Category: +Religion

The Weekly Francis – 27 November 2019

This version of The Weekly Francis covers material released in the last week from 21 November 2019 to 27 November 2019.

Angelus

Homilies

Messages

Speeches

Papal Tweets

  • “When Christians and Buddhists have the opportunity to appreciate and esteem one another, in spite of our differences, we offer the world a word of hope that can encourage and support those who are wounded by division. #ApostolicJourney” @Pontifex 21 November 2019
  • “The Gospel is full of questions that attempt to unsettle, to stir and to invite the disciples to set out, to discover the truth that is capable of giving and generating life. #ApostolicJourney http://w2.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/homilies/2019/documents/papa-francesco_20191121_messa-thailandia-omelia.html” @Pontifex 21 November 2019
  • “Without prayer, our life and mission loses all its meaning, strength and fervor. #ApostolicJourney” @Pontifex 22 November 2019
  • “A missionary Church knows that its best message is its readiness to be transformed by the word of life, making service its hallmark. #ApostolicJourney” @Pontifex 22 November 2019
  • “The secret to a happy heart is the security we find when we are anchored, rooted in Jesus: in his life, in his words, in his death and resurrection. #ApostolicJourney” @Pontifex 22 November 2019
  • “Let us go out to meet Christ the Lord for he is coming! Do not be afraid of the future or allow yourselves to be intimidated. Rather know that the Lord is waiting for you there in order to prepare and celebrate the banquet of his kingdom. #ApostolicJourney http://w2.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/homilies/2019/documents/papa-francesco_20191122_messa-giovani-thailandia-omelia.html” @Pontifex 22 November 2019
  • “I thank all those who made my visit to Thailand possible, and those who accompanied me with their prayer. I invoke abundant divine blessings on this beloved Nation, and I ask the Lord to guide it on the paths of wisdom, justice and peace. #ApostolicJourney” @Pontifex 22 November 2019
  • “Protecting all life and proclaiming the Gospel are not separate or opposed; rather each appeals to, and requires, the other. #ProtectAllLife #ApostolicJourney” @Pontifex 23 November 2019
  • “Try to create spaces in which the culture of efficiency, performance and success can become open to a culture of generous and selfless love, capable of offering to everyone, and not only to those who have “made it”, the possibility of a happy and successful life.#ApostolicJourney” @Pontifex 23 November 2019
  • “I ask you to join in praying each day for the conversion of hearts and for the triumph of a culture of life, reconciliation and fraternity. #EndNuclearWeapons #Nagasaki #ApostolicJourney” @Pontifex 24 November 2019
  • “In a world where millions of children and families live in inhumane conditions, the money that is squandered and the fortunes made through the manufacture, maintenance and sale of ever more destructive weapons, are an affront crying out to heaven.” @Pontifex 24 November 2019
  • “We are united with those Christians throughout the world who, in our own day, suffer martyrdom for the faith. They are the martyrs of the twenty-first century and their witness summons us to set out with courage on the path of the Beatitudes. #ApostolicJourney #NishizakaHill” @Pontifex 24 November 2019
  • “The kingdom of heaven is our common goal, a goal that cannot be only about tomorrow. We have to implore it and begin to experience it today. #GospelOfToday #ApostolicJourney” @Pontifex 24 November 2019
  • “Peace is no more than an empty word unless it is founded on truth, built up in justice, animated and perfected by charity, and attained in freedom. #Hiroshima #ApostolicJourney” @Pontifex 24 November 2019
  • “The use of atomic energy for purposes of war is immoral, just as the possession of atomic weapons is immoral, as I said two years ago. We will be judged on this. #EndNuclearWeapons #Hiroshima #ApostolicJourney” @Pontifex 24 November 2019
  • “To remember, to journey together, to protect. These are three moral imperatives that here in #Hiroshima assume even more powerful and universal significance, and can open a true path to peace. http://w2.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/speeches/2019/november/documents/papa-francesco_20191124_messaggio-incontropace-hiroshima.html” @Pontifex 24 November 2019
  • “In the ongoing work of recovery and rebuilding after the disasters, many hands must join together and many hearts unite as one. In this way, those who are suffering will be supported and know that they have not been forgotten. #ApostolicJourney” @Pontifex 25 November 2019
  • “The world needs you. Never forget that! The Lord needs you, so that you can encourage all those people around us who are looking for a helping hand to lift them up. #ApostolicJourney” @Pontifex 25 November 2019
  • “The theme of my visit is “Protect All Life”, in the recognition of its inviolable dignity and the importance of showing solidarity and support to our brothers and sisters in any kind of need. #ApostolicJourney” @Pontifex 25 November 2019
  • “I thank the entire Japanese people for the kind reception and welcome accorded me during my Apostolic Visit. I will keep all of you in my prayers.” @Pontifex 25 November 2019
  • “私の訪日に際し、皆様が私を真心を込めてあたたかくお迎えくださったことに対し、私は日本のすべての皆様に深く感謝申し上げます。お祈りの内に皆様のことを心に留めております。” @Pontifex 25 November 2019
  • “My apostolic journey to Thailand and Japan was a gift for which I am so grateful to the Lord. This visit increased my closeness and affection for these peoples: may God bless them with prosperity and peace in abundance. #GeneralAudience” @Pontifex 27 November 2019

