Sunday 28th April 2024

Home » breaking » Recent Articles:

Pope Francis’ Prayer for Jubilee Year of Mercy

May 7, 2015 breaking Comments Off on Pope Francis’ Prayer for Jubilee Year of Mercy

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis has composed a special prayer for the Jubilee Year of Mercy which will run from 8 December 2015 to 20 November 2016. In the prayer, the Holy Father entreats the Lord to make the Jubilee of Mercy a year of grace so that the Church, “with renewed enthusiasm, may bring good news to the poor, proclaim liberty to captives and the oppressed, and restore sight to the blind.” Below, we publish the text of Pope Francis’ prayer: Lord Jesus Christ, you have taught us to be merciful like the heavenly Father, and have told us that whoever sees you sees Him. Show us your face and we will be saved. Your loving gaze freed Zacchaeus and Matthew…Continue Reading

Pope Francis: Marriage Inscribed In Creation

May 6, 2015 breaking Comments Off on Pope Francis: Marriage Inscribed In Creation

2015-05-06 Vatican Radio   (Vatican Radio) Pope Francis held his weekly General Audience on Wednesday, during which he continued his catechetical reflections on the nature and purpose of marriage in the order of creation and in the Divine plan of salvation. This week, the Holy Father focused specifically on Christian marriage as a Sacrament: an efficacious sign of God’s love for each and every person, for all humanity and for the whole world, a means of grace, and a genuine way of living our common baptismal call to holiness. “Christian marriage is that sacrament which builds up the community of the Church and of society,”  explained Pope Francis through an interpreter in the English-language synopsis of the main catechesis, which…Continue Reading

Pope Francis tells Swiss Guards they have a “significant” friendship

May 5, 2015 breaking Comments Off on Pope Francis tells Swiss Guards they have a “significant” friendship

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis greeted the members of the Swiss Guard and their families on Monday, ahead of the annual May 6th swearing in ceremony for new Guards. Pope Francis said the meeting was an opportunity to “strengthen a [significant] friendship,” noting the words of Christ who said “No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” “In the history of the Church, many men and women have embraced the call of this great love,” Pope Francis said. “The Swiss Guards who fought during the sack of Rome [on May 6, 1527] and who gave their lives in the defense of the Pope followed this call. And responding with devotion to this call means…Continue Reading

Pope: Bear The Fruits Of Membership In Christ And The Church

May 4, 2015 breaking Comments Off on Pope: Bear The Fruits Of Membership In Christ And The Church

(Vatican Radio) On Sunday, Pope Francis spoke about Jesus’ parable of the vine and the branches – Jesus is the true vine, and we are the branches, dependent on Him. Through this parable, “Jesus wants us to understand the importance of remaining united to Him.” What is this new way, the Pope asked? Although Jesus is no longer with us as He was with the Disciples, we are able to remain united with Christ “in vital communion” through the Church. “Jesus is the vine,” Pope Francis continued, “and through Him, the very love of God passes” to us “the branches”: “The branches are not self-sufficient, but depend totally on the vine, in which is found the source of their life. So…Continue Reading

Pope Francis Attends Swiss Guard Flag Ceremony

May 3, 2015 breaking Comments Off on Pope Francis Attends Swiss Guard Flag Ceremony

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis attended a Swiss Guard ceremony Friday afternoon — unexpected by most of the people present — and addressed the corps, speaking as well about the characteristics of a commander, according to the Gospel. Following the nomination in February of Christoph Graf as the new Commander of the Swiss Guard, the military corps held a ceremony May 1 for the inauguration and blessing of its new flag. Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin celebrated Mass in the Church of the Teutonic Ceremony, located on the grounds of the Vatican. Subsequently, in the Guards Quarter, was the “military act,” which was attended unexpectedly by Pope Francis. After listening Commander Graf’s speech, the Pope addressed those present, expressing his…Continue Reading

Pope: Parish Must Be ‘Privileged Place’ Of Listening, Proclamation

May 2, 2015 breaking Comments Off on Pope: Parish Must Be ‘Privileged Place’ Of Listening, Proclamation

(Vatican Radio) Faithful from the Diocese of Isernia-Venafro paid a return visit to Pope Francis on Saturday. The Pope received the pilgrims in an audience and recalled the message of solidarity he shared with them during his pastoral visit last July. He also spoke of the call of parishes to be missionary communities. “Every parish is called to be a privileged place of listening and of the proclamation of the Gospel; a house of prayer gathered around the Eucharist; a true school of communion, where the ardour of charity prevails over the temptation of a superficial and dry religiosity,” said Pope Francis to pilgrims from the southern Italian Diocese of Isernia-Venafro. The Pope said he hopes the current Jubilee of…Continue Reading

Pope Francis: Saint Joseph And The Dignity Of Labour

May 1, 2015 breaking Comments Off on Pope Francis: Saint Joseph And The Dignity Of Labour

(Vatican Radio)  To mark International  Labour Day which coincides with the Feast day of  Saint Joseph the worker, Veronica Scarisbrick takes a look at the special devotion Pope Francis has for this Saint. As well as focus briefly on one of the social issues central to his thinking: the dignity of labour. Let’s begin with his devotion to Saint Joseph as there’s quite a list of things that connect Pope Francis to this saint. Among them the choice of the date for the beginning of his pontificate the 19th of March, Saint Joseph’s feast day, and the choice of the nard flower symbolic of this saint on his coat of arms. Then in July 2013 his decision to consecrate Vatican…Continue Reading

Pope: History And Service, Two Traits Of Christian Identity

April 30, 2015 breaking Comments Off on Pope: History And Service, Two Traits Of Christian Identity

(Vatican Radio) “History and service.” In his homily on Thursday morning, Pope Francis spoke about these “two traits of Christian identity.” Beginning with “history,” Pope Francis said Saint Paul, Saint Peter, and the other disciples “did not proclaim a Jesus without a history: They proclaimed Jesus in the history of the people, a people God led through the centuries in order to arrive… at the fullness of time.” God enters into history and into the journey with His people: “The Christian is a man or woman of history, because he does not pertain to himself alone – he is inserted into a people, a people that is on a journey. One cannot imagine a Christian selfishness, no, this won’t fly.…Continue Reading

Pope Francis: Humble Prayer Is Key To Discernment

April 29, 2015 breaking Comments Off on Pope Francis: Humble Prayer Is Key To Discernment

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis said Mass on Tuesday morning in the chapel of the Santa Marta residence in the Vatican. Speaking to the congregation following the readings of the day, the Holy Father focused on the pilgrim journey of the Church through history under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Reflecting on the preaching of the Gospel to all nations, narrated in the Acts of the Apostles, the Pope pointed to the need – even and especially today – for Apostolic courage, in order that Christian life not become a “museum of memories.” He noted how many at the time of the events narrated in the book of Acts were troubled to hear the gospel was preached to non-Jews, though…Continue Reading

Pope tells Benin Bishops promote interreligious dialogue

April 28, 2015 breaking Comments Off on Pope tells Benin Bishops promote interreligious dialogue

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis has encouraged Bishops from Benin to support families, to pursue the formation of young people and to promote inter religious dialogue. The Pope was receiving a group of Bishops from the West African Nation who are in the Vatican for their ad limina visit. In his message to them, Pope Francis thanked the Bishops for the successful exercise of their ministry which shines through in the great enthusiasm and in the visible expression of the faith of God’s people in Benin. “Parish life – he pointed out – is animated, the faithful participate in large numbers in the celebrations, conversions to Christ are many and priestly and religious vocations”. However, acknowledging the bishops’ concern for a…Continue Reading