May 16, ASCENSION SUNDAY
Seventh Sunday of Easter
From left: Icon by Andrei Rublev, 1408; undated Orthodox icon; Chapel of the Ascension, Mt. of Olives; 'footprint' of Jesus; Raphael's Ascension-Transfiguration, 1520.
ST. MARGHERITA DA CORTONA (Italy, 1247-1297), Franciscan Tertiary
A medieval Magdalene, she was for 17 years the concubine of a nobleman, with whom she had a son, who would later
become a Franciscan friar. Her conversion came after her lover was murdered. At age 30, she joined the Franciscan
lay order and devoted herself to helping the sick. She established a hospital for the poor and started a congregation
of tertiaries to work as nurses. She lived the last years of her life as a contemplative in a hilltop cell where tradition
says she had mystical experiences. She was canonized in 1728.
Readings for today's Mass: www.usccb.org/nab/readings/051610.shtml
OR today.
Illustration: The Ascension, from a 13th-century Syriac Evangelarium.
The main papal story in this issue is the letter sent by the Holy Father to the ecumenical Kirchentag meeting in Germany
which ends today, in which he says the Church remains the place of hope, where the evil seed has not stifled the good of
many, and that despite the chaff in the Christian community, God's light has not set; and a story on the Pope's departure
from Portugal and arrival in Rome on Friday evening. Also, a front-page essay on the feast of the Ascension in the Syro-
Occidental tradition. Page 1 international news: the head of Europe's central bank says the euro is not under attack but says
the European economy has yet to emerge from the global financial crisis that started in September 2008; and a report from
the UN commission for refugees on worsening attacks against civilians by an Ugandan militia operating in the Democratic
Congo, south Sudan and the Central African Republic.
THE POPE'S DAY
'Regina caeli' today - More than 200,000 Italians crowded St. Peter's Square for the Day of Solidarity
with the Pope, organized by the Italian national council of lay movements.
[Modificato da TERESA BENEDETTA 16/05/2010 14:33]