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The Weekly Francis – 20 November 2019

This version of The Weekly Francis covers material released in the last week from 3 October 2019 to 20 November 2019.

Angelus

Daily Homilies (fervorinos)

General Audiences

Homilies

Messages

Speeches

Papal Tweets

  • “My thoughts go out to beloved Burkina Faso, where an attack has killed many people. I entrust to the Lord the victims and all those who suffer as a result of such tragedies. I appeal to the Authorities to promote inter-religious dialogue and harmony.” @Pontifex 13 November 2019
  • “God has entrusted us with His greatest gifts: our life, the lives of others, and so many different gifts for each person. He invites us to make these talents bear fruit with audacity and creativity.” @Pontifex 14 November 2019
  • “God is merciful towards those who admit their need.” @Pontifex 15 November 2019
  • “Let us pray for the grace to be able to listen to the cry of the poor: it is the cry of hope of the Church.” @Pontifex 16 November 2019
  • “In #GospelOfToday (Luke 21, 5–19) as an antidote to haste, Jesus proposes perseverance to each of us: “By your perseverance you will secure your lives”.” @Pontifex 17 November 2019
  • “The poor facilitate our access to Heaven. Even now, they are the treasure of the Church. They reveal to us the riches that never grow old, that unite heaven and earth, for which life is truly worth living: the riches of love. #WorldayofthePoor http://w2.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/homilies/2019/documents/papa-francesco_20191117_omelia-giornatamondiale-poveri.html” @Pontifex 17 November 2019
  • “How beautiful it would be if the poor could occupy in our hearts the place they have in the heart of God! #WorldayofthePoor” @Pontifex 17 November 2019
  • “I leave today on my 32nd #ApostolicJourney. Dear friends in Thailand and Japan, before we meet, let us pray together that these days may be rich in grace and joy.” @Pontifex 19 November 2019

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The Weekly Francis – 13 November 2019

This version of The Weekly Francis covers material released in the last week from 30 September 2019 to 13 November 2019.

