Prayer to Saint Joseph

 

Real meaning of Christmas ~ Pope Francis

5 December 2019, Pope Francis expressed hope that the nativity scene (@St. Peter’s Square) will serve as a reminder of what Christmas is truly about.

Pope Francis began Advent with a trip to the Italian town of Greccio, where St. Francis of Assisi created the first nativity scene in 1223. In Greccio, Pope Francis signed the apostolic letter, Admirabile signum, on the meaning and importance of nativity scenes.

“All those present experienced a new and indescribable joy in the presence of the Christmas scene. The priest then solemnly celebrated the Eucharist over the manger, showing the bond between the Incarnation of the Son of God and the Eucharist,” Pope Francis wrote in the letter describing the St. Francis’ first nativity.

Pope Francis quoted, “As we contemplate the Christmas story, we are invited to set out on a spiritual journey, drawn by the humility of the God who became man in order to encounter every man and woman. We come to realise that so great is his love for us that he became one of us, so that we in turn might become one with him”.

excerpt source: CNA

"Every Christian family, can welcome Jesus just like Mary and Joseph did. They can listen to Him, talk to Him, protect Him, grow with Him. And in doing so, they can change the world. Let's make room in our hearts and in our day, to welcome Jesus."

Extraordinary Missionary Month October 2019 (EMMOCT2019) - Baptised and Sent

Extraordinary Missionary Month October 2019 (EMMOCT2019) inaugurated by Pope Francis in St. Peter's Basilica on 1 October 2019. The holy father Pope Francis ask the whole Church to live an extraordinary time of missionary activity. The EMMOCT2019 is in conjunction with 100th anniversary of Pope Benedict XV's Apostolic Letter Maximum Illud, a document on the Church’s mission to bring to the world the salvation of Jesus Christ. The EMMOCT2019 launched on 1 October, the feast of Saint Therese of Lisieux, patroness of the Missions together with Saint Francis Xavier, and has its culmination in the celebration of World Mission Sunday marked this year on 20 October. “Baptised and Sent: The Church of Christ on Mission in the World” is the theme chosen by Pope Francis for the EMMOCT2019.

There are four dimensions, specified by the Pope, to live more intensely the journey of preparation for the Extraordinary Missionary Month October 2019:

1. A personal encounter with Jesus Christ alive in His Church through the Eucharist, the Word of God, personal and communal prayer;
2. Testimony: missionary saints, martyrs and confessors of the faith, as an expression of the Church scattered throughout the world;
3. Missionary formation: biblical, catechetical, spiritual and theological;
4. Missionary charity.

So enriching to the Sacrament of Marriage ~ Three Words For Married Couples from Pope Francis

"Sometimes people ask me what to do so that our families can go on and overcome difficulties. I suggest to them to use three words, three words which express three attitudes … three words which can help you to live out your married life, because in married life there are difficulties. 

Marriage is something so beautiful and so wonderful that we have to look after it, because it is forever. And the three words are: 'May I?', 'Thank you,' and 'I'm sorry.' 

'May I?': always ask your spouse, wife to husband and husband to wife, 'What do you think? What shall we do?' Never trample on the other. 'May I?'

The second word: be appreciative. How many times the husband needs to say to his wife, 'Thank you.' And how many times the wife must say to her husband, 'Thank you.' Thank each other, because the sacrament of marriage is conferred by the two spouses, one to the other. This sacramental relationship is maintained with gratitude. 'Grazie.'

The third word is 'I'm sorry.' It is a very difficult word to say. In marriage there is always some misunderstanding between husband and wife. Knowing how to recognise that and to apologise, to ask forgiveness, does a lot of good.

Remember these three words, which have helped so much in married life: 'May I?', 'Thank you,' and 'I'm sorry.'

