(Vatican Radio) In the first monthly Jubilee audience during this Year of Mercy, the Holy Father on Saturday spoke about the close relationship between mercy and mission. Recalling the words of Saint John Paul II, the Pope said that his predecessor “reminded us that the Church lives an authentic life when she professes and proclaims mercy, and leads people to the source of mercy.”Listen to Lydia O'Kane's report As Christians, Pope Francis said, “we are called to be missionaries of the Gospel.”He went on to say that just as we naturally seek to share with others the beautiful moments of our lives, we are called also and especially to share the joy of encountering Jesus Christ.The Pope explained to those gathered in St Peter’s Square that to encounter Jesus was to experience his love, which transforms us and compels us, in turn, to share this love. The Holy Father stressed that every Christian was the “bearer of Christ&rdqu...
(Vatican Radio) In the first monthly Jubilee audience during this Year of Mercy, the Holy Father on Saturday spoke about the close relationship between mercy and mission.
Recalling the words of Saint John Paul II, the Pope said that his predecessor “reminded us that the Church lives an authentic life when she professes and proclaims mercy, and leads people to the source of mercy.”
Listen to Lydia O'Kane's report
As Christians, Pope Francis said, “we are called to be missionaries of the Gospel.”
He went on to say that just as we naturally seek to share with others the beautiful moments of our lives, we are called also and especially to share the joy of encountering Jesus Christ.
The Pope explained to those gathered in St Peter’s Square that to encounter Jesus was to experience his love, which transforms us and compels us, in turn, to share this love.
The Holy Father stressed that every Christian was the “bearer of Christ” and said that the mercy we receive from the Father is not given solely for our benefit, but for the good of all, by transforming us into instruments, missionaries of mercy.
The mercy that we receive from the Father, the Pope noted, was given to us as a private consolation, but it also makes us tools so that others can receive the same gift.
“Let us never tire of feeling the need of His forgiveness”, Pope Francis said, “because when we are weak, his proximity makes us strong and enables us to live with greater joy our faith.”
Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee speaks during the signing of the ELVIS Act to Protect Voice & Likeness in Age of AI event at Robert's Western World on March 21, 2024, in Nashville, Tennessee. / Credit: Jason Kempin/Getty Images for Human Artistry CampaignWashington, D.C. Newsroom, Apr 18, 2024 / 14:15 pm (CNA).The first English-language translation of the Bible in the United States will become an "official state book" in Tennessee on July 1.Gov. Bill Lee, a Republican, signed a bill on Tuesday that names the Aitken Bible and nine other texts as official state books in the Tennessee Blue Book (an official manual on the state government). This is the first time Tennessee has formally recognized any official state books.The Bible translation was published by Philadelphia printer Robert Aitken in 1782 and received an official endorsement from Congress. The American Revolution, which began in 1776, halted trade with Great Britain and cut off the supply of Bibles, which prompte...
Cardinal Wilton Gregory speaks at an interview in Rome on April 11, 2024. / Credit: "EWTN News Nightly" screen shotRome Newsroom, Apr 18, 2024 / 15:00 pm (CNA).As the Catholic Church's first African American cardinal was honored at a U.S. seminary in Rome, he recalled the legacy of faith and perseverance of Black Catholics in America, including at a time when they were not accepted by U.S. seminaries. Cardinal Wilton Gregory, the archbishop of Washington, received this year's Rector's Award at an April 11 banquet at the Pontifical North American College, where seminarians from across 99 dioceses in the U.S. live while studying for the priesthood in Rome.In an interview with CNA before the award ceremony, Gregory pointed out that in the 19th century, African Americans who had a vocation to the priesthood were sent to study in Rome and then to serve as missionaries in Africa because at the time they were not allowed to enter U.S. seminaries."Being in Rome reminds me also tha...
Chaldean Patriarch Cardinal Louis Raphael Sako presides over the dedication ceremony of the altar of the Church of Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Mosul, Iraq. April 5, 2024. / Credit: Fadi Dinkha/ACI MenaCNA Newsroom, Apr 18, 2024 / 06:00 am (CNA).When the altar of Our Lady of Perpetual Help Chaldean Catholic Church was consecrated earlier this month in Mosul, Iraq, a former parishioner now living in the United States said she was moved to tears."My eyes were filled with tears as I watched my church and my school return to the beautiful picture engraved in my memory," said Georgena Habbaba, who used to attend the parish and study at the parish school with her brothers. Her own children studied there, too, before the family had to flee Mosul amid worsening violence in 2007. (Note: Habbaba also writes for ACI Mena, CNA's Arabic-language news partner.)"I remembered the wonderful days I spent studying at this school and praying in this church. Very close to my family's house," she t...
