Autistic boy moves the pope: “It made me think, am I also free like that before God?" - Rome Reports

General Audience after Ireland trip: The pope on World Meeting of Families and Sexual Abuse - Rome Reports

Vatican News - Pope Francis: Families an eloquent sign of God’s dream - At his General Audience on Wednesday, Pope Francis looks back on his visit to Ireland for the World Meeting of Families.

Pope Francis: People don't have to pay for priest to pray for them at Mass, it's free

Pope Francis: We need good readers at Mass—and we need to listen

During his catechesis at the weekly General Audience Pope Francis told those present that Christians need to be constantly open to and challenged by the Word of God.

Pope Francis: We need good readers at Mass—and we need to listen

The Pope invites the faithful to open their ears and their hearts to God's Word

Pope Francis: Mass is for prayers not mobile phones

Vatican Radio - Pope at General Audience: through the Eucharist we receive God

Pope Francis has reminded the faithful that the Eucharist is a wonderful event during which Jesus Christ, our life, becomes present. 

Speaking to the crowd gathered in St. Peter’s Square for the Wednesday General Audience, Pope Francis began a new series of reflections focusing on the Eucharist and highlighting the importance of how we attend and of how we participate in Mass in order to really experience our relationship with God. 

To the some 13,000 pilgrims present for the weekly audience, Pope Francis said that while at Mass “the Lord is present with us but many times we talk among ourselves and we are not close to Him” during the celebration.

BBC - Pope Francis: Mass is for prayers not mobile phones

Pope Francis: God does not want sad and unwilling people to follow Him

Pope Francis starts a new series of catecheses on the theme of Christian hope

Pope Francis on refugee crisis: We have the duty of welcoming those who flee from war or hunger

 

Papal Weekly General Audience - “If God has forgiven us, why can we not forgive?”

Summary of the Pope's Catechesis:

Dear Brothers and Sisters:

In our Gospel passage this morning, we are reminded of our call to be merciful even as our heavenly Father is merciful (cf. Lk 6:36). When we look at salvation history, we see that God’s whole revelation is his untiring love for humanity which culminates in Jesus’ death on the Cross. So great a love can be expressed only by God. Jesus’ call to humanity to be as merciful as the Father, however, is not a question of quantity. Instead it is a summons to be signs, channels and witnesses to his mercy. This is the Church’s mission, to be God’s sacrament of mercy in every place and time.

As Christians, therefore, God asks us to be his witnesses, first by opening our own hearts to his divine mercy, and then by sharing that mercy towards all people, especially those who suffer. In this way, our works of mercy and charity will offer to the world a glimpse of the face of Christ. In the Gospel, Jesus explains that we especially show the Father’s mercy when we pardon one another, for we express the free gift of God’s love, and help one another on the way of conversion. Jesus invites us also to give freely, for all we have has been freely given to us by God, and we will receive only in the measure that we freely give to others. Merciful love is the only path, for by it we are able to make known the Father’s mercy that has no end.

I greet the English-speaking pilgrims and visitors taking part in today’s Audience, particularly those from England, Scotland, Ireland, Denmark, Norway, Japan, China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam, the Philippines, South Africa, Australia, Canada and the United States of America. May you open your lives to the Lord’s gift of mercy, and share this gift with all whom you know. As children of our Heavenly Father, may you be missionaries of his merciful love. May God bless you all!

Pope Francis postpones his speech at weekly general audience; leads prays for victims of Italian earthquake



 

Pope Francis weekly general audience - Holy Door is meeting point between pain of humanity and compassion of God

Papal General Audience - Pope Francis: "On this trip, I found the answer of a world that is at war"

Prayer is not a magic wand that fulfills your desires, but it is what helps you keep the faith when you don’t understand God’s will, Pope Francis said

Crux - Prayer is no magic wand to fulfill your desires, Pope Francis says
Vatican Radio - Pope Francis: Perseverance in prayer needed, but not "magic wand"

Pope Francis this week in Rome - To Ignore the poor is to despise God


Pope: ‘To Ignore the Poor Is to Despise God’ - ‘God’s mercy toward us is linked to our mercy toward others,’ Francis warns on May 18. ‘No messenger and no message can replace the poor we meet on the journey, because in them we meet Jesus himself.’

