Homily of His Holiness Pope Francis
Mass of the Twenty-Ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time
with the Rite of Canonization

Sunday, 18 October 2015

Today’s biblical readings present the theme of service. They call us to follow Jesus on the path of humility and the cross.

VATICAN CITY - Pope Francis has made a surprise visit to a new homeless shelter just outside Vatican City, the pontiff’s latest move to draw attention to the world’s poor.

We need to pray so as not to be infected by the "virus" of hypocrisy, a self-righteous attitude that seduces with lies that lurk in the shadows. Pope Francis was referring to the words of Jesus in the Gospel, during his homily on Friday at Mass at the Casa Santa Marta.

UNITED NATIONS - In the warm afterglow of Pope Francis’ Sept 25 address to the General Assembly, veteran United Nations’ observers drew a starkly candid road map of urgent actions that the world body must take to achieve its security agenda.

God is calling us. Jesus is calling us. Now, Pope Francis is calling us, except this time he isn’t only using his words, he’s using music.

For Fr. Gilles Routhier, one of the world’s leading historians of the Second Vatican Council, watching the Synod unfold in Rome is more exciting than any Game 7 in any sport you care to name.

Beware of those who limit God’s horizons and reduce the love of God down to our size.  That was at the heart of Pope Francis’ homily at the Mass Thursday morning (Oct.15) at the Casa Santa Marta.

VATICAN CITY - With 30,000 people gathered in St. Peter's Square, Pope Francis asked forgiveness for scandals that have occurred within the Church recently.

VATICAN CITY - Tensions already roiling a high-level Vatican summit spilled into the open Oct. 12 with the publication of a letter allegedly sent to Pope Francis from 13 conservative cardinals warning of plots by progressives to hijack the proceedings.

The Joke with the Pope contest is over and the winner is … a rabbi.

VATICAN CITY - Gathered with a worldwide representation of bishops, including patriarchs and other bishops from the Middle East, Pope Francis dedicated the morning prayer of the Synod of Bishops on the family to pleas for peace in the Middle East.

The Synod on the Family is not about communion for divorced and remarried Catholics, or how to reach out to gay Catholics, or even celibacy of priests. It’s about the Holy Spirit, Pope Francis reminded 318 delegates as they began closed door discussions on family issues.

(Vatican Radio) God does not abandon the righteous, while those who sow evil are like strangers, whose names heaven remembers not. This is the lesson Pope Francis drew from the readings of the day at Mass Thursday morning in the chapel of the Casa Santa Marta in the Vatican.

Francis caught up in smear job by social ideologues

Pope Francis has energized debate about the threat to the planet’s natural environment. But now he faces an even greater challenge — mobilizing Catholics and society in general to tackle the man-made threat to the bedrock of our social environment, the family.