Pope Francis Homilies

Books of the Bible Index of Homilies

Matthew Mark Luke John The Acts Romans 1 Corinthians 2 Corinthians Galatians Ephesians Philippians Colossians 1 Thessalonians 2 Thessalonians 1 Timothy 2 Timothy Titus Philemon Hebrews James 1 Peter 2 Peter 1 John 2 John 3 John Jude Revelation Genesis Exodus Leviticus Numbers Deuteronomy Joshua Judges Ruth 1 Samuel 2 Samuel 1 Kings 2 Kings 1 Chronicles 2 Chronicles Ezra Nehemiah Tobit Judith Esther 1 Maccabees 2 Maccabees Job Psalms Proverbs Ecclesiastes The Song of Songs The Book of Wisdom Sirach Isaiah Jeremiah Lamentations Baruch Ezekiel Daniel Hosea Joel Amos Obadiah Jonah Micah Nahum Habakkuk Zephaniah Haggai Zechariah Malachi

Pope Leo Angelus 31.08.25

Dear brothers and sisters,

Sadly, the war in Ukraine continues to sow death and destruction. Even in recent days, bombings have struck several cities, including the capital Kyiv, causing numerous casualties. I renew my closeness to the Ukrainian people and to all the injured families. I ask everyone not to give in to indifference, but to draw close to them through prayer and concrete gestures of charity. I strongly reiterate my urgent appeal for an immediate ceasefire and a serious commitment to dialogue. Now is the time for those responsible to renounce the logic of weapons and take the path of negotiation and peace, with the support of the international community. The voice of weapons must be silenced, while the voice of fraternity and justice must be raised.

Our prayers for the victims of the tragic shooting during a school Mass in the American State of Minnesota include the countless children killed and injured every day around the world. Let us plead God to stop the pandemic of arms, large and small, which infects our world. May our Mother Mary, the Queen of Peace, help us to fulfil the prophecy of Isaiah: “They shall beat their swords into ploughshares and their spears into pruning hooks” (Is 2:4).

Our hearts are also wounded by the more than fifty people who died and the one hundred or so still missing following the shipwreck of a boat carrying migrants attempting the 1100 km journey towards the Canary Islands, that capsized off the Atlantic coast of Mauritania. This deadly tragedy is repeated every day all over the world. Let us pray that the Lord will teach us, as individuals and societies, fully to put into practice his words: “I was a stranger and you welcomed me” (Mt 25:35).

We entrust all our injured, missing and dead, everywhere, to our Savior’s loving embrace.

Tomorrow, 1 September, is the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation. Ten years ago, in harmony with Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I, Pope Francis established this Day for the Catholic Church. This is more important and urgent than ever, and this year’s theme is “Seeds of Peace and Hope.” Together with all Christians, we celebrate it throughout this “Season of Creation”, which lasts until 4 October, the Feast of Saint Francis of Assisi. In the spirit of the Canticle of Brother Sun, which he composed 800 years ago, we praise God and renew our commitment not to ruin his gift but to care for our common home.

I wish all of you a happy Sunday!

31.08.25

Pope Leo Angelus 31.08.25

Dear brothers and sisters, happy Sunday!

In every culture, sitting at table together, especially on days of rest and celebration, is a sign of peace and communion. In this Sunday’s Gospel (Lk 14:1.7-14), Jesus is invited to a meal by one of the leaders of the Pharisees. Inviting others to one’s table is a sign of openness of heart, while accepting such an invitation entails having the humility to be open to others and their world. These gestures that bring people together help foster a culture of encounter.

Encounter is not always easy. The Evangelist notes that the other guests “observed” Jesus closely; indeed, he was watched with some suspicion by the stricter interpreters of tradition. Yet the encounter takes place because Jesus makes himself genuinely present; as a good guest, he acts with respect and sincerity, avoiding merely polite formalities that preclude authentic encounter. Consequently, as was his wont, he employs a parable to describe what he sees happening and invites those watching him to reflect on it. For he saw people rushing to sit in the places of honour, something that also happens today, not in families but on occasions when people consider it important to “be noticed”, whereby a moment for being together ends up as a competition.

