"One of the scribes came near and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well, he asked him, ‘Which commandment is the first of all?’ Jesus answered, ‘The first is, "Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one; you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength." The second is this, "You shall love your neighbour as yourself." There is no other commandment greater than these.’ Then the scribe said to him, ‘You are right, Teacher; you have truly said that "he is one, and besides him there is no other"; and "to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the strength", and "to love one’s neighbour as oneself", this is much more important than all whole burnt-offerings and sacrifices.’ When Jesus saw that he answered wisely, he said to him, ‘You are not far from the kingdom of God.’ After that no one dared to ask him any question." Jn 12: 28-34
Saint of the Day
Saint Theodosia of Tyre
Martyr
She was a native of Tyre. Having been educated in the Christian faith, she had, by vow, consecrated her virginity to God. She was not eighteen years of age when, in 308, being at Cæsarea, and beholding there the cruelties exercised by the barbarous governor upon the servants of God, her zeal prompted her to address the confessors who stood bound in the square before the governor’s court to be interrogated. She congratulated them on their happiness, and besought them to remember her in their prayers when they should be with God, and earnestly exhorted them to patience and perseverance.
APPEAL: There Is No Future Without Our Elderly; No to a Selective Healthcare System
May 28, 2020. The Community of Sant’Egidio Launches Appeal Saying Resignation to Sacrifice Elderly, As Has Been Happening During Covid Crisis, “Is Humanly & Juridically Unacceptable’.
There is no future without the elderly… No to a selective healthcare system.
Pope Recognizes Miracle Attributed to the Intercession of Charles de Foucauld
May 28, 2020. A Workman’s Inexplicable Survival after a Fall.
The Vatican has recognized a second miracle attributed to the intercession of Blessed Francis Charles de Foucauld (Charles of Jesus) ((1858-1916), diocesan priest, thus opening the way to his canonization.
Pope Francis Advances 12 Men and Women Toward Sainthood
May 27, 2020. Presented by Congregation for the Causes of the Saints.
Pope Francis on Wednesday advanced the causes for the canonization of twelve holy men and women, authorizing the publication of decrees recognizing various miracles, as well as the martyrdom of an Italian missionary in El Salvador and a group of Cistercian monks in Italy, reported Vatican News.
Pope at General Audience: Ahead of Pentecost, Let Lives Be Warmed & Illuminated by Holy Spirit God Poured Into Our Hearts
May 27, 2020. Says Having a Hope-filled Gaze Toward God Brings New Life Amid Hatred.
Ahead of Pentecost, let the Spirit of God which He has poured into our hearts, warm and illuminate our lives…
For 1st Time in Months, Pope Francis to Recite Pentecost Regina Caeli With Faithful in the Square Socially Distant
May 27, 2020. Authorities Present Will Be Ensuring Individuals Follow Personal Distancing Rules.
Pope Francis, this Pentecost Sunday, will recite (from his usual window of the Apostolic Palace) the Regina Caeli with the faithful present in Saint Peter’s Square.
Pentecost Sunday to Be Celebrated Without Faithful in St. Peter’s Basilica
May 27, 2020. Will However Resume Reciting Regina Caeli with (Socially Distant) Faithful at Noon.
Amid the pandemic of coronavirus worldwide, Pope Francis will celebrate Pentecost Sunday Mass without faithful inside St. Peter’s Basilica.
Pope Francis to Lead Rosary in Vatican Gardens to Invoke Mary’s ‘Aid in Pandemic’ & ‘Entrust All Humanity to the Lord’
May 26, 2020. Largest Shrines of Five Continents Will Join the Prayer on May 30.
Pope Francis will lead a rosary “to invoke the aid and help of the Virgin Mary in the pandemic, and to entrust the whole of humanity to the Lord,” at the Lourdes Grotto in the Vatican Gardens, on May 30, as the month of Mary draws to its close.
Day for Life 2020 in England and Wales Receives Apostolic Blessing from Pope Francis
May 26, 2020. Theme is ‘Choose Life’
Day for Life 2020 has been given an Apostolic Blessing from Pope Francis, reported the Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales. This year, the theme is Choose Life, which will focus on the dignity and worth of the unborn child and expectant mothers.
