"Pilgrims of hope": preparation for the 2025 Jubilee begins"A great symphony of prayer" to prepare for the Jubilee of 2025The desire is to intensify our prayer to prepare ourselves to live this event of grace well, to experience the strength of God's hope, said the Pope, referring to the 2025 Jubileewhich has as its slogan "Pilgrims of hope"..
For this reason, "today we begin a Year dedicated to prayer, to discovering the need for prayer in personal life, in the life of the Church and in the world. We will be assisted by the Dicastery for Evangelization, added the Holy Father in his address to the Pope. Angelus from the window of the Apostolic Palace in St. Peter's Square, in front of about twenty thousand faithful, according to the Vatican Agency.
Precisely the proprefect of this Dicastery, Monsignor Rino Fisiquellawas the main concelebrant, together with the Cardinal Konrad KrajewskiThe Pope's almoner, from the Mass celebrated this morning on the occasion of the Sunday of the Word of God. In addition, the Pope conferred on lay men and women from different countries of the world the ministries of Lector and Catechist. There were nine people from Jamaica and Brazil as Lectors, and from Korea, Chad, Trinidad and Tobago, Brazil, Bolivia and Germany as Catechists.
Christian unity, and peace for children
Within the framework of this year dedicated to prayer, the Pontiff prayed for Christian Unity during this week. He also asked to invoke peace in Ukraine, Israel and Palestine, and in other parts of the world.
"Those who suffer are always the weakest, I think of the little ones, so many children wounded and killed, abandoned, without affection, without dreams, without future, let us feel responsible to pray to build to build peace for them," he encouraged the faithful.
The Pope expressed his sorrow at the news of the kidnapping in Haiti of a group of people, among them six nuns. "I ask with sorrow please for social harmony in the country, and the cessation of violence, which causes so much suffering to that dear population."
For peace in Ecuador
Francis greeted all the Romans and pilgrims from Italy and other countries present in St. Peter's Square, especially those from Poland, Albania, Colombia, students from the Pedro Mercedes Institute in Cuenca, American university students in Florence, young people from Panama, priests, migrants from Ecuador, to whom he assured of his prayers for peace in their country.
"Sinners, but the Lord still believes in us."
As he has done in the homily Before praying the Angelus, the Holy Father reflected on Jesus' call to the first disciples. He said that the Lord loves to involve us in his work of salvation, he wants us to be active with him, responsible and protagonists.
"A Christian who is not active, who is not responsible in the work of proclaiming the Lord and who is not a protagonist of his faith, is not a Christian," the Pontiff pointed out. "This is important, the Lord chose us to be Christians. We are sinners, but the Lord continues to believe in us. This is wonderful," he continued.
"Proclaiming the Gospel is not time wasted."
"Proclaiming the Gospel is not time wasted," the Pontiff stressed. "It is to be happier by helping others; it is to help others to be free; it is to become better by helping others to be better."
Finally, as usual, the Pope invited us to examine ourselves with a few questions. "Do I stop from time to time to remember the joy that grew in me and around me when I accepted the call to know and witness to Jesus? And when I pray, do I thank the Lord for having called me to make others happy? And finally: do I want to make someone like me, with my witness and my joy, to make them like how beautiful it is to love Jesus?"
