Patience

"The Lord always chooses His way to enter into our lives. Often He does so slowly, so much so, we are in danger of losing our 'patience', a little. But Lord, when? 'And we pray, we pray ... And He doesn’t intervene in our lives. Other times, when we think of what the Lord has promised us, that it such a huge thing, we don’t believe it, we are a little skeptical, like Abraham – and we smile a little to ourselves ... This is what it says in the First Reading, Abraham hid his face and smiled ... A bit 'of skepticism:' What? Me? I am almost a hundred years old, I will have a son and my wife at 90 will have a son? '.

How often, when the Lord does not intervene, does not perform, does not do what we want Him to do, do we become impatient or skeptical?

But He does not, He cannot for skeptics. The Lord takes his time. But even He, in this relationship with us, has a lot of patience. Not only do we have to have patience: He has! He waits for us! And He waits for us until the end of life! Think of the good thief, right at the end, at the very end, he acknowledged God. The Lord walks with us, but often does not reveal Himself, as in the case of the disciples of Emmaus. The Lord is involved in our lives - that's for sure! - But often we do not see. This demands our patience. But the Lord who walks with us, He also has a lot of patience with us. 

Jesus on the Cross, heard them challenging him: 'Come down, come down! Come '. Patience until the end, because He has patience with us. He always enters, He is involved with us, but He does so in His own way and when He thinks it's best. He tells us exactly what He told Abraham: Walk in my presence and be blameless', be above reproach, this is exactly the right word. Walk in my presence and try to be above reproach. This is the journey with the Lord and He intervenes, but we have to wait, wait for the moment, walking always in His presence and trying to be beyond reproach. We ask this grace from the Lord, to always walk in His presence, trying to be blameless'.

Flesh

Pope Francis ‏@Pontifex4h

Jesus didn’t save us with an idea. He humbled himself and became a man. The Word became Flesh.

Rigid

“In the history of the Church there have been two classes of Christians: Christians of words - those" Lord, Lord, Lord "- and Christians of action, in truth. There has always been the temptation to live our Christianity not on the rock that is Christ. The only one who gives us the freedom to say 'Father' to God is Christ, our rock. He is the only one who sustains us in difficult times, no? As Jesus said: the rain falls, rivers overflow, winds blow, but the rock is safe, words, the words take flight, they are not needed. But this is the temptation of these Christians of words, of a Christianity without Jesus, a Christianity without Christ. And this has happened and is happening today in the Church: being Christians without Christ. 

And this temptation exists today. Superficial Christians who believe, yes, God, yes Christ, but not ‘everywhere’: Jesus Christ is not the one who gives them their foundation. They are the modern gnostics. The temptation of gnosticism. A 'liquid' Christianity. On the other hand, there are those who believe that the Christian life should be taken so seriously that they end up confusing solidity, firmness, with rigidity. They are rigid! This think that being Christian means being in perpetual mourning. 

They do not know  what the Lord is, they do not know what the rock is, do not have the freedom of Christians. To put it simply ‘they have no joy.

The former have a ‘superficial’ happiness. The others live in perpetual state of mourning, but do not know what Christian joy is. They do not know how to enjoy the life that Jesus gives us, for they know not to talk to Jesus. They do not feel that they rest on Jesus, with that firmness which the presence of Jesus gives. And they not only have no joy, they have no freedom either. They are the slaves of superficiality, of this life widespread, and the slaves of rigidity, they are not free. The Holy Spirit has no place in their lives,. It is the Spirit who gives us the freedom! Today, the Lord calls us to build our Christian life on Him, the rock, the One who gives us freedom, the One who sends us the Spirit, that keeps us going with joy, on His journey, following His proposals."  Pope Francis

Father

“When a man does not have this desire, something is missing in this man. Something is wrong. All of us, to exist, to become complete, in order to be mature, we need to feel the joy of fatherhood: even those of us who are celibate. Fatherhood is giving life to others, giving life, giving life… For us, it is pastoral paternity, spiritual fatherhood, but this is still giving life, this is still becoming fathers.”

“A father who knows what it means to protect his children. And this is a grace that we priests must ask for ourselves: to be a father, to be a father. The grace of fatherhood, of pastoral paternity, of spiritual paternity. We may have many sins, but this is the 'commune sanctorum': we all have sins. But not having children, never becoming a father, is like having an incomplete life: a life that stops half way through. And therefore we have to be fathers. And that's a grace that the Lord gives us. People say to us: 'Father, Father, Father ...'. They want us to be just that, fathers, with the grace of pastoral fatherhood.”

“We thank God for this grace of fatherhood in the Church, which is passed from father to son, and so on ... And I think, finally, these two icons and one more: the icon of Abram who asks for a child, the icon of Abraham with a stick in his hand, defending his family, and the icon of the elderly Simeon in the Temple, when he receives the new life : this is a spontaneous liturgy, the liturgy of joy , in Him. And to you, the Lord today gifts great joy.”

Share

Pope Francis ‏@Pontifex24h

Charity, patience and tenderness are very beautiful gifts. If you have them, you want to share them with others.

Living Stones

June 26, 2013. (Romereports.com) As he led his last general audience before heading out to his summer vacation, Pope Francis explained that the Church should be considered like a 'Temple.' The Pope said that all Christians play a fundamental role in this. Therefore, no one, he said, should feel useless.

