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21 Sep 2014 - Twenty-fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle A

Indeed we also work, but we are only collaborating with God who works, for his mercy has gone before us. —Saint Augustine of Hippo The church must be a place of mercy freely given, where everyone can feel welcomed, loved, forgiven, and encouraged to live the good life of the gospel. –Pope Francis

Pope Francis saint augustine

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The inner word

07 Jul 2013 - Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle C

"Rejoice! Exult!” the Book of Isaiah encourages us this week. Millions of Catholic Christians did just that when Pope Francis first emerged onto the balcony of Saint Peter’s Basilica, largely because of his warm, genuine, and humble demeanor, his choice of a papal name (see “Questions Catholics Ask: What’s in a papal name?” in this issue of Prepare the Word), his prayerfulness, and perhaps most of all the hope he inspires. Joy has a lot to do with hope. What makes you joyful and hopeful?

Pope Francis joy

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Homily stories

03 Nov 2013 - Thirty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle C

POPE FRANCIS, in his interview with Jesuit Father Antonio Spadaro for America magazine in October 2013, is asked “Who is Jorge Mario Bergoglio?”, and his answer after much thought is: “I am a sinner who the Lord has looked upon. . . . “My motto, Miserando atque eligendo [By having mercy and by choosing him], is very true for me. “The motto is taken from the homilies of Bede the Venerable, who writes in his comments on the gospel story of the calling of Matthew: ‘Jesus saw a publican, and he looked at him with feelings of love and chose him.’ . . .” Francis goes on to explain: “I do not know Rome well. I know a few things. . . . I know St. Mary Major, St. Peter’s . . . but when I had to come to Rome, I always stayed in [the neighborhood of] Via della Scrofa. From there I often visited the Church of St. Louis of France, and I went there to contemplate the painting of ‘The Calling of St. Matthew,’ by Caravaggio. . . . “That finger of Jesus, pointing at Matthew. . . . It is the gesture of Matthew that strikes me: he holds on to his money as if to say, ‘No, not me! No, this money is mine.’ Here, this is me, a sinner on whom the Lord has turned his gaze. And this is what I said when they asked me if I would accept my election as pontiff: ‘I am a sinner, but I trust in the infinite mercy and patience of our Lord Jesus Christ, and I accept in a spirit of penance.’ ”

Authors Patrice J. Tuohy

Pope Francis sinners

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The smoke clears and "Habemus papam Franciscum"

17 Mar 2013 - Preaching the News for Sunday

“See, I am doing something new!” says the Lord in this Sunday’s reading from the Book of Isaiah: “In the desert I make a way, in the wasteland, rivers,” he says as he leads the people of God to new beginnings. In a choice remarkable for its number of precedents signaling a new beginning for an ancient church, the 115 Roman Catholic cardinals taking part in the papal conclave chose Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Argentina to lead the church. Bergoglio becomes the first pope from the Americas, the first Jesuit elected pope, and the first pontiff to select the name "Francis."Bergoglio is a surprise choice as he was not among the small group of frontrunners identified before the election. At 76 he also upended one of the main assumptions before the election, that the new pope would be relatively young. He is the oldest of most of the possible candidates and was barely mentioned in feverish speculation about the top contenders before the conclave.Pope Francis appeared on the central balcony of St. Peter's Basilica just over an hour after white smoke poured from a chimney on the roof of the Sistine Chapel Wednesday evening to signal a new pope had been elected to lead the church of some 1.2 billion Roman Catholics in the world.As the people of God were able to traverse a wasteland with God’s guidance in the first reading, it is hoped that the new pope, the 266th pontiff in Catholicism's 2,000-year history, can lead the church at a time of great crisis and difficulty. He inherits a church wrestling with an array of challenges that intensified during the time of his predecessor, Benedict XVI—from growing competition with evangelical churches in the Southern Hemisphere, secularism and religious indifference in developed countries, and the ongoing scandal of the sexual abuse crisis that has undermined the church’s moral authority worldwide to difficulties governing what many see as a dysfunctional and divided Vatican bureaucracy.A profile began to emerge of Bergoglio as a social conservative but also a simple, pastoral figure, one who eschewed limousines and took public transportation in Buenos Aires to mingle with his flock, flew economy class, lived in a simple apartment, and did his own cooking. Add in the unprecedented choice of Francis as a name—with its unavoidable echoes of the great reformer and disciple of radical simplicity Saint Francis of Assisi—could indeed mark a shift in tone for a Vatican hierarchy often criticized as being aloof and out of touch.In choosing the former Archbishop of Buenos Aires as the first non-European pope in 1,000 years the cardinals sent a powerful message that the future of the church lies in the global South, home to the fastest-growing portion of the world’s Catholic population.In one of his very first gestures as pope, before he offered his blessing to the people, he asked the multitude gathered in St. Peter’s Square to pray for him and call on God to bless his ministry and then bowed in a moment of silent prayer which enveloped the crowded square, a move that many present and looking on worldwide found moving and powerfully symbolic.Minutes after Jorge Mario Bergoglio gave his first address as Pope Francis, the Vatican sent a Tweet from the papal Twitter account: "HABEMUS PAPAM FRANCISCUM."Homily hint: The early reaction to Pope Francis has been extremely positive, as word has emerged of his humble, unassuming lifestyle and his desire to connect with warmth and sincerity. The fact that Archbishop Bergoglio was not on most “Vaticanists” short list of contenders proves once again that the Spirit moves in mysterious ways and that God is, indeed, doing something new. Sources: Articles by Philip Pullella and Barry Moodyfor Reuters and Rachel Donado for the New York Times

