Halloween party ideas 2015
Tweet Share Share Share Share Share

Thursday, May 04, 2017
GENERAL AUDIENCE POPE FRANCIS
Saint Peter's Square Wednesday, 26 April 2017


Dear Brothers and Sisters,
Good morning!

“I am with you always, to the close of the age” (Mt 28:20). These final words of the Gospel of Matthew recall the prophetic announcement that we find at the beginning: “‘his name shall be called Emmanuel’ (which means, God with us)” (Mt 1:23; cf. Is 7:14). God will be with us, every day, until the end of time. Jesus will walk with us, every day, until the end of time. The entire Gospel is enclosed within these two passages, words which communicate the mystery of a God whose name, whose identity is to be with. He is not an isolated God; he is a ‘God-with’. In particular, with us, namely, with human beings. Our God is not an absent God, confined to a far-off heaven; he is instead a God “impassioned” with man, so tenderly in love as to be incapable of being separated from him. We humans are experts at severing bonds and bridges. He, however, is not. If our heart cools, his remains ever incandescent. Our God accompanies us always, even if by mishap we should forget him. On the ridge that divides scepticism from faith, the discovery that we are loved and accompanied by our Father, that he never leaves us on our own, is decisive.

Our existence is a pilgrimage, a journey. Even those who are inspired by simply human hope, perceive the allure of the horizon, which urges them to explore worlds they do not yet know. Our spirit is a migrant spirit. The Bible is filled with stories of pilgrims and travellers. Abraham’s vocation begins with this command: “Go from your country” (Gen 21:1). The patriarch left that piece of the world he knew well and which was one of the cradles of civilization of his time. Everything conspired against the wisdom of that journey. Yet Abraham set out. We do not become mature men and women if we do not perceive the allure of the horizon: that boundary between earth and sky which demands to be reached by a people that walks.

On his earthly journey man is never alone. Above all, a Christian never feels abandoned, because Jesus assures us that he does not await us only at the end of our long journey, but accompanies us in each of our days.

How long will God’s care for mankind endure? How long will the Lord Jesus, who walks with us, how long will he care for us? The Gospel response leaves no room for doubt: to the close of the age! The sky will wane; the earth will wane; human hope will be erased, but the Word of God is greater than all and will never wane. And he will be the God with us, the God Jesus who walks with us. There will never be a day in our life in which we cease to be a concern for the heart of God. But one could ask: “But what are you saying?”. I am saying this: there will never be a day in our life in which we cease to be a concern for the heart of God. He is always concerned about us, and he walks with us. And why does he do this? Simply because he loves us. Is this understood? He loves us! And God will surely provide for all our needs; he will not abandon us in times of trial and darkness. This certainty seeks to settle in our soul so as never to be extinguished. Some call this certainty “Providence”. That is, God’s closeness, God’s love, God’s walking with us is also called the “Providence of God”: He provides for our life.

It is no coincidence that among the symbols of Christian hope there is one that I really like: the anchor. It expresses the notion that our hope is not vague; it is not to be confused with the uncertain sentiment of those who wish to improve the things of this world in an unrealistic way, relying only on their own willpower. Indeed, Christian hope is rooted not in the allure of the future, but in the certainty of what God has promised us and accomplished in Jesus Christ. If he guaranteed he would never abandon us, if every vocation begins with a “Follow me”, with which he assures us he is always before us, why should we be afraid? With this promise, Christians can walk everywhere. Even passing through parts of the wounded world, where things are not going well, we are among those who still continue to hope. The Psalm says: “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil; for thou art with me” (23[22]:4). It is precisely where darkness is rife that a light must be kept burning. Let us return to the anchor. Our faith is the anchor in heaven. We have anchored our life in heaven. What do we have to do? Hold fast to the rope: it is always there. And we go forward because we are certain that our life has an anchor in heaven, on that shore where we will arrive.

