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ANGELUS POPE FRANCIS
Saint Peter's Square-Sunday, 22 January 2017

PHOTO: l'osservatore romano / photovat.com

Dear Brothers and Sisters, Good morning!
Today’s Gospel passage (cf. Mt 4:12-23) recounts the beginning of Jesus’ preaching in Galilee. He leaves Nazareth, a village in the mountains, and settles in Capernaum, an important centre on the lakeshore, inhabited largely by pagans, a crossroads between the Mediterranean and the Mesopotamian inland. This choice indicates that the beneficiaries of his preaching are not only his compatriots, but those who arrive in the cosmopolitan “Galilee of the Gentiles” (v. 15, cf. Is 9:1): that’s what it was called. Seen from the capital Jerusalem, that land is geographically peripheral and religiously impure because it was full of pagans, having mixed with those who did not belong to Israel. Great things were not expected from Galilee for the history of salvation. Instead, right from there — precisely from there — radiated that “light” on which we meditated in recent Sundays: the light of Christ. It radiated right from the periphery.

Jesus’ message reiterates that of the Baptist, announcing the “kingdom of heaven” (v. 17). This kingdom does not involve the establishment of a new political power, but the fulfillment of the Covenant between God and his people, which inaugurates a season of peace and justice. To secure this covenant pact with God, each one is called to convert, transforming his or her way of thinking and living. This is important: converting is not only changing the way of life but also the way of thinking. It is a transformation of thought. It is not a matter of changing clothing, but habits! What differentiates Jesus from John the Baptist is the way and manner. Jesus chooses to be an itinerant prophet. He doesn’t stay and await people, but goes to encounter them. Jesus is always on the road! His first missionary appearances take place along the lake of Galilee, in contact with the multitude, in particular with the fishermen. There Jesus does not only proclaim the coming of the kingdom of God, but seeks companions to join in his salvific mission. In this very place he meets two pairs of brothers: Simon and Andrew, James and John. He calls them, saying: “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men” (v. 19). The call reaches them in the middle of their daily activity: the Lord reveals himself to us not in an extraordinary or impressive way, but in the everyday circumstances of our life. There we must discover the Lord; and there he reveals himself, makes his love felt in our heart; and there — with this dialogue with him in the everyday circumstances of life — he changes our heart. The response of the four fishermen is immediate and willing: “Immediately they left their nets and followed him” (v. 20). We know, in fact, that they were disciples of the Baptist and that, thanks to his witness, they had already begun to believe in Jesus as the Messiah (cf. Jn 1:35-42).

We, today’s Christians, have the joy of proclaiming and witnessing to our faith because there was that first announcement, because there were those humble and courageous men who responded generously to Jesus’ call. On the shores of the lake, in an inconceivable land, the first community of disciples of Christ was born. May the knowledge of these beginnings give rise in us to the desire to bear Jesus’ word, love and tenderness in every context, even the most difficult and resistant. To carry the Word to all the peripheries! All the spaces of human living are soil on which to cast the seeds of the Gospel, so they may bear the fruit of salvation.

May the Virgin Mary help us with her maternal intercession to respond joyfully to Jesus’ call, and to place ourselves at the service of the Kingdom of God.


After the Angelus:
Dear brothers and sisters, we are in the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. This year, its theme is an expression taken from Saint Paul, which indicates the path for us to follow. It says: “Reconciliation — The Love of Christ Compels Us” (cf. 2 Cor 5:14). This Wednesday we will conclude the Week of Prayer with the celebration of Vespers in the Basilica of Saint Paul Outside-the-Walls, in which the brothers and sisters of other Christian Churches and Communities present in Rome will participate. I invite you to persevere in prayer, so that Jesus’ wish may be fulfilled: “that they may all be one” (Jn 17:21).

In recent days, the earthquake and snows have once again put to the test our brothers and sisters of Central Italy, especially in Abruzzo, the Marches and Lazio. I am close with prayers and affection to the families whose loved ones have been victims. I encourage those who are committed with great generosity in the work of aid and assistance; as well as the local Churches, which are doing all they can to relieve the suffering and difficulty. Many thanks for this closeness, for their work and the concrete help that they bring. Thank you! I invite you to pray together to Our Lady for the victims and also for those who, with great generosity, are committed in the rescue efforts.