POPE FRANCIS
“No one is useless in the Church – and should anyone tell you, 'Go home, you’re useless!' that's not true. No one is useless in the Church. We are all needed in order to build this temple. No one is secondary: “Ah, I am the most important one in the Church!” No! We are all equal in the eyes of God. But, some of you may ask, 'Mr. Pope, sir, you are not equal to us.” But I am just like each of you. We are all equal.”

As a metaphor, the Pope explained  that in order to build the Temple of the Church, 'living stones' are needed. That's why Christians, he said, should be active, they should care about others and should not shut themselves away.

POPE FRANCIS
“If we ask ourselves, 'Where we can meet God? Where can we enter into communion with Him through Christ? Where can we find the light of the Holy Spirit to enlighten our lives?' The answer is, 'in the People of God, among us, for we are Church – among us, within the People of God, in the Church – there we shall meet Jesus, we shall meet the Holy Spirit, we shall meet the Father.”

June 26, 2013. (Romereports.com) (-ONLY VIDEO-) During his weekly general audience, the Pope explained the views of the Church, as expressed by the Second Vatican Council. He said the Church can be considered a'Temple,' where Christians are like 'living stones'  who reveal the beauty of the Christian message.

CATECHESIS IN ENGLISH:  

Speaker: “Dear Brothers and Sisters: In our continuing catechesis on the Creed, today we consider the Church as God’s temple.  The great temple of Solomon in Jerusalem, a place of prayer and encounter with the Lord, was a prefigurement of the Church.  Jesus Christ, the incarnate Son who dwelt among us, is himself the definitive and living temple where we encounter God’s presence in our midst.  Christ makes us, the members of his mystical body, “living stones” for the construction of a “holy temple in the Lord” (Eph 2:21), in which we exercise our baptismal priesthood by offering spiritual sacrifices.   The Holy Spirit, in the variety of his gifts, unites us and enables us to contribute to the building up of the Church in holiness.  In this great work, each of us has a part to play; each of us, as a “living stone”, is needed for the growth and the beauty of God’s holy temple.  Let us ask the Lord to help us to take an ever more active part in the Church’s life and mission, guided by the Holy Spirit and with Jesus as our cornerstone.”

Coincidence

“Abraham departed his land carrying a promise: his entire journey is a going toward this promise. The way he walked his path is a model for how we ought to walk our own. God called Abraham, a single person, and that one person makes an entire people. If we go to the Book of Genesis, to the beginning, to the creation, we find that God creates the stars, creates the plants, creates the animals, creates the these and the that’s and the others ... But He creates Man in the singular, one. God always speaks in the singular to us, because He has created in his image and likeness. And God speaks in the singular. He spoke to Abraham and gave him a promise and invited him to come out of his land. We Christians have been called one-by-one: none of us is Christian by pure chance. No one.”

“God accompanies us, God calls us by name, God promises us we will have a line of heirs. This is something of  'the surety' of being a Christian. It is not a coincidence; it is a calling - a calling that keeps us going. Being a Christian is a calling of love, friendship, a calling to become a child of God, brother of Jesus, to become fruitful in the transmission of this calling to others, to become instruments of this call. There are so many problems, so many problems, there are difficult times, Jesus had many of His own! But always with that confidence: ‘The Lord has called me. The Lord is like me. The Lord has made me a promise”

“Someone will say, ‘Father, I am a sinner’, but we all are, as everyone knows. The problem is: sinners, go forward with the Lord, go forward with that promise that He has made us, with the promise of fruitfulness, and tell others, recount to others others that the Lord is with us, that the Lord has chosen us and that He does not leave us alone, not ever! That certainty of the Christian will do us good. May the Lord give us, all of us, this desire to move forward, which Abram had, in the midst of all his problems: to go forward with the confidence that He who called me, who promised me so many beautiful things, is with me.”

John

“John seems to be nothing. That is John’s vocation: he negates himself. And when we contemplate the life of this man, so great, so powerful - all believed that he was the Messiah - when we contemplate this life, how it is nullified to the point of the darkness of a prison, we behold a great mystery. We do not know what John’s last days were like. We do not know. We only know that he was killed, his head was put on a platter, as a great gift from a dancer to an adulteress. I don’t think you can lower yourself much more than this, negate yourself much more. That was the end that John met.”

“The Church exists to proclaim, to be the voice of a Word, her husband, who is the Word. The Church exists to proclaim this Word until martyrdom. Martyrdom precisely in the hands of the proud, the proudest on Earth. John could have made himself important; he could have said something about himself. But I think he never did that. He showed the way, he felt himself to be the voice, not the Word. This is John’s secret. Why is John holy and without sin? Because he never, never took a truth as his own. He would not be an ideologue. The man who negated himself so that the Word could come to the fore. And we, as a Church, we can now ask for the grace not to become an ideological Church.”

“This is the model that John offers us today, for us and for the Church. A Church that is always at the service of the Word. A Church that never takes anything for herself. Today in prayer we asked for the grace of joy, we asked the Lord to cheer this Church in her service to the Word, to be the voice of this Word, preach this Word. We ask for the grace, the dignity of John, with no ideas of their own, without a Gospel taken as property, only one Church that indicates the Word, and this even to martyrdom. So be it!”

