The Easter Season is coming to a surprising, triumphant, and powerful conclusion. After the Lord ascended, he told his apostles to wait. They went to a place they knew, a place that was familiar - even intimate - to them. They returned to the Upper Room, the very place where the Lord had celebrated the Last Supper and where he appeared to them after his Resurrection. There the apostolic community, joined by Mary, prayed and wondered what would come next.

A mighty wind has blown, fires descend, voices cry out, and ears hear the gospel for the first time. Barriers broken down, all creation embraced, and social, gender, and economic divisions overcome.

In many ways, Pentecost resembles Easter and Christmas as challenge for homiletical creativity. The Pentecost preacher is presented with a scripture and theme – on this birthday of the church – that is so familiar that he or she wonders if anything new can be said. Repetition is good provided our words and rituals are relevant and life-giving.

Full Text of Holy Father’s Press Conference Returning from Romania to Rome

Pope Francis on June 2, 2019, talked with reporters on the return flight to Rome after his May 31 – June 2 apostolic journey to Romania. The discussion was moderated by the Director “ad interim” of the Holy See Press Office, Alessandro Gisotti.

Following is the ZENIT translation of the press conference provided by the Vatican:

Alessandro Gisotti:

Since the tragic conflagration of Notre-Dame de Paris, no one talks about anything other than its reconstruction. It is a noble project. It will be a spectacular construction site. But it is also the sign of great ingenuousness, even a pretentious naïveté.

When Our Lady appears, so does biblical symbolism connected to her and her messages for us.

One wonders about certain aspects in Our Lady’s apparitions. For instance, why did she appear at Lourdes with roses on her feet? Flowers are meant to beautify our churches, homes and gardens. Mothers receive corsages on Mother’s Day. But who puts a rose on their toes?

Tens of thousands of Romanians converged on a mud-strewn hillside to celebrate Mass with Pope Francis June 1, braving heavy rain that forced changes to the itinerary for the pontiff's visit to the picturesque Transylvania region on his second day in the country.

Gathered with umbrellas and ponchos against the backdrop of the densely wooded Carpathian Mountains, the Romanians listened quietly as the pope urged in his homily that they not listen to people wanting to "provoke division" among them, but instead "live together as brothers and sisters."

After Christ rose from the dead and before he ascended to heaven, he made different appearances to certain of his followers and “spoke of the kingdom of God” (Acts 1:3). Many of us would love to have the manuscripts from those discourses.

True stories of hearts changed and guided through Marian devotion and how the Blessed Mother is the builder of better lives.

The following is the text of the Message of the Holy Father Francis for the World Day of Migrants and Refugees 2019, to be held this coming September 29, on the theme: “It is not just about migrants”:

Message of the Holy Father

It is not just about migrants

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

WHY OUR LADY OF FATIMA STATUES ARE SOMETIMES DEPICTED WITH THREE DOVES?