CATECHESIS

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER  22, 2020

The domestic church is a miniature community, united by blood and spiritual bonds. It is part of the great family of God, the Universal Church, which unites in one Christian family all who were born of God. This common birth makes them all brothers and sisters. The family as a  domestic church is the primary cell of the Christian community, because it possesses the three principal ministries of the Universal Church: sharing the Good News, praying and witnessing with one’s life. This means that the parents are the first evangelizers and educators of their children. The family is a community of prayer, conversing with God in everyday life, and as it builds new relationships grounded in evangelical love, the family is called to become a school of social solidarity.   

(Catechism of the Ukrainian Catholic Church. Christ – 

Our Pascha # 656)

___________________________________________________________________________

Every form of fundamentalist intolerance damages relationships between individuals, groups and peoples. Let us be committed to living and teaching the value of respect, a love capable of welcoming differences, and the priority of the dignity of every human being. 

Hold out your hand to the poor, instead of demanding what you lack. In this way, you will multiply the talents you have received. (Mt 25:14-30)

Generosity that supports the weak, consoles the afflicted, relieves suffering and restores dignity to those stripped of it, is a condition for a fully human life. 

Pope Francis, @Pontifex on Twitter

________________________________________

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER , 2020

Liturgically the Church re-creates the experience of the Saviour in the history of salvation by means of the Fast that begins on November 15/28, the day after the feast of the apostle Philip. This Fast lasts until the Nativity of Christ, and is appropriately called the Nativity Fast, or popularly, Saint Philip’s Fast (in Ukrainian, Pilipivka). During the course of this Fast, the Church prepares us for the luminous feast of the Nativity of Christ, reminding us of the consequences of Adam’s sinful lack of self-control: “Refusing to fast, the first Adam tastes of the death-bearing tree” (Octoechos, Tone 2, Sunday Matins: Canon of the Cross-Resurrection, Ode 5).

(Catechism of the Ukrainian Catholic Church. 

Christ – Our Pascha # 175)

___________________________________________________________________________

Generosity that supports the weak, consoles the afflicted, relieves suffering and restores dignity to those stripped of it, is a condition for a fully human life. 

The one who prays is never alone. In fact, Jesus welcomes us in His prayer so that we might pray in Him and through Him. This is the work of the Holy Spirit. The Gospel invites us to pray to the Father in Jesus’s name.

Society is enriched by the dialogue between science and faith, which opens up new horizons for thought. The light of faith needs to enlighten scientific advances so that they respect the centrality of the human person.

All of us are able to give without expecting anything in return, to do good to others without demanding that they treat us well in return. As Jesus told his disciples: “Without cost you have received, without cost you are to give” (Mt 10:8).

Pope Francis, @Pontifex on Twitter

_______________________

Sunday, November 8, 2020

 In Holy Scripture, angels manifest the presence of God in the world, announcing to human beings the will of God. Holy Scripture refers to some of them by name: Michael (see Rev. 12, 7; Jude 1, 9), Raphael (see Tob 12, 15), Gabriel (see Lk 1, 19-26).  

 Angels assist human beings in their spiritual growth (see Heb 1, 14). The Tradition of the Church teaches that God grants every human being a guardian angel: “You appointed angels and guardians” (The Divine Liturgy of our Holy Father Basil the Great, Anaphora). 

 The unity of the visible and invisible creation – human beings and angels- becomes manifest in the Divine Liturgy, where the earthly expresses the heavenly, and humans serve together with angels: “Let us who mystically represent the cherubim and sing the Thrice-holy Hymns to the life giving Trinity….” And “Holy, holy, holy, Lord of Sabbaoth, heaven and earth are full of your glory! Hosanna in the highest! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.” (The Divine Liturgy of our Holy Father John Chrysostom, Cherubic Hymn; Anaphora    

(Catechism of the Ukrainian Catholic Church. Christ 

– Our Pascha # 117)

In his mercy, God the Father consummated the fullness of creation in Jesus Christ, the New Adam. Christ entrusted the sharing of this fullness to the apostles: “Go into all the world and proclaim the good new to the whole creation” (Mk 16, 15). The Church – the bearer of a new creation – acts “in this world,” even though she herself is not of this world (see Jn 17, 14-16). She is the sign of “a new heaven and a new earth”. The establishment of the Church is the same as the creation of a new universe, and as the prophet Isaiah says, a new heaven … a new earth is created … and a new humanity is created, renewed according to the Creator’s image” (Gregory of Nyssa, Commentary on the Song of Songs, 13). The Church refers to these new people in the image of the Creator as saints, divinized by the grace of the Holy Spirit.   

