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

- 5 May 2013

General Audiences

- 1 May 2013

Speeches

- 4 May 2013 - Address at the conclusion of the recital of the Holy Rosary at the Papal Basilica of Saint Mary Major

- 6 May 2013 - To the Pontifical Swiss Guard

- 10 May 2013 - To His Holiness Pope Tawadros II, Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of the See of St. Mark, head of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Egypt

Papal Tweets

- @pontifex, 6 May 2013

- @pontifex, 7 May 2013

- @pontifex, 8 May 2013

- @pontifex, 9 May 2013

- @pontifex, 10 May 2013

- @pontifex, 12 May 2013

Angelus/Regina Caeli

5 May 2013 - Regina Caeli

POPE FRANCIS

REGINA CÆLI

Saint Peter's Square

Sixth Sunday of Easter, 5 May 2013

At this moment of profound communion with Christ, we also feel among us the living presence of the Virgin Mary. It is a motherly presence, a familial presence, especially for you who are part of the confraternity. Love for Our Lady is one of the characteristics of popular devotion that must be respected and well directed. For this reason, I invite you to meditate on the last chapter of the Constitution of the Second Vatican Council on the Church, Lumen Gentium, which speaks of Mary in the mystery of Christ and of the Church. There it says that Mary “advanced in her pilgrimage of faith” (n. 58). Dear friends, in the Year of Faith I leave you this icon of Mary the pilgrim, who follows her Son Jesus and precedes us all in the journey of faith.

Today the Eastern Churches following the Julian Calendar are celebrating Easter. I wish to send a special greeting to these brothers and sisters, uniting myself with all my heart to them in proclaiming the joyful news: Christ is Risen! Gathered in prayer around Mary, let us invoke from God the gift of the Holy Spirit, the Paraclete, that he may console and comfort all Christians, especially those celebrating Easter amid trial and suffering, and guide them on the path of reconciliation and peace.

Yesterday in Brazil Francisca de Paula de Jesus, called “Nhá Chica”, was proclaimed Blessed. Her simple life was totally dedicated to God and to charity, so much so that she was called “mother of the poor”. I join in the joy of the Church in Brazil for this luminous disciple of the Lord.

I greet with affection all the confraternities present, having come from many Countries. Thank you for your witness to the faith! I greet too the parish groups and the families, as well as the great parade of musical bands and associations of the Schützen from Germany.

A special greeting goes today to the “Meter” Association on the National Day for Child Victims of Violence. And this offers me the occasion to turn my thoughts to those who have suffered and are suffering from abuse. I would like to assure them that they are present in my prayers, but I would like to strongly declare that we must all commit ourselves with clarity and courage so that every human person, especially children, who are among the most vulnerable, be always defended and protected.

I also encourage those suffering from pulmonary hypertension and their families.

© Copyright 2013 - Libreria Editrice Vaticana

General Audiences

1 May 2013 - General Audience

POPE FRANCIS

GENERAL AUDIENCE

Saint Peter's Square

Wednesday, 1st May 2013

Dear Brothers and Sisters, Good Morning,

Today, 1 May, we celebrate St Joseph the Worker and begin the month traditionally dedicated to Our Lady. In our encounter this morning, I want to focus on these two figures, so important in the life of Jesus, the Church and in our lives, with two brief thoughts: the first on work, the second on the contemplation of Jesus.

1. In the Gospel of St Matthew, in one of the moments when Jesus returns to his town, to Nazareth, and speaks in the Synagogue, the amazement of his fellow townspeople at his wisdom is emphasized. They asked themselves the question: “Is not this the carpenter's son?” (13:55). Jesus comes into our history, he comes among us by being born of Mary by the power of God, but with the presence of St Joseph, the legal father who cares for him and also teaches him his trade. Jesus is born and lives in a family, in the Holy Family, learning the carpenter’s craft from St Joseph in his workshop in Nazareth, sharing with him the commitment, effort, satisfaction and also the difficulties of every day.

