Dear brothers and sisters, good morning and welcome!

The Conciliar Constitution Dei Verbum, on which we are reflecting during these weeks, indicates in the Sacred Scripture, read in the living Tradition of the Church, a privileged space for encounter where God continues to speak to the men and women of every time, so that, by listening, they can know him and love him. The biblical texts, however, were not written in a heavenly or superhuman language. Indeed, as daily life teaches us, two people who speak different languages cannot understand each other, cannot enter into dialogue, and are unable to establish a relationship. In some cases, making oneself to others is a first act of love. This is why God chooses to speak using human languages and thus, various authors, inspired by the Holy Spirit, have written the texts of Sacred Scripture. As the Conciliar document reminds us, “the words of God, expressed in human language, have been made like human discourse, just as the word of the eternal Father, when He took to Himself the flesh of human weakness, was in every way made like men” (DV, 13). Therefore, not only in its content, but also in its language, the Scripture reveals God’s merciful condescension towards men, and his desire to be close to them.

Throughout the course of Church history, the relationship between the divine Author and the human authors of the sacred texts has been studied. For several centuries, many theologians were concerned to defend the divine inspiration of the Sacred Scripture, almost considering the human authors merely as passive tools of the Holy Spirit. In more recent times, reflection has re-evaluated the contribution of hagiographers in the writing of sacred texts, to the point that the Conciliar document speaks of God as the principal “author” of Sacred Scripture, but also calls hagiographers “true authors” of the sacred books (cf. DV, 11). As a keen exegete of the last century observed, “to reduce human activity to that of a mere amanuensis is not to glorify divine activity”.[1] God never mortifies human beings and their potential!

If, therefore, the Scripture is the word of God in human words, any approach to it that neglects or denies one of these two dimensions proves to be partial. It follows that a correct interpretation of the sacred texts cannot dispense with the historic environment in which they developed and the literary forms that were used; on the contrary, to renounce the study of the human words that God used risks leading to fundamentalist or spiritualist readings of the Scripture, which betray its meaning. This principle also applies to the proclamation of the Word of God: if it loses touch with reality, with human hopes and sufferings, if an incomprehensible language is used, uncommunicative or anachronistic, it is ineffective. In every age, the Church is called to re-propose the Word of God in a language capable of being embodied in history and reaching hearts. As Pope Francis reminds us, “Whenever we make the effort to return to the source and to recover the original freshness of the Gospel, new avenues arise, new paths of creativity open up, with different forms of expression, more eloquent signs and words with new meaning for today’s world”. [2]

Equally reductive, on the other hand, is a reading of Scripture that neglects its divine origin and ends up understanding it as a mere human teaching, as something to be studied simply from a technical point of view or as a text "only of the past”.[3]  Rather, especially when proclaimed in the context of the liturgy, Scripture is intended to speak to today's believers, to touch their present lives with their problems, to enlighten the steps to be taken and the decisions to be made. This becomes possible only when believers read and interpret the sacred texts under the guidance of the same Spirit who inspired them (cf. DV, 12).

In this regard, the Scripture serves to nurture the life and charity of believers, as Saint Augustine recalls: “Whoever … thinks that he understands the Holy Scriptures … but puts such an interpretation upon them as does not tend to build up this twofold love of God and our neighbour, does not yet understand them as he ought”. [4] The divine origin of the Scripture also recalls that the Gospel, entrusted to the witness of the baptised, despite embracing all the dimensions of life and reality, transcends them: it cannot be reduced to a mere philanthropic or social message, but is the joyful proclamation of the full and eternal life that God has given to us in Jesus.

Dear brothers and sisters, let us thank the Lord because, in his goodness, he ensures our lives do not lack the essential nourishment of his Word, and let us pray that our words, and even more so our lives, do not obscure the love of God that is narrated in them.

I urge everyone to support with prayer our brothers and sisters in Ukraine, who are being severely tested by the consequences of the bombings which have resumed, also striking energy infrastructure. I would like to express my gratitude for the solidarity initiatives promoted by Catholic dioceses in Poland and other countries, which are working to help the people endure this time of extreme cold.