Angelus

General Audiences

Homilies

Messages

Speeches

Papal Tweets

  • “Christian hope, nourished by the light of Christ, makes the resurrection and life shine even in the world’s darkest nights.” @Pontifex 7 November 2019
  • “Faith calls for a journey, a “going out”. Purification takes places on the journey of life, a journey that is often uphill, because it leads upwards.” @Pontifex 8 November 2019
  • “Prayer always arouses feelings of fraternity, it breaks down barriers, crosses borders, creates invisible but real and effective bridges, and opens horizons of hope.” @Pontifex 9 November 2019
  • “Jesus, true God and true man, destroyed death, is risen and wants to rise again in the hearts of all. No one, no matter how wounded by evil, is condemned to be separated from God on this earth forever.” @Pontifex 9 November 2019
  • “Listening to the simple and clear words of Jesus about life after death in the #GospelOfToday (Lk 20:27–38) gives great consolation and hope. We need this a lot in our time, so rich in knowledge about the universe but so poor in wisdom about eternal life.” @Pontifex 10 November 2019
  • “We must put an end to the culture of waste, we who pray to the Lord to give us our daily bread. Food waste contributes to hunger and to climate change. http://www.pas.va/content/accademia/en/events/2019/food_waste.html” @Pontifex 11 November 2019
  • “We ask the Lord to increase our faith in Jesus Christ, the Son of God, in our hearts: He who assumed our human nature, who became Man in order to fight with our flesh and to conquer in our flesh. #HomilySantaMarta” @Pontifex 12 November 2019
  • “I am close to Armenian Catholics of Qamishli, in Syria, as they gather for the funeral of their parish priest, Father Hovsep Bedoyan, who was killed yesterday together with his father. I pray for them, their families, and for all Christians in Syria.” @Pontifex 12 November 2019
  • “Let us ask the Lord to pour His Spirit upon Christian couples and families, so that, as they generously open their doors to Christ and to their brothers and sisters, they may bear authentic witness to a life of faith, hope and charity. #GeneralAudience” @Pontifex 13 November 2019
  • “My thoughts go out to beloved Burkina Faso, where an attack has killed many people. I entrust to the Lord the victims and all those who suffer as a result of such tragedies. I appeal to the Authorities to promote inter-religious dialogue and harmony.” @Pontifex 13 November 2019

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The Weekly Francis – 06 November 2019

This version of The Weekly Francis covers material released in the last week from 16 September 2019 to 6 November 2019.

Angelus

Daily Homilies (fervorinos)

General Audiences

Homilies

Messages

Motu Proprio

Speeches

Papal Tweets

  • “Let us ask the Lord for the light to really understand what is happening within us. #SantaMarta” @Pontifex 25 October 2019
  • “In this #AmazonSynod we felt the need to place ourselves before the Lord, to put Him back at the centre, both personally and as the Church. Because we can only proclaim what we live.” @Pontifex 27 October 2019
  • “In the #GospelOfToday, looking at the tax collector, we rediscover where to start: from the conviction that we, all of us, are in need of salvation. #AmazonSynod http://w2.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/homilies/2019/documents/papa-francesco_20191027_omelia-sinodovescovi-conclusione.html” @Pontifex 27 October 2019
  • “In these last days of October, I invite you to pray the #HolyRosary for the mission of the Church today, especially for men and women missionaries who encounter the greatest difficulties. #MissionaryOctober” @Pontifex 28 October 2019
  • “The love of God is expressed in the tender tears of Jesus. As He cried for Jerusalem, so He cries for each of us when we don’t allow ourselves to be loved. This is God’s tender love. #SantaMarta” @Pontifex 31 October 2019
  • “The memory of the Saints leads us to raise our eyes to Heaven: not to forget the realities of the earth, but to face them with more courage and hope. #AllSaintsDay” @Pontifex 1 November 2019
  • “Today we remember those who have walked before us, in the hope of meeting them, of reaching the place where we’ll find the love that created us and awaits us: the love of the Father. #AllSoulsDay” @Pontifex 2 November 2019
  • “The #GospelOfTheDay (Lk 19:1–10) shows us that the merciful gaze of the Lord reaches us before we even realize that we need it to be saved.” @Pontifex 3 November 2019
  • “Holiness is the fruit of God’s grace and of our free response to it. Holiness is a gift and a call.” @Pontifex 4 November 2019
  • “We face this choice many times in our lives: do I accept the Lord’s invitation or close myself off in my interests, in my smallness? Let us ask the Lord for the grace always to accept the invitation to His feast, which is free. #SantaMarta” @Pontifex 5 November 2019
  • “Video” @Pontifex 5 November 2019
  • “Dear friends, in this month of November, we are invited to pray for the dead. Let us entrust our family members, friends and acquaintances to God, especially in the Eucharist, feeling them close to us in the spiritual company of the Church. #GeneralAudience” @Pontifex 6 November 2019

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The Point of Lazarus and the Rich Man

In Luke 16:19-31, Jesus tells the parable of Lazarus and the Rich Man and their respective fates in the afterlife.

