HOPEFUL ABOUT THE FUTURE

10 science-proven facts that will help you be optimistic about the future

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We are living at the best moment of our collective history, says hard data.

We are living at the best moment of our collective history, and nevertheless, there is a widespread belief that the world is going dramatically downhill. This is the main thesis of the book Progress: 10 Reasons to Look Forward to the Future, by Johan Norberg. The book, which aims to open the eyes of society and promote the value of progress, was published in English in 2017 and is now being published in other languages.

According to Juan Ramón Rallo, who wrote the prologue to the Spanish edition, Norbert shows with hard data—contradicting popular opinion and many forecasts—that “our planet is making huge strides on all basic indicators that we use to measure social progress.” The author reviews data, anecdotes, and historical events of great relevance, and their evolution and effects on the present and the future. All of this, he does to remind us that the past wasn’t always better. In fact, the book begins with this quote from Franklin Pierce Adams: “Nothing is more responsible for the good old days than a bad memory.” Starting with that thesis, Johan Norberg develops his arguments focusing on 10 key points:

1. Nutrition: Norberg reminds readers of the countless famines that have occurred for various reasons, such as bad harvests, and points out that the situation in Asia has been even worse than in the West. He explains that in the past a lack of adequate nutrition held back the intellectual development of society. However, he emphasizes that, according to the FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization), the worldwide malnutrition rate has diminished from 50 percent in 1945 to 11 percent in 2015. Aware that the worst indicators on this scale are from Africa, the author also dedicates part of his analysis to the positive changes that have taken place in countries such as Angola, Cameroon, and Mozambique.
2. Sanitation: The existence of sewerage, of sources of potable water, and of proper waste management helps avoid illnesses that can shorten the average life expectancy. Norberg points out the global progress that is being made in this area, although he criticizes the phenomena of water pollution and poor water management that leads to waste. The author also studies the progress taking place in this respect on the African continent.
3. Average lifespan: From 1770 to 2010, the average life expectancy at birth has grown from 29 to 70 years. In this regard, Norberg reminds his readers that “during a good part of human history, life was a difficult and short experience. Not only did we have much fewer commodities; the incidence of diseases, famine, and lack of sanitation was so acute that the lifespan of the average citizen was significantly shortened.” Currently, despite problems that continue to afflict humanity, such as infant mortality or certain diseases, the statistics are improving.
4. Poverty: In the 18th century, the majority of the population lived in abject poverty. With data such as this, Norberg shows that poverty is “everyone’s starting point” and reviews the historical evolution of poverty on a global scale. The statistics are clear: from 1820 to 2015, according to the World Bank, the percentage of the global population earning less than a dollar a day diminished from 85 percent to 23 percent. Globalization and capitalism are analyzed in depth in this chapter.
5. Violence: Norberg indicates that the media contribute to the belief that we live in a violent world. Nevertheless, war and violence were much more prevalent in past epochs of human history. In this regard, the author cites cognitive scientist Steven Pinker to assert that “the dramatic reduction of violence could be the most important event in human history.”
6. Environment: “If our hunger for energy has created a problem of climate change, it will also be our hunger for energy that will solve it.” This is Norberg’s approach to the environmental issues created by progress. According to him, social and economic development also leads to the development of more human talent to deal with problems; in this way, the more eyes are trained to look at a problem, “the more brains will be committed to solving it.”
7. Literacy: According to the OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development), 200 years ago only 12 percent of the population knew how to read and write. “Literacy was limited to political authorities, members of religious institutions, and the merchant class,” Norberg explains. The reason was that many of the elite thought that, if poor people had access to education, they would feel dissatisfied with their condition, and there would be greater social unrest. Nonetheless, the author explains how and why societies realized, little by little, that universal literacy was necessary, and it began to be more widespread. Thus, in 2015, the worldwide literacy rate of young people reached 91 percent.
8. Freedom: In the year 1800, there were still 60 countries with laws allowing slavery. In this regard, the author reviews the history of individual freedoms and of the hierarchies that have been created around the world throughout the centuries in the context of various political systems. Norberg recalls the words of Milton Friedman in 1991: “We are still far from the ideal of a completely free world, but in historical terms, the progress in our lifetimes has been incredible: more has been achieved in the last two centuries than in the previous two thousand years.”
9. Equality: Minorities are also an important issue. In this regard, Norberg explains that “in almost all corners of the world, there are still prejudices, hostilities, or hate crimes, but there are more and more places in which the government is committed to protecting equality before the law, fighting discrimination against minorities.” Thus, despite the continuing evident inequality of many groups, Norberg invites us to appreciate the steps that have been taken towards equality.
10. The next generation: Humanity has achieved great things with only a part of the population having access to knowledge. Today, the opportunities to develop and access that knowledge are much greater than before; consequently, the author says that “it is easy to predict that we are heading towards a world with fewer limitations, which will unleash an enormous creativity at the service of our wellbeing.”

