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A Healthy Christian Is A Joyful Christian

May 22, 2014 Pope Francis Comments Off on A Healthy Christian Is A Joyful Christian

2014-05-22 Vatican Radio (Vatican Radio) A healthy Christian is a joyful Christian, even in times of sorrow and tribulation. This was Pope Francis reflection at Mass Thursday morning at Casa Santa Marta. During his homily the Pope returned to one of the recurrent themes of his Pontificate to date – there is no such thing as a sad Christian – stressing that it is the Holy Spirit who teaches us to love and fills us with joy. Pope Francis began by noting that before going to Heaven Jesus spoke of many things, but always dwelt on “three key words”: “Peace, love and joy.” Regarding peace “He told us that He does not give us peace, in the same way as…Continue Reading

If We Destroy Creation, It Will Destroy Us

May 21, 2014 Pope Francis Comments Off on If We Destroy Creation, It Will Destroy Us

2014-05-21 Vatican Radio (Vatican Radio) “With the gift of knowledge, the Spirit leads us to grasp the value and beauty of people and the realities that surround us, but also their limitations”, said Pope Francis Wednesday as he continued his series of lessons dedicated to the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit. Emer McCarthy reports: The Summer season arrived early in Rome this Wednesday with midday temperatures hitting 28°. Gazing out over the massive crowd, Pope Francis reflected that “the gift of knowledge helps us to avoid falling prey to excessive or incorrect attitudes. The first lies in the risk of considering ourselves masters of Creation. Creation is not a property, which we can rule over at will; or, even…Continue Reading

Let Not Your Heart Be Troubled

May 20, 2014 Pope Francis Comments Off on Let Not Your Heart Be Troubled

2014-05-20 Vatican Radio (Vatican Radio) Those who welcome the Holy Spirit will have a solid and endless peace, unlike those who choose to “superficially” trust in the tranquility offered by money or power. This was Pope Francis’ message at Mass Tuesday morning in Casa Santa Marta. The peace offered by things – money , power , vanity – and peace in Person, the Holy Spirit. The first is always in danger of vanishing – Today you are rich and you are somebody, not tomorrow – instead no-one “can take away” the second because it is a “definitive” peace. The Pope’s homily, which centered on one of the greatest desires of mankind of all times, was inspired by a passage from…Continue Reading

Firmness Of Heart

May 19, 2014 Pope Francis Comments Off on Firmness Of Heart

2014-05-19 Vatican Radio (Vatican Radio) A Christian should have their heart fixed on the Holy Spirit, not a fickle heart that dances from one place to another. This was Pope Francis’ message Monday morning at Mass in Casa Santa Marta. The Pope focused his homily on St. Paul, who was able to continuously evangelize because his heart was made firm by the Holy Spirit. Emer McCarthy reports: What kind of heart do we have? That was the question at the certain of Pope Francis homily based on the First Reading from the Acts of the Apostles, which speaks of St Paul’s commitment to evangelization “his firm heart in continuous motion”. The Apostle to the Gentiles is in Iconium, where they…Continue Reading

Pope Exhorts On ‘Right And Wrong Ways’ To Live With Suffering

May 18, 2014 Pope Francis Comments Off on Pope Exhorts On ‘Right And Wrong Ways’ To Live With Suffering

2014-05-17 Vatican Radio (Vatican Radio) Pope Francis met with members of the Apostolate of the Suffering and with the Silent Workers of the Cross on Saturday in the Paul VI Hall. Among the estimated 5,000 people in attendance, about 350 people were in wheelchairs. The two apostolic associations were founded by Blessed Luigi Novarese for evangelization by and among people with illness and disability. According to its website, the purpose of the Apostolate of the Suffering is to bring about “a complete emancipation of suffering persons, through a work of evangelization and teaching of catechism directly carried out by the handicapped”. Its activity takes place in co-operation with the Silent Workers of the Cross, an association of priests and consecrated…Continue Reading

To Get To Know Jesus We Must Pray To Him, Celebrate Him And Imitate Him.