This reminds us of the dignity and importance of work. The Book of Genesis tells us that God created man and woman entrusting them with the task of filling the earth and subduing it, which does not mean exploiting it but nurturing and protecting it, caring for it through their work (cf. Gen 1:28; 2:15). Work is part of God’s loving plan, we are called to cultivate and care for all the goods of creation and in this way share in the work of creation! Work is fundamental to the dignity of a person. Work, to use a metaphor, “anoints” us with dignity, fills us with dignity, makes us similar to God, who has worked and still works, who always acts (cf. Jn 5:17); it gives one the ability to maintain oneself, one’s family, to contribute to the growth of one’s own nation. And here I think of the difficulties which, in various countries, today afflict the world of work and business today; I am thinking of how many, and not only young people, are unemployed, often due to a purely economic conception of society, which seeks profit selfishly, beyond the parametres of social justice.

I wish to extend an invitation to solidarity to everyone, and I would like to encourage those in public office to make every effort to give new impetus to employment, this means caring for the dignity of the person, but above all I would say do not lose hope. St Joseph also experienced moments of difficulty, but he never lost faith and was able to overcome them, in the certainty that God never abandons us. And then I would like to speak especially to you young people: be committed to your daily duties, your studies, your work, to relationships of friendship, to helping others; your future also depends on how you live these precious years of your life. Do not be afraid of commitment, of sacrifice and do not view the future with fear. Keep your hope alive: there is always a light on the horizon.

I would like to add a word about another particular work situation that concerns me: I am referring to what we could define as “slave labour”, work that enslaves. How many people worldwide are victims of this type of slavery, when the person is at the service of his or her work, while work should offer a service to people so they may have dignity. I ask my brothers and sisters in the faith and all men and women of good will for a decisive choice to combat the trafficking in persons, in which “slave labour” exists.

2. With reference to the second thought: in the silence of the daily routine, St Joseph, together with Mary, share a single common centre of attention: Jesus. They accompany and nurture the growth of the Son of God made man for us with commitment and tenderness, reflecting on everything that happened. In the Gospels, St Luke twice emphasizes the attitude of Mary, which is also that of St Joseph: she “kept all these things, pondering them in her heart” (2:19,51). To listen to the Lord, we must learn to contemplate, feel his constant presence in our lives and we must stop and converse with him, give him space in prayer. Each of us, even you boys and girls, young people, so many of you here this morning, should ask yourselves: “how much space do I give to the Lord? Do I stop to talk with him?” Ever since we were children, our parents have taught us to start and end the day with a prayer, to teach us to feel that the friendship and the love of God accompanies us. Let us remember the Lord more in our daily life!

And in this month of May, I would like to recall the importance and beauty of the prayer of the Holy Rosary. Reciting the Hail Mary, we are led to contemplate the mysteries of Jesus, that is, to reflect on the key moments of his life, so that, as with Mary and St Joseph, he is the centre of our thoughts, of our attention and our actions. It would be nice if, especially in this month of May, we could pray the Holy Rosary together in the family, with friends, in the parish, or some prayer to Jesus and the Virgin Mary! Praying together is a precious moment that further strengthens family life, friendship! Let us learn to pray more in the family and as a family!

Dear brothers and sisters, let us ask St Joseph and the Virgin Mary to teach us to be faithful to our daily tasks, to live our faith in the actions of everyday life and to give more space to the Lord in our lives, to pause to contemplate his face. Thank you.

Greetings:

I am pleased to greet the many pilgrimage groups present at today’s Audience, including those from the Archdiocese of Gwangju in South Korea. Upon all the English-speaking visitors, including those from England, Scotland, Denmark, Canada and the United States, I invoke the joy and peace of the Risen Lord.

Finally I would like to address, as is customary, the young people, the sick and the newlyweds. Dear young people, maybe you be in love with Christ in order to follow him with passion and fidelity. You, dear sick people, immerse your suffering in the mystery of love of the Blood of the Redeemer. And you, dear newlyweds, with your mutual and reciprocal love, may you be a meaningful sign of love of Christ for the Church. Thank you.

