Pope Francis
If money and material things become the center of our lives, they seize us and make us slaves
Wednesday, October 30, 2013
Tuesday, October 29, 2013
indifference
- Dear Followers I understand there are now over 10 million of you! I thank you with all my heart and ask you to continue praying for me
- Too often we participate in the globalization of indifference. May we strive instead to live global solidarity.
Saturday, October 26, 2013
Friday, October 25, 2013
renouncing ourselves
- Being a Christian means renouncing ourselves, taking up the cross and carrying it with Jesus. There is no other way.
Thursday, October 24, 2013
Wednesday, October 23, 2013
crucifix
The crucifix does not signify defeat or failure. It reveals to us the Love that overcomes evil and sin.
Monday, October 21, 2013
Listen
If we are to know the Lord, we must go to him. Listen to him in silence before the tabernacle and approach him in the Sacraments.
Saturday, October 19, 2013
defeated
- We cannot give up in the face of evil. God is Love and he has defeated evil through Christ’s death and resurrection.
Pope Francis Friday, October 18, 2013
Wednesday, October 16, 2013
Tuesday, October 15, 2013
Monday, October 14, 2013
Decisive
Dear young people, do not be afraid of making decisive choices in life. Have faith; the Lord will not abandon you!
Sunday, October 13, 2013
Friday, October 11, 2013
Weep
The mystery of the Cross, a mystery of love, can only be understood in prayer. Pray and weep, kneeling before the Cross.
Thursday, October 10, 2013
Tuesday, October 8, 2013
Mercy
Mercy is the true power that can save humanity
and the world from sin and evil. Dear young people, you have many plans and
dreams for the future. But, is Christ at the center of each of your plans and
dreams?
Friday, October 4, 2013
Thursday, October 3, 2013
sin
Peter's Square, Pope Francis talked about
contradictions. He explained that the Church is holy, despite
the sins and flaws of its members,
including that of popes.
He explained that people don't make the Church holy, but rather God does. He said it's holy because the Church cannot be separated from Christ. Through the Holy Spirit, sinners receive help.
He explained that people don't make the Church holy, but rather God does. He said it's holy because the Church cannot be separated from Christ. Through the Holy Spirit, sinners receive help.
POPE FRANCIS
“Throughout history there has been the temptation to say that the
Church is only for the 'pure' and for those who live completely coherent
lives...and the rest can leave. But this isn't true. That is heresy! The Church
is indeed Holy, but She doesn't reject sinners. None of us are rejected. The
Church doesn't reject us, but rather it welcomes all of us. The Church is also
open to those who are farthest from Her.”
The Pope said that understanding the true meaning of
holiness is key. The Church, he said, is not a place for perfect
people but a place where all sinners, including the Pope, can change if
they embrace God's mercy.
POPE FRANCIS
“People will say, 'But Father, I'm a sinner. I have serious sins.
How can I belong to the Church? I say, dear brothers and sisters, it is you
whom the Lord seeks. He wants you to say: 'Lord here I am, despite my sins.'
Are any of us free of sin? Anyone? No one. None of us. We all carry our sins.”
Holiness isn't meant for a few people, but for
everyone. To be holy, the Pope said one doesn't need to do extraordinary
things.
POPE FRANCIS
“You may ask, 'what can I do? I feel weak, frail and I'm a
sinner.' God tells you, don't be afraid of holiness. Don't be afraid of aiming
high and allowing yourself to be loved and purified by God. Don't be afraid.
Let the Holy Spirit guide you. Be embraced by the holiness of God.”
In the Creed, we confess our faith that the Church is “holy”. But
how can we say that the Church is holy when she is all too evidently made up of
sinners? Saint Paul helps us to see things aright when he tells us that “Christ
loved the Church and gave himself up for her, to make her holy”.
The Church is inseparably one with Christ, and the dwelling place
of the Holy Spirit. It is not ourselves, or our merits, which make the Church
holy, but God himself, through the infinite merits of Christ’s sacrifice on the
Cross. God calls all of us, as sinners, to be redeemed, renewed and made holy
in the communion of the Church. So the Church constantly welcomes everyone,
even the greatest sinners, to trust in God’s offer of loving mercy, and to
encounter Christ in the sacraments of Penance and the Eucharist. Let us not be
afraid to respond to Christ’s call, to trust in the working of the Holy Spirit
and to pray and strive for that holiness which brings true joy to our
lives.
CURIA REFORM
For Pope Francis, the “Heads of the Church have often been
narcissists, flattered and thrilled by their courtiers. The court is the
leprosy of the papacy.”
Pope Francis stressed that the problem has nothing to do with the
heads of Roman Curia, but with the middle managers that “look after the
interests of the Vatican, which are temporal interests. This
Vatican-centric view neglects the world around us.” That's why, he
explains, he wants to make the Church “an organization that is not just
top-down but also horizontal.”
CONCLAVE
Pope Francis also gives details of his election. After the
Cardinals chose him, he asked to be left alone in a room before saying yes or
no. “My head was completely empty and I was seized by a great anxiety. To make
it go away and relax I closed my eyes and made every thought disappear, even
the thought of refusing to accept the position... At a certain point I
was filled with a great light. It lasted a moment, but to me it seemed very
long.”
WORLD
Pope Francis also expressed concern about global youth
unemployment and the loneliness of the elderly. “Without a memory of the
past and without the desire to look ahead to the future by building something,
a future, a family, can you go on like this?” The Pope describes them as “the
most urgent problem that the Church is facing.”
Tuesday, October 1, 2013
Pray
Do we truly pray?
Without an abiding relationship with God, it is difficult to live an authentic
and consistent Christian life.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)