This might be the most helpful meme I have created.
Here are two answers to get you through life.
The Weekly Francis is a compilation of the Holy Father’s writings, speeches, etc which I also cross-post at Jimmy Akin’s blog.
This version of The Weekly Francis covers material released in the last week from 22 August 2021 to 15 September 2021.
Angelus
Homily
- 12 September 2021 – Apostolic Journey to Budapest’ Holy Mass at Heroes’ Square in Budapest
- 14 September 2021 – Apostolic Journey to Slovakia’ Byzantine Divine Liturgy of Saint John Chrysostom presided by the Holy Father (14 September 20
- 15 September 2021 – Apostolic Journey to Slovakia’ Holy Mass on the esplanade of the National Shrine in Šaštin
Message
- 22 August 2021 – Message of the Holy Father to the participants in the 24th International Mariological-Marian Congress [8–11 September 2021]
- 7 September 2021 – Message of the Holy Father to the participants at the G20 Interfaith Forum 2021
- 9 September 2021 – Message of the Holy Father to the participants in the 14th National Pilgrimage of Families for the Family
Prayers
Speech
- 11 September 2021 – To the participants in the General Chapter of the Order of Discalced Carmelites
- 12 September 2021 – Apostolic Journey to Budapest’ Greeting to journalists on the flight to Budapest
- 12 September 2021 – Apostolic Journey to Budapest’ Meeting with the Bishops (Museum of Fine Arts in Budapest)
- 12 September 2021 – Apostolic Journey to Slovakia’ Ecumenical Meeting at the Apostolic Nunciature in Bratislava
- 12 September 2021 – Apostolic Journey to Budapest’ Meeting with the Representatives of the Ecumenical Council of Churches and some Jewish Communities in Hungary at the Museum of Fine Arts in Budapest
- 13 September 2021 – Apostolic Journey to Slovakia’ Meeting with Authorities, Civil Society and the Diplomatic Corps in the garden of the Presidential Palace in Bratislava
- 13 September 2021 – Apostolic Journey to Slovakia’ Private Visit to the ‘Bethlehem Center’
- 13 September 2021 – Apostolic Journey to Slovakia’ Meeting with the Jewish Community at Rybné námestie Square in Bratislava
- 13 September 2021 – Apostolic Journey to Slovakia’ Meeting with Bishops, Priests, Religious, Consecrated Persons, Seminarians, Catechists at the Cathedral of Saint Martin in Bratislava
- 14 September 2021 – Apostolic Journey to Slovakia’ Meeting with Young People at Lokomotiva Stadium in Košice
- 14 September 2021 – Apostolic Journey to Slovakia’ Meeting with the Roma Community at Luník IX district in Košice
Tweet
- “Let us #PrayTogether today for all the people who suffer from sadness, because they are alone or because they do not know what the future holds for them, or because they cannot support their family, because they have no job. Many people suffer from sadness. Let us pray for them.” @Pontifex, 10 September 2021
- “A true ecological approach always becomes a social approach that must integrate justice in debates on the environment, so as to hear both the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor. #SeasonOfCreation” @Pontifex, 11 September 2021
- “True religiosity consists in the worship of God and the love of neighbour. More than demonstrating something, we believers are called to manifest the fatherly presence of the God of heaven through our harmony on earth. #G20InterfaithForum” @Pontifex, 11 September 2021
- “Tomorrow I begin my #ApostolicJourney to Budapest and Slovakia. I ask everyone to accompany me in prayer, and I entrust this visit to the intercession of so many heroic confessors of the faith, who, amid hostility and persecution, bore witness to the Gospel in those places.” @Pontifex, 11 September 2021
- “New Year’s Day is celebrated today in Ethiopia. Let us #PrayTogether for the Ethiopian people, particularly for those suffering due to the ongoing conflict and the serious humanitarian situation it has caused. May this be a moment to hear the common desire for peace.” @Pontifex, 11 September 2021
- “May Saints Cyril and Methodius, precursors of #ecumenism, help us make every effort to work for a reconciliation of diversity in the Holy Spirit: a unity that, without being uniformity, is capable of being a sign and witness to the freedom of Christ, the Lord. #ApostolicJourney” @Pontifex, 12 September 2021
- “The Eucharist is here to remind us who God is. It does not do so just in words, but in a concrete way, showing us God as bread broken, as love crucified and bestowed. #EucharisticCongress #Budapest Homily @Pontifex, 12 September 2021
