August 16 - 31, 2016
PHILIPPINE ASIAN NEWS TODAY
FAITH AND RELIGION
B13
Have the courage to ask for forgiveness, Pope Francis says
Vatican City-- On Wednesday Pope Francis stressed the
importance of having the courage to recognize our sins and ask
God for forgiveness, moving forward rather than getting stuck in
feelings of shame and rejection.
“How many times do we
feel rejected internally because of
our sins!” the Pope said Aug. 31,
noting that what the Lord tells us
in these moments is “have courage, come. For me you are not
discarded, have courage.”
In the face of our sins Jesus
calls us sons and daughters, he
said, adding that “this is the moment of grace, of forgiveness, a
moment of inclusion in the life of
Jesus, in the life of the Church.
It’s the moment of mercy.”
To hear someone say “you
are no longer discarded, I forgive
you, I embrace you,” is truly “the
mercy of God,” he said, adding
that “we must have courage to
go to him and ask forgiveness for
our sins, and then move forward
with courage.”
Pope Francis spoke to pil-
grims present in a rainy St. Peter’s
Square during his Wednesday
general audience, continuing his
ongoing catechesis on mercy for
the Jubilee.
He picked up from where
he left off last week, having postponed his catechesis due to the
massive earthquake that left
several towns in Central Italy in
shambles, focusing on the Gospel passage in Matthew in which a
woman with hemorrhages touches Jesus’ cloak with the hope of
being healed.
Speaking of how the woman, blending in with the crowd,
believed that just touching Jesus’
cloak would be enough to heal
her ailment, the Pope marveled
at her faith, saying she is able to
think like that “because she was
animated by so much faith and
so much hope and, with a touch
of cunning, achieved what was in
her heart.”
The woman, he noted, had
been sick for many years and had
visited several doctors, spending
all of her money on painful treat-
ments only to get worse.
As a result, she was “rendered impure” and “excluded
from the liturgy, from married
life, from normal relationships
with others.”
“She was a woman discarded from society,” Francis said,
explaining that because of this,
“she felt that Jesus could free her
from sickness and from the state
of marginalization and indignity
in which she found herself. In a
word, she felt that Jesus could
save her.”(E.Harris, CAN)
K of C San Lorenzo Ruiz Council #8809 Recognized
with the Columbian Award
The San Lorenzo Ruiz Council #8809 of the Knights of Columbus, headed by Grand Knight
Deacon Bob Rosales of the Archdiocese of Toronto, is among
those Councils all over the world
being recognized with the Columbian Award by the worldwide organization’s Supreme Council in
New Haven, Connecticut for the
Fraternal Year 2015-2016.
The official announcement
was made in “Knightline”, the official newsletter of the worldwide
organization.
The K of C Supreme Council gives out the annual awards
as a testimonial of the efficiency,
industry and excellent activity
program of Councils across the
world for their involvement in
church, community, family, ProLife and Youth Activities.
Deacon Rosales is thank-
ing his fellow officers and active
members working with him for
their contribution in the various service programs of the San
Lorenzo Ruiz Council #8809 during the Fraternal Year 2015-2016
and encourages a similar zeal of
dedication by the new set of officers and members for the 20162017 Fraternal Year.
The Council Officers covered during the period were Dea-
con Bob Rosales, Grand Knight;
Rev. Fr. Simon deGale, Chaplain;
Bro. Romy Olit, Deputy Grand
Knight; Bro. Do