© Copyright 2013 - Libreria Editrice Vaticana

Speeches

4 May 2013 - Address at the conclusion of the recital of the Holy Rosary at the Papal Basilica of Saint Mary Major

RECITAL OF THE HOLY ROSARY

ADDRESS OF THE HOLY FATHER POPE FRANCIS

Papal Basilica of St Mary Major

Saturday, 4 May 2013

I thank His Eminence, the Archpriest of this Basilica, for his words at the beginning. Thank you [Cardinal Santos Abril y Castelló], brother and friend, our friendship that was born in that Country at the ends of the earth! Thank you so much. I am thankful for the presence of the Cardinal Vicar, the Cardinals, Bishops and Priests. And I thank you, brothers and sisters, who have come here today to pray to Our Lady, the Mother, the Salus Populi Romani [Health of the Roman people]. For tonight we are here before Mary. We have prayed under her motherly leadership that she guide us to be ever more united to her Son Jesus. We have brought her our joys and our suffering, our hopes and our struggles; we have invoked her by the beautiful title of Salus Populi Romani imploring her for us all, for Rome, for the world that she grant us health. Yes, because Mary gives us health, she is our health.

Jesus Christ, by his Passion, Death and Resurrection, has brought us salvation, granting us the grace and the joy of being children of God, to truly call him by the name of Father. Mary is the mother, and a mother worries above all about the health of her children, she knows how to care for them always with great and tender love. Our Lady guards our health. What does this mean: Our Lady guards our health? I think above all of three things: she helps us grow, to confront life, to be free.

1. A mother helps her children grow up and wants them to grow strong; that is why she teaches them not to be lazy — which can also derive from a certain kind of wellbeing — not to sink into a comfortable life-style, contenting oneself with possessions. The mother takes care that her children develop better, that they grow strong, capable of accepting responsibilities, of engaging in life, of striving for great ideals. The Gospel of St Luke tells us that, in the family of Nazareth, Jesus “grew and became strong, filled with wisdom; and the favour of God was upon him” (Lk 2:40). Our Lady does just this for us, she helps us to grow as human beings and in the faith, to be strong and never to fall into the temptation of being human beings and Christians in a superficial way, but to live responsibly, to strive ever higher.

2. A mother then thinks of the health of her children, teaching them also to face the difficulties of life. You do not teach, you do not take care of health by avoiding problems, as though life were a motorway with no obstacles. The mother helps her children to see the problems of life realistically and not to get lost in them, but to confront them with courage, not to be weak, and to know how to overcome them, in a healthy balance that a mother “senses” between the area of security and the area of risk. And a mother can do this! She does not always take the child along the safe road, because in that way the child cannot develop, but neither does she leave the child only on the risky path, because that is dangerous. A mother knows how to balance things. A life without challenges does not exist and a boy or a girl who cannot face or tackle them is a boy or girl with no backbone!

Let us remember the parable of the good Samaritan: Jesus does not approve of the behaviour of the priest or the Levite, who both avoid helping the man who was attacked by robbers, but the Samaritan who sees that man’s state and confronts it in a concrete way, despite the risks. Mary saw many difficult moments in her life, from the birth of Jesus, when “there was no place for them in the inn” (Lk 2:7), to Calvary (cf. Jn 19:25). And like a good mother she is close to us, so that we may never lose courage before the adversities of life, before our weakness, before our sins: she gives us strength, she shows us the path of her Son.

Jesus from the Cross says to Mary, indicating John: “Woman, behold your son!” and to John: “Here is your mother!” (cf. Jn 19:26-27). In that disciple, we are all represented: the Lord entrusts us to the loving and tender hands of the Mother, that we might feel her support in facing and overcoming the difficulties of our human and Christian journey; to never be afraid of the struggle, to face it with the help of the mother.

