Category: +Religion

The Weekly Francis – 22 June 2023

This version of The Weekly Francis covers material released in the last week, from 15 June 2023 to 22 June 2023.

Angelus

Apostolic Letter

Messages

Speeches

Papal Tweets

  • “On this Feast and in this month dedicated to the Heart of Jesus, let us ask the Lord to make our hearts like His, that we might be His instruments so that He might ”pass by doing good“ to everyone.” @Pontifex, 16 June 2023
  • “Let us #PrayTogether for the many victims of the shipwreck that took place yesterday in the Mediterranean. May the Lord grant us the gift of tears. The faces, the eyes of the migrants, among whom are many children, beg us not to look the other way.” @Pontifex, 16 June 2023
  • “Jesus encountered wounded humanity, he caressed suffering faces, healed broken hearts, freed us from the chains imprisoning the soul. In this way, he reveals to us that the type of worship most pleasing to God is to care for our neighbour.” @Pontifex, 17 June 2023
  • “In recent days I have received so much closeness and for this I bless God and am grateful to you all: my heartfelt thanks!” @Pontifex, 18 June 2023
  • “With great sorrow and heartache I think of the victims of the recent serious shipwreck off the coast of Greece. Let’s #PrayTogether for those who have lost their lives, and implore that everything possible always be done to prevent similar tragedies.” @Pontifex, 18 June 2023
  • “Let us pray also for the young students, victims of the brutal attack against a school in the west of Uganda. Let us persevere in prayer for the population of tormented Ukraine – let us not forget them. Let us pray for peace!” @Pontifex, 18 June 2023
  • “God is not far away, He is a Father, He knows you and loves you; he wants to hold your hand, even when you travel on steep paths, even when you fall. Indeed, often in your weakest moments, you can feel his presence more strongly. He is with you, He is your Father! #Angelus” @Pontifex, 18 June 2023
  • “Four centuries after his birth, Pascal remains our travelling companion, accompanying our quest for true happiness and, through the gift of faith, our humble and joyful recognition of the crucified and risen Lord.
    NRea Apostolic Letter” @Pontifex, 19 June 2023
  • “(1) Sexual violence used as a weapon of war is unfortunately a widespread reality. This shameful crime must be denounced. We must never tire of saying no to war, no to violence.” @Pontifex, 19 June 2023
  • “(2) To the survivors of sexual violence due to conflicts, to every injured child and adult, I say: While the violent treat you as objects, the Lord sees your dignity, and says to you: “You are precious in my sight, and honoured, and I love you” (Is 43:4).” @Pontifex, 19 June 2023
  • “Thinking of Christ present in so many desperate people fleeing conflicts and climate change, the problem of hospitality needs to be confronted together, without excuses and without delay, because the effects will be felt, sooner or later, by all of us. #WithRefugees” @Pontifex, 20 June 2023
  • “Today we recall Saint Aloysius Gonzaga, patron of Catholic youth, a young man full of love for God and neighbour who died very young, here in Rome, because he was taking care of plague victims. I entrust the young people of the entire world to his intercession.” @Pontifex, 21 June 2023
  • “To sow goodness is good for us. It brings a breath of gratuitousness into our lives and makes us more and more like God.” @Pontifex, 22 June 2023

Papal Instagram

The Weekly Francis – 15 June 2023

This version of The Weekly Francis covers material released in the last week, from 20 May 2023 to 15 June 2023.

Messages

Speeches

Papal Tweets

  • “I sincerely appreciate the prayers and numerous expressions of closeness and affection received in the past few days. I am praying for everyone, especially those who suffer. I ask you to keep me in your prayers.” @Pontifex, 9 June 2023
  • “The future of the human family in a globalized world is along the path of fraternity and social friendship. #NotAlone” @Pontifex, 10 June 2023
  • “The Eucharist calls us to love God before everything & our brothers & sisters. This Bread is the Sacrament par excellence of love. Christ offers Himself and breaks Himself for us, & asks us to do likewise, so that our life might become bread that feeds our brothers and sisters.” @Pontifex, 11 June 2023
  • “Many children, instead of receiving a good education, are exploited, subjected to slave labour. No effort should be spared to end the scourge of child labour! Children are our hope. Let us not allow that hope to be stifled! #EndChildLabour” @Pontifex, 12 June 2023
  • ““Do not turn your face away from anyone who is poor” (Tb 4:7). Whenever we encounter a poor person, we cannot look away, for that would prevent us from encountering the face of the Lord Jesus. Message” @Pontifex, 13 June 2023
  • “Jesus is the hand of the Father who never abandons us, the strong and faithful hand of the Father who always and only wants our good.” @Pontifex, 14 June 2023
  • “The elderly entrust the past to the present in order to construct the future. Let us honour them, neither depriving ourselves of their company nor depriving them of ours.May we never allow the elderly to be cast aside! #GrandparentsElderly #laityfamilylife Message” @Pontifex, 15 June 2023

