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After the Angelus:
Dear brothers and sisters, tomorrow the Mission of the United Nations Security Council will officially open in the Central African Republic in order to foster the peace-process of the country and protect the civilian population who are suffering acutely from the consequences of the ongoing conflict. While I assure the commitment and prayers of the Catholic Church, I encourage the efforts of the international community in coming to the aid of the Central Africans of good will. May the violence soon give way to dialogue; may the opposing factions set aside particular interests and strive to ensure that every citizen of whatever ethnic group or religion, may cooperate in building up the common good. May the Lord accompany this peace-process!
Yesterday I went to the Austro-Hungarian Cemetery and Military Memorial in Redipuglia. There I prayed for those who fell in the Great War. The numbers are frightening: it is said that approximately eight million young soldiers fell and seven million civilians died. This tells us the extent to which war is madness! A madness from which mankind has not yet learned its lesson, because a second world war followed it and many more are still in progress today. But when will we learn from this lesson? I invite everyone to look to the Crucified Jesus to understand that hatred and evil are defeated through forgiveness and goodness, to understand that responding with war only increases evil and death!
I ask you all to please pray for me. I wish everyone a happy Sunday and a good lunch! Arrivederci!
Acknowledgment: We thank the Vatican Publisher for allowing us to publish the Homilies of Pope Francis I, so that they could be accessed by more people all over the world; as a source of God’s encouragements to all of us. |
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Twenty-Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Responsorial: Psalm 145:2-3,8-9,17-18 Response: The Lord is close to all who call him.
I will bless you day after day and praise your name for ever. The Lord is great, highly to be praised, his greatness cannot be measured.
The Lord is kind and full of compassion, slow to anger, abounding in love. How good is the Lord to all, compassionate to all his creatures.
The Lord is just in all his ways and loving in all his deeds. He is close to all who call him, who call on him from their hearts. |
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Twenty-Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Second Reading: Extracted from the letter of Saint Paul to the Philippians 1:20-24, 27 Christ will be glorified in my body, whether by my life or by my death. Life to me, of course, is Christ, but then death would bring me something more; but then again, if living in this body means doing work which is having good results-I do not know what I should choose. I am caught in this dilemma: I want to be gone and be with Christ, which would be very much the better, but for me to stay alive in this body is a more urgent need for your sake. Avoid anything in your everyday lives that would be unworthy of the gospel of Christ.
Gospel Acclamation cf. Luke 19:38, 2:14 Alleluia, alleluia! Blessings on the King who comes, in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest heavens! Alleluia! Or cf. Acts 16:14 Alleluia, alleluia! Open our heart, O Lord, to accept the words of your Son. Alleluia! |
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Twenty-Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Gospel Reading: Extracted from the holy Gospel according to Matthew 20:1-16 Jesus told this parable to his disciples: ‘The kingdom of heaven is like a landowner going out at daybreak to hire workers for his vineyard. He made an agreement with the workers for one denarius a day, and sent them to his vineyard. Going out at about the third hour (9:00 am) he saw others standing idle in the market place and said to them, “You go to my vineyard too and I will give you a fair wage.” So they went. At about the sixth hour (12:00 noon) and again at about the ninth hour (3:00pm), he went out and did the same. Then at about the eleventh hour (5:00 pm) he went out and found more men standing round, and he said to them, “Why have you been standing here idle all day?” “Because no one has hired us” they answered. He said to them, “You go into my vineyard too.” In the evening, the owner of the vineyard said to his bailiff, “Call the workers and pay them their wages, starting with the last arrivals and ending with the first.” So those who were hired at about the eleventh hour came forward and received one denarius each. When the first came, they expected to get more, but they too received one denarius each. They took it, but grumbled at the landowner. “The men who came last” they said “have done only one hour, and you have treated them the same as us, though we have done a heavy day’s work in all the heat.” He answered one of them and said, “My friend, I am not being unjust to you; did we not agree on one denarius? Take your earnings and go. I choose to pay the last comer as much as I pay you. Have I no right to do what I like with my own? Why be envious because I am generous?” Thus the last will be first, and the first, last.’
Sharing: It was the 25th Sunday in Ordinary Time on 21 September 2014.
The Readings that were read in the Eucharistic Celebrations all over the world on that day are shown above:
First Reading: Isaiah 55:6-9, Responsorial: Psalm 145:2-3, 8-9, 17-18, Second Reading: Philippians 1:20-24, 27 & Gospel Reading: Matthew 20:1-16.
We have extracted the Homilies of Saint Pope John Paul II, Pope Benedict XVI & Pope Francis I based on the aforesaid Readings to share with you, so that you could similarly be encouraged:
BEATIFICATION OF BISHOP ANTON MARTIN SLOMSEK HOMILY OF HIS HOLINESS JOHN PAUL II
1. "Let us now praise famous men.... Their posterity will continue for ever.... Peoples will declare their wisdom, and the congregation proclaims their praise (Sirach 44: 1a, 14b-15).
Sirach's words resound today in our assembly. Hearing them, we immediately thought of the persons belonging to this Slovenian people who were distinguished for their virtues: we thought, for example, of Bishops Friderik Baraga, Janez Gnidovec and Anton Vovk, of Fr Vendelin Vosnjak and the young Lojze Grozde.
We remembered in particular the man the Church proclaims blessed today: Bishop Anton Martin Slomsek, the first son of this Slovenian nation to be raised to the glory of the altars. Three years after my first visit, I return today to present him to you as a model of that holiness which holds the only power that can conquer the world, as I pointed out to you then. I am therefore pleased to meet you and to preside at this solemn Holy Mass.
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