3. Lastly, a good mother not only accompanies her children in their growth, without avoiding the problems and challenges of life; a good mother also helps them to make definitive decisions with freedom. This is not easy, but a mother knows how to do it. But what does freedom mean? It is certainly not doing whatever you want, allowing yourself to be dominated by the passions, to pass from one experience to another without discernment, to follow the fashions of the day; freedom does not mean, so to speak, throwing everything that you don’t like out the window. No, that is not freedom! Freedom is given to us so that we know how to make good decisions in life! Mary as a good mother teaches us to be, like her, capable of making definitive decisions; definitive choices, at this moment in a time controlled by, so to speak, a philosophy of the provisional. It is very difficult to make a lifetime commitment. And she helps us to make those definitive decisions in the full freedom with which she said “yes” to the plan God had for her life (cf. Lk 1:38).

Dear brothers and sisters, it is so hard in our time to make final decisions! Deciding everything with the total freedom with which she answered “yes” to God’s plan for her life (cf. Lk 1:38). Dear brothers and sisters, how difficult it is take a final decision in our time. Temporary things seduce us. We are victims of a trend that pushes us to the provisional... as though we wanted to stay adolescents. There is a little charm in staying adolescents, and this for life! Let us not be afraid of life commitments, commitments that take up and concern our entire life! In this way our life will be fruitful! And this is freedom: to have the courage to make these decisions with generosity.

Mary’s whole life is a hymn to life, a hymn of love to life: she generated Jesus in the flesh and accompanied the birth of the Church on Calvary and in the Upper Room. The Salus Populi Romani is the mother that gives us health in growth, she gives us health in facing and overcoming problems, she gives us the health to make us free to make definitive choices. The mother teaches us how to be fruitful, to be open to life and to always bear good fruit, joyful fruit, hopeful fruit, and never to lose hope, to give life to others, physical and spiritual life.

This we ask tonight, O Mary, Salus Populi Romani, for the people of Rome, for all of us: give us the health that you alone can give us, to be ever a sign and instrument of life. Amen.

* * *

Upon leaving the Basilica, the Holy Father spoke the following words from the steps to the people gathered in the Square:

Dear brothers and sisters, good evening! Thank you very much for your presence in the house of the Mother of Rome, of our Mother. Long live the Salus Populi Romani. Long live Our Lady. She is our Mother. Let us entrust ourselves to her, because she cares for us like a buona mamma [good mom]. I pray for you, but I ask you to pray for me, because I need it. Three Hail Mary’s for me. I wish you a good Sunday tomorrow. Goodbye. Now I give you my Blessing — to you and to your whole family. May God Almighty bless you. Have a good Sunday.

© Copyright 2013 - Libreria Editrice Vaticana

6 May 2013 - Speech - To the Pontifical Swiss Guard

ADDRESS OF THE HOLY FATHER POPE FRANCIS

TO THE PONTIFICAL SWISS GUARD AND THEIR FAMILY MEMBERS

Clementine Hall

Monday, 6 May 2013

Dear Friends of the Swiss Guard,

I am delighted to welcome you and I extend my cordial greetings to each one of you, to your families, to your friends, to the Authorities and to those who wanted to take part in these days of festivity. To all of you, dear Guards, I renew my most sincere thanks for your valuable and generous service to the Pope and the Church. Every day I personally appreciate the dedication, the professionalism and the love with which you carry out your duties. And for this I thank you! I thank in a special way your families, who have benevolently accepted your decision to live this service in the Vatican and support you with their love and their prayer.

On this date you commemorate the sacrifice the Swiss Guards made in their strenuous defence of the Pope during the “Sack of Rome”. Today you are not called to this heroic act but to another kind of sacrifice, also demanding: to put your youthful energy at the service of the Church and the Pope. And to do this you need to be strong, motivated by love and sustained by faith in Christ. This year your celebration falls within the Year of Faith, which the Church is living throughout the world. I am certain that the decision to spend years of your life in the service of the Pope is not foreign to your faith. Rather, the deeper motivations that have impelled you to come to Rome have their origins precisely in your faith. This is a faith that you learned at home, was cultivated in your parishes, and which also manifests the affection that Swiss Catholics have for the Church. Remember it well, the faith that God gave you on the day of Baptism is the most precious treasure that you have! And there your mission to serve the Pope and the Church finds its source in the faith.