Papal Instagram

The Weekly Francis – 30 May 2023

Should we be concerned about some of the aspects of Pope Francis’s inaugural Mass?

This version of The Weekly Francis covers material released in the last week, from 12 May 2023 to 30 May 2023.

Homilies

Messages

Regina Caeli

Speeches

Papal Tweets

  • “The first task of Christians is to keep alive the flame that Jesus brought to earth (Lk 12:49), which is the Love of God: the Holy Spirit. Without the fire of the Spirit, prophecies are extinguished, sorrow supplants joy, and routine substitutes love.” @Pontifex, 26 May 2023
  • “The Holy Spirit is the source of joy, born of our relationship with God, from knowing that we are not alone, lost or defeated even amid struggles and dark nights, because He is with us. We can overcome everything with God, even the abyss of pain and death.” @Pontifex, 27 May 2023
  • “If the world is divided, if the Church is polarized, if hearts are broken, let us not waste time in criticizing others and growing angry with one another; instead, let us invoke the Spirit.” @Pontifex, 28 May 2023
  • “Come, Creator Spirit, harmony of humanity, renew the face of the earth. Come, Gift of gifts, harmony of the Church, make us one in you. Come, Spirit of forgiveness and harmony of the heart, transform us as only you can, through the intercession of Mary.” @Pontifex, 28 May 2023
  • “Holy Spirit, Spirit of Jesus and of the Father, inexhaustible wellspring of harmony, to you we entrust the world; to you we consecrate the Church and our hearts. JsrQZMtg Homily” @Pontifex, 28 May 2023
  • “Let’s #PrayTogether for the populations who live at the border between Myanmar and Bangladesh, hard hit by a cyclone. I hope access to humanitarian aid will be enabled, and I appeal for a sense of solidarity to aid these brothers and sisters of ours.” @Pontifex, 28 May 2023
  • “The People of God, in order to be filled with the Spirit, must therefore journey together, “do Synod”. That is how harmony in the Church is renewed: by journeying together with the Spirit at the centre. Brothers and sister, let us build harmony in the Church!” @Pontifex, 29 May 2023
  • “I thank all who have joined the #FamilyGlobalCompact, and I invite them to devote themselves creatively and confidently to every initiative that can help put the family once more at the heart of our pastoral and social engagement. @laityfamilylife” @Pontifex, 30 May 2023
  • “Let us #PrayTogether that the international community commit itself concretely to abolish torture, guaranteeing support to victims and their families. #PrayerIntention #ClickToPray fWAu Video” @Pontifex, 30 May 2023

Papal Instagram

Incorrupt in Missouri?

Catholic circles have been abuzz with the exciting news of a possible case of saintly incorruption in the state of Missouri. According to Catholic News Agency:

Hundreds of pilgrims have descended on a Benedictine monastery for religious sisters in rural Missouri in recent days after news began to spread on social media last week that the recently exhumed remains of the contemplative order’s African American foundress appear to be incorrupt, four years after her death and burial in a simple wooden coffin.

The foundress—Sister Wilhelmina Lancaster, OSB—passed on at the age of 95 in 2019. She was not embalmed.

Recently, it was decided to move her remains into the monastery’s chapel, and it was discovered that the coffin had cracked, allowing moisture and dirt into it.

Despite this, when the coffin was opened, the sisters did not discover the skeleton they expected. Instead, it was discovered that Sr. Wilhelmina’s body was remarkably well preserved, prompting word to spread of her as a possible case of incorruptibility.

