The Weekly Francis

The Weekly Francis – Volume 301 – 29 January 2020

by Jeffrey Miller
written by Jeffrey Miller
pope-francis2-300x187

This version of The Weekly Francis covers material released in the last week from 22 January 2020 to 29 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

Homilies

Messages

Papal Tweets

  • “Ecumenical hospitality requires a willingness to listen to other Christians, paying attention to their personal stories of faith and to the history of their community.” @Pontifex 23 January 2020
  • “This year I want to dedicate World Communications Day to the theme of storytelling. In order not to get lost, we must make the truth of good stories our own. Stories that build up and help us find our roots and the strength to move forward together. http://vatican.va/content/francesco/en/messages/communications/documents/papa-francesco_20200124_messaggio-comunicazioni-sociali.html” @Pontifex 24 January 2020
  • “Envy and jealousy are seeds that generate war. Let us ask for the grace to have a transparent heart, like that of David, a transparent heart that seeks justice and peace. #SantaMarta” @Pontifex 25 January 2020
  • “The Bible is the great love story between God and humanity. At its centre stands Jesus, whose own story brings to fulfilment both God’s love for us and our love for God.” @Pontifex 25 January 2020
  • “We need God’s Word: so that we can hear, amid the thousands of other words in our daily lives, that one Word that speaks to us not about things, but about life. #SundayoftheWordofGod
    http://w2.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/homilies/2020/documents/papa-francesco_20200126_omelia-domenicadellaparoladidio.html” @Pontifex 26 January 2020
  • “Let us make room for the Word of God! Each day, let us read a verse or two of the Bible. We will discover that God is close to us, that He dispels our darkness and, with great love, leads our lives into deep waters. #SundayoftheWordofGod” @Pontifex 26 January 2020
  • “God’s Word consoles and encourages us, it challenges us, frees us from the bondage of our selfishness and summons us to conversion; because it has the power to change our lives and to lead us out of darkness into the light. #SundayoftheWordofGod” @Pontifex 26 January 2020
  • “If we lose our memory, we destroy our future. May the anniversary of the Holocaust, the unspeakable cruelty that humanity learned of 75 years ago, serve as a summons to pause, to be still and to remember. We need to do this, lest we become indifferent. #DayofMemory” @Pontifex 27 January 2020
  • “The Gospel will not go forward with boring, bitter evangelizers. No. It will only go forward with joyful evangelizers, full of life. #HomilySantaMarta” @Pontifex 28 January 2020
  • “The Beatitudes are the ”identity card“ of a Christian. They are not about the joy that passes, but about happiness that knows how to live side by side with suffering. #GeneralAudience” @Pontifex 29 January 2020

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The Weekly Francis

The Weekly Francis – Volume 300 – 22 January 2020

by Jeffrey Miller
written by Jeffrey Miller
pope-francis2-300x187

This version of The Weekly Francis covers material released in the last week from 31 December 2019 to 22 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

Homilies

Messages

Speeches

Papal Tweets

  • “The Lord has so much compassion, He involves Himself in our problems. Let us often repeat this simple prayer: Lord, I am a sinner, have mercy on me, have compassion for me. #HomilySantaMarta” @Pontifex 16 January 2020
  • “Jesus looks at the paralytic and focuses on what is essential: ”Your sins are forgiven“. Physical health is a gift that we must preserve but the Lord teaches us that we must also preserve the health of the heart, spiritual health. #HomilySantaMarta” @Pontifex 17 January 2020
  • “Whoever has faith feels a great need for God and, in our own smallness, we surrender ourselves, trusting fully in Him.” @Pontifex 18 January 2020
  • “Let us pause at #GospelofToday (John 1,29–34), perhaps even contemplating an icon of Christ, Son of God made lamb, to free us from evil. Yes, we are still poor sinners but not slaves, no, but children, children of God!” @Pontifex 19 January 2020
  • “Being Christian does not mean defending yourself with an ideology in order to move forward. To be Christian is to be free, because we have confidence, because we are docile to the Word of the Lord. #HomilySantaMarta” @Pontifex 20 January 2020
  • “Through Baptism, we Christians are all anointed by the election of the Lord, and this is a pure gift. Today let us ask the Holy Spirit to be able to preserve this gift with faithfulness. This is Christian holiness. #HomilySantaMarta” @Pontifex 21 January 2020
  • “This year, the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity is dedicated to the theme of hospitality. #GeneralAudience” @Pontifex 22 January 2020
  • “Working together to practice hospitality, especially towards those whose lives are most vulnerable, will make us better human beings, better disciples, and a more united Christian people. #GeneralAudience” @Pontifex 22 January 2020

