“The day after tomorrow, September 1, we celebrate the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation, inaugurating the Season of Creation, which will last until October 4, the feast of Saint Francis of Assisi. On that date I plan to publish an Exhortation, a second Laudato sì.” Pope Francis had first mentioned it during a private audience a few days ago. At the end of today’s general audience, he announced the exact date. The release of the second part of the encyclical is taking shape. “Let us join our Christian brothers and sisters in the commitment to care for Creation as a sacred gift from the Creator – the Pope added -. It is necessary to stand with the victims of environmental and climate injustice, striving to end the senseless war on our common home, which is a terrible world war. I urge all of you to work and pray for it to abound with life once again.”
Catechesis on Kateri Tekakwitha. On Wednesday morning, during the general audience in the Paul VI Hall, Pope Francis resumed his cycle of catechesis on The passion for evangelization: the apostolic zeal of the believer, focusing on the theme: “To pray and to serve with joy: Kateri Tekakwitha, first native saint of North America”. “Evangelism often begins this way: with simple, small gestures, such as parents helping their children learn to talk to God in prayer and telling them about His great and merciful love”, he said.
After outlining the biography of the saint, the Pope pointed out that “witnessing to the Gospel is not only about what is pleasing; we must also know how to bear our daily crosses with patience, trust and hope.”
“Patience is a great Christian virtue – he added in unscripted remarks -. He who does not have patience is not a good Christian.”
Kateri Tekakwitha’s life is the role model, for it “shows us that every challenge can be overcome if we open our hearts to Jesus, Who grants us the grace we need to continue on our journey of Christian life with faithfulness and perseverance.” “Patience and a heart open to Jesus – this is a recipe for living well”, he added. The Pope recalled that Kateri lived in the Jesuit mission near Montreal. There she attended Mass every morning, devoted time to adoration before the Blessed Sacrament, prayed the Rosary and lived a life of penance. “These spiritual practices of hers impressed everyone at the Mission; they recognized in Kateri a holiness that was appealing because it stemmed from her deep love for God.”
Holiness in everyday life. Holiness and service were at the heart of the catechesis. “This is proper to holiness: to attract”, the Pope said. “God calls us through attraction; He calls us with this desire to be close to us and one feels this divine attraction. The faith is always expressed in service.” Speaking about Kateri’s life, the Holy Father recalled her vow of perpetual virginity professed on March 25, 1679, the Solemnity of the Annunciation. “This choice of hers reveals another aspect of apostolic zeal that she had: total surrender to the Lord. Of course, not everyone is called to make the same vow as Kateri, but every Christian is called to give themself daily with an undivided heart to the vocation and mission entrusted to them by God, serving God and one’s neighbour in a spirit of charity.” Francis thus described the North-American saint as a role model: “Kateri’s life is further proof that apostolic zeal implies both union with Jesus, nourished by prayer and the sacraments, and the desire to spread the beauty of the Christian message through fidelity to one’s particular vocation.” “May we too, like Saint Kateri Tekakwitha – the Pope said in his closing remarks – draw strength from the Lord and learn to do ordinary things in extraordinary ways, growing daily in faith, charity, and zealous witness for Christ.”
“Each one of us is called to holiness, to everyday holiness, to the holiness of the common Christian life.”
Concern for Ukraine. Finally, in his greetings in Italian, the Pope reaffirmed his continuing “closeness and prayer” for the “dear and martyred Ukraine”, “so sorely tried by terrible suffering.” In the light of the Holy See’s clarification of a video message sent by the Pope to a group of young Russians, these words take on even greater significance.
