Pope Francis at the weekly general audience at the Vatican, 12.01.2020

At the General Audience on Wednesday, Pope Francis continues his catechesis on the Beatitudes. This week, he reflects on the second Beatitude: “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted”. Below is the official English-language summary:

Dear Brothers and Sisters: In our continuing catechesis on the Beatitudes, we now turn to the second proclamation: “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted” (Mt 5:4).  Such mourning – described by the desert Fathers with the Greek word “penthos” – is more than mere grief: it is an interior sorrow that can open us to an authentic relationship with the Lord and with each other.  The Bible speaks of two types of such sorrow.  The first is the pain we feel when faced with the suffering or death of our brothers and sisters.  The second involves mourning for sin.  Both are grounded in loving concern for others, but above all in love for God.  Sorrow for sin – as seen in Saint Peter’s tears after his betrayal of Jesus – comes as a gift of the Holy Spirit the Comforter.  Let us continually ask for the grace to grieve for our sins and to be open to the healing grace of the Spirit, so that we can comfort others with the same consolation that we ourselves have received… Read more »

Pope Francis during his Sunday Angelus in St Peter’s Square  (Vatican Media)

In his Angelus address on Sunday, Pope Francis urges Catholics to dispel the darkness lurking in society, and says the Church cannot abandon her mission of evangelisation and service.

Pope Francis reflected on Jesus’ call in the day’s Gospel (Mt 5:13-16) for His disciples to be salt and light.

Jesus’ use of symbolic language, said the Pope, lays out criteria for how the Lord’s disciples are to live their mission in the world… Read more »

Nhar it-Tnejn 10 ta’ Frar, l-Arċisqof jiċċelebra Pontifikal Solenni fil-festa tan-Nawfraġju ta’ Missierna San Pawl, fil-Knisja Arċipretali ta’ San Pawl Nawfragu, il-Belt Valletta. Il-Quddiesa tibda fid-9am. Read more »

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Nhar it-Tlieta 11 ta’ Frar 2020, madwar id-dinja ser jiġi ċċelebrat il-Jum Dinji tal-Morda, li twaqqaf minn San Ġwanni Pawlu II 28 sena ilu. Kull 11 ta’ Frar titfakkar ukoll l-ewwel dehra tal-Madonna f’Lourdes.

Jum il-Morda ser jiġi ċċelebrat b’Quddiesa fis-Santwarju ta’ Santa Tereża, Birkirkara. Il-Quddiesa ser tibda fl-10am u ser titmexxa mill-Isqof Awżiljerju Joseph Galea-Curmi.  Jikkonċelebra Dun Joseph Mizzi, il-kappillan tal-għaqda djoċesana għat-trasport tal-morda f’Lourdes (UMTAL) u s-saċerdoti kollha li jaħdmu fl-isptarijiet u l-homes… Read more »

Pope Francis greets the faithful at the General Audience in the Paul VI Hall  (Vatican Media)

In his catechesis on the first Beatitude — “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” — Pope Francis said: “there is a poverty that we must accept, that of our own being; and a poverty that we must seek instead, the poverty we must see from the things of this world”… Read more »

The joint initiative of the Office of Papal charities and the Missionary Centre of the Chinese Church in Italy has seen hundreds of thousands of masks sent to China. According to a Press Statement by the Holy See Press Office, the masks have been sent to Hubei, Zhejiand and Fujian provinces, which appear to be the areas most affected by this virus.

Health officials believe the virus was initially transmitted from animals to humans, but that human-to-human transmission of the flu-like illness is now occurring… Read more »

150 siġra tħawlu fid-djar ta’ rijabilitazzjoni ta’ Caritas Malta grazzi għal PT Matic Enivironmental Services Ltd u lil Saġġar. Il-moviment Fokolari ħa ħsieb parti mill-ispejjeż, u flimkien mar-residenti li qed isegwu l-programm ta’ rijabilitazzjoni kif ukoll wkoll voluntiera minn Camini…amo, qattgħu ħin flimkien iħawlu siġar indiġeni.

Jeffrey Muscat, Kap tal-Komunità Terapewtika ta’ San Blas, esprima li din hija kontribuzzjoni lejn titjib u tisħiħ tal-ambjent naturali li tant huwa importanti li jitħares… Read more »