Pope Francis delivers his Angelus address on Feb. 11, 2024. / Vatican Media
Vatican City, Feb 11, 2024 / 10:00 am (CNA).
Pope Francis urged people to bring God’s love to the sick and suffering through “concrete actions” in his Angelus address o… […]
Pope Francis delivers his Sunday Angelus address at St. Peter’s on Feb. 4, 2024. / Credit: Vatican Media
Vatican City, Feb 4, 2024 / 09:22 am (CNA).
Pope Francis reminded the faithful during the Sunday Angelus that Jesus’ example of being “on the move,” in his preaching and in performing miracles, is a reminder that God is never distant, but “always close to us.”
Reflecting on today’s Gospel reading from Mark 1:29-39, the pope observed in his exegesis that Jesus, “after teaching in the synagogue, comes out so that the Word he preached can reach, touch and heal people.”
While acknowledging that the idea of a God that “is distant, cold, indifferent to our fate” is prevalent, the pope underscored that today’s reading dispels this notion, revealing to us instead that Jesus shows “to us that God is not a detached master who speaks to us from on high.”
“On the contrary, he is a Father filled with love who makes himself close to us, who visits our homes, who wants to save and liberate, heal from every ill of the body and spirit,” the pope said to the faithful gathered in St. Peter’s Square on Feb. 4.
Summarizing God’s attitude in three key words, “closeness, compassion, and tenderness,” the Holy Father reiterated that God is made known to us and comes “close to accompany us, tenderly, and to forgive us.”
The pope then called upon the faithful to undertake an interior reflection by asking the following questions: “Does faith instill in us the restlessness of journeying or is it an intimist consolation, that calms us? Do we pray just to feel at peace, or does the Word we listen to and preach make us go out, like Jesus, towards others, to spread God’s consolation?”
Though acknowledging that this literal and metaphorical walking of Jesus “challenges us,” it is our “spiritual task” to answer these questions, which, in turn, will lead us to “convert every day to the God Jesus presents to us in the Gospel, the Father of love and compassion.”
“When we discover the true face of the Father, our faith matures, we no longer remain ‘sacristy Christians, or ‘parlor Christians,’ but rather we feel called to become bearers of God’s hope and healing,” the pope added.
Following the recitation of the papal blessing, Pope Francis expressed his closeness to all those in China, Southeast Asia, and around the world who are celebrating the Lunar New Year, observing that “this celebration be an opportunity to experience relationships of affection and gestures of attention, which contribute to creating a supportive and fraternal society, where every person is recognized and welcomed in their inalienable dignity.”
The Lunar New Year, also known as the Chinese New Year or the Spring Festival, is a celebration of the new year according to the lunisolar Chinese calendar. The holiday commences on the new moon that falls between the end of January and early February and concludes on the subsequent full moon. This year the celebration runs from Feb. 10 to Feb. 15 and ushers in the year of the Dragon.
On Friday, Feb. 2 Pope Francis received a Delegation of the Italy-China National Federation in the Apostolic Palace, where the pontiff was greeted by a folkloric dance by the Chinese Martial Arts Academy of Vercelli.
The pope congratulated the group for their work in spearheading “a number of initiatives aimed at fostering dialogue between Italy and China, and seeking to respond to the challenges posed by cultural integration, education and the promotion of shared social values.”
Pope Francis prays the Angelus on Jan. 7, 2024, and offers pilgrims gathered in St. Peter’s Square a reflection on baptism. / Vatican Media
Vatican City, Jan 7, 2024 / 10:04 am (CNA).
Pope Francis said Sunday that if you do not know the date of your baptism, you need to look it up so that you can celebrate the anniversary of becoming a child of God and heir to the kingdom of heaven.
Speaking from the window of the Vatican’s Apostolic Palace, the pope said on Jan. 7 that the anniversary of one’s baptism should be celebrated each year “like a birthday.”
“At baptism, it is God who comes into us, purifies and heals our heart, makes us forever His children, His people and family, heirs to Paradise,” Pope Francis said.
“Let us ask ourselves: am I aware of the immense gift I carry within me through baptism?” he added.
The pope spoke on the feast of the Baptism of the Lord, which commemorates Jesus’ baptism in the Jordan River by St. John the Baptist.
Earlier in the day, Pope Francis baptized 16 babies in the Sistine Chapel, where he said that baptism is “the most beautiful gift” that parents can give to their children.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church describes baptism as the “basis of the whole Christian life, the gateway to life in the Spirit … and the door which gives access to the other sacraments.”