Jews

June 24, 2013. (Romereports.com) While speaking to a delegation of theInternational Jewish Committee on Interreligious Consultations, Pope Francis underlined the importance of the strong bond that unites Christian and Jews. After addressing the audience as 'elder brothers and sisters', the Pope reminded that the Second Vatican Council and its declaration 'Nostra Aetate' were in the forefront of promoting cooperation between the two religions.  

POPE FRANCIS

“In that Council text, the Church recognizes that “the beginnings of its faith and election are to be found in the patriarchs, Moses and prophets”. And, with regard to the Jews, the Council recalls the teaching of Saint Paul, who wrote “the gifts and the call of God are irrevocable.”

Pope Francis also told the assembly that he was personally acquainted with many Jewish leading figures. The Pope said that he has enjoyed talking and exchanging views with Jewish people since his days as Archbishop of Buenos Aires. Back then he even hosted a TV show and wrote a book with Argentinian rabbi Abraham Skorka.  Finally, Pope Francis ended his speech with the Hebrew word for peace: 'shalom'.

Full-time

Pope Francis ‏@Pontifex2h

Are we ready to be Christians full-time, showing our commitment by word and deed?

Hypocrites

Pope Francis ‏@Pontifex3h

We are all sinners. But may the Lord not let us be hypocrites. Hypocrites don’t know the meaning of forgiveness, joy and the love of God.

Indifferent

Pope Francis ‏@Pontifex5h

If we have found in Jesus meaning for our own lives, we cannot be indifferent to those who are suffering and sad.

Heart

“The treasures we have given to others, that we take with us. And that will be our merit – in quotation marks, but it is our ‘merit’ of Jesus Christ in us! And that we must bring with us. And that is what the Lord lets us bring. Love, charity, service, patience, goodness, tenderness are very beautiful treasures: these we bring with us. The other things, no.

So, as the Gospel assures us, the treasure that has value in God’s sight is that which in this life is accumulated in heaven. But Jesus, Pope Francis says, goes a step further: He joins the treasure to the “heart,” He creates a relationship between the two terms. This, he adds, is because we have “a restless heart,” which the Lord made this way to seek Him out: The Lord has made us restless to seek Him, to find Him, to grow. But if the treasure is a treasure that is not close to the Lord, that is not from the Lord, our heart becomes restless for things that simply don’t work, for these treasures . . . So many people, even we ourselves, are restless . . .

To have this, to arrive at this in the end, our heart is tired, it is never filled: it gets tired, it becomes sluggish, it becomes a heart without love. The weariness of the heart. Let’s think about that. What do I have: a tired heart, that only wants to settle itself, three, four things, a good bank account, this or that thing? This restlessness of the heart always has to be cured.”

“Jesus speaks about the “eye,” a symbol “of the intentions of the heart” that are reflected in the body: a “heart that loves” makes the body luminous; a “wicked heart” makes it dark. “Our ability to judge things depends on this contrast between light and darkness, as is shown also by the fact that from a “heart of stone . . . attached to worldly treasures, to “selfish treasure,” can also become a treasure “of hatred,” come wars . . . Instead through the intercession of Saint Aloysius Gonzaga, whom the Church remembers today – let us ask for the grace of “a new heart . . . a heart of flesh. 

All these pieces of the heart that are of stone, may the Lord make them human, with that restlessness, with that good anxiety to go forward, seeking Him and allowing ourselves to be sought by Him. That the Lord might change our hearts! And so He will save us. He will save us from the treasures that cannot help us in the encounter with Him, in service to others, and also will give us the light to understand and judge according to the true treasure: His truth. May the Lord change our heart in order to seek the true treasure and so become people of light, and not of darkness.”

Nuncios

POPE FRANCIS
“Your work is more than important. It is aimed at 'making' and 'constructing' the Church. Between the local churches and the universal Church, between the Bishops and the Bishop of Rome. You are not intermediaries, but mediators. With mediation, you create communion. And your most important task is mediation. To mediate, you need to be aware of many things. Not just the paperwork; that's important, too, but most of all you need to know the people. So I think that the personal relationship between the Bishop of Rome and you is essential.”

Nuncios also advise the Pope on who should be ordained a bishop. Pope Francis acknowledged this key responsibility, calling on them to look for candidates who are 'gentle, patient, merciful and animated by inner poverty.'

Guides

Pope Francis ‏@Pontifex14m

Let us never forget that it is the Lord who guides the Church. He is the one who makes our apostolates fruitful.

Father

“To whom do I pray? To the Almighty God? He is too far off. Ah, I can’t hear Him. Neither did Jesus. To whom do I pray? To a cosmic God? That’s quite normal these days, is it not? ... praying to the cosmic God, right? This polytheistic model that comes from a rather light culture ... You must pray to the Father! It is a strong word, 'Father '. You must pray to Him who generated you, who gave you life. Not to everyone: everyone is too anonymous. To you. To me. To the person who accompanies you on your journey: He knows all about your life. Everything: what is good and what is not so good. He knows everything. If we do not start the prayer with this word, not just with our lips but with our hearts, we cannot pray in a Christian language.”

“We have a Father. He is very close to us, eh! He embraces us ... All these worries, concerns that we have, let's leave them to the Father, He knows what we need. But, Father, what? My father? No: Our Father! Because I am not an only child, none of us are, and if I cannot be a brother, I can hardly become a child of the Father, because He is a Father to all. Mine, sure, but also of others, of my brothers. And if I am not at peace with my brothers, I cannot say 'Father' to Him.”