- “The “Mission Cross” is the symbol of this International #EucharisticCongresss: may it lead you to proclaim with your lives the liberating Gospel of God’s boundless love for each person. Amid the present-day famine of love, men and women long for this nourishment.” @Pontifex, 12 September 2021
- “Today, the Lord looks at each of us personally and asks: “Who am I – in fact – for you?” This question, addressed to each of us, calls for more than a quick answer straight out of the catechism; it requires a vital, personal response. #GospelOfTheDay” @Pontifex, 12 September 2021
- “Only if we become roots of peace and shoots of unity, will we prove credible in the eyes of the world, which look to us with a yearning that can bring hope to blossom. #ApostolicJourney” @Pontifex, 12 September 2021
- “The blessing of the Most High is poured out upon us, whenever he sees a family of brothers and sisters who respect and love each other and work together. Amid all the discord that defiles our world, we may always be witnesses of peace. #ApostolicJourney” @Pontifex, 13 September 2021
- “Cyril and Methodius invented new languages for handing on the Gospel; they were creative in translating the Christian message. Isn’t this perhaps the most urgent task facing the Church: finding new “alphabets” to proclaim the faith? #ApostolicJourney” @Pontifex, 13 September 2021
- “None can stand apart, either as individuals or as a nation. Cultivate the beauty of the whole. It requires patience and effort, courage and sharing, enthusiasm and creativity. Yet it is the human work blessed by heaven above. #ApostolicJourney Speech @Pontifex, 13 September 2021
- “Organized and efficient structures will not suffice to improve our life as a human community. We need the flavour of solidarity: society rediscovers its flavor through the gratuitous generosity of those who spend their lives for others. #ApostolicJourney” @Pontifex, 13 September 2021
- “The cross demands a limpid testimony. For the cross is not a flag to wave, but the pure source of a new way of living: that of the Gospel, that of the Beatitudes. #ApostolicJourney https://vatican.va/content/francesco/en/homilies/2021/documents/20210914-omelia-presov.html…” @Pontifex, 14 September 2021
- “The cross was an instrument of death, yet it became the source of life. It was a horrendous sight, yet it revealed to us the beauty of God’s love. That is why, in today’s feast, the people of God venerate the cross and the Liturgy celebrates it. #ExaltationOfTheCross” @Pontifex, 14 September 2021
- “Today, being really original and revolutionary means rebelling against the culture of the ephemeral, going beyond shallow instincts and momentary pleasures, and choosing to love with every fibre of your being, for the rest of your life. #ApostolicJourney” @Pontifex, 14 September 2021
- “Do not be afraid to go out to encounter the marginalized. You will find that you are going out to meet Jesus. He awaits you wherever there is need, not comfort; wherever service rules, not power. Those are the places where he will be found. #ApostolicJourney” @Pontifex, 14 September 2021
- “For our life to be great, we need love and heroism. If we look to the crucified Jesus, we find both boundless love and the courage to give one’s life to the utmost, without half-measures. #ApostolicJourney” @Pontifex, 14 September 2021
- “#OurLadyOfSorrows, at the foot the cross, did not run away from her grief. She remains with tears on her face, but with the faith of one who knows that in her Son, God transforms suffering and triumphs over death. #ApostolicJourney” @Pontifex, 15 September 2021
- “Contemplating the Sorrowful Mother, may we open ourselves to a faith that becomes compassion, a faith that identifies with those in need. A faith that imitates God’s style, quietly relieving the suffering of our world and watering the soil of history with salvation.” @Pontifex, 15 September 2021
- “I gave thanks to God for having allowed me to accomplish this #ApostolicJourney. I am grateful to all who, in different ways, have cooperated, above all by their prayers. I carry you in my heart.” @Pontifex, 15 September 2021
Papal Instagram
A man I went through CHRP with passed away this week.
This photo of Roger Schockling was taken this year with him holding a hardcover copy of the book he wrote on his wife Karen, who passed away in 2011. He was an electrical engineer, manager, and active farmer but would also write for our Parish magazine. He had been in my parish for a number of years and was active as a lector and member of the choir until recently.
