09 2019

I believe that we must convert our hearts and pray for politicians of all colours, all of them!

People in government are responsible for the life of their country. It is good to think that, if people pray for authorities, people in government will be capable of praying for their people.

People in authority have the responsibility to guide their nation. How can we leave them alone, without asking God to bless them?

Pray for people in government and for politicians, that they may work for the common good.

Compassion allows you to see reality; compassion is like the lens of the heart: it really makes us to take in and understand the true dimensions. In the Gospels, Jesus is often moved by compassion. And compassion is also God's language.

Our God is a God of compassion, and compassion - we can say – is the weakness of God, but also His strength. It was compassion that moved Him to send His son to us.

Yes, we priests must all do things, and our first task is to proclaim the Gospel, but we must take care of our centre, our source from which our mission flows, which is the gift we have freely received from the Lord.

It is important to contemplate ministry as a gift.

Let all of us ordained ministers not forget these four ways in which we must nurture "closeness": closeness to God, prayer, closeness of the bishop to his priests and of priest with the bishop; closeness of priests to each other and of bishops to each other; closeness to the people of God.

Today, the reflection focusses on things that weaken the ministerial life like money, gossip, chatter and silly discussions.

When a minister – a priest, a deacon, a bishop – gives too much value to money", he attaches himself to the root of all evils. "The devil enters from the pockets".

Pope Francis - Holy Mass, Santa Marta ( Domus Sanctae Marthae) 26.09.19

So many people waste their lives and end up like a rag because they have done nothing except nurture sentiments of peace and calm within themselves. But that, is the peace of graveyards.

Pope Francis - Holy Mass, Santa Marta ( Domus Sanctae Marthae) 30.09.19

Yes, yes, Lord, it's fine ... but slowly, slowly, Lord, let's leave it like this ... I’ll do it tomorrow!

When a people care for the old and for the young, and consider them a treasure, there is the presence of God, a promise of future.

At the heart of God's message, is a culture of hope which is represented precisely by the old and the young. 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. They are the certainty of the survival of a country and of the Church.

During many of my journeys across the world, I have been struck by those parents who raise their children up to me when I pass by asking for a blessing, and do so as if to show their jewels, an image that must make us reflect.