Pope Francis Ecumenical Prayer Vigil 30.09.23 

Pope Francis Ordinary Public Consistory 30.09.23 

for the creation of new Cardinals 

Pope Francis General Audience 27.09.23  

I extend a warm welcome to the English-speaking pilgrims and visitors taking part in today’s Audience, especially the groups from Norway, The Netherlands, South Africa, India, Indonesia, the Philippines, Canada and the United States of America. My special greeting goes to the diaconate class of the Pontifical North American College, together with their families and friends. Upon all of you I invoke the joy and peace of our Lord Jesus Christ. God bless you!

Lastly, my thoughts turn to the young people, the sick, the elderly and the newlyweds. Today's liturgical memorial of St Vincent de Paul reminds us of the centrality of love of neighbour. I urge each one to cultivate an attitude of attention to others and openness to those who need you.

My Blessing to you all.

27.09.23

Pope Francis  General Audience  27.09.23  

Apostolic Journey to Marseille for the “Rencontres Méditerranéennes”

Excerpt below, for the full transcript click on the picture link above

I went to Marseille at the end of last week to participate in the conclusion of the Rencontres Méditerranéennes (Mediterranean Meetings), which involved Bishops and mayors from the Mediterranean area, along with numerous young people, so that their outlook would be open to the future. In fact, the event that took place in Marseille was called “Mosaic of Hope”. This is the dream, this is the challenge: that the Mediterranean might recover its vocation, that of being a laboratory of civilization and peace.

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Pope Francis Angelus 24.09.23 

Today is World Day of Migrants and Refugees, on the theme: “Free to choose whether to migrate or to stay”, to recall that to migrate should be a free choice, and never the only one possible. Indeed, the right to migrate has now become an obligation for many, whereas there ought to exist the right to not emigrate, to remain in one’s own country. It is necessary for every man and woman to be guaranteed the right to live a dignified life in the society in which they find themselves. Unfortunately, poverty, wars and the climate crisis force so many people to flee. Therefore, we are all required to create communities that are ready and open to welcome, promote, accompany and integrate those who knock on our doors.

This challenge was at the centre of the Rencontres Méditerranéennes, which took place in recent days in Marseille, and in whose concluding session I participated yesterday, travelling to the city, a crossroads of peoples and cultures.

I give special thanks to the bishops of the Italian Episcopal Conference who do everything they can to help our migrant brothers and sisters. 

I greet the group of people affected by the rare disease known as ataxia, with their family members.

I renew my invitation to participate in the ecumenical prayer vigil, entitled “Together”, which will take place on this coming Saturday 30 September in Saint Peter’s Square, in preparation for the Synodal Assembly which will begin on 4 October.

Let us recall beleaguered Ukraine, and pray for this people that is suffering so much.

I wish you all a good Sunday. Please, do not forget to pray for me. Enjoy your lunch, and arrivederci!

24.09.23

Pope Francis  Angelus 24.09.23

Love without measure

Pope Francis  Holy Mass 23.09.23

Apostolic Journey to Marseille

Excerpt below, for the full transcript click on the picture link above

The Scriptures tell us that, having established his kingdom, King David decided to transport the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem. After summoning the people, he rose and set out to bring the Ark; on the way, he and the people danced before it, rejoicing in the presence of the Lord (cf. 2 Sam 6:1-15). It is against the backdrop of this scene that the evangelist Luke recounts Mary’s visit to her cousin Elizabeth. Mary, too, rises and sets out for the region of Jerusalem, and when she enters Elizabeth’s house, the child she is carrying, recognizing the arrival of the Messiah, leaps for joy and begins to dance as David had before the Ark (cf. Lk 1:39-45).

Mary, then, is presented as the true Ark of the Covenant, introducing the incarnate Lord into the world. She is the young Virgin who goes to meet the barren, elderly woman and, in bringing Jesus, becomes a sign of God’s visitation that overcomes all sterility. She is the Mother who goes up to the mountains of Judah, to tell us that God is setting out to seek us with his love, so that we might exult with joy. It is God who is setting out!

In these two women, Mary and Elizabeth, God’s visitation to humanity is revealed. One is young and the other old, one is a virgin and the other barren, yet they are both pregnant in an “impossible” way. This is God’s work in our lives; he makes possible even what seems impossible, he generates life even amidst sterility.

Brothers and sisters, let us ask ourselves honestly, from the heart: Do we believe that God is at work in our lives? Do we believe that the Lord, in hidden and often unpredictable ways, acts in history, performs wonders, and is working even in our societies that are marked by worldly secularism and a certain religious indifference?

There is a way to discern whether or not we have this trust in the Lord. What is the way? The Gospel says that “as soon as Elizabeth had heard Mary’s greeting, the child leapt in her womb” (v. 41). This is the sign: to leap for joy. Whoever believes, whoever prays, whoever welcomes the Lord leaps in the Spirit, and feels that something is moving within, and “dances” with joy. I would like to dwell on this: the leap of faith.

The experience of faith, first and foremost, elicits a certain leaping in the face of life. To leap means to be “touched inside,” to have an interior quiver, to feel that something is moving in our heart. This is the opposite of a flat, cold heart, accustomed to the quiet life, which is encased in indifference and becomes impermeable. Such a heart becomes hardened and insensitive to everything and everyone, even to the tragic discarding of human life, which is seen today in the rejection of many immigrants, of countless unborn children and abandoned elderly people. A cold, flat heart drags life along mechanically, without passion, without impetus, without desire. In our European society, a person can become ill from all this and suffer cynicism, disenchantment, resignation, uncertainty, and an overall sadness – all this together: sadness, that sadness hidden in human hearts. Someone has called these dispositions “sad passions” and are found in those who do not “leap in the face of life”.

Those who are born to faith, on the other hand, recognize the presence of the Lord, like the baby in Elizabeth’s womb. They recognize his work as each day dawns and receive new eyes to view reality. Even in the midst of toil, problems and suffering, each day they discern God’s visitation among us and feel accompanied and sustained by him. Faced with the mystery of life and the challenges of society, those who believe have a spring in their step, a passion, a dream to cultivate, an interest that impels them to personally commit themselves. Now each of us can ask ourselves: do I feel these things? Do I have these things? Those who are like this know that in everything the Lord is present, calling and inviting them to witness to the Gospel with meekness, in order to build a new world, using the gifts and charisms they have received.

Besides enabling us to leap in the face of life, the experience of faith also compels us to leap toward our neighbour. Indeed, in the mystery of the Visitation, we see that God’s visitation does not take place through extraordinary, heavenly events, but in the simplicity of an encounter. God comes to the doorway of a family home, in the tender embrace between two women, in the intertwining of two pregnancies full of wonder and hope. There we see the solicitude of Mary, the wonder of Elizabeth, and the joy of sharing.

Let us always remember this in the Church: God is relational and often visits us through human encounters, when we know how to be open to others, when there is a “stirring” within us in favour of those who pass us every day, and when our hearts do not remain impassive and insensitive before the wounds of the fragile. Our major cities and many European countries like France, where different cultures and religions coexist, are a strong force against the excesses of individualism, selfishness and rejection that generate loneliness and suffering. Let us learn from Jesus how to stir ourselves to help those who live nearby. Let us learn from him who is moved to compassion before a weary and exhausted crowd (cf. Mk 6:34) and “leaps with mercy” before the wounded flesh of those he meets. As one of your great saints, Vincent de Paul, exhorts, “we should, then, soften our hearts and make them aware of the sufferings and miseries of our neighbour. We should beg God to give us that spirit of mercy which is the very Spirit of God himself,” to the point of recognizing that the poor are “our lords and masters” (Correspondance, entretiens, documents, Paris 1920-25, 341; 392-393).

Brothers and sisters, I think of the many “stirrings” within France, with its history rich in holiness and culture; artists and thinkers who have inspired many generations. Today, too, our life and the life of the Church, France and Europe need this: the grace of a leap forward, a new leap in faith, charity and hope. We need to rekindle our passion and enthusiasm, to reawaken our desire to commit ourselves to fraternity. We need to once again risk loving our families and dare to love the weakest, and to rediscover in the Gospel the transforming grace that makes life beautiful.

Let us look to Mary, who inconveniences herself by setting out on a journey and who teaches us that this is God’s way: He inconveniences us, sets us in motion and makes us “leap”, similar to the experience of Elizabeth. We want to be Christians who encounter God in prayer, and our brothers and sisters in love; Christians who leap, pulsate, and receive the fire of the Holy Spirit and then allow ourselves to be set afire by the questions of our day, by the challenges of the Mediterranean, by the cry of the poor – and by the “holy utopias” of fraternity and peace that wait to be realized.

Brothers and sisters, together with you, I pray to our Lady, Notre Dame de la Garde, that she will watch over your lives, that she will guard France and will guard all of Europe, and that she will cause us to leap in the Spirit. I would like to offer this prayer using the words of Paul Claudel: “I see the church, open…. I have nothing to offer and nothing to ask. I come, Mother, only to look at you. To look at you, to weep for happiness, knowing thatI am your son, and that you are there….To be with you, Mary, in this place where you are….Because you are there, always… Simply because you are Mary… Simply because you exist… Mother of Jesus Christ, thanks be to you (“The Virgin at Noon”, Poëmes de Guerre 1914-1916, Paris, 1992).

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Pope Francis  Final Session of the “Rencontres Méditerranéennes”,   Marseille 23.09.23 

Apostolic Journey to Marseille

Excerpt below, for the full transcript click on the picture link above

I offer my cordial greetings and I am grateful to each of you for having accepted the invitation of Cardinal Aveline to participate in these meetings. Thank you for your work and the valuable reflections that you shared.  Church and civil leaders are gathered not to deal with mutual interests, but animated by the desire to care for men and women. 

Marseille is a very ancient city.  Marseilles tells us that, despite difficulties, coexistence is possible and is a source of joy. On the map, it almost seems to draw a smile between Nice and Montpellier. I like to think of it that way: Marseilles as “the smile of the Mediterranean”. So I want to offer you some thoughts centred around three aspects that characterize Marseille, three symbols: the sea, the port and the lighthouse.

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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

Pope Francis  General Audience  20.09.23  

The witness of Saint Daniel Comboni

Excerpt below, for the full transcript click on the picture link above

Along the course of catechesis on the passion for evangelization, that is, apostolic zeal, let us spend some time today on the witness of Saint Daniel Comboni. He was an apostle who was filled with zeal for Africa. He wrote of these peoples: “they have taken possession of my heart that lives for them alone” (Writings, 941). “I shall die with Africa on my lips” (Writings, 1441). That’s beautiful, isn’t it? And he wrote this to them: “the happiest of my days will be when I may give my life for you” (Writings, 3159). This is the expression of someone who is in love with God and with the brothers and sisters he was serving in mission, whom he never tired of reminding that “Jesus Christ suffered and died for them as well” (Writings, 2499; 4801).

He affirmed this in a context characterized by the horror of slavery, of which he was a witness. Slavery “objectifies” the human being, whose value is reduced to being useful to someone or something. But Jesus, God made man, elevated the dignity of every human being and exposed the falsity of every slavery. In the light of Christ, Comboni became aware of the evil of slavery. Moreover, he understood that social slavery is rooted in an even deeper slavery, that of the heart, that of sin, from which the Lord frees us. As Christians, therefore, we are called to fight every form of slavery. Unfortunately, however, slavery, like colonialism, is not something from the past, unfortunately. In the Africa that Comboni loved so much, which is today torn by so many conflicts, “political exploitation gave way to an ‘economic colonialism’ that was equally enslaving. (…) This is a tragedy to which the economically more advanced world often closes its eyes, ears and mouth”. I therefore renew my appeal: “Stop choking Africa: it is not a mine to be stripped or a terrain to be plundered” (Meeting with Authorities, Kinshasa, 31 January 2023).

And going back to the life of Saint Daniel. After the first period spent in Africa, he had to leave the mission due to health reasons. Too many missionaries had died after contracting malaria, complicated by insufficient awareness of the local situation. Though others abandoned Africa, Comboni did not do so. After a period of discernment, he felt the Lord was inspiring him along a new path of evangelization, which he summed up in these words: “Save Africa with Africa” (Writings, 2741s). This was a powerful insight, devoid of colonialism. It was a powerful insight that helped renew his missionary outreach: the people who had been evangelized were not only “objects”, but “subjects” of mission. And Saint Daniel Comboni wanted every Christian to participte in the evangelizing enterprise. With this spirit, he integrated his thoughts and actions, involving the local clergy and promoting the lay service of catechist. Catechists are a treasure in the Church. Catechists are those who bring evangelization forward. He also conceived of human development in this way, cultivating the arts and professions, fostering the role of the family and of women in the transformation of culture and society. And how important it is, even today, to make the faith and human development progress within the context of mission, rather than transplant external models or limit them to sterile welfarism! Neither external models nor welfarism. To take the path of evangelization from the culture, from the people’s culture. To evangelize the culture and to inculturate the Gospel go together.

Comboni’s great missionary passion, however, was not primarily the fruit of human endeavor. He was not driven by his own courage or motivated solely by important values such as freedom, justice and peace. His zeal came from the joy of the Gospel, drawn from Christ’s love which then led to love of Christ! Saint Daniel wrote, “Such an arduous and laborious mission as ours cannot be glossed over, lived by crooked-necked people filled with egoism and with themselves, who do not care for their health and the conversion of souls as they should”. This is the tragedy of clericalism which leads Christians, laity included, to clericalize themselves and to transform themselves – as it says here – into people with crooked necks filled with egoism. This is the plague of clericalism. And he added, “It is necessary to inflame them with charity that has its source from God and the love of Christ; when one truly loves Christ, then privations, sufferings and martyrdom become sweet” (Writings, 6656). He desired to see ardent, joyful, dedicated missionaries, “holy and capable” missionaries, he wrote, “first of all saints, that is, completely free from sin and offence to God and humble. But this is not enough: we need charity that enables our subjects” (Writings, 6655). For Comboni, the source of missionary ability, therefore, is charity, in particular, the zeal by which he made the sufferings of others his own.

In addition, his passion for evangelization never led him to act as a soloist, but always in communion, in the Church. “I have but one life to offer for the salvation of those souls: I wish I had a thousand to be consumed for this end” (Writings, 2271).

Brothers and sisters, Saint Daniel testifies to the love of the Good Shepherd who goes in search of the one who is lost and gives his life for the flock. His zeal was energetic and prophetic in being opposed to indifference and exclusion. In his letters, he earnestly called out his beloved Church who had forgotten Africa for too long. Comboni’s dream is that of a Church who makes common cause with those who are crucified in history, so as to experience the resurrection with them. At this moment, I would like to offer all of you a suggestion. Think of those who are crucified in today’s history: men, women, children, the elderly, all those who are crucified by the history of injustice and domination. Let us think of them and let us pray for them. His witness seems to want to repeat to all of us, men and women of the Church: “Do not forget the poor – love them – for Jesus crucified is present in them, waiting to rise again”. Let us not forget the poor. Before coming here, I had a meeting with Brazilian legislators who are working for the poor, who try to promote the poor through assistance and social justice. And they do not forget the poor – they work for the poor. To all of you, I say: do not forget the poor, because they will be the ones who will open the door of Heaven for you. Thank you.

20.09.23 e

Pope Francis September 2023

For people living on the margins

Let us pray for those people on the margins of society in subhuman living conditions, that they may not be neglected by institutions and never be cast out.

A homeless person who dies on the street will never appear among the top stories of search engines or newscasts.

How could we have reached this level of indifference?

How is it that we allow the “throwaway culture” – in which millions of men and women are worth nothing compared to economic goods – how is it that we allow this culture to dominate our lives, our cities, our way of life?

Our necks are going to get stiff from looking the other way so we don’t have to see this situation.

Please, let’s stop making invisible those who are on the margins of society, whether it’s due to poverty, addictions, mental illness or disability.

Let’s focus on accepting them, on welcoming all the people who need it.

The “culture of welcoming,” of hospitality, of providing shelter, of giving a home, of offering love, of giving human warmth.

Let us pray for those people on the margins of society in subhuman living conditions, that they may not be neglected by institutions and never be cast out.

September 2023

Pope Francis  Message for the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation 01.09.23

Care for Our Common Home - Laudato Si'

For the full message click on the picture link above

Pope Francis Holy Mass at the “Vélodrome Stadium”, Marseille 23.09.23

Apostolic Journey to Marseille