Words of the Holy Father my mercy, my tenderness, my forgiveness: take them and make ample use of them-Talents 08-31-24

 Words of the Holy Father my mercy, my tenderness, my forgiveness: take them and make ample use of them-Talents 08-31-24

The man in the parable represents Jesus, we are the servants, and the talents are the inheritance that the Lord entrusts to us. What is the inheritance? His Word, the Eucharist, faith in the Heavenly Father, his forgiveness..., in other words, so many things, his most precious treasures. This is the inheritance that He entrusts to us, not only to safeguard, but to make fruitful! While in common usage the term “talent” indicates a pronounced individual quality, for example 

talent in music, in sport, and so on, in the parable, talent represent the riches of the Lord, which He entrusts to us so that we make them bear fruit. The hole dug into the soil by the “wicked and slothful servant” (v. 26) points to the fear of risk which blocks creativity and the fruitfulness of love, because the fear of the risks of love stop us. Jesus does not ask us to store his grace in a safe! Jesus does not ask us for this, but He wants us to use it to benefit others. All the goods that we have received are to give to others, and thus they increase, as if He were to tell us: “Here is my mercy, my tenderness, my forgiveness: take 

them and make ample use of them”. (Angelus, 16 November 2014)

Saturday of the Twenty-first Week in Ordinary Time

Gospel and Thought for the Day - Vatican News https://www.vaticannews.va/en/word-of-the-day.html 

Gospel in Art: To one he gave five talents, to another two, to a third one talent https://www.indcatholicnews.com/news/50531

Words of the Holy Father-watchful and seek to do good, with acts of love, of sharing, of service-08-30-24-10virgins

 Words of the Holy Father-watchful and seek to do good, with acts of love, of sharing, of service-08-30-24-10virgins

Many times, in the Gospel, Jesus exhorts keeping watch, and he also does so at the end of this narrative. (…) But with this parable he tells us that keeping watch does not only mean not to sleep, but to be ready; (…) The lamp is a symbol of the faith that illuminates our life, while the oil is a symbol of the 

charity that nourishes the light of faith, making it fruitful and credible. The condition for being prepared for the encounter with the Lord is not only faith, but a Christian life abundant with love and charity for our neighbour. If we allow ourselves to be guided by what seems more comfortable, by seeking our own interests, then our life becomes barren, incapable of giving life to others, and we accumulate no reserve of oil for the lamp of our faith; and this — faith — 

will be extinguished at the moment of the Lord’s coming, or even before. If instead we are watchful and seek to do good, with acts of love, of sharing, of service to a neighbour in difficulty, then we can be at peace while we wait for the bridegroom to come: the Lord can come at any moment, and even the 

slumber of death does not frighten us, because we have a reserve of oil, accumulated through everyday good works. (Angelus, 12 November 2017)

Friday of the Twenty-first Week in Ordinary Time

Gospel and Thought for the Day - Vatican News https://www.vaticannews.va/en/word-of-the-day.html 

Gospel in Art: The wise and foolish virgins https://www.indcatholicnews.com/news/50524

Words of the Holy Father-Life, has value only in giving it,-08-29-24 Saint John the Baptist

 Words of the Holy Father-Life, has value only in giving it,-08-29-24 

“Life, has value only in giving it, in giving it in love, in truth, in giving it to others, in daily life, in the family.” If someone preserves life for himself, guards it like the king in his corruption or the woman with her hatred, or the daughter with her vanity, a little like an adolescent, unknowingly, life dies and 

withers, becoming useless. I urge you all to think about the 4 characters in the Gospel: King Herod who is “corrupt and undecided”, Herodias, his brother’s wife, who “only knew how to hate”, Salome, "the vain dancer", and the beheaded prophet, and let each one of us open our hearts so that the Lord may 

speak to us about this. (Santa Marta, 8 February 2019)

Memorial of the Passion of Saint John the Baptist

Gospel and Thought for the Day - Vatican News https://www.vaticannews.va/en/word-of-the-day.html 

Gospel in Art: The beheading of John the Baptist https://www.indcatholicnews.com/news/50518

Pope: All Christians must reaffirm dignity of every human being - Vatican News

 Pope: All Christians must reaffirm dignity of every human being - Vatican News https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2024-08/pope-all-christians-must-reaffirm-dignity-of-every-human-being.html

Words of the Holy Father-Jesus distinguishes between appearances and internal reality-08-28-24

 Words of the Holy Father-Jesus distinguishes between appearances and internal reality-08-28-24