(Catechism of the Ukrainian Catholic Church. Christ 

– Our Pascha # 309)

___________________________________________________________________________

Choosing purity, meekness and mercy; choosing to entrust oneself to the Lord in poverty of spirit and in affliction; dedicating oneself to justice and peace – this means going against the current. This evangelical path was trodden by all the Saints and Blessed.  

We need to look at our cities with a contemplative gaze, a gaze of faith which sees God dwelling in homes, on the streets and squares. This presence must be found, discovered. God does not hide himself from those who seek him with a sincere heart. 

Those who love may be sure that none of their acts of love will be lost, nor any of their acts of sincere concern for others, nor any single act of love for God, nor any generous effort, nor any painful endurance. All of these enfold our world like a vital force

Pope Francis, @Pontifex on Twitter

__________________

Sunday, November 1, 2020

Every Christian has the grace of being called, that is, the grace of vocation. This calling involves the possibility of living a meaningful and happy life, which can only be realized in God. This vocation is fulfilled in the spiritual life, which is an inseparable condition for personal growth and development.  Just as physical development requires physical activity, and intellectual development demands learning and education, similarly spiritual growth requires the grace of the Holy Mysteries, prayer, and good works.   

(Catechism of the Ukrainian Catholic Church. Christ – 

Our Pascha # 711)

___________________________________________________________________________

“You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased” (Lk 3:22). This simple phrase enables us to intuit something of the mystery of Jesus and of His heart, always turned to the Father. Jesus gave us His own Prayer, which is His loving dialogue with the Father.

Those who love may be sure that none of their acts of love will be lost, nor any of their acts of sincere concern for others, nor any single act of love for God, nor any generous effort, nor any painful endurance. All of these enfold our world like a vital force.

Kindness frees us from the cruelty that at times infects human relationships, from the anxiety that prevents us from thinking of others, from the frantic flurry of activity that forgets that others also have a right to be happy.

Pope Francis, @Pontifex on Twitter

_______________________

Sunday, October 25, 2020

The Sermon on the Mount reveals life in God’s kingdom and points to the fact that the kingdom of God is God’s gift, not something earned through works of the Law. Only by receiving the kingdom in faith and obedience to the will of God does human being become the “salt of the earth” and the “light of the world”

 (see Mt. 5, 13-16). 

(Catechism of the Ukrainian Catholic Church. Christ 

– Our Pascha # 205)

__________________________________________________________________________To all believers, and to men and women of good will, we say: let us become creative artisans of peace, let us build social friendship, let us make our own the culture of dialogue.

Belonging to Christ, and the resulting way of life, do not isolate the believer from the world, but rather make him or her the protagonist in a service of love for the common good.  

The mission, the ‘Church on the move’, is not a programme to be carried out by sheer force of will. It is Christ who makes the Church go out of herself. In the mission of evangelization, you move because the Holy Spirit pushes you, and carries you.

A courageous decision? Using the money spent on weapons for a “global Fund” to defeat hunger. This would help avoid many wars and the emigration of many of our brothers and sisters from the poorest nations. 

Pope Francis, @Pontifex on Twitter

Sunday, October 18, 2020

The Word of God is received with faith, and faith comes from what is heard (see Epistle of Saint Paul to the Romans 10, 17). To understand the Holy Scriptures, it is necessary to join reading the Word of God with hearing that Word in homilies and catechesis. As related in the Acts of the Apostles, a steward of the Ethiopian queen was reading the prophecies of Isaiah about Christ, but he did not understand them until the apostle Philip explained their meaning to him. Thanks to this explanation, the steward believed in Jesus Christ and was baptized (see Acts of the Apostles 8, 26-39). 

(Catechism of the Ukrainian Catholic Church.

 Christ – Our Pascha # 47)

___________________________________________________________________________

Education bears within itself a seed of hope: the hope of peace and justice; the hope of beauty and goodness; the hope of social harmony.

In prayer we place our worries and petitions in the hands of God, and we trust that He will listen, for He knows what we need and will give us what is good for us.

Tenderness is love that draws near and becomes real. A movement that starts from our heart and reaches the eyes, the ears and the hands. Tenderness is the path of choice for the strongest, most courageous men and women.

I am near to those people affected by wildfires: on the West Coast of the United States, especially California, the central regions of South America, the Pantanal area, Paraguay, the banks of the Paraná River, and Argentina. May the Lord sustain them.

