(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis has written a message for the first edition of the weekly Osservatore Romano newspaper for Argentina.
The first issue of the new Spanish edition was published on 30 December 2016 with the headline: “The Service of the Pope”.
The handwritten message by Pope Francis was printed on the front page, wherein the Holy Father recognized the newspaper as a “project at the service of the Kingdom of God”.
His message read: “With joy I greet the new presence of the Osservatore Romano in Argentina. Through the Holy See’s newspaper, [readers] will be able to become directly acquainted with the service of the Pope. I pray that our Lord bless all who labor in this project at the service of the Kingdom of God, and that the Virgin Mary watch over them. And, please, I ask all readers not to forget to pray for me.”
(from Vatican Radio)…
Bulletin for 01/01/2017
As always, to coincide with the end of the year, the Prefecture of the Papal Household has published a note summing up the participation of the faithful during meetings and audiences with the Pope in the Vatican.
It notes that in the course of the year 2016 Pope Francis received some 4 million people.
That’s counting General and Special Audiences, Jubilee Audiences, liturgical celebrations, Angelus and Regina Coeli.
March and September were the months with the highest numbers of faithful present in the Vatican during the Pope’s activities – in March during Holy week, and in September for the canonization of Mother Teresa of Calcutta.
It is clear that the numbers refer uniquely to the Pope’s activities inside the Vatican and do not include visits to Rome Dioceses or apostolic visits and journeys to Italy and abroad, where Pope Francis met with millions of people.
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis returned to the theme of “Christian Hope” in the catechesis during the weekly General Audience. On Wednesday, he focused his attention on the figure of Abram, who became Abraham, our “father in faith and in hope.”
Listen to Christopher Wells’ report:
Saint Paul himself pointed to Abram “to indicate the way of faith and of hope.” Abram’s confidence in God’s promise to give him a son was truly a hope “against every hope”, precisely because of his advanced age, and the sterility of Sara, his wife. But Abram believed, and his faith gave way to a new hope, a hope which, to all appearances was unreasonable. His hope “opens new horizons, making him capable of dreaming what is unimaginable.” Hope, the Holy Father said, allows us “to enter into the darkness of an uncertain future to journey in the light.”
It is a difficult journey, though, he continued. Even Abram had moments of crisis and discouragement. In the Gospel passage, the scene where Abram questions God takes place at night – but, the Pope said, in the heart of Abram there is the darkness of disappointment, of discouragement. Even though he spoke familiarly with God, Abram in these moments felt alone, old and tired, with death on his doorstep.
Pope Francis said that even this moment of questioning by Abram is a form of Faith. Despite his disappointment, Abram continued to believe in God – or else why would he complain to Him? Faith, the Pope said, “is not only silence that accepts everything without reply, hope is not a certainty that makes you secure from doubts and perplexity.” Faith can also be “struggling with God, showing our bitterness without ‘pious’ fictions.” And hope, he continued, “is also not being afraid to see reality for what it is and to accept the contradictions.”
The sign that God gives to Abram – “Look at the heavens and count the stars… just so will your descendants be” – is “a call to continue to believe and to hope.” To believe, the Pope concluded, “it is necessary to know how to see with the eyes of faith: They are only stars, which everyone can see, but for Abram they have to become the sign of the faithfulness of God.”
And this, Pope Francis said, is the journey of hope that each one of us must walk.
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis held his weekly General Audience on Wednesday – the Wednesday in the Octave of Christmas, and the final General Audience of the calendar year, 2016.
The Gospel reading upon which the main catechetical portion of the Audience focused was taken from the 15 th chapter of the Book of Genesis, verses 3-6, in which we hear of God’s covenant with Abraham:
Abram said, “Behold, thou hast given me no offspring; and a slave born in my house will be my heir.” And behold, the word of the Lord came to him, “This man shall not be your heir; your own son shall be your heir.” And he brought him outside and said, “Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your descendants be.” And he believed the Lord; and he reckoned it to him as righteousness.
In the English-language summary read out after the main catechesis, the pilgrims and tourists present were encouraged to look to Abraham – our Father in faith – as a model of for our lives even today.
Dear Brothers and Sisters: Our continuing catechesis on Christian hope leads us in these Christmas days to consider the example of Abraham, who, as Saint Paul tells us, “hoped against hope” in God’s promises. Trusting in the Lord’s word that a son would be born to him, Abraham left his home for a new land. Although the fulfilment of God’s promise was long delayed and seemed to be impossible, Abraham continued to hope. Even his discouragement and complaints were a sign of his continuing trust in God. Abraham, our father in faith, shows us that sure trust in God’s word does not mean that we will not have moments of uncertainty, disappointment and bewilderment. It was at such a moment that God appeared to Abraham, called him forth from his tent and showed him the night sky shining with countless stars, assuring him that such would be the number of his descendants. Hope is always directed to the future, to the fulfilment of God’s promises. May the example of Abraham teach us not be afraid to go out from our own tents, our limited outlooks, and to lift our eyes to the stars.
(from Vatican Radio)…