By Pope Francis 

“For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. So they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, no human being must separate.” – Mark 10:7-9

3 February 2019, Holy Father Pope Francis first visit to United Arab Emirates

800 years bback in the 1219, Saint Francis met with Sultan Malik al Kamil and had his visit to the lands of Islam. Now Pope Francis is on his 3 day apostolic and state visit to UAE and was welcomed by Abu Dhabi's Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, upon his arrival at the Abu Dhabi airport, United Arab Emirates, Sunday, 3 February 2019 to promote dialogue and understanding and renounce violence and extremism. Pope Francis is seeking to turn a page in Christian-Muslim relations while also ministering to a unique, thriving island of Catholicism as he embarks on the first-ever papal trip to the Arabian Peninsula, the birthplace of Islam. Pope Francis will participate in a conference on interreligious dialogue sponsored the Emirates-based Muslim Council of Elders, an initiative that seeks to counter religious fanaticism by promoting a moderate brand of Islam. The Abu Dhabi trip’s theme is “Make Me a Channel of Your Peace,” a line taken from a prayer by St. Francis of Assisi, with a focus on “how all people of goodwill can work for peace,” according to the Holy See Press Office.

Rosary month of October 2018 ~ Pope Francis

Pope Francis has asked all Catholics to pray the rosary daily during the month of October, asking Mother Mary and St. Michael the Archangel to intercede for the protection of the Church in a moment of "spiritual turbulence."

The Pope asked the world’s Catholics to conclude their praying of the rosary during October with two special prayers, the ancient “Sub Tuum Praesidium” (“Beneath thy protection”) and the Prayer to St. Michael the Archangel, written in 1886 by Pope Leo XIII.

The Vatican explained that in asking for the Mother of God’s intercession, he hoped that she would “place the Church beneath her protective mantle: to preserve her from the attacks by the devil, the great accuser.”

Sub Tuum Praesidium

(Beneath thy protection)

We fly to Thy protection, 

O Holy Mother of God. 

Do not despise our petitions in our necessities, 

but deliver us always from all dangers, 

O Glorious and Blessed Virgin. 

Amen. 

Prayer to St. Michael

Saint Michael Archangel, 

defend us in battle, 

be our protection against 

the wickedness and snares 

of the devil; 

may God rebuke him, 

we humbly pray; 

and do thou, 

O Prince of the heavenly host, 

by the power of God, 

cast into hell Satan 

and all the evil spirits 

who prowl through the world 

seeking the ruin of souls. 

Amen.

What Catholics should know about divorce?

source: Herald, 20 May 2018

Pope Francis Monthly Intentions for 2018

The Holy Father asks us to pray for the specific intention each month in the year 2018 as below.

JANUARY, 2018 ~ Evangelization

Religious Minorities in Asia

That Christians, and other religious minorities in Asian countries, may be able to practice their faith in full freedom.

FEBRUARY, 2018 ~ Universal

Say "No" to Corruption

That those who have material, political or spiritual power may resist any lure of corruption.

MARCH, 2018 ~ Evangelization

Formation in Spiritual Discernment

That the Church may appreciate the urgency of formation in spiritual discernment, both on the personal and communitarian levels.

APRIL, 2018 ~ Universal

For those who have Responsibility in Economic Matters

That economists may have the courage to reject any economy of exclusion and know how to open new paths.

MAY, 2018 ~ Evangelization

The Mission of Laity

That the lay faithful may fulfill their specific mission, by responding with creativity to the challenges that face the world today.

JUNE, 2018 ~ Universal

Social Networks

That social networks may work towards that inclusiveness which respects other for their differences.

JULY, 2018 ~ Evangelization

Priests and their Pastoral Ministry

That priests, who experience fatigue and loneliness in their pastoral work, may find help and comfort in their intimacy with the Lord and in their friendship with their brother priests.

AUGUST, 2018 ~ Universal

The Treasure of Families

That any far-reaching decisions of economists and politicians may protect the family as one of the treasures of humanity.

SEPTEMBER, 2018 ~ Universal

Young People in Africa

That young people in Africa may have access to education and work in their own countries.

OCTOBER, 2018 ~ Evangelization

The Mission of Religious

That consecrated religious men and women may bestir themselves, and be present among the poor, the marginalized, and those who have no voice.

NOVEMBER, 2018 ~ Universal

In Service of Peace

That the language of love and dialogue may always prevail over the language of conflict.