Of course, if we trusted only in our strengths, we would have reason to feel disappointed and defeated, because the world often shows itself immune to the laws of love. It prefers, so often, the laws of selfishness. But if the certainty survives in us that God does not abandon us, that God loves us and this world tenderly, then it immediately changes our perspective. “Homo viator, spe erectus”, the ancients used to say. Along the journey, Jesus’ promise “I am with you” enables us to stand with hope, upright, trusting that the good God is already at work, accomplishing what humanly seems impossible, because the anchor is on heaven’s shore.

The holy, faithful People of God are a people that stand — homo viator — and walk, but upright, erectus, and they walk in hope. And wherever they go, they know that God’s love has preceded them: there is no part of the world that escapes the victory of the Risen Christ. And what is the victory of the Risen Christ? The victory of love. Thank you.

Special greetings:
I greet the English-speaking pilgrims and visitors taking part in today’s Audience, particularly the groups from England, Ireland, Denmark, Finland, Nigeria, Australia, New Zealand, Indonesia, Korea, Thailand, Vietnam and the United States of America.  In the joy of the Risen Christ, I invoke upon you and your families the loving mercy of God our Father.  May the Lord bless you all!
© Copyright - Libreria Editrice Vaticana


Read more »
Tweet Share Share Share Share Share

Monday, May 01, 2017
REGINA CÆLI POPE FRANCIS
Saint Peter's Square – Divine Mercy Sunday, 23 April 2017



Dear Brothers and Sisters, Good morning!

We know that each Sunday we commemorate the Resurrection of the Lord Jesus, but in this period after Easter, Sunday takes on an even more illuminating significance. In the Tradition of the Church, this Sunday, the first after Easter, was called “[Domenica] in albis”. What does this mean? The expression is meant to recall the Rite performed by those who had received Baptism at the Easter Vigil. Each of them would receive a white garment — alba, bianca — to indicate their new dignity as children of God. This is still done today — infants are offered a small symbolic garment, while adults wear a proper one, as we saw at the Easter Vigil. In the past, that white garment was worn for a week, until this Sunday, from which the name in albis deponendis is derived, which means the Sunday on which the white garment is removed. In this way, when the white garment was removed, the neophytes would begin their new life in Christ and in the Church.

There is something else. In the Jubilee of the Year 2000, Saint John Paul ii established that this Sunday be dedicated to Divine Mercy. Truly, it was a beautiful insight: it was the Holy Spirit who inspired him in this way. Just a few months ago we concluded the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy, and this Sunday we are invited to always hold firmly to the grace which comes from God’s mercy. Today’s Gospel is the account of the Apparition of the Risen Christ to the disciples gathered in the Upper Room (cf. Jn 20:19-31). Saint John writes that after greeting his disciples, Jesus says to them: “As the Father has sent me, even so I send you”. After saying this, he makes the gesture of breathing on them and adds: “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven” (vv. 21-23). This is the meaning of the mercy that is presented on the very day of Jesus’ Resurrection as the forgiveness of sins. The Risen Jesus passed on to his Church, as her first task, his own mission of bringing to all the concrete message of forgiveness. This is the first task: to announce forgiveness. This visible sign of his mercy brings with it peace of heart and joy of the renewed encounter with the Lord.

Mercy in the light of Easter enables us to perceive it as a true form of awareness. This is important: mercy is a true form of awareness. We know that it is experienced through many forms. It is experienced through the senses, it is experienced through intuition, through reason and even other forms. Well, it can also be experienced in mercy, because mercy opens the door of the mind in order to better understand the mystery of God and of our personal existence. Mercy enables us to understand that violence, rancour, vengefulness have no meaning, and the first victim is whoever feels these sentiments, because he deprives himself of his own dignity. Mercy also opens the door of the heart and allows one to express closeness especially to those who are lonely and marginalized, because it makes them feel as brothers and sisters, and as children of one Father. It favours recognition of those who need consolation and helps one find the appropriate words so as to give comfort.