Pope Francis, @Pontifex on Twitter 

____________________________

Sunday, October 11, 2020

Pride is the most dangerous passion and the mother of all sins. It was because of pride that Satan fell from God, and it is precisely pride that has ruined the prolonged endeavours of many ascetics. Pride is a person’s idolatrous self-deification: a person exults oneself over other people and puts oneself in the place of God. The proud person is closed to God’s grace: “The Lord opposes the proud; but he gives grace to the humble” (Prov. 3, 34; 1 Pt. 5, 5; and James 4, 6). 

St. Augustine teaches that pride is the source of all evil, and in order to overcome all other sins, one must rid oneself of the root cause – pride: “Whence does iniquity abound? From pride. Cure pride and there will be no more iniquity. Consequently, that the cause of all diseases might be cured, namely, pride, the Son of God came down and was made low” (Augustine of Hippo, Commentary on the Gospel of John, 25, 16)    

(Catechism of the Ukrainian Catholic Church. Christ – Our Pascha # 777)

___________________________________________________________________________

Let us dream, as a single human family, as fellow travelers sharing the same flesh, as children of the same earth which is our common home, each of us bringing the richness of his or her beliefs and convictions, each of us with his or her own voice, brothers and sisters all.

We cannot be indifferent to suffering; we cannot allow anyone to go through life as an outcast. Instead, we should feel indignant, challenged to emerge from our comfortable isolation and to be changed by our contact with human suffering. That is the meaning of dignity. 

By his actions, the Good Samaritan showed that the existence of each and every individual is deeply tied to that of others: life is not simply time that passes; life is a time for interactions.

Pope Francis, @Pontifex on Twitter 

Sunday, October 4, 2020

At the center of the Church’s attention is the human person and his or her activities that possess social, political, and spiritual dimensions. Human action is seen in the light of the transfiguration of the world and Christ’s salvific mission. For “Christ is now at work in human hearts through the energy of his Holy Spirit, arousing not only a desire for the age to come, but by that very fact animating, purifying, and strengthening those noble longings too by which the human family makes its life more human”. (Vatican Council II, Constitution Gaudiu, et Spes 

{The Church in the modern world, 38}.  

(Catechism of the Ukrainian Catholic Church.

 Christ – Our Pascha # 913)

___________________________________________________________________________

Let us continue to grow in the awareness that we all live in a common home as members of a single family!

Almighty God, present in the entire universe and in the smallest of Your creatures, fill us with the strength of Your love so that we might take care of life and beauty. 

Let us not go back to the "normality" sick with injustice, inequality and environmental degradation. The normality to which we are called is that of the Kingdom of God, where there is bread for all and the social organization is based on contributing,

 sharing and distributing

We see the face of Jesus in the faces of the hungry, the thirsty, the naked, the sick, strangers and prisoners; Christ calls us to help.

Pope Francis, @Pontifex on Twitter 

Sunday, September 27, 2020

We call the life in Christ a spiritual life since its source is the Holy Spirit, and it is brought to fulfillment by his grace. Grace is the action of the Holy Spirit in a person, that is, the Spirit’s unconditional gift. Grace in no way constrains a person, nor does it restrict one’s freedom. The apostle Paul emphasizes this when he writes: “where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom” (2 Cor 3, 17). The Spirit of God invites us and call us to growth in Christ, and makes this growth possible.  

(Catechism of the Ukrainian Catholic Church. Christ 

– Our Pascha # 710)

___________________________________________________________________________

Everyone is important in God’s eyes, everyone can transform a part of the world polluted by human voracity into the good reality willed by the Creator. 

Life is grounded in three fundamental and closely connected relationships: the Relationship with God, with our neighbour and with the earth

The destruction of the human environment is extremely serious, not only because God has entrusted the world to us, but because human life is itself a gift which must be defended.

We need to pursue a genuine fraternity based on our common origin from God. The desire for peacelies deep within the human heart, and we should not resign ourselves to seeking anything less than this.

Pope Francis, @Pontifex on Twitter 

_________________________________

Sunday, September 20, 2020

The Church is a life-giving environment for people’s sanctification and individual perfection. In the Church, one can also grow towards perfection in his or her social dimension. A holy person who lives a life of love for God and neighbour in the Holy Spirit is guided by God’s law and becomes a model of the law-abiding citizen. It is precisely the yearning for holiness that opens the Christian to serve neighbour and society. This is why the Christian is a creative participant in civil society.   

(Catechism of the Ukrainian Catholic Church.