Despite the undeniably positive perspective of the author, he wisely admits that it would be a mistake to assume that progress is guaranteed. He warns, “We continue to suffer from many problems, and there are more than a few movements and social and political currents that aspire to destroy the pillars of progress: individual freedom, economic openness, and technological progress.”

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FAITH AND DOGMA

Faith and Dogma

            Surprisingly, it may seem, Faith is a divine act, which is why it is a supernatural virtue; it is not available in nature, not even human nature, though human nature is created with a specific potency to be open to divine action. God, freely desiring to connect with humanity activates this created potency (also known as “obediential” potency) in man, thereby raising it to the level of divine living, without, however, interfering with man’s capacity to freely consent to the divine action. Thus we understand the Blessed Virgin Mary’s positive “yes” to God who invited her to be the mother of the Messiah, the Son of God and Saviour.

            God and man are person (note the singular), and person is specified by the faculty of free choice. God and man cannot force themselves on each other. God offers himself to man with absolute freedom, and man accepts freely, it being understood that the capacity for acceptance is originally God-given by the very act of creation. (Ultimately, everything is from God, and nothing from man! God is pure giver and man pure receiver).

            This act of God’s self-giving is Faith in the principal sense. Man’s acceptance is Faith in the secondary sense. Remember Jesus telling his disciples: “You did not choose me, I chose you that you may go and bear fruit, fruit that will last.” Jesus would not have said that had he not faith in his disciples. The free acceptance of this choice would be the disciples’ act of faith. As it happened, the disciples would  not only accept to be chosen but also be prepared to be sent. This is apostleship that follows on discipleship. In this way, God’s action of self-giving faith is continued and expanded by the faith-act of his disciples-apostles. This is faith in action.

            The self-giving of God and reception is a profoundly transcendent experience that is communicated through the medium of fact and word. Man is a social being, and communication is an essential factor of his humanity. As it happens, this communication is rational and supernatural. The supernatural reality as gift slakes the thirst of the rational that specifies its nature as human. (Animals and the lower species lack this intentionality).

            The supernatural reality we are dealing with here is the life of the Holy Trinity for which God has destined humanity. Albert Einstein believed that all creatures dance, even the tiniest particles. “Human beings, vegetables and cosmic dust all dance to a mysterious tune intoned in the distance by an invisible player.” That invisible player is God. The early Church Fathers used the word “perichoresis” to describe the gracious movement of mutuality between the persons of the Blessed Trinity in each one’s soul: “God’s circle-dance of communion” (Richard Rohr).  That dancing Trinity is within us all, or, more metaphysically, each one, by the very fact of creation, is introduced to the movement, though they are free to decline -graciously or ungraciously.

            This mystery, beyond all telling, must be made as intelligible as man’s faculties will allow through the media and channels of word and action that we commonly describe as Revelation. Revelation is the inexhaustible fount of truth, values, and empowering action.  Certain human communities, such as the Catholic Church, assume the unending task of encapsulating and transmitting these inexhaustible realities in explanatory concepts and convenient capsules known as “dogmas.” This input and enlightenment operate in an atmosphere of trust and love.

            Since life is dynamic and progressive, one can expect to contemplate new and expanding horizons, almost invariably very challenging, calling for updated introspection and the relevant formulations of time-tested teaching. The Church as a whole must expect to confront the dialectic of the objective principles and the challenging situations. The “perichoresis” of the Trinity cannot be frozen in one particular dance form. The teachers and the taught must admit that their concepts, however well vindicated, are never exhaustive, definitive and complete, and that they need to be mentally supple and humble enough to keep searching in their desire to give the best answers in a given situation, while working towards better ones. Faith can never be frozen in dogma.

