Pope Francis I-Angelus

First and foremost, the Acts of the Apostles tell us that Stephen was one of the seven deacons that the community of Jerusalem had consecrated for table service, that is, for charity (cf. Acts 6:1-6). This means that his first witness was not given in words, but through the love with which he served those most in need. But Stephen did not limit himself to this work of assistance. He spoke of Jesus to those he met: he shared faith in the light of the Word of God and the teaching of the Apostles (cf. Acts 7:1-53, 56). This is the second dimension of his witness: welcoming the Word and communicating its beauty, telling how the encounter with Jesus changes life. This was so important for Stephen that he did not let himself be intimidated even by the threats of his persecutors, even when he saw that things were going badly for him (cf. Acts 7:54). Charity and proclamation, this was Stephen. However, his greatest testimony is yet another: that he knew how to unite charity and proclamation. He left it to us at the point of his death when, following the example of Jesus, he forgave his killers (cf. Acts 7:60; Luke 23: 34).

Pope Francis I (Angelus, 26 December 2022)

4^th Sunday of Advent, Year A

Angelus, 18 December 2022

Video (American Sign Language). Text.

Extracts: See “Mass Readings, Past Homilies and Angelus”.

3rd Sunday of Advent, Year A

Angelus, 11 December 2022

Video (American Sign Language). Text.

Extracts: See “Mass Readings, Past Homilies and Angelus”.

Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Angelus, 8 December 2022

Video (American Sign Language). Text.

Extracts:

What is it, this original grace? It is what we received on the day of our Baptism… this grace received on the day of Baptism…because that day is the day of the great grace, of a new life beginning, of an original grace that we have. God descended into our lives that day, and we became his beloved children forever. This is our original beauty, for which to be joyful! Today, Mary, surprised by the grace that made her beautiful from the first instant of her life, leads us to marvel at our beauty. We can grasp this through the image of the white Baptismal garment; it reminds us that, beyond the evil we have stained ourselves with over the years, there is a good in us greater than all the evils that have befallen. Let us listen to the echo, let us hear God saying to us: “Son, daughter, I love you and I am with you always, you are important to me, your life is precious”. That is God’s message to us. When things do not go well and we are discouraged, when we are downcast and risk feeling useless or wrong, let us think about this, about this original grace. And God is with us, God is with me from that day. Let us think about it again.

Today the Word of God teaches us another important thing: that to safeguard our beauty demands a cost, it demands a struggle. Indeed, the Gospel shows us the courage of Mary who said “Yes” to God, who chose the risk of God; and the passage from Genesis, on original sin, speaks to us of a battle against the tempter and his temptations (cf. Genesis 3:15). But we know this from experience too, all of us: it takes effort to choose good, it costs us; it takes effort to safeguard the good that is in us. Think of how many times we have squandered it by giving in to the lure of evil, being crafty for our own interests or doing something that would defile our hearts; or even wasting time in useless or harmful things, putting off prayer, for example, and saying “Today I can’t”, or saying “I can’t” to those who have needed us, when instead we could have.

But today, faced with all this, we have good news: Mary, the only human being in history without sin, is with us in the battle, she is our sister and, above all, our Mother. And we, who struggle to choose good, can entrust ourselves to her. By entrusting ourselves, consecrating ourselves to Mary, we say to her: “Take me by the hand, Mother, guide me: with you I will have more strength in the battle against evil; with you I will rediscover my original beauty”. Let us entrust ourselves to Mary today, let us entrust ourselves to Mary every day, repeating to her: “Mary, I entrust my life to you, I entrust my family, my work, I entrust my heart and my struggles. I consecrate myself to you”. May Mary Immaculate help us to safeguard our beauty from evil.

Pope Francis I (Angelus, 8 December 2022)

2^nd Sunday of Advent, Year A

Angelus, 4 December 2022

Angelus Video, Video (American Sign Language), Text.

Extracts: See “Mass Readings, Past Homilies and Angelus”.

1^st Sunday of Advent, Year A

Angelus, 27 November 2022

Angelus Video, Video (American Sign Language), Text.

Extracts: See “Mass Readings, Past Homilies and Angelus”.

SOLEMNITY OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST, KING OF THE UNIVERSE

Angelus, 20 November 2022

Angelus Video (English + American Sign Language), Text.