Pope Francis closed the
Year of Faith by calling on people to keep Christ at the center of their
lives, especially in times of trouble. "When Jesus is at the center,
light shines even the darkest moments of our lives; he gives us hope,"
he said in his homily November 24, the feast of Christ the King. The closing
Mass in St. Peter's Square also saw, for the first time, the exposition
for public veneration of bones believed to be those of St. Peter. The
apostle is believed to have been martyred on a hill overlooking St.
Peter's Square and buried a tomb now located two levels below the main
altar of St. Peter's Basilica. Eight bone fragments, each two to three
centimeters long, were nestled in an open bronze reliquary displayed to
the side of the altar. During the ceremony, the pope -- the 265th
successor of Peter -- held the closed reliquary for several minutes in
silent prayer while choirs sang the Nicene Creed in Latin. The bones,
which were discovered during excavations of the necropolis under St.
Peter's Basilica in the 1940s, are kept in the pope's private chapel but
had never been displayed in public. While no pope has ever declared the
bones to be authentic, Pope Paul VI said in 1968 that the "relics" of
St. Peter had been "identified in a way which we can hold to be
convincing." How can you not love Pope Francis? His honesty and decision to make the papacy as transparent as possible recalls the ministry of Jesus Christ while He was on earth. I am thankful that God has decided to allow Pope Francis to lead His church.
Finding St Anthony Among the Lost Items
Saint Anthony of Padua, though often associated with finding lost articles, was primarily known in his lifetime as a powerful and eloquent preacher. Originally a Canon Regular of St. Augustine, he was inspired to join the newly formed Franciscan order after witnessing the martyrdom of the first Franciscan missionaries in Morocco. His conversion to the mendicant life under St. Francis of Assisi transformed him, deepening his commitment to poverty, humility, and evangelical preaching. Gifted with profound theological knowledge and a captivating speaking style, he traveled across Italy and France, drawing immense crowds with his clear and passionate sermons, converting many and combating heresy with his unwavering faith and intellectual rigor. Beyond his public ministry, St. Anthony was a mystic who enjoyed profound spiritual experiences, most notably a vision of the Infant Jesus. This intimate connection with the Christ Child is a hallmark of his iconography, often depicting him c...
