“A pastoral presence means walking with the People of God, walking in front of them, showing them the way, showing them the path; walking in their midst, to strengthen them in unity; walking behind them, to make sure no one gets left behind, but especially, never to lose the scent of the People of God in order to find new roads.”
― Pope Francis, The Church of Mercy
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September 17, 2021
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Hope would have us recognize that there is always a way out, that we can always redirect our steps, that we can always do something to solve our problems. #SeasonofCreation #LaudatoSi’
From our gift the life and health of others, sick and suffering, may spring forth, helping to reinforce a culture of help, giving, hope and life. Society needs these concrete gestures of solidarity and generous love, to ensure the understanding that life is something sacred.#WMDD
#Catechesis is not an abstract communication, the memorization of theoretical knowledge. We must insist on pointing to the heart of catechesis: Jesus Christ, the Risen One, loves you and will never abandon you!
I would like to add my own personal thanks to the thousands of catechists throughout the world. I accompany you with my prayer and with my Apostolic Blessing.
A society is all the more human to the degree that it cares effectively for its most frail and suffering members, in a spirit of fraternal love. Let us strive to achieve this goal, so that no one will feel alone or abandoned. #PatientSafetyDay
We have severely harmed the Earth, our common home. Yet we have reasons for hope. The effects of the present imbalance can only be reduced by our decisive action, here and now. #SeasonofCreation #OzoneDay
I gave thanks to God for having allowed me to accomplish this #ApostolicJourney. I am grateful to all who, in different ways, have cooperated, above all by their prayers. I carry you in my heart.
Contemplating the Sorrowful Mother, may we open ourselves to a faith that becomes compassion, a faith that identifies with those in need. A faith that imitates God’s style, quietly relieving the suffering of our world and watering the soil of history with salvation.
#OurLadyOfSorrows, at the foot the cross, did not run away from her grief. She remains with tears on her face, but with the faith of one who knows that in her Son, God transforms suffering and triumphs over death. #ApostolicJourney
For our life to be great, we need love and heroism. If we look to the crucified Jesus, we find both boundless love and the courage to give one’s life to the utmost, without half-measures. #ApostolicJourney
Today, being really original and revolutionary means rebelling against the culture of the ephemeral, going beyond shallow instincts and momentary pleasures, and choosing to love with every fibre of your being, for the rest of your life. #ApostolicJourney
Do not be afraid to go out to encounter the marginalized. You will find that you are going out to meet Jesus. He awaits you wherever there is need, not comfort; wherever service rules, not power. Those are the places where he will be found. #ApostolicJourney
The cross demands a limpid testimony. For the cross is not a flag to wave, but the pure source of a new way of living: that of the Gospel, that of the Beatitudes. #ApostolicJourney vatican.va/content/f…
The cross was an instrument of death, yet it became the source of life. It was a horrendous sight, yet it revealed to us the beauty of God’s love. That is why, in today’s feast, the people of God venerate the cross and the Liturgy celebrates it. #ExaltationOfTheCross
The blessing of the Most High is poured out upon us, whenever he sees a family of brothers and sisters who respect and love each other and work together. Amid all the discord that defiles our world, we may always be witnesses of peace. #ApostolicJourney
Cyril and Methodius invented new languages for handing on the Gospel; they were creative in translating the Christian message. Isn’t this perhaps the most urgent task facing the Church: finding new “alphabets” to proclaim the faith? #ApostolicJourney
None can stand apart, either as individuals or as a nation. Cultivate the beauty of the whole. It requires patience and effort, courage and sharing, enthusiasm and creativity. Yet it is the human work blessed by heaven above. #ApostolicJourney vatican.va/content/f…
Organized and efficient structures will not suffice to improve our life as a human community. We need the flavour of solidarity: society rediscovers its flavor through the gratuitous generosity of those who spend their lives for others. #ApostolicJourney
May Saints Cyril and Methodius, precursors of #ecumenism, help us make every effort to work for a reconciliation of diversity in the Holy Spirit: a unity that, without being uniformity, is capable of being a sign and witness to the freedom of Christ, the Lord. #ApostolicJourney
The Eucharist is here to remind us who God is. It does not do so just in words, but in a concrete way, showing us God as bread broken, as love crucified and bestowed. #EucharisticCongress #Budapest vatican.va/content/f…
The “Mission Cross” is the symbol of this International #EucharisticCongresss: may it lead you to proclaim with your lives the liberating Gospel of God’s boundless love for each person. Amid the present-day famine of love, men and women long for this nourishment.
Today, the Lord looks at each of us personally and asks: “Who am I – in fact – for you?” This question, addressed to each of us, calls for more than a quick answer straight out of the catechism; it requires a vital, personal response. #GospelOfTheDay
Only if we become roots of peace and shoots of unity, will we prove credible in the eyes of the world, which look to us with a yearning that can bring hope to blossom. #ApostolicJourney
True religiosity consists in the worship of God and the love of neighbour. More than demonstrating something, we believers are called to manifest the fatherly presence of the God of heaven through our harmony on earth. #G20InterfaithForum
Tomorrow I begin my #ApostolicJourney to Budapest and Slovakia. I ask everyone to accompany me in prayer, and I entrust this visit to the intercession of so many heroic confessors of the faith, who, amid hostility and persecution, bore witness to the Gospel in those places.
New Year's Day is celebrated today in Ethiopia. Let us #PrayTogether for the Ethiopian people, particularly for those suffering due to the ongoing conflict and the serious humanitarian situation it has caused. May this be a moment to hear the common desire for peace.
