I am extremely sad over the tragedy that has once again taken place in the Mediterranean. 130 migrants died in the sea. They are people. They are human beings. Let us pray for these brothers and sisters, and for all those who continue to die in these tragic crossings.
— Pope Francis (@Pontifex) April 25, 2021
Immanuel
Deus caritas est. God is love. Deus é amor. Dios es amor. Dieu est amour. Dio è amore. A Catholic blog in English, Sometimes also in Portuguese, Spanish, French and Italian.
Tuesday, 10 August 2021
They are people
Nearness, compassion and tenderness
As the Good Shepherd, Jesus consoles his shepherds. If you remain close to the Lord, to the bishop, among yourselves, and to the people of God; if you maintain God's style - nearness, compassion and tenderness - you need not be afraid: everything will go well. #PriestlyOrdination
— Pope Francis (@Pontifex) April 25, 2021
No one should be lost
Jesus the #GoodShepherd defends, knows, and above all loves his sheep. This is why He gives His life for them. Love for his sheep, for each one of us, would lead him to die on the cross. For this is the Father’s will: that no one should be lost. #GospelOfTheDay (Jn 10:11-18)
— Pope Francis (@Pontifex) April 25, 2021
Do not be afraid!
Do not be afraid: these are words the Lord addresses to you, dear sister and brother, whenever you feel you can no longer delay your desire to give your life to him. It is a refrain accompanying all who say yes to God with their lives, through daily fidelity. #Prayer #Vocations
— Pope Francis (@Pontifex) April 25, 2021
May he help everyone
St Joseph is an outstanding example of accepting God’s plans. May he help everyone, especially those who are discerning, to make God’s dreams for them come true. May he grant them the courage to say “yes” to the Lord who always surprises and never disappoints. #Prayer #Vocations
— Pope Francis (@Pontifex) April 25, 2021
Open, capable of great initiatives, generous, compassionate in comforting anxieties and steadfast in strengthening hopes
The Lord wants to shape the hearts of fathers and mothers to be open, capable of great initiatives, generous, compassionate in comforting anxieties and steadfast in strengthening hopes. The priesthood and consecrated life greatly need these qualities. #Prayer #Vocations
— Pope Francis (@Pontifex) April 25, 2021
The lesson learned from the recent pandemic is the awareness that we are a global community, all in the same boat
How do we prevent conflicts? No people, no social group, can single-handedly achieve #peace, prosperity, security and happiness. None. The lesson learned from the recent pandemic is the awareness that we are a global community, all in the same boat. #DiplomacyForPeace
— Pope Francis (@Pontifex) April 24, 2021
Sunday, 8 August 2021
The secret of life: we come to possess it only by giving it away
The Lord of life wants us to be full of life, and he tells us the secret of life: we come to possess it only by giving it away.
— Pope Francis (@Pontifex) April 23, 2021
The fullness of life and of joy is found by giving oneself for our brothers and sisters, with openness, welcoming and goodness
The fullness of life and of joy is found by giving oneself for the Gospel and for our brothers and sisters, with openness, welcoming and goodness.
— Pope Francis (@Pontifex) April 22, 2021
We need to heal the damaged relationships that are essential to supporting us and the entire fabric of life
We have broken the bonds of our relationship with the Creator, with our fellow human beings, and with the rest of creation. We need to heal the damaged relationships that are essential to supporting us and the entire fabric of life. #EarthDay
— Pope Francis (@Pontifex) April 22, 2021
Let us not abandon the simple prayers we learned in our families as children that we preserve in our memories and hearts
Let us not abandon the simple prayers we learned in our families as children that we preserve in our memories and hearts. They are sure ways to access the Father's heart. #Prayer #GeneralAudience
— Pope Francis (@Pontifex) April 21, 2021
You are precious and unique in His eyes
For God, you are that little coin that the Lord seeks without pause. He wants to tell you that you are precious and unique in His eyes. No one can take your place in the heart of God.
— Pope Francis (@Pontifex) April 20, 2021
God does not give up
God does not give up. You are close to His heart, you who do not yet know the beauty of His love, you who have not yet welcomed Jesus as the center of your life, you who cannot overcome your sin.