Brothers and sisters, mercy warms the heart and makes it sensitive to the needs of brothers and sisters with sharing and participation. Thus, mercy requires everyone to be instruments of justice, reconciliation and peace. Let us never forget that mercy is the keystone in the life of faith, and the concrete form by which we make Jesus’ Resurrection visible.

May Mary, Mother of Mercy, help us to believe and joyfully experience all this.

After the Regina Caeli:
Dear brothers and sisters, yesterday, in Oviedo, Spain, the priest Luis Antonio Rosa Ormières was declared Blessed. He lived in the 19th century, putting his many human and spiritual qualities at the service of education, and for this reason he founded the Congregation of the Sisters of the Guardian Angel. May his example and his intercession help in particular those who work in schools and in the educational field.

I wholeheartedly greet all of you, faithful from Rome and pilgrims from Italy and from so many countries, in particular the Confraternity of Saint Sebastian from Kerkrade, The Netherlands, the Nigerian Catholic Secretariat and the Liebfrauen parish of Bocholt, Germany.
I greet the Polish pilgrims and express heartfelt appreciation for the initiative of Caritas Poland in support of many families in Syria. A special greeting goes to the devotees of Divine Mercy who gathered today in the Church of Santo Spirito in Sassia; as well as to the “Race for Peace”, a relay race that starts today from this Square and ends in Wittenberg, Germany.

I greet the many groups of young people, especially those who recently have been and those who are preparing to be confirmed — there are so many of you! — from the Dioceses of Piacenza-Bobbio, Trento, Cuneo, Milan, Lodi, Cremona, Bergamo, Brescia and Vicenza, Italy. And also the Masaccio School of Treviso and the San Carpoforo Institute of Como.

Lastly I thank all those who have sent me messages of Easter greetings in this period. I sincerely reciprocate them, invoking for each one and for each family the grace of the Risen Lord. Happy Sunday to everyone, and please, do not forget to pray for me. Enjoy your lunch. Arrivederci!
© Copyright - Libreria Editrice Vaticana


Read more »
Tweet Share Share Share Share Share

Thursday, April 27, 2017
GENERAL AUDIENCE POPE FRANCIS
Wednesday, 19 April 2017


  
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
Good Morning!

We are meeting today in the light of Easter which we have celebrated and we are continuing to celebrate in the Liturgy. For this reason, in our series of catecheses on Christian hope, I would like to speak to you today about the Risen Christ, our hope, as he is portrayed by Saint Paul in the First Letter to the Corinthians. (cf. 1 Cor 15).

The Apostle wants to solve a problem which was surely at the centre of discussions in the community of Corinth. The Resurrection is the last topic discussed in the Letter, but it is probably the first in order of importance. In fact, everything rests on this premise.
Speaking to his fellow Christians, Paul begins with an irrefutable fact that is not the result of the reflection of a knowledgeable man, but a fact, a simple fact which occurred in the lives of some people. Christianity started from here. It is not an ideology; it is not a philosophical system; rather it is a path of faith which begins with an event witnessed by Jesus’ first disciples. Paul summarises it like this: Jesus died for our sins, he was buried, and on the third day He rose and appeared to Peter and to the twelve [apostles]. (cf. 1 Cor 15:3-5). This is the fact: He died, He was buried, He rose and He appeared. That is, Jesus is alive! This is the heart of the Christian message.