This parable is unique in that it is the only one of Jesus’ parables that involves a named figure–Lazarus. (It also mentions Abraham by name, but he can be seen as belonging to a different category as an archtypical figure from Israel’s history).

It’s also striking that, in the course of the parable, it is proposed that Lazarus come back from the dead, which the historical Lazarus actually did (John 11).

Further, Luke knows the Bethany family to which Lazarus belonged, as he mentions Mary and Martha (Luke 10:38-42).

All of these factors have led some to question the extent to which this story even is a parable–as opposed to a straightforward account of what happened to Lazarus in the afterlife.

 

Is It a Parable?

I think it’s possible that the narrative is in some way based on the experience of the historical Lazarus, though it is probably in some degree a parable.

First, we don’t have an indication that the historical Lazarus was a beggar, especially not the kind described in the parable. Instead, we have him living with his two sisters, and they apparently had considerable financial resources, since John identifies Lazarus’s sister Mary as the woman who broke the bottle of (very!) costly ointment over Jesus’ head (John 12:1-3).

Second, in the parable, the proposal that Lazarus be sent back from the dead is seemingly refused (Luke 16:27-31), which is the opposite of what happened to the historical Lazarus.

However that may be, Jesus told this for a purpose, and it wasn’t simply to tell us about a particular incident. He was making a larger point.

 

A Common Mistake

One of the dangers modern interpreters can fall into is pressing the details of a biblical passage into telling us things they aren’t meant to–like when geocentrists take references to the sun rising as if they were meant to be lessons about the physical structure of the cosmos and the absolute (rather than relative) motion of objects within it.

Something similar can happen with symbolic texts, as when people see stars falling from the sky in prophetic passages and think “meteor shower.”

One of the best checks on the tendency to inappropriately press the details in a passage is to stop and ask what the biblical author is trying to tell us–what’s his overall point?

Is the biblical author trying to tell us that the sun moves rather than the earth? Is he trying to tell us about a meteor shower, as opposed to something else (the fall of angels? the fall of princes?)?

 

The Point(s) of Parables

This test also applies to parables. One needs to take a step back from the detail of the text and ask, “What is the fundamental point that Jesus is making here?”

There may be more than one point, and these can be identified by looking at the different characters in the parable. In the parable of the Prodigal Son, for example, there are different points made with the prodigal son, his older brother, and his father.

In this parable, there are different points being made with Lazarus and the rich man, with Abraham representing as an arbiter who serves as the voice of God’s will (just as the father expresses God’s attitude in the Prodigal Son).

 

Hell or Purgatory?

Interpreters down through the ages have understood that, in the parable of Lazarus and the Rich man, Jesus is contrasting the two fundamental fates that await us in the afterlife: salvation and damnation.

On this interpretation, Lazarus is saved, while the rich man is damned.

However, some in recent times have proposed that the rich man isn’t actually in hell but in purgatory.

The basis for this proposal is the fact that the rich man asks Abraham to send Lazarus back from the grave to warn his brothers of the fate that awaits them (Luke 16:27, 30).

Is that the action of a damned soul? Isn’t he showing love for his brothers by wanting to save them from his fate, and would such love be inconsistent with a truly damned soul? If so, wouldn’t that point to him being in purgatory rather than hell?

 

Pressing This Detail

If we assume that this detail of the parable can be reliably pressed, the answer is no.

What hell excludes is the supernatural love of God (i.e., the virtue of charity, as described in 1 Cor. 13). It does not exclude natural affections that people may have for things.

Even a damned soul may still like ice cream–or, as in the case of the rich man in this parable, a drop of cool water for his tongue (Luke 16:24).

In the same way, a damned soul might still have natural affection for his brothers and want to see them not suffer.

Some have even proposed that the rich man could have a selfish motive for his request concerning them–e.g., it would increase his shame for them to follow his bad example or otherwise increase his suffering to see fellow family members damned.

Even granting that this detail of the parable is meant to be pressed yields a negative answer: The rich man does not need to be in purgatory rather than hell to account for how the parable is written.