— Pope Francis (@Pontifex) April 19, 2021
Reciprocal trust, reconciliation and peace
I invite you to pray for the population of eastern Ukraine. I truly hope that an escalation of the tensions might be avoided and, instead, that actions capable of promoting reciprocal trust and which foster reconciliation and peace might be undertaken.
— Pope Francis (@Pontifex) April 18, 2021
A living relationship
Being Christian is not first of all a doctrine or a moral ideal; it is a living relationship with the Risen Lord. #GospelOfTheDay
— Pope Francis (@Pontifex) April 18, 2021
Only the love can transform our life and set us free from the vicious circles of disappointment, anger and constant complaint
Only the love of Jesus can transform our life, heal our deepest hurts and set us free from the vicious circles of disappointment, anger and constant complaint.
— Pope Francis (@Pontifex) April 17, 2021
Great numbers of children continue to live in inhuman situations, exploited, maltreated, enslaved, refugees
Sadly, in this world, with all its highly developed technology, great numbers of children continue to live in inhuman situations, exploited, maltreated, enslaved, refugees. Today, in acknowledging this, we feel shame before God, before God who became a child. #EndChildSlavery
— Pope Francis (@Pontifex) April 16, 2021
Saturday, 7 August 2021
Even death trembles when a Christian prays
Even death trembles when a Christian prays, because it knows that everyone who prays has an ally who is stronger than it: the Risen Lord. #Prayer #Easter
— Pope Francis (@Pontifex) April 15, 2021
We grow in faith inasmuch as we learn to pray
The breath of faith is #prayer: we grow in faith inasmuch as we learn to pray. #GeneralAudience https://t.co/PKTt04jgfs
— Pope Francis (@Pontifex) April 14, 2021
Peace be with you!
In the midst of the contradictions and perplexities we must confront each day, the din of so many words and opinions, there is the quiet voice of the Risen Lord who keeps saying to us: “Peace be with you!”
— Pope Francis (@Pontifex) April 13, 2021
He lifts us back up after our falls
Jesus is the Risen One, the Lord who passed through death in order to lead us to safety. Even before we begin to seek Him, He is present beside us. He lifts us back up after our falls. He helps us grow in faith. #Easter
— Pope Francis (@Pontifex) April 12, 2021
Mercy is made tangible, it becomes closeness, service, care for those in difficulty
Mercy is made tangible, it becomes closeness, service, care for those in difficulty. I hope you will always feel you have been granted mercy, so as to be merciful to others in turn.
— Pope Francis (@Pontifex) April 11, 2021
Let us be renewed by the peace, forgiveness and wounds of the merciful Jesus
So let us be renewed by the peace, forgiveness and wounds of the merciful Jesus. Only in this way will our faith be alive. Only in this way will we proclaim the Gospel of God, which is the Gospel of mercy. https://t.co/HLWOas4FrF
— Pope Francis (@Pontifex) April 11, 2021
Let us not live a one-way faith, a faith that receives but does not give. Having received mercy, let us now become merciful
Today is the day to ask, “Am I, who have so often received God’s mercy, merciful to others?” Let us not live a one-way faith, a faith that receives but does not give. Having received mercy, let us now become merciful. #DivineMercy
— Pope Francis (@Pontifex) April 11, 2021
The wounds of Jesus are open channels between him and us, shedding mercy upon our misery
The wounds of Jesus are open channels between him and us, shedding mercy upon our misery. They are pathways that God has opened up for us to enter into his tender love and actually “touch” who he is. Let us never again doubt his mercy. #DivineMercy
— Pope Francis (@Pontifex) April 11, 2021
Thursday, 15 July 2021
In our failings He sees children to help up; in our misery He sees children in need of His merciful love
The Lord does not want us to keep thinking about our failings. He wants us to look to Him. In our failings He sees children to help up; in our misery He sees children in need of His merciful love. #DivineMercy
— Pope Francis (@Pontifex) April 10, 2021
Peacemakers and witnesses of hope
The Lord calls us to cooperate in the construction of history, becoming, together with Him, peacemakers and witnesses of hope in a future of salvation and resurrection.
— Pope Francis (@Pontifex) April 9, 2021
The feast of salvation
#Easter is the most important feast of our faith because it is the feast of our salvation, the feast of God's love for us.
