Vatican City, Sep 4, 2017 / 09:18 am (CNA/EWTN News).- On Monday Pope Francis told youth to steer clear of modern society's narcissistic tendencies, which he referred to as a vain “illness.” He said they should instead concentrate on helping others and on developing a healthy ability to laugh at oneself. “This culture that we live in, which is very selfish, (always) looking at yourself, has a very strong dose of narcissism, (of) contemplating oneself and ignoring others,” the Pope said Sept. 4. In turn, narcissism “produces sadness, because you live worried about 'dressing up' your soul everyday to appear better than you are, contemplating to see if you are more beautiful than others.” This is called “the sickness of the mirror,” he said, and told young people to “break the mirror; don't look in the mirror, because the mirror deceives!” Instead, “look outside, look at others. And if one day you want to look at yourself in the mirror, I will give you a mirror: look in the mirror to laugh at yourself.” Doing this, he said, “will refresh your soul.” To know how to laugh at ourselves, he added, “gives us joy and saves us from the temptation of narcissism.” Pope Francis spoke off-the-cuff in Spanish to members of the Catholic Shalom Community during an audience in the Vatican's Paul VI Hall. The Community is an ecclesial movement founded in 1982 with a charism focused on contemplation, unity and evangelizaiton. The group is on a Sept. 3-9 pilgrimage to Rome to celebrate the 35th anniversary of their foundation. As usual, Pope Francis was careful to take notes as he listened to various testimonies from the group, including from three youth who spoke about their experiences of loneliness, drugs, their search for God and their process of conversion. Juan, 26, from Santiago, Chile, shared his story about how he went from living without God and without hope as a youth, to finding meaning through prayer, evangelization and a sense of community. In light of his experience, he asked the Pope how youth can “radiate” mercy to a world marked by desperation and indifference. The second, Justine, who is 25 and from Spain, said she was baptized during the Jubilee of Mercy. She recalled a commitment she made at the time to live her life for others, and asked Francis what he believes is the role and mission of young people in the Church. Finally, 22-year-old Matheus from Brazil shared his story of involvement with drugs before discovering the faith through missionaries and rehab. After sharing his story, the youth asked how he can find his vocation in order to respond to the salvation he was given. Referring to Juan's testimony, the Pope noted that the words the youth used to describe his experience – “praying, sharing and evangelizing” – are are words “of movement, of going out of yourself.” “You came out of yourself in prayer to encounter God, you came out of yourself in brotherhood to encounter your brothers and sisters, and you came out of yourself to evangelize, to give the good news,” he said, adding that this announcement “is mercy in a world marked by desperation and indifference.” But simply talking about mercy isn't enough, “we have to bear witness, share and teach by going out of ourselves.” Using a colloquial phrase, he said “we have to put the meat on the grill,” otherwise people won't understand. “This witness, of not being closed in on yourself, in your own interests, but going out, sharing with others” that God is good and is with us in life's most difficult moments, he said, “is the best message of mercy that one can give.” Turning to Justine, Francis said it was significant that she was baptized during the Year of Mercy, and that it was precisely on that occasion that “you found God and he allowed you to strip you of yourself.” Part of this process was “to go from being centered on yourself, to go outside to the joy of living for God and for others,” he said, adding that “one of the characteristics of youth and of the eternal youth of God is joy.” Francis cautioned against the modern temptation to selfishness and narcissism, which he said only lead to sadness. “And joy is opposed to sadness. A sadness that is, precisely, what you went out from: self-referentiality.” “A young person who gets into themselves, who only lives for themselves, ends up in an 'impassioned self-referentiality,' full of self-referentiality,” he said, and told the youth present to foster a healthy sense of humor about themselves, so they become too attached. In reference to Matheus' testimony, the Pope said drugs are “one of the instruments that the culture in which we live has to dominate us.” Because of this, an addict might feel the need “to be subtle, invisible to themselves, as if they were air.” Drugs, he said, “lead us to negate everything that roots us...it takes the roots out and makes you live in a world without roots, uprooted from everything; from projects, from your past, from your history, your homeland, your family, your love, everything.” After passing through an experience of being “invisible” and then becoming aware again, Matheus became conscious of God's plan, which is a plan “to console the pain of humanity,” Francis noted. Pope Francis also pointed out how Matheus said he wanted to discern his vocation during the upcoming Synod of Bishops on “Young People, the Faith and the Discernment of Vocation.” Each person has to discern their vocation “in order to see what God wants of us in light of our vocation,” he said, and told participants to “give freely” of themselves and what they have received.   The Pope also spoke, as he often has, about the importance of the relationship between the elderly and young people. Talking directly to the older members of the community, he stressed the importance of dialogue with youth, telling them to “pass the torch, from the oldest to the youngest.” “One of the challenges that the world asks of us today is the dialogue between youth and the elderly,” he said, telling participants that “I rely on your testimony” to carry this dialogue forward. Elderly, he said, are not meant “to be kept in the closet, to be kept hidden,” but are rather “hoping that a youth comes and speaks to them.” And youth, he said, must take the dreams of the elderly and “redeem” them. The elderly “have wisdom and they need (youth) to beat at their hearts for this wisdom,” Pope Francis said, adding that “this dialogue is a promise for the future. This dialogue helps us to continue going forward.” Read more

