News from the Church in Malta
Pope Francis on Friday morning travelled to Rome’s Gemelli Catholic University Hospital to celebrate Holy Mass marking the 60th anniversary of the foundation of its Faculty of Medicine and Surgery, named for the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
The hospital, and its University campus, dedicated to the memory and vision of Father Agostino Gemelli, is one of the most important and internationally acclaimed care providers in Italy… Read more »
Dear brothers and sisters, good morning!
In the passage from the Letter to the Galatians we have just heard, Saint Paul exhorts Christians to walk according to the Holy Spirit (cf. 5:16, 25), that is a style: to walk according to the Holy Spirit. In effect, to believe in Jesus means to follow him, to go behind him along his way, just as the first disciples did… Read more »
Dear brothers and sisters, buongiorno!
Today we celebrate All Saints, and in the Liturgy the “programmatic” message of Jesus resounds: namely, the Beatitudes (cf. Mt 5:1-12a). They show us the path that leads to the Kingdom of God and to happiness: the path of humility, compassion, meekness, justice and peace. To be a saint is to walk on this road… Read more »
Dear brothers and sisters, buongiorno!
In today’s liturgy, the Gospel presents a scribe who approaches Jesus and asks him: “Which commandment is the first of all?” (Mk 12:28). Jesus responds by citing Scripture and confirms that the first commandment is to love God; from this one then derives the second, as a natural consequence: to love one’s neighbour as oneself (cf… Read more »
Dear brothers and sisters, good morning!
Saint Paul’s preaching is completely centred on Jesus and his Paschal Mystery. In fact, the Apostle presents himself as a witness of Christ, and Christ crucified (cfr. 1 Cor 2:2). He reminds the Galatians, tempted to base their religiosity on the observance of precepts and traditions, that the centre of salvation and faith is the death and resurrection of the Lord… Read more »
Dear brothers and sisters, buongiorno!
The Gospel of today’s Liturgy tells of Jesus who, when leaving Jericho, restores the sight of Bartimaeus, a blind man begging by the roadside (cf. Mk 10:46-52). It is an important encounter, the last one before the Lord’s entry into Jerusalem for the Passover. Bartimaeus had lost his sight, but not his voice! … Read more »
Dear brothers and sisters, good morning!
In these days we are talking about the freedom of faith, listening to the Letter to the Galatians. But I was reminded of what Jesus was saying about the spontaneity and freedom of children, when this child had the freedom to approach and move as if he were at home… And Jesus tells us: “You too, if you do not behave like children, you will not enter the Kingdom of Heaven”… Read more »
Dear brothers and sisters, good morning!
The Gospel of today’s Liturgy ( Mk10: 35-45) tells that two disciples, James and John, ask the Lord to sit next to him one day in glory, as if they were “prime ministers”, something like that. But the other disciples hear them and are indignant. At this point Jesus, with patience, offers them a great teaching: true glory is not obtained by rising above others, but by living the same baptism that he will soon receive in Jerusalem, that is, the cross. What does this mean? The word “baptism” means “immersion”: with his Passion, Jesus immersed himself in death, offering his life to save us. His glory, the glory of God, is therefore love that becomes service, not power that aspires to domination. Not power that aspires to domination, no! It is love that becomes service. Therefore Jesus concludes by saying to his own and also to us:Mk 10.43). To become great, you will have to go on the path of service, to serve others… Read more »
Dear brothers and sisters, buongiorno!
Today’s Liturgy offers us the encounter between Jesus and a man who “had great possessions” (Mk 10:22), and who went down in history as “the rich young man” (cf. Mt 19:20-22). We do not know his name. The Gospel of Mark actually speaks of him as “a man”, without mentioning his age or name, suggesting that we can all see ourselves in this man, as though in a mirror… Read more »
Pope Francis formally opened the Synod of Bishops on Sunday with a solemn Mass in St Peter’s Basilica.
Faithful from around the world – including laymen and -women, priests, seminarians, women and men religious, cardinals and bishops – took part in the liturgy, which marked the beginning of a two-year synodal process.
In his homily, Pope Francis took the day’s Gospel reading, recounting Jesus’ encounter with a rich young man, as the starting point for a reflection on synodality: “Celebrating a Synod,” he said, “means walking on the same road, together.”
Following the example of Jesus, he emphasized three verbs that characterize the Synod: encounter, listen, and discern… Read more »