DECEMBER, 2018 ~ Evangelization

In the Service of the Transmission of Faith

That people, who are involved in the service and transmission of faith, may find, in their dialogue with culture, a language suited to the conditions of the present time.

2018 Lenten Message of His Holiness Pope Francis

“Because of the increase of iniquity, the love of many will grow cold” (Mt 24:12)

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Once again, the Pasch of the Lord draws near! In our preparation for Easter, God in his providence offers us each year the season of Lent as a “sacramental sign of our conversion”.[1] Lent summons us, and enables us, to come back to the Lord wholeheartedly and in every aspect of our life.

With this message, I would like again this year to help the entire Church experience this time of grace anew, with joy and in truth. I will take my cue from the words of Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew: “Because of the increase of iniquity, the love of many will grow cold” (24:12).

These words appear in Christ’s preaching about the end of time. They were spoken in Jerusalem, on the Mount of Olives, where the Lord’s passion would begin. In reply to a question of the disciples, Jesus foretells a great tribulation and describes a situation in which the community of believers might well find itself: amid great trials, false prophets would lead people astray and the love that is the core of the Gospel would grow cold in the hearts of many.

False prophets

Let us listen to the Gospel passage and try to understand the guise such false prophets can assume.

They can appear as “snake charmers”, who manipulate human emotions in order to enslave others and lead them where they would have them go. How many of God’s children are mesmerized by momentary pleasures, mistaking them for true happiness! How many men and women live entranced by the dream of wealth, which only makes them slaves to profit and petty interests! How many go through life believing that they are sufficient unto themselves, and end up entrapped by loneliness!

False prophets can also be “charlatans”, who offer easy and immediate solutions to suffering that soon prove utterly useless. How many young people are taken in by the panacea of drugs, of disposable relationships, of easy but dishonest gains! How many more are ensnared in a thoroughly “virtual” existence, in which relationships appear quick and straightforward, only to prove meaningless! These swindlers, in peddling things that have no real value, rob people of all that is most precious: dignity, freedom and the ability to love. They appeal to our vanity, our trust in appearances, but in the end they only make fools of us. Nor should we be surprised. In order to confound the human heart, the devil, who is “a liar and the father of lies” (Jn 8:44), has always presented evil as good, falsehood as truth. That is why each of us is called to peer into our heart to see if we are falling prey to the lies of these false prophets. We must learn to look closely, beneath the surface, and to recognize what leaves a good and lasting mark on our hearts, because it comes from God and is truly for our benefit.

A cold heart

In his description of hell, Dante Alighieri pictures the devil seated on a throne of ice,[2] in frozen and loveless isolation. We might well ask ourselves how it happens that charity can turn cold within us. What are the signs that indicate that our love is beginning to cool?

More than anything else, what destroys charity is greed for money, “the root of all evil” (1 Tim6:10). The rejection of God and his peace soon follows; we prefer our own desolation rather than the comfort found in his word and the sacraments.[3] All this leads to violence against anyone we think is a threat to our own “certainties”: the unborn child, the elderly and infirm, the migrant, the alien among us, or our neighbour who does not live up to our expectations.

Creation itself becomes a silent witness to this cooling of charity. The earth is poisoned by refuse, discarded out of carelessness or for self-interest. The seas, themselves polluted, engulf the remains of countless shipwrecked victims of forced migration. The heavens, which in God’s plan, were created to sing his praises, are rent by engines raining down implements of death.

Love can also grow cold in our own communities. In the Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Gaudium, I sought to describe the most evident signs of this lack of love: selfishness and spiritual sloth, sterile pessimism, the temptation to self-absorption, constant warring among ourselves, and the worldly mentality that makes us concerned only for appearances, and thus lessens our missionary zeal.[4]

What are we to do?

Perhaps we see, deep within ourselves and all about us, the signs I have just described. But the Church, our Mother and Teacher, along with the often bitter medicine of the truth, offers us in the Lenten season the soothing remedy of prayer, almsgiving and fasting.

By devoting more time to prayer, we enable our hearts to root out our secret lies and forms of self-deception,[5] and then to find the consolation God offers. He is our Father and he wants us to live life well.