[Hail Mary....]
In the Far East and in many parts of the world, millions of men and women are preparing to celebrate the Lunar New Year on 28 January. May my cordial greeting reach all their families, with the wish that they may become ever more a school in which to learn to respect others, to communicate and to take care of one another in an unselfish way. May the joy of love multiply within the family and radiate from it throughout society.

I greet all of you, faithful of Rome and pilgrims from different countries. I greet the members of the Union of Catholic Teachers, Principals, Educators and Formators, which has concluded its 25th national conference, and I wish them fruitful educational work, in cooperation with families. Always in cooperation with families!

I wish everyone a happy Sunday. Please do not forget to pray for me. Enjoy your lunch. Arrivederci!



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GENERAL AUDIENCE POPE FRANCIS
Paul VI Audience Hall-Wednesday, 25 January 2017 

PHOTO: l'osservatore romano / photovat.com

Christian hope - 8. Judith: the courage of a woman restores hope to a people

Dear Brothers and Sisters, Good morning!
Among the figures of women presented to us by the Old Testament, one great heroine stands out among the people: Judith. The biblical Book which bears her name recounts the massive military campaign of King Nebuchadnezzar who, ruling over Nineveh, expands the boundaries of the empire by defeating and enslaving all the surrounding peoples. The reader understands he is faced with a great, invincible enemy who is spreading death and destruction, and who reaches the Promised Land, placing the lives of Israel’s children in jeopardy.

Indeed, Nebuchadnezzar’s army, under the leadership of General Holofernes, lays siege to a Judean city, Bethulia, cutting off the water supply and thus wearing down the people’s resistance.

The situation is dramatic, to the point that the city’s inhabitants turn to the elders, demanding that they surrender to the enemy. Their words are desperate: “For now we have no one to help us; God has sold us into their hands, to strew us on the ground before them with thirst and utter destruction”. They have reached the point of saying this: “God has sold us”; the people’s desperation was great. “Now call them in and surrender the whole city to the army of Holofernes and to all his forces, to be plundered” (Judith 7:25-26). The end now seems inevitable, the ability to trust in God is exhausted. The ability to trust in God is exhausted. And how often do we reach the limit of a situation, where we do not even feel able to have faith in the Lord. It is a terrible temptation! And, paradoxically, it seems that, to escape death, there’s nothing left but to surrender oneself into the hands of those who kill. They know that these soldiers have come to loot the city, to take the women as slaves and then kill everyone else. This really is “the limit”.

And faced with so much despair, the leader of the people attempts to offer a foothold for hope: resist for five more days, waiting for God’s salvific intervention. However, it is a weak hope which makes him decide: “But if these days pass by, and no help comes for us, I will do what you say” (7:31). Poor man: he has no way out. God is given five days — and here is the sin — God is given five days to intervene; five days of waiting, but already with the prospect of the end. They give God five days to save them, but they know they do not have faith, and are expecting the worst. In fact, there is no one among the people still capable of hope. They were desperate.

It is in this situation that Judith appears on the scene. A widow, a woman of great beauty and wisdom, she speaks to the people with the language of faith. Courageously, she reproaches the people to their face, (saying): “You are putting the Lord Almighty to the test.... No, my brethren, do not provoke the Lord our God to anger. For if he does not choose to help us within these five days, he has power to protect us within any time he pleases, or even to destroy us in the presence of our enemies.… Therefore, while we wait for his deliverance, let us call upon him to help us, and he will hear our voice, if it pleases him” (8:13, 14-15, 17). It is the language of hope. Let us knock on the doors to God’s heart. He is the Father; he can save us. This woman, a widow, even risks making a fool of herself in front of others. But, she is courageous. She goes forward! This is my opinion: women are more courageous than men. [Applause]

And with the strength of a prophet, Judith rebukes the men of her people to restore their faith in God; with the gaze of a prophet, she sees beyond the narrow horizon proposed by the leaders, and which fear limits even further. God will surely act, she says, while the proposal of waiting five days is a way to tempt him and escape his will. The Lord is the God of Salvation — and she believed this — whatever form it may take. It is salvation to liberate from enemies and to bring life, but, in his impenetrable plans, it can also be salvation to allow death. A woman of faith, she knows this. Thus we know the end, how the story ends: God saves.

