“We never tire of repeating that the name of God cannot be used to justify violence. Peace alone, and not war, is holy!” the pope said Sept. 20 at the closing ceremony of an interreligious peace gathering in Assisi to mark the 30th anniversary of St. John Paul II’s Assisi interfaith peace gathering in 1986.
POPE FRANCIS ADDRESSED the question of why he called for a Jubilee Year of Mercy in his homily for First Vespers for Divine Mercy Sunday:
Continuing his Year of Mercy practice of going one Friday a month to visit people facing special struggles, Pope Francis paid a surprise visit to a community helping 20 young women get their lives back together after being rescued from prostitution.
In today’s Gospel, Jesus is tested by a person knowledgeable in the law when He is asked: “What must he do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus responds by testing the scholar – and all who hear this passage – with the parable of the Good Samaritan.
Young people from St. Bartholomew Church, Elmhurst, spent a weekend retreat focused on being Christ to others in preparation for this year’s World Youth Day in Poland. The young adults – who are part of the 400 pilgrims from the Diocese of Brooklyn going to World Youth Day (WYD) in Krakow July 26-31 – are preparing their hearts through service and prayer.
Dear Editor: During this Year of Mercy, I notice that some writers on the subject refer to people who question the role of the Church’s moral laws in the granting of mercy as: disturbed, sad, angry, and similar references. I do not agree with the descriptions.
The Lord’s gift to us is His peace. It is part and parcel of the very nature of God as the Divine Mercy. This weekend, we celebrate Divine Mercy Sunday as we conclude the Easter Octave. Mercy has become quite the catchphrase in this Jubilee Year of Mercy. What is mercy? Mercy is the ability […]
One image of mercy that the pope offers is the wives and mothers who line up in front of the jails on Saturdays and Sundays bringing food and presents to their husbands and sons.
Second in a series: A theme that Pope Francis seems to return to frequently is that God is faithful. We can rely on God’s love and commitment. God will never abandon us or forget us. We can rely on God’s fidelity and love.
First in a series: I have the feeling that everything I have written in several columns about Pope Francis has been summed up in the new book by Pope Francis: “The Name of God Is Mercy: A Conversation with Andrea Tornielli” (New York: Random House. Translated from the Italian by Oonagh Stransky, 2016, pp.176).