“No, you cannot pray with enemies in your heart, with brothers and enemies in your heart, you cannot pray. This is difficult, yes, it is difficult, not easy. 'Father, I cannot say Father, I cannot'. It’s true, I understand. 'I cannot say our, because he did this to me and this ...' I cannot! 'They must go to hell, right? I will have nothing to do with them'. It’s true, it is not easy. But Jesus has promised us the Holy Spirit: it is He who teaches us, from within, from the heart, how to say 'Father' and how to say 'our'. Today we ask the Holy Spirit to teach us to say 'Father' and to be able to say 'our', and thus make peace with all our enemies.”

Hunger

June 20, 2013. (Romereports.com) Pope Francis made a call to end to world hunger. He met with more than 400 people who attended the UN's  Food and Agricultural Organization Conference. Addressing them in Spanish, the Pope denounced that nowadays, starvation isn't seen as an urgent or 'scandalous' problem.  He also said that instead of helping the poor, many institutions and political leaders often use the economic crisis as a way to shift the blame away from themselves. 


POPE FRANCIS“This, I believe, is the significance of our meeting today. To share the idea that something more can and must be done in order to provide a new stimulus of international activity on behalf of the poor, inspired by something more than mere goodwill or, worse, promises which all too often have not been kept. Nor can the current global crisis continue to be used as an alibi. The crisis will not be completely over until situations and living conditions are examined in terms of the human person and human dignity.”
The Pope also said that everyone should feel an increased sense of responsibility. As far as the Church, the Pope said it can offer fundamental assistance to the FAO and member states of the UN in the fight against hunger and poverty.

POPE FRANCIS“The human person and human dignity risk being turned into vague abstractions in the face of issues like the use of force, war, malnutrition, marginalization, the violation of basic liberties, and financial speculation. All these presently affect the price of food, treating it like just another merchandise, overlooking its primary function. Our duty is to continue to insist, in the present international context, that the human person and human dignity are not simply catchwords, but pillars for creating common rules and structures that can go beyond purely pragmatic or technical approaches. In doing so,we can eliminate divisions and bridge differences.”

One Body

“In our catechesis on the Creed, today we consider the Church as the Body of Christ.  Through the gift of the Holy Spirit, received in Baptism, we are mystically united to the Lord as members of one body, of which he is the head.  The image of the mystical body makes us realize the importance of strengthening our union with Christ through daily prayer, the study of God’s word and participation in the Sacraments.

Saint Paul tells the Corinthians that the Body of Christ, while one, is made up of a variety of members.  Within the communion of the Church, and in union with the Pope and Bishops, each of us has a part to play, a gift to share, a service to offer, for building up the Body of Christ in love.  Let us ask the Lord to help us reject every form of divisiveness and conflict in our families, parishes and local Churches.  At the same time, let us ask for the grace to open our hearts to others, to promote unity and to live in harmony as members of the one Body of Christ, inspired by the gift of love which the Holy Spirit pours into our hearts.

Speaker: I offer an affectionate greeting to all the English-speaking pilgrims and visitors present at today’s Audience, including those from England, Scotland, Slovakia, Sweden, South Africa, Papua New Guinea, India, Indonesia, Pakistan, the West Indies and the United States.  May your stay in the Eternal City confirm you in love for our Lord and for his Body which is the Church.  God bless you all!

Unity

June 19, 2013. (Romereports.com) With Rome's intense summer heat, Pope Francis made his way to St. Peter's Square, blessing children along the way. He even gave a baseball cap to a child to protect him from the high temperatures. 

During his catechesis, Pope Francis described the Church as the Body of Christ. 

POPE FRANCIS“If the head is separated from the body, a person cannot survive. It's the same for the Church. We must always stay intensely connected to Jesus.” 
The Pope added that the Church is not an NGO, or a cultural or political institution. He explained that the Church is a living Body, Jesus is the head who nurtures and guides it along the way. He also called for Christian unity. 

POPE FRANCIS“We Catholics should pray together, but we should also pray with other Christians. We must pray so that God may grant us all unity. Unity!
Through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, he said,  that unity is possible. But to start of, one must first look for unity at home, in one's family and parish. 

POPE FRANCIS“We shouldn't follow the path of division, nor the path of conflicts among us. No! We should all be united. All united despite our differences. Always united. That is the true path of Jesus.”
In light of his call for Christian unity, the Pope said that  very morning, he met with an Evangelical pastor. They both prayed together precisely for Christian unity. 

Ethicists

“Jesus says: ‘You do not enter yourselves, nor do you allow entrance to others.’ They are ethicists without goodness, they do not know what goodness is. But they are ethicists, aren’t they? ‘You have to do this, and this, and this . . .’ They fill you with precepts, but without goodness. And those are some of the phylacteries, of the tassels they lengthen, so many things, to make a pretence of being majestic, perfect, they have no sense of beauty. They have no sense of beauty. They achieve only the beauty of a museum. They are intellectuals without talent, ethicists without goodness, the bearers of museum beauty. These are the hypocrites that Jesus rebukes so strongly.”