            It is imperative to be in touch with reality which includes the Grand Narrative of God’s salvation the values (read “dogmas”) which call for our assent (read “faith”) in order to discern progressively what is conducive to human freedom and development. The developmental evolution began with the “big bang” and will be accomplished in the consummate surrender of all creation to God in the Paschal Mystery of Christ. The point is that Christ’s Resurrection is the most crucial leap into a totally new dimension that there has ever been in the long history of life and its development: a leap into a completely new order – call it the order of the Holy Trinity.

CATHECHESIS

New Horizons of Catechesis in a World of Media

To begin with, let me introduce the ever-evolving phenomena of this new media environment. We live in a culture where the world becomes a global village. It is because the swift communication possible anywhere, anytime and without any delay. The mass media have given rise to a new language of communication. This new language even affects the faith life of everyone in the globe. Aetatis Novae (pastoral instruction on social communication) correctly pointed out, “Nowhere today are people untouched by the impact of media upon religious and moral attitudes, political and social systems, and education.” We communicate through gestures, images, symbols and rituals. In the age of images, new world views and languages that one needs to see the new shifts in catechesis from its traditional paradigm. Sharing Catechesis is not just the transmission of a message. It is nurturing of faith. It is an action that deals with the social and ecclesial elements that we believe in. Catechesis has the role of transmitting the divine message to societies and individuals who live in history and make history. Biblical studies have long emphasized that literary forms moulded the Christian faith from the start. Bible contains at least five dominant genres: story, law, proverb, psalm, and oracle. Each of these forms has communicative potentials. More importantly, because religious language is the language of metaphor and symbol, an integration of this language is absolutely essential for catechesis and evangelisation. God-talk moves back and forth between the world of common sense and the world of imagination.

Catechesis has always been related to communication.  But, people often reduce catechesis to a limited perspective of incorporating audio-visual elements (slides, videos, music) into the techniques of catechesis. I have observed this dangerous tendency among some experts. My observation is that some consider technology the hallmark of communication, though it does have a role to play. Applying audio-visual methods to an unchanged approach in catechesis is ineffective. One needs to reflect whether such incorporation affects the very concept of catechesis. According to Gabriel Moran and Maria Harris, catechesis involves language and form. That means one needs to go beyond words and schooling. The early Church employed a variety of forms in catechesis. Community, prayer, worship, proclamation of the word, works that serve justice have always been forms of educating in the church. They are named, for example, in Acts 2: 44-47, where the apostles are described as continuing in ... the teaching (didache) of the apostles (kerygma) and in the communion (koinonia)  of breaking the bread and the prayers (leiturgia) as well as being concerned about and aware of anyone who had need (diakonia). This view is again stressed in the General Directory of Catechesis as an essential task of catechesis. At the same time proclamation, witness, teaching, sacrament, and love of neighbour are essential dimensions of catechesis.  This perspective of catechesis leaves us a new catechetical world-view. Thus we who have received our faith from our parents, teachers and various sources have the responsibility and mandate to communicate this faith because we as called to catechise can’t remain without communicating our faith.

In the early twentieth century Wassily Kandinsky (Russian modern abstract painter) viewed art as a protest against materialism. He was convinced that art could be a source of spiritual reform. He believed that abstract forms, lines, and colours communicated a common religious language, transcending national values and orientations. For Van Gogh (a Dutch Post-Impressionist painter) the whole of the physical world was spirit-filled; thus a still life, an interior scene, or landscape could communicate a religious vision. The early icons were the gospel of the poor, so said Pope Gregory the Great. Walt Disney had a group of people called, imagineers. Their job was to be engaged in Imagineering, that is, to engage in constant creative thinking about the work they were missioned to do. We need to put new wine into new wineskins (Mt. 9: 17) if our communicating of faith is to be sustained in the future. What are these new wineskins and conditions required for s to be imagineers? First of all we need to shift from the perspective of working with old wineskins. We are beginning to see that as catechists develop more experience with computers and the Internet as learning and thinking tools, they realize that these tools could be a vehicle for restructuring our traditional understanding of the parish and school curriculum and classroom practice.

          In Communicating Christ to the World, Cardinal Carlo Maria Martini wrote: “For authentic communication of the message to be possible . . . in a world that is reaching the dimensions of a ‘village,’ we must, in every field, commit ourselves to improving our competence in communications in order to place it at the service of the Gospel.” If we are to catechise effectively, not only must we witness to our faith and be willing to share our faith story with those we are catechising, but we must also employ the best pedagogical tools. Remember that we may decide to walk cautiously into the new media frontier, but we cannot ignore the possibilities or opportunities it has to offer our catechetical ministry. I am reminded of the Chinese proverb which is still relevant today: “I hear . . . and I forget. I see . . . and I remember. I do . . . and I understand.”