Season of Creation Builds on Growing Momentum in the Church
May 26, 2020. Vatican Letter Invites Faithful to Participate.
Laudato Si’ Week has just concluded but the focus on serving the environment continues in the Church. Pope Francis has launched the Special Laudato Si’ Anniversary Year with several initiatives, including the Season of Creation.
Pope Commemorates 25 Years of ‘Ut Unum Sint’ — Grateful for Past & Hopeful for Future
May 25, 2020. In Letter to His ‘Dear Brother’ Cardinal Koch Recalling JPII’s Encyclical on Ecumenism, Praises Two New Initiatives.
“On this anniversary, I give thanks to the Lord for the journey he has allowed us to travel as Christians in quest of full communion. I too share the healthy impatience of those who sometimes think that we can and should do more.”
Regina Caeli: Pope Notes World Day of Social Communications
May 24, 2020.‘That you may tell your children and grandchildren’.
After praying the Regina Caeli on May 24, 2020, Pope Francis reminded listeners around the world that it is World Day of Social Communications.
Pope Francis Announces Special Year of Laudato Si’
May 24, 2020. Introduces Special Prayer for all the Faithful.
Pope Francis on May 24, 2020, marked the fifth anniversary of the Encyclical Laudato Si’, his call for the care of the earth and the poor. He also announced a special Year of Laudato Si’, which will run through May 24, 2021.
Regina Caeli Address: Solemnity of the Ascension on the Seventh Sunday of Easter
May 24, 2020. ‘The Feast of the Ascension Tells us that Jesus Is Still and Always Among Us’.
Here is a ZENIT translation of the address Pope Francis gave today, before and after praying the midday Regina Caeli from the Library of the Apostolic Vatican Palace.
FEATURE: ‘Even If Silence of Holy Saturday Still Lingers On,’ Cardinal Bo Says ‘Let Gallant Victory of Ascension Fill Our Hearts Today’
May 22, 2020. FABC President Says Our Lives, Even If Challenging, Are a ‘Love Letter’ From God.
Let the gallant victory of the Ascension fill our hearts today…
Archbishop Follo: The Ascension of Christ is not a Spectacle but an Event in Which we are Included
May 22, 2020. With the invitation to celebrate with joy the fact that with the Ascension Christ brought the humanity into the heart of God.
Ascension of the Lord – Year A – May 24th, 2020
Pope Francis’ Message to Pontifical Mission Societies (Full Text)
May 21, 2020. They Were to Meet in Rome for Their Annual General Assembly, But Event Was Postponed Due to Pandemic.
When they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has fixed by his own authority.
During Pope’s 1st Audience in Months, Pope Tells Young Athletes That Doing for Others Is What Gives Joy
May 21, 2020. Small Group Stayed Socially Distant in Pope’s Library Following General Audience.
Marking his first audience in months, yesterday, May 20, 2020, after his weekly Wednesday General Audience, Pope Francis received a small number of athletes who were to participate today, May 21, in an international event called “We Run Together.”
‘A Work That Is Not Our Own: the Sources of Mission,’ by Andrea Tornielli
May 21, 2020. With His Message to Pontifical Missionary Societies, Says Pope Puts on Guard Against Some Pathologies that Risk Distorting the Missionary Activity, Obscuring the Action of Grace
BY ANDREA TORNIELLI, Vatican’s Editorial Director
POPE'S GENERAL AUDIENCE: On Prayer & Mystery of Creation (FULL TEXT)
May 20, 2020. ‘Prayer illumines you: it illumines your soul, it illumines your heart and it illumines your face, even in the darkest times, even in times of great sorrow’.
This morning’s General Audience was held at 9:30 am from the Library of the Apostolic Vatican Palace.
Pope at General Audience: We Are Not Insignificant, But Each the Child of a Great King
May 20, 2020. ‘Prayer assures us that things do not exist merely by chance, and that our relationship with God is the source of our nobility’.
We are not insignificant, each and every person is the child of a Great King, our Heavenly Father…
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