I knew him as an unassuming man and one who was a faithful Catholic throughout his life. A man who never missed a Sunday Mass, even when he was stationed in Japan as a young man. I had not known that he had cancer for the last couple of years. But, he was certainly not a man to complain. I am grateful to have known him through our time in CHRP, our get-togethers afterward, and as part of Bible study.
Requiescite in pace
Update: Just having come back from his funeral I am even more amazed about this man from the stories I heard. Truly a man who gave of himself for the sake of others and not his own aggrandizement.
Surely whoever designed the official logo for the upcoming synod is trolling us.
Whoever allowed Comic Sans here is surely not a font of wisdom.
The Weekly Francis is a compilation of the Holy Father’s writings, speeches, etc which I also cross-post at Jimmy Akin’s blog.
This version of The Weekly Francis covers material released in the last week from 1 September 2021 to 8 September 2021.
Angelus
General Audience
Message
Speech
Tweet
- “The pandemic has highlighted how vulnerable and interconnected everyone is. If we do not take care of one another, starting with the least, with those who are most impacted, including creation, we cannot heal the world. #SeasonOfCreation” @Pontifex, 3 September 2021
- “Taking into consideration the worsening of multiple converging political and environmental crises – hunger, the climate, nuclear arms, to name a few – the commitment to peace has never been so necessary and urgent.” @Pontifex, 4 September 2021
- “We all have ears, but very often we cannot hear. There is, in fact, an interior deafness worse than the physical one: the deafness of the heart that we can ask Jesus to touch and heal today. #GospelOfTheDay” @Pontifex, 5 September 2021
- “This is the medicine: fewer useless words and more of the Word of God. Let us hear the words of the #GospelOfTheDay addressed to us: “Ephphatha, be opened!” Jesus, I want to open myself to your Word, open myself to listen. Heal my heart.” @Pontifex, 5 September 2021
- “I assure my prayers for the people of the United States of America who have been hit by a strong hurricane in recent days. May the Lord receive the souls of the deceased and sustain those suffering from this calamity.” @Pontifex, 5 September 2021
- “May all Afghans, whether in their home country, in transit, or in host countries, live with dignity, in peace and fraternity with their neighbours. #PrayTogether” @Pontifex, 5 September 2021
- “God is gloriously and mysteriously present in creation since he is the Lord who reigns over it. To discover this, we need to be silent, listen, contemplate. #SeasonOfCreation” @Pontifex, 6 September 2021
- “Next Sunday I will travel to Budapest for the conclusion of the International Eucharistic Congress. My pilgrimage will continue for a few days in Slovakia and will conclude with the great popular celebration of Our Lady of Sorrows, Patroness of that country.” @Pontifex, 7 September 2021
- “This is the first time that @JustinWelby, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, and I feel compelled to address together the urgency of environmental sustainability, its impact on persistent poverty, and the importance of global cooperation. #SeasonofCreation messages” @Pontifex, 7 September 2021
- “Today as we celebrate the #BirthOfMary, let us ask our Mother to help us rediscover the beauty of being God’s children, overcoming differences and conflicts, to live as brothers and sisters.” @Pontifex, 8 September 2021
- “Education is one of the most effective ways of making our world and history more human. Education is above all a matter of love and responsibility handed down from one generation to another. #WorldLiteracyDay” @Pontifex, 8 September 2021
Papal Instagram
This version of The Weekly Francis covers material released in the last week from 29 July 2021 to 1 September 2021.
The Weekly Francis is a compilation of the Holy Father’s writings, speeches, etc which I also post at Jimmy Akin’s blog.