Although a cause for the canonization of Sr. Wilhelmina has not (yet) been opened, and there has been no official Church judgment on the preservation of her body, incorruptibility has often been regarded as a miraculous sign of sainthood, prompting pilgrims to come to the monastery.

What are we to make of cases like this? It’s remarkable when a human body seems to have been immune from the natural processes of decay that underlie the truth, “Dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return” (Gen. 3:19). And it can be a sign that something supernatural—the hand of God—may be at work in the case.

At the same time, there is reason for caution. First, the immunity from decay often is not total. In most cases of incorruptibility, it is not the case that there has been no change in the body since death. It is simply that there has been less of a change than one would expect given the circumstances and length of time.

Second, there are purely natural things that can arrest the rate of decay. The most common is embalming. This kills the microorganisms that cause decay, so people who have been embalmed are not considered incorruptibles. (Sr. Wilhemina was not embalmed).

Being sealed in an air-tight metal coffin also arrests decay. (Sr. Wilhelmina was buried in a wood coffin that cracked.)

Being buried in a dry, arid climate can cause natural mummification. In fact, the ancient Egyptians may have gotten the idea of making mummies after finding bodies in the desert sands. (Missouri is not Egypt.)

Being buried in an airless bog can similarly arrest decay, resulting in what are known as bog bodies. (Sr. Wilhelmina was not buried in a bog.)

And there are other ways bodies can be preserved from ordinary decay.

However, in many cases the incorruptible bodies of saints are sometimes said to display other unusual properties, such as being associated with a pleasant (rather than unpleasant) smell called the “odor of sanctity.” (The press accounts I’ve seen regarding Sr. Wilhelmina don’t mention this in her case.)

How much evidential value does incorruptibility have regarding whether a person is a saint?

Thought on this has changed over time. Such cases were once commonly cited in canonization causes as miracles attesting to sainthood. Of 1409 cases between the 16th and 20th centuries studied by physician Jacalyn Duffin, 28 were miracles involving the saint’s body (either incorruptibility, odor of sanctity, or something else).

Early 20th century scholar and parapsychologist Fr. Herbert Thurston, S.J., offered an extensive discussion of the subject in his book The Physical Phenomena of Mysticism.

However, because of the growing awareness of natural ways that decay can be limited, thought on the subject has shifted. Duffin writes:

So frequent an occurrence was the finding of incorruptibility that exhumation of the body of the would-be saint was part of the canonization process. . . . But these cadaveric miracles, frequent though they were, seem to have provided only weak evidence for sanctity in modern times. In almost every cause that included a miracle pertaining to the saint’s corpse, other miracles of healing were also included. Eventually, the finding of miraculous preservation was deemed to be indistinguishable from mummification induced by environmental circumstances of humidity and temperature. Because the finding could apply to the remains of people who had not lived exemplary lives, it constituted insufficient evidence for saintliness (Medical Miracles, 102).

Thus, today, the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints does not treat incorruption as a guaranteed sign of sainthood but looks for additional evidence.

Still, it is significant when a body is preserved from normal deterioration, especially when exposed to water and dirt the way Sr. Wilhelmina’s was, and it may be a sign of God’s hand in the case.

The Weekly Francis – 25 May 2023

This version of The Weekly Francis covers material released in the last week, from 4 May 2023 to 25 May 2023.

