The Weekly Francis

Introduction

The Weekly Francis is a compilation of documents, speeches, and other texts brought into an ebook format.

The Weekly Francis was inspired by Catholic Apologist Jimmy Akin who came up with the idea to create a weekly link page to the words of the Holy Father.

All texts are © Copyright 2013 - Libreria Editrice Vaticana

Considering the increasing prevalence of electronic book readers and their ease in reading textual documents this provides an ideal format in making available the words of Pope Francis. This ebook compilation is provided as a public service with no associated fees.

Jeff Miller The Curt Jester blog

Catholic Apologist Jimmy Akin's blog can be found at JimmyAkin.org

While this ebook publication take it's cue from Jimmy Akin's weekly post with links, it is done without association and any copyright problems or formatting mistakes are entirely my own.

Index of Source Links

List of direct document links on Vatican.va used.

Angelus/Regina Caeli

- 21 April 2013

General Audiences

- 17 April 2013

Homilies

- 23 April 2013 - Eucharistic Concelebration with the Eminent Cardinals resident in Rome on the occasion of the Feast of Saint George

- 28 April 2013 - Holy Mass and Conferral of the Sacrament of Confirmation

Papal Tweets

- @pontifex, 22 April 2013

- @pontifex, 23 April 2013

- @pontifex, 24 April 2013

- @pontifex, 25 April 2013

- @pontifex, 25 April 2013

- @pontifex, 27 April 2013

- @pontifex, 28 April 2013

Angelus/Regina Caeli

21 April 2013 - Regina Caeli

POPE FRANCIS

REGINA CAELI

St. Peter's Square

Fourth Sunday of Easter, 21 April 2013

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Good morning!

The Fourth Sunday of the Season of Easter is characterized by the Gospel of the Good Shepherd "in chapter ten of St John" which is read every year. Today's passage records these words of Jesus: "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me; and I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish, and no one shall snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand. I and the Father are one" (10:27-30). These four verses contain the whole of Jesus' message; it is the nucleus of his Gospel: he calls us to share in his relationship with the Father, and this is eternal life.

Jesus wants to establish with his friends a relationship which mirrors his own relationship with the Father: a relationship of reciprocal belonging in full trust, in intimate communion. To express this profound understanding, this relationship of friendship, Jesus uses the image of the shepherd with his sheep: he calls them and they recognize his voice, they respond to his call and follow him. This parable is very beautiful! The mystery of his voice is evocative: only think that from our mother's womb we learn to recognize her voice and that of our father; it is from the tone of a voice that we perceive love or contempt, affection or coldness. Jesus' voice is unique! If we learn to distinguish it, he guides us on the path of life, a path that goes beyond even the abyss of death.

However Jesus, at a certain point, said: "my Father, who has given them to me..." (Jn 10:29), referring to his sheep. This is very important, it is a profound mystery, far from easy to understand. If I feel drawn to Jesus, if his voice warms my heart, it is thanks to God the Father who has sown within me the desire for love, for truth, for life, for beauty... and Jesus is all this in fullness! This helps us understand the mystery of vocation and especially of the call to a special consecration. Sometimes Jesus calls us, he invites us to follow him, but perhaps we do not realize that it is he who is calling, like what happened to the young Samuel. There are many young people today, here in the Square. There are large numbers of you aren't there? It's clear.... Look! Here in the Square today there are so many of you! I would like to ask you: have you sometimes heard the Lord's voice, in a desire, in a worry, did he invite you to follow him more closely? Have you heard him? I can't hear you? There! Have you wanted to be apostles of Jesus? We must bet on youth for the great ideals. Do you think this? Do you agree? Ask Jesus what he wants of you and be brave! Be brave! Ask him this!

Behind and before every vocation to the priesthood or to the consecrated life there is always the strong and intense prayer of someone: a grandmother, a grandfather, a mother, a father, a community.... This is why Jesus said: "Pray therefore the Lord of the harvest", that is, God the Father, "to send out labourers into his harvest" (Mt 9:38). Vocations are born in prayer and from prayer; and only through prayer can they persevere and bear fruit. I am pleased to stress this today, which is the "World Day of Prayer for Vocations".

Let us pray in particular for the new Priests of the Diocese of Rome whom I have had the joy to ordain this morning. And let us invoke the intercession of Mary. Today there were 10 young men who said "yes" to Jesus and they have been ordained priests this morning. This is beautiful!

Let us invoke the intercession of Mary who is the Woman of the "yes". Mary said "yes" throughout her life! She learned to recognize Jesus' voice from the time when she carried him in her womb. May Mary, our Mother, help us to know Jesus' voice better and better and to follow it, so as to walk on the path of life! Thank you.