In announcing this event, which is the central nucleus of faith, Paul insists, above all, on the last element of the Easter mystery, that is, on the fact that Jesus is Risen. If in fact everything had ended with his death, we would have in Him, an example of supreme self-denial, but this would not be able to generate our faith. He was a hero! He died, but He is Risen because faith arises from the Resurrection. Accepting that Christ is dead and that He died crucified is not an act of faith. It is a historical fact. Believing he is Risen, on the other hand, is. Our faith begins on Easter morning. Paul makes a list of the people to whom the Risen Jesus appeared (cf. vv. 6-7). We have here a short summary of all the Easter narratives and of all the people who came into contact with the Risen One. At the top of the list are: Cephas, that is Peter, the group of 12 [Apostles] and then “500 brethren” many of whom could still have borne witness. Then James is cited. The last on the list — as the least worthy of all — is himself. Paul says of himself: “as to one untimely born” (v 8).

Paul uses this expression because his personal history is dramatic. He was not an altar boy, but a persecutor of the Church, proud of his convictions. He felt he was a successful man with a very clear idea of what life was about and its duties. But, in this perfect picture, — everything was perfect for Paul, he knew everything — in this perfect view of life, one day something absolutely unexpected happens: the meeting with the Risen Jesus on the way to Damascus. There was not just a man who fell to the ground. There was a person seized by an event that would overturn the meaning of [his life]. And the persecutor becomes an apostle. Why? Because I saw Jesus alive! I saw the Risen Jesus Christ! This is the foundation of Paul’s faith, as well as of the faith of the other apostles, as well as the faith of the Church, as well as of our faith.

How beautiful it is to think that Christianity is essentially this! It is not so much our search for God — a search which in truth is tenuous —, but rather God’s search for us. Jesus took us, grasped us, won us over, never more to leave us. Christianity is grace. It is surprise and, for this reason, it implies a heart that is capable of amazement. A closed heart, a rationalist heart is incapable of amazement and cannot understand what Christianity is because Christianity is grace, and grace can only be perceived, and furthermore, it happens in the amazement of the encounter.

So, even if we are sinners — we all are —, if our good intentions are only “on paper”, or if on appraising our life we realize we have accumulated many failures..., on Easter morning, we can be like those people of whom the Gospel speaks: going to the Sepulchre of Christ, seeing the large overturned stone and thinking that God is preparing an unexpected future for them and for all of us; going to our sepulchre: we all have some of this inside us. To go there and see how God is capable of rising again from there. Here, there is happiness; there is joy and life, where everyone thought there was only sadness, defeat and darkness. God makes His most beautiful flowers grow in the midst of the most arid of stones.

To be Christian means not starting from death, but rather, from God’s love for us which has defeated our most bitter enemy. God is greater than nothingness, and a lit candle is enough to overcome the darkest of nights. Echoing the prophets, Paul cries, “O death, where is thy victory? O death, where is thy sting?”(v. 55). We carry this cry in our heart in these days of Easter. And if they should ask the reason for the smile we give and our patient readiness to share, then we will be able to answer that Jesus is still here, that he continues to be alive among us, that Jesus is here, in the Square, with us: Alive and Risen.

Special greetings:
I greet the English-speaking pilgrims and visitors taking part in today’s Audience, particularly the groups from England, Sweden, Switzerland, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Canada and the United States of America. I offer a particular greeting to the newly-ordained deacons from the Pontifical Irish College, together with families and friends. In the joy of the Risen Christ, I invoke upon you and your families the loving mercy of God our Father. May the Lord bless you all!

Lastly, I greet the young people, the sick and the newlyweds. Dear young people, especially you from the Professione di fede of the Dioceses of Milan and Cremona, may you experience fully the Easter message, bearing witness everywhere to the Risen Christ’s gift of peace. Dear sick people, look constantly to the One who has overcome death and helps us to accept suffering as a privileged moment of redemption and salvation. Dear newlyweds, may you live your daily family experience in the awareness of the life giving presence of Jesus in your home.

© Copyright - Libreria Editrice Vaticana


Read more »
Subscribe to: Comments (Atom)

Contact Form

Name

Email *

Message *

LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL © 2010. All Rights Reserved. "FROM INDONESIA TO THE WORLD, ADESSO SONO IN THAILANDIA"
Powered by Blogger
Powered by Blogger.