Pope Leo XIV to Laura and all mothers: keep the Virgin Mary as firm point of reference amid difficulties

 

Pope

• Pope Leo XIV
• virgin mary
• statement
• family
• faith
• Human Fraternity

Pope Leo writes to a mother: Entrust yourself to Mary to face every uncertainty

In the latest issue of the magazine Piazza San Pietro, Pope Leo XIV responds to a letter from Laura, a mother who shared some of her struggles with faith and invites her to keep the Virgin Mary as a firm point of reference amid difficulties.

By Vatican News

Pope Leo XIV has responded to a letter from a woman named Laura, who wished to share the joys and struggles of her faith.

The Holy Father received her message through the monthly publication of the Basilica of St. Peter, the magazine Piazza San Pietro, and the Pope's response was published in its latest edition. 

With Mary, every uncertainty can be faced

In response to the questions of this wife and mother about how to face difficulties, the Pope urged Laura to name them clearly and to share her personal experience.

Laura wonders, and asks the Pope for advice, how to overcome the temptations that seem to take over, despite the great love she receives from her husband and her three beautiful daughters, who are being raised in the Christian faith—a faith that she herself describes as "stronger than ever."

She wonders whether this faith is lacking in solidity.

Pope Leo emphasizes: “Your enthusiasm for the faith and the truth of your heart are a blessing for you and your family. […] If your point of reference is Mary, you will be able to face every uncertainty. […] Sharing projects of Christian love is fundamental for spiritual progress and for cooperating with the grace and the will of God.”

These are some excerpts from what the Pope writes, as highlighted in the press release issued on Monday, August 18, by the magazine’s editorial staff.

Dialogue, rest, peace, unity: Themes of the August issue

The monthly publication also includes a special feature on the Meeting of Fraternity, scheduled to take place in Rome on September 12 and 13—an occasion for encounter, closeness, and sharing through dialogue.

It features an in-depth piece on the ongoing thread of peace in the history of the twelve Popes, from Leo XIII to Leo XIV, and on their deep connection to fraternity.

In an editorial titled “Rest, Fraternity, and Peace,” Father Enzo Fortunato reflects on the meaning of the summer season as a time of rest.

The symbol of the latest edition of Piazza San Pietro evokes the first community gathered around Jesus, which thus becomes an image of a Church called to build bridges, not walls.

USCCB says all pregnant mothers and their children must be protected even in custody of Customs and Border patrols

 

A girl from Anapra, Mexico touches hands with a person in the US through the border fence  (AFP or licensors)

Church

• bishops
• United States
• migrants and refugees

USCCB: ‘Protecting pregnant mothers and their children is never obsolete'

The US Bishops’ Conference responds to Trump administration revoking policies that protect pregnant and postpartum women in the custody of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

By Vatican News

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) issued a statement responding to the Trump Administration’s recent revocation of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) guidance addressing the needs of pregnant and postpartum women and their newborn children while in CBP custody.

‘Inexcusable’ to deny basic necessities

Bishop Mark Seitz of El Paso, Texas is the chairman of the USCCB’s Committee on Pro-Life Activities. He pointed out how “deeply troubling and inexcusable” it is that “measures intended to ensure the basic safety of pregnant mothers and their young children while in government custody could be rescinded.”

The annulled policy laid down the minimum standards of care for these women and children under CBP custody: They were to receive food, water, formula, have a safe places to sleep and regular monitoring as well as be “placed in the least restrictive setting possible.”

The reason given for rescinding the policy was that it was “obsolete or misaligned with current Agency guidance and immigration enforcement priorities.” On top of this, another policy regarding the care of medically at-risk individuals in custody was also cancelled. No other guidance was offered to replace the ones that were revoked.

Proven harms of immigration detention

In their statement, the bishops reiterated their message about the “proven harms that immigration detention is known to inflict on families and especially on young children.” They warned against the “instances of neglect and abuse, even if inadvertent” that put the lives of mothers and their children at risk.

The U.S. bishops stressed that the concerning decision to rescind the policies is amplified as the “Administration simultaneously ramps up family detention in place of safer, more cost-effective alternatives to detention.”

The statement emphasized that “protecting pregnant mothers and their children can never be considered ‘obsolete.’” Moreover, the bishops argued that this “irrefutably extends to noncitizens in immigration detention” as they also have God-given dignity.

Closing their statement, the USCCB urged the Administration to reissue guidance to increase the care and protection of the “vulnerable population while in government custody.”

