Pope Francis to have Sunday lunch with 1,300 guests on World Day of the Poor

Vatican City, May 3, 2020 / 06:30 am (CNA).- Pope Francis called on all Catholics to pray for vocations to the priesthood and consecrated life on Good Shepherd Sunday, the World Day of Prayer for Vocations.

“Priesthood and consecrated life require courage and perseverance, and without prayer one does not follow this path. I invite everyone to ask the Lord for the gift of good workers for his kingdom who have their hearts and hands open to his love,” Pope Francis said on May 3.

In his Regina Caeli address, the pope said that the World Day of Prayer of Vocations is a reminder of Jesus’ words in the Gospel of Matthew: “The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few, so ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest.”

Christ, the Good Shepherd, calls his sheep by name and the sheep listen to his voice, the pope said.

“Christian existence is always a response to the call of God, in any state of life,” he said.

Speaking from the library of the Vatican’s Apostolic Palace, Pope Francis offered advice for discerning the Lord’s voice from other voices of temptation or distraction.

He said that the voice of the evil one “seduces, assails, forces” with “tempting but passing emotions”.

“At first it flatters, makes us believe that we are omnipotent, but then it leaves us with emptiness inside and accuses us: ‘You are worth nothing,’” he said. “The voice of God, on the other hand, corrects us with much patience, but always encourages us, consoles us. It always nourishes hope.”

“The voice of God never binds: God proposes himself, he does not impose himself,” he said.

Pope Francis explained that the voice of temptation “always revolves around the self,” whereas the voice of God invites all to go “beyond ourselves to find true goodness and peace.”

“Dear brothers and sisters, in this time many thoughts and concerns lead us to turn in on ourselves. We pay attention to the voices that reach our heart. Let’s ask where they come from,” Pope Francis said.

Pope Francis said that May is “the Marian month par excellence” and encouraged people to place all of their concerns, expectations, and plans for the future “in the heart of the Holy Virgin.”

In his message for the 2020 World Day of Vocations, Pope Francis pointed to Mary’s courageous “yes” to God at the Annunciation as a model to follow:

“Cultivate the interior disposition of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Grateful that Lord gazed upon her, faithful amid fear and turmoil, she courageously embraced her vocation and made of her life an eternal song of praise to the Lord.”

“Every vocation is born of that gaze of love with which the Lord came to meet us,” he said. “We will succeed in discovering and embracing our vocation once we open our hearts in gratitude and perceive the passage of God in our lives.”

The pope stressed that vocational discernment is not simply “a decision we make as isolated individuals.”

“Vocation, more than our own choice, is a response to the Lord’s unmerited call,” he said.

Due to the coronavirus pandemic, Pope Francis led the traditional Marian Regina Caeli prayer via video livestream on May 3. The pope then appeared in the window of the Apostolic Palace above an empty St. Peter’s Square to offer a blessing for the city of Rome and the world.

“We ask for the grace to recognize and follow the voice of the Good Shepherd, who brings us out of the enclosure of selfishness and leads us to the pastures of true freedom. Our Lady, Mother of the Good Council, guide and accompany our discernment,” Pope Francis said.

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Pope Francis waves during his Sunday Angelus message and prayer on July 17, 2022 / Vatican Media

Vatican City, Jul 17, 2022 / 07:00 am (CNA).
Practical effort, while necessary, will be only “sterile activism” unless it flows from listening to t… […]

Vatican City, May 3, 2017 / 04:30 am (CNA/EWTN News).- On Wednesday Pope Francis recalled his recent visit to Egypt, saying that given its rich biblical and cultural history, the country is a sign of hope, and has a special role to play in brokering peace in the Middle East.

“Egypt for us was a sign of hope, of refuge and of help,” the Pope said during his May 3 general audience.

He noted how in scripture Jacob and his sons traveled to the region when it was in famine, and later Jesus himself also found refuge there from Herod.

“So recounting this trip enters on the path of recounting hope,” he said, adding that for Christians, “Egypt has the sense of speaking about hope, whether in history or today, and of this brotherhood that I am telling you about.”

Pope Francis spoke just days after returning from his April 28-29 visit to Egypt, which was made largely as the result of a recent thawing in relations between the Vatican and the prestigious al-Azhar University, one of the highest institutional authorities in Sunni Islam, which had been strained since 2011.

The visit also took place in wake of increasing attacks on Egypt’s Coptic community, and as such was meant to offer support for local Christians as well as cement Catholic-Muslim relations.

During his visit, Pope Francis met with the Great Imam of al-Azhar, Ahmed Mohamed al-Tayyeb, at the al-Azhar University, where he also spoke to the International Conference for Peace. He then met with Egypt’s president, Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, and civil authorities before sharing a moment of prayer with Coptic Orthodox Patriarch Tawadros II.

He also spent time with Egypt’s Christian community, celebrating Mass for Catholics on the second and final day of his trip, and meeting with the country’s priests, religious and seminarians.

In his general audience address, the Pope thanked Egypt for “the truly warm welcome” he was given, saying President el-Sisi and the Egyptian authorities made “an extraordinary commitment so this event could take place in the best of ways.”

The goal, he said, was for the visit to be “a sign of peace for Egypt and for that entire region, which unfortunately suffers from conflicts and terrorism.”

Francis told pilgrims that his visit to the al-Azhar University had the “double horizon” of promoting dialogue between Christians and Muslims, and of promoting peace on a global level.

“In this context, I offered a reflection that valued the history of Egypt as a land of civilization and alliance,” he said, explaining that Egypt is widely considered to be “synonymous with ancient civilization and with treasures of art and knowledge.”

This serves as a reminder “that peace is built through education, the formation of wisdom, of a humanism which includes as the religious dimension, the relationship with God, as an integral part,” he said, pointing to the speech given by al-Tayyeb.

“Peace is also built starting from the alliance between God and man, founded on the alliance between men,” he said, explaining that this is a law which can be summed up in the two commandments of love of God and neighbor.

Francis then said this same foundation is also the basis of building “the social and civic order, in which all citizens of every culture, origin and religion are called to participate.”

Because of “the great historic and religious patrimony” of Egypt and its role in the Middle East, the country has “a peculiar task on the path toward a stable and lasting peace, which does not rely on the law of force, but the force of the law.”

Turning to his encounter with Egypt’s Christian community, the Pope said that Christians in Egypt, as in every other nation, “are called to be the leaven of brotherhood,” which is only possible if they are in communion with Christ.

Recalling how he signed a joint-declaration with Patriarch Tawadros, Francis said the two renewed their commitment to finding a shared baptism, and prayed together for the “the martyrs” who have died in recent attacks on the Coptic community.

“Their blood fertilized that ecumenical encounter,” he said, noting that in addition to himself and Tawadros, Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople was also present.  

Francis then pointed to the Mass he celebrated with Egyptian Catholics, calling it a celebration of “faith and fraternity,” in which the presence of the Risen Lord was truly felt.

He also recalled his meeting with the priests, religious and seminarians of Egypt, saying he saw in them “the beauty of the Church in Egypt,” and could pray with them for all Christians in the Middle East, that “they be salt and light in that land, in the midst of that people.”

Speaking off-the-cuff, he noted that Egypt has “a lot of seminarians,” which he said is “a consolation.”

He closed by offering his thanks and praying that the Holy Family of Nazareth, who “emigrated on the banks of the Nile to avoid the violence of Herod,” would always bless and protect the Egyptian people, “and guide them on the path of prosperity, fraternity and peace.”

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