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Pope Francis sets refreshing tone of humility and service

24 Mar 2013 - Preaching the News for Sunday

This Palm Sunday the church marks a momentous event in Jesus’ ministry: his humble yet memorable entrance into Jerusalem as a multitude waits to greet him. This past Tuesday leaders from around the world and some 200,000 well-wishers crowded St. Peter’s Square in Rome to witness Pope Francis’ memorable yet humble entrance into the Petrine ministry. Francis called on the church to defend the poor and the weak and protect the environment.The Mass formally installing Francis as head of the world's 1.2 billion Roman Catholics was much simpler and an hour shorter than the baroque splendor of his predecessor Benedict's inauguration in 2005, Vatican observers noted. Every detail down to the plainer vestments seemed designed to deemphasize a regal style that some say came to characterize the papacy of Benedict XVI.In his homily, delivered on the steps of the giant St. Peter's Basilica, Francis, 76, said the church's mission is one of respect and service, “. . . respecting each of God's creatures and respecting the environment in which we live. It means protecting people, showing loving concern for each and every person, especially children, the elderly, those in need, who are often the last we think about.”In another of the various signs that Francis intends to maintain a simpler lifestyle than previous popes, he is still staying at the Vatican hotel where he lived during the conclave. He has not moved into a large suite reserved for him, and a spokesman said it is not clear when he will move into the Apostolic Palace.Before the Mass the pope toured St. Peter's Square in an open white jeep, abandoning the bullet-proof Popemobile often used by Benedict and John Paul II. He stopped frequently to greet those in the huge, flag-waving crowd, kissing babies and getting out to bless a disabled man."I am among you as the one who serves,” Jesus reminds his disciples at their final meal together as recounted in the Palm Sunday Mass gospel. On Tuesday Argentinean Cardinal Leonardo Sandri said of Francis, “For me this is a call to humility and service to others that will mark his papacy ... This is a new breeze of fresh air that is blowing through the church and the name of that breeze is 'Francis.' ”Homily hint: It’s more than a bit premature to judge a papacy by its first week, but early signals do suggest Pope Francis intends to set a markedly different tone for his papacy, emphasizing not only service to the poor and humility for those in high offices but also the importance of the prayers of the entire church for the success of its mission. Ask how your faith community would like to respond to the pope’s request for supportive prayers. Source: An article by Philip Pullella, Catherine Hornby, and Tom Heneghan for Reuters

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Pope Francis encourages disaffected Catholics to return

