use of our personal time can also find its
fullness in the encounter with Jesus Christ, God made man.
 "Nonetheless, this mystery constantly clashes with the dramatic experience of
human history. Each day, as we seek to be sustained by the signs of God's
presence, we encounter new signs to the contrary, negative signs which tend to
make us think instead that He is absent. The fullness of time seems to fade
before the countless forms of injustice and violence which daily wound our
human
family. Sometimes we ask ourselves how it is possible that human injustice
persists unabated, and that the arrogance of the powerful continues to demean
the weak, relegating them to the most squalid outskirts of our world. We ask
how
long human evil will continue to sow violence and hatred in our world, reaping
innocent victims. How can the fullness of time have come when we are witnessing
hordes of men, women and children fleeing war, hunger and persecution, ready to
risk their lives simply to encounter respect for their fundamental rights? A
torrent of misery, swollen by sin, seems to contradict the fullness of time
brought by Christ. Remember, dear pueri cantores, this was the third question
you asked me yesterday: how do we explain this... even children are aware of
this.
 "And yet this swollen torrent is powerless before the ocean of mercy which
floods our world. All of us are called to immerse ourselves in this ocean, to
let ourselves be reborn, to overcome the indifference which blocks solidarity,
and to leave behind the false neutrality which prevents sharing. The grace of
Christ, which brings our hope of salvation to fulfilment, leads us to cooperate
with Him in building an ever more just and fraternal world, a world in which

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