Almsgiving sets us free from greed and helps us to regard our neighbour as a brother or sister. What I possess is never mine alone. How I would like almsgiving to become a genuine style of life for each of us! How I would like us, as Christians, to follow the example of the Apostles and see in the sharing of our possessions a tangible witness of the communion that is ours in the Church! For this reason, I echo Saint Paul’s exhortation to the Corinthians to take up a collection for the community of Jerusalem as something from which they themselves would benefit (cf. 2 Cor 8:10). This is all the more fitting during the Lenten season, when many groups take up collections to assist Churches and peoples in need. Yet I would also hope that, even in our daily encounters with those who beg for our assistance, we would see such requests as coming from God himself. When we give alms, we share in God’s providential care for each of his children. If through me God helps someone today, will he not tomorrow provide for my own needs? For no one is more generous than God.[6]

Fasting weakens our tendency to violence; it disarms us and becomes an important opportunity for growth. On the one hand, it allows us to experience what the destitute and the starving have to endure. On the other hand, it expresses our own spiritual hunger and thirst for life in God. Fasting wakes us up. It makes us more attentive to God and our neighbour. It revives our desire to obey God, who alone is capable of satisfying our hunger.

I would also like my invitation to extend beyond the bounds of the Catholic Church, and to reach all of you, men and women of good will, who are open to hearing God’s voice. Perhaps, like ourselves, you are disturbed by the spread of iniquity in the world, you are concerned about the chill that paralyzes hearts and actions, and you see a weakening in our sense of being members of the one human family. Join us, then, in raising our plea to God, in fasting, and in offering whatever you can to our brothers and sisters in need!

The fire of Easter

Above all, I urge the members of the Church to take up the Lenten journey with enthusiasm, sustained by almsgiving, fasting and prayer. If, at times, the flame of charity seems to die in our own hearts, know that this is never the case in the heart of God! He constantly gives us a chance to begin loving anew.

One such moment of grace will be, again this year, the “24 Hours for the Lord” initiative, which invites the entire Church community to celebrate the sacrament of Reconciliation in the context of Eucharistic adoration. In 2018, inspired by the words of Psalm 130:4, “With you is forgiveness”, this will take place from Friday, 9 March to Saturday, 10 March. In each diocese, at least one church will remain open for twenty-four consecutive hours, offering an opportunity for both Eucharistic adoration and sacramental confession.

During the Easter Vigil, we will celebrate once more the moving rite of the lighting of the Easter candle. Drawn from the “new fire”, this light will slowly overcome the darkness and illuminate the liturgical assembly. “May the light of Christ rising in glory dispel the darkness of our hearts and minds”,[7] and enable all of us to relive the experience of the disciples on the way to Emmaus. By listening to God’s word and drawing nourishment from the table of the Eucharist, may our hearts be ever more ardent in faith, hope and love.

With affection and the promise of my prayers for all of you, I send you my blessing. Please do not forget to pray for me.

Pope Francis ~ missing out on Mass on Sundays

Pope Francis has said that missing out on Mass on Sundays means missing out an encounter with the Lord. He reminded Christians that we go to Mass on Sunday to meet the resurrected Lord – or better still – “to let ourselves be welcomed by Him, to hear His word, eat at His table, and by his grace fulfil our mission as members of the Mystical Body of the Church.” 

He said Sunday is a holy day for Christians, and it is rendered holy by the celebration of the Eucharist which is the living presence of the Lord amongst us. Thus, it is the Mass that defines Sunday for Christians” he said: “what sort of Sunday can it be if it is lacking an encounter with the Lord?”.

He recalled how the Second Vatican Council asked us to celebrate the Lord’s Day as a day of joy and rest from servile work as a sign of our dignity as children of God. 

“Without Christ we are condemned to be weighed down by the fatigue of everyday life, with its worries and fear of tomorrow” he said. Our Sunday meeting with the Lord, he continued, gives us the strength to live today with trust and courage and to go forth with hope. He explained that in the eucharist we receive a foretaste of the eternal bliss and repose to which we are called in which there will be no more fatigue, nor pain, nor grief nor tears; only the joy of living fully and for ever with the Lord.

