Samaritan

The Good Samaritan manifests the mystery of Christ ‎

Pope Francis on Monday urged Christians to emulate the figure of the Good Samaritan and help those in need to get up, like Christ who “continues to pay” for us.   Delivering a homily at the morning Mass at the Casa Santa Marta residence in the Vatican, he reflected on the attitude of the various actors in [...]

Lent is an opportunity to draw near to Christ

“Perhaps we have not yet encountered Jesus personally,” Pope Francis said in his Angelus address on Sunday. “Perhaps we have not recognized Him as our Saviour.” The Holy Father was commenting on the day’s Gospel, which relates the “dialogue” between Jesus and the Samaritan woman at the well. Because of the great respect Jesus shows her [...]

A seated soul

“To follow Jesus you have to take risks”, without fear of “appearing ridiculous”, and without trying to be “too polite”; and in this, “women are better than men”. During Mass on Friday, 13 January, in the Santa Marta chapel, Pope Francis renewed his invitation to the faithful not to “remain seated in life, looking on motionless”. [...]

The logic of mercy

It is not surprising that the Holy Father was inspired by the encounter between Jesus and the Samaritan woman when he described in Amoris Latetitia “the logic of pastoral mercy”, based upon the three pillars of accompaniment, discernment and integration.   Quoting the Relatio Synodi of 2014, the Pope affirmed that the situations which do not [...]

Works not words

· ​At the Angelus the Pope speaks about the Parable of the Good Samaritan and calls for closeness to those in need · Looking into the faces of the “hungry child”, of the “immigrant who many wanted to drive away”, of the “grandparents ... abandoned in nursing homes”, of the sick man “alone in the hospital”, [...]

Compassion sows seeds of testimony

Saturday afternoon Pope Francis visited Villa Nazareth in the Pineta Sacchetti area of Rome. Villa Nazareth was founded in 1946 for orphans and poor children in order to provide the underprivileged with educational opportunities. Today Villa Nazareth helps young people who are experiencing economic hardship but who also show great intellectual potential. It provides them with [...]