14 Apr 2013 - Preaching the News for Sunday

As he serves the apostles an early morning lakeside breakfast over a charcoal fire in this Sunday’s gospel, the risen Lord calls on Saint Peter to “feed my lambs,” and “tend my sheep.” Continuing the Petrine ministry today, Pope Francis was formally installed as bishop of Rome on Sunday and encouraged disaffected Catholics to return to the fold. “God's patience has to call forth in us the courage to return to him, however many mistakes and sins there may be in our life,” he said, speaking in Italian.Francis celebrated a Mass before thousands of people in Rome's Basilica of St. John Lateran to formally take possession of the cathedral in his capacity as bishop of the Italian capital, his other major role along with the papacy. Francis, the former archbishop of Buenos Aires, has indicated that he intends to embrace his role as Rome's bishop as well as leader of the 1.2-billion-member Roman Catholic Church. Since his election on March 13, he has referred to himself more often as "bishop" than "pope" and is expected to visit many of Rome's parishes, a practice he maintained in Buenos Aires.Francis urged disaffected Catholics to let God back into their lives. “We hear many offers from the world around us; but let us take up God's offer instead: His is a caress of love. For God, we are not numbers, we are important, indeed we are the most important thing to him; even if we are sinners, we are what is closest to his heart," he said.A 2009 report by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life estimated one in 10 adults in the U.S. was raised Catholic but stopped identifying with the church or practicing the Catholic faith. But that may be changing with the election of Francis. Tom Peterson, president of Catholics Come Home, which airs ads aimed at the disaffected, said his website traffic tripled the day of the election, adding several thousand visitors. It's been high ever since. Some interest could stem from the hubbub surrounding the selection of any pontiff, but Peterson thinks Francis' "love for the poor and his humility is exciting people to a great extent." Homily hint: Known for his lively wit and writing style, Father James Martin, S.J. of America magazine, an open admirer of his fellow Jesuit Pope Francis, has started a movement to popularize a new shorthand: WWPFD—“What Would Pope Francis Do?” Parishioners may enjoy Martin’s Twitter post: "Our washer flooded and I spent an hour mopping, annoyed. Then I thought: I'll bet Pope Francis wouldn't get annoyed. And felt better. #WWPFD." Sources: Philip Pullella for Reuters and Tracy Connors for NBC News

Pope Francis bishop of rome disaffected catholics tom peterson

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Your mission, should you choose to accept it

28 Apr 2013 - Preaching the News for Sunday

As this Sunday’s reading from the Acts of the Apostles demonstrates, Paul and Barnabas were the quintessential evangelizing missionaries, logging thousands of rugged miles in their tireless effort to bring the good news to new lands and peoples. Pope Francis wants the same missionary spirit to permeate the church today. “Mission” he notes, “is key to ministry.“A church that does not go out of itself, sooner or later, sickens from the stale air of closed rooms,” he said in a letter to his fellow Argentinean bishops gathering in the city of Pilar for an assembly he would have led had he not been chosen to lead the worldwide church.Pastoral ministry should always be missionary and its ministers must be courageous evangelizers not afraid to go out "into the deep," the outskirts of existence, to bring the "sweet and comforting joy" of faith to people today, the pope said.Pope Francis went on to concede that at times, like anyone else, in going out the church risks running into accidents. But he added “I prefer a thousand times over a church of accidents than a sick church.”Francis said that the church typically suffers from being self-referential, of only looking to and relying on itself. He spoke of a “narcissism that leads to a routine spirituality and convoluted clericalism” and prevents people from experiencing the sweet and comforting joy of evangelization.The pope concluded his letter with a special greeting to the Argentinean people and a fraternal embrace for his fellow bishops, asking them to pray so that “I do not grow proud and always know how to listen to what God wants and not what I want.”Homily hint: Pastors worldwide report positive responses from their congregations to the pope's refreshing candor and warmth. Might the church be experiencing a moment of new opportunity, a time for a renewed sense of mission and outreach within our own communities and, in the spirit of Paul and Barnabas, beyond? Source: An article by Emer McCarthy for Vatican Radio

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No summer Vatican vacation this year

09 Jun 2013 - Preaching the News for Sunday

In the reading from the Letter to the Galatians this Sunday, Saint Paul emphasizes his independence from the other apostles in his singular revelation: “Nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me,” he remarks. Pope Francis has taken yet another opportunity to signal his independence from norms and customs established by his recent predecessors, revealing Thursday he will not spend his summer in the lavish palace in the hilltop town of Castel Gandolfo, host to popes for centuries and a favored retreat of his predecessor Benedict XVI.Benedict liked to spend his summers in Castel Gandolfo and also chose to spend the first few months of his retirement in the complex of hilltop villas boasting lush gardens, a farm, and stunning views.Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi said that Francis would stay in Vatican City over the summer despite the usually stifling heat in Rome. He will remain in the Domus Santa Marta, a modern hotel-style residence where he has lived since his elevation in March, choosing not to move into the spacious and regal papal apartments.Millions of people in recession-hit Italy are likely to make a similar decision this year. Official data last month showed that one in two Italians were unable to afford one week of holiday away from home in 2012.The former Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio of Argentina has set a humble tone for the papacy. He has said he wants the 1.2 billion-member Catholic Church to focus on helping the poor and to become more austere itself. He is due to visit Brazil later in the month for World Youth Day, his first trip abroad as pontiff.Homily hint: Though world leaders, like the rest of us, need a vacation now and then, folks struggling to make ends meet do appreciate when their leaders signal solidarity by making more reserved recreational choices. Our new pope offers an inspiring example of a leader willing not only to talk the talk of solidarity but also to walk the walk. Political and business leaders worldwide would do well to follow his lead. Source: An article by Catherine Hornby for Reuters

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