Angelus
General Audiences
Messages
- 29 July 2021 – Message of His Holiness Pope Francis, signed by the Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin, on the occasion of the 42nd Meeting for Friendship among Peoples [Rimini, 20–25 August 2021], 29 July 2021
- 25 August 2021 – Video Message of the Holy Father
Speeches
- 27 August 2021 – To the Participants in the meeting promoted by the International Catholic Legislators Network
- 28 August 2021 – To the group of the “Lazare” Association from France
Papal Tweets
- “Faith is the ardent desire for God, a bold effort to change, the courage to love, constant progress” @Pontifex 27 August 2021
- “Saint Augustine said: “I fear that Jesus will pass by me unnoticed”. It is important to remain watchful, because one great mistake in life is to get absorbed in a thousand things and not to notice God” @Pontifex 28 August 2021
- “In the #GospelOfTheDay, Jesus cautions us about a religiosity of appearances: looking good on the outside, while failing to purify the heart. He does not want outward appearances. He wants to put faith back at the center. He wants a faith that touches the heart” @Pontifex 29 August 2021
- “I am following the situation in Afghanistan with great concern. I share in the sorrow of those who are grieving for those who lost their lives in the suicide attacks and of those who are seeking help and protection.” @Pontifex 29 August 2021
- “As Christians the situation in Afghanistan obligates us. In historic moments like this, we cannot remain indifferent. For this reason, I address an appeal to everyone to intensify your prayer and practice fasting, asking the Lord for mercy and forgiveness” @Pontifex 29 August 2021
- “What is the secret of a blessed life, a happy life? Recognizing Jesus as the living God. For it is not important to know that Jesus was great in history. What matters is the place I give him in my life” @Pontifex 30 August 2021
- “Today we need prophecy, but real prophecy. Miraculous demonstrations are not needed, but lives that demonstrate the miracle of God’s love” @Pontifex 31 August 2021
- “Saint Paul invites us too to reflect on how we live faith. Does the love of Christ, crucified and risen, remain at the centre of our life as the wellspring of salvation, or are we content with a few religious formalities to salve our consciences? #GeneralAudience” @Pontifex 1 September 2021
- “Today we celebrate the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation. Let us #PrayTogether with our brothers and sisters of various Christian confessions and work for our common home at this time of serious planetary crisis. #SeasonOfCreation” @Pontifex 1 September 2021
- “We pray that we all will make courageous choices for a simple and environmentally sustainable lifestyle, rejoicing in our young people who are resolutely committed to this.” @Pontifex 1 September 2021
Papal Instagram
Yesterday on social media I had posted:
Sometimes I have a great biting comment as a pun that works on several levels.
I then realize that there is no way my conscience would let me actually post it for its lack of charity. But such a great biting pun.
I will remind Jesus of those occasions when I die. He will probably remind me of the ones I let fly.
Today I was thinking about this quote from Chesterton:
“It may seem a singular observation to say that we are not generous enough to write great satire. This, however, is approximately a very accurate way of describing the case. To write great satire, to attack a man so that he feels the attack and half acknowledges its justice, it is necessary to have a certain intellectual magnanimity which realizes the merits of the opponent as well as his defects. This is, indeed, only another way of putting the simple truth that in order to attack an army we must know not only its weak points, but also its strong points. England in the present season and spirit fails in satire for the same simple reason that it fails in war: it despises the enemy.” – “Pope and the art of satire”
Twelve Types 1903
In reaction to this, I think, that if you use humor to attack, it should be too wound so as to heal. Oddly I think of St. John of the Cross’s metaphor of the “sweet cautery” that he uses in Stanza 2 of the “Living Flame of Love” for the Holy Spirit. That there is pain involved in the cautery, but it is used to heal.
Chesterton way of explaining the use of satire is not an exclusive way at looking at the subject. Still, all satire should be written to persuade if it is going to be effective. Some writers have the skills to do this in a more brutal way such as Swift’s “A Modest Proposal”.
Coincidentally, today I listened to two podcasts that both dealt with the subject of humor – linked in the comment section.
Godsplaining Episode 108: Is Joking a Sin? – YouTube
Uncommon Sense #58 – The Importance of Humor wit David Deavel – YouTube
This version of The Weekly Francis covers material released in the last week from 13 August 2021 to 25 August 2021.
The Weekly Francis is a compilation of the Holy Father’s writings, speeches, etc which I also post at Jimmy Akin’s blog.