Sisters and brothers, when we sit together at the table of the Eucharist on the Lord’s Day, we too should be willing to let Jesus speak. He becomes our guest and he can tell us how he sees us. It is very important that we see ourselves through his eyes: to see how frequently we reduce life to a competition, how anxious we become to obtain some sort of recognition, and how pointlessly we compare ourselves to others. Stopping to reflect, letting ourselves be taken aback by a word that challenges our hearts’ priorities, is to experience freedom, the freedom to which Jesus calls us.

In the Gospel, Jesus speaks of “humility” in describing perfect freedom (cf. Lk 14:11). Humility is really freedom from ourselves. It is born when the Kingdom of God and its righteousness become our real concern and we allow ourselves to lift up our eyes and look ahead: not down at our feet, but at what lies ahead! Those who exalt themselves generally think that nothing is more interesting than themselves; yet deep down, they are quite insecure. Whereas those who know that they are precious in God’s eyes, who know they are God’s children, have greater things to be worried about; they possess a sublime dignity all their own. Once we learn to take the last places, rather than striving for the first, that dignity will appear, and we will come to the fore simply and effortlessly.

Dear friends, today let us pray that the Church will always be a school of humility for everyone, a home where all are welcome, a place where rivalries are set aside and where Jesus still speaks to us and teaches us to imitate his own humility and freedom. Mary is truly the Mother of that home; it is to her that we now pray.

31.08.25

Pope Leo – August 2025

For mutual coexistence

Let us pray that societies where coexistence seems more difficult might not succumb to the temptation of confrontation for ethnic, political, religious or ideological reasons.

Jesus, Lord of our history,

Faithful companion and living presence,

You who never tire of coming to meet us,

Here we are, in need of Your peace.

We live in times of fear and division.

Sometimes we act as if we were alone,

Building walls that separate us from one another,

Forgetting that we are brothers and sisters.

Send us Your Spirit, Lord,

To rekindle within us

The desire to understand one another, to listen,

To live together with respect and compassion.

Give us the courage to seek paths of dialogue,

To respond to conflict with gestures of fraternity,

To open our hearts to others without fear of differences.

Make us builders of bridges,

Able to overcome borders and ideologies,

Able to see others through the eyes of the heart,

Recognizing in every person an inviolable dignity.

Help us create spaces where hope can flourish,

Where diversity is not a threat

But a richness that makes us more human.

Amen.

August 2025

FAMINE

Pope Francis

Hunger

Hunger is an injustice that destroys men and women because they have nothing to eat, even if there is a lot food available in the world. Human exploitation; different forms of slavery; recently I saw a film shot inside a prison where migrants are locked up and tortured to turn them into slaves. This is still happening 70 years after the Declaration of Human Rights. Cultural colonization. This is exactly what the Devil wants, to destroy human dignity – and that is why the Devil is behind all forms of persecution.

01.06.18

Pope Leo General Audience 27.08.25

Last Friday, we accompanied our brothers and sisters suffering because of war with prayer and fasting . Today, I return to make a strong appeal to both the parties involved and the international community to end the conflict in the Holy Land, which has caused so much terror, destruction, and death.

I implore that all hostages be released, a permanent ceasefire be reached, the safe entry of humanitarian aid be facilitated, and humanitarian law be fully respected, in particular the obligation to protect civilians and the prohibitions on collective punishment, the indiscriminate use of force, and the forced displacement of populations. I join in the Joint Declaration of the Greek Orthodox and Latin Patriarchs of Jerusalem , who yesterday called for "an end to this spiral of violence, an end to the war, and a priority for the common good of the people."

Let us implore Mary, Queen of Peace, source of consolation and hope: may her intercession obtain reconciliation and peace in that land so dear to all!

I am happy to welcome, this morning, the English-speaking pilgrims and visitors, especially those from England, Ireland, Scotland, Malta, South Africa, Indonesia, Taiwan, Timor-Leste, Vietnam, Canada and the United States of America. With prayerful good wishes that the present Jubilee of Hope may be for you and your families a time of grace and spiritual renewal, I invoke upon you all the joy and the peace of Our Lord Jesus Christ.

Finally, my thoughts turn to the young people, the sick, and newlyweds. Look with indomitable trust to Christ, light in difficulties, support in trials, and guide in every moment of human existence.

My blessing to everyone!

