Pope says life accompaniments wherever the Gospel is embraced

The Christian Gospel brings a affluent of life wherever it is embraced. That was the message of Pope Benedict XVI at his midday Regina Coeli on May 29.

Drawing upon the first-century story of Philip the Deacon, who preached Christ and cured many in the city of Samaria, the Pope renowned that the New Testament records that “there was great joy in that city.”

“Every time we hit this expression,” said the Pope to pilgrims in St. Peters Square, “in its spirit it conveys a sense of hope, as if to say: it is possible! It is possible that the world will know true joy, because wherever the Gospel arrives, life flourishes, just as a infertile land, watered by the rain, immediately revives.”

Essentially, the Pope optional, Philip and the other disciples did in the villages of first-century Palestine just what Jesus himself had done in their recent past – “preached the Good News and worked miraculous signs” because “it was the Lord who acted through them.”

As it was in that time and place, said the Pope, so it has been down during the centuries of Christian history.

“It is natural to think of the curative power of the Gospel, which over the centuries has ‘flowed’ as a beneficial river, through many populations.”

“Some great saints have brought hope and peace to entire cities - we think of St. Charles Borromeo in Milan, at a time of plague, or Blessed Mother Teresa in Calcutta, and many missionaries, whose name is recognized only to God, but who gave their lives to the proclamation of Christ and to allow a deep joy to thrive among men.”

Divine Mercy image in Chicago's Daly Plaza reaching thousands

One of the fastest-growing devotions in the Catholic Church is attainment the heart of downtown Chicago through the job of the Heralds of Divine Mercy. The organization is openly displaying a large image of Christ through a nine-day campaign of 24-hour prayer and evangelism.

“The Divine Mercy Project is actually about having an opportunity to witness to the culture, in environments we're usually pushed out of,” said Michael C.X. Sullivan, a 40-year-old lawyer who developed the idea previous this year. “It's specifically for the change of Chicago, America, and the world.”

The prayer vigil is taking place in Daly Plaza, a crowded area that features a numeral of civil administrative buildings. There, the Heralds of Divine Mercy are displaying a large cross down with a ten-foot-tall image of Christ based on the visions of St. Faustina Kowalska. While some participants remain in prayer, others take their turn distributing cards that endorse the message of God's mercy.

Pope prays for peaceful ending of Egyptian unrest

Pope Benedict XVI prayed for a peaceful ending of the political unrest in Egypt, and the Vatican spokesman said he hoped the changes in the area would lead to greater religious freedom.

"In these days I am following closely the fragile situation of the dear Egyptian nation," the pope told pilgrims at his noon blessing at the Vatican Feb. 6.

"I ask God that this land, blessed by the attendance of the Holy Family, may find again tranquility and peaceful coexistence, in a shared commitment to the common good," the pope said.

It was Pope Benedict's first remark on nearly two weeks of protest demonstrations that have shaken President Hosni Mubarak's nearly 30-year hold on power.

Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, the Vatican spokesman, reviewed the political turmoil in Egypt in a commentary Feb. 5 on Vatican Radio. He said it was not wrong to speak of a "revolution" in countries of North Africa and the Middle East, where extensive political opposition has emerged for the first time.

Father Lombardi said that along with economic causes of the unrest, many people of the region -- particularly young people -- want more freedom and a more responsive government. He noted that at the new Synod of Bishops for the Middle East, leaders of Christian minorities there made similar calls for religious freedom.

"Now there are whole populations that, in order to more fully realize their dignity, are asking to exercise more responsibly the right of citizenship that belongs to every person of whatever religion," the spokesman said.

"If these mostly Muslim nations succeed in the crucial undertaking of growth in dialogue, in the respect of the rights of everyone, in contribution and in freedom, then the world will be a safer place," Father Lombardi said.