At noon today in Rome, the Holy Father, Pope Francis appeared at the window of his study in the Vatican Apostolic Palace to recite the Angelus with the faithful and with pilgrims gathered in Saint Peter's Square for the usual Sunday appointment. This week, two of my priest friends were there to hear this message in person.
Dear brothers and sisters, good morning!
The gospel for this second-to-last Sunday of the liturgical year recounts a part of the speech Jesus shared about the final events of human history, and about the coming of the kingdom of God (cf Mk 13:24-32). It is a speech that Jesus gives in Jerusalem, before his final Passover. It contains a few apocalyptical elements such as war, famines and cosmic catastrophes: The sun will be darkened and the moon shall not give her light, the stars will fall from the sky and the powers of the heavens will be shaken (Mk 13:24-25). Meanwhile, these elements are not the essential part of the message. The central nucleus around which the speech is focused is Jesus himself, the mystery of his person and of his death and resurrection, and his return at the end of time.
Our final goal is an encounter with the risen Lord. I want to ask you: how many of you think about this? There will be a day when I will meet the Lord face to face. This is our goal: this encounter. We do not know the time or the place, but we will meet a person: Jesus. Therefore, the problem is not when the warning signs will signal the end times but that we should be ready for the meeting. Neither is it a matter of knowing how these things will come about, but how we should act today, as we await such things. We are called to live in the present, building our future with serenity and trust in God. The parable of the fig tree that sprouts as a sign of summer drawing near (Mk 13:28-29), tells us that the prospect of the end times should not distract us from the present, but cause us to see our times from the perspective of hope. This is a virtue that is so difficult to live: hope, the smallest of the virtues, but the strongest. Our hope has a face: the face of the risen Lord, who conquers with great power and glory (Mk 13:26), in order to show his crucified love transfigured in the resurrection. Jesus' triumph at the end of time will be the triumph of the Cross, the demonstration that self-sacrifice out of love for ones neighbour, in imitation of Christ, is the only victorious power and the only sure point of reference in the midst of the upheavals and tragedies of the world.
The Lord Jesus is not only the point of arrival for our earthly pilgrimage, but also a constant presence in our lives: he is always close to us, accompanying us at all times: for this reason, when he speaks of the future, and propels us toward it, it is always in order to lead us back to the present. He takes a stand against the false prophets, against visionaries who claim that the end of the world is near, and against fatalism. He is close, walking with us, loving us. He wants to set straight his disciples of every age who have a curiosity for dates, forecasts and horoscopes and focus our attention on today's story. I would like to ask you - but please do not respond, every one of you can answer within yourself - how many of you read daily horoscopes? Everyone answer within yourself. And when you have the desire to read horoscopes, look to Jesus, who is with you. He is better, he will make you feel better. The presence of Jesus reminds us to wait and to be vigilant, to leave no room for impatience and for contentedness, to continue moving forward rather than remaining imprisoned by the current times and by worldliness.
Even in our current day, there is no shortage of natural and moral disasters, and adversities and hardships of all kinds. Everything is temporary - the Lord reminds us - only He, his Word remains as a light to guide us, to refresh our steps and to forgive us always, because he is near to us. We only need to look to him and he will change our hearts. May the Virgin Mary help us to trust in Jesus, the solid foundation of our lives, and to persevere with joy in his love.
Following the recitation of the Angelus, the Holy Father continued:
Dear brothers and sisters,
I want to express my sorrow for the terrorist attacks that late in the night on Friday left France bleeding and took many victims. To the President of the French Republic and to all the citizens, I send the expressions of my fraternal condolences. I am especially close to the families of those who have lost their lives and to those who have been wounded.
Such barbarism leaves us in shock and we wonder how the human heart can conceive of and create such horrible events, which have shaken not only France but the entire world. Faced with such acts, we cannot but condemn such an unspeakable affront to the dignity of the human person. I want to vigorously affirm the fact that the path of violence and of hatred can never resolve the problems of humanity and that the use of the name of God to justify such means is a blasphemy!
I invite you to join me in prayer: let us confide unto the mercy of God all the helpless victims of this tragedy. May the Virgin Mary, Mother of mercy, inspire thoughts of wisdom and peaceful intentions in the hearts of all people. Let us ask her to protect and to watch over the beloved French nation, the Church's eldest daughter, over Europe and over the entire world. All together, let us pray a while in silence and then we will recite the Hail Mary.
Hail Mary ...
Yesterday in Três Pontas, in the State of Minas Gerais in Brazil, Father Francisco de Paula Victor, a Brazilian priest born in Africa, the son of a slave, was proclaimed Blessed. A generous pastor, he was a zealous catechist and administrator of the sacraments, distinguished above all for his great humility. May his extraordinary witness be a model for all priests, called to be humble servants to the people of God.
I greet you all, families, parishes, associations and single faithful, who have come from various parts of Italy and from all corners of the world. In particular, I greet the pilgrims from Granada, Málaga, Valencia and Murcia (Spain), San Salvador and Malta; the Accompagnatori Santuari Mariani nel Mondo Association and the Christo Re Secular Institute.