Thank you so much for your greeting, but greet Jesus too. Shout "Jesus" very loudly.... Let us all pray together to Our Lady.

After the Regina Caeli:

I am following closely the events in Venezuela. I accompany them with deep concern, with intense prayer and with the hope that an effort will be made to seek and find the right and peaceful paths to surmount the moment of grave difficulty which the country is going through. I ask the beloved Venezuelan people, and in particular those in charge of institutions and the political leaders, to reject firmly every form of violence and to establish a dialogue based on truth and on mutual recognition, in the search of the common good and in love for the nation. I ask believers to pray and work for reconciliation and peace. Let us unite in a prayer full of hope for Venezuela, putting it in the hands of Our Lady of Coromoto.

A thought goes to those hit by the earthquake that struck a southwestern region in continental China. Let us pray for the victims and for all those who are suffering the effects of this violent quake.

Fr NicolÃ² Rusco will be beatified this afternoon in Sondrio [Italy]. He was a priest from the Valtellino who lived between the 16th and 17th centuries. For many years he served as an exemplary parish priest in Sondrio and he was killed in the political and religious unrest that was troubling Europe in that time. Let us praise the Lord for his witness!

I greet with affection all the pilgrims who have come from various countries: families, many parish groups, associations, candidates for confirmation and schools. I greet in particular the many young people from the Diocese of Venice, accompanied by the Patriarch; but remember, boys and girls: you must bet on life for the great ideals! I greet the catechists of the Diocese of Gubbio, led by their bishop; the community of the Seminary of Lecce with the diocesan altar servers; the representatives of the Lions Club of Italy. On this "World Day of Prayer for Vocations" which was born 50 years ago from an intuition of Pope Paul VI, I invite you all to say a special prayer so that the Lord will send numerous labourers into his harvest. St Hannibal Mary Di Francia, an apostle of prayer for vocations, reminds us of this important commitment. I wish you all a good Sunday!

Have a good Sunday and a good lunch!

Â© Copyright 2013 - Libreria Editrice Vaticana

General Audiences

17 April 2013 - General Audience

POPE FRANCIS

GENERAL AUDIENCE

Saint Peter's Square

Wednesday, 17 April 2013

He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father

Dear Brothers and Sisters, Good Morning!

In the Creed we say that Jesus “ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father”. The Jesus’ earthly life culminated with the Ascension, when he passed from this world to the Father and was raised to sit on his right. What does this event mean? How does it affect our life? What does contemplating Jesus seated at the right hand of the Father mean? Let us permit the Evangelist Luke to guide us in this.

Let us start from the moment when Jesus decided to make his last pilgrimage to Jerusalem. St Luke notes: “When the days drew near for him to be received up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem” (Lk 9:51). While he was “going up” to the Holy City, where his own “exodus” from this life was to occur, Jesus already saw the destination, heaven, but he knew well that the way which would lead him to the glory of the Father passed through the Cross, through obedience to the divine design of love for mankind. The Catechism of the Catholic Church states that: “The lifting up of Jesus on the cross signifies and announces his lifting up by his Ascension into heaven” (n. 662).

We too should be clear in our Christian life that entering the glory of God demands daily fidelity to his will, even when it demands sacrifice and sometimes requires us to change our plans. The Ascension of Jesus actually happened on the Mount of Olives, close to the place where he had withdrawn to pray before the Passion in order to remain in deep union with the Father: once again we see that prayer gives us the grace to be faithful to God’s plan.

At the end of his Gospel, St Luke gives a very concise account of the event of the Ascension. Jesus led his disciples “out as far as Bethany, and lifting up his hands he blessed them. While he blessed them, he parted from them, and was carried up into heaven. And they worshipped him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy, and were continually in the temple blessing God” (Lk 24:50-53). This is what St Luke says.

I would like to note two elements in the account. First of all, during the Ascension Jesus made the priestly gesture of blessing, and the disciples certainly expressed their faith with prostration, they knelt with bowed heads, this is a first important point: Jesus is the one eternal High Priest who with his Passion passed through death and the tomb and ascended into heaven. He is with God the Father where he intercedes for ever in our favour (cf. Heb 9:24). As St John says in his First Letter, he is our Advocate: How beautiful it is to hear this! When someone is summoned by the judge or is involved in legal proceedings, the first thing he does is to seek a lawyer to defend him. We have One who always defends us, who defends us from the snares of devil, who defends us from ourselves and from our sins!

