(Vatican Radio) At his General Audience on Wednesday, which was held in the Paul VI Hall at the Vatican, Pope Francis spoke about mercy as the instrument of communion.Listen to Christopher Wells' report: Reflecting on the miracle of the multiplication of the loaves and fishes, taken from the Gospel of St Matthew, the Holy Father focused on Jesus’ compassion for the people who follow after Him. “His compassion is not a vague sentiment,” the Pope said. Jesus “loves us so much, and wants to be close to us.”Jesus’ concern for the crowd is the impetus for the miracle of the loaves and fishes. Jesus, though, does not act alone, but wishes to involve His disciples in the miracle. “He shows them that the few loaves and fishes they have, with the power of faith and of prayer, can be shared by all the people,” the Pope said. “It is a miracle that He does, but it is the miracle of faith, of prayer with compassion and love.&rdquo...
(Vatican Radio) At his General Audience on Wednesday, which was held in the Paul VI Hall at the Vatican, Pope Francis spoke about mercy as the instrument of communion.
Listen to Christopher Wells' report:
Reflecting on the miracle of the multiplication of the loaves and fishes, taken from the Gospel of St Matthew, the Holy Father focused on Jesus’ compassion for the people who follow after Him. “His compassion is not a vague sentiment,” the Pope said. Jesus “loves us so much, and wants to be close to us.”
Jesus’ concern for the crowd is the impetus for the miracle of the loaves and fishes. Jesus, though, does not act alone, but wishes to involve His disciples in the miracle. “He shows them that the few loaves and fishes they have, with the power of faith and of prayer, can be shared by all the people,” the Pope said. “It is a miracle that He does, but it is the miracle of faith, of prayer with compassion and love.”
Pope Francis noted that Jesus’ actions in performing the miracle — lifting His eyes to heaven, saying the blessing, breaking the bread, and giving it — are the same actions He performs at the Last Supper — and the same signs performed by every priest when he offers the Sacrifice of the Mass. “The Christian community is born and reborn continually by this Eucharistic communion,” the Pope said. Our communion with Christ, he continued, impels us to go out to the men and women of our day, “to offer them the concrete sign of the mercy” of Christ. In this way, all believers are made “servants of mercy.”
Concluding his catechesis, the Holy Father asked us all to pray that the Lord “might always make His Church capable of this holy service,” and might help each of us “to be instruments of communion” in our own relationships, “visible signs of the mercy of God.”
The Augustine Institute's new facilities in Florissant, Missouri. / Credit: Boeing Company and Augustine InstituteCNA Staff, Apr 23, 2024 / 13:30 pm (CNA).The Augustine Institute, a Catholic educational and evangelization apostolate based in Denver for nearly two decades, announced on Tuesday that it will be moving its operations to a new campus in the Archdiocese of St. Louis. The institute, founded in 2005 as a Catholic graduate theology school, currently has an enrollment of 550 students. It says on its website that it exists to serve "the formation of Catholics for the new evangelization" by "equip[ping] Catholics intellectually, spiritually, and pastorally to renew the Church and transform the world for Christ."The organization announced on Tuesday that it had purchased the former Boeing Leadership Center in Florissant, Missouri, just outside of downtown St. Louis. The school will "begin transitioning its operations over the next few years," it said in ...
Over a year after the earthquake that hit Syria and Turkey in February 2023, restoration of Aleppo's Church of St. George has been completed. / Credit: Abdul Kareem DanielAleppo, Syria, Apr 23, 2024 / 14:15 pm (CNA).This year's feast of St. George was a particularly joyful one in the Syrian city of Aleppo, especially for the Melkite Greek Catholic community. The church is reopening its doors after undergoing restoration due to damage from a February 2023 earthquake. Additionally, Archbishop George Masri of the Melkite Archdiocese of Aleppo and its environs will celebrate his golden jubilee.The celebrations took place during the visit of Patriarch Joseph Absi, the current patriarch of the Melkite Greek Catholic Church, who presided over the Divine Liturgy in the restored church on the evening of April 23. The evening before, there was a procession along Holy Bible Street followed by vespers.Restoration of the Church of St. George in Aleppo after the February 2023 earthquake...
Archbishop Luis Argüello and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez. / Credit: Archdiocese of Valladolid; La MoncloaACI Prensa Staff, Apr 23, 2024 / 15:00 pm (CNA).The Spanish government approved today in the Council of Ministers a plan to implement recommendations made in a report on sexual abuse within the Catholic Church. While recognizing some good points in the plan, the Spanish Bishops' Conference (known by its Spanish acronym CEE) issued a statement strongly objecting to what it called unfair treatment and discrimination against the Church by the government.Before giving details of the government's plan, the minister of the Presidency, Justice, and Relations with the Legislature, Félix Bolaños, extrapolating data from a survey commissioned by the People's Ombudsman, estimated that in Spain there are about 440,000 adults who were victims of sexual abuse as minors, representing 1.13% of the adult population in Spain."Around half of these abuses would have been committed...