Pope Francis waves to the crowd gathered in St. Peter's Square to hear his Angelus address n Sunday, June 9, 2024. / Credit: Vatican MediaVatican City, Jun 9, 2024 / 09:05 am (CNA).Pope Francis urged people to reflect on Sunday on whether they are sacrificing their serenity and freedom to be enslaved by money, power, and pleasure.Speaking in his Angelus address on June 9, the pope asked people to contemplate the temptations that can imprison us and the freedom found in Christ"If we let ourselves be conditioned by the quest for pleasure, power, money, or consensus, we become slaves to these things," he said."If instead we allow God's freely-given love to fill us and expand our heart, and if we let it overflow spontaneously by giving it back to others with our whole selves without fear, calculation, or conditioning, then we grow in freedom and spread its good fragrance around us in our homes, in our families, and in our communities."In his speech from the window of the Vatic...
Pope Francis waves to the crowd gathered in St. Peter's Square to hear his Angelus address n Sunday, June 9, 2024. / Credit: Vatican Media
Vatican City, Jun 9, 2024 / 09:05 am (CNA).
Pope Francis urged people to reflect on Sunday on whether they are sacrificing their serenity and freedom to be enslaved by money, power, and pleasure.
Speaking in his Angelus address on June 9, the pope asked people to contemplate the temptations that can imprison us and the freedom found in Christ
"If we let ourselves be conditioned by the quest for pleasure, power, money, or consensus, we become slaves to these things," he said.
"If instead we allow God's freely-given love to fill us and expand our heart, and if we let it overflow spontaneously by giving it back to others with our whole selves without fear, calculation, or conditioning, then we grow in freedom and spread its good fragrance around us in our homes, in our families, and in our communities."
In his speech from the window of the Vatican's Apostolic Palace, the pope highlighted the many ways in which "Jesus was a free man."
Jesus was not enslaved by wealth, but embraced "a poor life full of uncertainties, freely taking care of the sick and whoever came to ask him for help, without ever asking for anything in return."
"He was free with regard to power," Francis added. "Indeed, despite calling many to follow him, He never obliged anyone to do so, nor did he ever seek out the support of the powerful, but always took the side of the least, teaching his disciples to do likewise."
The Lord was also free from the need "for fame and approval, and for this reason, he never gave up speaking the truth," he said.
Pope Francis underlined that Jesus never gave up speaking the truth "even at the cost of not being understood or becoming unpopular — even to the point of dying on the cross." The pope added that Jesus did not allow himself "to be intimidated, bought, or corrupted by anything or anyone."
Pope Francis asked people to spend some time reflecting on "this freedom of Jesus," and then to examine their consciences as to whether there are any areas in life where they are "imprisoned by the myths of money, power, and success."
After leading the crowd gathered in St. Peter's Square in the Angelus prayer in Latin, the pope made a passionate appeal for peace in the Holy Land, asking people to pray for the ceasefire negotiations and urging the international community to ensure that humanitarian aid arrives for those who are most in need.
Pope Francis also asked people to pray for the people who are suffering in Myanmar and Ukraine, giving a special shoutout to some Ukrainians who were in the crowd waving flags.
"May the Virgin Mary help us live and love like Jesus taught us, in the freedom of the children of God," Pope Francis said.
Russian President Vladimir Putin shakes hands with Russian Orthodox Church Bishop Hilarion Alfeyev during a state ceremony at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, on September 22, 2016. / Credit: Photo by Mikhail Svetlov/Getty ImagesCNA Staff, Jul 26, 2024 / 17:15 pm (CNA).Russian Orthodox Bishop Hilarion Alfeyev of Budapest-Hungary has been temporarily suspended following reports about an ongoing investigation of sexual misconduct with a young staff member.According to the online news site Novaya Gazeta Europe, Georgy Suzuki, who served as the bishop's personal assistant between Oct. 2022 and Jan. 2024, was sexually harassed on several occasions by the 58-year-old high-ranking prelate. Alfeyev has reportedly denied all allegations made by Suzuki. Earlier this month, Church Times reported that 11 Russian Orthodox priests in Budapest signed a joint statement defending Alfeyev who, they believe, is innocent and a victim of a "dirty slanderous campaign." Yes...
Norwegian players Christian Sorum (L), Anders Mol (2ndL) and Australian players Zachery Schubert (2ndR) and Thomas Hodges (R) take part in a practice session ahead of the opening of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games at the Eiffel Tower Stadium in Paris on July 24, 2024. / Credit: ODD ANDERSEN/AFP via Getty ImagesVatican City, Jul 26, 2024 / 17:26 pm (CNA).Pope Francis and Athletica Vaticana, the official Holy See sports association, have invited all athletes participating in the 2024 Olympic Games to harness the "great social power of sport" to unite people and be witnesses of peace, particularly during these times of international tensions and conflict. Around 300,000 spectators welcomed thousands of athletes representing 206 countries at the opening ceremony of this year's summer games in Paris today.The ceremony to open the two-week international festival took place at 7:30 p.m. in Paris (1:30 p.m. ET). The Olympic Games, which take place between July 26 and Aug. 11 th...
The motto of the modern Olympic Games, "Faster, Higher, Stronger," was coined by French Dominican friar Louis Henri Didon. / Credit: Pixabay / Public DomainACI Prensa Staff, Jul 26, 2024 / 17:45 pm (CNA).The motto of the modern Olympic Games, "Faster, Higher, Stronger," was coined by French Dominican friar Louis Henri Didon, who became friends with the founder of the modern Olympic Games, Baron Pierre de Coubertin, five years before the 1896 Athens Games.The motto, originally formulated in Latin as "Citius, Altius, Fortius," was used before the modern Olympic movement at St. Albert the Great School in Paris, where the Dominican friar was the principal.Born in 1840, Didon entered the Rondeau Minor Seminary in Grenoble, France, beginning at the age of nine, and during his youth, he stood out for his ability as an athlete. After visiting the Carthusian monastery in Grenoble, he decided to follow a religious vocation and took the habit of the Order of Preachers (Dominican...