The Pope finally acknowledged that the quality of Christian life is measured by our capacity to love the other, but, he said “how can we practice the Gospel without drawing from the energy provided by the inexhaustable source of the Eucharist?”

We go to Mass, he concluded, not to give something to God, but to receive from him the grace and strength to remain faithful to his word, to follow his commandments and, through his living presence within us, to be witnesses of his goodness and love before the world.

source: Vatican Radio

Lent - Return to me with all your heart

Joel 2:12
Yet even now, says the Lord, return to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning

“Return to me with all your heart… Return to the Lord.” Pope Francis said these words apply to everyone, and exclude no one; “we all want to return to the merciful heart of the Father.”

Pope Francis said Lent is a time for saying no: no to “spiritual asphyxia” caused by indifference; no to “the toxic pollution of empty and meaningless words”; no to “a prayer that soothes our conscience, an almsgiving that leaves us self-satisfied, a fasting that makes us feel good”, no to all forms of exclusion.”

But Lent is also a time for remembering, a time “to reflect and ask ourselves what we would be if God had closed His doors to us.” It is a time, too, the Pope said, to ask where we would be without so many people who have helped us along our journey.

And so, Pope Francis concluded, “Lent is a time to start breathing again… the time to open our hearts to the breath of the One capable of turning our dust to humanity.” 

source: Vatican Radio

Show hospitality to strangers

During this Christmas season, let us not forget that Mary, Joseph and baby Jesus found themselves displaced in Bethlehem. They knew what it felt like to have no place to call home. 

Pope Francis reminds us in Scripture, “Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it.”

Pope Francis wants to change the Lord's Prayer - Here's why

Pope Francis has proposed changing the text of the Lord's Prayer to make it a little less confusing for some. The change has already caught on.

Pope Francis monthly prayer intention for November 2017

Christians in Asia

That Christians in Asia, bearing witness to the Gospel in word and deed, may promote dialogue, peace, and mutual understanding, especially with those of other religions.

October 2017 Prayer Intentions ~ Pope Francis

Workers and the Unemployed ~ That all workers may receive respect and protection of their rights, and that the unemployed may receive the opportunity to contribute to the common good.

Acts 20:35 “In every way I have shown you that by hard work of that sort we must help the weak, and keep in mind the words of the Lord Jesus who himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’”

In any case we clearly see, and on this there is general agreement, that some opportune remedy must be found quickly for the misery and wretchedness pressing so unjustly on the majority of the working class.... 

source: RERUM NOVARUM, Encyclicals of Pope Leo XIII on Capitol and Labor

Pope Francis' prayer for Fatima's 100th Anniversary

The pope composed a special prayer for for Fatima's 100th Anniversary, which he recited at the Little Chapel of the Apparitions on 12 May, 2017 during his visit to Portugal for the 100th anniversary of the Fatima apparitions. Below is the prayer.

Prayer

Hail Queen,

Blessed Virgin of Fatima,

lady of the Immaculate Heart,

refuge and path that leads to God!

Pilgrim of the Light that radiates from your hands,

I give thanks to God the Father who,

at all times and in all places,

acts within human history;

pilgrim of the peace that you announce in this place,

I praise Christ, our peace,

and I pray for harmony

among all peoples in this world;

pilgrim of the hope that the Spirit encourages,

I want to be a prophet and messenger to wash the feet of all,

at the same table that unites us.

Hail o clement, hail o loving! 

Hail Queen of the Rosary of Fatima. 

Hail o clement, o loving, o sweet Virgin Mary.

Hail Mother of Mercy,

lady dressed in white!

In this place where, 100 years ago,

you showed us all

the plans of mercy of our God,

I look at your garment of light

and, as a bishop dressed in white,

I remember all those who,

dressed in their white baptismal robes,

want to live in God

and pray the mysteries of Christ

to achieve peace.

Hail o clement, hail o loving! 

Hail Queen of the Rosary of Fatima. 

Hail o clement, o loving, o sweet Virgin Mary.

