At noon today (Rome time), 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.
Dear brothers and sisters, good morning!
This Sunday's gospel (Mt 16:13-20) recounts a key passage in Jesus' journey with his disciples: the moment when He wanted to verify the strength of their faith in Him. First, he wanted to know what people were thinking about Him; and people were thinking that Jesus was a prophet, something that was true, but that did not define who he was, it did not describe the focus of his mission. Then, turning the question to his disciples - those who were closest to his heart - he asked them directly: But you, who do you say that I am? (Mt 16:15). And with this but, Jesus decisively separates the Apostles from the rest of the people, as if to say: but you, who are with me every day and know me up close, what more have you learned about me? The Master expected from them a higher answer, different from the response of public opinion. And, indeed, this higher answer comes from the heart of Simon Peter: You are the Christ, the Son of the living God (Mt 16:16). Simon Peter found words on his lips that were larger than himself, words that did not come from his own natural capacity. It is possible that he did not attend elementary school, and yet he was capable of speaking such words, stronger than he was! These words were inspired by our heavenly Father (cf Mt 16:17), who revealed Jesus' true identity first to the Twelve: He is the Messiah, the Son who was sent by the Father to save humanity. In this response, Jesus understood that, thanks to the faith which was given by the Father, there was a solid foundation on which he could build his community, his Church. This was the reason why he said to Simon: You, Simon, you are Peter - which means rock - and upon this rock I will build my Church (Mt 16:18).
Also with us today, Jesus wants to continue building his Church, this house with its solid foundation, but where there is no shortage of cracks that still need to be repaired. Always. The Church constantly needs to be reformed, repaired. We certainly don't feel like rocks, only like small stones. Nonetheless, no small stone is useless; indeed, in Jesus' hands, even the smallest stones are precious because He gathers them up, looks at them with tenderness, forms them with the help of his Spirit and puts them in the right places, where he has always known they belong and where they can be most useful for the overall construction. Each one of us is a small stone, but in Jesus' hands, we participate in the building of the Church, and all of us, no matter how small, we are living stones, for when Jesus takes our stones into his hands, he makes us his, he gives us life, he fills us with life, he fills us with the Holy Spirit, he fills us with the life of his love, and therefore we have a place, a mission in the Church: a living community, made up of so many stones, each one of them is different but together we form a unique building, a sign of fraternity and communion.
Moreover, today's gospel reminds us that Jesus also desired a visible centre for his Church, for the community, and this focus was Peter - he too was not a great or big stone, only a small one, but held in Jesus' hands, he became the centre of communion - in Peter and in those who have succeeded him with the primatial responsibility, the ones who have from the very beginning been identified as the Bishops of Rome, the city where Peter and Paul bore the witness of their blood.
Let us entrust ourselves to Mary, the Queen of Apostles, Mother of the Church. She was in the cenacle (the Upper Room), beside Peter, when the Holy Spirit descended upon the Apostles and motivated them to go out, to proclaim to all people that Jesus is Lord. Today, our Mother supports us and accompanies us with her intercession, so that the fullness of unity and communion, for which Jesus and his Apostles prayed and for which they gave their lives, may truly come to be.
Following the recitation of the Angelus, the Holy Father continued:
Dear brothers and sisters, major flooding has struck in Bangladesh, in Nepal and in India. I wish to express my closeness to those people and to reassure them that I am praying for the victims and for all those who are suffering because of this calamity.
Sad news has arrived concerning the persecution of the Rohingya religious minority, our brothers and sisters. I wish to express my closeness to all of them; and let us all ask the Lord to save them and to raise up men and women of good will to help them, to assure them the fullness of their rights. Let us pray together for our Rohingya brothers and sisters.
I greet all of you, faithful of Rome and pilgrims from Italy and from other countries: families, parish groups and associations.
In particular, I greet the members of the Third Order Carmelites; the youth from Tombelle, in the diocese of Padua ... there are many of you! - who have recently celebrated the Sacrament of Confirmation; and the group from Lodivecchio: they are very brave, they have come here on foot, on pilgrimage, the final part from Via Francigena. Be as courageous in all aspects of your life!
I wish you all a good Sunday. Remember me, don't forget to pray for me. Enjoy your lunch and good bye!
In his remarks today, the Holy Father appealed for an end to the violent persecution of the minority Rohingya population in Burma. The Rohingya are an ethnic minority who live mostly in Rakhine State – sometimes styled Arakan – on the western coast of Burma, and practice Islam. The government of Burma – also known as Myanmar – does not recognize the citizenship or the ethnic minority status of the Rohingya.
After several years of fighting with the majority Buddhist population in the state, Rohingya began fleeing their native land en masse, precipitating a refugee crisis. Organized violence against the Rohingya, with the participation of government forces, has been underway since at least 2015, with spikes of intensity in 2016 and 2017.
Nearly 100 thousand Rohingya have fled to Bangladesh in the past year, though the Bangladeshi government has yet to recognize the refugee status of the displaced minority.
Pope Francis’ appeal today follows fighting between the Rohingya and the regular Burmese army on Friday in the city of Maungdaw, which are reported to be the worst since October of last year, and have prompted evacuations from the area of government personnel and of non-Muslims. Nearly 100 people are officially reported dead in the ongoing clashes, including 80 Rohingya insurgents and 12 members of the Burmese security forces deployed in the theatre.