— Pope Francis (@Pontifex) April 8, 2021
The first way to pray for someone is to speak to God about him or her
The first way to pray for someone is to speak to God about him or her. If we do this frequently, each day, our hearts are not closed, but open to our brothers and sisters. To pray for others is the first way to love them and it moves us toward concretely drawing near. #Prayer
— Pope Francis (@Pontifex) April 7, 2021
Only together can we build a more just and health world
Everyone needs assistance, especially the most vulnerable. Only together can we build a more just and health world. All of us are called to combat the pandemic and vaccines are an essential tool in this fight. #worldhealthday
— Pope Francis (@Pontifex) April 7, 2021
Never lose hope
In these dark months of the #pandemic, let us listen to the Risen Lord as he invites us to begin anew and never lose hope. #Easter
— Pope Francis (@Pontifex) April 6, 2021
To find Christ means to discover peace in our hearts
Let us never tire of seeking the risen Christ who gives life in abundance to those who meet him. To find Christ means to discover peace in our hearts. #Easter #ReginaCoeli
— Pope Francis (@Pontifex) April 5, 2021
Too many wars and too much violence in the world!
There are still too many wars and too much violence in the world! May the Lord, who is our peace, help us to overcome the mindset of war. https://t.co/PsDVCzg2Kr
— Pope Francis (@Pontifex) April 4, 2021
Where there was death, now there is life
Amid the many hardships we are enduring, let us never forget that we have been healed by the wounds of Christ. In the light of the Risen Lord, our sufferings are now transfigured. Where there was death, now there is life. Where there was mourning, now there is consolation.
— Pope Francis (@Pontifex) April 4, 2021
If on this night you are experiencing an hour of darkness, a day that has not yet dawned, a light dimmed or a dream shattered, open your heart with amazement to the message
Dear brother, dear sister: if on this night you are experiencing an hour of darkness, a day that has not yet dawned, a light dimmed or a dream shattered, open your heart with amazement to the message of #Easter: “Do not be afraid, he has risen!”
— Pope Francis (@Pontifex) April 3, 2021
He invites us to overcome barriers, banish prejudices and draw near to those around us every day in order to rediscover the grace of everyday life
This is the third message of #Easter: Jesus, the Risen Lord, loves us without limits and is there at every moment of our lives. He invites us to overcome barriers, banish prejudices and draw near to those around us every day in order to rediscover the grace of everyday life.
— Pope Francis (@Pontifex) April 3, 2021
He walks beside you each day, in every situation you are experiencing, in every trial you have to endure, in your deepest hopes and dreams
This is the second message of #Easter: faith is not an album of past memories; Jesus is not outdated. He is alive here and now. He walks beside you each day, in every situation you are experiencing, in every trial you have to endure, in your deepest hopes and dreams.
— Pope Francis (@Pontifex) April 3, 2021
It is always possible to begin anew, because there is a new life that God can awaken in us in spite of all our failures
This is the first #Easter message that I would offer you: it is always possible to begin anew, because there is a new life that God can awaken in us in spite of all our failures. From the rubble of our hearts, God can create a work of art.
— Pope Francis (@Pontifex) April 3, 2021
The disarmed and disarming power of love
From the cross God reigns with the disarmed and disarming power of love. He continues to amaze our minds and hearts. Let us allow ourselves to be filled with that amazement. Let us gaze upon the Crucified One and say: “Truly, You are the Son of God." You are my God. #GoodFriday
— Pope Francis (@Pontifex) April 2, 2021
In those gashes, we recognize our emptiness, our shortcomings
Jesus's cross is God's silent throne. Let us daily contemplate his wounds. In those gashes, we recognize our emptiness, our shortcomings, the wounds of our sin. His wounds were inflicted for our sake, and by those wounds we have been healed. #GoodFriday
— Pope Francis (@Pontifex) April 2, 2021
The cross expresses love, service, unreserved self-giving
The cross expresses love, service, unreserved self-giving: it truly is the “tree of life”, of overabundant life. #GoodFriday
— Pope Francis (@Pontifex) April 2, 2021
A gift
The Eucharist is Jesus himself who gives himself entirely to us. Nourishing ourselves of Him and abiding in Him through Eucharistic Communion, if we do so with faith, transforms our life, transforms it into a gift to God and to our brothers and sisters. #HolyThursday
— Pope Francis (@Pontifex) April 1, 2021
The power of the cross
The preaching of the Gospel is effective not because of our eloquent words but because of the power of the cross (cf. 1 Cor 1:17). #ChrismMass https://t.co/iGKXXIzKsS
— Pope Francis (@Pontifex) April 1, 2021
Wednesday, 14 July 2021
There is no holiness without sacrifice
The process of conversion always entails the cross. There is no holiness without sacrifice and without a spiritual battle. #HolyWeek
— Pope Francis (@Pontifex) March 31, 2021
Christ’s Cross is like a beacon that indicates the port to ships that are still afloat on stormy seas
Christ’s Cross is like a beacon that indicates the port to ships that are still afloat on stormy seas. It is the sign of the hope that does not disappoint. And it tells us that not even one tear, not one sigh is lost in God’s saving plan. #Holy Week
— Pope Francis (@Pontifex) March 31, 2021
Along the daily way of the cross, we meet the faces of so many brothers and sisters in difficulty
Along the daily way of the cross, we meet the faces of so many brothers and sisters in difficulty: let us not pass by, let us allow our hearts to be moved with compassion, and let us draw near.