During your stay in Rome, you are called to bear witness to your faith with joy and kindness. How important it is for the many people who pass by Vatican City! But it is also important for those who work here at the Holy See, and that goes for me too! Your presence is a sign of the power and beauty of the Gospel, that in every age calls young people to follow it. And I would like to invite you to live out your time in the “Eternal City” with a spirit of sincere brotherhood, helping one another to lead a good Christian life, one that corresponds to your faith and to your mission in the Church. Take care of one another, support one another when one of you is having a hard time. Be ready to listen, be close at hand. Pray for one another, and put into the practice the mutual help and communion that you draw from Jesus in the Holy Eucharist.

Your specifically ecclesial experience in the Swiss Guard Corps represents a privileged opportunity to deepen your understanding of Christ and of his Gospel and to follow him, almost breathing in, here in Rome, the Catholicity of the Church. Today when some of you swear your fidelity to carry out your service in the Guard, the others will renew the oath in their hearts, know that your service is also a testimony to Christ, who calls you to be authentic human beings and true Christians, be the protagonist of your own existence. Deeply united to him you will know how to face in a mature way the obstacles and the challenges of life, in the firm conviction that, as the Liturgy of the Easter Vigil reminds us, the Risen Lord is the “eternal King who has conquered the darkness of the world”. Only he is the Truth, the Way and the Life.

Dear Swiss Guards, do not forget that the Lord walks with you. This is a good thought that does the soul good: do not forget that the Lord is always working with us, he is always at your side to support you, especially in moments of difficulty and trial. My heartfelt wish for you is that you may always feel the joy and the consolation of his luminous and merciful presence.

I entrust each one of you and your valuable service to the motherly intercession of the Virgin Mary and your Holy Patrons; and from my heart I impart to you, to your families and to all those present my Blessing, as a sign of my great affection and special gratitude.

© Copyright 2013 - Libreria Editrice Vaticana

10 May 2013 - Speech - To His Holiness Pope Tawadros II, Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of the See of St. Mark, head of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Egypt

ADDRESS OF THE HOLY FATHER POPE FRANCIS

TO HIS HOLINESS POPE TAWADROS II,

POPE OF ALEXANDRIA AND PATRIARCH OF THE SEE OF ST. MARK,

HEAD OF THE COPTIC ORTHODOX CHURCH OF EGYPT

Friday, 10 May 2013

Χριστός  ανέστη

Your Holiness,

Dear Brothers in Christ,

For me it is a great joy and a truly graced moment to be able to receive all of you here, at the tomb of Saint Peter, as we recall that historic meeting forty years ago between our predecessors, Pope Paul VI and the late Pope Shenouda III, in an embrace of peace and fraternity, after centuries in which there was a certain distance between us. So it is with deep affection that I welcome Your Holiness and the distinguished members of your delegation, and I thank you for your words. Through you, I extend my cordial greetings in the Lord to the bishops, the clergy, the monks and the whole Coptic Orthodox Church.

Today’s visit strengthens the bonds of friendship and brotherhood that already exist between the See of Peter and the See of Mark, heir to an inestimable heritage of martyrs, theologians, holy monks and faithful disciples of Christ, who have borne witness to the Gospel from generation to generation, often in situations of great adversity.

Forty years ago the Common Declaration of our predecessors represented a milestone on the ecumenical journey, and from it emerged a Commission for Theological Dialogue between our Churches, which has yielded good results and has prepared the ground for a broader dialogue between the Catholic Church and the entire family of Oriental Orthodox Churches, a dialogue that continues to bear fruit to this day. In that solemn Declaration, our Churches acknowledged that, in line with the apostolic traditions, they profess “one faith in the One Triune God” and “the divinity of the Only-begotten Son of God ... perfect God with respect to his divinity, perfect man with respect to his humanity”. They acknowledged that divine life is given to us and nourished through the seven sacraments and they recognized a mutual bond in their common devotion to the Mother of God.