“You are whitened sepulchres.” Nice compliment, eh? Beautiful on the outside, all perfect… all perfect… but within, full of rottenness, therefore of greed, of wickedness, He says. Jesus distinguishes between appearances and internal reality. These lords are “doctors of appearances”: always perfect, always. But within, what is there? (…) Be careful around those who are rigid. Be careful around Christians – be they laity, priests, bishops – who present themselves as so “perfect,” rigid. Be careful. There’s no Spirit of God there. They lack the spirit of liberty. And let us be careful with ourselves, because this should lead us to consider our own life. Do I seek to look only at appearance, and not change my heart? Do I not open my heart to prayer, to the liberty of prayer, the liberty of almsgiving, the liberty of works of mercy? (Santa Marta, 16 October 2018)

Memorial of Saint Augustine, Bishop and Doctor of the Church

Gospel and Thought for the Day - Vatican News https://www.vaticannews.va/en/word-of-the-day.html 

Gospel in Art: Feast of Saint Augustine https://www.indcatholicnews.com/news/50510

Words of the Holy Father-rejecting this religion of appearances,-08-27-24

 Words of the Holy Father-rejecting this religion of appearances,-08-27-24

You Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness. It is a concept, that Jesus “repeated many times in the Gospel”, offering certain people a clear warning: “Your interior is bad, it is not just, it is not free. You are slaves because you have not accepted the justice that comes from God”, which is the justice that Jesus gave us.

It is an interior freedom, which leads to doing “good in secret, without sounding the trumpet”: indeed, “the way of true religion is the same way of Jesus: humility, humiliation”. And as Paul says to the Philippians, Jesus humiliates himself, empties himself. And, this is the only way to take selfishness, greed, arrogance, vanity and worldliness, away from us. Faced with this example we find instead the attitude of those whom Jesus reproaches: “people who follow the religion of makeup: the appearance, to appear, pretending to seem” a certain way “while inside...”. (…)

Let us ask the Lord that we never tire of going down that path; that we never tire of rejecting this religion of appearances, this religion of seeming, of pretending.... We must instead be committed to proceed “quietly, doing good”, and doing so “freely as we have freely received our interior freedom”. May He guard this inner freedom for all of us. Let us ask for this grace. (Santa Marta, 11 October 2016)

Memorial of Saint Monica

Gospel and Thought for the Day - Vatican News https://www.vaticannews.va/en/word-of-the-day.html 

Gospel in Art: The Feast of Saint Monica https://www.indcatholicnews.com/news/50502 

Words of the Holy Father-Jesus’s death and resurrection are gratuitous.08-25-24-Pelagians, rigidity

 Words of the Holy Father-Jesus’s death and resurrection are gratuitous.08-25-24-Pelagians, rigidity

These people who were “ideological” had reduced the Law, the doctrine, to an ideology: “you have to do this, and this, and this…” A religion of 

prescriptions, and thus they took away the Holy Spirit’s freedom. (…) These people, these doctors, “manipulated” the consciences of the faithful, or they made them become rigid, or they would go away.

Because of this, I repeat this many times, and I say that rigidity is not from the good Spirit because it puts into question the free gift of the 

redemption, the free gift of Christ’s resurrection. And this is something old: throughout the Church’s history this has repeated itself. Let us think of the Pelagians, 

of those… those famously rigid people. (…)

The Spirit of God is not where there is rigidity, because the Spirit of God is liberty. And these people wanted to force these passages, taking away liberty from the Spirit of God and the gratuitousness of the redemption: “to be justified you have to do this, this, this, and this…”. Justification is freely given. Jesus’s death and resurrection are gratuitous. You do not pay for it, it cannot be purchased: it is a gift! (Santa Marta, 15 May 2020)

Monday of the Twenty-first Week in Ordinary Time

Gospel and Thought for the Day - Vatican News https://www.vaticannews.va/en/word-of-the-day.html

Gospel in Art: 'Alas for you, blind guides! https://www.indcatholicnews.com/news/50494 

Is following Jesus easy? Pope Francis answers at the Sunday Angelus - ZENIT - English

 Is following Jesus easy? Pope Francis answers at the Sunday Angelus - ZENIT - English https://zenit.org/2024/08/25/is-following-jesus-easy-pope-francis-answers-at-the-sunday-angelus/?eti=16383

