Catholic Fire

During his daily morning Mass at the Vatican, Pope Francis described Christianity as something concrete that requires action and not just words. Reflecting on a reading from St. John, he said the love found in Christianity is unique. POPE FRANCIS "You see that the love John speaks of is not the love of soap operas! No, it is something else. Christian love has a particular quality: concreteness. Christian love is concrete. Jesus Himself, when He speaks of love, speaks to us about concrete things: feeding the hungry, visiting the sick, and many concrete things. Love is concrete. Christian concreteness.” The Pope then added that just like St. John says,  God is love, and those who remain in love- remain in God and God remains in them. EXCERPT OF THE POPE'S CATECHESIS IN ENGLISH Source: Vatican Radio "We are in God and God is in us: this is the Christian life. Not remaining in the spirit of the world, not remaining in superficiality, not remaining in idolatry, no...

During his daily morning Mass, the Pope talked about the tug of war between the good and the bad. He says both never cease to exist, but the difference is that good Christians, he explained, learn to steer away from the evil path. POPE FRANCIS "Let's reflect on the temptations Jesus faced out in the desert. The three things the devil tempts Jesus with are proposals to steer Him away from this path, the path of service, humility, humiliation and charity.” To follow the path of Jesus, the Pope recommends praying for the grace of wisdom so that Christians may learn to understand their heart and how to make it follow the path of Jesus. SUMMARY OF POPE'S HOMILY (Source: Vatican Radio) The Christian knows to guard his heart in order to distinguish what comes from God and what comes from the false prophets. That was the message of Pope Francis in the morning Mass at Casa Santa Marta, the first after the holiday season. The Pope said the way of Jesus is that of service...

Preaching the Good News with “with sweetness, fraternity and love” and refusing the temptation to “connect the proclamation of the Gospel with inquisitorial beatings of condemnation”. Pope Francis addressed this invitation to the Jesuits and the faithful present at a Mass of thanksgiving for the canonization of Peter Faber, celebrated on Friday, 3 January in the Church of the Gesù in Rome. Once again drawing on the spiritual message of the Jesuit from Savoy — declared a saint on 17 December — the Pontiff remembered him as a “man of great desires” and a “restless spirit” who, in the school of St Ignatius, “learned to combine his restless but sweet spirit with the ability to make decisions”. The Pope urged those present to fly high and pursue their dreams without settling for mediocrity. The strength of the Church “does not lie within herself but in her ability to organize, it is hidden in the deep waters of God”. And each of us, especially those of the Society of Jesus, must be w...

In his daily morning Mass at the Vatican, Pope Francis talked about what it really means to prepare for Christmas. Amid all the parties and celebrations, he said, there must be room for God. POPE FRANCIS "Is there a place for the Lord, or is there only room for parties, shopping and noise? Is our soul wide open, just like our Holy Mother Church and Our Lady? Or is our soul closed off, with a 'Do not Disturb' sign at the door? Now, let's repeat our call to the Lord many times, 'Come, Lord Jesus! May our souls not turn into a soul that reads: Do not disturb!" The Pope then added that God isn't just present during Christmas, but rather every single day. He then emphasized that to feel the presence of God, one must first open the door. SUMMARY OF POPE'S MASS (Source: Vatican Radio) "Pope Francis celebrated Mass on Monday morning in the chapel of the Casa Santa Marta residence in the Vatican. He focused his remarks after the readings of th...

During his daily morning Mass, Pope Francis talked about the importance of silence. He explained that it was amid shadows and silence that God decided to reveal Himself to humankind. POPE FRANCIS "The Lord always took care of the mystery and hid the mystery. He did not publicize the mystery. A mystery that publicizes itself is not Christian; it is not the mystery of God. Rather, it's a fake mystery!” The Pope then explained that one's relationship with God and one's spiritual journey is personal. He explained that to nourish this relationship one needs to get away from all the noise, and instead, embrace silence. SUMMARY OF POPE'S MASS: (Source: Vatican Radio) "Only silence guards the mystery of the journey that a person walks with God, said Pope Francis in his homily at Mass on Friday morning at the Casa Santa Marta. May the Lord, the Pope added, give us "the grace to love the silence”, which needs to be guarded from all publicity. In the ...