Hail, our life and sweetness,

Hail, our hope,

o pilgrim Virgin, o universal Queen!

From the depths of your being,

in your immaculate heart,

you see the joys of human beings

when they journey toward the heavenly homeland.

From the depths of your being,

in your immaculate heart,

you see the sorrow of the human family

that mourns and weeps in this valley of tears.

From the depths of your being,

in your immaculate heart,

adorn us with the radiance

of all the jewels in your crown and make us pilgrims as you were a pilgrim.

With your virginal smile,

strengthen the joy of Christ's church.

With your sweet gaze,

strengthen the hope of God's children.

With your prayerful hands that you raise to the Lord,

unite us all into one human family.

Hail o clement, hail o loving! 

Hail Queen of the Rosary of Fatima. 

Hail o clement, o loving, o sweet Virgin Mary.

O clement, o loving,

o sweet Virgin Mary,

Queen of the Rosary of Fatima!

Help us follow the example of

Blessed Francisco and Blessed Jacinta,

and all those who give themselves

for the Gospel message.

Thus, we will travel all the roads,

we will be pilgrims on all paths,

we will tear down all walls

and overcome all boundaries,

going to all peripheries,

there revealing God's justice and peace.

We will be, in the joy of the Gospel,

a church dressed in white,

in whitened robes washed in the blood of the Lamb

still pouring out in all the wars

that destroy the world in which we live.

And thus, we will be like you,

the image of the luminous pillar

that lights the paths of the world,

showing to all that God exists,

that God is here,

that God dwells in the midst of the poor

yesterday, today and for all eternity.

Hail o clement, hail o loving! 

Hail Queen of the Rosary of Fatima. 

Hail o clement, o loving, o sweet Virgin Mary.

Hail, Mother of the Lord,

Virgin Mary, Queen of the Rosary of Fatima!

Blessed among all women,

you are the image of the church dressed in the Easter light,

you are the honor of our people,

you are the triumph over the mark of evil.

Prophecy of the Father's merciful love,

teacher of the son's Good News,

sign of the Holy Spirit's burning fire,

teach us, in this valley of joys and sorrows,

the eternal truths

that the Father revealed to the little ones.

Show us the strength of your protective mantle.

In your immaculate heart,

be the refuge of sinners

and the path that leads to God.

United with my brothers and sisters

in faith, hope and love,

I give myself to you.

United with my brothers and sisters,

I consecrate myself to God,

O Virgin of the Rosary of Fatima.

And finally, wrapped in the light

that comes from your hands,

I will give glory to the Lord

for ever and ever.

Amen.

Hail o clement, hail o loving! 

Hail Queen of the Rosary of Fatima. 

Hail o clement, o loving, o sweet Virgin Mary.

Pope Francis saddened by 'perfect' Catholics who despise others

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- God did not choose perfect people to form his church, but rather sinners who have experienced his love and forgiveness, Pope Francis said.

The Gospel of Luke's account of Jesus forgiving the sinful woman shows how his actions went against the general mentality of his time, a way of thinking that saw a "clear separation" between the pure and impure, the pope said Aug. 9 during his weekly general audience.

"There were some scribes, those who believed they were perfect," the pope said. "And I think about so many Catholics who think they are perfect and scorn others. This is sad."

Continuing his series of audience talks about Christian hope, the pope reflected on Jesus' "scandalous gesture" of forgiving the sinful woman.

The woman, he said, was one of many poor women who were visited secretly even by those who denounced them as sinful.

Although Jesus' love toward the sick and the marginalized "baffles his contemporaries," it reveals God's heart as the place where suffering men and women can find love, compassion and healing, Pope Francis said.

"How many people continue today in a wayward life because they find no one willing to look at them in a different way, with the eyes -- or better yet -- with the heart of God, meaning with hope," he said. But "Jesus sees the possibility of a resurrection even in those who have made so many wrong choices."

Oftentimes, the pope continued, Christians become accustomed to having their sins forgiven and receiving God's unconditional love while forgetting the heavy price Jesus paid by dying on the cross.