— Pope Francis (@Pontifex) March 30, 2021
Jesus was lifted up on the cross to descend into our suffering, to plumb the depths of our human experience, to draw near to us and not abandon us in our suffering and our death
Jesus was lifted up on the cross to descend into our suffering, to plumb the depths of our human experience, to draw near to us and not abandon us in our suffering and our death. To redeem us, to save us. #HolyWeek
— Pope Francis (@Pontifex) March 30, 2021
The suffering Christ is present in the person of the poor, the excluded, the sick, the hungry, those who bear the mystery of the cross with Him
During these days, the Church enters into the great meditation of the Lord's Passion. The suffering Christ is present in the person of the poor, the excluded, the sick, the hungry, those who bear the mystery of the cross with Him. #HolyWeek
— Pope Francis (@Pontifex) March 29, 2021
He achieves glory through humiliation
What is most amazing about the Lord and his Passover? It is the fact that he achieves glory through humiliation. He triumphs by accepting suffering and death, things that we, in our quest for admiration and success, would rather avoid. #PalmSunday
— Pope Francis (@Pontifex) March 28, 2021
God is at our side in every affliction, in every fear
God is at our side in every affliction, in every fear; no evil, no sin will ever have the final word. God triumphs, but the palm of victory passes through the wood of the cross. For the palm and the cross are inseparable. #PalmSunday https://t.co/Nm9o1oR2P1
— Pope Francis (@Pontifex) March 28, 2021
We are called to recognize that other living beings have a value of their own in God’s eyes
We are called to recognize that other living beings have a value of their own in God’s eyes: by their mere existence they bless him and give him glory, and indeed, the Lord rejoices in all his works (Ps 104:31). #EarthHour #LaudatoSi’
— Pope Francis (@Pontifex) March 27, 2021
We have realized we are on the same boat
“Why are you afraid? Have you no faith?” (Mk 4:35-41). We have realized we are on the same boat, all of us fragile and disoriented, but at the same time important and needed, all of us called to row together. #PrayTogether #Covid-19 https://t.co/ZfArzrWbmt
— Pope Francis (@Pontifex) March 27, 2021
Monday, 12 July 2021
Fasting helps us love God and our neighbour, because love focuses our attention on others and considers them as one with ourselves
Those who fast make themselves poor with the poor and "accumulate" the treasure of a love received and shared. Understood and practiced thus, fasting helps us love God and our neighbour, because love focuses our attention on others and considers them as one with ourselves. #Lent
— Pope Francis (@Pontifex) March 26, 2021
The Christian is the person who says “yes” to life
I would like once more to invite everyone to witness to the “Gospel of Life”, to promote and defend life in all its dimensions and at every stage. The Christian is the person who says “yes” to life, who says “yes” to God, the Living One. #EvangeliumVitae
— Pope Francis (@Pontifex) March 25, 2021
Dante, prophet of hope
At this particular moment in history, characterized by many shadows, the figure of Dante, prophet of hope, can help us to advance with serenity and courage on the pilgrimage of life that each of us is called to make. https://t.co/1OlCV8AY7B
— Pope Francis (@Pontifex) March 25, 2021
The road that we must travel in order to reach him
Mary is not only the bridge joining us to God; she is more. She is the road that God travelled to reach us, and the road that we must travel in order to reach him. #AnnunciationOfTheLord
— Pope Francis (@Pontifex) March 25, 2021
Generously welcomed
#Praytogether for the victims and those reported missing because of the terrible fire that broke out in a #Rohingya refugee camp in Bangladesh, which generously welcomed thousands of people. Let us pray for the twenty thousand brothers and sisters, who lost the little they had.
