Pope Francis leads the Synod on Synodality delegates in prayer on Oct. 25, 2023. / Credit: Vatican Media
Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Jan 6, 2024 / 09:00 am (CNA).
The synodal process promoted by Pope Francis is coming to dioceses across the Unit… […]
Pope Francis delivers his homily during the Mass for the Solemnity of the Epiphany in St. Peter’s Basilica on Jan. 7, 2024. / Credit: Vatican Media
Rome Newsroom, Jan 6, 2024 / 09:50 am (CNA).
Drawing on account of the Magi on the Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord, Pope Francis on Saturday urged the faithful to “find God in flesh and bone, in the faces of those we meet each day, and especially in the poor.”
“The Magi teach us that an encounter with God opens us up to a greater reality, which makes us change our way of life and transform our world,” the pope said during his homily at a Mass Jan. 6 in St. Peter’s Basilica attended by nearly 6,000 people.
In the Latin rite of the Catholic Church, Epiphany (from the Greek word meaning “manifestation”) celebrates the revelation that Jesus was the Son of God. It focuses primarily on this revelation to the three Magi, or wise men, but it also focuses on the manifestation of Jesus’ divinity at his baptism in the Jordan River and in his first public miracle at the wedding at Cana.
The 87-year-old pontiff emphasized that the wise men’s journey was one of adoration and love, but he noted that “they do not pass their lives staring at their feet, self-absorbed, confined by earthly horizons, plodding ahead in resignation or lamentation.”
Instead, the pope continued, “they lift their heads high and await the light that can illuminate the meaning of their lives, the salvation that dawns from on high.”
For the Magi “the star shining in the heavens” was a call to both lift “their eyes on high” and “lower them to this world.” In this way, the pope continued, they were able to recognize that God is not an abstract concept, but instead is humbly manifest “in man, in a little child lying in a manger.”
The adoration of the Christ child is a moment that “illuminates our life,” Francis noted.
“The Lord Jesus was given to us not to warm our nights, but to let rays of light break through the dark shadows that envelop so many situations in our societies,” he said.
“We find the God who comes down to visit us, not by basking in some elegant religious theory, but by setting out on a journey, seeking the signs of his presence in everyday life, and above all in encountering and touching the flesh of our brothers and sisters.”
The Holy Father called on the faithful to remain in God’s presence and stay faithful to the Church.
“We need this on our journey through life, we need to let ourselves walk in friendship with the Lord, we need his love to sustain us, and the light of his word to guide us, like a star in the night,” Pope Francis said.
At the same time, he continued, “we need to set out on this journey so that our faith will not be reduced to an assemblage of religious devotions or mere outward appearance, but will instead become a fire burning within us, making us passionate seekers of the Lord’s face and witnesses to his Gospel.”
Pope Francis added: “We need this in the Church, where, instead of splitting into groups based on our own ideas, we are called to put God back at the center.”
Pope Francis meets with a delegation from the Society of Catholic Publicists of Germany on the 75th anniversary of its foundation Jan. 4, 2024, at the Vatican. / Credit: Vatican Media
ACI Prensa Staff, Jan 5, 2024 / 18:30 pm (CNA).
Pope Francis… […]
Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández. / Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/ACI Prensa
Rome Newsroom, Jan 3, 2024 / 18:20 pm (CNA).
Amid significant confusion about the Vatican’s recent guidance on same-sex blessings, the document’s architect has lashed out at t… […]
Members of the Episcopal Conference of Ivory Coast (CECCI). / Credit: CECCI
Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Jan 3, 2024 / 17:40 pm (CNA).
Bishops in several African countries will not allow blessings for same-sex couples as opposition to a Vati… […]
Pope Francis delivers a message on the topic of “vices and virtuesc” at his Wednesday general audience on Jan. 3, 2024. / Credit: Vatican Media
Vatican City, Jan 3, 2024 / 09:10 am (CNA).
In life’s worst moments, never forget that Jesus is besi… […]
Pope Francis prays during his general audience address in the Paul VI Audience Hall at the Vatican on Dec. 27, 2023. / Credit: Vatican Media
CNA Staff, Jan 2, 2024 / 13:50 pm (CNA).
Pope Francis’ prayer intention for the month of January is for… […]
Archbishop Georg Gänswein celebrates a Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica on Dec. 31, 2023, to commemorate the one-year anniversary of the death of Pope Benedict XVI. / Credit: Vatican Media
Rome Newsroom, Jan 2, 2024 / 11:48 am (CNA).
Friends, schol… […]
Pope Francis at the first Mass of the new year, urged the faithful to entrust 2024 to the Mother of God. / Credit: Vatican Media
Vatican City, Jan 1, 2024 / 10:15 am (CNA).
Pope Francis began the new year by urging his fellow Catholics to entru… […]
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.
© Catholic World Report