Pope praying for flood-devastated Vietnam and Myanmar, calls for a stop to violence in Gaza
At the Angelus, the pontiff expressed his closeness to the people affected by Typhoon Yagi and the families of Israeli hostages found killed in Gaza a few days ago. Francis mentioned meeting the mother of one of them. “[L]et the negotiations continue, and let peaceful solutions be found!” he said. He also urged the faithful to ask, “Who is Jesus for you?”
Vatican City (AsiaNews) – Pope Francis expressed his closeness to the people in Asia mourning after the devastation brought by Typhoon Yagi as well as the mothers weeping for their children killed by war and violence, starting with those of Israeli hostages found dead earlier this month in a Gaza tunnel, eleven months after their abduction by Hamas.
Francis looked out from his window on St Peter's Square to embrace the wounds of the world in the usual Sunday appointment with the Angelus prayer.
Following his apostolic journey to Asia and Oceania of almost two weeks, the pontiff drew attention at the end of the Marian prayer to the thousands of people suffering in the East from a recent natural catastrophe that hit several countries causing hundreds of deaths.
“I express my closeness to the populations of Vietnam and Myanmar, who are suffering as a result of the floods caused by a violent typhoon,” Francis said. “I pray for the deceased, the injured and the displaced. May God sustain those who have lost their loved ones and their home, and bless those who are coming to their aid.”
As he does regularly every week, the pope urged the faithful not to forget that wars continue to stain the world with blood: Ukraine, Myanmar, the Middle East. “How many innocent victims. I think of the mothers who have lost their sons in war. How many young lives cut short!”
Francis cited one, that of Hersh Goldman-Polin, a young Israeli-American kidnapped on 7 October by Palestinian militiamen along with dozens of other people and found dead at the start of September along with five other hostages in Gaza.
“In November last year, I met his mother, Rachel, who impressed me with her humanity,” the pontiff said. “I accompany her in this moment. May the conflict in Palestine and Israel cease! May the violence cease! May hatred cease! Let the hostages be released, let the negotiations continue, and let peaceful solutions be found!”
Before the Angelus, speaking about the Gospel passage in today’s liturgy, Francis urged the faithful to ask the question: "Who is Jesus for you?”
“[P]erhaps, we respond well to the question,” he said, “with some formula we learned at catechism. But are we sure that this means really knowing Jesus? In reality, to know the Lord, it is not enough to know something about Him, but rather to follow Him, to let oneself be touched and changed by His Gospel.”
“Unfortunately,” Francis noted, “many people no longer pose themselves this question and remain ‘unbothered’, slumbering, even far from God. Instead, it is important to ask ourselves: do I let myself be bothered, do I ask who Jesus is for me, and what place does He occupy in my life?”
.png)
03/07/2017 14:05
27/03/2024 16:20
17/04/2024 16:34
24/12/2023 13:54
