Pope Francis

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Pope Francis has been invited to attend this event.

http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/ss-john-paul-ii-gianna-molla-to-be-world-meeting-of-families-patrons-96788/

St. John Paul II, Gianna Molla to be World Meeting of Families patrons

Philadelphia, Pa., Jul 22, 2014 / 12:03 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Archbishop Charles Chaput of Philadelphia announced Sunday that St. John Paul II and St. Gianna Beretta Molla will be patron saints of the 2015 World Meeting of Families, being held in his cathedral city.

“Saint John Paul II and Saint Gianna have been chosen as the two worthy Patron Saints to guide all in preparation and participation of this international event as they fully embody the history, mission and theme of the World Meeting of Families 2015,” Archbishop Chaput  stated July 20 during Mass at the Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul.

“Saints John Paul II and Gianna had a deep and abiding commitment to strengthening the family and sustaining it with love. This historic event will give thousands from around the globe the opportunity to share in the same commitment of our Patron Saints.”

During the Mass, Archbishop Chaput also unveiled and blessed a relic of St. John Paul II's blood for the veneration of the faithful.

The 2015 World Meeting of Families will be held Sept. 22-27 under the theme, “Love is our mission: the family fully alive.” Tens of thousands from across the world are anticipated to attend the event.
 

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http://www.zenit.org/en/articles/islamists-seize-monastery-in-northern-iraq

Islamists Seize Monastery in Northern Iraq
Baghdad,  July 22, 2014

Jihadist militants have taken over one of the Iraq’s best-known Christian landmarks and expelled its resident monks, a cleric and residents said Monday.

Fighters from the Islamic State (ISIS) stormed Mar (Saint) Behnam, a fourth-century monastery run by the Syriac Catholic church near the predominantly Christian town of Qaraqosh in northern Iraq, on Sunday.

AFP reports the monks reportedly pleaded to be allowed to save some of the monastery's relics but the fighters refused and ordered them to leave on foot with nothing but their clothes. After fleeing, the residents who included some families were eventually picked up on a deserted road by Kurdish peshmerga fighters who drove them to safety.
 
A group on Facebook has called for a day of prayer and fasting for persecuted Christians this coming Friday, July 25th, especially those suffering in Iraq. The page can be found here.

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10152306078333613&set=pcb.735660619831144&type=1&theater

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http://www.zenit.org/en/articles/bishops-obama-s-executive-order-on-discrimination-implements-discrimination

Bishops: Obama's Executive Order on Discrimination 'Implements Discrimination'
Washington, D.C.,  July 23, 2014

The bishop-Chairmen of two USCCB Committees responded with concern to President Obama’s July 21 executive order to prohibit federal government contractors from what the Administration deems “sexual orientation” and “gender identity” discrimination and to forbid “gender identity” discrimination in the employment of federal employees. The problems the bishops identify in the order relate both to the flaws in its core prohibitions, and to its lack of religious freedom protection.

Two USCCB Chairmen – Archbishop William E. Lori of Baltimore, Chairman of the Ad Hoc Committee for Religious Liberty and Bishop Richard J. Malone of Buffalo, Chairman of the Committee on Laity, Marriage, Family Life and Youth – together issued the following statement on Monday.
--
Today’s executive order is unprecedented and extreme and should be opposed. 

In the name of forbidding discrimination, this order implements discrimination. With the stroke of a pen, it lends the economic power of the federal government to a deeply flawed understanding of human sexuality, to which faithful Catholics and many other people of faith will not assent. As a result, the order will exclude federal contractors precisely on the basis of their religious beliefs. 
 

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http://www.zenit.org/en/articles/pope-names-consultors-for-pontifical-council-for-promoting-christian-unity

Pope Names Consultors for Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity
Vatican City,  July 22, 2014 

Pope Francis has appointed new consultors to the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity.

