Denver Catholic

3 DENVER CATHOLIC | FEBRUARY 10-23, 2018 Vatican Notes From here to eternity. Planning Your Will and Special Gifts Personally – Leave a legacy of what matters to you most. Financially – Wisely manage the assets that God has entrusted to you, in full compliance with the doctrine of the Catholic Church. Spiritually – Strengthen our parishes and our Catholic community through your charitable giving. The Catholic Foundation of Northern Colorado is here to help you plan your Will, including the opportunity for special gifts that you may not be able to create on your own. As Catholic faithful, we believe our earthly treasure is a gift from God, and we can give it a way to serve the greater good. Give alms. Provide money bags for yourselves that do not wear out, an inexhaustible treasure in heaven. LUKE 12:33–34 Jean Finegan | Deacon Steve Stemper 303.468.9885 | www.TheCatholicFoundation.com giving@ TheCatholicFoundation.com Giving for the Kingdom of God ® BY CATHOLIC NEWS AGENCY P ope Francis told consecrated men and women Feb. 2 that they are called to have real encoun- ters with their brothers and sisters, and that technology should never have a higher priority than time spent with God and others. "Today's frantic pace leads us to close many doors to encounter, often for fear of others," the Pope said Feb. 2. "Only shopping malls and internet connections are always open." "Yet that is not how it should be with consecrated life: the brother and the sister given to me by God are a part of my history, gifts to be cherished. May we never look at the screen of our cellphone more than the eyes of our brothers or sisters, or focus more on our software than on the Lord." Pope Francis cautioned against getting trapped by the "life of this world," point- ing out how consecrated life, and vows of poverty, chastity and obedience, are about turning away "from fleeting riches to embrace the One who endures forever." "The life of this world pursues selfish pleasures and desires; the consecrated life frees our ašections of every posses- sion in order fully to love God and other people," he said. "Worldly lives aim to do whatever we want; consecrated life chooses humble obedience as the greater freedom." The Pope's homily came during Mass for the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord, which also marks the 22nd World Day of Consecrated Life. The Feast of the Presentation of the Lord is also sometimes called Candle- mas. On this day, many Christians bring candles to the church to be blessed. This feast, in the Eastern Churches, is sometimes called the "Feast of Encoun- ter," Francis said. Speaking to conse- crated men and women, he noted that their vocation was borne of an encoun- ter with the Lord and his call. "We journey along a double track: on the one hand, God's loving initia- tive, from which everything starts and to which we must always return; on the other, our own response, which is truly loving when it has no 'ifs' or 'buts,' when it imitates Jesus in his poverty, chastity and obedience," he said. Referencing the story of the pre- sentation of Jesus in the Temple, the pontiš said that like the elderly Simeon, it is good for Catholics to also hold the Lord "in our arms." "Not only in our heads and in our hearts," he explained, "but also 'in our hands,' in all that we do: in prayer, at work, at the table, on the telephone, at school, with the poor, everywhere." Don't let technology replace real encounters, Pope says on Feast of the Presentation Pope Francis celebrates Mass for feast of the Presentation of the Lord, also known as Candlemas, in St. Peter's Basilica on Feb. 2, 2018. DANIEL IBÁÑEZ | CNA

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