Dear brothers and sisters, let us never set conditions for God, and let us instead allow hope to conquer our fears. Entrusting ourselves to God means entering into his plans without demanding anything, and also accepting that his salvation and his help come to us in ways that differ from our expectations. We ask the Lord for life, for health, for love, for happiness; and it is right to do so, but with the understanding that God is able to bring life even from death, that we can experience peace even in sickness, and that there can be calm even in loneliness, and happiness even in tears. It is not for us to instruct God about what he must do, about what we need. He knows better than we do, and we must have faith, because his ways and his thoughts are different from ours.

The path which Judith shows us is one of faith, of waiting peacefully, of prayer, and of obedience. It is the path of hope. Without simple resignation, doing everything within our power, but always remaining in the furrow of the Lord’s will, because — as we know — she prayed so much, spoke a great deal to the people and then, courageously, she went, looked for a way to get close to the leader of the army, and managed to cut off his head, to slit his throat. She is courageous in faith and in deeds. And she always seeks out the Lord! Judith, in fact, had her own plan, carried it out successfully, and led the people to victory, but always with the attitude of faith of those who accept everything from the hand of God, certain of his goodness.

Thus, a woman full of faith and courage restores strength to her people who are in mortal danger, and guides them along the paths of hope, also pointing them out to us. And, if we reflect a little, how often have we heard the wise, courageous words of humble people, of humble women who are thought of as — without disregarding them — perhaps ignorant.... However, they are words of God’s wisdom! The words of grandmothers... how often do grandmothers know the right thing to say, the word of hope, because they have life experience. They have suffered greatly; they have entrusted themselves to God, and the Lord gives this gift of encouraging us to hope. And, going along those paths, there will be Paschal joy and light in entrusting oneself to the Lord with Jesus’ words: “Father, if thou art willing, remove this cup from me; nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done” (Lk 22:42). And this is the prayer of wisdom, of faith, and of hope.


Special greetings:
I greet the English-speaking pilgrims and visitors taking part in today’s Audience, particularly the groups from the United States of America. During this Week of Prayer for Christian Unity I offer a special greeting to the group from the Bossey Ecumenical Institute and to the choir of Westminster Abbey, whom I thank for their praise of God in song. Upon all of you, and your families, I cordially invoke an abundance of joy and peace in our Lord Jesus Christ. God bless you!

I turn a special thought to young people, to the sick, and to newlyweds. Today we celebrate the Feast of the Conversion of Saint Paul. Dear young people, may the figure of Paul be for all of you a model of missionary discipleship. Dear sick people, offer your suffering for the cause of Christian unity in the Church of Christ. And you, dear newlyweds, be inspired by the example of the Apostle of the Gentiles, recognizing the primacy of God and his love in your family life.



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GENERAL AUDIENCE POPE FRANCIS
Paul VI Audience Hall-Wednesday, 18 January 2017
 
PHOTO: Zenit/L'osservatore romano
Christian hope - 6. Jonah: Hope and Pray

Dear Brothers and Sisters, Good morning.
In Sacred Scripture, among the prophets of Israel, a rather anomalous figure stands out, a prophet who attempts to avoid the Lord’s call by refusing to place himself at the service of the divine plan of salvation. It is the Prophet Jonah, whose story is narrated in a small book of only four chapters, a type of parable that bears a great lesson, that of the mercy of God who forgives.

Jonah is a prophet “going out” and also a prophet in flight! He is an “out-going” prophet whom God sends “to the periphery”, to Nineveh, in order to convert the people of that great city. But Nineveh, to an Israelite like Jonah, was a threatening reality, the enemy which placed Jerusalem itself in peril, and therefore was to be destroyed, certainly not to be saved. Therefore, when God sent Jonah to preach in that city, the prophet, who knows the Lord’s goodness and his desire to forgive, seeks to avoid his task and flees.