Today, the Vatican announced that those named included John Crossins, O.S.F.S., the executive director of the secretariat for ecumenical and interreligious matters of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. (D.C.L.)
***
The full list is as follows:
 

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http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2014/07/22/popes_friendship_with_late_evangelical_leader_tony_palmer/1103243

Pope's friendship with late Evangelical leader Tony Palmer
22/07/2014

(Vatican Radio) The Vatican’s Council for Christian Unity has sent a message of condolences following the sudden death of an Evangelical leader with whom Pope Francis became friends during his time as archbishop of Buenos Aires. Bishop Tony Palmer, the international ecumenical officer of the Communion of Episcopal Evangelical Churches and founder of the online Ark Community, died on Sunday following a motorbike accident near his home in the south of England.
 
In the message to his widow, Council President Cardinal Kurt Koch says Bishop Palmer’s meetings with Pope Francis over recent months “have given great impetus to ecumenical relations between the Catholic Church and Evangelical Christians.” His strong faith and his passion for unity, the Cardinal says, “reached a global audience of Christians with the message that there is no time to be wasted in division, the time for unity is now.”

During one of his visits to the Vatican in February this year, Bishop Palmer recorded an iphone message that Pope Francis wished to send to a Pentecostal group meeting in the United States. In that off-the-cuff video message, the Pope speaks frankly of his longing for unity and reconciliation, saying that all Christians share the blame for the sins of division.
 

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http://www.ucanews.com/news/pope-francis-to-head-into-italian-mafia-heartland/71487

Pope Francis to head into Italian Mafia heartland
Josephine McKenna for Religion News Service
Italy July 23, 2014

 
Now, Francis is about to visit the Mafia stronghold of Caserta, near Naples, on Saturday (July 26). With his second trip to the heart of Italy’s Mafia country, experts are debating the impact of his uncompromising stance and what it means for his papacy.

“I think it’s significant because this society is divided,” said Philip Willan, the British author of “The Vatican at War,” which was released last year and looks at relations between the Holy See and organized crime against the backdrop of the Cold War.

“The church has been divided over what sort of stance to take against organized crime. When the pope puts his weight decisively behind the people fighting that battle, he gives them extra strength and encouragement.”

On Saturday, Francis will celebrate Mass and meet Catholic clergy in Caserta, headquarters of the powerful Casalesi clan, whose vast crime syndicate includes drug trafficking, prostitution, extortion and money laundering.

For a pope who has taken such a strong stand on poverty, social justice and inequality, his approach to the Mafia is perhaps not so surprising. But in this country where the Catholic hierarchy and the Mafia have enjoyed a cozy relationship for years, the Argentine-born pope is shaking things up and setting new boundaries.
 

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http://www.patheos.com/blogs/davidmills/2014/07/francis-invites-the-anglicans-in/

Francis Invites the Anglicans In
July 23, 2014 By David Mills

Francis would like Anglicans to become Catholics. With English Anglicans having yet more reason to become Catholics, now that the Church of England has voted to create women bishops, the Ordinariate Benedict formed as a way into the Catholic Church has organized an “exploration day,” and the Holy Father has conveyed “his good wishes and prayers for a successful and inspiring event. The Holy Father cordially imparts his Apostolic Blessing upon all those persons who are participating in this significant event and working in any way for the promotion and presentation of the Catholic Faith and the Gospel in Great Britain.”

From the Ordinariate’s report (Mennini is the Apostolic Nuncio to Great Britain):
 

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http://vaticaninsider.lastampa.it/en/inquiries-and-interviews/detail/articolo/ecumenismo-ecumenism-ecumenismo-35400/

07/23/2014
“Francis wants to achieve unity also by reforming the papacy”

“The Pope plans to reform the papacy and this will benefit relations with the Orthodox,” says the Prior of the monastic community of Bose, Enzo Bianchi. Yesterday Pope Francis appointed Bianchi as one of the new consultors of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, the Vatican dicastery led by Cardinal Kurt Koch who is in charge of ecumenical matters. The newly appointed cleric welcomed his nomination with surprise (“I didn’t expect it, he hadn’t told me anything”), predicting a synodal evolution of the Catholic Church; he urged Christians around the world not to leave their brothers and sisters in the Middle East, particularly in Iraq and Syria, alone and emphasized the fact that the various Christian denominations that exist in Ukraine have managed to avoid a “political immersion”.

