The Weekly Francis – Volume 164 – 4 January 2017

This version of The Weekly Francis covers material released in the last week from 10 November 2016 to 4 January 2017.

The Weekly Francis is a compilation of the Holy Father’s writings, speeches, etc which I also post at Jimmy Akin’s The Weekly Francis. Jimmy Akin came up with this idea when he started “The Weekly Benedict” and I have taken over curation of it.

Angelus

• 4 December 2016
• 8 December 2016
• 11 December 2016
• 18 December 2016
• 26 December 2016

General Audiences

• 7 December 2016
• 14 December 2016
• 21 December 2016

Homilies

• 12 December 2016 – Holy Mass on the occasion of the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe
• 24 December 2016 – Holy Mass on the Solemnity of the Nativity of the Lord
• 31 December 2016 – Celebration of Vespers and Te Deum in Thanksgiving for the past year
• 1 January 2017 – Holy Mass on the Solemnity of Mary, the Holy Mother of God (1st January 2017)

Letters

• 28 December 2016 – Letter of the Holy Father to Bishops on the Feast of the Holy Innocents

Messages

• 8 December 2016 – XXV World Day of the Sick, 2017
• 25 December 2016 – “Urbi et Orbi” – Christmas 2016

Prayers

• 8 December 2016 – Act of Veneration to the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary at the Spanish Steps

Speeches

• 10 November 2016 – To participants in the Plenary Assembly of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity
• 18 November 2016 – To participants in the Formation Course for Bishops on the new guidelines regarding marriage and annulments [17–19 November 2016]
• 24 November 2016 – To participants in the Meeting sponsored by the Pontifical Academy of Sciences on: “Narcotics: problems and solutions to this global issue”
• 1 December 2016 – To participants in the Fourth World Congress of Pastoral Care for International Students, organized by the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People (1st December 2016)
• 9 December 2016 – To the donors of the Crib and the Christmas Tree in Saint Peter’s Square
• 10 December 2016 – To the Community of the Pontifical Regional Seminary Pio XI of Apulia
• 15 December 2016 – Presentation of the Letters of Credence by the Ambassadors of Burundi, Fiji, Mauritius, Moldova, Sweden and Tunisia
• 22 December 2016 – To the Roman Curia on the occasion of the presentation of Christmas greetings
• 22 December 2016 – To the personnel of the Holy See and of the Vatican City State for the exchange of Christmas wishes

Papal Tweets

• “The love of God, which can look into the heart of each person and see the deepest desire hidden there, must take primacy over all else.” @Pontifex 15 December 2016
• “Forgiveness is the most visible sign of the Father’s love, which Jesus sought to reveal by his entire life” @Pontifex 16 December 2016
• “I thank you all for your kindness. Please do not forget to pray for me.” @Pontifex 17 December 2016
• “Our joy comes from the confidence we have that the Lord is close to us with his tenderness, mercy, forgiveness and love.” @Pontifex 18 December 2016
• “I express my solidarity with migrants around the world and thank all those who help them: welcoming others means welcoming God in person!” @Pontifex 18 December 2016
• “Nothing of what a repentant sinner places before God’s mercy can be excluded from the embrace of his forgiveness.” @Pontifex 19 December 2016
• “Mercy is the concrete action of God’s love that, by forgiving, transforms and changes our lives.” @Pontifex 20 December 2016
• “Mercy gives rise to joy, because our hearts are opened to the hope of a new life.” @Pontifex 21 December 2016
• “The birthday of Jesus, who took on the burden of our human weakness, is drawing closer.” @Pontifex 22 December 2016
• “The Lord becomes man to journey with us in our everyday lives.” @Pontifex 23 December 2016
• “Like the shepherds of Bethlehem, may we too, with eyes full of amazement and wonder, gaze upon the Child Jesus, the Son of God.” @Pontifex 24 December 2016
• “Christ is born for us, let us rejoice in the day of our salvation!” @Pontifex 25 December 2016
• “On today’s Feast of Saint Stephen let us remember the martyrs of today and yesterday. May we overcome evil with good and hatred with love.” @Pontifex 26 December 2016
• “Christmas has above all a taste of hope because, for all the darkness in our lives, God’s light shines forth.” @Pontifex 27 December 2016
• “God, who is in love with us, draws us to himself with his tenderness, by being born poor and frail in our midst, as one of us.” @Pontifex 28 December 2016
• “Let us be touched by the tenderness that saves. Let us draw close to God who draws close to us. Let us pause to gaze upon the crib.” @Pontifex 29 December 2016
• “Holy Family of Nazareth, help us all to recognize the sacred nature of the family and its beauty in God’s plan for humanity.” @Pontifex 30 December 2016
• “As we end this year, let us remember the days, weeks and months we have lived in order to give thanks and offer everything to the Lord.” @Pontifex 31 December 2016
• “Let us entrust the new year to Mary, Mother of God, so that peace and mercy may grow throughout the world.” @Pontifex 1 January 2017
• “At the beginning of this New Year, I offer heartfelt wishes of peace to the world’s peoples and nations.” @Pontifex 2 January 2017
• “May nonviolence become the hallmark of our decisions, our relationships and our actions.” @Pontifex 3 January 2017
• “To be true followers of Jesus today also includes embracing his teaching about nonviolence.” @Pontifex 4 January 2017

Papal Instagram

• Franciscus