In his Angelus address, Pope Francis said that each sign of the cross is a reminder of one’s baptism that “traces in us the memory of the grace of God, who loves us and desires to be with us.”
Pope Francis urged people to reflect and ask themselves: “Do I acknowledge, in my life, the light of the presence of God, who sees me as His beloved son, His beloved daughter?”
He also encouraged Catholics to thank God for their parents who brought them to the baptismal font and gave them the gift of the sacrament.
“It is important to remember the day of our baptism, and also to know the date. I ask all of you, each one of you to think: ‘Do I remember the date of my baptism?’” he said.
“If you do not remember, when you go back home, ask what it is, so as not to forget it anymore because it is a new birthday, because with your baptism you were born into the life of grace.”
After praying the Marian prayer with the crowd huddled together under umbrellas in St. Peter’s Square below, the pope urged people to continue praying for peace in Ukraine, Palestine, and Israel.
Pope Francis also asked for prayers for “the unconditional liberation” of all people who have been kidnapped in Colombia and expressed his closeness to the people affected by the recent flooding in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The pope wished a merry Christmas to the Eastern Orthodox Christians who are still following the Julian calendar and are celebrating Christmas this year on Jan. 7.
“With a spirit of joyful fraternity, I wish that the birth of the Lord Jesus fills them with light, charity, and peace,” he said.
Pope Francis smiles at pilgrims gathered in St. Peter’s Square on Jan. 1, 2023, for his first Angelus of the new year. / Credit: Vatican Media
Rome Newsroom, Jan 1, 2024 / 09:47 am (CNA).
Pope Francis delivered his first Angelus of the new year on Jan. 1, the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God, by reflecting that the importance of Mary’s motherhood is defined by love and underscored by a quiet silence that allowed her to place Christ at the center.
“She is Mother not only because she carried Jesus in her womb and gave birth to him, but because she brings him into the light, without occupying his place,” said the pope to the nearly 35,000 faithful gathered in St. Peter’s Square.
Pope Francis also used the occasion to appeal for prayers for the Church in Nicaragua, which has been at the center of an escalating persecution launched by the country’s president, Daniel Ortega.
“I am following with deep concern what is happening in Nicaragua, where Bishops and priests have been deprived of their freedom. I express to them, their families, and the entire Church in the country my closeness in prayer,” the Holy Father said.
“I also invite all of you present here and all the People of God to insistent prayer, while I hope that we will always seek the path of dialogue to overcome difficulties. Let’s pray for Nicaragua today.”
Just days after Christmas, on Dec. 28 and Dec. 29, Nicaragua’s Sandinista regime abducted four priests, whose whereabouts are still unknown.
The priests are: Monsignor Carlos Avilés, vicar general of the Archdiocese of Managua; Father Héctor Treminio, pastor of Holy Christ Parish in Esquipulas in the same archdiocese; and Father Fernando Calero, pastor of Our Lady of Fatima Parish in Rancho Grande in the Diocese of Matagalpa.
In his Angelus reflection, Pope Francis noted that Mary’s silence is a “beautiful feature” but should not be thought of as a “simple absence of words” but rather as a feature that is “filled with wonder and adoration for the wonders that God is working.”
“In this way, she makes room within herself for the One who was born; in silence and adoration, she places Jesus at the center and bears witness to Him as Saviour,” the pope observed.
The Holy Father went on to express that this expression of maternity seen in Mary is an ideal that is also seen in our mothers who “with their hidden care, with their thoughtfulness, are often magnificent cathedrals of silence. They bring us into the world and then continue to attend to us, often unnoticed, so that we can grow. Let us remember this: love never stifles; love makes room for the other and lets them grow.”
Pope Francis added that by reflecting on mothers, we can “learn that love that is cultivated above all in silence, that knows how to make room for the other, respecting their dignity, leaving the freedom to express themselves, rejecting every form of possession, oppression, and violence.”
In addition to the day’s Marian feast, on Jan. 1 the Church celebrates the World Day of Peace, a tradition which was started by Pope Paul VI in 1968. In light of this celebration, Pope Francis took a moment during the Angelus to note that “‘freedom and peaceful coexistence are threatened whenever human beings yield to the temptation to selfishness, self-interest, the desire for profit, and the thirst for power.’”
The pope underscored that the antidote to overcoming these destructive tendencies that are ubiquitous today is “love” which “consists of respect and kindness: In this way, it breaks down barriers and helps us to live fraternal relationships, to build up more just and humane, more peaceful societies.”