We are glad to be able to confirm today what our illustrious predecessors solemnly declared, we are glad to recognize that we are united by one Baptism, of which our common prayer is a special expression, and we long for the day when, in fulfilment of the Lord’s desire, we will be able to communicate from the one chalice.

Of course we are well aware that the path ahead may still prove to be long, but we do not want to forget the considerable distance already travelled, which has taken tangible form in radiant moments of communion, among which I am pleased to recall the meeting in February 2000 in Cairo between Pope Shenouda III and Blessed John Paul II, who went as a pilgrim, during the Great Jubilee, to the places of origin of our faith. I am convinced that – under the guidance of the Holy Spirit – our persevering prayer, our dialogue and the will to build communion day by day in mutual love will allow us to take important further steps towards full unity.

Your Holiness, I am aware of the many marks of attention and fraternal charity that you have shown, since the early days of your ministry, to the Catholic Coptic Church, to its Pastor, Patriarch Ibrahim Isaac Sidrak and to his predecessor, Cardinal Antonios Naguib. The institution of a “National Council of Christian Churches”, which you strongly desired, represents an important sign of the will of all believers in Christ to develop relations in daily life that are increasingly fraternal and to put themselves at the service of the whole of Egyptian society, of which they form an integral part. Let me assure Your Holiness that your efforts to build communion among believers in Christ, and your lively interest in the future of your country and the role of the Christian communities within Egyptian society find a deep echo in the heart of the Successor of Peter and of the entire Catholic community.

“If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honoured, all rejoice together” (1 Cor 12:26). This is a law of the Christian life, and in this sense we can say that there is also an ecumenism of suffering: just as the blood of the martyrs was a seed of strength and fertility for the Church, so too the sharing of daily sufferings can become an effective instrument of unity. And this also applies, in a certain sense, to the broader context of society and relations between Christians and non-Christians: from shared suffering can blossom forth forgiveness, reconciliation and peace, with God’s help.

Your Holiness, in sincerely assuring you of my prayers that the whole flock entrusted to your pastoral care may be ever faithful to the Lord’s call, I invoke the protection of both Saint Peter and Saint Mark: may they who during their lifetime worked together in practical ways for the spread of the Gospel, intercede for us and accompany the journey of our Churches.

© Copyright 2013 - Libreria Editrice Vaticana

Papal Tweets

6 May 2013 - 12 May 2013

- “Let us ask our Lord to help us bear shining witness to his mercy and his love in every area of our Christian lives.” @pontifex, 6 May 2013

- “Do not be content to live a mediocre Christian life: walk with determination along the path of holiness.” @pontifex, 7 May 2013

- “I have come that they may have life and have it in abundance, says Jesus. This is where true wealth is found, not in material things!” @pontifex, 8 May 2013

- “The Holy Spirit brings to our hearts a most precious gift: profound trust in God’s love and mercy.” @pontifex, 9 May 2013

- “The Holy Spirit helps us to view others with fresh eyes, seeing them always as brothers and sisters in Jesus, to be respected and loved.” @pontifex, 10 May 2013

- “Let us pray for the many Christians in the world who still suffer persecution and violence. May God grant them the courage of fidelity.” @pontifex, 12 May 2013

Table of Contents

Introduction

Index of Source Links

Angelus/Regina Caeli

5 May 2013 - Regina Caeli

General Audiences

1 May 2013 - General Audience

Speeches

4 May 2013 - Address at the conclusion of the recital of the Holy Rosary at the Papal Basilica of Saint Mary Major

6 May 2013 - Speech - To the Pontifical Swiss Guard

10 May 2013 - Speech - To His Holiness Pope Tawadros II, Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of the See of St. Mark, head of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Egypt

Papal Tweets

6 May 2013 - 12 May 2013