During his Angelus address on Sunday, August 25, Pope Francis reflected on the day’s Gospel passage from Luke, when someone asks Jesus, “Lord, will only a few people be saved?”

The way to heaven is difficult and the gate to enter small, but Jesus’ mother, Mary, who herself entered through the narrow gate, will help those who ask, Pope Francis said Sunday.

Mary can be invoked under the title “Gate of Heaven,” he explained in his Angelus address.

Gospel of 23rd August 2019 - Matthew 22: 34-40

When the Pharisees heard that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees they got together and, to disconcert him, one of them put a question, 'Master, which is the greatest commandment of the Law?' Jesus said, 'You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and the first commandment. The second resembles it: You must love your neighbour as yourself. On these two commandments hang the whole Law, and the Prophets also.'

Reflection on the Sculpture

Pope Pius XII established Aug. 22 as the Memorial of the Queenship of Mary in 1954; but Mary’s role as queen over the universal Church finds its roots in the Scriptures.

At the Annunciation, the archangel Gabriel announced that Mary’s Son would rule forever on the throne of David.
At the Visitation, Elizabeth called Mary the “mother of my Lord.”

Following is the text of the address delivered by Secretary General William Vendley Religions for Peace 10th World Assembly Lindau, Germany, on 20 August 2019:

Your Excellency President Steinmeier Your All Holiness the Ecumenical Patriarch Your Eminence Shaykh Abdullah Bin Bayyah Eminences, Venerables, Excellencies, Brothers and Sisters All

An unprecedented water crisis is looming in the Middle East and North Africa. From Qatar to the Holy land, from Iran to Lebanon, except for virtuous Oman, the countries of the region will soon face extremely high water stress.

According to World Resources Institute, 17 countries face extremely high water stress because they consume 80 per cent of their available water annually.

On the occasion of the 40th annual Meeting for Friendship among Peoples, which opened Sunday in the Italian city of Rimini on the theme “Your name was born from what you gaze upon,” Pope Francis sent a message on August 16 through Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin, to the Bishop of Rimini, Francesco Lambiasi. The meeting closes later this week.

Foloowing is a ZENIT working translation of the message:

To His Most Reverend Excellency,

Monsignor Francesco Lambiasi, Bishop of Rimini

This Sunday as a community of faith, we continue our walk through Saint Luke’s Gospel. It’s an opportunity for us to re-hear the message of the Lord Jesus and to go deeper in our relationship with him.

In particular, this weekend we hear the Lord say to us: “There is a baptism with which I must be baptized, and how great is my anguish until it is accomplished! Do you think that I have come to establish peace on the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division.”

Experts are sounding the alarm yet again about the fate of the Dead Sea, and warn that at the current rate of its water depletion and receding shorelines, the Dead Sea will become dead for all intents and purposes in three to four decades.

Despite the repeated warnings about the Dead Sea and its imminent demise and disappearance, the stakeholders do not seem to care or pay much attention to the impeding crisis.

Revelation 12:1–6

Vatican Media’s Editorial Director explains how the Institute for the Works of Religion (IOR) is being renewed through greater attention to ethics, staff, time management, and the appointment of an external auditor.

The renewal of the Statutes of the IOR represents an important step in the process of adaptation to the highest international standards. More importantly, it signifies a renewed fidelity to the original mission of the Institute for the Works of Religion, also known as the Vatican Bank.