Greetings of the Holy Father, Pope Francis
prior to the recitation of the Angelus
Dear brothers and sisters, good morning!
This Sunday's gospel (Mt 16:13-20) recounts a key passage in Jesus' journey with his disciples: the moment when He wanted to verify the strength of their faith in Him. First, he wanted to know what people were thinking about Him; and people were thinking that Jesus was a prophet, something that was true, but that did not define who he was, it did not describe the focus of his mission. Then, turning the question to his disciples - those who were closest to his heart - he asked them directly: But you, who do you say that I am? (Mt 16:15). And with this but, Jesus decisively separates the Apostles from the rest of the people, as if to say: but you, who are with me every day and know me up close, what more have you learned about me? The Master expected from them a higher answer, different from the response of public opinion. And, indeed, this higher answer comes from the heart of Simon Peter: You are the Christ, the Son of the living God (Mt 16:16). Simon Peter found words on his lips that were larger than himself, words that did not come from his own natural capacity. It is possible that he did not attend elementary school, and yet he was capable of speaking such words, stronger than he was! These words were inspired by our heavenly Father (cf Mt 16:17), who revealed Jesus' true identity first to the Twelve: He is the Messiah, the Son who was sent by the Father to save humanity. In this response, Jesus understood that, thanks to the faith which was given by the Father, there was a solid foundation on which he could build his community, his Church. This was the reason why he said to Simon: You, Simon, you are Peter - which means rock - and upon this rock I will build my Church (Mt 16:18).
Also with us today, Jesus wants to continue building his Church, this house with its solid foundation, but where there is no shortage of cracks that still need to be repaired. Always. The Church constantly needs to be reformed, repaired. We certainly don't feel like rocks, only like small stones. Nonetheless, no small stone is useless; indeed, in Jesus' hands, even the smallest stones are precious because He gathers them up, looks at them with tenderness, forms them with the help of his Spirit and puts them in the right places, where he has always known they belong and where they can be most useful for the overall construction. Each one of us is a small stone, but in Jesus' hands, we participate in the building of the Church, and all of us, no matter how small, we are living stones, for when Jesus takes our stones into his hands, he makes us his, he gives us life, he fills us with life, he fills us with the Holy Spirit, he fills us with the life of his love, and therefore we have a place, a mission in the Church: a living community, made up of so many stones, each one of them is different but together we form a unique building, a sign of fraternity and communion.
Moreover, today's gospel reminds us that Jesus also desired a visible centre for his Church, for the community, and this focus was Peter - he too was not a great or big stone, only a small one, but held in Jesus' hands, he became the centre of communion - in Peter and in those who have succeeded him with the primatial responsibility, the ones who have from the very beginning been identified as the Bishops of Rome, the city where Peter and Paul bore the witness of their blood.
Let us entrust ourselves to Mary, the Queen of Apostles, Mother of the Church. She was in the cenacle (the Upper Room), beside Peter, when the Holy Spirit descended upon the Apostles and motivated them to go out, to proclaim to all people that Jesus is Lord. Today, our Mother supports us and accompanies us with her intercession, so that the fullness of unity and communion, for which Jesus and his Apostles prayed and for which they gave their lives, may truly come to be.
Following the recitation of the Angelus, the Holy Father continued:
Dear brothers and sisters, major flooding has struck in Bangladesh, in Nepal and in India. I wish to express my closeness to those people and to reassure them that I am praying for the victims and for all those who are suffering because of this calamity.
Sad news has arrived concerning the persecution of the Rohingya religious minority, our brothers and sisters. I wish to express my closeness to all of them; and let us all ask the Lord to save them and to raise up men and women of good will to help them, to assure them the fullness of their rights. Let us pray together for our Rohingya brothers and sisters.
I greet all of you, faithful of Rome and pilgrims from Italy and from other countries: families, parish groups and associations.
In particular, I greet the members of the Third Order Carmelites; the youth from Tombelle, in the diocese of Padua ... there are many of you! - who have recently celebrated the Sacrament of Confirmation; and the group from Lodivecchio: they are very brave, they have come here on foot, on pilgrimage, the final part from Via Francigena. Be as courageous in all aspects of your life!
I wish you all a good Sunday. Remember me, don't forget to pray for me. Enjoy your lunch and good bye!
In his remarks today, the Holy Father appealed for an end to the violent persecution of the minority Rohingya population in Burma. The Rohingya are an ethnic minority who live mostly in Rakhine State – sometimes styled Arakan – on the western coast of Burma, and practice Islam. The government of Burma – also known as Myanmar – does not recognize the citizenship or the ethnic minority status of the Rohingya.
After several years of fighting with the majority Buddhist population in the state, Rohingya began fleeing their native land en masse, precipitating a refugee crisis. Organized violence against the Rohingya, with the participation of government forces, has been underway since at least 2015, with spikes of intensity in 2016 and 2017.
Nearly 100 thousand Rohingya have fled to Bangladesh in the past year, though the Bangladeshi government has yet to recognize the refugee status of the displaced minority.
Pope Francis’ appeal today follows fighting between the Rohingya and the regular Burmese army on Friday in the city of Maungdaw, which are reported to be the worst since October of last year, and have prompted evacuations from the area of government personnel and of non-Muslims. Nearly 100 people are officially reported dead in the ongoing clashes, including 80 Rohingya insurgents and 12 members of the Burmese security forces deployed in the theatre.
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