Words of the Holy Father-he is the “Living Bread”-08-25-24

 Words of the Holy Father-he is the “Living Bread”-08-25-24

Peter makes his confession of faith on behalf of the other Apostles: “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life” (v. 68). He does not say “where shall we go?”, but “to whom shall we go?”. The underlying problem is not about leaving and abandoning the work undertaken, but to whom to go. From Peter’s question we understand that fidelity to God is a question of fidelity to a person, to whom we bind ourselves to walk together on the same road. And this person is Jesus. All that we have in the world does not satisfy our infinite hunger. We need Jesus, to be with him, to be nourished at his table, on his words of eternal life! Believing in Jesus means making him the centre, the meaning of our life. Christ is not an optional element: he is the “Living Bread”, the essential nourishment. Binding oneself to him, in a true relationship of faith and love, does not mean being tied down, but being profoundly free, always on the journey. Each one of us can ask him- or herself: who is Jesus for me? Is he a name, an idea, simply an historical figure? Or is he truly that person who loves me and gave his life for me and walks with me? Who is Jesus for you? (……)  Silently, each one, answer in your heart. (Angelus, 23 August 2015)

Twenty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time

Gospel and Thought for the Day - Vatican News https://www.vaticannews.va/en/word-of-the-day.html 

Gospel in Art: What about you, do you want to go away too? https://www.indcatholicnews.com/news/50490

‘Renew Your Hope in Jesus’: Pope Francis Prays for People of Nicaragua at Sunday Angelus| National Catholic Register

 ‘Renew Your Hope in Jesus’: Pope Francis Prays for People of Nicaragua at Sunday Angelus| National Catholic Register https://www.ncregister.com/cna/cna-20240825-pope-angelus-nicaragua?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=catholic_news_renew_your_hope_in_jesus_pope_francis_prays_for_persecuted_catholics_of_nicaragua_at_sunday_angelus&utm_term=2024-08-25

Words of the Holy Father-To encounter Jesus is to experience his love-08-24-24 -baptism

 Words of the Holy Father-To encounter Jesus is to experience his love-08-24-24 -baptism

Indeed, the concrete sign that we have truly encountered Jesus is the joy that we show in communicating it to others. And this is not “proselytizing”, this is giving a gift: I give you what gives me joy. Reading the Gospel we see that this was the experience of the first disciples: after their first encounter with Jesus, Andrew went immediately to tell his brother Peter (cf. Jn 1:40-42), and Philip did the same with Nathanael (cf. Jn 1:45-46). To encounter Jesus is to experience his love. This love transforms us and makes us able to transmit to others the power it gives. In a way we could say that from the day of our Baptism each one of us is given a new name in addition to the one given to us by our mom and dad; this name is “Christopher”. We are all “Christophers”. What does that mean? “Bearers of Christ”. It is the name of our attitude, the attitude of a bearer of the joy of Christ, of the mercy of Christ. Every Christian is a “Christopher”, that is, a bearer of Christ! (Jubilee Audience, 30 January 2016)

Feast of Saint Bartholomew, Apostle

Gospel and Thought for the Day - Vatican News https://www.vaticannews.va/en/word-of-the-day.html 

Gospel in Art: Feast of Saint Bartholomew, Apostle https://www.indcatholicnews.com/news/50486

Words of the Holy Father-Here I am is the key phrase for life.-08-22-24

 Words of the Holy Father-Here I am is the key phrase for life.-08-22-24

It is God who seeks mankind. But in the first case God goes to Adam, after the sin, and asks him: “Where are you?”, and Adam responds: “I hid myself”. In the second case, however, God goes to Mary, without sin, who responds: “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord”. Here I am is the opposite of I hid myself. (…)  Here I am is the key phrase for life. It marks the passage from a horizontal life, centred on oneself and one’s own needs, to a vertical life, ascending toward God. Here I am is being available to the Lord; it is the cure for selfishness, the antidote to a dissatisfied life, which is always lacking something. Here I am is the remedy against the aging of sin; it is the therapy for staying young within. Here I am is believing that God counts more than my ‘me’. It is choosing to bet on the Lord, docile to his surprises. This is why saying here I am to him is the highest praise we can offer him. Why not begin our days with a ‘here I am, Lord’? It would be beautiful to say each morning: “Here I am, Lord, today let your will be done in me”. We will say it in praying the Angelus, but we can repeat it now, together. Here I am, Lord, today let your will be done in me! (Angelus, 8 December 2018)

Memorial of the Queenship of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Gospel and Thought for the Day - Vatican News https://www.vaticannews.va/en/word-of-the-day.html 

Gospel in Art: Invite everyone you can to the wedding https://www.indcatholicnews.com/news/50474 

Pope: 'Once we've encountered Christ, we can't keep Him to ourselves' - Vatican News

 Pope: 'Once we've encountered Christ, we can't keep Him to ourselves' - Vatican News https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2024-08/pope-sends-prayers-to-eucharistic-congress-in-madagascar.html