Tomorrow marks the expiry of the New START Treaty signed in 2010 by the Presidents of the United States and the Russian Federation, which represented a significant step in containing the proliferation of nuclear weapons. In renewing my encouragement for every constructive effort in favour of disarmament and mutual trust, I urgently call for this instrument not to be abandoned without seeking to ensure its concrete and effective follow-up. The current situation requires that everything possible be done to avert a new arms race that would further threaten peace among nations. It is more urgent than ever to substitute the logic of fear and distrust with a shared ethos capable of guiding choices towards the common good and to make peace a treasure to be cherished by all.

I greet all the English-speaking pilgrims and visitors taking part in today’s Audience, especially the groups from Ireland, Denmark, Japan, South Korea and the United States of America. I greet in particular the students from the Junshin Junior and Senior High School and the students and faculty from Franciscan University of Steubenville. Upon all of you, and upon your families, I invoke the joy and peace of our Lord Jesus Christ. God bless you!

Finally, my thoughts turn to the young people, the sick, and newlyweds. Tomorrow we will celebrate the memorial of Saint Agatha, martyred in Catania. Agatha means "good." The source of all goodness is God, our supreme good. I hope that each of you may be "good," that is, faithful witnesses to the love of the heavenly Father, who fills us with so many gifts and calls us to share in his own joy. My blessing to all!

04.02.26

Pope Leo General Audience 04.02.26  

Pope Leo Angelus 01.02.26

FAMINE

Pope Francis

Hunger

Hunger is an injustice that destroys men and women because they have nothing to eat, even if there is a lot food available in the world. Human exploitation; different forms of slavery; recently I saw a film shot inside a prison where migrants are locked up and tortured to turn them into slaves. This is still happening 70 years after the Declaration of Human Rights. Cultural colonization. This is exactly what the Devil wants, to destroy human dignity – and that is why the Devil is behind all forms of persecution.

01.06.18

Pope Leo Holy Mass 02.02.26 

Feast of the Presentation of the Lord

Excerpt below, for the full transcript click on the picture link above

Dear brothers and sisters, today, on this Feast of the Presentation of the Lord, the Gospel recounts how Simeon and Anna recognised and proclaimed Jesus as the Messiah in the Temple (cf. Lk 2:22-40). What unfolds before us is a meeting between two movements of love: that of God, who comes to save his people, and that of humanity, which awaits his coming with vigilant faith.

On the part of God, the fact that Jesus is presented as the son of a poor family within the grand setting of Jerusalem shows us how he offers himself to us with full respect for our freedom, fully sharing in our poverty. There is nothing coercive in his actions; there is only the disarming strength of his unarmed generosity. On the other hand, the expectation of humanity — specifically that of the people of Israel — finds full expression in two elderly people: Simeon and Anna. This moment represents the climax of a long history of salvation that stretches from the Garden of Eden to the courtyards of the Temple — a history marked by light and shadow, failure and renewal, yet always driven by a single, vital desire: to restore full communion between the Creator and his creatures. And so, just steps from the “Holy of Holies,” the Fountain of Light offers himself as a lamp to the world, and the Infinite gives himself to the finite in a way so humble that it almost passes unnoticed.

Today we celebrate the 30th World Day of Consecrated Life with this scene in mind, recognising it as an image of the mission of religious men and women in the Church and in the world. As Pope Francis exhorted, “‘Wake up the world,’ since the distinctive sign of consecrated life is prophecy” (Apostolic Letter to all Consecrated People, 21 November 2014, II, 2). Dear brothers and sisters, the Church asks you to be prophets — messengers who announce the presence of the Lord and prepare the way for him. Borrowing expressions from the prophet Malachi, whom we heard in the first reading, you are invited to become, through the generous “emptying” of yourselves for the Lord, braziers for the Refiner’s fire and vessels for the Fuller’s soap (cf. Mal 3:1-3). Through this offering, Christ — the one eternal messenger of the covenant, who remains present among humanity today — can melt and purify hearts with his love, grace and mercy. You are called to this mission above all through the sacrificial offering of your lives, rooted in prayer and in a readiness to be consumed by charity (cf. Dogmatic Constitution on the Church Lumen Gentium, 44).

