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Friday, February 06, 2015
ANGELUS POPE FRANCIS
Saint Peter's Square
Sunday, 11 January 2015

Dear Brothers and Sisters, Good morning! 
Today we are celebrating the Feast of the Lord’s Baptism, which concludes the Christmas season. The Gospel describes what happens on the bank of the Jordan. At the time that John the Baptist baptizes Jesus, the heavens opened. “When he came up out of the water”, St Mark writes, “immediately he saw the heavens opened” (1:10). This brings to mind the dramatic supplication of the Prophet Isaiah: “O that thou wouldst rend the heavens and come down” (Is 64:1). This invocation was granted at the event of the Baptism of Jesus. Thus ended the time that the “heavens were closed”, which had symbolized the separation between God and man as a consequence of sin. Sin distanced us from God and broke the bond between heaven and earth, thereby determining our misery and failures in our lives. The opening of the heavens indicate that God granted his grace in order that the land bear its fruit (cf. Ps 85[84]: 11-12). This is how the earth became the dwelling place of God among men, and it is possible for each one of us to meet the Son of God, experiencing all of his love and infinite mercy. We are able to encounter Him truly present in the Sacraments, especially in the Eucharist. We are able to recognize Him in the faces of our brothers and sisters, especially in the poor, the sick, the imprisoned, the displaced: they are the living flesh of the suffering Christ and the visible image of the invisible God.

With the Baptism of Jesus, not only do the heavens open, but God speaks once again making his voice resound: “This is my beloved Son; with whom I am well pleased” (Mk 1:11). The Father’s voice proclaims the mystery that is hidden in the Man baptized by the Forerunner.

Then the Holy Spirit descends, in the form of a dove: this allows Christ, the Lord’s Consecrated One, to inaugurate his mission, which is our salvation. The Holy Spirit: the great One forgotten in our prayers. We often pray to Jesus: we pray to the Father, especially in the “Our Father”; but we do not often pray to the Holy Spirit, is it true? He is the Forgotten One. And we need to ask for his help, his strength, his inspiration. The Holy Spirit who has wholly animated the life and mystery of Jesus, is the same Spirit who today guides Christian existence, the existence of men and women who call themselves and want to be Christians. To subject our Christian life and mission, which we have all received in Baptism, to the action of the Holy Spirit means finding the apostolic courage necessary to overcome easy worldly accommodations. Christians and communities who are instead “deaf” to the voice of the Holy Spirit, who urges us to bring the Gospel to the to the ends of the earth and of society, also become “mutes” who do not speak and do not evangelize.

But remember this: pray often to the Holy Spirit, that He help us, give us strength, give us inspiration and enable us to go forward.

May Mary, Mother of God and of the Church, accompany the journey of all of us baptized; may she help us to grow in our love for God and in the joy of serving the Gospel, in order to thereby give full meaning to our life.

After the Angelus:
Dear brothers and sisters, I greet all of you, Romans and pilgrims!

I am pleased to greet the group of students from the United States of America, as well as the Lay Association of Merciful Love. There is so much need of mercy today, and it is important that the lay faithful live it and bring it into different social environments. Go forth! We are living in the age of mercy, this is the age of mercy.

Tomorrow evening I will depart on an apostolic journey to Sri Lanka and the Philippines. Thank you for your good wishes on that banner, many thanks! And I ask you to please accompany me in prayer and I ask the Sri Lankans and Filipinos who are here in Rome to especially pray for me on this journey. Thank you!

I wish everyone a happy Sunday, even though the weather is a bit bad, but a happy Sunday. And today is also a day to joyfully remember your own Baptism. Remember what I asked you, to look for the date of your Baptism, this way each one of us will be able to say: I was baptized on this day. Today may there be the joy of Baptism.

Do not forget to pray for me. Enjoy your lunch. Arrivederci!

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Friday, February 06, 2015
SOLEMNITY OF THE EPIPHANY OF THE LORD
ANGELUS POPE FRANCIS
Saint Peter's Square
Tuesday, 6 January 2015

Dear Brothers and Sisters, Good morning! Happy Feast Day!
On Christmas Eve we meditated on the hastening of several shepherds of the people of Israel to the grotto of Bethlehem; today, the Solemnity of the Epiphany, we remember the arrival of the Magi, who came from the Orient to adore the newborn King of the Jews and Universal Saviour and to offer Him symbolic gifts. With their act of adoration, the Magi bear witness that Jesus has come to earth to save not one people alone but all peoples. Therefore, on today’s feast our gaze broadens to the horizons of the whole world in order to celebrate the “manifestation” of the Lord to all peoples, which is the manifestation of the love and universal salvation of God. He does not reserve his love to the privileged few, but offers it to all.

As the Creator and Father is of all people, so the Savior wants to be for all people. That is why we are called to always nourish great faith and hope for every person and his or her salvation: even those who seem far from the Lord are followed — or better yet “chased” — by his passionate love, by his faithful and also humble love. For God’s love is humble, very humble!