But should we be pressing this detail in the first place?

There is reason to think that we should not.

 

Pressing Another Detail

For example, look at another detail of the parable: Why Abraham can’t send Lazarus to put a drop of cool water on the rich man’s tongue. Abraham explains:

Son, remember that you in your lifetime received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner evil things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in anguish. And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, in order that those who would pass from here to you may not be able, and none may cross from there to us (Luke 16:25-26).

Abraham’s appeal is thus twofold: (1) the rich man is experiencing what he deserves under divine justice (since he cared only for himself in life and ignored the suffering beggar outside his own door), and (2) there has been a chasm fixed to prevent anyone from relieving the sufferings of people like him.

Even if we understand the chasm not as a physical valley in the afterlife but as a symbol of inability, we have good reason not to press this detail in a literal way.

If we did so, it would mean that there would be people in heaven who–knowing that God’s justice is being done to people like the rich man–would nevertheless want to thwart this justice and are only restrained from doing so because God has set a (spiritual) barrier between them.

That’s problematic because the souls of the righteous would not want to thwart divine justice!

It’s also problematic because, if the rich man were only in purgatory, then the saints could  and would help his sufferings by interceding for him.

It’s more natural not to press this detail and see Abraham as saying, (1) justice is being done and (2) one’s fate is fixed (not that any of the righteous would literally want to undo divine justice).

 

Asking the Purpose

If that detail of the parable shouldn’t be pressed, it raises questions about how far the rich man’s request regarding his brothers should be.

Is Jesus really trying to tell us that the damned intercede on behalf of their living relatives or is he making another point?

The damned might or might not literally intercede for those still living, but it’s easy to show that Jesus is making a different point. In fact, he’s making several, as revealed by Abraham’s responses to the rich man’s requests.

When the rich man first proposes sending Lazarus back, Abraham replies:

They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them (Luke 16:29).

This is the first point: The living already have a revelation of God’s will in the form of Moses and the prophets. They should listen to the message they already have.

When the rich man makes the proposal again, saying that if someone comes back from the dead then his brothers will repent, Abraham says:

If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be convinced if some one should rise from the dead (Luke 16:31).

This is the second point: Being willing to repent is based on a fundamental readiness to do God’s will, as expressed in Moses and the prophets. If one has a heart too hard to do that, even someone returning from the dead won’t change it.

Of course, in an individual case, it might. If you knew for a fact that someone was back from the dead with a message that you need to repent, it might well prompt you to alter your behavior!

But this isn’t about an individual case. It’s about the fact that Jesus’ own resurrection will not automatically produce repentance.

At this point in Luke’s narrative, Jesus has already “set his face to go to Jerusalem” (Luke 9:51), and he has already predicted his death and resurrection more than once and will soon do so again (Luke 9:21-22, 9:43-45; cf. 18:31-34).

The real point that is being made with the figure of Abraham is that if people in Israel don’t listen to Moses and the prophets, they won’t be convinced by Jesus’ resurrection, either.

That’s the point Jesus is making.

And so that’s why the parable depicts the rich man as asking for Lazarus to be sent back from the dead: It’s to set up the points that Abraham makes in reply.

This doesn’t mean that people in the rich man’s condition never intercede for those they cared for in life, but since the purpose of the request is to set up a different set of points, it means we can’t press the request as if it’s determinative of the meaning of the text.

Instead, we need to look at the big picture to see what can safely be gotten from the text.

 

The Big Picture

So what’s Jesus’ fundamental point in telling this parable?

The most obvious interpretation is that there are two destinies awaiting people in the afterlife–a good one (experienced by Lazarus) and a bad one (experienced by the rich man).

Further, you had better make your decision in this life, because these two destinies are immutable, as illustrated by the chasm between them. Once you’re in the suffering condition, there is no relief.

And, don’t expect people in Israel to be convinced by the resurrection of Jesus. If they can find ways to ignore the message of Moses and the prophets (which predict Jesus), they can find ways to ignore the implications of Jesus’ resurrection as well.

