Lamezia Terme – The Parish of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the Bella district of Lamezia Terme begins this new pastoral year under the sign of St. John Paul II, the Pope of the family.
The parish community announces that “from Wednesday 19 to Sunday 23 October some relics and objects of St. John Paul II will be exhibited in the parish church, located in Piazza Roma: the reliquary containing the blood and hair of the holy Pope; the chalice with which John Paul II celebrated the Eucharist in the Chapel of the Apostolic Palace on May 15, 2004; a cardinal’s skullcap by him; three missals edited on the occasion of the Apostolic Journeys abroad. In all, about 40 objects will be exhibited to the devotion of the faithful, some of which are very rare and singular, such as, for example, a fragment of the oplatek (a Polish Christmas tradition lived by the papal family) blessed by St. John Paul II on the eve of Christmas. of the year 1999. In order for this moment to be lived as a moment of authentic faith and full of spirituality, and not as a museum exhibition only to be contemplated, the Parish has curated this exhibition, making sure that each object is accompanied not only by a caption, but also from some words of Saint John Paul II which explain its meaning and offer an interpretation or a teaching of faith. Furthermore, every day, in addition to the liturgical moments offered by the Parish, the faithful will be helped to live their own prayer and meditation with an aid that, starting from a text of Saint John Paul II, will guide personal prayer so that it is a moment of praise, request for forgiveness, intercession. Each day will be characterized by a theme that was fundamental in the magisterium of the holy Polish Pope: “the key prayer of life” (Wednesday); “The priesthood gift and mystery” (Thursday); “God is rich in mercy” (Friday); “Holy Mary the privileged way to Christ” (Saturday). Sunday 23, the last day of the exposition, the theme of the day is “The family educates to love” and at the end of Holy Masses (8 am; 10:30 am; 7 pm) the families present will receive the blessing with the relic of St. John Paul II “.
The choice of living the liturgical memorial of Saint John Paul II (Saturday 22) and the triduum of preparation in this way was desired by the parish priest, Don Aldo Figliuzzi, who thus motivates all these moments: “Saint John Paul II taught us to trust in the Lord. At the beginning of his pontificate, he invited us to open the doors to Christ so that only with his help can we create a world of peace, generate good and advance all of humanity. Above all, he taught us that with prayer we must and can solve all the problems of life and of the world, and he strongly reminded us of the universal vocation to the high standard of Christian life, to holiness. Putting our gaze on this friend of God, in order to hear from his voice the invitation to follow Christ and trust in his merciful love, is what we all need because, as Saint John Paul II repeated to us many times, we must not be afraid and we cannot get lost in the difficulties that grip us because Christ never abandons us ”.
Lamezia, exhibition of relics and objects of St. John Paul II in the Parish of Bella from 19 October