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(Vatican Radio) In this week's edition of There's More in the Gospel than Meets the Eye, Jill Bevilacqua and Seàn-Patrick Lovett bring us readings and reflections for the Twentythird Sunday in Ordinary Time. Listen: GOSPEL LK 14:25 - 33Great crowds were traveling with Jesus,and he turned and addressed them,“If anyone comes to me without hating his father and mother,wife and children, brothers and sisters,and even his own life,he cannot be my disciple.Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after mecannot be my disciple.Which of you wishing to construct a towerdoes not first sit down and calculate the costto see if there is enough for its completion?Otherwise, after laying the foundationand finding himself unable to finish the workthe onlookers should laugh at him and say,‘This one began to build but did not have the resources to finish.’Or what king marching into battle would not first sit downand dec...
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis held his weekly General Audience in St Peter's Square on Wednesday. In his catechesis, the Holy Father relflected on St Matthew's Gospel account of the cure of a woman suffering from haemorrhages.Below, please find the official English language summary of Pope Francis’ catechesis for the General Audience for 31 August 2016:Dear Brothers and Sisters: In our catechesis for this Holy Year of Mercy, we now consider Jesus’ cure of the woman suffering from haemorrhages (cf. Mt 9:20-22). This unnamed woman, considered impure according to the Law (cf. Lev 15:29-30), trusted in Jesus’ mercy and saving power to free her from her illness and isolation. Filled with deep faith, she reached out and touched his garment. In Hebrew religious tradition, wearing such a garment was a symbol of being clothed with the divine Law, the source of blessing. The woman’s gesture of touching his garment is thus a f...
(Vatican Radio) Italy held a state funeral in pouring rain on Tuesday for some of the victims of an earthquake which levelled mountain communities last week, killing at least 292 people.Hundreds of mourners sheltered in a marquee or under umbrellas at the service for 28 victims, including two children, in the outskirts of the town of Amatrice.“The earthquake doesn't kill; what kills is the works of men,” Bishop Domenico Pompili of Rieti said during his homily, referring to inadequate construction techniques that may have been to blame for deadly building collapses during the quake. “To desert these places would be to kill them a second time,” the Bishop added.After the funeral, Italian premier Matteo Renzi said the town would be rebuilt “piece by piece”.On hand to concelebrate the Mass was Archbishop Konrad Krajewski, the Papal Almoner who frequently stands in for the Pope when the Holy Father wants to show his personal closeness to people i...
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis told Christians in the Arab-speaking world to “keep the flame of their faith,” despite the darkness of the trial.” The Holy Father was speaking during his General Audience to Arab-speaking pilgrims from Iraq, Jordan, and the Middle East.“The healing accomplished today by Jesus [of the woman with the hemorrhage Mt 9:20-22] assures us that when human hope disappears and everything seems impossible, the sun of Divine hope rises again for those who, despite the darkness of the trial, keep the flame of their faith!” – Pope Francis said – “The Lord bless you all and protect you from the evil one!”
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis during his Wednesday Audience in St Peter’s Square spoke about how faith in Christ brings salvation.Listen to this report At the heart of the Pope’s catechesis during his Wednesday General Audience was the salvation of Christ to those who are rejected by men.The Holy Father was reflecting on the account in the Gospel of St Matthew in which Jesus cures the woman suffering from hemorrhages.The Pope said, that this woman is considered impure according to the law, “but she trusts in Jesus’ mercy and saving power to free her from her illness and isolation.” Pope Francis described the woman as a person of deep faith who reaches out and touches Jesus’ garment. This gesture noted the Pope, was a form quiet prayer and a sign of hope and courage.Jesus’ response said the Holy Father, was one of tenderness which also acknowledged her dignity. He treats her with love and heals her of her affliction.&n...
(Vatican Radio) The President of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, Cardinal Peter Turkson, on Wednesday said “human beings risk turning into robots, into mere cogs in a worldwide machine.” He was addressing the Christian Social Congress taking place in taking place in Doorn, in the Netherlands.“Against this threat, Christians need to marshal and explain their reasons for their faith in humanity,” Cardinal Turkson said.“On the one hand, grounded in our religious vision of the world, our conception of freedom allows us to think independently about the world rather than constantly join the crowd,” – he continued – “On the other hand, this religious vision also makes sense of the movement of history due to its confident expectation that, eventually and actually, we will all be gathered together, reconciled in God through Christ.”Pope Francis also sent a message to the participants of the Congress. T...
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Wednesday sent greetings to the Christian Social Congress taking place in Doorn, in the Netherlands.In a message sent through the Secretary of State, the Pope encouraged the participants “to promote a greater awareness of the particular dignity of human relationships, which inculcates esteem for each person and respect for others.”It continued by stating Pope Francis “prays that those gathered will give particular attention to the concerns of the poor and marginalized, so that every economic, political and social system may serve the needs and advancement of all peoples, and protect the created world which God has entrusted to humanity’s stewardship.”The President of the Pontifical Council of Justice and Peace, Cardinal Peter K.A. Turkson, also addressed the Congress. The full text of the message is below His Holiness Pope Francis was pleased to learn of the conference sponsored by the Dutch Christian Social C...
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis has created a new Dicastery to better minister to the needs of the men and women the Church is called to serve.The new “Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development” was instituted in a Motu Proprio published on Wednesday in the Osservatore Romano. It will come into effect as from 1 January 2017 and will be especially “competent in issues regarding migrants, those in need, the sick, the excluded and marginalized, the imprisoned and the unemployed, as well as victims of armed conflict, natural disasters, and all forms of slavery and torture”.On that same date, four Pontifical Councils dedicated to charity and to the promotion of human development will cease to exist and effectively be encompassed in the new institution.The Pope has appointed Cardinal Peter Turkson as Prefect of the new dicastery. Turkson is the current President of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace – one of those destined to be suppres...
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis is “pleased” that negotiations between the government of Colombia and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) have been finalized after four years of peace talks.A statement issued by the Secretariat of State said the Holy Father “reiterates his support for the goal of attaining the peace and reconciliation of the entire Colombian people, in light of human rights and Christian values, which are at the heart of Latin American culture.”The conflict between the government and the Marxist rebels has lasted over 50 years, and killed over 200,000 people.Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos on Tuesday called a plebiscite for 2 October to ratify the agreement. The full statement is below Statement of the Secretariat of State The Holy Father was pleased to learn that negotiations have been finalized between the Government of Colombia and the FARC-EP, concluding an intense process that took place over the last s...
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Wednesday addressed the World Congress of the European Society of Cardiology, which has been meeting in Rome since August 27th to explore the role of teamwork caring for patients with cardiovascular illness. Below, please find the full text of the Holy Father’s prepared remarks****************************************Ladies and Gentlemen,Good morning! I was pleased to accept the invitation of the Executive Committee of the European Society of Cardiology to meet with you on the occasion of this World Congress which brings together cardiologists from various countries. I am particularly grateful to Professor Fausto Pinto for his kind words and, through him, I thank each of you for the scientific work in these days of study and discussion, but above all for your dedication to so many who are sick.You look after the heart. How much symbolism is enshrined in this word! How many hopes are contained in this human organ! I...