“I didn’t expect this nomination, it caught me by surprise,” Enzo Bianchi says. “The Pope received me in audience last 2 July. It was the third time I saw him since the start of the pontificate and I was delighted; we spoke about Church unity and about what needs to be done to promote this unity. But he didn’t speak to me about this nomination.”

Speaking about ecumenism, the Prior of Bose said: “I think the Pope has one main concern: unity is not created with the spirituality of unity, it is a command we must follow as it is Christ’s command. It is a commitment, which he sees as a priority. He sees unity with the Orthodox Church as an urgent goal. I think the Pope wants to achieve unity also through the reform of the papacy. A papacy which his no longer feared, said Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew with whom Francis shares a friendship.” A reform of the papacy means “a new balance between synodality and supremacy. The Orthodox Church exercise synodality not supremacy, we Catholics have papal supremacy but we lack synodality. There can be no synodality without supremacy and there can be no supremacy without synodality. This would help create a new style of papal primacy and episcopal government.” A change like this would be practical: the Synod of Bishops has been around since the Second Vatican Council” and the 9-member Council of Cardinals that advise the Pope on Curia reform was the Pope’s idea. In the future, however, there is the possibility of creating “an episcopal organization that assists the Pope in leading the Church without calling papal primacy into question.”
 

[grace-land]

Something to think about...

http://www.patheos.com/blogs/standingonmyhead/2014/07/coming-up-an-ecumenism-of-blood.html

Coming Up: An Ecumenism of Blood
July 23, 2014 By Fr. Dwight Longenecker



Pope Francis has appointed Enzo Bianchi the prior of the new ecumenical monastic community of Bose in Italy to join the Pontifical Council for Christian Unity. For those who are unfamiliar, the community of Bose is one of the new ecclesial movements in the church. Like the community at Taize, it is composed of both Catholic and non-Catholic Christians. Some members are Protestant and Eastern Orthodox.

This article reports on Enzo Bianhi’s appointment. He believes Pope Francis will bring a new direction to papal authority, enhancing it with a more synodical approach, which will be endorsed by the Eastern Orthodox.
 
Bianchi also observed that there are no divisions in the church when true persecution erupts.The Prior of Bose reiterated the importance of an ecumenism of the blood, which Pope Francis had stressed: “I am thinking of the Christians in Iraq and Syria: never before have there been as many martyrs as today and they are Christians of all denominations. The blood of all Christians is united beyond theological and dogmatic decisions.” He echoes the Baptist pastor Richard Wurmbrand who recounted in his classic book,Tortured for Christ that when he was imprisoned and tortured under the communist regime in Romania there were no Eastern Orthodox, Protestants or Catholics in prison. There were only brothers and sisters.

Does Bianchi predict a coming persecution of Christians? This from the community’s website:
 
The reality of persecution not only casts the subject of ecumenism in a new light but suddenly all the petty quarrels Catholics have among themselves and with other Christians fade away. Persecution sharpens the awareness and focusses one’s mind on the true priorities. In prison I doubt if people will quibble about which liturgy to use or which music they should sing. In prison I don’t suppose people will fuss about whether a brother or sister has worked out every detail of their theology or upheld every line of canon law.

There will be other things to think about.

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http://www.catholicnews.com/data/stories/cns/1403066.htm

Jul-24-2014
Free from ordeal in Sudan, woman condemned for apostasy meets pope



VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Meeting a Sudanese woman who risked execution for not renouncing her Catholic faith, Pope Francis thanked Meriam Ibrahim for her steadfast witness to Christ.

The pope spent 30 minutes with Ibrahim, her husband and two small children July 24, just hours after she had arrived safely in Italy following a brutal ordeal of imprisonment and a death sentence for apostasy in Sudan.
 
The president of the group Italians for Darfur, Antonella Napoli, helped organize Ibrahim's visit with the pope.

