In his homily at the morning Mass at the Casa Santa, Pope Francis called on Christians to be joyful, and said pessimism is not Christian. Contrasting the joyful countenance of a person who has been forgiven and redeemed, with the face of someone attending a wake, Pope Francis delivered a homily on the joy that springs from the forgiveness of sin and the closeness of the Lord. Both [...]
The kingdom of God is not a show, much less a carnival; it does not go looking for publicity. Its growth comes from the Holy Spirit, rather than from “pastoral plans.” That was the message of Pope Francis in his daily homily at the Casa Santa Marta on Thursday. The point of departure for the Pope’s [...]
Pope Francis celebrated the Feast of All Souls Day on Thursday commemorating all those who have died in war, reminding humanity not to forget past lessons and warning that the only fruit yielded by conflict is death. His words of warning and his powerful condemnation of warmongers came during his homily at the Sicily-Rome American War Cemetery some 50 kilometers south [...]
Pope Francis has appealed for prayers and international participation in the “One Minute for Peace” initiative to be held Thursday, 8 June, at 1:00 PM Rome time. He said the initiative represents “a short moment of prayer on the recurrence of the meeting in the Vatican between me, the mourned Israeli President Peres, and the Palestinian [...]