These points–which see the rich man as being in hell–make much better sense of the text than the idea that Jesus is ignoring the possibility of someone going to hell and instead warning us about the temporary state of purgatory, which for some reason the righteous are powerless to assist with.

That’s not to say that more isn’t going on with this parable. The factors that echo (and don’t echo) what we know about the historical Lazarus make it very intriguing.

But pressing the details in a way that would put the rich man in purgatory rather than hell isn’t reliable.

The Weekly Francis – 23 October 2019

This version of The Weekly Francis covers material released in the last week from 4 October 2019 to 23 October 2019.

Angelus

General Audiences

Homilies

Messages

Papal Tweets

  • “Let us work together so that every person can have access to adequate food, according to the will of God. #ZeroHunger http://w2.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/messages/food/documents/papa-francesco_20191016_messaggio-giornata-alimentazione.html” @Pontifex 16 October 2019
  • ““I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink” (Mt 25,35). Today we ask for the grace of compassion and the capacity to share in the poverty of our brothers and sisters. #EndPoverty” @Pontifex 17 October 2019
  • “Saint Luke, you reveal the heart of Jesus and His mercy, help us to rediscover the joy of being Christians, witnesses of the goodness of the Lord. #SaintOfTheDay” @Pontifex 18 October 2019
  • “Dear young people, as you pray the #HolyRosary for unity and peace, consider that in one of the rosary beads I too am with you!
    @acn_int” @Pontifex 18 October 2019
  • “I encourage you to bring the light of the Gospel to our contemporaries. May you be witnesses of freedom and mercy, allowing fraternity and dialogue to prevail over divisions. #ExtraordinaryMissionaryMonth #MissionaryOctober” @Pontifex 19 October 2019
  • “In the midst of this missionary month, let us ask ourselves: what really counts in my life? To what peaks do I want to ascend? #ExtraordinaryMissionaryMonth #MissionaryOctober” @Pontifex 20 October 2019
  • “This is our mission: to show by our lives, and perhaps even by our words, that God loves everyone and never tires of anyone. #ExtraordinaryMissionaryMonth #MissionaryOctober” @Pontifex 20 October 2019
  • “Go and show love to everyone, because your life is a precious mission: it is not a burden to be borne, but a gift to offer. #ExtraordinaryMissionaryMonth #MissionaryOctober http://w2.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/homilies/2019/documents/papa-francesco_20191020_omelia-giornatamissionaria.html” @Pontifex 20 October 2019
  • “During this missionary month, the Lord is also calling you: He is asking you to be a gift wherever you are, just as you are, with everyone around you. Courage! The Lord expects great things from you! #ExtraordinaryMissionaryMonth #MissionaryOctober” @Pontifex 21 October 2019
  • “Let us thank the Lord for all the good done, in the world and in our hearts, through the words, actions and holiness of #JohnPaulII. Let us remember always his call to: ”Open the doors to Christ!“ #SaintOfTheDay” @Pontifex 22 October 2019
  • “As we celebrate the #ExtraordinaryMissionaryMonth, we ask the Holy Spirit to enable us to open the doors of the Gospel to all peoples and to be authentic witnesses of divine love. #GeneralAudience” @Pontifex 23 October 2019

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The Weekly Francis – 16 October 2019

This version of The Weekly Francis covers material released in the last week from 26 September 2019 to 16 October 2019.