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Edith Stein and Companions: On the Way to Auschwitz – Review
Punditry

Edith Stein and Companions: On the Way to Auschwitz – Review

by Jeffrey Miller
written by Jeffrey Miller

On the same summer day in 1942, Saint Teresa Benedicta of the Cross (Edith Stein) and hundreds of other Catholic Jews were arrested in Holland by the occupying Nazis. One hundred thirteen of those taken into custody, several of them priests and nuns, perished at Auschwitz and other concentration camps. They were murdered in retaliation for the anti-Nazi pastoral letter written by the Dutch Catholic bishops.

While the story of Edith Stein is somewhat well-know, this book goes into the lives of other Catholic Jews who were arrested at the same time and most were killed on the same day as Saint Teresa Benedicta of the Cross. This book is not intended to provide an in-depth biography of Edith Stein. Mostly this book provides, as much as possible, a biography of those who were mostly arrested and executed as retaliation regarding the Dutch Bishop’s pastoral letter.

This book includes a list of eighty-three persons, which is probably not a complete list. This list included thirty-one men and fifty-two women. This included two priests, two brothers, six women religious, and two third-order members.

What I found very interesting was the story of the lives of these people who for the most part were adult converts to the Catholic faith. They often had difficult lives because of their decision being ostracized by their families. This runs parallel to the life of Edith Stein and her sister. Parts of this book are repetitive as far as events go, but the effort is to provide biographies for as many people as they were able to. I am glad to know these stories now, as heart-wrenching as they are.

Some were caught by surprise to some extent regarding their arrest. Others though seemed to have been preparing for this and offering their lives as a sacrifice for the conversion of others – a common thread.

Since this was in retaliation to the Dutch Bishop’s letter I found some of there responses to this intriguing.

“She recounted, among other things, that the leaders of the camp had said to the prisoners who were religious sisters and brothers “You know, after all, that you can thank the bishops for your fate.” The religious had answered, “We thank God that we have such bishops, and we gladly suffer for our Holy Church.”
”In her last letter to her confessor, Father Matthias Frehe, O.P., Dr. Lisamaria Meirowsky writes from the Westerbork concentration camp on August 6:“
”I want to send you a last greeting and to tell you that I am full of confidence and wholly surrendered to God’s holy will. Even more, I consider it a grace and election to have to leave under these circumstances and in this way to give witness to the words of our fathers and shepherds in Christ… . I go with courage, confidence, and joy, as do the religious who go with me. We are permitted to bear witness to Jesus, and with our bishops we are allowed to bear witness to the truth. We go as children of our Mother, the Church, and want to unite our suffering with that of our King, Redeemer, and Bridegroom. We want to offer our suffering for the conversion of many, for the Jews, for those who persecute us: thereby we want to contribute to peace in the Kingdom of Christ.”

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Thoughts on the St. Augustine March for Life
Punditry

Thoughts on the St. Augustine March for Life

by Jeffrey Miller
written by Jeffrey Miller

So I had never gone down to the March for Life in St. Augustine before. I had not realized that there would be so many people from other diocese attending. There were a good many from Orlando, some from Tampa Bay, and even Miami. Out of state, there were also those from Savannah, Georgia. So this was fairly well attended. Plus there were those from in-area Baptist churches. This march started 15 years ago.

So it was pretty cool to march through the oldest city in the U.S. with part of our route in the old town with cobblestone streets. Tourists were snapping shots of us. Encountered no pro-abortion protesters.

The homily from my bishop was excellent with pro-life themes I have heard him express on other occasions. I especially liked his recital of a prayer from St. John Henry Newman (listed at the end). I think I will add this to my daily prayers.

I also enjoyed the various speeches made. They were mostly short, inspiring, and to the point. Doug Tooke of ODB Films was hilarious. Jason “Moose” Hamilton, a local man with Down Syndrome, gave the most inspiring speech. List of speakers.

You so often hear about how many young people there are at pro-life events. This was certainly in evidence here. I ran into some college students I know from local abortion protests.