The Gospel account of the Magi describes their journey from the East as a journey of the spirit, as a journey toward the encounter with Christ. They are attentive to signs that indicate his presence; they are tireless in facing the trials of the search; they arecourageous in deducing the implications for life that derive from encounter with the Lord. This is life: Christian life is a journey, but being attentive, tireless and courageous. A Christian journeys like this. Journey attentively, tirelessly, courageously. The experience of the Magi evokes the journey of every man and woman towards Christ. As for the Magi, so for us, to seek God means to journey— and as I said: attentive, tireless and courageous — focused on the sky and discerning in the visible sign of the star the invisible God who speaks to our hearts. The star that is able to lead every man to Jesus is the Word of God, the Word that is in the Bible, in the Gospels. The Word of God is the light that guides our journey, nourishes our faith and regenerates it. It is the Word of God that continually renews our hearts and our communities. Therefore, let us not forget to read it and meditate upon it every day, so that it may become for each like a flame that we bear inside us to illuminate our steps, as well as those of others who journey beside us, who are perhaps struggling to find the path to Christ. Always with the Word of God! The Word of God carried in your hand: a little Gospel in your pocket, purse, always to be read. Do not forget this: always with me, the Word of God!

On this day of Epiphany, our thoughts turn also to our brothers and sisters of the Christian East, Catholics and Orthodox, many of whom are celebrating the Birth of the Lord tomorrow. May our warmest wishes reach them.

I would like to recall, then, that today we celebrate Children’s mission Day. It is the feast dedicated to children who joyfully live the gift of faith and pray for the light of Jesus to reach all the children of the world. I encourage teachers to cultivate the missionary spirit in the little ones. May they not be closed but open children and young people. May they see a great horizon, may their hearts move toward this horizon, in order that witnesses of God’s tenderness and heralds of the Gospel might arise among them. Now let us turn to the Virgin Mary and invoke her protection on the Universal Church, in order that the Gospel of Christ, the light of nations, the light of all peoples, might be spread through the entire world. And may she make us increasingly embrace the journey; may she make us journey and be attentive, untiring and courageous on that path. 
After the Angelus:
Dear brothers and sisters, I greet you all, Romans and pilgrims, renewing my wish for peace and every good in the Lord.

I greet the faithful of Aachen (Germany), from Kilbeggan (Ireland), and students from Northfield, Minnesota (USA); confirmands of Romano di Lombardia and their parents; faithful of Biassono, Verona, Arzignano, Acerra and of several Dioceses in Puglia; and young people of the Opera Don Orione.

Remember well: life is a journey, always a journey, in search of God. Journey attentively, tirelessly and courageously. And something is missing, one thing is missing: attentively, tirelessly and courageously... and what is missing? Journey with light! And what is this light? The Gospel, the Word of God. Always with the Gospel: in your pocket, in your purse, in order to read it, always with us. Journey attentively, tirelessly, courageously and with the light of the Word of God.

To all I wish a happy Feast. Do not forget to pray for me and have a good lunch. Arrivederci!

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Friday, February 06, 2015
ANGELUS POPE FRANCIS
Saint Peter's Square
Sunday, 4 January 2015

Dear Brothers and Sisters, Good morning!

The new year has given us a nice Sunday! A beautiful day! 

St John says in the Gospel that we read today: “In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.... The true light that enlightens every man was coming into the world” (1:4-5, 9). Men speak much of light, but they often prefer the deceptive tranquillity of darkness. We speak a lot about peace, but we often turn to war or choose the complicity of silence, or do nothing concrete to build peace. In fact St John says that “He came to his own home, and his own people received him not” (Jn 1:11); for “this is the judgment, that the light — Jesus — has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For every one who does evil hates the light, and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed” (Jn 3:19-20). This is what St John says in the Gospel. The heart of man may reject the light and prefer the shadows, because light lays bare his evil deeds. Those who do evil hate light. Those who do evil hate peace.

A few days ago, we began the new year in the name of the Mother of God, by celebrating the World Day of Peace, with the theme: “No longer slaves, but brothers and sisters”. My hope is that man’s exploitation of man may be overcome. This kind of exploitation is a social plague which demeans interpersonal relationships and impedes a life of communion based on respect, justice and charity. Every man and every people hungers and thirsts for peace; building peace is therefore an urgent necessity!

Peace is not simply the absence of war, but a general condition in which the human person is in harmony with him/herself, in harmony with nature and in harmony with others. This is peace. Nevertheless, silencing weapons and extinguishing the hotbeds of war is an inevitable condition to begin a journey that leads to peace in its various aspects. I think of the wars that still cause bloodshed in too many regions of the planet, of the tensions in families and in communities — but in many families, in many communities, in parishes too, there is war! — as well as heated disputes in our cities and towns between groups of different ethnic, cultural and religious extraction. We must convince ourselves, despite every appearance to the contrary, that harmony is always possible, on every level and in every situation. There is no future without proposals and plans for peace! There is no future without peace!