General Audiences

Letters

Messages

Regina Caeli

Speeches

Papal Tweets

  • “Amidst the hardships and difficulties of the missions, may the commitment and example of Saint Francis Xavier help us discover the deep joy of the missionary, happy to bring Christ to the farthest ends of the earth. #GeneralAudience” @Pontifex, 17 May 2023
  • “Jesus ascends to the Father to intercede on our behalf, to present our humanity to Him. Thus, before the eyes of the Father, our lives, our hopes, our wounds are always present through Jesus’s humanity. #AscensionOfTheLord” @Pontifex, 18 May 2023
  • “Christians do not diminish the seriousness of suffering, they raise their eyes to the Lord and under the blows of adversity, trust in him and pray for those who suffer. They keep their eyes on Heaven, but their hands are extended to earth, to serve their neighbour concretely.” @Pontifex, 19 May 2023
  • “We are the dust of the earth, upon which God has poured out His heaven, the dust that contains His dreams. We are God’s hope, His treasure, and His Glory.” @Pontifex, 20 May 2023
  • “We should not be afraid of proclaiming the truth, even if it is at times uncomfortable, but of doing so without charity, without heart. #WCD RyQx Message” @Pontifex, 21 May 2023
  • “With the Ascension, something new and beautiful happened: Jesus brought our humanity into heaven, that is, in God. That humanity that he had assumed on earth did not remain here. It ascended into God and there it will remain forever.” @Pontifex, 21 May 2023
  • “Yesterday, #LaudatoSiWeek began. I invite everyone to collaborate in the care of our common home. There is such a need to put our capabilities and creativity together! N” @Pontifex, 22 May 2023
  • “The Holy Spirit keeps faith ever young. He does not bind Himself to passing epochs or trends, but brings the relevance of Jesus, risen and living, into our world today.” @Pontifex, 23 May 2023
  • “When the Gospel is lived in its fullness, we do not turn in on ourselves, but bear witness to the faith by making it become a contagious faith. Our passion for evangelization is born in this way. #GeneralAudience” @Pontifex, 24 May 2023
  • “Today we commemorate the Blessed Virgin #MaryHelpOfChristians. May Our Mother of Consolation grant the grace to bear witness to the faith to the Church, her pastors and the faithful, especially families, the elderly and those who are ill.” @Pontifex, 24 May 2023
  • “On the feast of Our Lady of Sheshan, let us #PrayTogether that the Good News of Christ crucified and risen may be proclaimed in its fullness, beauty and freedom, bearing fruit for the good of the Catholic Church and all of Chinese society.” @Pontifex, 24 May 2023
  • “Let us heed the call to stand with the victims of environmental and climate injustice, and to put an end to the senseless war against Creation. #LaudatoSiWeek #SeasonOfCreation
    Message” @Pontifex, 25 May 2023

Papal Instagram

The Weekly Francis – 16 May 2023

This version of The Weekly Francis covers material released in the last week, from 13 April 2023 to 16 May 2023.

General Audiences

Messages

Regina Caeli

Speeches

Papal Tweets

  • “In our daily mission as baptized Christians, may the love of Christ push us toward the peripheries of our societies to meet our brothers and sisters who have been cast aside and abandoned, to show them the Lord’s tenderness. #GeneralAudience” @Pontifex, 10 May 2023
  • “I wholeheartedly thank His Holiness Tawadros II, Patriarch of the See of Saint Mark, for his commitment to the growing friendship between the Coptic Orthodox Church and the Catholic Church. May the blessed day quickly draw near when we will be one in Christ!” @Pontifex, 10 May 2023
  • “Everyone must have the chance to live a dignified life in their native land. The choice to migrate or remain is a right that should be guaranteed for all. Let us work to ensure this is the case. #WDMR2023 @vaticanIHD C Message” @Pontifex, 11 May 2023
  • “It is with great joy that I welcomed today His Holiness Tawadros II, Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of the See of St. Mark, beloved brother and dear friend, with whom I celebrated the 50th anniversary of the historic meeting between Pope St. Paul VI and Pope Shenouda III.” @Pontifex, 11 May 2023
  • “May the prayers of the Coptic martyrs, united with those of the Theotokos, continue to help our Churches grow in friendship, until the blessed day when we can celebrate at the same altar and receive together the Body and Blood of the Savior. oSUknZj Image” @Pontifex, 11 May 2023
  • “#Birth rates and a welcoming attitude reveal how much happiness is present in society. A happy community naturally develops the desire to generate and welcome others, while an unhappy society is reduced to a group of individuals defending what they have at all costs.” @Pontifex, 12 May 2023
  • “May #OurLadyOfFatima, the Mother of Jesus and our own mother, help us create paths of encounter and dialogue that lead toward peace, and grant us the courage to trod them without hesitation. #PrayTogether” @Pontifex, 13 May 2023
  • “The Holy Spirit is demanding, because He is a true, faithful friend, who hides nothingand suggests what we need to change and where we need to grow. But when He corrects us, He never instills distrust. Rather, He assures us that we can always succeed with God. #GospelOfTheDay” @Pontifex, 14 May 2023
  • “The #family is the main antidote to material and spiritual poverty, and to the problem of the demographic winter. Family-friendly social, economic and cultural policies need to be promoted in every country, as well as policies that welcome life.” @Pontifex, 15 May 2023
  • “Building #peace means initiating and sustaining processes of development to eliminate poverty, to defeat hunger, to guarantee health and care, to safeguard the common home, to promote fundamental rights and to overcome discrimination determined by human mobility.” @Pontifex, 16 May 2023

Papal Instagram

The Weekly Francis – 9 May 2023

This version of The Weekly Francis covers material released in the last week, from 3 March 2023 to 9 May 2023.