"Meriam will achieve her dream and see the pope. I had promised her that when we met," Napoli tweeted before Ibrahim's encounter with the pontiff.

Ibrahim joined the Catholic Church shortly before she married Daniel Bicensio Wani in 2011.

She was later convicted of apostasy and sentenced to death by hanging. Sudan's penal code criminalizes the conversion of Muslims to other religions, which is punishable by death.

The Khartoum Archdiocese, which followed her case, had said Ibrahim had never been a Muslim because her Sudanese Muslim father abandoned the family when she was 5, and she was raised according to her mother's faith, Orthodox Christian.

Despite pressure to renounce Christianity in order to be freed, Ibrahim refused. The church in Sudan said the charges against Ibrahim were false and appealed to the Sudanese government to free her from prison.

Ibrahim was scheduled to be in Rome for a few days before heading to New York with her family.

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http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2014/07/24/big-news-in-the-case-of-the-sudanese-christian-woman-who-was-nearly-put-to-death-for-refusing-to-recant-her-faith/

Photos: Pope Francis’ Touching Meeting With Sudanese Christian Woman Who Was Nearly Executed for Refusing to Recant Her Faith
Jul. 24, 2014 7:57am

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http://www.zenit.org/en/articles/apostolic-nuncio-to-ireland-briefs-pope-francis

Apostolic Nuncio to Ireland Briefs Pope Francis
Vatican City,  July 24, 2014

The apostolic nuncio to Ireland, Archbishop Charles Brown, met Pope Francis at the Vatican yesterday.

The New York-born papal diplomat is expected to have updated the Pope on the Church in Ireland, briefing him on the ongoing process of renewal following the clerical sex abuse crisis.

Benedict XVI instigated an apostolic visitation to the country which concluded in 2012. It followed arguably the worst single crisis ever suffered by the Church in Ireland.

Since being appointed to Dublin two years ago, the Irish Independent reports that the American archbishop has overseen eight new appointments to the Irish hierarchy, the most recent being the new bishop of Elphin, Dr Kevin Doran, who was ordained earlier this month.

As well as discussing steps taken on preventing and handling clerical sex abuse cases, Archbishop Brown also may have raised with the Pope the issue of dissident priests in Ireland, five of whom have been disciplined by the Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith.
 

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http://www.catholicnews.com/data/stories/cns/1403071.htm

Jul-24-2014
Vatican revising canon law on abuse penalties, cardinal says

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Church law has procedures and penalties for effectively dealing with allegations of clerical sexual abuse, but the Vatican is working to revise a section of the Code of Canon Law to make those norms and procedures clearer and, therefore, more effective, said the president of the Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts.

"We want to make this delicate material more accessible, more understandable and easier for bishops to apply," Cardinal Francesco Coccopalmerio, council president, told the Vatican newspaper.

In the interview published July 24 in L'Osservatore Romano, the cardinal said his office has been working since 2008 to revise "Book VI: Sanctions in the Church," a section of the Code of Canon Law.

The penalties and punishments offered by church law should be applied, he said.

"In the face of a negative action, which harms the good of a person and therefore the good of the church, penal law expects a reaction, that is the pastor inflicting a canonical penalty," the cardinal said.
 

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http://www.catholicnews.com/data/stories/cns/1403088.htm

Jul-25-2014
Archbishop Chaput confirms pope to visit Philadelphia in September 2015

FARGO, N.D. (CNS) -- Philadelphia Archbishop Charles J. Chaput said Pope Francis has accepted his invitation to attend the World Meeting of Families in the U.S. next year.

Archbishop Chaput made the announcement July 24 before giving his homily during the opening Mass of the Tekakwitha Conference in Fargo.

"Pope Francis has told me that he is coming," said the archbishop as he invited his fellow Native Americans to the 2015 celebration being held in Philadelphia Sept. 22-27.

"The pope will be with us the Friday, Saturday and Sunday of that week," he said.

Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, Vatican spokesman, said July 25 Pope Francis has expressed "his willingness to participate in the World Meeting of Families" in Philadelphia, and has received invitations to visit other cities as well, which he is considering. Those invitations include New York, the United Nations and Washington.
 

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http://www.catholicnews.com/data/stories/cns/1403092.htm

Jul-25-2014
Hold the sauce: Pope heads to Vatican cafeteria for Friday fish menu


Pope Francis eats with Vatican workers during a surprise visit to the Vatican cafeteria July 25. (CNS/L'Osservatore Romano via Reuters)

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Taking the chef completely by surprise, Pope Francis unexpectedly showed up to eat with the Vatican's blue collar workers at their cafeteria in the tiny city-state's "industrial park."

"He showed up, got his tray, silverware, he stood in line and we served him," the cafeteria's chef, Franco Paini, told Vatican Radio July 25.

He acted "normally, like the humblest of the workers," Paini said, his voice still trembling from the thrill. "Please forgive me, I'm still excited, you know?"

Wearing his white cassock and zucchetto, the pope grabbed an orange plastic tray and chose what he wanted from the array of prepared foods.

He got a plate of pasta without sauce; a portion of cod; a whole wheat roll; some "au gratin" vegetables; a few French fries; an apple; and a bottle of spring water -- but not the fizzy, bubbly kind, witnessed reported.

"I didn't have the courage to give him the bill," said Claudia Di Giacomo, who was sitting behind the cash register.

Paini said the pope made everyone feel at ease. "We introduced ourselves, he asked how we were, what it was like working there, he paid us compliments; it was really nice."

The cafeteria in the Vatican's "industrial area" serves employees who work as technicians, electricians, plumbers, metalworkers, craftsmen, but also employees of the Vatican newspaper, L' Osservatore Romano.

The pope sat down to eat at a table with workers from the Vatican pharmacy's warehouse. Wearing dark blue uniform polo shirts, the men spoke to the pope about their jobs and the pope talked about his Italian heritage.
 

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http://vaticaninsider.lastampa.it/en/news/detail/articolo/caserta-caserta-caserta-35454/

07/26/2014
Francis' visit to Caserta: Defying decay and promoting ecumenism

The Land of Fires is no longer isolated. Francis assured Caserta's faithful of this. Crowds of people defied the rain and gathered at the city's palace early this morning. The palace is a symbol of decay and abandonment in a land ruled by the mafia; a land which has had to bear the loss of so many as a result of the environmental damage caused by organised crime clans that have been pumping poison into the ground for decades.

From now on the Pope is going to be the spokesman of those those who have no voice. He promised this in his message to 250 thousand “pilgrims of hope” who came from all over Italy's Campania region. He also reiterated it when he met people face to face, shaking their hands, listening to their own private experiences of suffering and offering them words of comfort. After his helicopter landed in the Non-Commissioned Officers' School of the Air Force, Francis got into the “Popemobile” accompanied by the Bishop of Caserta, Giovanni D'Alise and after about ten metres he stopped to talk to a group of a hundred or so faithful.
 

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http://www.zenit.org/en/articles/pope-francis-homily-at-mass-in-caserta

Pope Francis' Homily at Mass in Caserta
Rome,  July 26, 2014 

On Saturday evening, Pope Francis celebrated Mass in the square in front of the Royal Palace of Caserta, southern Italy.

The Mass, which took place after the Pope met priests from the region, began at 6pm. Today is the feast of Saint Anna, the mother of Mary and patron of the city.

Here below is the homily delivered by the Holy Father:
***
Jesus addressed his listeners with simple words that everyone could understand. Also this evening, he we have heard that he speaks to us through short parables that refer to the daily life of the people of that time. The parallels of the treasure hidden in the field and the pearl of great price have, as protagonists, a poor peasant and a wealthy merchant. The merchant searched for a thing of value all his life, something that would satisfy his thirst for beauty, travelling the world, without giving up, in the hope of finding what he is looking for. The other, the peasant, has never moved away from his field and is working all time, with the usual daily routine. Yet for both the final outcome is the same: the discovery of something valuable, a treasure for one, and a pearl of great price for the other. Both are also united by a common sentiment: the surprise and joy of having found the fulfillment of every desire. In the end, both of them don't hesitate to sell everything to buy the treasure they found. Through these two parables, Jesus teaches what the kingdom of heaven is, how to find it, what to do to possess it.
 