In the Old Testament, God made a promise. The Prophet Isaiah said: “they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn the art of war any more” (cf. Is 2:4). This is beautiful! Peace is proclaimed, as a special gift of God, in the birth of the Redeemer: “on earth peace among men whom God loves” (cf. Lk 2:14). This gift needs to be ceaselessly implored in prayer. Let us recall, here in the Square, that sign: “Prayer is at the root of peace”. This gift must be implored and must be welcomed with commitment every day, in whatever situation we are in. At the dawn of this new year, we are all called to rekindle in our heart an impulse of hope, which must be translated into concrete works of peace. “Are you in disaccord with this person? Make peace!”; “At home? Make peace!” “In your community? Make peace!”; “At your place of work? Make peace!”. Work for peace, for reconciliation and fraternity. Each of us must perform gestures of fraternity toward our neighbour, especially toward those who are tried by family tensions or various types of conflict. These small gestures are of so much value: they can be seeds which give hope, they can open paths and perspectives of peace.

Let us now invoke Mary, Queen of Peace. During her life on earth, she met many difficulties, related to the daily toils of life. But she never lost peace of heart, the fruit of faithful abandonment to God’s mercy. Let us ask Mary, our gentle Mother, to show the entire world the sure way of love and peace.

After the Angelus:
Dear brothers and sisters, I address a cordial greeting to all of you, dear pilgrims from Italy and from other countries who are participating in this prayer gathering.

I express the hope to each one that this second Sunday after Christmas may be spent in peace and serenity, and that the joy of Jesus’ birth continue.

As previously announced, on 14 February I will have the joy of holding a Consistory, during which I shall create 15 new Cardinals who come from 13 nations and from every continent and manifest the unbreakable bond between the Church of Rome and the Particular Churches present in the world.

On Sunday, 15 February, I shall preside at a solemn concelebration with the new Cardinals, while on 12 and 13 February, I will hold a Consistory with all the Cardinals in order to reflect on the proposed reform of the Roman Curia.

The new Cardinals’ names are:

1 — Archbishop Dominique Mamberti, titular Archbishop of Sagona, Prefect of the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura

2 — Patriarch Manuel José Macário do Nascimento Clemente of Lisbon, Portugal

3 — Archbishop Berhaneyesus Demerew Souraphiel, C.M., of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

4 — Archbishop John Atcherley Dew of Wellington, New Zealand

5 — Archbishop Edoardo Menichelli, Archbishop of Ancona-Osimo, Italy

6 — Archbishop Pierre Nguyên Văn Nhon of Hanoi, Vietnam

7 — Archbishop Alberto Suárez Inda of Morelia, Mexico

8 — Archbishop Charles Maung Bo, S.D.B., Archbishop of Yangon, Myanmar

9 — Archbishop Francis Xavier Kriengsak Kovithavanij of Bangkok, Thailand

10 — Archbishop Francesco Montenegro of Agrigento, Italy

11 — Archbishop Daniel Fernando Sturla Berhouet, S.D.B., of Montevideo, Uruguay

12 — Archbishop Ricardo Blázquez Pérez of Valladolid, Spain

13 — Bishop José Luis Lacunza Maestrojuán, O.A.R., of David, Panama

14 — Bishop Arlindo Gomes Furtado of Santiago de Cabo Verde, Archipelago of Cape Verde

15 — Bishop Soane Patita Paini Mafi of Tonga, Islands of Tonga

Additionally, to the Members of the College of Cardinals, I will add five Archbishops and Bishops emeritus who have distinguished themselves through their pastoral charity in service to the Holy See and the Church. They represent many Bishops who, with the same pastoral solicitude, have borne witness to the love of Christ and to the People of God in the Particular Churches, in the Roman Curia, and in the Diplomatic Service of the Holy See. They are:

1 — Archbishop emeritus José de Jesús Pimiento Rodríguez of Manizales, Colombia

2 — Archbishop Luigi De Magistris, titular Archbishop of Nova, Pro-Major Penitentiary emeritus

3 — Archbishop Karl-Josef Rauber, titular Archbishop of Iubaltiana, Apostolic Nuncio

4 — Archbishop emeritus Luis Héctor Villalba of Tucumán, Argentina

5 — Bishop emeritus Júlio Duarte Langa of Xai-Xai, Mozambique

Let us pray for the new Cardinals, that, renewing their love of Christ, they may be witnesses of his Gospel in the City of Rome and in the world and with their pastoral experience they may more intensely support me in my apostolic service.

Happy Sunday to everyone! It is a beautiful day for visiting the museums. Please Do not forget to pray for me. Enjoy your lunch. Arrivederci!

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