I wish you all a good Sunday, and please, don't forget to pray for me. Enjoy your lunch and good bye!
Greetings of His Holiness, Pope Francis
prior to the recitation of the Angelus
Dear brothers and sisters, good morning!
The gospel for this second-to-last Sunday of the liturgical year recounts a part of the speech Jesus shared about the final events of human history, and about the coming of the kingdom of God (cf Mk 13:24-32). It is a speech that Jesus gives in Jerusalem, before his final Passover. It contains a few apocalyptical elements such as war, famines and cosmic catastrophes: The sun will be darkened and the moon shall not give her light, the stars will fall from the sky and the powers of the heavens will be shaken (Mk 13:24-25). Meanwhile, these elements are not the essential part of the message. The central nucleus around which the speech is focused is Jesus himself, the mystery of his person and of his death and resurrection, and his return at the end of time.
Our final goal is an encounter with the risen Lord. I want to ask you: how many of you think about this? There will be a day when I will meet the Lord face to face. This is our goal: this encounter. We do not know the time or the place, but we will meet a person: Jesus. Therefore, the problem is not when the warning signs will signal the end times but that we should be ready for the meeting. Neither is it a matter of knowing how these things will come about, but how we should act today, as we await such things. We are called to live in the present, building our future with serenity and trust in God. The parable of the fig tree that sprouts as a sign of summer drawing near (Mk 13:28-29), tells us that the prospect of the end times should not distract us from the present, but cause us to see our times from the perspective of hope. This is a virtue that is so difficult to live: hope, the smallest of the virtues, but the strongest. Our hope has a face: the face of the risen Lord, who conquers with great power and glory (Mk 13:26), in order to show his crucified love transfigured in the resurrection. Jesus' triumph at the end of time will be the triumph of the Cross, the demonstration that self-sacrifice out of love for ones neighbour, in imitation of Christ, is the only victorious power and the only sure point of reference in the midst of the upheavals and tragedies of the world.
The Lord Jesus is not only the point of arrival for our earthly pilgrimage, but also a constant presence in our lives: he is always close to us, accompanying us at all times: for this reason, when he speaks of the future, and propels us toward it, it is always in order to lead us back to the present. He takes a stand against the false prophets, against visionaries who claim that the end of the world is near, and against fatalism. He is close, walking with us, loving us. He wants to set straight his disciples of every age who have a curiosity for dates, forecasts and horoscopes and focus our attention on today's story. I would like to ask you - but please do not respond, every one of you can answer within yourself - how many of you read daily horoscopes? Everyone answer within yourself. And when you have the desire to read horoscopes, look to Jesus, who is with you. He is better, he will make you feel better. The presence of Jesus reminds us to wait and to be vigilant, to leave no room for impatience and for contentedness, to continue moving forward rather than remaining imprisoned by the current times and by worldliness.
Even in our current day, there is no shortage of natural and moral disasters, and adversities and hardships of all kinds. Everything is temporary - the Lord reminds us - only He, his Word remains as a light to guide us, to refresh our steps and to forgive us always, because he is near to us. We only need to look to him and he will change our hearts. May the Virgin Mary help us to trust in Jesus, the solid foundation of our lives, and to persevere with joy in his love.
Following the recitation of the Angelus, the Holy Father continued:
Dear brothers and sisters,
I want to express my sorrow for the terrorist attacks that late in the night on Friday left France bleeding and took many victims. To the President of the French Republic and to all the citizens, I send the expressions of my fraternal condolences. I am especially close to the families of those who have lost their lives and to those who have been wounded.
Such barbarism leaves us in shock and we wonder how the human heart can conceive of and create such horrible events, which have shaken not only France but the entire world. Faced with such acts, we cannot but condemn such an unspeakable affront to the dignity of the human person. I want to vigorously affirm the fact that the path of violence and of hatred can never resolve the problems of humanity and that the use of the name of God to justify such means is a blasphemy!
I invite you to join me in prayer: let us confide unto the mercy of God all the helpless victims of this tragedy. May the Virgin Mary, Mother of mercy, inspire thoughts of wisdom and peaceful intentions in the hearts of all people. Let us ask her to protect and to watch over the beloved French nation, the Church's eldest daughter, over Europe and over the entire world. All together, let us pray a while in silence and then we will recite the Hail Mary.
Hail Mary ...
Yesterday in Três Pontas, in the State of Minas Gerais in Brazil, Father Francisco de Paula Victor, a Brazilian priest born in Africa, the son of a slave, was proclaimed Blessed. A generous pastor, he was a zealous catechist and administrator of the sacraments, distinguished above all for his great humility. May his extraordinary witness be a model for all priests, called to be humble servants to the people of God.
I greet you all, families, parishes, associations and single faithful, who have come from various parts of Italy and from all corners of the world. In particular, I greet the pilgrims from Granada, Málaga, Valencia and Murcia (Spain), San Salvador and Malta; the Accompagnatori Santuari Mariani nel Mondo Association and the Christo Re Secular Institute.
I wish you all a good Sunday, and please, don't forget to pray for me. Enjoy your lunch and good bye!
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