 

Pope Francis: To ignore the suffering of man is to ignore God

Some web browsing......

The Fruitful Witness of the Family of Pope Benedict XVI

 


Pope Francis to visit the Greek island of Lesbos
Pope Francis in Lesbos: island’s only Catholic parish priest ahead of visit
Pope Prays at Santa Maria Maggiore Before Departing for Lesbos - Francis Travels to Rome’s Marian Basilica to Pray for Mary’s Protection for His Visit to Greek Island to Meet With Refugees
Could Pope Francis' visit to Greece be a game-changer for refugees?
Pope Francis aims to cash in political muscle with stop in Greece

Persecution of Christians can have a polite disguise, Pope Francis warns
'We too are living in a time of martyrdom', Pope tells Scottish seminarians

Bono goes to Washington, gets tough on refugee crisis

Trócaire nominated to share $1m human rights prize
Just war theory should be abandoned, says conference hosted by Vatican
Vatican conference urges end to doctrine of ‘just wars’

The retrograde intransigence of conservative Catholics

Limerick synod presents ‘mandate’ for lay-led Church

Rumors of God’s Death Have Been Greatly Exaggerated

RGC3: What is a Man? Redefining Male Success

For Catholic astronauts, flying to space doesn’t mean giving up the faith

Can an Outsider Ever Truly Become Amish? One of the rarest religious experiences you can have in America is to join the Plain.

Sanders fracas offers a needed reminder that ‘the Vatican’ is a myth
Pontifical Academy appraises Centesimus annus
Bernie Sanders - The Urgency of a Moral Economy: Reflections on the 25th Anniversary of Centesimus Annus
Prepared Statement by Bernie Sanders for Vatican Conference is an Accurate Reading of CST
In Vatican speech, Sanders plays to the house

Pope's Weekly General Audience - how to live the Holy Week during the Jubilee

A Papal roundup for Ash Wednesday

In a break with papal tradition, Pope Francis celebrated Mass and received the imposition of the ashes for Ash Wednesday in St Peter's Basilica in Rome today. Rather than going to Santa Sabina to celebrate Mass, Pope Francis commissioned hundreds of “Missionaries of Mercy” during Mass on Ash Wednesday at Saint Peter’s Basilica in Rome. In his Bull announcing the Jubilee Year of Mercy, the Holy Father said the Missionaries of Mercy “would be a sign of the Church’s maternal solicitude for the People of God, enabling them to enter the profound richness of this mystery so fundamental to the faith.” Priests chosen to be Missionaries of Mercy have also been given the authority to pardon “even those sins reserved to the Holy See.” Above all, the Pope said, they will be “living signs of the Father’s readiness to welcome those in search of his pardon.”

During Ash Wednesday Mass, the Pope focused on the theme of mercy as we begin the season of Lent.

Vatican Radio report of the Mass including the Pope's homily is available here

 

 



“If the Jubilee does not touch the pocket, it is not a true jubilee”. At the General Audience on Ash Wednesday morning, the Holy Father stated, without mincing words, that the Holy Year must serve “to combat poverty”. To the faithful gathered in St Peter’s Square on 10 February, Francis offered a historical reflection on the biblical roots of the Jubilee as an occasion for fostering justice and sharing. Vatican Radio has a translation of the Pope’s catechesis, which he delivered in Italian here.



Pope Francis meditates on the teachings of the Baby Jesus during last general audience of 2016

Text of full reflection at the general audience is available HERE.

Pope Teaches a Simple Prayer for the Year of Mercy

Departing from planned remarks during his general audience, Pope Francis taught a simple and direct prayer to the crowd, urging its frequent use during the Jubilee Year of Mercy.

He said, “‘Lord, I am a sinner; come with your mercy.’ This is such a beautiful and easy prayer. It’s an easy prayer to say every day. Every day. ‘Lord, I am a sinner. Come with your mercy.'”