I also ran into a woman I had had recently met at one of the bible studies I attend. Fairly new to the area and widowed last year after fifty some years of marriage. We had a great conversation as we marched, especially as she was so knowledgeable about the faith. I knew she was intelligent since she knew that she wanted to know much more.

Meditations on Christian Doctrine – March 7, 1848

  1. God was all-complete, all-blessed in Himself; but it was His will to create a world for His glory. He is Almighty, and might have done all things Himself, but it has been His will to bring about His purposes by the beings He has created. We are all {301} created to His glory—we are created to do His will. I am created to do something or to be something for which no one else is created; I have a place in God’s counsels, in God’s world, which no one else has; whether I be rich or poor, despised or esteemed by man, God knows me and calls me by my name.
  2. God has created me to do Him some definite service; He has committed some work to me which He has not committed to another. I have my mission—I never may know it in this life, but I shall be told it in the next. Somehow I am necessary for His purposes, as necessary in my place as an Archangel in his—if, indeed, I fail, He can raise another, as He could make the stones children of Abraham. Yet I have a part in this great work; I am a link in a chain, a bond of connexion between persons. He has not created me for naught. I shall do good, I shall do His work; I shall be an angel of peace, a preacher of truth in my own place, while not intending it, if I do but keep His commandments and serve Him in my calling.
  3. Therefore I will trust Him. Whatever, wherever I am, I can never be thrown away. If I am in sickness, my sickness may serve Him; in perplexity, my perplexity may serve Him; if I am in sorrow, my sorrow may serve Him. My sickness, or perplexity, or sorrow may be necessary causes of some great end, which is quite beyond us. He does nothing in vain; He may prolong my life, He may shorten it; He knows what He is about. He may take away my friends, He may throw me among strangers, He {302} may make me feel desolate, make my spirits sink, hide the future from me—still He knows what He is about.
    O Adonai, O Ruler of Israel, Thou that guidest Joseph like a flock, O Emmanuel, O Sapientia, I give myself to Thee. I trust Thee wholly. Thou art wiser than I—more loving to me than I myself. Deign to fulfil Thy high purposes in me whatever they be—work in and through me. I am born to serve Thee, to be Thine, to be Thy instrument. Let me be Thy blind instrument. I ask not to see—I ask not to know—I ask simply to be used. (St. John Henry Newman)
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Punditry

The Weekly Francis – Volume 299 – 15 January 2020

by Jeffrey Miller
written by Jeffrey Miller
pope-francis2-300x187

This version of The Weekly Francis covers material released in the last week from 8 January 2020 to 15 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.

General Audiences

Papal Tweets

  • “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
  • “In worship, we learn to reject what should not be worshiped: the god of money, the god of consumerism, the god of pleasure, the god of success, the god of self.” @Pontifex 10 January 2020
  • “Worship means bending low before the Most High and to discover in His presence that life’s greatness does not consist in having, but in loving.” @Pontifex 10 January 2020
  • “Worship means going to Jesus without a list of petitions, but with one request alone: to abide with Him. In worship, we allow Jesus to heal and change us.” @Pontifex 11 January 2020
  • “In worship, we make it possible for the Lord to transform us by His love, to kindle light amid our darkness, to grant us strength in weakness and courage amid trials.” @Pontifex 11 January 2020
  • “On the Feast of the #BaptismoftheLord, we rediscover our Baptism. Just as Jesus is the Father’s beloved Son, we too, reborn by water and the Holy Spirit, know that we are beloved children of God, brothers and sisters among many other brothers and sisters.” @Pontifex 12 January 2020
  • “In the Christian life, it is not enough to be knowledgeable: unless we step out of ourselves, unless we worship, we cannot not know God. Christian life is a love story with God.” @Pontifex 13 January 2020
  • “Jesus had authority because there was consistency in what he taught and what he did, in how he lived. Authority is seen in this: consistency and witness. #HomilySantaMarta” @Pontifex 14 January 2020
  • “May the Holy Spirit revive in each of us the call to be courageous and joyful evangelizers. #GeneralAudience” @Pontifex 15 January 2020

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The Weekly Francis – Volume 298 – 09 January 2020

by Jeffrey Miller
written by Jeffrey Miller
pope-francis2-300x187

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

Homilies

Messages

Unknown

Speeches

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

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Punditry

The Weekly Francis – Volume 297 – 18 December 2019

by Jeffrey Miller
written by Jeffrey Miller

pope-francis2-300x187

This version of The Weekly Francis covers material released in the last week from 1 December 2019 to 18 December 2019.