Dear brothers and sisters, we have this Advocate; let us not be afraid to turn to him to ask forgiveness, to ask for a blessing, to ask for mercy! He always pardons us, he is our Advocate: he always defends us! Don’t forget this! The Ascension of Jesus into heaven acquaints us with this deeply consoling reality on our journey : in Christ, true God and true man, our humanity was taken to God. Christ opened the path to us. He is like a roped guide climbing a mountain who, on reaching the summit, pulls us up to him and leads us to God. If we entrust our life to him, if we let ourselves be guided by him, we are certain to be in safe hands, in the hands of our Saviour, of our Advocate.

A second element: St Luke says that having seen Jesus ascending into heaven, the Apostles returned to Jerusalem “with great joy”. This seems to us a little odd. When we are separated from our relatives, from our friends, because of a definitive departure and, especially, death, there is usually a natural sadness in us since we will no longer see their face, no longer hear their voice, or enjoy their love, their presence. The Evangelist instead emphasizes the profound joy of the Apostles.

But how could this be? Precisely because, with the gaze of faith they understand that although he has been removed from their sight, Jesus stays with them for ever, he does not abandon them and in the glory of the Father supports them, guides them and intercedes for them.

St Luke too recounts the event of the Ascension — at the beginning of the Acts of the Apostles — to emphasize that this event is like the link of the chain that connects Jesus’ earthly life to the life of the Church. Here St Luke also speaks of the cloud that hid Jesus from the sight of the disciples, who stood gazing at him ascending to God (cf. Acts 1:9-10). Then two men in white robes appeared and asked them not to stand there looking up to heaven but to nourish their lives and their witness with the certainty that Jesus will come again in the same way in which they saw him ascending into heaven (cf. Acts 1:10-11). This is the invitation to base our contemplation on Christ’s lordship, to find in him the strength to spread the Gospel and to witness to it in everyday life: contemplation and action, ora et labora, as St Benedict taught, are both necessary in our life as Christians.

Dear brothers and sisters, the Ascension does not point to Jesus’ absence, but tells us that he is alive in our midst in a new way. He is no longer in a specific place in the world as he was before the Ascension. He is now in the lordship of God, present in every space and time, close to each one of us. In our life we are never alone: we have this Advocate who awaits us, who defends us. We are never alone: the Crucified and Risen Lord guides us. We have with us a multitude of brothers and sisters who, in silence and concealment, in their family life and at work, in their problems and hardships, in their joys and hopes, live faith daily and together with us bring the world the lordship of God’s love, in the Risen Jesus Christ, ascended into Heaven, our own Advocate who pleads for us. Many thanks.

Greetings:

I offer a cordial welcome to the members of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales, and I assure them of my prayers for their episcopal ministry. I also greet the priests of the Institute for Continuing Theological Education at the Pontifical North American College. Upon all the English-speaking visitors present at today’s Audience, including those from England, Denmark, Sweden, Australia, India, Singapore, Sri Lanka, the Philippines, Canada and the United States, I invoke the joy and peace of the Risen Lord.

I hope that this Easter time will be a profound invitation to everyone to renew their life, putting it at the service of the Gospel.

Lastly I greet the young people, the sick and the newlyweds. May the Risen Lord fill with his love the heart of each one of you, dear young people, of you students, today so numerous, so that you may be ready to follow him with enthusiasm. One cannot understand a young person without enthusiasm! Follow the Lord with enthusiasm, let him guide you. May he sustain you, dear sick people, so that you may accept the burden of suffering serenely; and may he guide you, dear newlyweds, so that your family will grow in holiness, after the model of the Holy Family.

APPEAL FOR PRAYERS FOR THE PEOPLE IN IRAN AND PAKISTAN

I learned with sorrow of the violent earthquake that hit the peoples of Iran and Pakistan, sowing death, suffering and destruction. I raise a prayer to God for the victims and for all those who are suffering, and I want to express my closeness to the Iranian and Pakistani peoples. Thank you.

© Copyright 2013 - Libreria Editrice Vaticana

Homilies

23 April 2013 - Homily - Eucharistic Concelebration with the Eminent Cardinals resident in Rome on the occasion of the Feast of Saint George

EUCHARISTIC CONCELEBRATION

WITH THE EMINENT CARDINALS RESIDENT IN ROME

ON THE OCCASION OF THE FEAST OF SAINT GEORGE

HOMILY OF POPE FRANCIS

Pauline Chapel

Tuesday, 23 April 2013

I thank His Eminence, the Cardinal Dean, for his words: Thank you, Your Eminence, many thanks.

