Sealed2Profess

Choosing Christ daily means choosing the narrow road. It’s harder, lonelier, and often misunderstood, but it’s the only road that leads to life.

I continue to follow the situation in the Middle East with dismay. Like other regions of the world, it is torn apart by war and violence. We cannot remain silent in the face of the suffering of so many defenseless victims of these conflicts. What wounds them wounds all of humanity. The death and pain caused by these wars is a scandal for the entire human family and a cry that rises to God!

I strongly renew my appeal to persevere in prayer. May hostilities cease and may paths to #Peace finally open up, based on sincere dialogue and respect for the dignity of every human person. #PrayTogether.

Jesus tells us today what He once said to Martha, Lazarus’s sister: “I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die.” #GospelOfTheDay (Jn 11:25-26).

A 3 POINT PRAYER PLAN: 1. Start your day with the sign of the cross. 2. As a family recite a decade of the rosary daily. 3. Before you fall asleep pray the Glory be to the Father. By doing this you have enfolded your day in God and introduced family prayer into your home.

11 months. Almost a year without you. We miss you a lot too. Papa Francisco, thank you for everything. Please pray and intercede for us. 🙏🏼❤️ We need your prayers very much so #PopeFrancis #PapaFrancisco #LoloKiko

Fasting is a visible sign of our inner commitment to turn away from sin and evil with the help of grace, and it must also include other forms of self-denial. Fasting should help us acquire a more sober lifestyle, since austerity alone makes the Christian life strong and authentic. #Lent

We thank the Lord for families who, despite difficulties and challenges, live “the spirituality of family love made up of thousands of small but real gestures” (Amoris Laetitia, 315).

The Holy Spirit continues to grant us special graces to enrich and build up the body of Christ. We should recognize these manifold gifts and express our gratitude to God for allowing us to take part in His work of salvation. #GeneralAudience #LumenGentium

All men and women, especially Christians, are called to fix their gaze on those who suffer, on the pain of the lonely, and on those who are emarginated for various reasons, for without them we cannot build a just society. Only together can we build communities of solidarity capable of caring for everyone, in which wellbeing and peace can flourish for the benefit of all. Caring for the humanity of others helps us to live our own lives to the full.

For many years, I had hoped to visit Ireland. Last year, that long-held dream was finally realized, and I found it deeply moving. While I was there, I heard this story that captures something profoundly true about the faith of the Irish people.

Cardinal Pizzaballa: “The abuse and manipulation of God’s name to justify this and any other war is the gravest sin we can commit at this time…War is first and foremost political and has very material interests, like most wars. We must do everything we can to leave no room for this pseudo-religious language, which speaks not of God, but of ourselves.” vaticannews.va/en/church/news…

NY’s Archbishop Hicks: “Just as Irish immigrants once came to this country seeking hope and opportunity, today many immigrants come to our nation…we are called to see them not as strangers, but as brothers and sisters.” thegoodnewsroom.org/full-text-arch…

Cardinal Tobin: “Before he was a saint, St. Patrick was an immigrant, a young man taken from his home, carried across the sea, and forced to begin slave labor in a foreign land…. St. Patrick didn’t forget the circumstances of the country that once enslaved him.” jerseycatholic.org/cardinal-tobin…