May 17, 2014 Pope Francis Comments Off on To Get To Know Jesus We Must Pray To Him, Celebrate Him And Imitate Him.

2014-05-16 Vatican Radio (Vatican Radio) Pope Francis says studying Jesus is not enough to get to know him, we must also pray to him, celebrate him and imitate him. This was the Pope’s core message at Mass on Friday in the Santa Marta residence. In his homily the Pope reflected on the best way for us to get to know Jesus, describing it as the most important work in our lives. At the same time he warned that studying or having ideas was not enough on its own to acquire that knowledge of Jesus. “Ideas by themselves do not lead anywhere and those who pursue the path of their own ideas end up in a labyrinth from where they can’t…Continue Reading

At the General Audience the Pope remembers victims of the mining accident in Turkey and migrants who drowned in the Mediterranean Sea Human rights a top priority

May 16, 2014 Pope Francis Comments Off on At the General Audience the Pope remembers victims of the mining accident in Turkey and migrants who drowned in the Mediterranean Sea Human rights a top priority

2014-05-14 L’Osservatore Romano At the General Audience in St Peter’s Square on Wednesday, 14 May, Pope Francis continued his series of catecheses on the Gifts of the Holy Spirit, focusing on the fourth of these gifts: fortitude. The gift of fortitude, the Pope said, “frees us from so many obstacles” and gives us strength even in “difficult moments and extreme situations”. Following his catechesis, the Pontiff launched an appeal for prayer for the hundreds of people who are still trapped in the mines of Soma, Turkey, following an explosion on Tuesday afternoon that resulted in the death of approximately 200 miners. The Pontiff also expressed heartfelt concern over the ongoing “shameful massacres” of migrants, following yet another tragic shipwreck in…Continue Reading

Pope At Mass: We Are Not Christian Without The Church

May 15, 2014 Pope Francis Comments Off on Pope At Mass: We Are Not Christian Without The Church

2014-05-15 Vatican Radio (Vatican Radio) There is no such thing as a Christian without the Church, a Christian who walks alone, because Jesus inserted himself into the journey of His people: This was Pope Francis reflection at Mass this morning in Casa Santa Marta. Beginning with the first reading of the day, Pope Francis said that when they proclaimed Jesus the apostles did not begin with Him, but the history of the people. In fact ” Jesus does not make sense without this history” because He “is the end of this story, [the end] towards which this story goes, towards which it walks”. So “you cannot understand a Christian outside of the people of God. The Christian is not a…Continue Reading

The Gift Of Fortitude

May 14, 2014 Pope Francis Comments Off on The Gift Of Fortitude

2014-05-14 Vatican Radio (Vatican Radio) “Let us thank the Lord for these Christians who are the hidden saints among us”, said Pope Francis Wednesday “ordinary, everyday people who carry on their lives and faith, who fight for their families and educate their children”, despite the difficulties that life can sometimes present them with. These are people who open their hearts to the Holy Spirit who fills them with the gift of fortitude, the strength to carry on. Continuing his series on the Gifts of the Holy Spirit Wednesday, Pope Francis spoke of the gift of fortitude in times of trail. Tens of thousands of pilgrims and visitors had queued since dawn outside St. Peter’s Square to attend the audience. Despite…Continue Reading

Pope At Mass: The Danger Of A Hardened Heart

May 13, 2014 Pope Francis Comments Off on Pope At Mass: The Danger Of A Hardened Heart

2014-05-13 Vatican Radio (Vatican Radio) We cannot understand the things of God only with our heads, we need to open our hearts to the Holy Spirit too. This was Pope Francis’ message at morning Mass Tuesday at Casa Santa Marta. The Pope also said that faith is a gift of God which we cannot receive if we live our lives “detached” from His people, the Church. As usual, the Pope reflected on the readings offered by the liturgy of the day, which show us “two groups of people”. In the First Reading, “there are those who were scattered because of the persecution that arose” following Stephen’s martyrdom. “They were dispersed with the seed of the Gospel – the Pope said…Continue Reading