PARAGUAY, org. The Bishop of the Diocese of Caacupé, Claudio Giménez, a Schoenstatt Father, asked the people to pray daily for the visit of Pope Francis, “the messenger of joy and of peace.” In the traditional Sunday Mass, Bishop Giménez spoke about the Holy Father’s visit in July. He asked the Paraguayan people to pray an Our Father and a Hail Mary daily, as a sign of hope for the important visit. Moreover he presented the name that the Paraguayan Episcopal Conference (CEP) affectionately gave to Pope Francis. We are going to treat the pope as “Messenger of joy and of peace when he comes here to Paraguay,” Bishop Giménez affirmed.
Text of the letter:
Welcome messenger of joy and of peace
It is with immense joy and profound emotion that we begin to prepare our hearts, our homes and family, our church communities and our nation to welcome Pope Francis, messenger of joy and of peace.
He will leave Rome and come to Paraguay to meet with us to confirm us in the faith of Jesus Christ. Several times Pope Francis has mentioned his high regard toward Paraguay, its history, its culture and its people, and he has especially expressed his great esteem for Paraguayan women.
This missionary visit of the Vicar of Christ constitutes a time of grace and of hope for our people and for our Church in Paraguay.
The Holy Father knows and appreciates that we have dedicated a Triennium to the evangelization of families in a joint effort by all Paraguay’s dioceses with the motto, “Misión Permanente en el Paraguay Evangelizar la familia” [“A Permanent Mission in Paraguay: Evangelize the family”]. Pope Francis, who has placed the entire Church in the world on the synodic road to discern and to assume today’s pastoral challenges of the family, confirmed the priority pastoral action with the domestic church, the basis and foundation of society.
Pope Francis’ apostolic visit encourages us in the hope that will lead to a profound inner transformation only possible through an authentic conversion to Christ by assuming and living his teachings, his attitudes, and the values of the Kingdom of God (cfr. Mt. 4,17).
Paraguayans should feel the transforming effect of the Holy Father’s apostolic visit in all the aspects of life. We hope for a change of mentality and lifestyle. Many aspects of our customs should improve. Our faith should be practical by living the Word of the Lord especially setting out from this season of Lent, which has begun.
It is necessary to assume the Gospel, so that our way of thinking and of acting will reflect the values of the Kingdom of God: honesty, solidarity, fraternity, harmony, justice and truth. All of this will only be possible if we fulfill the fundamental commandment of our faith that consists in loving God and our neighbor, and in this way show our faithfulness to the Church and our loyalty to the nation.
For conversion to be possible, the bishops commend us to review our being and work as the Church; our evangelization, our witness, our structures and our pastoral methods. We want to undertake Pope Francis’ proposal and accompany him in his dream: that the entire Church be more missionary! Our Church in Paraguay should grow in number, in quality and in holiness. For this, it will be necessary to promote a new evangelization.
Pope Francis will visit us during the year dedicated to the Consecrated Life at the service of the Kingdom of God. We desire that his presence, his charism, and his witness, along with the shepherds of our local Church, will produce holy priestly and religious vocations within good and holy Paraguayan families.
Let us pray for this apostolic and missionary visit of the Successor of Saint Peter. The bishops exhort you to prepare spiritually, in a simple way, at the personal, family and community level so that the days with Pope Francis will be occasions of many blessings for all of our people.
It is possible to grow in perfection; let us take advantage of this moment of grace for everyone. We invite you to unite in praying the Our Father, praying that His Kingdom come and that His Will be done, and let us pray the Hail Mary and the prayer for our beloved Holy Father, Pope Francis, every day in preparation for his visit.
May God Almighty in love and mercy bless us at this historic moment in our Church’s and our nation’s lives. We entrust ourselves to the maternal protection of the Virgen de los Milagros de Caacupé [The Virgin of Miracles of Caacupé] and to the intercession of San Roque González de Santa Cruz [Saint Roque González of the Holy Cross] and the Companion Martyrs.
We greet and bless everyone.
The Bishops of Paraguay
Asunción, February 20, 2015.
Prayer:
Lord and Our Father, we thank you
because your servant Pope Francis, successor of the Apostle Peter
will visit us as messenger of the Gospel of joy and of peace.
Thank you Lord because the Pope comes to confirm us in faith, hope and love.
May his presence encourage and guide us in beginning a new stage of evangelization for a renewed Paraguay that is more human and Christian, defender and promoter of life in all its expressions, where justice, honesty, forgiveness, fraternity, unity and peace, the fruits of Love, shine.
Send us your Holy Spirit so that we may be ready to receive the Holy Father’s message and give witness to his teachings with an open, believing heart and in solidarity.
Always protect and bless your Church along with Pope Francis. Look upon us with mercy during the time of his presence among us. We especially pray for your divine favor so that many who have fallen away from the faith may experience the fullness of hope and joy; that along with our brothers and sisters who live in the different human peripheries, may receive the light of the Gospel in the encounter with your Son Jesus Christ, the Way, the Truth and the Life.
Lord, through the intercession of Mary Most Holy, bestow the gift of your Love on our country, our families and on each one of us, your children, through the Holy Spirit that we have received. Through Jesus Christ Our Lord. AMEN.
Holy Mary, Mother of the Church and our Mother pray for us..
San Roque González of the Holy Cross and companion martyrs, pray for us.
Original: Spanish. Translation: Celina M. Garza, San Antonio, TX USA
