Dear Brothers and Sisters, good morning! In Sacred Scripture, God’s mercy is present throughout the history of the people of Israel. The Lord accompanies, with His mercy, the path of the Patriarchs; He gives them children despite the condition of sterility, He leads them by ways of grace and reconciliation, as the story of Joseph and [...]
Dear Brothers and Sisters, good morning! Last Sunday, the Holy Door was opened in the Basilica of St. John Lateran, Cathedral of Rome, and a Door of Mercy was opened in the Cathedral of every diocese of the world, as well as in shrines and churches indicated by bishops. The Jubilee is in the whole world, [...]
A father or a mother tells their child: “Do not be afraid, I am here” and pampers the child with caresses. This is the privileged condition of man: small, weak, but reassured, supported and forgiven by a God who is in love with him. At the beginning of the Jubilee, Pope Francis took the opportunity to [...]
Dear Brothers and Sisters, good morning! The Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, which ended a short while ago, reflected in depth on the vocation and mission of the family in the life of the Church and of contemporary society. It was an event of grace. At the end the Synodal Fathers gave me the text [...]
“If you were to find a person who has never, ever, ever spoken ill of another, he could be canonized immediately”. Francis used this statement to warn against the temptation of always pointing a hypocritical finger at others. Instead, he recommended having “the courage to take the first step” by acknowledging our own errors and weaknesses, [...]
“Words, words, words”, Mina sang in a well-known song. The Pope even repeated the chorus to evoke essential nature of the “Christian way”. It needs no lengthy description but rather revolves around the words “peace and mercy” and therefore, around forgiveness and the ability to forbear one another. In the Mass at Santa Marta on Thursday [...]
September 1, 2015, Tuesday — Turning Point Introductory note We have just come out with a special 132-page Commemorative Edition of Inside the Vatican magazine, welcoming Pope Francis to America. We would like you to receive and read this issue. All you have to do is click here, order a subscription, and you will receive this [...]
“Weakness, prayer, forgiveness”. These three words remind us that without God’s help we cannot go forward in life. Pope Francis offered this reflection at Mass on Thursday morning, 18 June, in the chapel at Santa Marta. In the collect prayer of the day’s liturgy, he began, “we asked for help from the Lord, who is our [...]
Dear Brothers and Sisters, Good morning! Today’s catechesis will serve as a doorway to a series of reflections on family life and what it’s really like to live in a family, day in and day out. Imagine three expressions written above the doorway; expressions I’ve already mentioned here in St Peter’s Square several times before. The [...]
“Asking forgiveness is not simply making an apology”. It isn’t easy, just as “it isn’t easy to receive God’s forgiveness: not because He doesn’t want to give it to us, but because we close the door by not forgiving” others. In his homily during Mass at Santa Marta on Tuesday, 10 March, Pope Francis added an [...]