I also thank those of you who came today. Thank you! Because I feel warmly welcomed by you. Thank you! I feel at home with you, and that pleases me.

Today’s first reading makes me think that, at the very moment when persecution broke out, the Church’s missionary nature also "broke out". These Christians went all the way to Phoenicia, Cyprus and Antioch, and proclaimed the Word (cf. Acts 11:19). They had this apostolic fervor in their hearts; and so the faith spread! Some people from Cyprus and Cyrene, not these but others who had become Christians, came to Antioch and began to speak also to the Greeks (cf. Acts 11:20). This is yet another step. And so the Church moves forward. Who took this initiative of speaking to the Greeks, something unheard of, since they were preaching only to Jews? It was the Holy Spirit, the one who was pushing them on, on and on, unceasingly.

But back in Jerusalem, when somebody heard about this, he got a little nervous and they sent a Apostolic Visitation: they sent Barnabas (cf. Acts 11:22). Perhaps, with a touch of humor, we can say that this was the theological origin of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith: this Apostolic Visitation of Barnabas. He took a look and saw that things were going well (cf. Acts 11:23). And in this way the Church is increasingly a Mother, a Mother of many, many children: she becomes a Mother, ever more fully a Mother, a Mother who gives us faith, a Mother who gives us our identity. But Christian identity is not an identity card. Christian identity means being a member of the Church, since all these people belonged to the Church, to Mother Church, for apart from the Church it is not possible to find Jesus. The great Paul VI said: it is an absurd dichotomy to wish to live with Jesus but without the Church, to follow Jesus but without the Church, to love Jesus but without the Church (cf. Evangelii Nuntiandi, 16). And that Mother Church who gives us Jesus also gives us an identity which is not simply a rubber stamp: it is membership. Identity means membership, belonging. Belonging to the Church: this is beautiful!

The third idea which comes to my mind – the first was the outbreak of the Church’s missionary nature, and second, the Church as Mother – is that, when Barnabas saw that crowd – the text says: "and a great many people were brought to the Lord" (Acts 11:24) – when he saw that crowd, he rejoiced. "When he came and saw the grace of God, he rejoiced" (Acts 11:23). It is the special joy of the evangelizer. It is, as Paul VI said, "the delightful and comforting joy of evangelizing" (cf. Evangelii Nuntiandi, 80). This joy begins with persecution, with great sadness, and ends in joy. And so the Church moves forward, as a Saint tells us, amid the persecutions of the world and the consolations of the Lord (cf. Saint Augustine, De Civitate Dei, 18:51,2: PL 41, 614). This is the life of the Church. If we want to take the path of worldliness, bargaining with the world – as the Maccabeans were tempted to do back then – we will never have the consolation of the Lord. And if we seek consolation alone, it will be a superficial consolation, not the Lord’s consolation, but a human consolation. The Church always advances between the cross and the resurrection, between persecutions and the consolations of the Lord. This is the path: those who take this path do not go wrong.

Today let us think about the missionary nature of the Church: these disciples who took the initiative to go forth, and those who had the courage to proclaim Jesus to the Greeks, something which at that time was almost scandalous (cf. Acts 11:19-20). Let us think of Mother Church, who is increasing, growing with new children to whom she gives the identity of faith, for one cannot believe in Jesus without the Church. Jesus himself says so in the Gospel: but you do not believe because you do not belong to my sheep (cf. Jn 10:26). Unless we are "Jesus’ sheep", faith does not come; it is a faith which is watered down, insubstantial. And let us think of the consolation which Barnabas experienced, which was precisely the "delightful and comforting joy of evangelizing". Let us ask the Lord for this parrhesia, this apostolic fervour which impels us to move forward, as brothers and sisters, all of us: forward! Forward, bearing the name of Jesus in the bosom of holy Mother Church, as Saint Ignatius said, hierarchical and Catholic. Amen.

© Copyright 2013 - Libreria Editrice Vaticana

28 April 2013 - Homily - Holy Mass and Conferral of the Sacrament of Confirmation

HOLY MASS AND CONFERRAL OF THE SACRAMENT OF CONFIRMATION

HOMILY OF POPE FRANCIS

Saint Peter's Square

Fifth Sunday of Easter, 28 April 2013

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Dear Confirmands,

I would like to offer three short and simple thoughts for your reflection.

