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10 Jul POPE FRANCIS: ANGELUS

Posted at 12:34h in by

[…] At this point, Jesus turns to the lawyer and asks him: “Which of these three — the priest, the Levite, or the Samaritan — do you think was a neighbour to the man who fell victim to the robbers?”. And the lawyer, of course — because he was intelligent —, said in reply: “The one who had compassion on him” (vv. 36-37). In this way, Jesus completely overturned the lawyer’s initial perspective — as well as our own! —: I must not categorize others in order to decide who is my neighbour and who is not. It is up to me whether to be a neighbour or not — the decision is mine — it is up to me whether or not to be a neighbour to those whom I encounter who need help, even if they are strangers or perhaps hostile. And Jesus concludes, saying: “Go and do likewise” (v. 37). What a great lesson! And he repeats it to each of us: “Go and do likewise”, be a neighbour to the brother or sister whom you see in trouble. “Go and do likewise”. Do good works, don’t just say words that are gone with the wind. A song comes to mind: “Words, words, words”. No. Works, works. And through the good works that we carry out with love and joy towards others, our faith emerges and bears fruit. Let us ask ourselves — each of us responding in his own heart — let us ask ourselves: Is our faith fruitful? Does our faith produce good works? Or is it sterile instead, and therefore more dead than alive? Do I act as a neighbour or simply pass by? Am I one of those who selects people according to my own liking? It is good to ask ourselves these questions, and to ask them often, because in the end we will be judged on the works of mercy. The Lord will say to us: Do you remember that time on the road from Jerusalem to Jericho? That man who was half dead was me. Do you remember? That hungry child was me. Do you remember? That immigrant who many wanted to drive away, that was me. That grandparent who was alone, abandoned in nursing homes, that was me. That sick man, alone in the hospital, who no one visited, that was me. […]

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08 Jul LETTER OF HIS HOLINESS POPE FRANCIS FOR THE BICENTENNIAL OF INDEPENDENCE OF THE ARGENTINE REPUBLIC

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[…] In a special way I am at the side of those who suffer: the sick, those who live in indigence, detainees, those who feel lonely, those who do not have work and who experience any type of need, those who are or who have been victims of human trafficking or trade, and of the exploitation of human beings, young victims of abuse and so many young people who are subjected to the scourge of drugs. They all often bear the harsh burden of extreme situations. They are the most wounded children of the Homeland. […]

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29 Jun FRANCIS APOSTOLIC CONSTITUTION VULTUM DEI QUAERERE ON WOMEN’S CONTEMPLATIVE LIFE

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16. […] Through intercessory prayer, you play a fundamental role in the life of the Church. You pray and intercede for our many brothers Your prayers of intercession embrace the many families experiencing difficulties, the unemployed, the poor, the sick, and those struggling with addiction, to mention just a few of the more urgent situations. You are like those who brought the paralytic to the Lord for healing (cf. Mk 2:2-12). Through your prayer, night and day, you bring before God the lives of so many of our brothers and sisters who for various reasons cannot come to him to experience his healing mercy, even as he patiently waits for them. By your prayers, you can heal the wounds of many. […]

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28 Jun ADDRESS OF HIS HOLINESS POPE FRANCIS TO THE DELEGATION OF THE ECUMENICAL PATRIARCHATE OF CONSTANTINOPLE

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[…] I thank the Lord that this past April I was able to meet my beloved brother Bartholomew when, together with the Archbishop of Athens and of All Greece, His Beatitude Ieronymos II, we visited the Isle of Lesvos, to be with the refugees and migrants. Seeing the despair on the faces of men, women and children uncertain of their future, listening helplessly as they related their experiences, and praying on the shore of the sea that has claimed the lives of so many innocent persons, was a tremendously moving experience. It made clear how much still needs to be done to ensure dignity and justice for so many of our brothers and sisters. A great consolation in that sad experience was the powerful spiritual and human closeness that I shared with Patriarch Bartholomew and Archbishop Ieronymos. Led by the Holy Spirit, we are coming to realize ever more clearly that we, Catholics and Orthodox, have a shared responsibility towards those in need, based on our obedience to the one Gospel of Jesus Christ our Lord. Taking up this task together is a duty linked to the very credibility of our Christian identity. Consequently, I encourage every form of cooperation between Catholics and Orthodox in concrete undertakings in service to suffering humanity.[…]

