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Pope At Mass: The Holy Spirit Makes The Unthinkable Possible

May 12, 2014 Pope Francis Comments Off on Pope At Mass: The Holy Spirit Makes The Unthinkable Possible

2014-05-12 Vatican Radio (Vatican Radio) “Who are we to close the doors ” to the Holy Spirit? This was the question that Pope Francis repeated this morning during his homily at Mass at Casa Santa Marta, a homily dedicated to the conversion of the first pagans to Christianity. The Holy Spirit, he reiterated , is what makes the Church to go “beyond the limits, go ever forward”. The Spirit blows where it wills, but one of the most common temptations of those who have faith is to bar its path and drive it in one direction or another. A temptation that was not alien even in the early days of the Church, as the experience of Simon Peter in today’s…Continue Reading

Regina Caeli

May 11, 2014 Pope Francis Comments Off on Regina Caeli

2014-05-11 Vatican Radio Pope Francis’ remarks at the Regina Caeli on Sunday: Dear Brothers and Sisters, good day! The evangelist John, on this Fourth Sunday of Easter time, presents to us the image of Jesus the Good Shepherd. Contemplating this Gospel passage, we can understand the kind of relationship that Jesus had with his disciples: a relationship based on tenderness, love, mutual understanding, and the promise of an incomparable gift: “I came,” Jesus says, “so that they might have life and have it more abundantly” (Jn 10:10). This relationship is the model both of relations between Christians and of human relations. Many today, as in Jesus’ time, are proposed as “shepherds” of our existence; but only the Risen Christ is…Continue Reading

Pope To Secular Institutes: You Are Revolutionary!

May 10, 2014 Pope Francis Comments Off on Pope To Secular Institutes: You Are Revolutionary!

2014-05-10 Vatican Radio Vatican Radio) Pope Francis has told the men and women of Italy’s Secular Institutes that their establishment was a revolutionary and courageous act that revealed how his predecessor Pius XII knew how to read the signs of the times. Handing his prepared text to the 200 consecrated lay men and women present, the Pope preferred to speak to them from the heart. He began by describing Pius XII’ apostolic constitution ProvidaMater Ecclesia as an act of courage that the Church of the time needed. It institutionalized the reality of communities of lay consecrated men and women, and since then – the Pope said – “you have done great good for the Church, with great courage because we need…Continue Reading

Pope: Saints Are Humble Sinners, Sanctified By Jesus

May 9, 2014 Pope Francis Comments Off on Pope: Saints Are Humble Sinners, Sanctified By Jesus

2014-05-09 Vatican Radio (Vatican Radio) Saints are not heroes, but are sinners who follow Jesus along the path of humility and of the Cross and thus allow themselves to be sanctified by Him – because no one is able to sanctify himself. This was the message of Pope Francis in his homily at daily Mass on Friday at the Casa Santa Marta. Beginning with the first Reading, which tells the story of the conversion of Paul from an enemy of the Church to a saint, Pope Francis explained what is meant when we say “the Church is holy”: “But how can she be holy if we are all within [her]? We are all sinners here. Yet the Church is holy!…Continue Reading

Pope At Audience: The Gift Of Good Counsel

May 8, 2014 Pope Francis Comments Off on Pope At Audience: The Gift Of Good Counsel

2014-05-07 Vatican Radio (Vatican Radio) May is the month of Mary, and looking to her this Wednesday, Pope Francis raised a prayer of thanksgiving for her good counsel in times of difficulty. He also invited mothers world-wide to pray for this gift from the Holy Spirit to be able to counsel their children and announced that on Thursday the Vatican Secretary of State will travel to the shrine of Our Lady of the Rosary in Pompeii. Continuing his series of reflections at the General Audience on the gifts of the Holy Spirit, this week he focused on the Gift of Counsel. Emer McCarthy reports: “We know how important it is, especially in the most delicate moments, to be able to…Continue Reading