Apostolic Letter

General Audiences

Messages

Regina Caeli

Speeches

Papal Tweets

  • “#FreedomofthePress is an important indicator of a country’s state of health. In fact, dictatorships are quick to restrict it or suppress it. We need journalists who are free, who help us not to forget many situations of suffering.#WPFD2023” @Pontifex, 3 May 2023
  • “The Risen Christ is our future. He is the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end, the starting point and the ultimate goal of the history of humanity. As much as it is marked by fragility, our life has been solidly placed in His hands. #GeneralAudience” @Pontifex, 3 May 2023
  • “If in our hearts we are carring some burden or suffering that seems to crush us, it is the moment to go out to meet Jesus, who is close, to open the tomb of our problems and look beyond the threshold toward his light. #Prayer” @Pontifex, 4 May 2023
  • “If you don’t have much time to pray, there is a wise spiritual practice that can help you. Often throughout the day, you can repeat very short prayers, so-called aspirations, to remain “in harmony” with the Lord.” @Pontifex, 5 May 2023
  • “Praying the #HolyRosary daily in the family guarantees that in that family the oil of faith and joy never runs out, but flows out of the life of its members who are in communion with God.” @Pontifex, 6 May 2023
  • “Let us not be overwhelmed by the present: let us look up to Heaven, let us remember the goal, to think that we are called to eternity, to the encounter with God. Let us renew today the choice to love Jesus, and to follow him. #GospelOfToday (Jn14:1–12)” @Pontifex, 7 May 2023
  • “In this month of May, let us pray the Rosary, asking the Blessed Virgin for the gift of peace, especially for beleaguered Ukraine. May the leaders of nations listen to the desire of the suffering people who want peace!” @Pontifex, 8 May 2023
  • “Life is not about showing off our abilities, but a journey towards the One who loves us: by keeping our gaze fixed on the Lord, we will find the strength needed to persevere with renewed joy.” @Pontifex, 9 May 2023

Papal Instagram

The Weekly Francis – 2 May 2023

This version of The Weekly Francis covers material released in the last week, from 13 April 2023 to 2 May 2023.