Words of the Holy Father-Here I am is the key phrase for life.-08-22-24

 Words of the Holy Father-Here I am is the key phrase for life.-08-22-24

It is God who seeks mankind. But in the first case God goes to Adam, after the sin, and asks him: “Where are you?”, and Adam responds: “I hid myself”. In the second case, however, God goes to Mary, without sin, who responds: “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord”. Here I am is the opposite of I hid myself. (…)  Here I am is the key phrase for life. It marks the passage from a horizontal life, centred on oneself and one’s own needs, to a vertical life, ascending toward God. Here I am is being available to the Lord; it is the cure for selfishness, the antidote to a dissatisfied life, which is always lacking something. Here I am is the remedy against the aging of sin; it is the therapy for staying young within. Here I am is believing that God counts more than my ‘me’. It is choosing to bet on the Lord, docile to his surprises. This is why saying here I am to him is the highest praise we can offer him. Why not begin our days with a ‘here I am, Lord’? It would be beautiful to say each morning: “Here I am, Lord, today let your will be done in me”. We will say it in praying the Angelus, but we can repeat it now, together. Here I am, Lord, today let your will be done in me! (Angelus, 8 December 2018)

Memorial of the Queenship of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Gospel and Thought for the Day - Vatican News https://www.vaticannews.va/en/word-of-the-day.html 

Gospel in Art: Invite everyone you can to the wedding https://www.indcatholicnews.com/news/50474 

Words of the Holy Father-entrust themselves to the Father’s mercy, 08-21-24=like the Good Thief

 Words of the Holy Father-entrust themselves to the Father’s mercy, 08-21-24=like the Good Thief 

God behaves like this: he does not look at the time and at the results, but at the availability; he looks at the generosity with which we put ourselves at his service. His way of acting is more than just, in the sense that it goes beyond justice and is manifested in Grace. Everything is Grace. Our salvation is Grace. Our holiness is Grace. In giving us Grace, he bestows on us more than what we merit. And so, those who reason using human logic, that is, the logic of the merits acquired through one’s own greatness, from being first, find themselves last. “But, I have worked a lot, I have done so much in the Church, I have helped a lot and they pay me the same as this person who arrived last…”. Let us remember who was the first canonized saint in the Church: the Good Thief. He “stole” Paradise at the last minute of his life: this is Grace. This is what God is like, even with us. Instead, those who seek thinking of their own merits fail; those who humbly entrust themselves to the Father’s mercy, rather than being last — like the Good Thief — find themselves first. (Angelus, 20 September 2020)

Memorial of Saint Pius X, Pope

Gospel and Thought for the Day - Vatican News https://www.vaticannews.va/en/word-of-the-day.html 

Gospel in Art: Why be envious because I am generous? https://www.indcatholicnews.com/news/50467

Cycle of Catechesis. The Spirit and the Bride. The Holy Spirit guides the people of God towards Jesus our hope. 6. “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me”. The Holy Spirit in the Baptism of Jesus

 Cycle of Catechesis. The Spirit and the Bride. The Holy Spirit guides the people of God towards Jesus our hope. 6. “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me”. The Holy Spirit in the Baptism of Jesus https://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/audiences/2024/documents/20240821-udienza-generale.html

Pope to Rimini Meeting: Faith in Jesus is what is essential in life - Vatican News

 Pope to Rimini Meeting: Faith in Jesus is what is essential in life - Vatican News https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2024-08/pope-francis-faith-in-jesus-is-what-is-essential-in-life.html

Pope Francis: The Blessed Mother actively leads us toward eternal life

 

Pope Francis: The Blessed Mother actively leads us toward eternal life

https://www.indcatholicnews.com/news/50431

Pope explains the harm of preconceived ideas and presumption - ZENIT - English

 Pope explains the harm of preconceived ideas and presumption - ZENIT - English https://zenit.org/2024/08/11/pope-explains-the-harm-of-preconceived-ideas-and-presumption/?eti=16176

Pope Francis offers message of hope for the Chinese people - Vatican News

 Pope Francis offers message of hope for the Chinese people - Vatican News https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2024-08/pope-francis-offers-message-of-hope-for-the-chinese-people.html

What is the lesson of Jesus' multiplication of the loaves and fishes? Pope Francis explains the meaning - ZENIT - English

What is the lesson of Jesus' multiplication of the loaves and fishes? Pope Francis explains the meaning - ZENIT - English: Allocution on the occasion of the recitation of the Angelus on Sunday, August 4, 2024