On Monday the Vatican released a video message from the pope invoking the Blessed Mother’s intercession for peace in the world.
Pope Francis waves during his Sunday Angelus on Dec. 31, 2023. / Credit: Vatican Media
Rome Newsroom, Dec 31, 2023 / 10:21 am (CNA).
In his final Angelus address of 2023, Pope Francis paid tribute to Pope Benedict XVI on the one-year anniversar… […]
Pope Francis gives a blessing after he delivers his Angelus address to pilgrims gathered in St. Peter’s Square on Dec. 26, 2023. / Credit: Vatican Media
Rome Newsroom, Dec 26, 2023 / 11:05 am (CNA).
During Tuesday’s Angelus on the occasion of t… […]
Pope Francis gives his Angelus address on Dec. 24, 2023. / Vatican Media
CNA Staff, Dec 24, 2023 / 11:40 am (CNA).
On Christmas Eve, Pope Francis urged Christians not to confuse Christmas with consumerism but to celebrate the birth of Christ by… […]
A member of the crowd in St. Peter’s Square holds up a baby Jesus figure for a blessing by Pope Francis at his Sunday Angelus Dec. 17, 2023. / Credit: Vatican Media
Rome Newsroom, Dec 17, 2023 / 12:00 pm (CNA).
Pope Francis reflected on St. John the Baptist as a luminous figure who testifies to the light and teaches us that “only in God do we find the light of life” during his Angelus address Dec. 17 on the third Sunday of Advent, or Gaudete Sunday.
Observing this as the first lesson that we can learn from John the Baptist, the Holy Father told pilgrims gathered in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican that the second is that “through service, consistency, humility, witness of life” we “can be a lamp that shines and helps others find the way on which to meet Jesus.”
Today’s message built upon the Holy Father’s Angelus message from the previous Sunday, where he highlighted John’s ministry as a voice that “is linked to the genuineness of his experience and the clarity of his heart.”
Expanding on this observation, the pontiff noted that John’s mission is characterized by his “frank language” and is underscored by his “sincere behavior, his austerity of life.” Thus it is through his example that the Holy Father suggested we look to John the Baptist as a figure who “motivate[s] us to rise above mediocrity and to be in turn models of good living for others.”
Expanding upon this point, the pope noted that we can see John as a “luminous” figure not only because he is “upright, free, and courageous” but because he submitted himself to God’s will, to carry out a mission to pronounce the light that is “Jesus, the Lamb of God” who “redeems, frees, heals, and enlightens.”
To that end, the luminosity of John is not self-aggrandizing, but instead he is at the service of others, a voice “who accompanies his brothers and sisters to the Word; he serves without seeking honors or the spotlight.” In this way the pope encouraged the faithful to look at John as a counterpoint to “other famous and powerful people” who “invested a lot in appearances.”
Drawing a connection between the biblical context and today, the pope noted that “in every age the Lord sends men and women like this,” but he asked the faithful: “Do we know how to recognize them? Do we try to learn from their witness, allowing ourselves to be challenged? Or rather, do we allow ourselves to be bedazzled by fashionable people?”
Following the recitation of the Angelus prayer, the Holy Father noted that on Saturday, Dec. 16, Argentine Cardinal Eduardo Francisco Pironio was beatified. The pope described Pironio as a “humble and zealous pastor, witness of hope, defender of the poor” who “collaborated with St. John Paul II in the promotion of the laity and in the World Youth Days.”
“May his example help us to be an outgoing Church, which becomes a traveling companion for everyone, especially the weakest,” the pope added.
The Mass of beatification was presided over by the 78-year-old Spanish Cardinal Vérgez Alzaga at the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Luján in Argentina, where Pironio is buried.
Also after the Angelus the pope sharply condemned the reported killing of two women outside a Catholic church in Gaza City on Saturday, allegedly by an Israeli sniper.
“I continue to receive very serious and painful news from Gaza,” the pope lamented. “Unarmed civilians are subjected to bombings and shootings. And this even happened inside the parish complex of the Holy Family, where there are no terrorists but families, children, sick and disabled people, nuns.”
“Someone says, ‘It’s terrorism, it’s war.’ Yes, it’s war, it’s terrorism. This is why Scripture states that ‘God stops wars … breaks bows and breaks spears,’” the pope said. “Let us pray to the Lord for peace.”
Pope Francis delivers Angelus message on Dec. 10, 2023. / Vatican Media
Rome Newsroom, Dec 10, 2023 / 10:40 am (CNA).
