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NEW YORK ( CNS ) – Saint John Paul II “ looked at the world with Mary ’ s eyes and saw man in need of mercy ,” the postulator of the pope ’ s canonization cause told Massgoers Oct . 12 at Saint Vincent Ferrer Church in New York .
“ Mary ’ s eyes are the eyes of a mother . Her gaze embraces us and reads what is in our hearts ,” said Monsignor Slawomir Oder , who was the homilist at a special vigil Mass to mark the 100th anniversary of the last Marian apparition at Fatima , Portugal .
Mary appeared to three shepherd children at Fatima in 1917 . She first appeared May 13 , and the apparitions
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continued once a month until Oct . 13 .
“ Mary looks at us with a mother ’ s tenderness and she is able to reach our hearts to see our deepest needs ,” Monsignor Oder said . “ In her eyes , there is no judgment and condemnation . There is only maternal love .
“ She looks at us in the same way as she looks at her Son beneath her heart . The tenderness of Mary ’ s maternal glance is a prelude to mercy ,” Monsignor Oder said . “ It invites us to come to her , so that we can experience it ourselves .”
Monsignor Oder came from Rome for the vigil Mass Oct . 12 . The principal celebrant was Archbishop Bernardito
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Auza , the Vatican ’ s permanent observer to the United Nations .
In his homily at the Oct . 12 Mass , Monsignor Oder told the congregation that Saint John Paul made “ his life a gift for the church and for his brethren .”
During the beatification process for the now-canonized pontiff , he recalled , the Marian aspect of the pope ’ s spirituality was brought up many times . “ As one witness put it beautifully and eloquently , ‘ John Paul II learned to look at the world with the eyes of Mary . This capacity of insightful perception is the basis of what we call the ‘ imagination of love ,’” Msgr . Oder said .
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A zucchetto worn by Saint John Paul II during his visit to Saint Louis in 1999 , his last trip to the United States , is displayed prior to a vigil Mass Oct . 12 celebrated in honor of Our Lady of Fatima at Saint Vincent Ferrer Church in New York City . ( CNS photo / Gregory A . Shemitz ) |
Hindu women pray for peace Oct . 1 at the Sri Bunar Maha Shiva Hindu temple in Yangon , Myanmar . Peace and harmony will not result from members of different religions simply tolerating each other ; respect and appreciation of customs and cultural diversity is required , top Vatican officials said in a message to the world ’ s Hindus . ( CNS photo / Nyein Chan Naing , EPA ) |
VATICAN CITY ( CNS ) -- Peace and harmony will not result from members of different religions simply tolerating each other ; respect and appreciation of customs and cultural diversity is required , top Vatican officials said in a message to the world ’ s Hindus .
“ Respect creates space for every person and nurtures within us a sense of ‘ feeling at home ’ with others . Rather than dividing and isolating , respect allows us to see our differences as a sign of the diversity and richness of the one human family ,” said the message
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from the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue .
Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran and Bishop Miguel Angel Ayuso Guixot , respectively the president and secretary of the pontifical , extended their best wishes to the world ’ s 1.1 billion Hindus for the feast of Diwali , a three-day religious festival , which was to begin Oct . 19 in most parts of the world . The festival focuses on the victory of truth over lies , light over darkness , life over death and good over evil .
The path to mutual respect between
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communities has no room for intolerance , which spawns “ violence in many parts of the world ,” the message said . Thus , a true culture of respect is required for peacemaking and harmonious living between communities .
“ We are challenged then to go beyond the confines of tolerance by showing respect to all individuals and communities for everyone desires and deserves to be valued according to his or her innate dignity ,” said the Vatican officials .
The message to Hindus was released Oct . 16 at the Vatican .
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