Angelus
General Audiences
Messages
- 13 August 2021 – Video message of the Holy Father to the Participants in the Virtual Continental Congress of Religious Life, organized by CLAR [13–15 August 2021]
- 23 August 2021 – Message of His Holiness Pope Francis, signed by the Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin, on the occasion of the 71st National Liturgical Week [Cremona, 23–26 August 2021]
- 24 August 2021 – Video Message to participants in the Laudato si’ Inter-University Congress [Argentina, 1- 4 September 2021]
Papal Tweets
- “The climate crisis always generates more serious humanitarian crises and the poor are the most vulnerable regarding extreme weather events. A solidarity founded on justice, on peace and on the unity of the human family is needed. #WorldHumanitarianDay” @Pontifex 19 August 2021
- “Patience helps us to be merciful in the way we view ourselves, our communities and our world.” @Pontifex 21 August 2021
- “We should not pursue God in dreams and in images of grandeur and power, but He must be recognised in the humanity of Jesus and, as a consequence, in that of the brothers and sisters we meet on the path of life. #GospelOfTheDay (Jn 6:60–69) #Angelus” @Pontifex 22 August 2021
- “Let us work together to eradicate the appalling scourge of modern slavery that still shackles millions of people in inhumanity and humiliation. Every human being is the image of God, and is free and destined to exist in equality and fraternity.” @Pontifex 23 August 2021
- “It is in humility that we build the future of the world.” @Pontifex 24 August 2021
- “Let us ask the Lord to help us be consistent and to courageously combat anything that can lead us away from the truth and from the faith we profess. Only thus can we truly build unity and fraternity. #GeneralAudience” @Pontifex 25 August 2021
- “Yesterday, in Tokyo, the Paralympic Games got underway. I send my greetings to the athletes and I thank them because they offer everyone a witness of hope and courage.” @Pontifex 25 August 2021
Papal Instagram
At the Chesterton Conference in Chicago, I heard Crystal Downing speak about Dorothy L. Sayers being influenced by G.K. Chesterton. Sayers credited Chesterton for saving her from logical positivism and the path she might have chosen instead.
“When Chesterton died in 1936, Sayers wrote his widow that ”G. K.’s books have become more a part of my mental make-up than those of any writer you could name.“ And she makes clear that it wasn’t simply Orthodoxy that kept her from giving up on orthodoxy, explaining the importance of Chesterton’s novel The Napoleon of Notting Hill, which she read ”at a very impressionable age.”
I was introduced to Dorothy Sayers books as a teenager via Masterpiece Theater when they did the Lord Peter Whimsey novel “The Nine Tailors.” I knew nothing about her other than I liked these novels. Much later, I started to learn more about her. Mainly in connection with all the authors of that era, I was coming to love. So I decided to pick up Crystal Downing’s book on Sayers called “Subversive.” This book concentrates on her dealing with culture when writing on Christ. The plays she wrote for the BBC on Christianity were not something she sought out, but they affected her with the research involved and how to portray the stories.
“When someone asked her opinion about the evangelistic possibilities of religious drama, she replied by emphasizing the need to place artistic quality first and foremost: ”Piety and a spirit of prayer will not turn a bad play into a good one.“ No matter how sincere the intention that generated it or how orthodox the theology within it, ”bad art is a thing damned in itself and damning in its effects.“
There are several reasons Sayers felt so passionately about this issue. First of all, evangelism through the arts can reek too much of an economy of exchange, turning creation into a utilitarian enterprise. As far as she was concerned, writing to generate converts, though noble in sentiment, is not that different in practice from writing to get wealth or fame in exchange. As she told one popular Christian writer, ”You must not accept money, you must not accept applause, you must not accept a ‘following,’ you must not accept even the assurance that you’re doing good as an excuse for writing anything but the thing you want to say.
She also resisted the call from her friend C.S. Lewis to write a series of books “on Christian knowledge” that might edify “young people” still in school.
I enjoyed this book and the concerns that Sayers had when addressing the secular culture and her concerns regarding fellow Christians, and the tendency to make the faith a safe thing that did not have to be thought through. Reading this, I also thought how her approach to presenting these plays reminded me of Flannery O’Connor.
I especially found delightful that during here adolescent period when she felt totally non-religious how the creativity of Chesterton broke through. When her parents tried to persuade her from Chesterton’s quirky novels towards his works like Orthodoxy, Sayers responded with:
“I am not surprised to hear that Chesterton is a Christian. I expect, though, that he is a very cheerful one, and rather original in his views, eh?”
“Subversive”
I recommend this book highly as there is a lot to think over and the concerns Sayers had are even more prevalent.
My only quibble is that when Crystal Downing brings up Reformation-era controversies, they are not fleshed out very well and tend towards typical misunderstandings and oversimplifications.
I’ve seen this meme pop up more frequently latey. Although I have seen versions of this going back to pretty much when the term selfie came into use.
Today I realized Mary used the first Instagram filter with “indigenous women” mode.