Pope Francis highlighted the importance of listening to God by embracing the example of John the Baptist, “the voice of … […]
Papal aide Monsignor Paolo Braida reads Pope Francis’ prepared remarks for the Sunday Angelus on Dec. 3, 2023, from the chapel at the papal residence at Casa Santa Marta. / Vatican Media
Vatican City, Dec 3, 2023 / 08:32 am (CNA).
Pope Francis for the second consecutive Sunday was assisted by an aide in praying the Angelus as he continues to recover from an acute bronchial infection.
“Even today I won’t be able to read everything: I’m improving, but my voice still doesn’t work,” the pope said during the Sunday morning broadcast on the first Sunday of Advent. Instead “it will be Monsignor [Paolo] Braida who reads the catechesis,” Francis continued.
Braida, who serves as the head of office at the Vatican’s Secretariat of State, once again read the pope’s remarks from the chapel at the papal residence at Casa Santa Marta. Last week the pope introduced him, saying he is the person who usually drafts the pope’s Angelus reflections.
Pope Francis normally prays the Angelus from the window of his studio overlooking St. Peter’s Square.
On Saturday afternoon the Holy See Press Office reported that “the health conditions of the Holy Father are improving; the pope has no fever and is continuing with the appropriate therapy. To avoid exposure to sudden changes in temperature, tomorrow morning Pope Francis will recite the Angelus via connection from Casa Santa Marta.”
Braida opened the first Angelus of the new liturgical year by reading the pope’s remarks on the theme of “vigilance,” noting that in the Christian context being vigilant does not arise out of “fear” but instead stems from a sense “of longing, of waiting to go forth to meet their Lord who is coming.”
Reflecting on the parable of the master who goes from his house, leaving his servants in charge, the pope in his remarks noted that “they remain in readiness for his return because they care for him, because they have in mind that when he returns, they will make him find a welcoming and orderly home; they are happy to see him, to the point that they look forward to his return as a feast for the whole great family of which they are a part.”
The same sense of longing that defines the season of Advent prepares us “to welcome Jesus at Christmas.”
The idea of preparedness is, Braida read, ultimately one characterized by hope as seen in the “attitude of the sentinel, who in the night is not tempted by weariness, does not fall asleep but remains awake awaiting the coming light. The Lord is our light and it is good to dispose the heart to welcome him with prayer and to host him with charity, the two preparations that, so to speak, make him comfortable.”
To that end, Advent is not only a time of preparation but also of interior reflection where we can ask ourselves “how we can prepare a welcoming heart for the Lord.”
“We can do so by approaching his forgiveness, his word, his table, finding space for prayer, welcoming those in need. Let us cultivate his expectation without letting ourselves be distracted by so many pointless things and without complaining all the time, but keeping our hearts alert, that is, eager for him, awake and ready, impatient to meet him.”
After the recitation of the Angelus, Braida read the pope’s appeal, drawing attention to the end of the temporary truce between Israel and Hamas, which lasted from Nov. 24 to Dec. 1, allowed for humanitarian aid to flow into Gaza, and resulted in a prisoner exchange between the two parties.
“It grieves us that the truce has been broken: that means death, destruction, misery. Many hostages have been freed, but many are still in Gaza. Let’s think to them, to their families who had seen a light, a hope of hugging their loved ones again,” Braida read.
The Qatari state-owned media outlet Al-Jazeera reported that a Hamas official told the network that “negotiations on prisoner exchanges are now over and will not resume until Israel halts its attack and hands over all Palestinian prisoners.”
The pope’s aide then noted that the Holy Father was following the events of the United Nations Climate Conference despite not being able to take the trip himself due to his illness.
“Even if from a distance, I am following the COP28 proceedings in Dubai with great attention. I’m close. I renew my appeal to respond to climate change with concrete political changes: Let us escape from the constraints of particularism and nationalism, patterns of the past, and embrace a common vision, committing ourselves all now, without delay, for a necessary global ecological conversion,” Braida read.
The pontiff, who will turn 87 on Dec. 17, was supposed to be in Dubai from Dec. 1–3 to deliver a speech to the conference and preside over the opening of the first-ever faith pavilion. However, given his illness and the ongoing treatment, the Vatican’s secretary of state, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, led the Vatican delegation in place of the pope.
The pope closed the broadcast by telling the nearly 20,000 faithful present in the piazza and those watching the broadcast: “I wish everyone a happy Sunday and a happy Advent journey.”
© Catholic World Report