A true ecological approach always becomes a social approach that must integrate justice in debates on the environment, so as to hear both the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor. #SeasonOfCreation
Let us #PrayTogether today for all the people who suffer from sadness, because they are alone or because they do not know what the future holds for them, or because they cannot support their family, because they have no job. Many people suffer from sadness. Let us pray for them.
Our common home, creation, is not a mere “resource”. Creatures have a value in themselves and each one reflects in its own way a ray of God’s infinite wisdom and goodness. #SeasonOfCreation
Education is one of the most effective ways of making our world and history more human. Education is above all a matter of love and responsibility handed down from one generation to another. #WorldLiteracyDay
Today as we celebrate the #BirthOfMary, let us ask our Mother to help us rediscover the beauty of being God's children, overcoming differences and conflicts, to live as brothers and sisters.
This is the first time that @JustinWelby, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, and I feel compelled to address together the urgency of environmental sustainability, its impact on persistent poverty, and the importance of global cooperation. #SeasonofCreation vatican.va/content/f…
Next Sunday I will travel to Budapest for the conclusion of the International Eucharistic Congress. My pilgrimage will continue for a few days in Slovakia and will conclude with the great popular celebration of Our Lady of Sorrows, Patroness of that country.
God is gloriously and mysteriously present in creation since he is the Lord who reigns over it. To discover this, we need to be silent, listen, contemplate. #SeasonOfCreation
May all Afghans, whether in their home country, in transit, or in host countries, live with dignity, in peace and fraternity with their neighbours. #PrayTogether
I assure my prayers for the people of the United States of America who have been hit by a strong hurricane in recent days. May the Lord receive the souls of the deceased and sustain those suffering from this calamity.
This is the medicine: fewer useless words and more of the Word of God. Let us hear the words of the #GospelOfTheDay addressed to us: “Ephphatha, be opened!” Jesus, I want to open myself to your Word, open myself to listen. Heal my heart.
We all have ears, but very often we cannot hear. There is, in fact, an interior deafness worse than the physical one: the deafness of the heart that we can ask Jesus to touch and heal today. #GospelOfTheDay
Taking into consideration the worsening of multiple converging political and environmental crises -- hunger, the climate, nuclear arms, to name a few -- the commitment to peace has never been so necessary and urgent.
The pandemic has highlighted how vulnerable and interconnected everyone is. If we do not take care of one another, starting with the least, with those who are most impacted, including creation, we cannot heal the world. #SeasonOfCreation
In the beginning there was God's Love. Everything that is alive, beautiful, good and true is from God who is love. Just as human life comes from the heart and womb of a mother, and Jesus came from the heart and the womb of a Mother, Love became flesh.
We pray that we all will make courageous choices for a simple and environmentally sustainable lifestyle, rejoicing in our young people who are resolutely committed to this. pic.twitter.com/eKMf…
Today we celebrate the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation. Let us #PrayTogether with our brothers and sisters of various Christian confessions and work for our common home at this time of serious planetary crisis. #SeasonOfCreation
Saint Paul invites us too to reflect on how we live faith. Does the love of Christ, crucified and risen, remain at the centre of our life as the wellspring of salvation, or are we content with a few religious formalities to salve our consciences? #GeneralAudience
Today we need prophecy, but real prophecy. Miraculous demonstrations are not needed, but lives that demonstrate the miracle of God’s love.
What is the secret of a blessed life, a happy life? Recognizing Jesus as the living God. For it is not important to know that Jesus was great in history. What matters is the place I give him in my life.
As Christians the situation in Afghanistan obligates us. In historic moments like this, we cannot remain indifferent. For this reason, I address an appeal to everyone to intensify your prayer and practice fasting, asking the Lord for mercy and forgiveness.
I am following the situation in Afghanistan with great concern. I share in the sorrow of those who are grieving for those who lost their lives in the suicide attacks and of those who are seeking help and protection.
In the #GospelOfTheDay, Jesus cautions us about a religiosity of appearances: looking good on the outside, while failing to purify the heart. He does not want outward appearances. He wants to put faith back at the center. He wants a faith that touches the heart.
Saint Augustine said: “I fear that Jesus will pass by me unnoticed”. It is important to remain watchful, because one great mistake in life is to get absorbed in a thousand things and not to notice God.
Faith is the ardent desire for God, a bold effort to change, the courage to love, constant progress.
Yesterday, in Tokyo, the Paralympic Games got underway. I send my greetings to the athletes and I thank them because they offer everyone a witness of hope and courage.
Let us ask the Lord to help us be consistent and to courageously combat anything that can lead us away from the truth and from the faith we profess. Only thus can we truly build unity and fraternity. #GeneralAudience
It is in humility that we build the future of the world.
Let us work together to eradicate the appalling scourge of modern slavery that still shackles millions of people in inhumanity and humiliation. Every human being is the image of God, and is free and destined to exist in equality and fraternity.
We should not pursue God in dreams and in images of grandeur and power, but He must be recognised in the humanity of Jesus and, as a consequence, in that of the brothers and sisters we meet on the path of life. #GospelOfTheDay (Jn 6:60-69) #Angelus
Patience helps us to be merciful in the way we view ourselves, our communities and our world.
The climate crisis always generates more serious humanitarian crises and the poor are the most vulnerable regarding extreme weather events. A solidarity founded on justice, on peace and on the unity of the human family is needed. #WorldHumanitarianDay
It is good for us to ask ourselves if we still live in the period in which we need the Law (cfr Gal 3:23-25), or if instead we are fully aware of having received the grace of becoming children of God so as to live in love. #GeneralAudience
Vaccination is a simple way of promoting the common good and caring for each other, especially the most vulnerable. youtube.com/watch?v=…
