"Every time I read the Sacred Scripture, in the passages that speak
about Our Lady, three verbs come to my attention. I would like to pause and
look at these, with the intention of inviting the pastors and faithful of
Cuba to put them into practice.
 "The first is to rejoice. It was the first word that the Angel
Gabriel addressed to the Virgin: "Rejoice, full of grace, the Lord is
with you". The life of those who have discovered Jesus is full of an
inner joy so great that nothing and no-one can take it away. Christ gives
his people the necessary strength not to be sad or overwhelmed, thinking
that their problems have no solution. Supported by this truth, the
Christian has no doubt that what is done with love engenders a serene joy,
the sister of the hope that breaks down the barrier of fear and opens the
doors to a promising future. ... How good it would be if all Cubans,
especially the young, could say: "I am a man of charity"; I live
truly to love, and not to be trapped in the vicious circle of an eye for an
eye, a tooth for a tooth. What joy there is in loving authentically, in our
daily actions, and not with plentiful but empty words that amount to
nothing".
 "The second verb is to rise. St. Luke says that, with Jesus in her
womb, Mary rose and promptly went to help her kinswoman Elizabeth, who in
her old age was about to become a mother. She fulfilled God's will, making
herself available to anyone in need. She did not think of herself, but
instead overcame setbacks and gave herself to others. Victory belongs to
those who rise again and again, without giving up. If we imitate Mary, we
cannot do so while sitting down, merely complaining, or even at times
passing the buck to others rather than facing our own responsibilities. ...
Mary was always with her people, especially the least among them. She knew
loneliness, poverty and exile, and learned how to create fraternity and to
make her home any place where goodness grew. We implore her to give us a
poor soul without pride, a pure heart that sees God in the faces of the
disadvantaged, and unwavering patience that does not give up when faced
with the difficulties of life".
 "The third verb is to persevere. Mary, who had experienced God's
goodness, proclaimed the greatness He had worked in her. ... For this
reason, she stood by her Son, when everyone else had abandoned Him; she
prayed without fail alongside the apostles and other disciples, lest they
lose their mind. ...We too are called upon to continued in the love of God
and to continue loving our neighbours. In this world, in which eternal
values are discarded and everything is subject to change, in which a
throwaway mentality triumphs, and in which there is fear of lifelong
commitments, the Virgin encourages us to be men and women constantly
engaged in good work, who maintain their word, who are always
faithful".
 "Be joyful and share this with those around you. Lift your heart and
do not succumb to adversity, stay on the path of good, tirelessly helping
those who are oppressed by sorrows and troubles. These are the important
lessons Our Lady of Charity of El Cobre teaches us, and which are useful to
us now and in the future".

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 THE POPE TO THE BISHOPS OF CAMEROON: EVANGELISATION IS CLOSELY LINKED TO
HUMAN DEVELOPMENT
 Vatican City, 6 September 2014 (VIS) - Today Pope Francis received the
prelates of the National Episcopal Conference of Cameroon at the end of
their five-yearly "ad limina" visit. At the end of the audience
the Pope expressed his encouragement and confidence in the bishops, whose
visit to Rome underlined the spirit of communion with the Apostolic See,
and handed them his written discourse, in which he writes that "for
the Gospel to profoundly touch and convert hearts, we must remember that
only our unity and love make it possible to bear witness authentically and
effectively". "You must keep unity and diversity closely linked
in order to accommodate the human and spiritual wealth of your dioceses,
that is expressed in many ways".
 Pope Francis mentioned the good collaboration between the Church, the
State and society in Cameroon, as shown recently by the signing of a
framework agreement between the Holy See and the Republic of Cameroon, and
invited the prelates to put this agreement in practice, "so that legal
recognition of many ecclesial institutions will enable them to exercise
greater influence, to the benefit not only of the Church but also of the
whole of society in Cameroon". In this context, he also referred to
the considerable commitment on the part of the local churches in social
work, especially in the fields of education, health and charity, that is
recognised and appreciated by the civil authorities and must be the fulcrum
of "a fruitful collaboration between the State and the Church, with
full respect for her freedom. Commitment to social work is an integral part
of evangelisation, as there is an intimate link between evangelisation and
human development, which must be expressed and developed in all
evangelising work".
 The action of evangelisation will be more effective when the Gospel
"is truly lived by those who have received and profess it. This is how
we find the way of drawing to Christ those who do not yet know Him,
demonstrating the power of His love that is able to transform and
illuminate human life". Given the significant presence of Muslims in
some dioceses, the Pope encouraged the bishops to "develop a dialogue
of life with them, in the spirit of mutual trust", which is now
"essential to maintain a climate of peaceful co-existence and to
discourage the development of the violence that Christians are victims of
in certain regions of the African continent".
 He continues, "Families, equally, must continue to be the focus of
your particular care, especially today as they experience grave hardships -
poverty, the displacement of peoples, lack of security, the temptation to
return to ancestral practices incompatible with the Christian faith, or
even new lifestyles promised by a secularised world".
 It is also essential that the clergy "offer witness to a life
inhabited by the Lord, coherent with the demands and the principles of the
Gospel", he writes, inviting the prelates to be fathers attentive to
their priests, so that they are helped to avoid the temptations of power,
honours and money. "In relation to this latter point, the negative
example that may be given by poor management of goods, personal enrichment
or wastefulness will be particularly scandalous in a region where many
people lack basic necessities". Similarly, "the unity of the
clergy is an indispensable element in the witness to the risen Christ ...
and which depends upon unity among bishops, who are often faced with the
same challenges and called upon to offer common and joint solutions, as
well as the unity of the 'presbyterium' that the Lord calls on us to build
every day, setting aside all forms of prejudice, especially on the basis of
ethnicity".
 The Pontiff finally offers encouragement to consecrated persons, whose
life is "always a prophetic witness and model in matters of
reconciliation, justice and peace" and concludes by urging the
prelates of Cameroon not to fear difficulties and to continue to proclaim
the Good News with a renewed missionary spirit "to all those who still
await it or are most in need".