Angelus

Homilies

Messages

Speeches

Papal Tweets

  • “As we close the #SeasonOfCreation today, we entrust the #AmazonSynod to St. Francis of Assisi.” @Pontifex 4 October 2019
  • “The willingness of a Cardinal to shed his own blood, symbolized by the red colour of his clothing, is guaranteed when it is rooted in compassion, received from God, and given to his brothers and sisters.” @Pontifex 5 October 2019
  • “In the #GospelOfToday, Jesus shows us that the measure of faith is service. ”We are useless servants“ is an expression of humility and availability that does so much good for the Church. #Angelus” @Pontifex 6 October 2019
  • “So many of our brothers and sisters in Amazonia are bearing heavy crosses and awaiting the liberating consolation of the Gospel, the Church’s caress of love. For them, and with them, let us journey together. #SinodoAmazonico http://w2.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/homilies/2019/documents/papa-francesco_20191006_omelia-sinodo-amazzonia.html” @Pontifex 6 October 2019
  • “I ask you to accompany this important ecclesial event with prayers, so that it may be experienced in fraternal communion and docility to the Holy Spirit, who always shows the ways for bearing witness to the Gospel. #SinodoAmazonico” @Pontifex 7 October 2019
  • “Jonah is stubborn in his faith convictions, and the Lord is stubborn in His mercy. Because the Lord always wants to heal and to save, not to condemn. #SantaMarta” @Pontifex 8 October 2019
  • “May the Holy Spirit, the builder of fraternity, give us the grace to walk beside one another. May He make us courageous as we experience unprecedented ways of sharing and of mission.” @Pontifex 10 October 2019
  • “The Lord always reminds us how precious we are in His eyes, and He entrusts us with a mission.” @Pontifex 11 October 2019
  • “Let us pray for our communities, that by giving witness to the joy of Christian life, they may see a flowering of the call to holiness.” @Pontifex 12 October 2019
  • “Today we give thanks to the Lord for our new #Saints. They walked by faith and now we invoke their intercession.” @Pontifex 13 October 2019
  • “The #GospelOfToday shows us that the ultimate goal is the encounter with Jesus. He alone frees us from evil and heals our hearts. Only an encounter with him can save, can make life full and beautiful. http://w2.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/homilies/2019/documents/papa-francesco_20191013_omelia-canonizzazione.html” @Pontifex 13 October 2019
  • “The Lord gives each of us a vocation, a challenge to discover the talents and abilities we possess and to put them at the service of others.” @Pontifex 14 October 2019
  • “How do we root out hypocrisy? There’s a good medicine that can help us not be hypocrites: point the finger at ourselves and say to the Lord ”Look at the way I am, Lord!“, and say it with humility. #SantaMarta” @Pontifex 15 October 2019
  • “Today we ask for the grace to allow ourselves to be amazed by God’s surprises, to not hinder His creativity, but to encourage hearts to encounter the Lord. #GeneralAudience” @Pontifex 16 October 2019
  • “Let us work together so that every person can have access to adequate food, according to the will of God. #ZeroHunger http://w2.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/messages/food/documents/papa-francesco_20191016_messaggio-giornata-alimentazione.html” @Pontifex 16 October 2019

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The Weekly Francis – 03 October 2019

This version of The Weekly Francis covers material released in the last week from 22 September 2019 to 3 October 2019.

Angelus

General Audiences

Homilies

Motu Proprio

Speeches

Papal Tweets

  • “When we become ”spiritually lukewarm“, we become half-Christians, without substance. Instead, the Lord wants conversion, today. #SantaMarta” @Pontifex 26 September 2019
  • “The true face of love is mercy. Practicing it, we become a disciple of Jesus and the heart of the Father shows itself.” @Pontifex 27 September 2019
  • “We need others in order to live and to share the love and trust that the Lord gives us.” @Pontifex 28 September 2019
  • “It’s not just about migrants, it’s about all of us, about the human family, called to build together a world more in accord with God’s plan. #NotJustAboutMigrants
    http://w2.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/messages/migration/documents/papa-francesco_20190527_world-migrants-day–2019.html” @Pontifex 29 September 2019
  • “The elderly and the young, together. This is the sign that a people cherishes life, that there is a culture of hope: the care of the young and the elderly. #SantaMarta” @Pontifex 30 September 2019
  • “The sweetness of God’s word leads us to share it with all those whom we encounter in this life and to proclaim the sure hope that it contains. #AperuitIllis http://w2.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/motu_proprio/documents/papa-francesco-motu-proprio–20190930_aperuit-illis.html” @Pontifex 30 September 2019
  • “May the Sunday of the Word of God help his people to grow in religious and intimate familiarity with the sacred Scriptures. #AperuitIllis
    http://w2.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/motu_proprio/documents/papa-francesco-motu-proprio–20190930_aperuit-illis.html” @Pontifex 30 September 2019
  • “Video #ExtraordinaryMissionaryMonth #MissionaryOctober” @Pontifex 1 October 2019
  • “May the memorial of our #HolyGuardianAngels strengthen in us the certainty that we are not alone. May it sustain us in proclaiming and living Christ’s Gospel for a world renewed in God’s love.” @Pontifex 2 October 2019
  • “The Word of God fills us with joy and this joy is our strength. We are joyful Christians because we have welcomed the Word of God in our hearts. This is the message for today, for all of us. #SantaMarta” @Pontifex 3 October 2019