During his daily morning Mass at the Vatican, Pope Francis talked about humility, explaining that a humble Christian always has a fruitful life. As an example, the Pope talked about Elizabeth, who despite being sterile, managed to give birth. POPE FRANCIS "With this humility, the humility of the desert, the humility of a sterile soul, may we receive this grace. The grace to flourish, to give fruit, and to give life.” Symbolically speaking, the Pope said that it's not the  humble, but the proud who end up having sterile souls. SUMMARY OF POPE'S MASS: (Source: Vatican Radio) Pope Francis said at Mass this morning in the Casa Santa Marta. The Holy Father said that the intervention of God overcomes the sterility of our life and makes it fruitful. Then he put us on guard against the attitude of pride that makes us sterile. Often in the Bible we find women who are sterile, to whom the Lord gives the gift of life. That was the starting point of Pope Francis’ homily...

(Vatican Radio) Preparing for Christmas, we would do well to take a moment of silence to listed to God who speaks to us with the tenderness of a father and of a mother. That was the message of Pope Francis at the morning Mass at Casa Santa Marta, on the second Thursday of Advent. Beginning with the reading from the Prophet Isaiah, the Pope emphasized not only “what the Lord says” but “how He says it.” God speaks to as a father or a mother speaks to their children: “When the child has a bad dream, he wakes up, cries . . . the father goes and says, ‘Don’t be afraid, don’t be afraid, I’m here.’ That’s how the Lord speaks to us. ‘Do not fear, you worm Jacob, you maggot Israel’ (Isaiah 41,13). The Lord has this way of speaking to us: He is near . . . When we look at a father or a mother who speaks to their little child, we see that they become little and speak with a voice of a child and with the manners of children. Someone looking in from the outside think, ‘This is ridiculous!’ Th...

In his homily at Casa Santa Marta, Pope Francis talked about God's tenderness. He said that God comforts each Christian with tenderness, and brings hope to their lives. But he also warned about the risks of losing hope. POPE FRANCIS "When a Christian forgets hope, or worse, loses hope, his life is senseless. It’s as if his life hit a wall: there’s nothing. But the Lord comforts us and draws us forward with hope.” Pope Francis ended his homily saying that God has never been afraid to approach humans with tenderness. In return, he asked Christians to never fear searching for God's comfort. SUMMARY OF POPE'S HOMILY: (Source: Vatican Radio) "He re-creates things. And the Church never tires of saying that this re-creation is more wonderful than the creation. The Lord re-creates more wonderfully. And so He visits His people: re-creating, with that power. And the people of God always had this idea, this thought, that the Lord will come to visit them. We remem...

(Vatican Radio) Anyone who utters Christian words without putting them into practice hurts oneself and others, because they are based on pride and cause division in the Church. Those were the Pope’s words during his homily at Mass this Thursday morning at the Casa Santa Martha. Lydia O’Kane reports Taking his cue from Thursday’s liturgy, Pope Francis explained that Jesus rebuked the Pharisees for knowing the commandments, but not implementing them in their lives.They are " good words," he said, but if they are not put into practice "not only do they not serve us, but they hurt : they deceive us , they make us believe that we have a beautiful home, but without a foundation” . The Holy Father went on to say that the Lord is our foundation. Our rock is Jesus Christ.Continuing on this theme Pope Francis underlined that “a Christian word without Christ at its center leads to vanity, to pride, power for the sake of power.” The Lord, said the Pope, breaks down these peop...

(Vatican Radio) The Church must always be joyful like Christ. That was the message of Pope Francis at Mass this morning at the Casa Santa Marta. The Pope emphasized that the Church is called to transmit the joy of the Lord to her children—a joy that gives true peace. Peace and joy. Pope Francis’ homily dwelt on these two themes. In the reading from the book of Isaiah, he noted, we see the desire for peace that we all have. It is the peace, says Isaiah, that the Messiah brings to us. In the Gospel, on the other hand, “we are able to see a little into the soul of Jesus, the heart of Jesus: a joyful heart”: “We always think of Jesus when He preaches, when He heals, when He travels, walks along the street, even during the Last Supper. . . But we aren’t used to thinking about Jesus smiling, joyful. Jesus was full of joy, full of joy. In that intimacy with His Father: ‘I rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and I praised the Father.’ It is precisely the internal mystery of Jesus, that rel...

In his daily homily, Pope Francis spoke of the faithfulness of God, highlighting the importance of trusting him with one’s life, and praising those who maintain this trust despite grave persecutions. “We think of so many mothers, of so many fathers of families, that everyday make definitive choices to go forward with their family, with their children,” the Pope expressed during his Nov. 25 daily Mass, adding that “this is a treasure for the Church.” Read more.