“The Lord speaks about fasting, about prayer, about almsgiving: the three pillars of Christian piety, of interior conversion, that the Church proposes to us all in Lent. There are even hypocrites along this path, who make a show of fasting, of giving alms, of praying. I think that when hypocrisy reaches this point in the relation with God, we are coming very close to the sin against the Holy Spirit. These do not know beauty, they do not know love, these do not know the truth: they are small, cowardly.”

“But all of us also have grace, the grace that comes from Jesus Christ: the grace of joy; the grace of magnanimity, of largesse. Hypocrites do not know what joy is, what largesse is, what magnanimity is.”

Hide

Pope Francis ‏@Pontifex53m

Christians are ready to proclaim the Gospel because they can’t hide the joy that comes from knowing Christ.

Enemy

“We too often we become enemies of others: we do not wish them well. And Jesus tells us to love our enemies! And this is not easy! It is not easy ... we even think that Jesus is asking too much of us! We leave this to the cloistered nuns, who are holy, we leave this for some holy soul, but this is not right for everyday life. But it must be right! Jesus says: 'No, we must do this! Because otherwise you will be like the tax collectors, like pagans. Not Christians.”

“Pray! This is what Jesus advises us:' Pray for your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you! Pray! '. And say to God: 'Change their hearts. They have a heart of stone, but change it, give them a heart of flesh, so that they may feel relief and love '. Let me just ask this question and let each of us answer it in our own heart: 'Do I pray for my enemies? Do I pray for those who do not love me? 'If we say' yes', I will say, 'Go on, pray more, you are on the right path! If the answer is' no ', the Lord says:' Poor thing. You too are an enemy of others! '. Pray that the Lord may change the hearts of those. We could say: 'But this person really wronged me', or they have done bad things and this impoverishes people, impoverishes humanity. And following this line of thought we want to take revenge or that eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.”

“With forgiveness, with love for our enemy, we become poorer: love impoverishes us, but that poverty is the seed of fertility and love for others. Just as the poverty of Jesus became the grace of salvation for all of us, great wealth ... Let us think today at Mass, let us think of our enemies those who do not wish us well: it would be nice if we offered the Mass for them: Jesus, Jesus' sacrifice, for them, for those who do not love us. And for us too, so that the Lord teaches us this wisdom which is so hard, but so beautiful, because it makes us look like the Father, like our Father: it brings out the sun for everyone, good and bad. It makes us more like the Son, Jesus, who in his humiliation became poor to enrich us, with his poverty.”

Nothing

“A Christian is a person who opens up his or her heart with this spirit of benevolence, because he or she has “all”: Jesus Christ. The other things are “nothing”. Some are good, they have a purpose, but in the moment of choice he or she always chooses “all”, with that meekness, that Christian meekness that is the sign of Jesus’ disciples: meekness and benevolence. To live like this is not easy, because you really do receive slaps! And on both cheeks! But a Christian is meek, a Christian is benevolent: he or she opens up his or her heart. Sometimes we come across these Christians with little hearts, with shrunken hearts…. This is not Christianity: this is selfishness masked as Christianity.”

“God’s Kingdom is “all”, the other is secondary. And all Christian errors, all the Church’s errors, all our errors stem from when we say “nothing” is “all”, and to “all” we say it does not count… Following Jesus is not easy, but it’s not difficult either, because on the path of love the Lord does things in such a way that we can go forward; it is the Lord himself who opens up our heart”.

“When one takes on an option for “nothing”, it is from that option that conflicts arise in families, in friendships, between friends, in society. Conflicts that end in war: for “nothing”! “Nothing” is always the seed of wars. Because it is the seed of selfishness. “All” is Jesus. Let us ask the Lord to open up our heart, to make us humble, meek and benevolent because we have “all” in Him; and let’s ask him to help us avoid creating everyday problems stemming from “nothing”.

Yes

POPE FRANCIS 
“Let us say “Yes” to life and not death. Let us say “Yes” to freedom and not enslavement to the many idols of our time. In a word, let us say “Yes” to the God who is love, life and freedom, and who never disappoints.”

The Pope explained that the Gospel itself leads to life. The notion that rejecting God, will lead to freedom, is mistaken, he said.  On the contrary, following the Gospel leads one to a full life.

POPE FRANCIS 
“But all too often, people do not choose life, they do not accept the “Gospel of Life” but let themselves be led by ideologies and ways of thinking that block life, that do not respect life, because they are dictated by selfishness, self-interest, profit, power and pleasure, and not by love, by concern for the good of others.”

When it comes to truth, the Pope said the Bible shows all the dimensions of human drama. Everything from good and evil to passion, sin and its consequences. He said, selfishness leads to lies and although we may try to deceive ourselves, God cannot be deceived. 

POPE FRANCIS 
“Christians are “spiritual.”  This does not mean that we are people who live “in the clouds,” far removed from real life, as if it were some kind of mirage. No! The Christian is someone who thinks and acts in everyday life according to God’s will, someone who allows his or her life to be guided and nourished by the Holy Spirit, to be a full life.”

Angry

Pope Francis ‏@Pontifex2h

Are you angry with someone? Pray for that person. That is what Christian love is.

Everyone

Pope Francis ‏@Pontifex1h

Let the Church always be a place of mercy and hope, where everyone is welcomed, loved and forgiven.

Humility

June 14, 2013. (Romereports.com) When it comes to actually understanding and transmitting Christianity, Pope Francis said humility is needed. During his daily morning Mass at the Vatican, he explained thatrecognizing one's weakness and sinfulness is key. As an example, he said that even St. Paul, never forgot his past nor his sins.  

