#PopeinUS - Resources from the visit of Pope Francis to America & Cuba

Do you want to know what the Pope really said in his visit to Cuba and the U.S.?

From September 19th through September 27th, Pope Francis made a historical set of visits to the countries of Cuba and the United States of America. His visit almost seem to have made both Cuba and the U.S. pause for several days in order to be attentive to the Pope's message. The Vicar of Christ would meet with many people, but it was very evident that the truest joy of his ministry was being in the midst of his flock.

The following links catalog the Pope's visits with video and text from the the Vatican (vatican.va).

Saturday, September 19 2015

10:15am	Departure from Rome's Fiumicino airport for Havana Greeting to journalists during the flight Rome-Havana  [English]
16:00pm	Arrival at “José Martí” International Airport of Havana
16:05pm	Welcoming ceremony at the International Airport of Havana (Video) [English, Spanish]

Sunday, September 20 2015

9:00am	Holy Mass at Plaza de la Revolución in Havana (Video) [English, Spanish]
	Angelus [English, Spanish]
4:00pm	Courtesy Visit to the President of the Council of State and of the Council of Ministers of the Republic at Palacio de la Revolución in Havana
5:15pm	Celebrations of Vespers with Priests, Men and Women Religious and Seminarians at the Cathedral of Havana (Video) [English, Spanish]
6:30pm	Greeting to the young people of the "Centro Cultural Padre Félix Varela" in Havana (Video) [English, Spanish]

Monday, September 21 2015

8:00am	Departure by plane from Havana for Holguín
9:20am	Arrival at “Frank Pais” International Airport of Holguín
10:30am	Holy Mass at Plaza de la Revolución in Holguín (Video) [ English, Spanish]
3:45pm	Blessing of the city from Loma de la Cruz in Holguín (Video)[Spanish]
4:40pm	Departure by plane for Santiago
5:30pm	Arrival at “Antonio Maceo” International Airport of Santiago
7:00pm	Meeting with the Bishops at St Basil The Great Seminary in Santiago
7:45pm	Prayer to the Virgen de la Caridad with the Bishops and the Papal Entourage at the Minor Basilica of the Shrine “Virgen de la Caridad del Cobre” in Santiago (Video) [English, Spanish]

Tuesday, September 22 2015

8:00pm	Holy Mass at the Minor Basilica of the Shrine “Virgen de la Caridad del Cobre” in Santiago (Video) [English,  Spanish]
11:00pm	Meeting with families at Our Lady of the Assumption Cathedral in Santiago (Video) [Arabic, English, Spanish]
	Blessing of the city from the square in front of the Cathedral of Santiago
12:15pm	Farewell ceremony at the Airport
12:30pm	Departure by plane from the Airport of Santiago for Washington, D.C. In-Flight Press Conference from Santiago de Cuba to Washington D.C. [English,]
4:00pm	Arrival at the Andrews Air Force Base in Washington, D.C.
	Official welcoming ceremony at the Andrews Air Force Base in Washington, D.C.

Wednesday, September 23 2015

9:15am	Welcoming ceremony at the South Lawn of the White House (Video) [English, Spanish]
	Courtesy Visit to the President of the United States of America
11:30am	Meeting with the Bishops of the United States of America at St Matthew's Cathedral in Washington, D.C. (Video) [Arabic, English, Spanish]
4:15pm	Holy Mass and Canonization of Blessed Fr. Junipero Serra at the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C. (Video) [English, Spanish]

Thursday, September 24 2015

9:20am	Visit to the Congress of the United States of America (Video)[English, Spanish]
11:15am	Visit to the Charitable Center of St. Patrick Parish and meeting with the homeless in Washington, D.C. (Video) [Arabic, English,Spanish]
4:00pm	Departure by plane for New York
5:00pm	Arrival at JFK Airport in New York
6:45pm	Vespers with the Clergy, Men and Women Religious at St Patrick's Cathedral in New York (Video) [English, Spanish]

Friday, September 25 2015

8:30am	Visit to the Headquarters of the United Nations (Video) Greeting to the personnel of the United Nations[Arabic, English, Spanish]Meeting with the members of the General Assembly of the United Nations Organization[English, Spanish]
11:30am	Interreligious encounter at the Ground Zero memorial in New York (Video) [Arabic, English, Spanish]Prayer of the Holy Father during the Interreligious Meeting at the Ground Zero Memorial [English, Spanish]
4:00pm	Visit to "Our Lady, Queen of the Angels" School and meeting with children and families of migrants in New York (Harlem) (Video) [English, Spanish]
6:00pm	Holy Mass at the Madison Square Garden in New York (Video) [English, Spanish]