On this Monday we have several powerful Saint days: #1 Saint Gianna Molla

 

St. Gianna Beretta Molla

Feastday: April 28
Patron: of mothers, physicians, and unborn children
Birth: October 4, 1922
Death: April 28, 1962
Beatified: April 24, 1994 by Pope John Paul II
Canonized: May 16, 2004 by Pope John Paul II

St. Gianna Beretta Molla was an Italian pediatrician born in Magenta in the Kingdom of Italy on October 4, 1922. She was the tenth of thirteen children in her family.

At three-years-old, Gianna and her family moved to Bergamo, and she grew up in the Lombardy region of Italy.

As a young girl, Gianna openly accepted her faith and the Catholic-Christian education provided to her from her loving parents. She grew up viewing life as God's beautiful gift and found the greatest necessity and effectiveness in prayer.

In 1942, Gianna began her study of medicine in Milan. She was a diligent and hardworking student, both at the university and in her faith.

As a member of the St. Vincent de Paul Society, Gianna applied her faith in an apostolic service for the elderly and needy.

She received degrees in both medicine and surgery from the University of Pavia in 1949, and in 1950 she opened a medical office in Mesero, near her hometown of Magenta.

In 1952, Gianna specialized in pediatrics at the University of Milan and from there on, she was especially drawn toward mothers, babies, the elderly and the poor.

Gianna considered the field of medicine to be her mission and treated it as such. She increased her generous service to Catholic Action, a movement of lay Catholics dedicated to living and spreading the Social Teaching of the Catholic Church in the broader culture. The Catholic Action movement is still at work today, throughout the world.

Gianna hoped to join her brother, a missionary priest in Brazil, where she intended to offer her medical expertise in gynecology to poor women.

However, her chronic ill health made this impractical, and she continued her practice in Italy.

She chose the vocation of marriage and considered this to be a gift from God. Gianna embraced this gift with all her being and completely dedicated herself to "forming a truly Christian family."

In December 1954, Gianna met Pietro Molla, an engineer who worked in her office. They were officially engaged the following April, and married in September 1955, making Gianna a happy wife.

Gianna wrote to Pietro, "Love is the most beautiful sentiment that the Lord has put into the soul of men and women."

In November 1956, Gianna became a mother to her first child, Pierluigi. Their second child, Maria Zita, in December 1957, and their third, Laura, in July 1959.

Gianna handled motherhood with grace and was able to harmonize all aspects of her demanding life.

In 1961, Gianna became pregnant with her fourth child. Toward the end of her second month of pregnancy, Gianna was struck with an unimaginable pain.

Her doctors discovered she had developed a fibroma in her uterus, meaning she was carrying both a baby and a tumor.

After examination, the doctors gave her three choices: an abortion, which would save her life and allow her to continue to have children, but take the life of the child she carried; a complete hysterectomy, which would preserve her life, but take the unborn child's life, and prevent further pregnancy; or removal of only the fibroma, with the potential of further complications, which could save the life of her baby.

Catholic teaching affirms what medical science, the Natural Law, the Bible and unbroken Christian tradition affirm, the child in the womb has a fundamental Human Right to Life. Wanting to preserve her child's life, Gianna opted for the removal of only the fibroma.

In fact, she was willing to give her own life to save the life of her child.

Gianna pleaded with the surgeons to save her child's life over her own. She sought comfort in her prayers and her living faith.

The child's life was saved, for which Gianna graciously thanked the Lord.

After the operation, complications continued throughout her pregnancy, but Gianna spent the remainder of her pregnancy with an unparalleled strength and insistent dedication for her tasks as a mother and a doctor.

A few days before the baby was to be born, Gianna prayed the Lord take any pain away from the child. She recognized she may lose her life during delivery, but she was ready.

Gianna was quite clear about her wishes, expressing to her family, "If you must decide between me and the child, do not hesitate: choose the child? I insist on it. Save the baby."

On April 21, 1962, Gianna Emanuela Molla successfully delivered by Caesarean section.

The doctors tried many different treatments and procedures to ensure both lives would be saved. However, on April 28, 1962, a week after the baby was born, Gianna passed away from septic peritonitis. She is buried in Mesero.

Gianna was beatified by Pope John Paul II on April 24, 1994, and officially canonized as a saint on May 16, 2004. Her husband and their children, including Gianna Emanuela, attended her canonization ceremony, making this the first time a husband witnessed his wife's canonization.

In 2003, mother-to-be Elizabeth Comparini experienced a tear in her placenta when she was 16-weeks pregnant. Her womb was drained of all amniotic fluid. She was told the chances of her baby's survival was little to none. Elizabeth is said to have prayed to Gianna Molla and asked for her intercession. Elizabeth was able to give birth to a healthy baby.

During Gianna's canonization ceremony, John Paul II described her as, "a simple, but more than ever, significant messenger of divine love."

St. Gianna is the inspiration behind the first pro-life Catholic healthcare center for women in New York, the Gianna Center.

