Following is the full text of Pope Francis' prayer to Mary on the Immaculate Conception:
Here is the full translated text of the prayer:
Immaculate Mother,
For the fifth time I come to your feet as Bishop of Rome,
to pay you homage on behalf of all the inhabitants of this city.
Through the centuries the Church has become ever more aware that Mary, "full of grace" through God, was redeemed from the moment of her conception. That is what the dogma of the Immaculate Conception solemnly affirms, as Pope Pius IX proclaimed in 1854: "The most Blessed Virgin Mary was, from the first moment of her conception, by a singular grace and privilege of almighty God and by virtue of the merits of Jesus Christ, Savior of the human race, preserved immune from all stain of original sin." (Catechism of the Catholic Church, no. 492)
The vocation of a city Jerusalem will only be faithful to itself if it remains a beacon for the women and men of the entire world, “a city where all together become one” as it says in Psalm 121.
Jerusalem is a unique city in the world as anyone who has had the fortune to pass through its gates will attest.
Nowhere else on earth is there such an overlapping of peoples and spiritualities. The whole city is full of symbols.
In view of Trump's announcement concerning the U. S. Embassy, Abu Mazen phones Francis, who at the General Audience says to be deeply concerned and makes a heartfelt appeal to all to respect the city’s status quo.
Our Father in Heaven. God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. You are the Eternal I AM. The One who is age to age the same. There is no shadow of turning with You. You are fully present in every generation—past, present, and future. You are the All-Mighty. Your power has not been deleted or depleted over the millennia of human history. We know that You so loved the world that You gave us Heaven’s treasure when You sent Your only Son to die, so that anyone and everyone who places their faith in Him will not perish but have everlasting life.
Muhammad Abu Sayed, 35, a Rohingya refugee who two months ago fled to Bangladesh after violence in Myanmar's Rakhine state, speaks at the Balukhali refugee camp in Cox's Bazar on December 4. Sayed is one of 16 Rohingyas who met Pope Francis in Dhaka on December 1 during the pontiff's trip to Bangladesh.
Expectations are high among refugees in makeshift camps in Cox’s Bazar days after Pope Francis met with 16 Rohingya refugees in Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh.
Following is the spiritual message delivered by our beloved Patriarch Michelle Sabah marking Advent and the celebrations marking the birth of the King of the World, the Saviour, and the Light of the World Lord Jesus Christ:
Christmas is a time to stand before God.
And appearing before God, they claim to be in front of us, and we are worthy of ourselves, and be worthy of God, in front of his holiness, to be saints as holy, loving, loving and strong. Love him.
Jesus is coming. The fact that he’s coming on December 25 fills us with sweet anticipation. But the fact that he’s coming in judgment at an unexpected time when our current life ends might fill us with dread.
That joy and dread are both right — and both wrong — compared to what we find in today’s readings.
“Be watchful! Be alert!” Jesus warns in the Gospel. He tells a story about a master returning to his home, where we are servants. “May he not come suddenly and find you sleeping,” he says. “Watch!”
“Mark the season of Advent by loving and serving others with God’s own love and concern,” said St. Teresa of Calcutta.
Francis meets priests, nuns and seminarians and leaves aside his written speech, “When you want to bad-mouth somebody, bite your tongue. What a nice thing to see the elderly nuns with eyes shining with joy and peace after a life spent serving”,