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

Messages

Prayers

Speeches

Papal Tweets

  • “When we learn to live in forgiveness, we grow in our capacity to become men and women of #peace. http://w2.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/messages/peace/documents/papa-francesco_20191208_messaggio–53giornatamondiale-pace2020.html” @Pontifex 12 December 2019
  • “The time before Christmas calls us to ask ourselves: What is the great desire of my heart? It is God Himself who puts this “thirst” in our hearts. And He comes to meet us by this route,wherever there is hunger and thirst for peace, hunger and thirst for justice, freedom and love.” @Pontifex 13 December 2019
  • “Thank you for accompanying me on this anniversary. I continue asking for the support of your prayer.” @Pontifex 13 December 2019
  • “Faith gives us the ability to look with hope at the events of life, and helps us to accept even defeats and sufferings, in the knowledge that evil never has the last word.” @Pontifex 14 December 2019
  • “May the Virgin Mary help us so that, as we approach #Christmas, we do not allow ourselves to be distracted by external things, but make room in our hearts for the One who has already come and wants to come again to heal our illnesses and to give us his joy.” @Pontifex 15 December 2019
  • “There are two attitudes typical of lukewarm Christians: putting God in a corner – either you do this for me or I won’t go to Church anymore – and washing our hands of those in need. Let us get rid of these attitudes to make space for the Lord who is coming. #HomilySantaMarta” @Pontifex 16 December 2019
  • “Every conversion comes from a previous experience of mercy, from God’s tenderness that captures the heart.” @Pontifex 17 December 2019
  • “Our response to the challenges posed by contemporary migration can be summed up in four verbs: welcome, protect, promote and integrate. If we put them into practice, we will help build the city of God and man. #InternationalMigrantsDay http://w2.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/messages/migration/documents/papa-francesco_20190527_world-migrants-day–2019.html” @Pontifex 18 December 2019
  • “ 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

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The Weekly Francis – Volume 296 – 11 December 2019

by Jeffrey Miller
written by Jeffrey Miller

pope-francis2-300x187

This version of The Weekly Francis covers material released in the last week from 1 December 2019 to 11 December 2019.

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

Angelus

Apostolic Letter

General Audiences

Speeches

Papal Tweets

  • “Today the Church praises stability. “Trust in the Lord forever, because the Lord is an eternal Rock” (Isa 26:4). Those who trust in the Lord will always be safe, because their foundations are sunk into the Rock. #HomilySantaMarta” @Pontifex 5 December 2019
  • “Prayer is the door of faith; prayer is medicine for the heart.” @Pontifex 6 December 2019
  • “The true worship of God is always expressed in love of one’s neighbour.” @Pontifex 7 December 2019
  • “May the feast of our Mother #MaryImmaculate help us to make our whole life a ”yes“ to God, a ”yes“ composed of adoration of Him and of daily gestures of love and service.” @Pontifex 8 December 2019
  • “May the feast of our Mother #MaryImmaculate help us to make our whole life a ”yes“ to God, a ”yes“ composed of adoration of Him and of daily gestures of love and service.” @Pontifex 8 December 2019
  • “Corruption undermines the dignity of the person and shatters all good and beautiful ideals.All of society is called upon to make a concrete commitment to combat the cancer of corruption which, with the illusion of quick and easy profits, in reality impoverishes everyone.#IACD2019” @Pontifex 9 December 2019
  • “The human person is always sacred and inviolable, in any situation and at any stage of his or her development. If this conviction falls, there is no solid and permanent foundation for the defense of #HumanRights.” @Pontifex 10 December 2019
  • “May Our Lady of #Loreto help us to walk the path of peace and fraternity based on acceptance and forgiveness, respect for others, and on love; may she grant families the blessing of life; and may she bring help and comfort to those in need. #LauretanJubilee” @Pontifex 10 December 2019
  • ““Like a shepherd He feeds His flock, in His arms He gathers the lambs, carrying them in his bosom, leading the ewes with care” (Is 40:11), so the Lord comforts us. #HomilySantaMarta” @Pontifex 10 December 2019
  • “Let us ask the Lord, in this time of Advent, to revive in us faith in Christ who comes to save us, to help us be always faithful to our vocation as missionary disciples. #GeneralAudience” @Pontifex 11 December 2019
  • “Today in the world many Christians are persecuted and give their lives for their faith. Martyrdom is the breath of the life of a Christian, of a Christian community. There will always be martyrs among us: this is the sign that we are following the way of Jesus. #GeneralAudience” @Pontifex 11 December 2019