St. Gianna Beretta Molla is the patron saint of mothers, physicians, and unborn children. Her feast day is celebrated on April 28.

Continue reading about St. Gianna Beretta Molla

Pope marks World Day of Social Communication and Mother's Day

 

File foto of the poster of a conference on AI organized by the Pontifical Academy of Sciences 

POPE

• POPE FRANCIS
• REGINA CAELI
• APPEAL
• WORLD DAY
• ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

Pope: ‘Don’t lose sight of the wisdom of the heart!’

Pope Francis marks World Day of Social Communications inviting humanity to foster a genuinely humane communication.

By Linda Bordoni

READ ALSO

12/05/2024

World Communications Day: Artificial Intelligence and the Wisdom of the Heart

Pope Francis on Sunday marked the 58th World Day of Social Communications reminding us, in a world increasingly permeated by artificial intelligence, to never lose sight of the “wisdom of the heart.”

Speaking during the Regina Caeli on Ascension Sunday, he said: “Only by recuperating a wisdom of the heart can we interpret the demands of our time and rediscover the path to fully human communication.”

His words echoed the Message he released for this occasion entitled “Artificial Intelligence and the Wisdom of the Heart: Towards a Fully Human Communication.”

And he did not forget to thank all those who work in the communications field for their work.

Mother’s Day

The Pope also marked Mother’s Day, which, he said, is celebrated “today in many countries.”

 “Let us think with gratitude of all mothers, and pray for the mothers who have gone to Heaven,” he said, before entrusting mothers to the protection of Mary, our heavenly mother, and asking for a big round of applause for all moms.

Ahead of the birthday of Mary, Pope Francis prays for all mothers

 

Pope Francis shakes hands with a mother at a Vatican event in June 

POPE

• POPE FRANCIS
• APPEAL
• GENERAL AUDIENCE
• WOMEN
• VIRGIN MARY

Pope prays for all mothers ahead of Nativity of Virgin Mary

As the Church prepares to celebrate the Nativity of Mary on Thursday, Pope Francis prays for all mothers, especially those whose children suffer in some way.

By Devin Watkins

“Mary experienced the tenderness of God as a daughter, full of grace, in order to share this tenderness as a mother through her union with the mission of her Son.”

Pope Francis offered that reflection in his greetings at the Wednesday General Audience, tying Mary’s motherhood to that of all mothers ahead of the liturgical feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary on Thursday.

The Pope pledged his closeness to mothers everywhere, mentioning especially those with children who suffer.

“I wish to express my closeness to all mothers, especially to those mothers with suffering children, who are ill, marginalized, or in prison.”

Special prayer for mothers of prisoners

He prayed in a special way for the mothers of young detainees, “so that their hope may not die.”

“Unfortunately, there are many people in prison who commit suicide, sometimes even young prisoners,” he said. “At times, a mother’s love can help preserve someone from this danger.”

“May Our Lady console all mothers, and all mothers who are afflicted by the suffering of their children.”

Prisons and suicide

As the Pope mentioned, suicide rates are much higher in prisons than among the general population.

Some studies say prisoners in the United States are four times more likely to commit suicide, with motivations ranging from fear of other inmates and the consequences of a person’s crime to the loss of a meaningful relationship. Most suicides occur in isolation cells.

In England and Wales, there were 92 self-inflicted deaths in prisons in 2018 alone.

According to Samaritans, an international charitable network, key risk factors for prison suicide include “mental ill-health, past self-harm, traumatic life experiences, and a background of disadvantage”.

A Blessing for our Moms on Mother's Day 2021

 

Pope remembers Moms today and victims of violence across globe

 

File photo of Pope Francis and an expectant mother  (Vatican Media)

POPE

• POPE FRANCIS
• APPEAL
• REGINA CÆLI
• COLOMBIA
• AFGHANISTAN
• WORLD DAY
• MEDICINE & HEALTH

Mother’s Day: Pope applauds all moms, mums, and mamas

Pope Francis greets all mothers as several countries celebrate Mother’s Day, and prays for victims of an attack in Afghanistan and for social tensions gripping Colombia.

By Devin Watkins

As children young and old around the world celebrate Mother’s Day, Pope Francis sent a special greeting to all mothers.

“We greet all the mothers of the world, even those who have passed away,” said the Pope. “A round of applause for mothers!”

Terror attack in Kabul

In a separate appeal at the Sunday Regina Coeli address, the Pope also prayed for the victims of a terrorist attack in Afghanistan.

More than 50 people were killed on Saturday in Kabul, most of whom were students leaving a girls’ secondary school.

Pope Francis called it an “inhumane action”, and he urged everyone to pray for the victims and their families.