Vatican City, Sep 3, 2017 / 04:16 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Pope Francis' upcoming visit to the South American country of Colombia Sept. 6-11 isn't a political statement a Vatican official said, but about the renewal of the Catholic faith of Colombians in order that violence may be combatted at its root. "But I say immediately, to see the Pope's visit as centering on the process of the peace accords is a mistake," said Guzmán Carriquiry, vice president of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America. He told journalists Friday that the Church in Colombia “has to face an enormous challenge to be a point of fundamental reference for not only the revolution of Christianity in the Colombian people, but for the rebirth of Colombia, for the spiritual regeneration, and the reconciliation of this country.” “The Pope certainly goes in order to recall this Christianity of Colombia... that he can start a movement for tackling, from the bottom, these problems at the very source,” he said. “Certainly that is the crucial point.” A professor and vice president of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America since May 2014, Carriquiry spoke to journalists after a briefing on the Pope's schedule for Colombia Sept. 1. The Pope's trip, which will include the cities of Bogotá, Villavicencio, Medellín, and Cartagena, marks the third time Francis has visited his native South America since becoming Pope. His schedule includes Mass in each of the four cities, as well as leading the Angelus on Sunday as usual outside of the church of Saint Peter Claver, where the saint’s remains are buried. On Sept. 8, in Villavicencio, a large prayer meeting for National Reconciliation will take place, at the end of which there will be a presentation from people who have been victims of violence during the country's prolonged civil war. Pope Francis’ visit comes about one year after a peace accord between the Colombian government and the country's largest rebel group, Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), was finally reached in August 2016. Following its rejection in an Oct. 2 referendum, a revised agreement was signed Nov. 24 and approved by Colombia's Congress on Nov. 30, this time bypassing a popular vote. Since 1964, as many as 260,000 people have been killed and millions displaced in the civil war. Pope Francis praised the accord last year, voicing support “for the goal of attaining the peace and reconciliation of the entire Colombian people, in light of human rights and Christian values, which are at the heart of Latin American culture.” Despite this, the decision for “this voyage of the Holy Father is realized in a pastoral apostolic visit,” said Archbishop José Octavio Ruiz Arenas, secretary of the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of the New Evangelization. Archbishop Ruiz, who led the Archdiocese of Villavicencio from 2002 to 2007, told CNA Sept. 1 it is hoped that Francis' visit will "help the Colombian people to seek that reconciliation, that peace, which is deep in the hearts of all Colombians." There is a "deep desire in the hearts of all Colombians to have peace. The Pope certainly comes to encourage this deep desire," he said. Colombia faces many challenges at the moment, Carriquiry said, particularly because the reconciliation of a country, after more than 60 years of violence, is difficult. "The Pope considers the peace process a long and arduous process of reconciliation for the country," he explained, "and all of the Colombian people want this, yes, these negotiations, these accords, peace..." But ultimately what the country needs is a "grand movement of regeneration and spirituality and reconciliation in Colombian society," he noted. Explaining that the peace accord will not solve all of the problems the country faces, such as the culture of drugs and drug trafficking, he said what it really needs is a "major conversion." Colombia is “full of contradictions,” because it is still a stronghold of Christianity and the faith is deeply rooted in the people. But at the same time, it has a culture of violence, drug trafficking, corruption, with decades of war causing many people to be displaced or to become refugees. Carriquiry said he expects Pope Francis to bring the message of the Gospel to the hearts of Colombians. “Why? Because the Gospel is the greatest force of revolution, of national regeneration, of reconciliation for Colombian society. I am convinced of that aspect of the Pope.” “For actually when we reduce the Pope's presence to a political character it is completely wrong.” Read more

Vatican City, Sep 3, 2017 / 08:47 am (CNA/EWTN News).- On Sunday Pope Francis spoke about the sacrifice of the cross, explaining how as followers of Christ we must embrace suffering, because it is through the suffering and death of Christ that his love is made known to us. “Always, even today, the temptation is to follow a Christ without a cross, rather, to teach God the right path,” the Pope said Sept. 3. Like Peter we maybe say: “No, this will never happen.” “But Jesus reminds us that his way is the way of love,” Francis said, and there is no true love without Christ’s self-sacrifice. We must embrace suffering, because as Christ told his disciples: “Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me.” Before leading the Angelus Pope Francis reflected on our call as Christians not to be absorbed by the world’s vision to live an easy life, but rather to go “against the current,” pointing out the challenge to self-centeredness found in Christ's words, “Whoever wants to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for my cause will find it.” “In this paradox is contained the golden rule that God has inscribed into the human nature created in Christ: the rule that only love gives meaning and happiness to life,” Pope Francis said. Spending our time, talents and our energy only to save and take care of ourselves actually leads to loss, to a “sad and sterile existence,” he explained. Whereas, if we live our lives for the Lord, set on fire with love, then our lives will be fruitful and we will have genuine joy. The Pope pointed out that we rediscover the mystery of Christ’s cross every time we participate in the Eucharist. In the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass Christ’s redeeming sacrifice, "in which the Son of God completely loses himself to receive himself again from the Father," is made present. In the Eucharist, we, the lost, are found by Christ. The love of Christ crucified and risen is given to us as food and drink, he said. “Mary Most Holy, who followed Jesus to Calvary, also accompany us and help us not to fear the cross,” he concluded. “Not a cross without Jesus, the cross with Jesus, that is, the cross of suffering for love of God and brethren.” After the Angelus, the Pope prayed for all those affected by Hurricane Harvey, which hit the Gulf Coast of the United States last week, particularly Texas and Louisiana, asking for the special intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary. “I also want to express my deepest interest in the suffering of the people of Texas and Louisiana suffering from a hurricane and exceptional rain that have caused casualties, thousands of displaced persons and massive material damage,” he said. He also renewed his spiritual closeness to the people of South Asia, who have also been affected by severe flooding, asking, “Mary the Most Holy, comfort of the afflicted, to obtain from the Lord the grace of comfort for these our severely tested brothers." Read more