Fr. Robert Johnson (Archdiocese of Calcutta)

EFFECTIVE PRAYER LIFE

5 Keys to an Effective Prayer Life

God invites everybody to communicate with Him. It’s called prayer and quite simply it’s talking to our Heavenly Father in the Name of Jesus. Jesus is the one who taught us to pray, by example through The Lord’s Prayer. Yes, there are different types of prayer and there’s much that can be learned, but the first step in developing an effective prayer life is just to step out and start talking to God. There are many keys to building one’s prayer life, and here are five that we at GOD TV have selected that we believe will help you most.

1. Pick a time and place

Whilst you can pray at any time of the day or night, having a routine helps you to keep on track. Some Christians call this a devotion, or quiet time. Your prayer time need not necessarily be quiet especially if you “shout out to God with a voice of Praise!” as the Psalms instruct. However having a regular time and place where you can go to be alone with God is ideal. Many believers like to start the day in prayer and end it off with a prayer at night. Whatever works for you as long as you stick to it! Your prayer time can be coupled with a time of reading the Bible and there are many daily Bible reading plans including online services such as YouVersion, which is popular on tablets and smart phones.

2. Come boldly, come thankfully

The Book of Hebrews promises us that we can come boldly into God’s presence to receive mercy in our time of need. We should never be afraid of praying, although we should be God fearing, especially when it comes to entering into God’s Throne Room. Psalm 100 encourages us to come before God with joyful songs; and enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise. The means its best to start off your prayer session is by telling God how great He is, then thanking Him for all He has done in your life.

3. Pray God’s Word

You cannot go wrong in your prayer time, by reminding God of His promises concerning a particular situation and asking Him to intervene according to His Word. By confessing the relevant Scripture verse for your prayer need you are expressing your faith in God’s Word to turn it around. God does not lie and His Word goes forth to achieve the purpose for which it is sent. Many speakers on GOD TV have spoken about this including Andrew Wommack, Mike Bickle and Stacey Campbell who is the co-author of ‘Praying the Bible: Pathway to Spirituality: Seven Steps to a Deeper Connection with God’.

4. Pray in the Spirit

For those believers who have been baptised in the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in other tongues, God has given you a vital prayer language that you can use to build yourself up the Lord and pray God’s perfect will during situations where you don’t know how to pray. Ephesians 6 encourages us to put on the whole armour of God and having done all to stand. Part of this standing is praying in the Spirit. “And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.” (Ephesians 6:18)

5. Pray with others

You can pray alone but prayer is often best shared with others as we spur each other on and the Holy Spirit begins to manifest corporately. Consider asking a Christian friend to be your prayer partner, or attend a prayer meeting at your local church. You can also participate in Days of Prayer of Fasting on GOD TV, including TheCall Solemn Assemblies.

For those who feel God is calling them to intercede for others on a regular basis, you can become a Throne Room Prayer Intercessor.  Watch Throne Room Prayer with Lila Terhune and sign up online. The International House of Prayer in Kansas City believes in 24/7 Prayer and you can tune into the Prayer Room on GOD TV each morning or online at any time of the day or night.

DYNAMICS OF GODLY WISDOM

THE DYNAMICS OF GODLY WISDOM

James 3:17-18

But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. Peacemakers who sow in peace reap a harvest of righteousness. (NIVUK)

Read the verses around this Bible passage from the Internet Bible: in English, and many other languages