Homilies

Messages

Regina Caeli

Speeches

Papal Tweets

  • “Faith was passed down from generation to generation through life, through witnesses who brought the flame of the Gospel, the joy of the saving love of Jesus, and the hope of his promise. Faith grows through witness.” @Pontifex, 27 April 2023
  • “We are called to be open to the times in which we live, with their changes and challenges. We are called to sow the seeds of the Gospel, to prune the dead branches of evil and to bear fruit. #ApostolicJourney” @Pontifex, 28 April 2023
  • “St. Stephen of #Hungary was an intrepid evangelizer who listened and dialogued with everyone, and cared for the poor. This is the Church we dream of: a Church able to listen, dialogue and care for the most vulnerable; a welcoming Church that courageously brings the Gospel to all.” @Pontifex, 28 April 2023
  • “Those who profess to be Christian are called to bear witness and walk with everyone to cultivate a humanism inspired by the Gospel which moves along two fundamental tracks: acknowledging that we are beloved children of the Father, and loving one another as brothers and sisters.” @Pontifex, 28 April 2023
  • “#Peace will never come by pursuing individual strategic interests, but only from policies capable of looking to the bigger picture and the development of all: policies attentive to individuals, the poor and the future, and not merely to power, profit and the present.” @Pontifex, 28 April 2023
  • “Those who “bind themselves to God”, as did Sts Francis of Assisi and Elizabeth of #Hungary did, become charitable to the poor. For “he who does not love his brother whom sees, cannot love God whom he has not seen” (1 Jn 4:20). #ApostolicJourney Speech” @Pontifex, 29 April 2023
  • “I encourage you to speak the language of #charity always. Whenever you strive to bring bread to the hungry, the Lord makes joy blossom and your lives are fragrant with the love you give. #ApostolicJourney #Hungary” @Pontifex, 29 April 2023
  • “When you pray, don’t be afraid to bring everything going on inside you to Jesus: emotions, fears, problems, expectations, memories, hopes. Prayer is dialogue. Prayer is life. #ApostolicJourney #Hungary” @Pontifex, 29 April 2023
  • “Each of us is precious to Jesus. Remember that no one can take your place in the history of the Church and the world. No one else can do what only you can do. So let’s help each other to believe that we are loved and precious, that we are made for great things! #ApostolicJourney” @Pontifex, 29 April 2023
  • “I thank the beloved Hungarian people for their welcome and the affection I have experienced in these days. I entrust all Hungarians to Our Lady. Grateful for these days, I keep you in my heart and ask you to pray for me. Isten áld meg a magyart!” @Pontifex, 30 April 2023
  • “Self-knowledge means to be able to recognize our limitations and to curb the presumption of self-sufficiency. This proves beneficial because,once we realize that we are creatures, we become creative. We learn to immerse ourselves in the world instead of attempting to dominate it.” @Pontifex, 30 April 2023
  • “In our words, deeds and daily activities, let’s try to be like Jesus: an open door that never shuts in anyone’s face, a door that allows everyone to enter and experience the beauty of the Lord’s love and forgiveness. #ApostolicJourney” @Pontifex, 30 April 2023
  • “Queen of Peace, instil in the hearts of peoples and their leaders the desire to build peace and to give the younger generations a future of hope, not war, a future full of cradles not tombs, a world of brothers and sisters, not walls and barricades. https://t.co/wpzoNWCCLg Image” @Pontifex, 30 April 2023
  • “How sad and painful it is to see closed doors: the closed doors of our selfishness, of our indifference towards those who are suffering, towards those who are foreigners, different, the migrant, the poor. Let’s open those doors, please! PyPj Homily” @Pontifex, 30 April 2023
  • “The gift of vocation is like a divine seed that springs up in the soil of our lives, opens our hearts to God and to others, so that we can share the treasure we have found. God calls us in love and we, in gratitude, respond to Him in love. #Vocations xMakr Message” @Pontifex, 30 April 2023
  • “Jesus the Good Shepherd calls us by name and takes care of us with infinite tenderness. He is the door, and the one who enters through Him has eternal life. He is our future, a future of “life in abundance” (Jn 10:10). Therefore, let us never get discouraged. #ApostolicJourney” @Pontifex, 30 April 2023
  • “Saint Joseph teaches us that, in the midst of life’s tempests, we must never be afraid to let the Lord steer our course.” @Pontifex, 1 May 2023
  • “Let us #PrayTogether that ecclesial movements and groups may daily rediscover their mission, an evangelizing mission, and that they place their own charisms at the service of the world’s needs.
    #PrayerIntention #ClickToPray Video” @Pontifex, 2 May 2023

Papal Instagram

The Weekly Francis – 26 April 2023

This version of The Weekly Francis covers material released in the last week, from 19 April 2023 to 30 April 2023.