At this morning’s papal Mass, Pope Francis asked rhetorically and bitterly,  “What do you think, that today human sacrifices are not made?” He added: “Many, many people make human sacrifices and there are laws that protect them.” The statement sounds very much like he could be referring to the abortion of unborn children, which many Christians have referred to as the new human sacrifice to the gods of convenience, money, power and more. That perspective is supported by some of the other talking points from this morning’s homily. Read More

October 7, 2013. (Romereports.com) On Monday morning, Pope Francis celebrated his morning Mass with a group of journalists. During his Homily, the Pope reflected on Jonah, who was commissioned by God to carry out a task. But feeling afraid, he escaped. The Pope asked Christians if they are willing to listen to what God is telling them.   POPE FRANCIS “I ask myself, and I ask all of you: Do we let God write our lives? Or do we want to do the writing ourselves? This deals with being docile. Are we docile with God's Word? Many say, 'yes I want to be.' But are you willing to listen and to feel His voice? Are you willing to find God's Word in every day life, or do your own ideas rule everything, without letting the Lord speak to you?” The Pope also added that even people who pray often run the risk of closing their ears to God. He said that part of listening to the Lord, comes with helping the needy. EXCERPT OF POPE'S HOMILY: (Source: Vatican Radio) Not to l...

September 26, 2013. (Romereports.com) Pope Francis explained during morning Mass at  Casa Santa Marta that to get to know Jesus, means that you must complicate your life. And that you cannot get to know him by flying “first class” in life. POPE FRANCIS “You cannot know Jesus without getting oneself involved with Him, without betting your life on Him.” The Pope added that there are three languages everyone must speak to get to know Jesus. They are the languages of the heart, the mind, and of action. POPE FRANCIS “Yes, you have to come to know Jesus in the Catechism – but it is not enough to know Him with the mind: it is a step. However, it is necessary to get to know Jesus in dialogue with Him, talking with Him in prayer, kneeling. If you do not pray, if you do not talk with Jesus, you do not know Him. You know things about Jesus, but you do not go with that knowledge, which He gives your heart in prayer. Know Jesus with the mind - the study of the Catechism: know Jesus w...

September 17, 2013. (Romereports.com) During his morning Mass at the Vatican, Pope Francis compared the Church to a widowed mother who protects her children. Reflecting on the Gospel readings, the Pope talked about the important and challenging role widows  have in the Bible. He even compared them to the mission of the Church. POPE FRANCIS Orig. Italian “Our reconciliation with the Lord does not end with the dialogue 'You, me and the priest who pardons me. No! It ends when He leads us to our Mother. That's a true reconciliation, because there is no path of life, there is no forgiveness, there is no reconciliation outside the Mother Church. So, seeing this poor widow, all these things come to me somewhat randomly - But I see in this widow the icon of the widowhood of the Church who is on a journey to find her Groom. I get the urge to ask the Lord for the grace of always being confident of our mother, who defends us, teaches us, helps us grow and teaches us to speak her di...

September 12, 2013. (Romereports.com) Pope Francis explained during his morning Mass at Casa Santa Marta that to be a good Christian and do what Jesus asks, a person must think of the passion of Jesus and imitate the behavior of Our Lady. POPE FRANCIS ORIG. ITALIAN “To think about His meek silence: this will be your endeavor. He will do the rest. He will do everything that is lacking. But you must do that: hiding your life in God with Christ. This is done through contemplation of the humanity of Jesus, of the suffering humanity. There is no other path – there’s none. It is the only way. To be good Christians, contemplating the humanity of Jesus, the suffering humanity. In order to witness, in order to be able to give this witness. In order not to hate the neighbor, contemplate Jesus suffering. To not gossip against the neighbor, contemplate Jesus suffering. It is the only way. Hide your life with Christ in God: this is the counsel the Apostle gives. It is the counsel to become h...

September 9, 2013. (Romereports.com) Pope Francis explained the true meaning of hope, one of the virtues he has continuously referred to during his pontificate. At his Mass homily in Casa Santa Marta he said hope is more than just optimism for Christians. POPE FRANCIS “Jesus, the hope, renews everything. It's a constant miracle. He has not only done miracles of healings: those were only signs, signals of what He's now doing in the Church. The miracle of making everything new: what he does in my life, in your life, in our life. He rebuilds. And what He builds again is precisely the reason of our hope. Christ is the one who renews every wonderful thing of the Creation, He's the reason of our hope. And this hope does not delude because He is faithful. He can't renounce Himself. This is the virtue of hope.” As an example of hope, the Pope reminded all Christians about the Virgin Mary's attitude after her son's death, up until His resurrection on Sunday. EX...