Worldly wisdom seems to be a cross between common sense and the past experience of success; however it is steeped in self-interest. It provides a way of using knowledge for self-gain rather than service. It has no eternal value. 1 Corinthians 3:18-19 says, "Do not deceive yourselves. If any of you think you are wise by the standards of this age, you should become 'fools' so that you may become wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God’s sight." God's wisdom is very different. Because it comes from His heart, it radiates His characteristics - the first of which is purity. Although human nature is full of mixed motives, Jesus was consistently set on doing His Father's will. Although He spent time with the immoral social outcasts, there was no hint of pollution that stained His character. God wants Christians to desire to be like Jesus - and work it out in practice. James gives us a catalogue of qualities to be found in Godly wisdom. It is both a check-list so that we can monitor our spiritual progress, and also a schedule for further spiritual development. God's wisdom brings a cascade of righteousness: godly purity of heart, desires peace and not antagonism; that establishes a life-pattern of considering others better than ourselves (Philippians 2:3) being willing to submit to them (Ephesians 5:21). When they do wrong we are merciful (Luke 6:36) and allow the Holy Spirit to mould us into God's character (Galatians 5:22-23), loving all without partiality (James 2:1). Sharp business practice often pretends that the spectrum of assertiveness to aggression is the way to fulfilment. The 'couldn't care less' attitude of pride with revenge is often considered 'normal'. Some may feign a desire of peace after having bullied others to get their own way: that is not peace-loving, it is manipulation with devilish paw prints (James 3:14-16). Instead, Jesus says that those who gladly submit to the needs of others are happy (Matthew 5:3-12). Peace-makers share God's family characteristics (Matthew 5:9). Godly peacemakers show their desire for peace in their sacrificial submission of their rights to God's will. It is not natural to our sinful nature, but as we follow Jesus He trains us in a new way of life; and God uses that to raise a harvest of righteousness (Hebrews 12:11). Today's workplace desperately needs men and women of integrity, from the boardroom to the shop floor. So do the professions and the self-employed. At a time when so many business models have been proved to be flawed, and many managers are unable to predict the effects of their actions, there is a new expectation that Christians will know how to do the right thing. If we look to the Lord for His wisdom and strength, we will shine through in a way that may surprise us; but we will provide the relieving lead which our confused colleagues may be longing for.

God of purity and love. Thank You that Jesus lived a pure and selfless life in a confused world. Forgive me for failing to recognise the futility of worldly wisdom. I need Your wisdom and the grace to submit to what You say. Then I will need the courage to do what is right, even if it means sacrificial change for me. May my actions at work demonstrate that I really do want to be holy. In Jesus' Name. Amen.

         SACRED HEART AND DIVINE MERCY                  

Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus

Rooted in the Holy Scriptures and practiced in a variety of ways throughout the Christian centuries, the devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus reminds us that our Lord Jesus never ceases to pour out upon us the sevenfold grace of the Holy Spirit from His glorious Pierced Heart. The devotion was fostered and strengthened, in a wonderful way, through the apparitions of our Lord Jesus to Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque in the seventeenth century.

The essence of the devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus is our response to the piercing of the Heart of Jesus on Calvary. The pierced Heart of Jesus is a permanent invitation for us to place our sinful and poor hearts into the Sacred Heart. The devotion to the Sacred Heart helps us to lift up our hearts to our Lord Jesus throughout the day, overcoming, with the help of His grace, the temptation to sin and finding in Him the strength to love as He loves.

The practice of enthroning the image of the Sacred Heart in our homes and places of work reminds us to draw grace from the glorious Heart of Jesus throughout the day. The enthroned image of the Sacred Heart becomes the centre of our home and our work, the place which recalls to mind that our Lord Jesus alone is the King of our hearts.

The Season of Lent is a wonderful time for individuals and families to prepare for the Enthronement of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, which is fittingly celebrated during the Sacred Triduum of Holy Thursday, Good Friday and Holy Saturday, on Easter Sunday, or during the Octave of Easter. If you desire more information about the Enthronement of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in your home or place of work, I urge you to obtain a copy of The Enthronement of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, published by the Archdiocese.

Devotion to the Divine Mercy

Pope John Paul the Great strongly promoted the devotion to the Divine Mercy, which our Lord gave us to us through Saint Faustina Kowalska in the last century. In a time when so many had grown forgetful of God and, therefore, had despaired of His mercy and love, our Lord Jesus appeared to Saint Faustina, urging us to place our complete trust in Him.

Saint Faustina taught us to pray, especially at the hour of out Lord's Passion and Death, the Chaplet of Divine Mercy, returning us to the source of our salvation in Jesus Christ and our share with Him in the work of salvation. She also taught us to observe the Novena, beginning on Good Friday, to prepare for the celebration of Divine Mercy Sunday. The devotion to the Divine Mercy, like the devotion to the Sacred Heart, helps us to keep our minds and hearts focused on the mystery of our Redemption.

If you are not familiar with the devotion to the Divine Mercy, I urge you to use the weeks of our Lenten observance to begin praying the Chaplet of Divine Mercy daily. I also encourage you to observe the Novena of Divine Mercy.

