Pope Francis begins a decisive season of his pontificate right in “his” Latin America. He is going to Panama to meet young people at WYD, but also to start tackling in the Amazon, issues such as the defense of the indigenous peoples and the environment - in view of the special Synod in October. 2019 presents itself as the year in which many of the “battles” of the 82-year-old Argentine Pontiff, who is implementing a reform of the Church, will come to a conclusion. His hope is that many knots will finally come undone this year.

The Gospel this week, focusing on the Wedding at Cana, is important for many reasons: the attentive intercession of Our Lady, the elevation of marriage to a sacrament, and the creation of new wine — the best wine — with a single command from Jesus as the first public miracle.

This Sunday, the Church slows things down and enters back into a self-described Ordinary Time. All of the major feasts have passed, and believers are now invited to walk again with the Lord Jesus and re-hear his Gospel message of love and mercy. In order to mark the shift, the Church clothes herself in green, the color of hope and growth. Always a teacher, the Church takes on externally what believers should foster internally.

Pope Francis warned against the risk of being blind to the gifts given to other Christians, as he opened the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity in the Roman basilica of St Paul Outside the Walls,on Friday,January 18, explaining that “it is a grave sin to belittle or despise the gifts that the Lord has given our brothers and sisters” and warning that if "we entertain such thoughts, we allow the very grace we have received to become a source of pride, injustice and division”.

When Pope Francis visits Abu Dhabi February 3-5, he will visit a land where inter-religious tolerance is mandated by law; while Catholics in the United Arab Emirates count their blessings for that, the pope is expected to nudge for something more.

Tolerance is praiseworthy, and Catholics in the Emirates do not take it for granted. But for Pope Francis, the next step - and often a big one - is mutual knowledge, respect and cooperation.

The word with which to open 2019 is the one launched by the Holy Father in his Urbi et Orbi discourse on Christmas day: fraternity. A word that indicates the truth that “is the basis of the Christian vision of humanity”. A vision that hinges on the harmony between unity and diversity, the very heart of fraternity. If this harmony exists, “our differences, then, are not a detriment or a danger; they are a source of richness. As when an artist is about to make a mosaic: it is better to have tiles of many colours available, rather than just a few!”.

In his message for the 27th World Day of the Sick, Pope Francis urges believers to promote a culture of generosity, noting that the joy of generous giving is a barometer of the health of a Christian.

Following is the text of the Pope's message:

“You received without payment; give without payment” (Mt 10:8)

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

“You received without payment; give without payment” (Mt 10:8). These are the words spoken by Jesus when sending forth his apostles to spread the Gospel, so that his Kingdom might grow through acts of gratuitous love.

His Holiness Pope Francis has paid tribute to the efforts exerted by Jordan in hosting the refugees, terming their hosting as falling within the framework of the spirit of brotherhood. This was reported in a speech delivered during his meeting Monday, January 7, with members of the diplomatic corps accredited to the Holy See on the occasion of the start of the New Year.

Having flipped through the calendar of the new year, we said, “O God, we rely on You.” We can only be optimistic, because falling into despair is a great danger. It involves a risk of passing a judgment on the new year with views abounding with negativity, bleakness, and monotony that overwhelm one with boredom and despair.

Pope Francis celebrates Mass in St. Peter's Basilica on the Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord. The official English-language translation of the Pope's homily is below: