Certainly, drugs are bad, but there are plenty of other socially acceptable drugs, that can end up enslaving us just the same. One way or the other, they rob us of our greatest treasure: our freedom.
~Pope Francis, World Youth day 2016
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June 12, 2021
June 11, 2021
June 11, 2021
June 10, 2021
June 9, 2021
June 9, 2021
June 5, 2021
The seed of our good works can seem like a small thing, yet all that is good pertains to God, and thus it humbly, slowly bears fruit. Good always grows in a humble, hidden, often invisible way. #GospelOfTheDay
Mary’s heart is like a pearl of incomparable splendour, formed and smoothed by patient acceptance of God’s will through the mysteries of Jesus meditated in prayer. #ImmaculateHeartofMary
Children are the future of the human family: all of us are expected to promote their growth, health and tranquility. #NoChildLabourDay
I invite each one of you to look with confidence to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and to repeat often, especially during this month of June: Jesus, meek and humble of heart, transform our hearts and teach us to love God and our neighbor with generosity.
Perseverance is the gift of God by which all His other gifts are maintained. Let us pray that, as individuals and as Church, we might persevere in doing good, and not to lose sight of what counts.
Our Eucharistic celebrations are transforming the world to the extent that we are allowing ourselves to be transformed and to become bread broken for others.
Today at 1:00 pm International Catholic Action is calling for the dedication of "one minute for peace", each according to his or her own religious tradition. Let us pray in particular for the Holy Land and for Myanmar.
We cannot break bread on Sunday if our hearts are closed to our brothers and sisters. We cannot partake of that Bread if we do not give bread to the hungry. We cannot share that Bread unless we share the sufferings of our brothers and sisters in need.
To celebrate the #Eucharist, we need first to recognize our thirst for God, to sense our need for him, to long for his presence and love, to realize that we cannot go it alone. vatican.va/content/f…
These difficult times are a strong call for everyone to turn away from the colonial model and walk side by side in dialogue, mutual respect and recognition of the rights and cultural values of all the daughters and sons of Canada.
I join the Canadian Bishops and the whole Catholic Church in Canada in expressing my closeness to the Canadian people, who have been traumatised by shocking discovery of the remains of two hundred and fifteen children, pupils at the Kamloops Indian Residential School.
Let us #PrayTogether for the victims of the massacre that took place in a village of Burkina Faso. I am close to the family members and all the Burkinabé people suffering greatly because of these repeated attacks. Africa needs peace, not violence!
The #Eucharist gives us the courage to reach out with love toward the fragility of others. As God does with us. This is the logic of the Eucharist: we receive Jesus who loves us and heals our fragilities in order to love others and help them in their fragilities.
In the #Eucharist fragility is strength: the strength of God's love that becomes small so as to be welcomed and not feared; the strength of the love that is broken and shared so as to nourish and give life; the strength of the love that is split apart so as to join us in unity.
The #Eucharist heals because it unites with Jesus: it makes us assimilate his way of living, his ability to be broken up and given to brothers and sisters, to respond to evil with good. #CorpusDomini
In this Decade on #Ecosystem Restoration, we must restore the various levels of ecological equilibrium: within ourselves, with others, with nature and other living creatures, and the spiritual equilibrium with God. #WorldEnvironmentDay
We need an integral human ecology that can transform our way of living, our relationship with the earth’s resources, and that involves not only environmental questions, but the entire human person responding to the cry of the poor. #WorldEnvironmentDay
During this month of June, dedicated in a special way to the Heart of Christ, we can repeat this simple prayer: “Jesus, make my heart resemble yours”. In this way, our own hearts will slowly but surely become more patient, more generous, more merciful...
The Eucharist, source of love for the life of the Church, is the school of charity and solidarity. Those who are nourished by the Bread of Christ cannot remain indifferent to those who do not have their daily bread. #CorpusDomini
Even if our prayers might ramble and be weakened by a wavering faith, we must never stop putting our trust in Jesus. Supported by Jesus’ #prayer, our timid prayers rest on eagles' wings and soar up to heaven. #GeneralAudience
We pray to you, Blessed Mother, that you might untangle the knots that oppress us so that we can witness with joy to your Son and our Lord, Jesus Christ. pic.twitter.com/xKiU…
If we forget the good, our hearts shrink. But if, like Mary, we remember the great things that the Lord does, if at least once a day we offer a short #prayer of praise, our hearts will expand and joy will increase. #Visitation
The mystery of the Most Holy Trinity is an immense mystery, which exceeds the capacities of our minds, but that speaks to our heart, because we find it encompassed in that expression of Saint John which summarizes all of Revelation: “God is love”.
The Holy Spirit impels us to love not only those who love us and think as we do, but to love everyone, even as Jesus taught us. He enables us to forgive our enemies and the wrongs we have endured. He inspires us to be active and creative in love.
May the Holy Spirit teach us to view the world with God’s eyes and to treat our brothers and sisters with the gentleness of His heart.
Finally, the third advice is, “Put God before yourself”. Only by emptying ourselves, do we leave room for the Lord; only by giving ourselves to him, do we find ourselves; only by becoming poor in spirit, do we become rich in the Holy Spirit. Let us put God in first place!
Secondly, the Holy Spirit tells us, “Look to the whole”. The Paraclete impels us to unity, to concord, to the harmony of diversity. He makes us see ourselves as parts of the same body, brothers and sisters of one another. Let us look to the whole!
The first advice offered by the Holy Spirit is, “Live in the present”. There is no better time for us: now, here and now, is the one and only time to do good, to make our life a gift. Let us live in the present!
The Holy Spirit is the Gift of God who helps us to be free people, people who want and know how to love, people who understand that life is a mission to proclaim the wonders that the Lord accomplishes in those who trust in him.
When we pray, we need to be humble, so that our words are actually prayers and not just idle talk that God rejects. #Prayer #GeneralAudience
The #LaudatoSi’ Year has brought about a concrete action project called the Laudato Si’ Action Platform, a path that will involve our communities in various ways so that they may become totally sustainable in the spirit of an integral ecology. laudatosi.va
It is the time for pouring out love upon the world, yet not embracing worldliness. It is more the time for testifying to mercy, than for inculcating rules and regulations. It is the time of the Paraclete! It is the time of freedom of heart, in the Paraclete.
The Paraclete is telling the Church that today is the time for comforting. It is more the time for joyfully proclaiming the Gospel than for combatting paganism. It is the time for bringing the joy of the Risen Lord, not for lamenting the drama of secularization.
Today the “Laudato Si’ Year” concludes. I thank those who participated with many initiatives throughout the world. It is a journey that we must continue together, listening to the cry of the Earth and of the poor.
On the Feast of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Help of Christians, let us #PrayTogether for our dear brothers and sisters in China. May the Holy Spirit guide and help them to be bearers of the happy message, witnesses of charity, and builders of justice and peace in their country.
Let us entrust ourselves to the maternal intercession of Mary Most Holy so that the Holy Spirit may descend in abundance upon the Church of our time, fill the hearts of all the faithful and kindle in them the fire of his love.
Holy Spirit, Paraclete Spirit, comfort our hearts. Our Advocate, sweet counsellor of the soul, make us witnesses of the “today” of God, prophets of unity for the Church and humanity, and apostles grounded in your grace, which creates and renews all things.
Let us also pray for the populations of the city of Goma, in the Democratic Republic of Congo, forced to flee due to the eruption of the great volcano, Mount Nyiragongo.
#LetUsPrayTogether for the situation in Colombia, which continues to be worrying. I exhort everyone to avoid, for humanitarian reasons, behaviours that are damaging for the population in exercising the right to peaceful protest.
Let us open our hearts to the gift of the Holy Spirit, which makes us feel all the beauty and truth of God’s love in the dead and Risen Christ. And it spurs us to go out, to witness to this Love that always precedes us with his mercy. #Pentecost
The Holy Spirit, the love of God, acts in our spirit. He comes down “within the heart”, as “the soul’s most welcome guest”. He is the very love of God, who does not abandon us. #Pentecost vatican.va/content/f…
Each year sees the disappearance of thousands of plant and animal species. Most become extinct due to human activity, and will no longer give glory to God by their very existence, nor convey their message to us. We have no such right. #Biodiversity #LaudatoSiWeek
Tomorrow evening the Vigil of Pentecost will be celebrated in Saint Stephen's Church in Jerusalem to implore the gift of peace. Let us #PrayTogether, pleading to the Holy Spirit so that Israelis and Palestinians may be open to living together as brothers and sisters.
Living our vocation to be protectors of God’s handiwork is essential to a life of virtue; it is not an optional or a secondary aspect of our Christian experience. #LaudatoSiWeek
Together, we can seek the truth in #dialogue, in relaxed conversation or in passionate debate. To do so calls for perseverance; it entails moments of silence, yet it can patiently embrace the broader experience of individuals and the #CulturalDiversity of peoples.
Let us #PrayTogether today for victims of the climate crisis and continue to work so that the earth may truly be a common home where everyone can have their place. #LaudatoSiWeek
On this 500th anniversary of St. Ignatius’ wound in Pamplona, I invite everyone to join in this journey of conversion with the pilgrim Ignatius, so that we may be renewed and see all things new in Christ. #Ignatius500
Technology based on the use of highly polluting fossil fuels needs to be replaced without delay. There is reason to hope that humanity at the dawn of the 21st century will be remembered for having generously shouldered its grave responsibilities. #LaudatoSiWeek
In these days of preparation for the Solemnity of #Pentecost, let us ask the Lord to send us the gifts of the Holy Spirit so that we may persevere in our life of #prayer with humility and joy, overcoming difficulties with wisdom and determination.
When we become aware of our distractions in #prayer, what can help us confront them is to humbly offer our heart to the Lord so that He may purify it and refocus it on Him.
In order to ensure the proper care of our common home, we must become a “we” that is ever wider and more co-responsible, in the profound conviction that whatever good is done in our world is done for present and future generations. #LaudatoSiWeek
I invite all men and women in our world to make good use of the gifts that the Lord has entrusted to us to preserve and make his creation even more beautiful. #LaudatoSiWeek
Today “Laudato Si’ Week” begins, to educate more and more to listen to the cry of the Earth and the cry of the poor. I thank the numerous participating organizations, and I invite everyone to participate.
Let us pray constantly that the Israelis and Palestinians may find the path of dialogue and forgiveness. Let us pray for the victims, in particular for the children; let us pray for peace.
The Lord always hears the cry of his people and dries their tears. Dear brothers and sisters of #Myanmar, do not stop looking up to heaven. Keep the faith! vatican.va/content/f…
The commitment to #peace and #fraternity always originates from the grass roots: everyone can do something, however small. Everyone can be dedicated, even in small ways, to build fraternity, to work toward reconstructing what is broken instead of fomenting violence.
Today I wish to lay upon the Lord’s altar the sufferings of the people of #Myanmar and pray that God will convert all hearts to peace. Do not lose hope: Jesus is interceding before the Father for all of us, that he keep us from the evil one and set us free from the power of evil.
On this Feast of the #Ascension, while we contemplate Heaven, where Christ has ascended and sits at the right hand of the Father, let us ask Mary, Queen of Heaven, to help us to be courageous witnesses to the Risen One in the world, in the concrete situations of life.
All of us are responsible for the communications we make, for the information we share, for the control that we can exert over fake news by exposing it. All of us are to be witnesses of the truth: to go, to see and to share. #WorldCommunicationsDay