Devotion to our Lord and His Passion

Both the devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the devotion to the Divine Mercy are privileged ways of coming to know more fully our Lord's love for us and express more fully our love for Him, in return. Both devotions keep us in communion with our Lord in His Suffering and Dying, so that we unite our suffering and dying with Him, as an act of total love of God and neighbour.

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POPE FRANCIS EXPLAINS THE "HAIL MARY"

POPE FRANCIS EXPLAINS THE ‘’HAIL MARY’’

We all recite the Hail Mary, but how many of us know its true meaning? What is the prayer really saying?

In the book, "Mary, Mother of All" ("María, Mamma di tutti"), Pope Francis himself teaches us the meaning of the words of this essential prayer.

Full of Grace

The Angel Gabriel calls Mary "full of grace" (Lk 1:28); in her, the pope explains, "there is no room for sin, because God has chosen her from all eternity to be the mother of Jesus, and has preserved her from original sin."
"The Word became flesh in her womb. We, too, are asked to listen to God, who speaks to us, and to accept His will. The Lord always speaks to us."
We all recite the Hail Mary, but how many of us know its true meaning? What is the prayer really saying?

In the book, "Mary, Mother of All" ("María, Mamma di tutti"), Pope Francis himself teaches us the meaning of the words of this essential prayer.

The Lord is with you

What happened in a unique way in the Virgin Mary, Francis says, "happens on a spiritual level in us as well when we welcome the Word of God with a good and sincere heart, and put it into practice. It happens as if God were to become flesh in us; He comes to live in us, because He makes His home in those who love Him and obey His Word. It's not easy to understand this, but, yes, it's easy to feel it in your heart."
"Do we think that the incarnation of Jesus is only a past event, that it doesn't affect us personally? Believing in Jesus means offering Him our body, with the same humility and courage as Mary."

"Do we think that the incarnation of Jesus is only a past event, that it doesn't affect us personally? Believing in Jesus means offering Him our body, with the same humility and courage as Mary."

Blessed are you among women

How did Mary live her faith? "She lived it," the pope answers, "in the simplicity of the many daily occupations and worries of every mom, such as providing food and clothing, and taking care of the house... Precisely this normal existence of the Virgin was the ground on which a singular rapport and profound dialogue between her and God, between her and her Son, developed."

Blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus.

Mary is receptive, but not passive, Francis explains.
"Just as she receives the power of the Holy Spirit at a physical level, but then gives flesh and blood to the Son of God who takes form in her, so also on a spiritual level, she receives grace and responds to it with faith. For this reason, Saint Augustine says that the Virgin 'conceived in her heart before in her womb.' She conceived faith first, and then the Lord."

Holy Mary, Mother of God

The Mother of the Redeemer, the pope continues, "precedes us and constantly confirms us in the faith, in our vocation, and in our mission. With her example of humility and readiness to obey God's will, she helps us to translate our faith into a joyful proclamation of the Gospel, without borders.”

Pray for us sinners

In order to explain the meaning of this passage of the prayer, Francis relates an anecdote:
"I remember how once, at the Shrine of Lucan, I was in the confessional, in front of which there was a long line. There was also a young man who was very modern, with earrings, tattoos, all those things... And he had come to tell me what was going on with him. It was a big problem, very difficult. And he said to me, 'I told my mom all of this, and my mom said: Go to the Blessed Virgin and she will tell you what to do.' Now, that's a woman who had the gift of counsel. She didn't know how to solve her son's problem, but she pointed out the right path: go to the Blessed Virgin, and she will tell you. This is the gift of counsel. That humble, simple woman gave her son the best advice. In fact, the young man said to me, 'I looked at the Blessed Virgin and I felt that I should do this, this, and this...' I didn't need to talk; his mom and the young man himself had already said everything. This is the gift of counsel. You moms, who have this gift: ask that it be given to your children. The gift of counselling your children is a gift of God."

Now, and at the hour of our death 

Let us entrust ourselves to Mary, Pope Francis says, "so that she, as the Mother of our first-born brother, Jesus, can teach us to have the same maternal spirit towards our brothers, with a sincere ability to accept, to forgive, to strengthen, and to infuse confidence and hope. And this is what a mom does."
Mary's path towards Heaven began "with that 'yes' she spoke in Nazareth, in reply to the heavenly Messenger who announced to her God's will for her. In reality, that's exactly how it is: every 'yes' to God is a step toward Heaven, toward eternal life."

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