General Audiences

Messages

Regina Caeli

Speeches

Papal Tweets

  • “Let us #PrayTogether that we may never tire of bearing witness to the Gospel, even in times of tribulation. May all the martyr saints be seeds of peace among peoples for a more humane and fraternal world, as we await the full manifestation of the Kingdom of Heaven.” @Pontifex, 19 April 2023
  • “Let us persevere in our closeness in prayer for dear and distressed #Ukraine, which continues to endure terrible suffering. Let us #PrayTogether.” @Pontifex, 19 April 2023
  • “God’s gaze never stops with our past filled of errors, but looks with infinite confidence at what we can become.” @Pontifex, 20 April 2023
  • “Praising God is like breathing pure oxygen: it purifies the soul, it makes you look far ahead, it does not leave you imprisoned in the difficult and dark moment of hardship.” @Pontifex, 21 April 2023
  • “The Book of Genesis tells us that the Lord entrusted human beings with the responsibility of being stewards of creation (Gen 2:15). Care for the Earth, then, is a moral obligation for all men and women as children of God. #EarthDay @EarthDay” @Pontifex, 22 April 2023
  • “The #GospelOfToday (Lk 24: 13–35) invites us to tell Jesus everything, sincerely, without fear of saying the wrong thing. The Lord is happy whenever we open ourselves to Him; only in this way can He take us by the hand, accompany us and make our hearts burn again.” @Pontifex, 23 April 2023
  • “Next Friday I will go to Budapest, in Hungary. It will be a journey to the centre of Europe, over which the icy winds of war continue to blow, while the displacement of so many people puts urgent humanitarian questions on the agenda.” @Pontifex, 23 April 2023
  • “Dear Hungarian brothers and sisters, I know you are making great efforts to prepare for my arrival: I thank you from my heart. And I ask you all to accompany me with your prayers.” @Pontifex, 23 April 2023
  • “Using weapons to resolve conflicts is a sign of weakness and fragility. Negotiation, proceeding in mediation, and conciliation require courage. #Peace” @Pontifex, 24 April 2023
  • “We discover we are children of God at the moment we discover we are brothers and sisters, children of the same Father. This is why it is essential to be part of a journeying community. No one goes to the Lord alone.” @Pontifex, 25 April 2023
  • “This year, for the World Day of Prayer for #Vocations, I would ask you, in your reflection and prayer, to take as your guide the theme “Vocation: Grace and Mission”. xLCuT Message” @Pontifex, 26 April 2023
  • “Monks and nuns are the beating heart of the proclamation of the Gospel: their prayer is oxygen for all the members of the Body of Christ, the invisible force that sustains the mission. #GeneralAudience” @Pontifex, 26 April 2023

Papal Instagram

The Weekly Francis – 18 April 2023

This version of The Weekly Francis covers material released in the last week, from 12 April 2023 to 18 April 2023.

General Audiences

Regina Caeli

Speeches

Papal Tweets

  • “Brothers and sisters, filled with the joy of the Risen Christ, let us ask the grace of being a Church ”moving out“, the community of missionary disciples taking initiative and committed to proclaim the Gospel of peace and mercy. #GeneralAudience #Easter” @Pontifex, 12 April 2023
  • “60 years ago, St. John XXIII addressed the Encyclical ”Pacem in terris“ to the Church and to the world. I invite everyone to read it, because it is more timely than ever. And I pray that the heads of nations might allow it to inspire projects and decisions yIneqi Vatican” @Pontifex, 12 April 2023
  • “Our wounds can be passages, openings that, in imitating the wounds of the Lord, allow God’s mercy to enter. His grace changes our lives and makes us artisans of #peace and reconciliation.” @Pontifex, 13 April 2023
  • “Let us welcome the grace of Christ’s Resurrection! Let us be renewed by God’s mercy. Let us allow the power of His love to transform our lives too. And let us become agents of this mercy so justice and peace can flourish in the world.” @Pontifex, 14 April 2023
  • “Today, with the world torn always more by war, distancing itself from God, we have all the more need of the Father’s mercy. Let us #PrayTogether #DivineMercy” @Pontifex, 15 April 2023
  • “On this Divine Mercy Sunday, certain of interpreting the feelings of the faithful throughout the world, I direct a grateful thought to the memory of Saint John Paul II, the object of offensive and unfounded inferences these past few days.” @Pontifex, 16 April 2023
  • “Let us #PrayTogether for the victims of war, which continue to sow death in horrific ways, asking God that the world might never more have to experience the shock of violent death by the human hand, but the awe of the life that He gives and renews with His grace!” @Pontifex, 16 April 2023
  • “I express my closeness to all our brothers and sisters who are celebrating Easter today. Dear brothers and sisters, may the Risen Lord be with you and fill you with His Holy Spirit! Happy Easter to all of you!” @Pontifex, 16 April 2023
  • “The wounds of the risen Jesus are the signs of the Love that overcomes hatred, of the Pardon that disarms revenge, of the Life that conquers death. #GospelOfTheDay (Jn 20:19–3) #DivineMercy” @Pontifex, 16 April 2023
  • “If you have dreams of true glory, not the glory of this passing world, but of the glory of God, this is the path to follow: the works of #mercy give glory to God more than any other thing.” @Pontifex, 17 April 2023
  • “Our hope is called Jesus. He is alive and evil has no more power over Him. Failure cannot prevent us from beginning again, and death becomes the passage to the beginning of a new life. #Easter” @Pontifex, 18 April 2023

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