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The Weekly Francis – 25 September 2019

This version of The Weekly Francis covers material released in the last week from 30 August 2019 to 23 September 2019.

Angelus

General Audiences

Letters

Messages

Speeches

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The Weekly Francis – 12 September 2019

This version of The Weekly Francis covers material released in the last week from 1 September 2019 to 12 September 2019.

Angelus

Homilies

Messages

Prayers

Speeches

Papal Tweets

  • “Try to keep quiet a moment and let God love you. Try to silence all the inner voices, and rest for a second in His loving embrace. #ApostolicJourney #Mozambique” @Pontifex 5 September 2019
  • “No one is more insignificant than a priest left to his own devices; therefore, our prayer is that of our Mother: I am a priest because the Lord has regarded my insignificance with kindness (cf. Lk 1:48). #ApostolicJourney #Mozambique” @Pontifex 5 September 2019
  • “Let’s not forget that the names of our poorest brothers and sisters, written in heaven, have this inscription next to them: these are the blessed ones of my Father. #ApostolicJourney #Mozambique” @Pontifex 6 September 2019
  • “Jesus proposes a first golden rule for everyone: ”Do unto others as you would have them do unto you“ (Lk 6:31); and he helps us to discover what is most important: to love us and help us. #ApostolicJourney #Mozambique” @Pontifex 6 September 2019
  • “The Lord is the first to trust in you, and He also invites you to trust in yourselves; He invites you to encourage one another, and join Him in writing the most beautiful page of your lives. #ApostolicJourney #Madagascar” @Pontifex 7 September 2019
  • “Our life and our talents are the result of a gift woven between God and the many silent hands of persons whose names we will only know in Heaven. #ApostolicJourney #Madagascar” @Pontifex 8 September 2019
  • “Let us turn in prayer to the Holy Virgin on this day when we remember her birth, the dawn of salvation for humanity. #Angelus” @Pontifex 8 September 2019
  • “Akamasoa, ”City of Friendship“, is the expression of the God’s presence God who decided to live and remain always in the midst of His people. Seeing these radiant faces, I give thanks to the Lord who has heard the cry of the poor. #ApostolicJourney #Madagascar” @Pontifex 8 September 2019
  • “Happy are you, happy is the Church of the poor and for the poor, for she lives imbued with the fragrance of her Lord, she lives joyfully proclaiming the Good News to the throw-aways of the earth, to those who are God’s favorites. #ApostolicJourney #Madagascar” @Pontifex 8 September 2019
  • “What must one do to be a good Christian? The answer is simple: we have to do, each in our own way, what Jesus says in the Beatitudes. #ApostolicJourney #Mauritius” @Pontifex 9 September 2019
  • “Thank you for your warm welcome. May God bless you all you. May His love and mercy continue to accompany and protect you! #ApostolicJourney” @Pontifex 9 September 2019
  • “Christ is the hope of the world: His Gospel is the most powerful leaven of brotherhood, freedom, justice and peace for all peoples. #GeneralAudience” @Pontifex 11 September 2019
  • “Today we celebrate the Feast of the Most Holy Name of Mary. I invite everyone to turn to Our Lady. Let her inspire you with a Christian outlook, so as to live like and imitate her Son Jesus ever more.” @Pontifex 12 September 2019
  • “I wish to endorse a global event, to take place on 14 May 2020 on the theme Reinventing the Global Educational Alliance. http://w2.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/messages/pont-messages/2019/documents/papa-francesco_20190912_messaggio-patto-educativo.html” @Pontifex 12 September 2019

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