During his flight, the prophet enters into contact with pagans, the mariners on the ship that he boarded in order to distance himself from God and from his mission. And he flees far, because Nineveh was in the area of Iraq and he fled to Spain, he seriously fled. And it was actually the behaviour of these pagan men, as that of the people of Nineveh later on, that today allows us to reflect a bit on the hope which, in the face of danger and death, is expressed in prayer.

Indeed, during the sea voyage, a mighty tempest breaks out, and Jonah goes down to the ship’s cargo hold and falls asleep. The mariners, however, seeing themselves lost, “each cried to his god”: they were pagans (Jon 1:5). The captain of the ship wakes Jonah, saying to him: “What do you mean, you sleeper? Arise, call upon your god! Perhaps the god will give a thought to us, that we do not perish” (Jon 1:6).

The reaction of these ‘pagans’ is the right reaction in the face of death, in the face of danger; because it is then that man fully experiences his frailty and his need for salvation.
The instinctive dread of dying reveals the necessity of hope in the God of life. “Perhaps God will give a thought to us, that we do not perish” are the words of hope which become prayer, that supplication filled with anguish which rises to the lips of mankind in the face of an imminent danger of death.
We too easily disdain the turning to God in need as if it were only a prayer of self-interest, and therefore imperfect. But God knows our weakness. He knows that we remember him in order to ask for help, and with the indulging smile of a father, God responds benevolently.

When Jonah, recognizing his responsibility, throws himself into the sea in order to save his travel companions, the storm quiets down. Incumbent death led those pagan men to prayer, enabling the prophet, in spite of it all, to live his vocation in service to others, sacrificing himself for them, and now he leads the survivors to recognize and praise the true Lord. The mariners who, in the grip of fear, had prayed to their gods, now, with sincere fear of the Lord, recognize the true God, offer sacrifices and make vows. Hope, which had induced them to pray to be spared from death, is revealed as even more powerful and ushers in a reality that goes even beyond what they were hoping: not only do they not perish in the storm, but they become open to recognizing the one true Lord of heaven and earth.

Afterwards, even the people of Nineveh, in the face of the prospect of being destroyed, pray, spurred by hope in God’s forgiveness. They do penance, invoke the Lord and convert to him, beginning with the king who, like the ship’s captain, gives voice to hope: “Who knows, God may yet repent and turn from his fierce anger, so that we perish not?” (Jon 3:9). For them too, as for the crew in the storm, facing death and being saved from it led them to the truth. Thus under divine mercy, and even more in the light of the Paschal Mystery, death can become, as it was for Saint Francis of Assisi, “our sister death” and represent, for every person and for each one of us, the surprising occasion to know hope and encounter the Lord. May the Lord help us to understand this link between prayer and hope. Prayer leads you forward in hope, and when things become dark, more prayer is needed! And there will be more hope. Thank you.

Special greetings:
I greet the English-speaking pilgrims and visitors taking part in today’s Audience, particularly those from New Zealand, the Philippines, Canada and the United States of America. Upon you and your families, I cordially invoke an abundance of joy and peace in our Lord Jesus Christ. God bless you!
I address a cordial welcome to the Italian-speaking pilgrims. I express to all the hope that your visit to the Eternal City may inspire each one to strengthen the Word of God so as to be able to recognize the Saviour in Jesus.

Lastly I greet the young peoplethe sick and newlyweds. Today begins the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, which this year has us reflect on Christ’s love which encourages us toward reconciliation. Dear young people, pray that all Christians may return to be one family; dear sick people, offer your suffering for the cause of the unity of the Church; and you, dear newlyweds, experience gratuitous love as that of God for humanity.



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GUARDIAMO LA STRORIA DI PAOLO
Mercoledì 25-01-2016
PHOTO: commons.wikimedia.org
È bello celebrare la festa di oggi cioè la conversione di San Paolo. Lui che è un grande missionario. Quindi, è importante anche per noi come missionari. È meglio guardiamo sempre alla sua figura per almeno avere lo sguardo verso la missione.