By forgiving sinners, Jesus doesn't seek to free them from a guilty conscience, but rather offers "people who have made mistakes the hope of a new life, a life marked by love," the pope said.

The church is a people formed "of sinners who have experienced the mercy and forgiveness of God," Pope Francis said. Christians are "all poor sinners" who need God's mercy, "which strengthens us and gives us hope."

source: Catholic News Service (CNS)

By Junno Arocho Esteves

Pope Francis dedicates prayer in July 2017 for those who have distant and strayed from faith

Pope Francis asked Christians to be a witness of joy and faith to all those who have strayed from the faith and are sad because they have distanced themselves from Jesus. “We must not leave them alone!, we should offer them Christian hope with our words, yes, but more with our testimony, with our freedom, with our joy.” “Let us never forget that our joy is Jesus Christ - his faithful and inexhaustible love,” said Pope Francis. Ending Pope Francis said, “let us pray that our brothers and sisters who have strayed from the faith, through our prayer and witness to the Gospel, may rediscover the beauty of the Christian life.”

Carrying out our mission with Mary, Mother of Evangelization ~ Pope Francis

Dear brothers and sisters, in carrying out our mission, let us draw inspiration from Mary, Mother of Evangelization. Moved by the Spirit, she welcomed the Word of life in the depths of her humble faith. May the Virgin Mother help us to say our own “yes”, conscious of the urgent need to make the Good News of Jesus resound in our time. May she obtain for us renewed zeal in bringing to everyone the Good News of the life that is victorious over death. May she intercede for us so that we can acquire the holy audacity needed to discover new ways to bring the gift of salvation to every man and woman.

by Pope Francis

Vatican, 4 June 2017

Solemnity of Pentecost

Pope Francis Prayer Intentions ~ 2017

Beginning 2017, there will only be one monthly prayer intention (12 monthly prayer intentions in 2017) , not two like in previous years. Pope Francis will announce his urgent intention (a second urgent monthly prayer intention each month related to current events or urgent needs) during his first Sunday Angelus address of each month which will help mobilize prayer and action related to the urgent situation.

Pope Francis’ intentions for 2017 also focus on topics he has frequently spoken out about, such as support for persecuted Christians, youth, Christians in Africa and Asia, workers and the unemployed, and the elderly.

JANUARY

Christian Unity. 

That all Christians may be faithful to the Lord’s teaching by striving with prayer and fraternal charity to restore ecclesial communion and by collaborating to meet the challenges facing humanity.

FEBRUARY

Comfort for the Afflicted.

That all those who are afflicted, especially the poor, refugees, and marginalized, may find welcome and comfort in our communities.

MARCH

Support for Persecuted Christians.

That persecuted Christians may be supported by the prayers and material help of the whole Church.

APRIL

Young People. 

That young people may respond generously to their vocations and seriously consider offering themselves to God in the priesthood or consecrated life.

MAY

Christians in Africa.

That Christians in Africa, in imitation of the Merciful Jesus, may give prophetic witness to reconciliation, justice, and peace.

JUNE

National Leaders.

That national leaders may firmly commit themselves to ending the arms trade, which victimizes so many innocent people.

JULY

Lapsed Christians.

That our brothers and sisters who have strayed from the faith, through our prayer and witness to the Gospel, may rediscover the merciful closeness of the Lord and the beauty of the Christian life.

AUGUST

Artists.

That artists of our time, through their ingenuity, may help everyone discover the beauty of creation.

SEPTEMBER

Parishes.

That our parishes, animated by a missionary spirit, may be places where faith is communicated and charity is seen.

OCTOBER

Workers and the Unemployed.

That all workers may receive respect and protection of their rights, and that the unemployed may receive the opportunity to contribute to the common good.

NOVEMBER

Christians in Asia.

That Christians in Asia, bearing witness to the Gospel in word and deed, may promote dialogue, peace, and mutual understanding, especially with those of other religions.

DECEMBER

The Elderly.

That the elderly, sustained by families and Christian communities, may apply their wisdom and experience to spreading the faith and forming the new generations.

source: apostleshipofprayer.org