1. In the second reading, we listened to the beautiful vision of Saint John: new heavens and a new earth, and then the Holy City coming down from God.  All is new, changed into good, beauty and truth; there are no more tears or mourning… This is the work of the Holy Spirit: he brings us the new things of God.  He comes to us and makes all things new; he changes us.  The Spirit changes us! And Saint John’s vision reminds us that all of us are journeying towards the heavenly Jerusalem, the ultimate newness which awaits us and all reality, the happy day when we will see the Lord’s face – that marvelous face, the most beautiful face of the Lord Jesus - and be with him for ever, in his love.

You see, the new things of God are not like the novelties of this world, all of which are temporary; they come and go, and we keep looking for more.  The new things which God gives to our lives are lasting, not only in the future, when we will be with him, but today as well.  God is even now making all things new; the Holy Spirit is truly transforming us, and through us he also wants to transform the world in which we live.  Let us open the doors to the Spirit, let ourselves be guided by him, and allow God’s constant help to make us new men and women, inspired by the love of God which the Holy Spirit bestows on us!  How beautiful it would be if each of you, every evening, could say: Today at school, at home, at work, guided by God, I showed a sign of love towards one of my friends, my parents, an older person! How beautiful!

2. A second thought.  In the first reading Paul and Barnabas say that “we must undergo many trials if we are to enter the kingdom of God” (Acts 14:22).  The journey of the Church, and our own personal journeys as Christians, are not always easy; they meet with difficulties and trials.  To follow the Lord, to let his Spirit transform the shadowy parts of our lives, our ungodly ways of acting, and cleanse us of our sins, is to set out on a path with many obstacles, both in the world around us but also within us, in the heart.  But difficulties and trials are part of the path that leads to God’s glory, just as they were for Jesus, who was glorified on the cross; we will always encounter them in life! Do not be discouraged! We have the power of the Holy Spirit to overcome these trials!

3.  And here I come to my last point.  It is an invitation which I make to you, young confirmandi, and to all present.  Remain steadfast in the journey of faith, with firm hope in the Lord.  This is the secret of our journey!  He gives us the courage to swim against the tide.  Pay attention, my young friends: to go against the current; this is good for the heart, but we need courage to swim against the tide.  Jesus gives us this courage!  There are no difficulties, trials or misunderstandings to fear, provided we remain united to God as branches to the vine, provided we do not lose our friendship with him, provided we make ever more room for him in our lives.  This is especially so whenever we feel poor, weak and sinful, because God grants strength to our weakness, riches to our poverty, conversion and forgiveness to our sinfulness.  The Lord is so rich in mercy: every time, if we go to him, he forgives us.  Let us trust in God’s work!  With him we can do great things; he will give us the joy of being his disciples, his witnesses.  Commit yourselves to great ideals, to the most important things. We Christians were not chosen by the Lord for little things; push onwards toward the highest principles. Stake your lives on noble ideals, my dear young people!

The new things of God, the trials of life, remaining steadfast in the Lord.  Dear friends, let us open wide the door of our lives to the new things of God which the Holy Spirit gives us.  May he transform us, confirm us in our trials, strengthen our union with the Lord, our steadfastness in him: this is a true joy! So may it be.

© Copyright 2013 - Libreria Editrice Vaticana

Papal Tweets

22 April 2013 - 28 April 2013

- “Each one of us longs for love, for truth, for life – and Jesus is all of these things in abundance!” @pontifex, 22 April 2013

- “Mary is the one who says “Yes”. Mary, help us to come to know the voice of Jesus better, and to follow it.” @pontifex, 23 April 2013

- “Let us keep the flame of faith alive through prayer and the sacraments: let us make sure we do not forget God.” @pontifex, 24 April 2013

- “At this time of crisis it is important not to become closed in on oneself, but rather to be open and attentive towards others.” @pontifex, 25 April 2013

- “Dear young people, do not bury your talents, the gifts that God has given you! Do not be afraid to dream of great things!” @pontifex, 25 April 2013

- “Join me in praying for the victims of the tragedy in Dhaka, Bangladesh, that God will grant comfort and strength to their families” @pontifex, 27 April 2013

- “The Holy Spirit truly transforms us. With our cooperation, he also wants to transform the world we live in.” @pontifex, 28 April 2013

Table of Contents

Introduction

Index of Source Links

Angelus/Regina Caeli

21 April 2013 - Regina Caeli

General Audiences

17 April 2013 - General Audience

Homilies

23 April 2013 - Homily - Eucharistic Concelebration with the Eminent Cardinals resident in Rome on the occasion of the Feast of Saint George

28 April 2013 - Homily - Holy Mass and Conferral of the Sacrament of Confirmation

Papal Tweets

22 April 2013 - 28 April 2013