Pope Francis asked and the local Catholic communities complied. Hundreds of people packed the local churches on Wednesday to pray for peace in the world and in Ukraine, in particular. The Supreme Pontiff called on people to pray and fast for peace in Eastern Europe.
Yet we know very well how war is part of human life, it is something that we could never completely eliminate, even if we wanted to. A traditional saying goes: si vis pacem, para bellum. If you want peace, prepare for war.
When Father João de Brito arrived in a community, he faced intense work: he received hundreds of people whose confessions he heard, to whom he gave advice or taught doctrine.
Fr João Brito’s mystical experience, paying more attention to the evangelical challenge than to the specificity of earthly life, made him bold and indifferent to the rich, but brought him closer to the populations.
The University of Saint Joseph (USJ) will collaborate with Saint John Paul II Catholic University, a newly established East Timorese higher education institution. As soon as the epidemic scenario allows travel to resume, USJ intends to institute exchange programs with East Timor’s Catholic University for students and teachers alike.
“We feel your pain, your suffering, your starvation; we understand your disappointment; we understand your resistance,” the Cardinal underlined. “But to some who believe only in violent resistance, we say ‘there are other means.’”
“In 2014, I had no idea there was an asylum seeker crisis there, a result of thousands of Pakistani Christians fleeing persecution in their native country. Over the years, I learned to become the advocate of these Christians, many of whom are nothing less than heroes.”
The terse gravity of this “no” and this “yes” makes us reflect deeply, remembering the stern warning of the Second Vatican Council: no one, “even if he be a priest, may add, remove, or change anything in the liturgy on his own authority”! (Sacrosanctum Concilium, 22).
For several years, foreign workers have provided a valuable workforce in various establishments and households in Macau. Recently, the economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic has taken a toll largely on their employment and their lives.
It seems to us, therefore, that we can only understand João de Brito taking into account the Christian perspective that the Father’s Kingdom is not of this world. John’s actions stemmed from an infinite love for his neighbor that he wanted to spread among populations that did not know Jesus Christ. João’s daily life was therefore based on the Gospel; it was there that he found the strength to Christianize and to bear patiently (we can even say lovingly) all the obstacles he faced and all the sacrifices he went through. This man was happy because he believed that his activity led to the salvation of many of his brothers and that in this way he fully fulfilled the mission to which God had destined him. Living in the world, João lived for values that are not confined to our earthly existence.
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