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Pope Francis will meet with Pastor Giovanni Traettino on Monday in Caserta.

http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/pope-francis-to-meet-with-evangelical-pastor-13934/

Pope Francis to meet with evangelical pastor

Vatican City, Jul 26, 2014 / 06:02 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Pope Francis’ upcoming encounter with the evangelical Christian pastor Giovanni Traettino continues the path of dialogue he has walked with evangelical denominations since his time in Buenos Aires.

Pope Francis met Traettino in 2006, while he was Archbishop of Buenos Aires, at the third fraternal meeting of the Renewed Communion of Evangelicals and Catholics in the Spirit.

On that occasion, Cardinal Bergoglio gave a speech on themes such as God’s embrace and the wounds of Christ. Kneeling down, he received the blessing of pastors, priests, and lay people who attended the meeting.
 
In his intervention, Bergoglio prayed that “the Father close our mouth with an embrace and unite us more and more.”
 
Other participants at the meeting included Fr. Raniero Cantalamessa, preacher of the Pontifical Household and a member of Renewal in the Spirit, the most widespread Catholic charismatic movement; Matteo Calisi, the then-president of the Catholic Fraternity of Charismatic Covenant Communities and Fellowships; and Giovanni Traettino, a leader of the Evangelical Church of the Reconciliation in Italy.
 

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http://www.zenit.org/en/articles/pope-calls-patriarch-sako-expresses-his-closeness-with-iraqi-christians

Pope Calls Patriarch Sako, Expresses His Closeness With Iraqi Christians
Baghdad,  July 26, 2014

Pope Francis has phoned the Patriarch of Babylon of the Chaldeans, Louis Raphael I Sako, to express his participation and closeness to the suffering of the Iraqi people.

He made explicit reference to Mosul Christians, expelled from the city by the self-proclaimed militants of the "Islamic Caliphate", Fides reports.

According to the Chaldean patriarchate, during the phone call, which took place on Friday morning, July 25, the Pope thanked Patriarch Sako for guiding the Christian people in this period, and expressed his affection for all Christians in Iraq, urging them to keep their faith alive.
 

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http://www.zenit.org/en/articles/pope-s-angelus-address-sunday-july-27th

Pope's Angelus Address, Sunday July 27th
Vatican City,  July 27, 2014 

At 12pm today, Pope Francis appeared at the window of the study in the Apostolic Palace to pray the Angelus with faithful and pilgrims gathered in St. Peter's Square.

Here below is an English translation of his words introducing the Marian prayer, and his address that followed:
***
Dear Brothers and Sisters,

The brief similarities put forward in today's liturgy conclude the chapter of Matthew’s Gospel dedicated to the parables of the Kingdom of God (13:44-52). Among these are two small masterpieces: the parables of the treasure hidden in the field, and the pearl of great price. They tell us that the discovery of the Kingdom of God can come suddenly, as when the peasant farmer is ploughing, finding the treasure unexpectedly; or after a long search, as the pearl for the merchant, who finally found the pearl of great price he had long dreamed of. But in that case and in the other, the primary fact remains that the treasure and the pearl are worth more than all other goods. Therefore, the farmer and the merchant, when they find them, give up everything else to buy them. They do not need to reason, to think, to reflect: they realize immediately the incomparable value of what they have found, and are willing to lose anything to have it.

So is the Kingdom of God: whoever finds it has no doubts, he feels that it is what he was looking and waiting for, and that it responds to his most authentic aspirations. And it is really so: those who know Jesus, who meet him personally, remain fascinated, attracted by so much goodness, so much truth, so much beauty, and all in great humility and simplicity. Look for Jesus, encounter Jesus. This is the great treasure!