È bello anche ricordare che oggi concludiamo la nostra settimana della preghiera per l’unità dei cristiani. A questa celebrazione, il Decreto sull’ecumenismo della CV II “Unitatis redintegratio” numero 7 dice, non c’è vero ecumenismo senza conversione. Se consideriamo il compito di un missionario che è la conversione (come diceva Conforti-Regen 15), allora tutti noi dobbiamo diventare il promotore dell’ecumenismo.

Il famoso racconto a Damasco della prima lettura Att 22,3-16 è molto interessante. Questo racconto è uno dei tre racconti sulla conversione di Paolo (Att 9 e 26). Leggendo questo racconto, mi viene in mente queste due parole cioè testimone e dialogo. Testimoniare una cosa vuol dire dialogare, comunicare, parlare una cosa.

Abbiamo visto questo dialogo tra Paolo o meglio Saulo e Gesù. Gesù conosce il nome di Saulo. Saulo invece no. Lui chiede l’identità del Signore, Chi sei? Che devo fare.  Io sono Gesù, che tu perseguiti. Alla fine, tutti e due si riconoscono.

L’altra cosa che molto interessante è l’esperienza di Paolo. Nel versetto 9 si dice Quelli che erano con me videro la luce, ma non udirono la voce. È molto diverso da Paolo. Lui invece non vede ma ascolta la voce. Dopo però, anche Paolo vede qualcosa, soprattutto dopo aver incontrato Ananìa.

Questo dialogo è l’inizio del cammino della fede di Paolo. Dal dialogo nasce l’altra esperienza cioè la missione di testimoniare quello che ha visto e udito. Paolo ha questa esperienza. Lui ha visto questa esperienza molto forte che ad un certo punto i suoi occhi non possono vederla. Poi, lui anche ha udito la voce del Signore. Alla fine, Paolo ha ricevuto questa missione di essere testimone davanti a tutti gli uomini.

Continua nel vangelo (Mc 16,15-18) questa missione. Gesù chiede agli apostoli di andare in tutto il mondo, a portare il vangelo in ogni creatura. Andate, è un mandato imperativo, quindi ci chiede solo l’obbedienza. Questa parola rivolta anche a Paolo (anche se non era uno degli Undici) e anche a noi. A noi oggi, Gesù chiede come quello che ha fatto Paolo.

Credo che in questo punto, Gesù ci chiede questa collaborazione, cioè di lavorare, di collaborare insieme con Lui. È Lui che appunto opera attraverso la nostra attività. Gesù però non vuole salvare il mondo e l’umanità senza di noi. Lui ci chiede di partecipare in questa missione. Perciò, abbiamo sempre il lavoro da fare, la missione da compiere. Gesù vuole i testimoni cioè tutti noi missionari.

Ecco, forse troppo grande per noi questo compito, ma affidiamo a Lui. Solo con il suo amore che ci dà sempre, possiamo andare avanti. A volte, non siamo fedeli a questo compito, ecco chiediamo a Lui di essere fedeli come Lui stesso. Perché—come dice il salmo di oggi—forte è il suo amore per noi e la fedeltà del Signore dura per sempre.

ANGELUS POPE FRANCIS
Saint Peter's Square-Sunday, 15 January 2017

PHOTO: l'osservatore romano / photovat.com

Dear Brothers and Sisters, Good morning!
At the centre of today’s Gospel reading (Jn 1:29-34) there is this message of John the Baptist: “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” (v. 29). It is a message accompanied by the gaze and the hand gesture that indicate Him, Jesus.
Let us imagine the scene. We are on the bank of the River Jordan. John is baptizing; there are many people, men and women of various ages, who have come there, to the river, to receive baptism from the hands of the man who reminded many of Elijah, the great Prophet who nine centuries before had purified the Israelites of idolatry and led them back to the true faith in the God of the Covenant, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.