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 28 SEPTEMBER: DAY OF PRAYER FOR THE SYNOD ON THE FAMILY
 Vatican City, 6 September 2014 (VIS) - According to a communique issued by
the Secretariat for the Synod of Bishops, Sunday 28 September will be
dedicated to prayer for the Third General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops,
to take place from 5 to 19 October on the theme "Pastoral challenges
to the family in the context of evangelisation".
 The particular Churches, parish communities, Institutes of consecrated
life, associations and movements are invited to pray during Eucharistic
celebrations and other liturgical occasions in the days preceding and
during the work of the Synod.
 In Rome, there will be prayers every day in the Chapel of Salus Populii
Romani in the Basilica of St. Mary Major. The faithful, especially
families, may include this intention in their personal prayers, and are
recommended to pray the Rosary for the work of the Synod.
 The Secretariat of the Synod will shortly publish a leaflet in various
languages with the prayer of the Holy Family for the Synod, composed by
Pope Francis and with other suggested intentions for the prayers of the
faithful.

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 CARDINAL ORTEGA Y ALAMINO, POPE'S SPECIAL ENVOY TO THE ANNIVERSARY OF THE
"MOTHER CHURCH OF NORTH AMERICA"
 Vatican City, 6 September 2014 (VIS) - A letter was published today,
written in Latin and dated 25 July 2014, by which the Holy Father appoints
Cardinal Jaime Lucas Ortega y Alamino, archbishop of Havana, Cuba, as his
special envoy to the celebration of the 350th anniversary of the foundation
of the parish of Notre Dame-de-Quebec, Canada, the "mother Church of
North America", scheduled to take place on 15 September.
 The members of the mission accompanying the Cardinal will be Msgr. Denis
Belanger, parish priest of Notre Dame-de-Quebec and rector of the
Basilica-Cathedral of the same name, and Rev. Pierre Gingras, parish priest
of St. John the Baptist and St. Dominic in Quebec City.

___________________________________________________________

 AUDIENCES
 Vatican City, 8 September 2014 (VIS) - Today the Holy Father received in audience:
 - Annette Schavan, new ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany to
the Holy See, presenting her letters of credence.
 - Cardinal Gottfried Danneels, archbishop emeritus of Mechelen-Brussel, Belgium.
 - Rev. Fr. Jose Ornelas Carvalho, superior general of the priests of the
Sacred Heart of Jesus (Dehonians).
 - Professor Matteo Truffelli, national president of Italian Catholic Action.
 - Kenan Gursoy, ambassador of Turkey to the Holy See, on his farewell visit.
 On Saturday, 6 September, the Holy Father received in audience:
 - Cardinal Marc Ouellet, P.S.S., prefect of the Congregation for Bishops.
 - Tamar Grdzelidze, new ambassador of Georgia to the Holy See, presenting
her letters of credence.

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 OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS
 Vatican City, 8 September 2014 (VIS) - The Holy Father has accepted the
resignation from the pastoral care of the archdiocese of Armagh, Ireland,
presented by Cardinal Sean Baptist Brady, upon reaching the age limit. He
is succeeded by Archbishop Eamon Martin, formerly coadjutor of the same
diocese.

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