Saturday, September 26 2015

8:40am	Departure by plane for Philadelphia
9:30am	Arrival at the International Airport of Philadelphia
10:30am	Holy Mass with the Bishops, Clergy, Men and Women Religious of Pennsylvania gathered at the Cathedral of Sts Peter and Paul in Philadelphia(Video) [English, Spanish]
4:45pm	Meeting for Religious Liberty with the Hispanic community and other immigrants at the Independence Mall in Philadelphia (Video) [English, Spanish]
7:30pm	Festival of families and vigil of prayer at the B. Franklin Parkway in Philadelphia (Video) [English, Spanish]

Sunday, September 27 2015

????	Meeting with victims of sexual abuse at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in Philadelphia [English, Spanish]
9:15am	Meeting with bishops taking part in the World Meeting of Families gathered at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in Philadelphia (Video) [English, Spanish]
11:00am	Visit to detainees at Curran-Fromhold Correctional Facility in Philadelphia (Video) [English, Spanish]
4:00pm	Holy Mass concluding the World Meeting of Families at B. Franklin Parkway in Philadelphia (Video) [English, Spanish]
7:00pm	Greeting to the organizing committee, volunteers and benefactors at the International Airport of Philadelphia [Arabic, English, Spanish]
7:45pm	Farewell ceremony
8:00pm	Departure by plane from Philadelphia for Rome/Ciampino In-Flight Press Conference from Philadelphia to Rome [English] *I do not own the video and text resources provided on this page.

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September 27th - Self-Reflection

Self-Reflection
September 27th, 2015

There’s a story about Abraham Lincoln right after he was elected president.

He decided that it was important for him to go visit a hospital with wounded soldiers

He always enjoyed being with the people, to let them know he was there to support them.

No one was so unimportant to him.

Now you have to remember, Lincoln lived in the 1800s where pictures and communications were very slow in coming

So not many people really knew what he looked like at this time

So he makes his way into the hospital

And immediately he hears someone running down the hallway

Before he could react, a young man collides with Lincoln and sends him sprawling to the ground.

The young man, looking down at Lincoln says: “get out of my way you tall lanky stiff”

Lincon, standing up and brushing himself off says: “What’s really troubling you inside, son.”

My friends, our readings this weekend are about being too caught up in ourselves

In the letter of St. James, he speaks about the destruction people can cause if their sole focus is on material wealth.

Wealth does not satisfy, it just leaves the wealth-seeker wanting more

And in wanting more, he or she does so at the expense of others

Others become a means to an end

In the Gospel, Jesus responds to his disciples being too full of themselves

Their thought is that unless someone is physically following Jesus, they’re the only ones who can speak or act in his name

Jesus’s response? “Whoever is not against us is for us”

But he doesn’t leave it at that.

He talks about the things that corrupt the human heart

Here, Jesus is speaking in hyperbole – extreme exaggeration to get across his point

He asks his disciples to remove the things from their lives that causes them to sin

In a sense, they are called by the Lord to empty themselves of sin and fill themselves with the Lord.

What does this look like today?

If you’ve paid attention to the news at all this week, it has been mostly about Pope Francis

He has brought so much excitement to this country that is often bombarded with pessimism and negativity

His very presence has brought tears to the eyes of so many people

Because of the message he carries and who he represents to the world.

If you could imagine, there’s a huge burden to being the Pope

And for Pope Francis, it could be so easy for him to make his papacy about himself

But the world loves him so much because he lives authentically

He stays true to the teachings of Christ and lives by them

To many people, the teachings of Christ seem like so much of a burden

But for the Pope, he embraces them

And shows us the joy he has in following Christ

It is enough to inspire millions of people on his short 6-day visit to the U.S.

When it comes to sin, there is a lie that is told within our hearts

“This is all about me”

And we begin to see the world with tunnel-vision

We distort the way we see the world to see how the world can serve us

But as I said it before, it always leaves us wanting

And we are never satisfied

And even more so, it leaves a path of destruction behind us – often hurting others

Brothers and sisters, I urge you today to make your prayer a prayer of self-reflection

Almost like a giant mirror

As a society, we hate to be alone with our own thoughts, with ourselves because we’re afraid of what we might find

But this is a lie that sin often tells us

If you’ve learned anything from the Pope’s visit, let it be this

And this is a quote from Mother Teresa, but I think it summarizes what the Pope’s visit has been all about:

“You hurt yourself when you fail to be true to the faith you have freely professed. But you will find true peace of soul if you do what you already know you have to do.”

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD HOMILY

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September 24th 2015 - Pope Francis Addresses Congress

Pope Francis Makes History (Again)

Pope Francis made history once again by addressing not only the joint session of Congress, but also several members of the United States Supreme Court. The Pope pulled great emotion from many in the room and his words ushered in many rounds of applause. The tears that many shed in that room were a true testimony of the way that many around the U.S. and many around the world felt as he spoke.

Read His Address Here 
Listen to the Audio Here 

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