John preaches that the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand, that the Messiah is about to reveal himself, and one must prepare, convert and act with righteousness; and he begins to baptize in the River Jordan in order to give the people a tangible means of repentance (cf. Mt 3:1-6). These people came to repent their sins, to make penance, to begin their life anew. He knows; John knows that the Messiah, the Lord’s Consecrated One, is now nearby, and the sign to recognize Him will be that the Holy Spirit will descend upon Him. Indeed, He will bring the true baptism, baptism in the Holy Spirit (cf. Jn 1:33).

And thus, the moment arrives: Jesus appears on the river bank, in the midst of the people, the sinners — like all of us. It is his first public act, the first thing he does when he leaves his home in Nazareth, at the age of 30: he goes down into Judea, goes to the Jordan, and is baptized by John. We know what happens. We celebrated it last Sunday: the Holy Spirit descends upon Jesus in the form of a dove and the voice of the Father proclaims him the beloved Son (cf. Mt 3:16-17). It is the sign that John has been waiting for. It is He! Jesus is the Messiah. John is disconcerted, because He manifests himself in an unimaginable way: in the midst of sinners, baptized with them, or rather, for them. But the Spirit enlightens John and helps him understand that in this way God’s justice is fulfilled, his plan of salvation is fulfilled: Jesus is the Messiah, the King of Israel, however, not with the power of this world but as the Lamb of God, who takes upon himself and takes away the sins of the world.

Thus, John points Him out to the people and to his disciples. Because John had a large circle of disciples, who had chosen him as a spiritual guide, and some of them actually become the first disciples of Jesus. We know their names well: Simon, later called Peter, his brother Andrew, James and his brother John. All were fishermen, all Galileans, like Jesus.

Dear brothers and sisters, why have we focused so long on this scene? Because it is decisive! It is not an anecdote. It is a decisive historical fact! This scene is decisive for our faith; and it is also decisive for the Church’s mission. The Church, in every time, is called to do what John the Baptist did: point Jesus out to the people, saying, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!”. He is the One Saviour! He is the Lord, humble, in the midst of sinners, but it is He, He: there is no other powerful one who comes; no, no it is He!
These are the words that we priests repeat each day, during the Mass, when we present to the people the bread and wine become the Body and Blood of Christ. This liturgical gesture represents the whole mission of the Church, which she does not proclaim herself. Woe, woe when the Church proclaims herself; she loses her bearings, she doesn’t know where she is going! The Church proclaims Christ; she does not bring herself, she brings Christ. Because it is He and only He who saves his people from sin, frees them and guides them to land and to true freedom.

May the Virgin Mary, Mother of the Lamb of God, help us to believe in Him and follow Him.


After the Angelus:
Dear brothers and sisters, today we celebrate the World Day of Migrants and Refugees, dedicated to the theme “Child Migrants, the Vulnerable and the Voiceless”. These little brothers and sisters of ours, especially if unaccompanied, are exposed to so many dangers. I tell you there are many! It is necessary to adopt every possible measure to guarantee protection and security to migrant minors, as well as their integration.

I address a special greeting to the representatives of various ethnic communities. Dear friends, I hope you may live peacefully in the places that receive you, respecting their laws and traditions, and at the same time, safeguarding the values of your culture of origin. Encountering different cultures is always an enrichment for all! I thank the Migrants Office of the Diocese of Rome and those who work with migrants to welcome and support them in their difficulties, and I encourage you to carry on in this work, always recalling the example of Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini, Patron Saint of migrants, the centenary of whose death is this year. This courageous Sister dedicated her life to bringing the love of Christ to those who were far from their homelands and families. May her witness help us to take care of our foreign brothers and sisters, in whom Jesus is present, often suffering, rejected and humiliated. How often in the Bible the Lord asks us to welcome migrants and foreigners, reminding us that we too are foreigners!

I warmly greet all of you, dear faithful from various parishes of Italy and of other countries, as well as the associations and various groups; in particular the students of the Meléndez Valdés Institute of Villafranca de los Barros, Spain.

I wish everyone a happy Sunday and a good lunch. Please, do not forget to pray for me. Thank you! Arrivederci!



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