“And may God grant peace to Afghanistan,” he prayed.

Colombia protests

The Pope went on to express his concern for the violent clashes and social tension gripping Colombia.

Dozens of people have died and hundreds injured after protests broke out in the Latin American nation on 28 April.

The protesters were sparked by a government-proposed tax reform, which have since been withdrawn. The movement now includes calls for better healthcare, education, and pensions.

Pope Francis lamented the deaths, and asked everyone to pray for Colombia.

Fibromyalgia sufferers

Finally, the Pope greeted all those who suffer from fibromyalgia, a disorder that causes extreme pain and loss of sleep and memory, as well as mood issues.

“I express my closeness,” said Pope Francis, “and I hope that more attention gets paid to this disease which is often overlooked.”

Wednesday, 12 May, will be marked as the International Fibromyalgia Awareness Day.

Why we should NOT refer to Mary as an unwed mother

Why we shouldn’t think of Mary as an unwed mother

Fr Robert McTeigue, SJ | Sep 08, 2020

Let us understand Scripture and see her as the champion of life.

What do you make of this statement beloved by many saints? De Maria numquam satis. Rather freely translated, one might read it as, “Regarding Mary, one can never say too much.” The Catholic world is bursting with examples of devotion to Mary, the mother of Jesus. Every art medium, countless books, the greatest cathedrals, myriad saints across the ages—all have given testimony to the inspirations received while contemplating merits and beauty of Mary. Blessed Bartolo Long wrote: “What is my vocation? To write about Mary, to have Mary praised, to have Mary loved.” (A remarkable statement from one who as a young man had become an occultist and satanist before being led to conversion and a devotion to the Rosary by a Dominican priest.)

Yes, we can never run out of good and true and beautiful things to say about Mary. But … there are some things that must not be said of Mary, however well-intentioned. From time to time it has been said that Mary was “an unwed mother.” I think that one root of this error is a misunderstanding of Scripture, as well as a well-meaning but nonetheless misplaced attempt to stir sympathy for Mary after the archangel Gabriel gave her the astounding news that she would conceive the Son of God. (Luke 1:31-33) The other root of this error is a misunderstanding of the role of the Holy Spirit in the life of Mary. Let’s look at both.

We’ll get ourselves into difficulty if we fail to understand the biblical concept of “betrothal” at work in the Jewish culture of Mary and Joseph. Matthew 1:18 says: “Now this is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about. When his mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found with child through the Holy Spirit.” Betrothal was the first part of the marriage, committing a man and woman to each other as husband and wife even before they made a home together. As Matthew 1:19 says: “Joseph her husband, since he was a righteous man, yet unwilling to expose her to shame, decided to divorce her quietly.” St. Matthew makes clear that Joseph was her husband or else he would not have considered divorcing her.

Some folks, with the best of intentions, may be inclined to speak of Mary as an “unwed mother” in order to stir up compassion for women who find themselves facing what is sometimes called “a crisis pregnancy.” Such women and their pre-born children need our compassion and support, but not because Mary was an unwed mother. From the earliest times of Christianity, Mary was referred to as the “spouse of the Holy Spirit”; in this view, she could not possibly be an unwed mother.

Over a hundred years ago, Pope Leo XIII wrote: “You know well the intimate and wonderful relations existing between Mary and the Holy Spirit, so that she is justly called His Spouse.” He is simply confirming words written by St. Augustine some 1,400 years prior: “Mary was that only one who merited to be called the Mother and Spouse of God.” Yes, from the Church’s earliest reflections, Mary was rightly called the “Mother of God” because she is the mother of Jesus who is true God and true man. She is also called the spouse of the Holy Spirit (and hence the “spouse of God”) because of the spousal relationship between them. What do I mean by that?

Marriage is characterized by love that is full, free, faithful and fruitful. Mary, “full of grace” (Luke 1:28), is preserved from original sin from the moment of her Immaculate Conception. The divine love for Mary is free, inasmuch as God chose to love her as an expression of his providence and sovereignty. That love is faithful, for it never fails her and is never withdrawn from her. It is a fruitful love (absolutely so!) because that love results in the conception of the Christ who is both son of God and son of Mary. So understood, Mary is rightly called “the spouse of the Holy Spirit.”

What’s the take-away from this theology lesson? Simply this: if we want to help the pro-life cause and inspire generosity on behalf of women in distress, we can and should do so because Mary is proof that God is lovingly at work in human life from the moment of conception. Mary is rightly the greatest inspiration for Christians defending the pro-life cause, because she chose to cooperate with the work of the life-giving God, and not because of a misapplied plea for pity as an unwed mother. 

Let’s pray and work together to champion the God-given gift of each human life, from conception till natural death.