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24 Jun MEETING WITH CIVIL AUTHORITIES AND THE DIPLOMATIC CORPS ADDRESS OF THE HOLY FATHER

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[…] Today Christians in particular, perhaps even more than at the time of the first martyrs, in some places experience discrimination and persecution for the mere fact of professing their faith.  At the same time, all too many conflicts in various parts of the world remain unresolved, causing grief, destruction and forced migrations of entire peoples.  It is essential that those responsible for the future of the nations undertake courageously and without delay initiatives aimed at ending these sufferings, making their primary goal the quest for peace, the defence and acceptance of victims of aggression and persecution, the promotion of justice and sustainable development.  The Armenian people have experienced these situations firsthand; they have known suffering and pain; they have known persecution; they preserved not only the memory of past hurts, but also the spirit that has enabled them always to start over again.  I encourage you not to fail to make your own precious contribution to the international community.[…]

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22 Jun POPE FRANCIS: GENERAL AUDIENCE

Posted at 12:11h in by

[…] Touching the excluded. Today these young people accompany me. So many people think that it would be better if they stayed in their land, but they suffer so much there. They are our refugees, but so many consider them excluded. Please, they are our brothers! A Christian excludes no one, gives a place to everyone, allows everyone to come. […]

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19 Jun POPE FRANCIS: ANGELUS

Posted at 12:10h in by

After the Angelus:

[…] Tomorrow is World Refugee Day, promoted by the UN, which has as its theme this year: “With refugees. We stand together with those who are forced to flee”. Refugees are people like everyone else, but people who have lost their homes, jobs, relatives and friends due to war. Their stories and their faces call us to renew our commitment to create peace in justice. For this reason, we want to be with them: to meet them, welcome them, listen to them, so as to become peacemakers together according to God’s will. […]

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15 Jun POPE FRANCIS: GENERAL AUDIENCE

Posted at 12:07h in by

[…] How often do we feel annoyed when we see many people on the street — people in need, sick, hungry. How often, when we find ourselves facing the many refugees, do we feel annoyed. It is a temptation we all have. All of us; me too! That is why the Word of God admonishes us, reminding us that indifference and hostility render us blind and deaf, they impede us from seeing our brothers and do not allow us to recognize the Lord in them. Indifference and hostility. Sometimes this indifference and hostility can even grow into aggression and insult: “Just throw them all out!”; “put them somewhere else!”. When the blind man was crying out, the people voiced this aggression: “get out of here, come on, stop talking, stop crying”. […]

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13 Jun ADDRESS OF HIS HOLINESS POPE FRANCIS TO THE EXECUTIVE BOARD OF THE WORLD FOOD PROGRAMME

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[…] This tendency – or temptation – demands something more of us. It also makes us realize the fundamental role that institutions like your own play on the global scene. Today we cannot be satisfied simply with being aware of the problems faced by many of our brothers and sisters. Statistics do not satisfy us. It is not enough to offer broad reflections or engage in endless discussion, constantly repeating things everyone knows. We need to “de-naturalize” extreme poverty, to stop seeing it as a statistic rather than a reality. Why? Because poverty has a face! It has the face of a child; it has the face of a family; it has the face of people, young and old. It has the face of widespread unemployment and lack of opportunity. It has the face of forced migrations, and of empty or destroyed homes.[…]

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11 Jun ADDRESS OF HIS HOLINESS POPE FRANCIS TO PARTICIPANTS IN THE CONVENTION FOR PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES PROMOTED BY THE ITALIAN EPISCOPAL CONFERENCE

Posted at 12:03h in by

Prepared speech by the Holy Father:

[…] Also decisive in this field is the involvement of families, who ask not only to be listened to, but inspired and encouraged. May our Christian communities be “houses” in which every form of suffering finds com-passion, in which every family with its burden of pain and toil may feel understood and respected in its dignity. As I observed in the Apostolic Exhortation Amoris Laetitia, the “dedication and concern shown to migrants and to persons with special needs alike is a sign of the Spirit. Both situations are paradigmatic: they serve as a test of our commitment to show mercy in welcoming others and to help the vulnerable to be fully a part of our communities” (n. 47).[…]