POPE FRANCIS

"Brothers, we have a treasure: that of Jesus Christ the Savior. The Cross of Jesus Christ, this treasure of which we pride ourselves - but we have it in a clay vessel. Let us vaunt also our ‘handbook’ of our sins. Thus is the dialogue Christian and Catholic: concrete, because the salvation of Jesus Christ is concrete. Jesus Christ has not saved us with an idea, an intellectual program, no. He saved with His flesh, with the concreteness of flesh. He is lowered, made man, made flesh until the end. This is a gift that we can only understand, only receive, in earthen vessels." 

Among those attending the Mass, were members of the Congregation for the Clergy and also several priests. The Pope reminded the clergy, that as priests, they need to be humble to successfully transmit the message of the Gospel. 

PARTIAL HOMILY

(Source: Vatican Radio) 

“Paul has spoken many times. It's kind of like a refrain of his sins right? He says, 'But I tell you this: I've been a persecutor of the Church, I've been a persecutor.' He always comes back to recognize his sins.  He feels sinful. But, even then he doesn't  say, 'I was a sinner, but now I am Holy.'  No! He says, 'Even now, there's a thorn of Satan in my flesh.' He shows us his own weakness, his own sins. He is a sinner who accepts Jesus Christ, who dialogues with Jesus Christ.”

This is the model of humility for us priests – for us priests, too. If we only pride ourselves on our [service record] and nothing more, we end up going the wrong way.  We cannot proclaim Jesus Christ the Savior, if we do not feel Him present and at work deep down. We have to be humble, but with real humility, from head to toe: 'I am a sinner for this, for this, for this', as Paul did: 'I persecuted the Church, " - as he did, [recognizing ourselves] concrete sinners: not sinners with that [kind of ] humility, which seems more a put-on face, no? Oh no, strong humility. 

The humility of the priest, the humility of a Christian is concrete, for which, therefore, if a Christian fails, to make this confession to himself and to the Church, then something is wrong," and the first thing to fail will be our ability "understand the beauty of salvation that Jesus brings us.

Brothers, we have a treasure: that of Jesus Christ the Savior. The Cross of Jesus Christ, this treasure of which we pride ourselves - but we have it in a clay vessel. Let us vaunt also our ‘handbook’ of our sins. Thus is the dialogue Christian and Catholic: concrete, because the salvation of Jesus Christ is concrete. Jesus Christ has not saved us with an idea, an intellectual program, no. He saved with His flesh, with the concreteness of flesh. He is lowered, made man, made flesh until the end. This is a gift that we can only understand, only receive, in earthen vessels. 

The Samaritan woman, as well, who met Jesus and after speaking to him told her countrymen first of her sin and then about having met the Lord, behaved in a similar way to Paul. I believe that this woman is in heaven, for sure," because, as the Italian author Alessandro Manzoni once said, 'I have never found that the Lord began a miracle without finishing it well' and this miracle that He began definitely ended well in heaven.” 

Guard

June 13, 2013. (Romereports.com) This morning, at the Vatican's Casa Santa Marta, Pope Francis celebrated Mass in Spanish. It's the first time he has done so, as Pontiff. The Mass was attended by employees of Argentinian embassies and consulates in Italy. In his homily, the Pope talked about not putting people down.  

He said it's often easy or creative to use nicknames for people. But the Pope said that even if this is common and well-meant, especially in Latin cultures, it can sometimes be insulting. 

POPE FRANCIS“I would like to ask the Lord to give us all the grace to guard our words, to watch what we say about others. It is a small penance, but it bears a lot of fruit. Sometimes, we think:‘I would like to taste that fruit and take the chance of criticizing  another person.' But if we don't give into that hunger, it bears fruit and in the long run it's good for us. That's why we must ask the Lord for this grace, where we can  adapt our lives to this new law, which is the law of patience, the law of love, the law of peace. We can at least try and hold our tongues a little, hold the comments we make of others. The outbursts that lead us to anger or insults. May the Lord grant us all this grace.”

Idols

Pope Francis ‏@Pontifex12 Jun

How many kinds of moral and material poverty we face today as a result of denying God and putting so many idols in his place!

twin commandments

June 12, 2013. (Romereports.com)(-ONLY VIDEO-) During his weekly general audience, Pope Francis talked about the mission of the Church, describing it as the People of God. In his catechesis on the Creed, he explained that through Baptism, one is called to transmit God's love, hope and joy to others. 


CATECHESIS IN ENGLISH:
Speaker:

Dear Brothers and Sisters: In our continuing catechesis on the Creed, today we consider the Church as the People of God, called to new life in Christ.  We become part of this people through God’s gift of faith and spiritual rebirth in the waters of Baptism.  Our law is the twin commandment of love for God and neighbor.

 Our mission is to be a leaven of the hope born of God’s love in our world wounded by sin and evil.  Amid the darkness that so frequently surrounds us, we are called to be so many points of light, illumining all reality and showing the way to a better future.  God’s goodness is stronger than any evil!  Our destination is the Kingdom of God which Christ inaugurated on earth and which will attain its fullness in the joy of heaven. 

This is what it means for the Church to be God’s People, an essential part of his loving plan for our human family.  May the Church always be a place where everyone can encounter God’s mercy and feel welcomed, loved, forgiven and encouraged to live the good life of the Gospel.