— Pope Francis (@Pontifex) March 25, 2021
Mary is always there next to us
Mary was and is present in these days of the pandemic, near to the people who, unfortunately, have concluded their earthly journey all alone, without the comfort of or the closeness of their loved ones. Mary is always there next to us, with her maternal tenderness.
— Pope Francis (@Pontifex) March 24, 2021
For the victims
I learned with sorrow the news of the recent terrorist attacks in #Niger, which caused the deaths of 137 people. Let us #PrayTogether for the victims, for their families and for the entire population.
— Pope Francis (@Pontifex) March 24, 2021
I am near the people and the families
I am near the people and the families affected by the major floods that have caused serious damage in New South Wales in Australia, especially those who saw their houses destroyed. #PrayTogether
— Pope Francis (@Pontifex) March 24, 2021
Increased solidarity toward those who suffer
Today is World #Tuberculosis Day. May this annual event foster a renewed interest in the treatment of this disease and increased solidarity toward those who suffer from it.
— Pope Francis (@Pontifex) March 24, 2021
Sunday, 11 July 2021
May we not let this time of grace pass in vain
May we not let this time of grace pass in vain, in the foolish illusion that we can control the times and means of our conversion to the Lord! #Lent
— Pope Francis (@Pontifex) March 23, 2021
In this life, we will always have things to do and excuses to offer, but right now is the time to return to God
How many times have we told the Lord: “Lord, I will come to you later... I can’t come today. Tomorrow I will begin to pray and do something for others”. In this life, we will always have things to do and excuses to offer, but right now is the time to return to God. #Lent
— Pope Francis (@Pontifex) March 23, 2021
It is a universal symbol and is the source of life and health
For us believers, “sister water” is not merchandise: it is a universal symbol and is the source of life and health. Many brothers and sisters have access to too little and perhaps polluted water. It is necessary to assure potable water and hygienic services to all. #WorldWaterDay
— Pope Francis (@Pontifex) March 22, 2021
In trials and in solitude while the seed is dying, that is the moment in which life blossoms, to bear ripe fruit in due time
“Unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit” (Jn 12:23-24). Precisely then, in trials and in solitude while the seed is dying, that is the moment in which life blossoms, to bear ripe fruit in due time
— Pope Francis (@Pontifex) March 21, 2021
A child needs to be welcomed, loved and nurtured. Always!
Every child who a woman expects in her womb is a gift that changes a family’s history: the life of fathers and mothers, grandparents and of brothers and sisters. That child needs to be welcomed, loved and nurtured. Always! #WorldDownSyndromeDay
— Pope Francis (@Pontifex) March 21, 2021
Racism is a virus
Racism is a virus that quickly mutates and, instead of disappearing, goes into hiding, and lurks in waiting. Instances of racism continue to shame us, for they show that our supposed social progress is not as real or definitive as we think. #FightRacism #FratelliTutti
— Pope Francis (@Pontifex) March 21, 2021
Accompanied by courage
Each day that begins, if welcomed in #prayer, is accompanied by courage, so that the problems we have to face no longer seem to be obstacles to our #happiness, but rather appeals from God, opportunities for our encounter with him. #WorldHappinessDay
— Pope Francis (@Pontifex) March 20, 2021
To be a good father means to offer everything, holding nothing back
To be a good father means to offer everything, holding nothing back; to protect without suffocating; to pardon without asking anything in return; to wait patiently and trustingly. It means following the example of the "Good Father" who is in heaven. May God bless all fathers!
— Pope Francis (@Pontifex) March 19, 2021
Saint Joseph is an outstanding example of acceptance of God’s plans
Saint Joseph is an outstanding example of acceptance of God’s plans. May he help everyone, especially young people who are discerning, to make God’s dreams for them come true. #Vocations https://t.co/n7BhguDUoI
— Pope Francis (@Pontifex) March 19, 2021