(Vatican Radio) “His Holiness Pope Francis shares wholeheartedly in the pain of the families afflicted by the death of one of their own, and in that of the leaders and organizers of the group.”
Pope Francis learned on Thursday of a tragic accident in French Guiana. A bus carrying young people to World Youth Day was hit head-on by a truck, leaving one young Parisian girl dead, and three other people in critical condition.
In a message of condolence sent by Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone on the Pope’s behalf to the Bishop of Cayenne, the capital of French Guyana, the Holy Father assured all those involved in the accident of his prayers, and expressed his deepest sympathy for the victims, as well as for the rescue workers and all those around them. Pope Francis sent a special Apostolic Blessing to all those affected by the tragedy.
The accident occurred about sixty kilometres from Saint-Laurent du Maroni, on the main road connecting the city to Cayenne. The cause of the accident is not yet known.
On Thursday evening, Cardinal Andre Vingt-Trois, the Archbishop of Paris, will lead a prayer vigil organised by the victims’ parish in France; while in French Guyana, the Bishop of Cayenne will offer Mass at the Cathedral.
Vatican Radio
Let us pray for these folks, too! The Concho Padre
THE CONCHO PADRE POST 
Scripture commentary for Friday of the 15th Week in Ordinary Time
Today’s Readings from the US Conference of Catholic Bishops
The field of grain that Jesus and his disciples were going through was probably wheat. They would rub the grains in their hands to free them from the outer shell so they could eat them. They did this on the Sabbath which was the day of rest. The Pharisees were always on the watch to find something to condemn Jesus. They pointed out to him that his disciples were breaking the Sabbath day of rest by their actions: “…on the seventh day you must rest even during the seasons of plowing and harvesting” (Ex 34:21). They were overly strict when they considered the disciples to be harvesting the wheat. The law also said, “When you go through your neighbor’s grain field, you may pluck some of the ears with your hands, but do not put a sickle to your neighbor’s grain” (Deut 23:26).
We must be careful not to be overly strict in interpreting God’s laws. Having compassion for others’ needs is also important. That is also a requirement of God’s law: “Love is the fulfillment of the law” (Rom 13:10).
In attempting to loosen up the Pharisees from being overly strict, Jesus pointed out to them an incident in King David’s life when he and his men ate “the bread of offering” which only the priests could lawfully eat (1 Sam 21:1-7). This was allowable because David and his men were hungry—just as were Jesus’ disciples. Jesus also pointed out that for a special reason the priests break the Sabbath law in order to minister in the temple. In doing this sacred work they were perfectly innocent of any wrongdoing.
What did Jesus mean when he said, “…something greater than the Temple is here?” Jesus is the new and greater Temple of God (Jn 2:19). If the priests of the Old Testament could serve in the Temple on the Sabbath and remain guiltless, so can Jesus’ disciples work with Jesus on the Sabbath and remain sinless.
External sacrifices are meaningless when the heart of a person is not in them. The sacrifice must be an expression of the heart’s desire for it to have worth and be acceptable to God.
The Pharisees focused too much on the extra rules they added on to the law to the detriment of the respect and mercy due to persons. Jesus is saying that they need to start having merciful hearts for people and their human needs. They ought to focus their concern more in that direction than trying to catch them breaking the endless rules that they fabricated. They need to be more humane in their treatment of others. Jesus quotes Hosea 6:6 to show that God’s word supports his interpretation and reason for acting the way he did: God desires mercy.
As a Son of Man (who is also divine: Dan 7:13-14) Jesus has the authority to interpret the law: he interprets it in a merciful way. The Sabbath law does not oblige a person to go hungry in order to keep it.
From comelordjesus.com