Wars

June 12, 2013. (Romereports.com) During his weekly general audience in St. Peter's Square, Pope Francis made a special mention of the World Against Child Labor Day, which is celebrated on Wednesday. The Pope explained that child exploitation is a global problem that's increasing.

POPE FRANCIS
“All children must be able to play, study, pray and grow, in their families, this in a harmonic context, in love and serenity . But instead of letting them play, these people enslave them,  and this is a plague. It is their right and our duty. A serene childhood allows children to look with confidence towards life and tomorrow. Woe to those who stifle them in their joyful enthusiasm of hope!”

Pope Francis also continued his catechesis on the Creed. He explained why the Second Vatican Council presented the Church as 'the people of God,' meaning it must be driven by authentic  love.     

POPE FRANCIS
“We see so many wars on the newspapers, on TV... so many wars among Christians! How can that be possible?Within God's people! In neighborhoods, at work. So many wars because of envy, jealousy. Even within our families, so many wars! But we must ask the Lord to make us understand the law of love. It is so nice to love each other as real brothers. It is so nice!”

The Pope also made everyone smile when he used a very unusual metaphor to explain how humankind can contribute in the fight against evil.

POPE FRANCIS
“In a stadium, let's see, Rome's Olimpico Stadium, or the San Lorenzo Stadium in Buenos Aires, in a dark night, if someone puts on a small light, one can barely see it. But if over 70 thousand spectators each light up their own light, the whole stadium lights up. Let us make our life a light in Christ. Together we will bring the Gospel's light to mankind.”

Holy Spirit

June 12, 2013. (Romereports.com) During his daily Mass at the Vatican's Casa Santa Marta, Pope Francis explained that the Beatitudes are God's 'new law' for mankind. The Pope also added that it is the Holy Spirit who helps humanity meet the will of God. But, he explained that mankind fears the Lord's will, and sometimes it's tempted to take a step backwards. 


POPE FRANCIS“This is the temptation to go backwards, because we are 'safer' going back: but total security is in the Holy Spirit that brings you forward, which gives us this trust - as Paul says - which is more demanding because Jesus tells us: “Amen, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or the smallest part of a letter will pass from the law”. It is more demanding! But it does not give us that human security. We cannot control the Holy Spirit: that is the problem! This is a temptation.”

Solidarity

Pope Francis ‏@Pontifex11h

We must not be afraid of solidarity; rather let us make all we have and are available to God.

Poverty

June 11, 2013. (Romereports.com) During his morning Mass at the Vatican's Casa Santa Marta, Pope Francis reflected on how the Apostles went about their preaching. He said they didn't worry about material wealth. Instead, they had faith that God would grant them His gifts.

POPE FRANCIS
“These are the two signs that mark an apostle who lives this gratuity: poverty and the ability to praise the Lord. And when we find apostles who want to build a rich Church and a Church without the gratuitousness of praise, the Church becomes old, the Church becomes an NGO, the Church becomes lifeless. Today we ask the Lord for the grace to acknowledge this generosity: 'Freely you have received, freely give'.' It's about recognizing this gratuity, this gift of God . Let us keep preaching the Gospel this way.”
Despite the challenges, Pope Francis explained that Christians must carry on with the work of the Church. He said the best way to make this happen is through a spirit of poverty.  

PARTIAL HOMILY
(Source: Vatican Radio)
“Evangelical preaching flows from gratuitousness, from the wonder of the coming salvation: that which I have freely received I must freely give. This is what they were like at the beginning. St. Peter did not have a bank account, and when he had to pay taxes, the Lord sent him to the sea to catch a fish and find a coin inside it, so that he could pay. Philip, when he met Queen Candace’s finance minister, did not think, 'Ah, good, let’s set up an organization to support the Gospel ...' No! He did not strike a ‘deal’ with him: he preached, baptized and left.”

“Everything is grace. Everything. And what are the signs of when an apostle lives this gratuity? There are so many, but I will underline only two: First, poverty. The proclamation of the Gospel must follow the path of poverty. The testimony of this poverty: I have no wealth, my wealth is the gift I received, God: this gratuity is our wealth! And this poverty saves us from becoming managers, entrepreneurs ... The works of the Church must be brought forward, and some are a little complex, but with a heart of poverty, not with the heart of an investment broker or an entrepreneur…

“These are the two signs that mark an apostle who lives this gratuity: poverty and the ability to praise the Lord. And when we find apostles who want to build a rich Church and a Church without the gratuitousness of praise, the Church becomes old, the Church becomes an NGO, the Church becomes lifeless. Today we ask the Lord for the grace to acknowledge this generosity: 'Freely you have received, freely give'. It's about recognizing this gratuity, this gift of God . Let us keep preaching the Gospel in this way.”

Beatitudes

June 10, 2013. (Romereports.com) During his daily morning Mass at the Vatican's Casa Santa Marta, the Pope talked about the Beatitudes, describing them as the 'new commandments.' He said that to truly understand them is not a matter of the mind, but rather of the heart.  

POPE FRANCIS 

“They are the new commandments. But if our heart isn't open to the Holy Spirit, they will seem silly. People will say 'but being poor, being meek, being merciful will hardly lead us to success'. If we do not have an open heart and if we have not experienced the consolation of the Holy Spirit, which is salvation, we cannot understand this. This is the law for those who have been saved and have opened their hearts to salvation. This is the law of the free, with the freedom of the Holy Spirit.”