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Salus animarum
Punditry

Salus animarum

by Jeffrey Miller
written by Jeffrey Miller

I was thinking about today’s Gospel where Jesus leaves the 99 to go to rescue the one lost sheep. His great love for us and how he goes out to rescue the lost. I love this parable as I identify with that lost sheep and later enjoying the view from his shoulders when being taken back to the flock.

I then saw this story which iterates once again that the majority of Catholics don’t go to Mass regularly and the ones who do go are mostly befuddled when it comes to basic doctrine.

Such a disastrous look at the Church in the U.S. should me that there would be an all-hands-on-deck effort towards evangelization. That this should be the number one priority the salus animarum (Salvation of souls). Yet I hardly see this as a priority when it comes to the hierarchy and various bishop conferences.

Still, thinking more about this that regardless of the times we live in that the salus animarum should always be the priority as evidenced by this Gospel reading. I would totally like to rant against the bishops and such, but then I ponder my own culpability in not making this more of a personal priority.

I also see some great efforts in evangelism predominantly from lay individuals and groups. Maybe that is as it should be since waiting for the hierarchy to lead us is often a fools dream. Certainly, there are exceptions in this regard, but they shouldn’t be just the exceptions. I do wish for a both/and in this regard that we all see the urgency to lead people to the Church and to help those already in the Church to grow in holiness.

I too often feel like we are just in maintenance mode as a Church in just trying to not lose more ground. That we don’t have the audacity of the total trust in God as evidenced by the great saints who also led many to Christ.
Plus to top it off, a bishop that understood this mission of evangelization and led many to Christ – got beatification kneecapped by some fellow bishops.

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Punditry

The Weekly Francis – Volume 295 – 04 December 2019

by Jeffrey Miller
written by Jeffrey Miller
pope-francis2-300x187

This version of The Weekly Francis covers material released in the last week from 26 November 2019 to 4 December 2019.

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

Homilies

Messages

Speeches

Papal Tweets

  • “How important it is to learn to be a friendly and outstretched hand! Try to grow in friendship even with those who think differently than you, so that solidarity might grow among you and become the best weapon to change the course of history.” @Pontifex 28 November 2019
  • “The Church exists to keep alive in people’s heart the memory that God loves them. It exists to tell everyone, even those furthest away: “God doesn’t forget you, He cares about you”.” @Pontifex 30 November 2019
  • “In the #GospelOfTheDay, Jesus exhorts us to be ready for His coming: ”Watch therefore, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming“ (Mt 24:42). To watch means to have your heart ready to give and to serve, to be attentive to our neighbour in difficulty.” @Pontifex 1 December 2019
  • “The word #Advent means coming. The Lord is coming. This is the root of our hope: the certainty that God’s consolation comes to us amidst the troubles of the world. Not a consolation of words, but of His presence among us.” @Pontifex 1 December 2019
  • “With this Letter, I wish to encourage the beautiful family tradition of preparing the nativity scene in the days before Christmas, but also the custom of setting it up in the workplace, in schools, hospitals, prisons and town squares. http://w2.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/apost_letters/documents/papa-francesco-lettera-ap_20191201_admirabile-signum.html” @Pontifex 1 December 2019
  • “The closeness to the Lord invites our heart to approach our brothers and sisters with love, to show compassion towards everyone.” @Pontifex 2 December 2019
  • “Today we renew our commitment so that every disabled person may share their gifts with the community to which they belong and in which they take part. #IDPD” @Pontifex 3 December 2019
  • “Today the Church praises smallness. God’s works begin by sprouting from a seed, from little things. Jesus speaks about this smallness of the Kingdom: the small heart, humble, that is open to the revelation of the Lord. #HomilySantaMarta” @Pontifex 3 December 2019
  • “Let us pray for all the pastors of the Church, that they might guide the flock entrusted to them with the same firmness and tenderness of the Good Shepherd. #GeneralAudience” @Pontifex 4 December 2019

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