27.08.25

Pope Leo General Audience 27.08.25

Dear brothers and sisters ,

Today we focus on a scene that marks the beginning of Jesus' Passion: the moment of his arrest in the Garden of Olives. The evangelist John, with his usual depth, does not present a frightened Jesus, fleeing or hiding. Instead, he shows us a free man, who steps forward and speaks, facing head-on the hour when the light of the greatest love can be revealed.

"Jesus, knowing all that was going to happen to him, went forward and said to them, 'Whom are you looking for?'" ( Jn 18:4). Jesus knows. However, he decides not to retreat. He surrenders. Not out of weakness, but out of love. A love so full, so mature, that it does not fear rejection. Jesus is not taken: he lets himself be taken. He is not the victim of an arrest, but the author of a gift. This gesture embodies a hope of salvation for our humanity: knowing that, even in the darkest hour, we can remain free to love to the end.

When Jesus answers, "I am he," the soldiers fall to the ground. This is a mysterious passage, since this expression, in biblical revelation, recalls the very name of God: "I am." Jesus reveals that God's presence manifests itself precisely where humanity experiences injustice, fear, and loneliness. Precisely there, the true light is willing to shine without fear of being overwhelmed by the advancing darkness.

In the dead of night, when everything seems to be falling apart, Jesus shows that Christian hope is not evasion, but determination. This attitude is the fruit of a profound prayer in which we ask God not to be spared from suffering, but to have the strength to persevere in love, knowing that life freely offered for love cannot be taken from us by anyone.

"If you seek me, let these men go their way" ( John 18:8). At the moment of his arrest, Jesus isn't concerned with saving himself: he only wants his friends to be free. This shows that his sacrifice is a true act of love. Jesus allows himself to be captured and imprisoned by the guards only so that they can set his disciples free.

Jesus lived every day of his life as preparation for this dramatic and sublime hour. Therefore, when it arrives, he has the strength not to seek escape. His heart knows well that losing one's life for love is not a failure, but possesses a mysterious fruitfulness. Like the grain of wheat that, falling to the ground, is not left alone, but dies and becomes fruitful.

Even Jesus is troubled by a path that seems to lead only to death and the end. But he is equally convinced that only a life lost for love is ultimately found. This is where true hope lies: not in trying to avoid pain, but in believing that, even in the heart of the most unjust suffering, lies the seed of a new life.

And what about us? How often do we defend our lives, our plans, our certainties, without realizing that, in doing so, we remain alone. The logic of the Gospel is different: only what is given flourishes, only love that becomes gratuitous can restore faith even where all seems lost.

The Gospel of Mark also tells us of a young man who, when Jesus is arrested, runs away naked ( Mark 14:51). It is an enigmatic but profoundly evocative image. We too, in attempting to follow Jesus, experience moments when we are caught off guard and stripped of our certainties. These are the most difficult moments, when we are tempted to abandon the path of the Gospel because love seems an impossible journey. Yet, it is precisely a young man, at the end of the Gospel, who announces the resurrection to the women, no longer naked, but dressed in a white robe.

This is the hope of our faith: our sins and our hesitations do not prevent God from forgiving us and restoring in us the desire to resume our following, to enable us to give our lives for others.

Dear brothers and sisters, let us too learn to surrender ourselves to the good will of the Father, allowing our lives be a response to the good we have received. Life doesn't need to have everything under control. It's enough to choose to love freely every day. This is true hope: knowing that, even in the darkness of trial, God's love sustains us and allows the fruit of eternal life to mature within us.

27.08.25

The Gospel in your pocket

How do we receive the Word of God? The response is clear: As one receives Jesus Christ. The Church tells us that Jesus is present in the Scripture, in His Word.

Always carry a small Gospel with you in your purse, in your pocket, and read a passage from the Gospel during the day. Not so much to learn something, but mostly to find Jesus, because Jesus actually is in His Word, in His Gospel. Every time I read the Gospel, I find Jesus. - Pope Francis 01.09.14

Daily Readings - read the entire New Testament over a 2 year period (reading plan courtesy of Gideon International)

The Bible Online

Thank you, Francis

Every month, you have invited us to pray with you for the challenges of humanity and the mission of the Church, teaching us to learn compassion for others from the heart of Christ. Thank you, Francis, for your life and your witness.

Your Worldwide Prayer Network.

Pope Francis Easter Message and Urbi et Orbi Blessing 20.04.25

Easter Sunday