The Pope said that when people seek freedom, without God, they run the risk of becoming hypocrites like the Pharisees, and also spiritual slaves to a freedom that's fake and temporary. 

PARTIAL HOMILY

(Source: Vatican Radio)

“This is salvation: to live in the consolation of the Holy Spirit, not the consolation of the spirit of this world. No, that is not salvation, that is sin. Salvation is moving forward and opening our hearts so they can receive the Holy Spirit’s consolation, which is salvation. This is non-negotiable, you can’t take a bit from here and a bit from there? We cannot pick and mix, no? A bit of the Holy Spirit, a bit of the spirit of this world ... No! It’s one thing or the other.”

“They are the new commandments. But if our heart isn't open to the Holy Spirit, they will seem silly. ‘Just look, being poor, being meek, being merciful will hardly lead us to success'. If we do not have an open heart and if we have not experienced the consolation of the Holy Spirit, which is salvation, we cannot understand this. This is the law for those who have been saved and have opened their hearts to salvation. This is the law of the free, with the freedom of the Holy Spirit.”

“Today we can now ask the Lord for the grace to follow Him, but with this freedom. Because if we want to follow him with our human freedom alone, in the end we become hypocrites like the Pharisees and Sadducees, those who quarreled with Him. This is hypocrisy: not allowing the Spirit to change our hearts with His salvation. The freedom of the Spirit, which the Spirit gives us, is also a kind of slavery, of being ‘enslaved’ to the Lord which makes us free, it is another freedom. Instead, our freedom is only slavery, but not to the Lord, but to the spirit of the world. Let us ask for the grace to open our hearts to the consolation of the Holy Spirit, so that this consolation, which is salvation, allows us to understand these commandments. So be it!”

Mercy

June 10, 2013. (Romereports.com) The mercy of Jesus is “not just a sentiment, it is a force that gives life”. This was the focus of the brief catechesis Pope Francis gave before reciting the Angelus prayer in front of thousands of pilgrims in St Peter's Square. The Pope also reminded that for Catholics, June is traditionally dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.  


POPE FRANCIS
“Let us think, now: it's beautiful. The mercy of God gives life to mankind, it raises it from the dead. The Lord is always watching us with mercy, He always awaits us with mercy. Let us not be afraid to approach him! He has a merciful heart! If we show our inner wounds, our sins, He always forgives us. He is pure mercy! Let us never forget this: He is pure mercy! Let us go to Jesus!”

Waste

Pope Francis ‏@Pontifex2h

With the “culture of waste”, human life is no longer considered the primary value to be respected and protected.

Food

Pope Francis ‏@Pontifex23h

Consumerism has accustomed us to waste. But throwing food away is like stealing it from the poor and hungry.

Idols

6 de junio, 2013. (Romereports.com) During his daily morning Mass at the Vatican's Casa Santa Marta, the Pope talked about the dangers of having idols. Reflecting on the Gospel, he talked about the moment when Jesus is asked which one of the ten commandments is the most important. 

When Jesus responds, 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul and  mind,' the Pope said  it reminds us about the subtle yet real dangers of idolatry. 

POPE FRANCIS “The Apostle James, when he says, whoever wants to be a lover of the world makes himself an enemy of God. He begins by saying: 'Adulterers!'. He yells this out to us and he uses that word: adulterers. Why? Because whoever is a 'friend' of the world is an idolater, a person who is not faithful to the love of God! The true path is not distant. It advances and it moves forward in the Kingdom of God. It's a path of loyalty which resembles that of married love.”
The Pope then added that idols are represented in different ways, depending on one's personality or way of life. He then added that the first step is to pray to God, so that one may leave idols behind. 

PARTIAL HOMILY
(Source: Vatican Radio) “It’s not enough to say: 'But I believe in God, God is the only God.' That’s fine, but how do you live this out in your life’s journey? Because we can say, 'The Lord is the only God, there is no other', but then live as if He was not the only God and have other deities at our disposal ... There is a danger of ' idolatry: idolatry, which is brought to us through the spirit of the world. And in this Jesus was clear: the spirit of the world, no. At the Last Supper he asks the Father to defend us from the spirit of the world, because the spirit of the world leads us to idolatry.

Idolatry is subtle…we all have our hidden idols" and 'the path of life to follow, to not be far from the kingdom of God" involves 'discovering our hidden idols.'  “We have hid them in our saddle ... But we have to look for them and we have to destroy them," because to follow God the only path is that of a love based on "loyalty":

Loyalty demands we drive out our idols, that we uncover them: they are hidden in our personality, in our way of life. But these are hidden idols mean that we are not faithful in love. The Apostle James, when he says, whoever wants to be a lover of the world makes himself an enemy of God, begins by saying: 'Adulterers!'. He gives out to us, but with that adjective: adulterers. Why? Because whoever is 'friend' of the world is an idolater, is not faithful to the love of God! The path that is not distant, that advances, moves forward in the Kingdom of God, is a path of loyalty which resembles that of married love. "

With our small or not so small idolatries how is it possible not to be faithful "to a love so great?". To do this, you need to trust in Christ, who is "total loyalty" and who "loves us so much."