by SrDeniseSickinger | Apr 22, 2021 | a current event, Creation & the Creator, Messages of the Holy Father
Pope on Earth Day: “It is time to act!” Pope Francis calls for urgency in joint efforts on the path towards protecting our planet, in two separate video messages for Earth Day 2021. By Vatican News staff writer Commemorating the 51st Earth Day on Thursday, Pope Francis sent two video messages reminding everyone of the importance of working together to protect our planet. In a message for the Leaders Summit on Climate, the Pope said the initiative sets world leaders on a path towards the COP26 meeting to take place in Glasgow, Scotland, in November 2021. He said the Leaders Summit encourages nations to “take charge of the care of nature, of this gift that we have received and that we have to heal, guard, and carry forward.” “Our concern is to see that the environment is cleaner, purer, and preserved,” said the Pope, “and to take care of nature so that it takes care of us.” Earth Day 2021 In a separate video message marking Earth Day 2021, Pope Francis continued in the same vein. “It is always good to recall things that we have said to one another so that they will not fall into oblivion,” the...
by SrDeniseSickinger | Apr 21, 2021 | Accompaniment, Events / Calendar, Family MInistry, Love, Messages of the Holy Father
First World Day for Grandparents and Elderly scheduled for 25 July The Dicastery for the Laity, Family and Life announces the first World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly under the theme “I am with you always”. By Vatican News staff writer The First World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly will be celebrated on Sunday 25 July, announced the Vatican’s Dicastery for the Laity, Family and Life in a press release on Tuesday. The theme chosen by Pope Francis for this inaugural commemoration is “I am with you always” (Mt 28:20). It expresses the closeness of the Lord and the Church to every older person, especially in these challenging times of the Covid-19 pandemic. The theme, “I am with you always” is also “a promise of closeness and hope that young and old can mutually share”, notes the press release. Not only are grandchildren and youths invited to be present in the lives of older people, but older people and grandparents also have a mission of evangelization, proclamation and prayer, and of encouraging young people in their faith. To further encourage the celebration of the World Day in local churches and associations, the Dicastery for Laity, Family and...
by SrDeniseSickinger | Apr 20, 2021 | Accompaniment, Ad maiorem Dei gloriam and the salvation of souls!, Discipleship, Following Jesus, Fratelli tutti, Fraternal Love, Justice, Kingdom of God, Messages of the Holy Father, Mystical Body of Christ, Outreach
The sharing of goods and the social function of private property In his homily on Sunday, 11 April, Pope Francis commented on the custom of the early Christians of sharing everything. We take a look at developments of the social Magisterium of the past century, which harken back to the great Fathers of the Church. By Andrea Tornielli The Acts of the Apostles tells us that “no one said that any of the things that belonged to him was his own, but they had everything in common.” This “is not communism; it is Christianity in its pure state.” With these words, Pope Francis, in the Mass celebrated on Divine Mercy Sunday, commented on the sharing of goods realized in the first Christian community. Often, and even very recently, the current Bishop of Rome has been criticized for questioning the untouchability of the right to private property, and his words have been linked to Marxism and communism. Last November 30, in a Message on the occasion of the opening of work of the International Conference of member judges of the Committee for Social Rights of Africa and America, Pope Francis said, “We build social justice on the basis of the fact that the...
by SrDeniseSickinger | Apr 12, 2021 | Accompaniment, Ad maiorem Dei gloriam and the salvation of souls!, Merciful Compassion, Merciful like the Father, Messages of the Holy Father, Pope Francis
Pope: “Having received mercy, let us now become merciful” On the feast of Divine Mercy on Sunday, Pope Francis urges Christians to open themselves to Christ’s mercy, which He grants through peace, forgiveness, and His wounds. In turn, they are asked to share this mercy with others. By Robin Gomes “Let us be renewed by the peace, forgiveness, and wounds of the merciful Jesus. Let us ask for the grace to become witnesses of mercy. Only in this way will our faith be alive and our lives unified. Only in this way will we proclaim the Gospel of God, which is the Gospel of mercy.” This is the exhortation that Pope Francis offered in his homily at Mass on Divine Mercy Sunday, which is celebrated on the second Sunday of Easter. “For if love is only about us, faith becomes arid, barren and sentimental. Without others, faith becomes disembodied. Without works of mercy, it dies,” the Pope said. He celebrated the Mass at the 16th century Church of Santo Spirito in Sassia, close to the Vatican, which St. Pope John Paul II in 1994 designated as the official Divine Mercy church in Rome. Pope Francis celebrates Mass in the Church of...
by SrDeniseSickinger | Feb 25, 2021 | Lent, Messages of the Holy Father
Lent: a time for renewing faith, hope and love In this period of preparation leading to Easter, and starting from themes tied to the Lenten journey, we offer reflections of Pope Francis. To experience Lent in hope, the Pope writes in his Message for Lent 2021, means “receiving the hope of Christ, who gave His life on the Cross”. By Amedeo Lomonaco “Lent is a time for believing, for welcoming God into our lives and allowing Him to ‘make his dwelling’ among us”, the Pope writes in his Lenten message for 2021. “In our Lenten journey towards Easter, let us remember the One who ‘humbled Himself and became obedient unto death, even death on a cross’”. These words from the Pope’s message not only refer to the memorial dimension of remembrance, but also invite us to live, even today, a favorable time to renew faith, hope and charity. All are called to grow “in the realization that, in Jesus Christ, we are witnesses of new times, in which God is ‘making all things new’”. Throughout his pontificate, Pope Francis has often described the meaning of the journey that leads to Easter. “During the Season of Lent”, he said Sunday 21...
by SrDeniseSickinger | Feb 13, 2021 | Lent, Messages of the Holy Father, Pope Francis
Renewing faith, hope and love: Pope Francis’ message for Lent 2021 In his message for Lent 2021, Pope Francis calls on the faithful to “renew our faith, draw from the living waters of hope, and receive with open hearts the love of God.” By Christopher Wells Pope Francis focuses on the three theological virtues in his Lenten message for 2021, inviting the faithful to “renew our faith, draw from the living waters of hope, and receive with open hearts the love of God.” Grounding his reflection on the Paschal Mystery, the Pope says, “This Lenten journey… is even now illumined by the light of the resurrection, which inspires the thoughts, attitudes and decisions of the followers of Jesus.” He goes on to say that the journey of conversion, through fasting, prayer, and almsgiving, “makes it possible for us to live lives of sincere faith, living hope, and effective charity.” Accepting and bearing witness to the truth The Holy Father explains “accepting and living the truth revealed in Christ means, first of all, opening our hearts to God’s word.” Through fasting, “experienced as a form of self-denial,” we are able “to rediscover God’s gift and recognize that, created in His...
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