 Christ – Our Pascha # 921)

___________________________________________________________________________

The Sorrowful Virgin whose pierced heart mourned the death of Jesus now grieves for the sufferings of the crucified poor and for the creatures of this world laid waste by human power

The revelation of God’s love for us seems madness. Every time that we look at the cross, we find this love. The crucifix is truly the great book of God’s love. 

How much suffering, how many wounds, how many wars could be avoided if forgiveness and mercy were the style of our life!

Pope Francis, @Pontifex on Twitter 

_________________________________________________________

Sunday, September 13, 2020

By the sign of the holy Cross, the Christian professes faith in the Most Holy Trinity and the Incarnation of God’s Son. We make the sign of the Cross with our right hand, devoutly and without haste, pronouncing the words, ‘In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.’ Joining the first three fingers of our hand is a sign of our profession of faith in the Holy Trinity, while bending the remaining two to the palm of the hand signifies our confession of two natures – divine and human – in the incarnate Son of God. Signing ourselves crosswise, from the forehead to the breast and from the right shoulder to the left, we profess the Paschal Mystery of Christ – his dying and rising. Every time we sign ourselves with the holy Cross, saying ‘In the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit’ we profess that our salvation, accomplished on the cross by Jesus Christ, is the work of the Holy Trinity. 

(Catechism of the Ukrainian Catholic Church. Christ – Our Pascha # 626)

_________________________________

To love everyone, including enemies, is difficult – I would say it is even an art! But an art that can be learned and improved. True love, that makes us fruitful and free, is always expansive and inclusive. This love cares, heals and does good.

The Christian response to the pandemic and to the consequent socio-economic crisis is based on love, above all, love of God who always precedes us (see 1 Jn 4:19). When we welcome this divine love, then we can respond similarly.

As a human family we have our common origin in God. We dwell in a common home, the garden-planet where God placed us. But when we forget all this, our social fabric is weakened and the environment deteriorates.

Pope Francis, @Pontifex on Twitter 

_____________________________________________

Sunday, September 6, 2020

If we take care of the goods that the Creator gives us, if we put what we possess in common in such a way that no one would be lacking, then we would truly inspire hope to regenerate a more healthy and equal world.

We must always have this “holy restlessness” in our hearts, in the search for the true good who is God. Let us help others feel the thirst for God. He gives peace and happiness to our hearts.

Trust in the Lord and make an effort to enter into his plans, accepting that His salvation can reach us in ways that may be different from what we expect.

Pope Francis, @Pontifex on Twitter 

_________________________________

(Catechism of the Ukrainian Catholic Church. Christ 

 Our Pascha # 43)

«From the earliest times, the Church has studiously preserved the divinely wise richness of the Old Testament, regarding it as her heritage. ‘The unity of the two Testaments proceeds from the unity of God’s plan and his Revelation. The Old Testament prepares for the New, and the New Testament fulfills the Old; the two shed light on each other; both are true Word of God’ (Catechism of the Catholic Church 140). At first, God chose Israel to receive and carry the truth of Revelation; then, in the New Testament, this truth is received by the Church, which is called the New Israel.»   

______________________

If we take care of the goods that the Creator gives us, if we put what we possess in common in such a way that no one would be lacking, then we would truly inspire hope to regenerate a more healthy and equal world.

We must always have this “holy restlessness” in our hearts, in the search for the true good who is God. Let us help others feel the thirst for God. He gives peace and happiness to our hearts.

Trust in the Lord and make an effort to enter into his plans, accepting that His salvation can reach us in ways that may be different from what we expect.

Pope Francis, @Pontifex on Twitter

Sunday, August 30, 2020

Let’s not forget the victims of the coronavirus. So much suffering, so many people who lost their lives; and so many volunteers, doctors, nurses, sisters, priests, who also lost their lives. Let us remember the families who have suffered because of this.

To pray is to allow yourself to be looked at by God without illusions, excuses, or justifications. Because from the devil come darkness and lies, from God come light and truth.

The root of every spiritual error is believing ourselves to be righteous. To consider ourselves righteous is to leave God, the only righteous one, out in the cold.

Pope Francis, @Pontifex on Twitter 

Sunday, August 23, 2020

The response to the pandemic is dual: we need to find a cure for this small which has brought the whole world to its knees and we must cure a larger virus, that of social injustice.

Pope Francis, @Pontifex on Twitter 

___________________________

Sunday, August 16, 2020

We are born with a seed of dissatisfaction in search of fulfillment. Our heart, even without knowing it, thirsts for the encounter with God and seeks it, many times taking the wrong road. When our dissatisfaction encounters Jesus, the life of grace begins.

