The
COURIER
Easter Sunday April 21
April 2019
Official Newspaper of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Winona-Rochester, MN | dowr.org
Pope Francis: Christianity Without Tenderness Does Not Work VATICAN CITY, March 18, 2019 (CNA) - Meeting with representatives of a charismatic group dedicated to caring for the sick, Pope Francis emphasized the need for tenderness as the natural Christian response to human suffering. The word “tenderness,” Pope Francis warned, is “a word that today risks being dropped from the dictionary.” “We must take it up again and put it into practice anew. Christianity without tenderness does not work. Tenderness is a properly Christian attitude: it is also the very marrow of our encounter with people who suffer,” he said. The pope met March 18 with men and women religious from the Camillian Charismatic Family. Founded by St. Camillus de Lellis in the late 1500s, the Camillians around the world serve the sick, with an emphasis on the poor and dying. Pope Francis praised those present for their work of “loving and generous donation to the sick, carrying out a precious mission, in the Church and in society, alongside the suffering.” He encouraged members of the Camillian family to always remember that their charism of mercy toward the sick is a gift from the Holy Spirit, meant to be shared with others. Charisms, he said, “always have a transitive character: they are orientated towards others. Over the years, you have made efforts to incarnate your charism faithfully, translating it into a multitude of apostolic works and in pastoral service to the benefit of suffering humanity throughout the world.” St. Camillus de Lellis initially founded an order of men, at a time when active consecrated life for women “had not yet matured,” Pope Francis noted. Two congregations for women were created in the 19th century, and secular insti-
Credit: CNA
tutes were established in the 20th century. These developments, the pope said, “have given completeness to the expression of the charism of mercy towards the sick, enriching it with the distinctly feminine qualities of love and of care.” He offered prayers that Mary, Health of the Sick, might especially guide and accompany the consecrated women, teaching them maternal dedication and tenderness. Together, Pope Francis said, these different Camillian groups make up “a single constellation, that is, a ‘charismatic family’ composed of men and women religious, secular consecrated persons and lay faithful.” “None of these realities is the sole custodian or single holder of the charism, but each receives it as a gift and interprets it and updates it according to his or her specific vocation, in different historical and geographical contexts,”
Tenderness, cont'd on pg. 2
The Courier to Begin Church Mailings in July, 2019 WINONA--Beginning with its July 2019 issue, the Courier will be mailed in groups of unlabeled copies to churches in the Diocese of Winona-Rochester for parishioner pick-up on the first Sunday of each month. The Courier reminds readers that staff are happy to continue home delivery to anyone who wants it. To avoid interruption in home delivery, readers should respond by June 10, 2019, with their name, address and reader ID (the number directly above the name on the mailing label) to: Diocese of Winona-Rochester The Courier 55 W Sanborn St. Winona, MN 55987 or nreller@dowr.org.
Any reader who indicated a preference for home delivery in response to the ad that ran on page two of the Courier's past six issues (October of 2018 to March of 2019) has already been added to the home delivery list, and no additional action is required. The Courier thanks its audience for reading, and looks forward to reaching readers in a new way.
INSIDE this issue
Don't Be Shy; Visit IHM page 8
...Fourth Annual Men's Conference page 13
Butterfly Brilliance from a Caterpillar Crawl page 14