(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis today celebrated All Saints Day telling the faithful that there are many saints to be found in ordinary life and that they are examples to be followed.
Speaking to the crowds gathered in St. Peter’s Square for the recitation of the Angelus, the Pope said saints are people who belong entirely to God, they carry the seal of God in their lives and on their persons.
Pointing out that we are all children of God and that we received the seal of our heavenly father with the sacrament of Baptism, Pope Francis said that saints are those who have lived their lives in the grace of Baptism, keeping that seal intact, behaving like children of God, trying to imitate Jesus.
“Saints – Pope Francis continued – are examples to imitate”. And noting that saints are not only those who have been canonized, but can anyone from next door neighbors, to members of our own families or others we have met as we live our ordinary lives, the Pope said we must be grateful to them and to God for having given them to us as examples of how to live and die in fidelity to God and to the Gospel.
“How many good people have we met in our lives; how often do we exclaim: ‘this person is a saint!’… These are the saints who live next door, not the ones who are canonized, but the ones who live with us” he said.
Imitating their gestures of love and mercy, he said, is a bit like perpetrating their presence in this world. Acts of tenderness, of generous help, of closeness can appear insignificant, but in God’s eyes they are eternal, “because love and mercy are stronger than death” he said.
After the recitation of the Angelus prayer the Pope reminded the faithful that on Sunday afternoon he will travel to Rome’s Verano Cemetery where he will celebrate Holy Mass in memory of the dead.
The Pope said that by visiting the city’s main cemetery he intends to spiritually join all those who in these days will be praying on the tombs of their loved ones in every part of the world.
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis has appealed to warring parties in Central African Republic to put an end to the cycle of violence afflicting the nation. Speaking on Sunday during the Angelus Prayer, the Pope expressed “strong worry” for the “painful episodes of the past days that have worsened the situation in Central African Republic”. Appealing to the parties involved to take action to end the violence, he said he is spiritually close especially to the Comboni missionary fathers at the Parish of Our Lady of Fatima in Bangui who are assisting many displaced people. Pope Francis also expressed his solidarity to the Catholic Church, to other religious denominations and to the entire Central African Republic as they make every possible effort to overcome divisions and undertake a journey of peace. And reiterating his closeness to the “afflicted and tormented nation” the Pope urged all of its people to be witnesses of mercy and to work for reconciliation. Pope Francis concluded his appeal telling those present that he hopes to travel to the Central African Republic at the end of the month and that he desires to open the Holy Door in Bangui Cathedral during his apostolic journey there. (from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis has sent a telegramme of condolences to the Russian President and to the people following the crash of Russian Airbus A321 in Egypt in which 224 people were killed.
Please find below the text of the telegramme sent by Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, on behalf of the Pope .
His Excellency Vladimir Putin
President of the Russian Federation
Having learned with sadness of the tragic crash of the Russian airline in the Sinai Peninsula, His Holiness Pope Francis conveys his condolences to you and the Russian people. He offers the assurance of his prayers for all who have died and for those who mourn their loss. Upon the nation and all involved in the recovery efforts His Holiness invokes the strength and peace of Almighty God.
Cardinal Pietro Parolin
Secretary of State
(from Vatican Radio)…
The general prayer intention of Pope Francis for the month of November is for dialogue – that we may be open to personal encounter and dialogue with all, even those whose convictions differ from our own.
At a meeting in Brazil, Pope Francis said: “When leaders in various fields ask me for advice, my response is always the same: dialogue, dialogue, dialogue.” He said, “It is the only way for individuals, families, and societies to grow along with the culture of encounter, a culture in which all have something good to give and all can receive something good in return.” And an important ingredient for a successful encounter and dialogue, according to the Pope, is the spirit of openness and the capacity to listen to the other. However, there is no true peace without truth, he warns. There cannot be true peace if everyone sticks to his own criterion, always claims exclusively his own rights, without caring for the good of others, of everyone. Dialogue does not mean denying objective truth, but rather respecting the dignity of the other person “in a way that everyone can see in the other not an enemy, not a rival, but a brother or sister to be welcomed and embraced.” Let’s therefore join Pope Francis in praying during the month of November, so that we may be open to personal encounter and dialogue with all, even those whose convictions differ from our own.
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis addressed 7000 Italian Christian Business Executives in the Paul VI hall on Saturday, telling them that companies can become places of holiness.
Listen:
The Christian Union of Italian Business Executives brings together Catholic entrepreneurs who set themselves the goal of being the architects for the development of the common good.
Meeting the executives in the Vatican on Saturday, Pope Francis told them that their emphasis on Christian formation and training, mainly through the deepening of the social teaching of the Church, was a noble work. He also spoke about the importance of having the right balance between work and family life.
The Pope noted how a company and the executive office of companies can become places of holiness, by the commitment of everyone to build fraternal relations between entrepreneurs, managers and workers, encouraging co-responsibility and collaboration in the common interest.
The Holy Father also noted that the call to be missionaries of the social dimension of the Gospel in the difficult and complex world of labour, economics and business, involved being open and close to diverse situations such as poverty.
Speaking at one point off the cuff, the Pope spoke about women in the workplace and the challenges they can face. Giving one example to applause, he said, “how many times has a women gone to her boss and said I am pregnant and at the end of the month she is let go”.
Pope Francis stressed that increasing the praiseworthy concrete works of sharing and solidarity that the executives support in various parts of Italy, would be a way for them to put into practice the grace of the upcoming Jubilee of Mercy.
The Pope went on to say that it was necessary to direct economic activity in the evangelical sense, that is at the service of the person and the common good. In this perspective, he said “you are called to cooperate in order to grow an entrepreneurial spirit of subsidiarity, to deal with the ethical challenges of the market and, above all the challenge of creating good employment opportunities.”
The Holy Father concluded by urging them to engage together for this purpose telling those gathered that it would bear fruit,” to the extent that the Gospel is alive and present in your hearts, in your mind and in your actions.”
(from Vatican Radio)…