The Weekly Francis – Volume 298 – 09 January 2020

This version of The Weekly Francis covers material released in the last week from 2 May 2019 to 9 January 2020.

The Weekly Francis is a compilation of the Holy Father’s writings, speeches, etc which I also post at Jimmy Akin’s blog.

Angelus

General Audiences

18 December 2019

Homilies

Messages

Unknown

21 December 2019 – Apostolic Letter in the form of Motu Proprio regarding the Office of Dean of the College of Cardinals

Speeches

2 May 2019 – To Participants in the Plenary Session of the Pontical Academy of Sciences
9 May 2019 – Prayer meeting with Roma and Sinti People
10 May 2019 – To Participants at the XXI Plenary Assembly of the International Union of Superiors General (UISG)
1 June 2019 – Apostolic Journey to Romania: Visit to Our Lady Queen of Iasi Cathedral
4 June 2019 – Intervention of the Holy Father at the Pan-American Judges’ Summit on Social Rights and Franciscan Doctrine
2 September 2019 – To Members of the Italian Association of Medical Oncology (AIOM)
2 September 2019 – To Bishops of the Synod of the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church
12 September 2019 – To Bishops participating in the course promoted by the Congregation for Bishops and by the Congregation for the Eastern Churches
14 November 2019 – To Professors and students of St Mary of the Assumption University (LUMSA)
19 December 2019 – Presentation of the Credential Letters by the Ambassadors of Seychelles, Mali, Andorra, Kenya, Latvia and Niger
21 December 2019 – To the employees of the Holy See and of Vatican City State, with their respective families, for the exchange of Christmas greetings
21 December 2019 – Christmas Greetings of the Holy Father to the Roman Curia
22 December 2019 – To the children assisted by the “Santa Marta” Pediatric Dispensary
9 January 2020 – To the Diplomatic Corps accredited to the Holy See for the traditional exchange of New Year Greetings

