What he did for us

Last Sunday, Pope Francis said: “This is what Jesus did for us: He reserved a place in Heaven for us. He took our humanity upon himself to take it beyond death, to a new place, to Heaven, so that where he is, we might also be there.

“It is the certainty that consoles us: there is a place reserved for everyone. There is a place for me too. Every one of us can say: We do not live aimlessly and without a destination. We are awaited, we are precious.

“God is in love with us, we are His children. And for us He has prepared the most worthy and beautiful place: Paradise. Let us not forget: the dwelling place that awaits us is Paradise. Here we are passing through. We are made for Heaven, for eternal life, to live forever.” 

Celebrating Mass

Archbishop Robert Le Gall of Toulouse, said: “Catholicism shouldn’t be reduced to a private sphere. Churches were built for public worship, and getting used to this situation wouldn’t be good.

“Pope Francis is right in saying that we must obey the government and the laws of our respective countries, but these countries must in turn respect constitutional laws. That is why we are going to keep protesting, respectfully, but decisively [till churches are open for worship in France].”      

Caring for oneself and others

At a webinar, Fr Arturo Sosa, head of the Society of Jesus, said: “The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the transformation of human life demanded by the changing times we live in. But we still don’t know how deep this change will have to be.

“[The pandemic] has highlighted the importance of care in many dimensions of our lives. It has brought to light so much neglect accumulated over decades in the way human beings have related to each other, to nature and to God.”

“[In the aftermath] We can learn from it how caring for oneself and caring for others is intimately related.”

(Compiled by Fr Joe Borg)