Pope At Mass: Church Is Not Just A School Of Religion

May 7, 2014 Pope Francis Comments Off on Pope At Mass: Church Is Not Just A School Of Religion

2014-05-06 Vatican Radio (Vatican Radio) The Christian who does not witness to the faith becomes sterile. This was the focus of Pope Francis’ homily at morning Mass at Casa Santa Marta. The Pope drew inspiration from the martyrdom of St. Stephen, narrated in the Acts of the Apostles. The Church, he said, is “not a university of religion”, but the people who follow Jesus. Only in this way, he added , is the Church both “fruitful and mother”. Emer McCarthy reports: In his homily Pope Francis traced the path that led to the death of the first martyr of the Church, a death that was the exact replica of Christ’s. He, too, like Jesus , he said, had encountered “the…Continue Reading

Pope to Burundi’s Bishops: Continue Formation, Engage Public Sphere

May 6, 2014 Pope Francis Comments Off on Pope to Burundi’s Bishops: Continue Formation, Engage Public Sphere

2014-05-05 Vatican Radio (Vatican Radio) In a country which continues to feel the wounds of the ” terrible conflict ” of its recent past, consecrated people can be “witnesses of fraternity” for the public sector and the lay community. That’s what Pope Francis told the bishops of Burundi, whom he received Monday during their ad limina visit to Rome. In a discourse in French, the Pope said peace is possible even after war has taught people to hate. Observing that the deep wounds of the 1993 – 2005 conflict continue to scar and divide Burundi’s population, the Pope said only an “authentic conversion of hearts to the Gospel” can lead people to “fraternal love and forgiveness.” Noting the bishops’ desire…Continue Reading

Pope: Christians Must Keep Away From Vanity, Power And Greed

May 5, 2014 Pope Francis Comments Off on Pope: Christians Must Keep Away From Vanity, Power And Greed

2014-05-05 Vatican Radio (Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Monday warned that there are people in the Church that follow Jesus for vanity or thirst for power and wealth, and he prayed the Lord to give us the grace to follow him for love. The Pope was speaking during morning Mass at Casa Santa Marta. Pope Francis took his cue from the Gospel reading of the day in which Jesus tells a group of people who were looking for him that they are doing so “ not because you saw signs, but because you ate the loaves and were filled”. This episode, the Pope said, invites us to ask ourselves whether we are following the Lord for personal gain or because…Continue Reading

Pope Francis: Regina Coeli Appeals For Ukraine, Afghanistan

May 4, 2014 Pope Francis Comments Off on Pope Francis: Regina Coeli Appeals For Ukraine, Afghanistan

2014-05-04 Vatican Radio (Vatican Radio) Pope Francis appealed for peace in Ukraine on Sunday. Speaking to the faithful gathered in St. Peter’s Square for the middayRegina coeli prayer (which replaces the Angelus at Eastertide), The Holy Father said, “I would like to invite you to entrust to Our Lady the situation in Ukraine, where tensions continue unabated.” The Holy Father went on to say, “I pray with you for the victims of recent days, asking that the Lord instill sentiments of peacemaking and brotherhood in the hearts of everyone.” Pope Francis also asked prayers for the victims of the massive landslide that killed more than 2 thousand people in an Afghan village near the border with Tajikistan on Friday of last week. “Let…Continue Reading

Pope Meets Sri Lankan Bishops

May 3, 2014 Pope Francis Comments Off on Pope Meets Sri Lankan Bishops

2014-05-03 Vatican Radio (Vatican Radio) Pope Francis met today with the bishops of Sri Lanka as part of their visit ad Limina Apostolorum. In his address, the Pope encouraged the bishops in their efforts of reconciliation and healing of the nation, after more than 25 years of civil war on the island. Observing that the Church counts among its faithful both sides of the civil war, the Pope remarked that “as the country seeks to come together and heal, the Church is uniquely positioned to provide a living image of unity in the faith.” The pope praised the Church’s charitable work, especially the work of Caritas Sri Lanka which provided much aid following the 2004 tsunami. He then reminded the…Continue Reading