Pope Francis delivers a message during his general audience on Wednesday, May 1, 2024, in Paul VI Hall at the Vatican. / Credit: Vatican MediaVatican City, May 1, 2024 / 09:45 am (CNA).On Wednesday, May 1, Pope Francis addressed an international audience in the Paul VI Hall at the Vatican and reiterated the importance of faith in the Christian life as well as the need to continually pray for "real peace" for the whole world.The Holy Father also deplored war profiteering, decrying the actions of those "making money off death" through huge investments in the production of weapons.Speaking to thousands of people gathered inside Vatican City on an overcast morning on the feast day of St. Joseph the Worker, the Holy Father spoke about the three theological virtues, beginning with faith, as part of his ongoing catechesis series on vices and virtues.Pope Francis greets pilgrims attending his weekly general audience in the Paul VI Audience Hall on May 1, 2024. Credit: Elizabeth Alva/CN...
Pope Francis delivers a message during his general audience on Wednesday, May 1, 2024, in Paul VI Hall at the Vatican. / Credit: Vatican Media
Vatican City, May 1, 2024 / 09:45 am (CNA).
On Wednesday, May 1, Pope Francis addressed an international audience in the Paul VI Hall at the Vatican and reiterated the importance of faith in the Christian life as well as the need to continually pray for "real peace" for the whole world.
The Holy Father also deplored war profiteering, decrying the actions of those "making money off death" through huge investments in the production of weapons.
Speaking to thousands of people gathered inside Vatican City on an overcast morning on the feast day of St. Joseph the Worker, the Holy Father spoke about the three theological virtues, beginning with faith, as part of his ongoing catechesis series on vices and virtues.
"What is faith?" Pope Francis asked his listeners. "Faith is the act by which the human being freely commits himself to God."
Speaking of men and women who are role models of faith, such as Abraham, Moses, and the Virgin Mary, the pope urged his listeners to also welcome God into their daily lives — freely and completely — in spite of life's difficulties, uncertainties, and tribulations.
"Faith is the first gift to welcome in Christian life: a gift that must be welcomed and asked for daily so that it may be renewed in us. It is seemingly a small gift, yet it is the essential one," he said.
The Holy Father also added that "the great enemy of faith" is fear and not intelligence or reason as many people believe.
Following his catechesis, Pope Francis greeted parish and religious groups from around the world packed into the crowded hall, many of whom brought flags and banners, and asked them to join him in prayer for peace in the world, particularly for those suffering due to natural disasters and conflict.
"Severe flooding has tragically taken the lives of many of our brothers and sisters, injured others, and caused widespread destruction," he said about the severe flooding affecting the people of Kenya. "Even amid adversity we remember the joy of the risen Christ, and I invoke upon you and your families the loving mercy of God our Father."
The Holy Father also reminded his audience to pray for those who are "victims of wars" in Ukraine, Palestine, and Israel, and to not forget the sufferings of the Rohingya refugees and to pray for peace in Myanmar.
"We cannot forget to pray for peace. War is always a defeat. Always," he said. "We ask for real peace for these peoples and for the whole world. Unfortunately, today, the investments that earn the most income are weapons factories. Terrible. Making money off death. We ask for peace."
Bishop Andrew Cozzens of Crookston, Minnesota, blesses the crowd with the Eucharist in a monstrance during an outdoor Pentecost Sunday Mass on May 19, 2024, in Bemidji, Minnesota. The Mass at the headwaters of the Mississippi River marked the start of the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage, a four-route trek consisting of Eucharistic processions, community service, and other events that culminates in July at the National Eucharistic Congress in Indianpolis. / Credit: Gianna Bonello/CNABemidji, Minnesota, May 19, 2024 / 21:47 pm (CNA).At the start of Mass Sunday at one of the launch sites of the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage, Bishop Andrew Cozzens remarked that although he had his hiking shoes on, the journey ahead would need something more than natural support to reach its intended destination."In order to make this pilgrimage fruitful, we need the Holy Spirit," said the Diocese of Crookston, Minnesota, bishop.If that's the case, then the National Eucharistic...
Pope Francis participates in Mass on the solemnity of Pentecost, May 19, 2024. / Credit: Daniel Ibanez/CNAVatican City, May 19, 2024 / 08:15 am (CNA).On the solemnity of Pentecost, Pope Francis said that Christians are called to proclaim the Gospel to everyone with gentleness and the power of the Holy Spirit. Speaking in St. Peter's Basilica, the pope explained that the Holy Spirit's "work in us is powerful, as symbolized by the signs of wind and fire," but it is also gentle and "welcoming to all.""From the 'upper room' of this basilica, like the apostles, we too are being sent forth to proclaim the Gospel to all," Pope Francis said in his homily on May 19.Pope Francis celebrates Mass on the solemnity of Pentecost, May 19, 2024. Credit: Daniel Ibanez/CNA"Thanks to the Spirit, we can and must do this with his own power and gentleness," he added.Pope Francis underlined that this power is not arrogant, calculating, or imposing but is "born of fidelity to the truth that the Sp...
A map of the Juan Diego Route which goes through Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee, and Kentucky, ending in Indiana. / Credit: EWTN News In-DepthCNA Staff, May 18, 2024 / 05:00 am (CNA).The National Eucharistic Pilgrimage will span the United States with four different pilgrimages starting in California, Texas, Mississippi, and Connecticut and meeting in Indianapolis for the 10th National Eucharistic Congress."A cross-country pilgrimage of this scale has never been attempted before. All told, it will travel through 27 states and 65 dioceses, covering a combined distance of 6,500 miles on foot and with the help of support vehicles," said Tim Glemkowski, CEO of the National Eucharistic Congress, Inc. "It will be a tremendously powerful action of witness and intercession as it interacts with local parish communities at stops all along the way."The St. Juan Diego Route, named for the beloved saint who encountered Our Lady of Guadalupe, will start at the sou...