Your founders and foundresses, docile to the action of the Holy Spirit, offer you wonderful models of how to fulfil this mandate faithfully and effectively.  Living in constant tension between earth and heaven, they allowed themselves to be guided with faith and courage. Setting out from the Eucharistic table, some were led to the silence of the cloister, others to the demands of the apostolate; some to the classrooms of schools, others to the destitution of the streets or the toil of the missions. This same faith moved them to return, time and again, humbly and wisely, to the foot of the Cross and to the Tabernacle, where they offered everything and discovered in God both the source and the goal of all their actions. Through the power of grace, they also embarked on perilous undertakings. They became a prayerful presence in hostile or indifferent environments; a generous hand and a friendly shoulder amid degradation and abandonment; and witnesses of peace and reconciliation in situations marked by violence and hatred. They were ready to bear the consequences of going against the current, becoming, in Christ, a “sign of contradiction” (Lk 2:34), sometimes even to the point of martyrdom.

Pope Benedict XVI wrote that “the interpretation of sacred Scripture would remain incomplete were it not to include listening to those who have truly lived the word of God” (Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation Verbum Domini, 48).  Today, we honour our brothers and sisters who have gone before us as protagonists of this “prophetic tradition, wherein the word of God sets the prophet’s very life at its service” (ibid., 49).  We do so above all by carrying forward their legacy.

Even today, through your profession of the evangelical counsels and the many works of charity you carry out, you are called to bear witness to God’s saving presence in history for all peoples (cf. Lk 2:30-31), even within a society in which false and reductive understandings of the human person increasingly widen the gap between faith and life. You are called to testify that the young, the elderly, the poor, the sick and the imprisoned hold a sacred place above all else on God’s altar and in his heart. At the same time, each of them is an inviolable sanctuary of God’s presence, before whom we must bend our knee, in order to encounter him, adore him and give him glory.

Evidence of this can be seen in the many “outposts of the Gospel” that your communities have established in a wide variety of challenging contexts, even in the midst of conflict. These communities do not abandon their people, nor do they flee; they remain, often stripped of all security, as a living reminder — more eloquent than words — of the inviolable sacredness of life in its most vulnerable conditions. Even where weapons roar and arrogance, self-interest and violence seem to prevail, their presence proclaims the words of Jesus: “Take care that you do not despise one of these little ones, for... in heaven their angels continually see the face of my Father” (Mt 18:10).

In this light, I would like to reflect on the prayer of the elderly Simeon, which we recite every day: “Now, Lord, you let your servant go in peace; your word has been fulfilled: my own eyes have seen your salvation” (Lk 2:29-30).  Consecrated life, in its serene detachment from all that is passing, reveals the inseparable bond between authentic care for earthly realities and a hope filled with love for what is eternal — those goods already chosen in this life as the final and definitive end, and thus capable of giving meaning to all else. Simeon recognised salvation in Jesus and stood free before both life and death. As a “righteous and devout” (Lk 2:25) man, together with Anna, who “never left the temple” (v. 37), he kept his gaze fixed on the promise of the world to come.

The Second Vatican Council reminds us that “the Church... will receive its perfection only in the glory of heaven... At that time, together with the human race, the universe itself... will be perfectly established in Christ” (Lumen Gentium, 48).  

02.02.26

Pope Francis Message for the 58th World Day of Peace 01.01.25

How do we receive the Word of God? The response is clear: As one receives Jesus Christ. The Church tells us that Jesus is present in the Scripture, in His Word.

Always carry a small Gospel with you in your purse, in your pocket, and read a passage from the Gospel during the day. Not so much to learn something, but mostly to find Jesus, because Jesus actually is in His Word, in His Gospel.  Every time I read the Gospel, I find Jesus.  - Pope Francis 01.09.14

Daily Readings - read the entire New Testament over a 2 year period (reading plan courtesy of Gideon International)

The Bible Online

Thank you, Francis

Every month, you have invited us to pray with you for the challenges of humanity and the mission of the Church, teaching us to learn compassion for others from the heart of Christ. Thank you, Francis, for your life and your witness.

Your Worldwide Prayer Network.

Pope Francis Easter Message and Urbi et Orbi Blessing   20.04.25

Easter Sunday

for the full transcript click on the picture link above

Pope Francis

Care for Our Common Home - Laudato Si'

Pope Francis 

Refugees and Migrants

Pope Francis

 Marriage

Pope Francis - The ‘foreverness’ and beauty of Love 

Pope Francis - The Family in the Light of the Word of God

Pope Francis 

Fraternity

Pope Francis

Compassion

Pope Francis

Happiness

Pope Leo Holy Mass 11.01.26 

Feast of the Baptism of the Lord