Papal Tweets

“I thank those people everywhere who have sent me their congratulations and good wishes for my fiftieth ordination anniversary and for my birthday. I thank you in a particular way for the gift of your prayers.” @Pontifex 18 December 2019
“In these days before #Christmas we praise the Lord for the gratuitousness of salvation, for the gratuitousness of life, for everything he gives us for free. Everything is grace. #HomilySantaMarta” @Pontifex 19 December 2019
“I decided to display this life jacket,”crucified“,to remind everyone of the essential commitment to save every human life, because the life of every person is precious in the eyes of God. The Lord will hold us to account for this at the moment of judgment. https://vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2019–12/pope-francis-it-s-injustice-that-causes-migrants-to-die-at-sea.html” @Pontifex 20 December 2019
“Let us give thanks for all the good there is in the world, for the many people who dedicate themselves freely, for those who spend their lives in service, to build a more humane and just society. We know: alone we cannot save ourselves.
@antonioguterres” @Pontifex 20 December 2019
“Trust in dialogue between individuals and between nations, in multilateralism, in the role of the international organizations, and in diplomacy as an instrument for appreciation and understanding, is indispensable for the building of a peaceful world. http://w2.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/messages/pont-messages/2019/documents/papa-francesco_20191220_videomessaggio-guterres.html” @Pontifex 20 December 2019
“Jesus is the smile of God. He came to reveal to us the love and goodness of our heavenly Father. We need God’s smile to strip us of our false certainties, and to bring us back to enjoying simplicity and gratuitousness.” @Pontifex 21 December 2019
“We need always to let ourselves be renewed by the smile of the Baby Jesus. Let His disarming goodness purify us from the waste that often encrusts our hearts.” @Pontifex 21 December 2019
“The Gospel of the Day (Mt 1, 18–24) guides us towards Christmas through Joseph’s experience. His example helps us to listen to the coming Jesus, who asks us to include Him in our plans and in our choices. #GospelOfToday” @Pontifex 22 December 2019
“In three days’ time it will be #Christmas and my thoughts go especially to families, who are reunited in these festive days. May Holy Christmas be a fraternal time for everyone, one of growth in the faith and of actions of solidarity toward those who are in need.” @Pontifex 22 December 2019
“The nativity scene reminds us that God did not remain invisible in heaven, but came down to earth and became man. To set up a nativity scene is to celebrate the closeness of God, to rediscover that God is real, concrete; He is humble Love that came down to us. #Nativityscene” @Pontifex 23 December 2019
“The nativity scene is like a living Gospel: it brings the Gospel into homes, schools, workplaces and meeting spaces, hospitals and nursing homes, prisons and town squares. #Nativityscene” @Pontifex 24 December 2019
“I hope that setting up a nativity scene may be an opportunity for you to invite Jesus into your life. Because if He inhabits it, life is reborn. And it really is Christmas. #Nativityscene” @Pontifex 24 December 2019
“Tonight the love of God has been revealed to us. In Jesus, the Most High made Himself small, so that we might love Him. In Jesus, God made Himself a Child, so that we might embrace Him.” @Pontifex 24 December 2019
“Tonight, in the beauty of God’s love, we also discover our own beauty, for we are beloved of God. In His eyes we are beautiful: not for what we do but for what we are.” @Pontifex 24 December 2019
“Dear brother, dear sister, if your hands seem empty, if you think your heart is poor in love, this night is for you. The grace of God has appeared to shine forth in your life. Accept it and the light of Christmas will shine forth in you.” @Pontifex 24 December 2019
“Today is the right day to draw near to the tabernacle, the crèche, the manger, and to say thank you. Let us receive the gift that is Jesus, in order then to become gift like Jesus. To become gift is to give meaning to life. http://w2.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/homilies/2019/documents/papa-francesco_20191224_omelia-natale.html” @Pontifex 25 December 2019
“To listen to the Urbi et Orbi” @Pontifex 25 December 2019
“May Emmanuel bring light to all the suffering members of our human family.May He soften our often stony and self-centred hearts,and make them channels of His love.On this joyful day,may He bring His tenderness to all and brighten the darkness of this world.http://w2.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/messages/urbi/documents/papa-francesco_20191225_urbi-et-orbi-” @Pontifex 25 December 2019
“Today we celebrate the feast of St Stephen, the first martyr. This young servant of the Gospel, filled with the Holy Spirit, knew how to speak about Jesus in word, and above all with his life.” @Pontifex 26 December 2019
“The nativity scene reminds us how important it is to stop and contemplate. Because only when we recollect ourselves can we embrace what counts in life. Only if we leave the noise of the world outside can we open ourselves to listening to God, who speaks in silence. #Nativityscene” @Pontifex 27 December 2019
“Bethlehem means ”house of bread.“ The nativity scene we set up at home reminds us that Jesus is the bread of life: He is the one who nourishes our love, He is the one who gives our families the strength to go on and to forgive us. #Nativityscene” @Pontifex 28 December 2019
“Today, let us entrust to the Holy Family all the world’s families, especially those tried by suffering or by discomfort, and let us invoke divine protection on them.” @Pontifex 29 December 2019
“In its genuine simplicity, the nativity scene reminds us it is not the quantity of things that counts in life, but the quality of relationships. Drawing our gaze to God, who is poor in possessions and rich in love, it recalls us to what is essential. #Nativityscene” @Pontifex 30 December 2019
“It is beautiful to stand before the nativity scene, and there to entrust our lives to the Lord, to speak to Him about the people and situations we care about, to take stock with Him of the year that is ending, to share our expectations and concerns. #Nativityscene” @Pontifex 31 December 2019
“Let us give thanks to God for His grace, which has sustained us in this past year, and with joy let us raise a song of praise to Him.” @Pontifex 31 December 2019
“Let us begin the year in the sign of Our Lady, the woman who wove the humanity of God. The rebirth of humanity began with woman. If we want to weave humanity into the webs of our day, we must begin again with woman.” @Pontifex 1 January 2020
“In the womb of a woman, God and mankind are united, never to be separated again. In God, there will forever be our humanity and Mary will forever be the Mother of God.” @Pontifex 1 January 2020
“Today we invoke the Mother of God, who gathers us together as a people of believers. O Mother, give birth to hope within us and bring us unity. Woman of salvation, to you we entrust this year. Keep it in your heart. http://w2.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/homilies/2020/documents/papa-francesco_20200101_omelia-madredidio-pace.html” @Pontifex 1 January 2020
“May Mary, Mother of the Prince of Peace and Mother of all the peoples of the earth, accompany and sustain us at every step of our journey of reconciliation. http://w2.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/messages/peace/documents/papa-francesco_20191208_messaggio–53giornatamondiale-pace2020.html” @Pontifex 1 January 2020
“Jesus, newly born, was mirrored in the face of His mother. From her, He received His first caresses; with her, He exchanged the first smiles. With her began the revolution of tenderness. The Church, looking at the Baby Jesus, is called to continue that revolution.” @Pontifex 2 January 2020
“Let us ask for the grace to live this year with the desire to take others to heart and to care for them.” @Pontifex 2 January 2020
“Video” @Pontifex 2 January 2020
““Come to me, all you who labour and are burdened, and I will give you rest” (Mt 11:28). Message for the XXVIII World Day of the Sick http://w2.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/messages/sick/documents/papa-francesco_20200103_giornata-malato.html” @Pontifex 3 January 2020
“Salvation is in the name of Jesus. We must testify to this: He is the only Saviour.” @Pontifex 3 January 2020
“We must believe that others need peace just as much as we do. Peace will not be obtained unless it is hoped for. Let us ask the Lord for the gift of peace!” @Pontifex 4 January 2020
“This is the meaning of Christmas. If the Lord continues to come among us and give us the gift of His Word, it is so that each of us can respond to this call: to become saints in love. #Angelus” @Pontifex 5 January 2020
“The #GospelOfTheDay (Mt 2:1–12) teaches us that, when we do not worship God, we end up worshiping ourselves. This is a grave risk: we use God instead of serving Him.” @Pontifex 6 January 2020
“Worship means concentrating on what is essential: ridding ourselves of useless things and addictions that anesthetize the heart and confound the mind.” @Pontifex 6 January 2020
“In worshiping, we too will discover, like the Magi, the meaning of our journey. And like the Magi, we too will experience “a great joy” (Mt 2:10).” @Pontifex 6 January 2020
“I address a special thought to the brothers of the Eastern Churches, Catholic and Orthodox, who today celebrate the Lord’s Christmas. To all I wish the light and peace of Christ the Saviour.” @Pontifex 7 January 2020
“So many people live without knowing what goes on in their hearts. We ask for the grace to remain in the Lord and to distinguish the Spirit of God from the spirit of the world, so that our heart may be the meeting point between God and us. #HomilySantaMarta” @Pontifex 7 January 2020
“Worship involves making an exodus from the greatest form of bondage: slavery to oneself. Worship means putting the Lord at the centre, not ourselves.” @Pontifex 8 January 2020
“Worship means bringing our lives to the Lord, and allowing Him enter into them. It means letting His consolation come down to earth, and letting ourselves be pervaded by His tender love.” @Pontifex 8 January 2020
“If we have no peace in our hearts, how can we think there will be peace in the world? Let’s try to remain in the Lord, and the way to do so is to love, and to love in little things. #HomilySantaMarta” @Pontifex 9 January 2020
“Hope is not utopian and peace is a good that can always be attained. http://w2.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/speeches/2020/january/documents/papa-francesco_20200109_corpo-diplomatico.html” @Pontifex 9 January 2020