God does not choose us because of our “goodness”, but precisely because we are and we feel small.

We are all in need of the Father who extends His hand to us. To pray to Him, to invoke Him, is not an illusion. Illusion is to think we can do without Him! Prayer is the soul of hope.

When we pray, God expects that we also be mindful of those who do not think as we do, those who have slammed the door in our face, those whom we find it hard to forgive. Only prayer unlocks chains, only prayer paves the way to unity.

Pope Francis, @Pontifex on Twitter 

-----------------------------------

Sunday, August 9, 2020

Let us pray for the victims of the explosions in Beirut and for their families; and let us pray for Lebanon so that, through the dedication of all its social, political and religious elements, it might face this extremely tragic and painful moment.

Let us keep our eyes fixed on the resplendent face of God, whom we contemplate in Christ transfigured on Mount Tabor. He is the light that illuminates the events of every day.

Pope Francis, @Pontifex on Twitter

Sunday, August 2, 2020

Friendship is one of life’s gifts and a grace from God. Faithful friends, who stand at our side in times of difficulty, are a reflection of the Lord’s love, His gentle and consoling presence in our lives.

Pope Francis, @Pontifex on Twitter

Sunday, July 26, 2020

On the Day of Judgment we will not be judged for our ideas, but for the compassion we have shown to others.

When love for parents and children is inspired and purified by love for the Lord, it then becomes wholly fruitful and produces good fruits within the family itself and well beyond it.

Pope Francis, @Pontifex on Twitter

__________________________________________________________________________

SUNDAY, JULY 19, 2020

Faith is either missionary or it is no faith at all. Faith takes us out of ourselves and toward others. Faith must be transmitted, not to convince but to offer a treasure. Let us ask the Lord to help us live our faith with open doors: a transparent faith.

Pope Francis, @Pontifex on Twitter

_____________________________________

SUNDAY, JUlY 5, 2020

I invite everyone to pray for the people of Yemen, especially children, who are suffering as a result of the very serious humanitarian crisis, and for those affected by the severe floods in Western Ukraine.

Evil never gives peace. It causes frenzy first then leaves bitterness. Instead, God’s voice never promises cheap, easily acquired joy. He invites us to go beyond our ego to find that true good: peace.  

Pope Francis, @Pontifex on Twitter

SUNDAY, JUNE 28, 2020

The holiness to which the Lord calls you grows through small gestures in everyday life.

God created us for communion, for fraternity. Now more than ever the pretense of focusing everything on ourselves, making individualism society’s guiding principle, has proven illusory. We have to be careful! When the emergency is over we can easily fall back into this illusion.

Let us begin anew from the numerous examples of generous, freely-given love, which in these months have shown us how much closeness, care, and sacrifice are needed to nourish fraternity and civil coexistence. In this way, we will emerge 

from this crisis stronger.

Only those who see with the heart see things well, because they know how to “look into” each person: to see a brother or sister apart from his or her mistakes, hope amid difficulty. 

They see God everywhere.

Pope Francis @Pontifex

*************

SUNDAY JUNE 21, 2020

I invite you to pray for priests, so that through your prayer the Lord might strengthen their vocation, comfort them in their ministry, and help them always be joyful ministers of the Gospel for all people. 

The Lord always watches over us with mercy. Let us not be afraid of approaching him! He has a merciful heart! If we show him our inner wounds, our inner sins, he will always forgive us. It is pure mercy! Let us go to Jesus!

To pray means to intercede for the world, to remember that despite all its frailties, it always belongs to God. 

The Lord cannot enter into hard or ideological hearts. The Lord enters into hearts that are like His: hearts that are open and compassionate.

Pope Francis @Pontifex

*********

SUDNAY, JUNE 14, 2020

We cannot tolerate or turn a blind eye to racism and exclusion in any form. At the same time, we have to recognize that violence is self-destructive and self-defeating. Nothing is gained by violence and so much is lost. Let us pray for reconciliation and peace. 

The Holy Spirit makes us take flight, opens up the wonderful destiny for which we were born, and nourishes us with living hope. 

Let us ask Him to come to us, and He will draw near.

We need the Holy Spirit to give us new eyes, to open our minds and our hearts to face the present moment and the future having learned this lesson: That humanity is one. 

No one is saved alone. No one.

In our darkest moments, when we sin or are disoriented, we always have an appointment with God. We do not need to be afraid, because God will change our hearts and give us the blessing reserved for those who allow Him to change them

Pope Francis @Pontifex