The prayer recalls and invites Catholics to participate in the nine days that the Blessed Virgin Mary and the apostles spent in prayer after Christ ascended into heaven. This year, it begins on Friday, May 27, and concludes on Saturday, June 4.Ĭatholics worldwide often recite the novena during the nine days that fall between the feast of the Ascension, when Christ rises body and soul to heaven, and the feast of Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit comes upon the apostles, Mary, and the first followers of Christ. The first novena ever prayed is the Pentecost Novena, or the Novena to the Holy Spirit. Pope Francis concluded by asking Our Lady, who shared in God’s riches, to “help us understand what the true goods of life are, the ones that last forever.”įollowing his reflection, the pope thanked all those who assisted him on his trip to Canada, while assuring those suffering from the war in Ukraine that they remain in his prayers.ĭuccio’s Pentecost (1308) / public domain The pope continued: “So, let us ask ourselves: For myself, how do I want to get rich? Do I want to get rich according to God or according to my covetousness? And, returning to the topic of inheritance, what legacy do I want to leave? Money in the bank, material things, or happy people around me, good works that are not forgotten, people that I have helped to grow and mature?” It depends, instead, on good relationships – with God, with others, and even with those who have less.” Brothers and sisters, accumulating material goods is not enough to live well, for Jesus says also that life does not consist in what one possesses (see Lk 12:15).
#Real jesus piece chain how to
It is a richness that knows how to give, to distribute, to share. His riches do not impoverish anyone, do not create quarrels and divisions. It is beautiful to become rich, but rich according to God! God is the richest of anyone,” he said. “And so, we might think, so, no one should desire to get rich? Certainly, you can rather, it is right to want it. The pope next shifted to focus on the “richness” of God. Pope Francis reflected on the dangers of coveting wealth and possessions during his Angelus reflection in St. “Do I complain about what I lack, or do I know how to be content with what I have? In the name of money or opportunity, am I tempted to sacrifice relationships and sacrifice time with others? And yet again, does it happen that I sacrifice legality and honesty on the altar of covetousness?” “And so, let us try to ask ourselves: Where am I at with my detachment from possessions, from wealth?” the pope asked. The pope identified covetousness as a “dangerous illness for society as well,” pointing to the greed that fuels wars and in particular the “scandal” of the arms trade. “Rather than being served by money, the person becomes a servant of money.” But this way, the person is no longer free: he or she is attached to, a slave, of what paradoxically was meant to serve them so as to live freely and serenely,” Pope Francis warned. Above all, those who have a lot are never content, they always want more, and only for themselves. “This is an illness that destroys people, because the hunger for possessions creates an addiction. Peter’s Square before the weekly recitation of the Angelus. “What is covetousness? It is the unbridled greed for possessions, always desiring to be rich,” the pope said, speaking to pilgrims in St. The Holy Father noted that rather than entering into the details of the man’s situation, he “goes to the root of the divisions caused by the possession of things”: covetousness. “Take care to guard against all greed,” Jesus tells the crowd, “for though one may be rich, one’s life does not consist of possessions” (Lk. In Sunday’s Gospel, Jesus responds to a man who wants his brother to share his inheritance with him. Newsroom, / 06:32 am (CNA).Ī day after returning to Rome from his weeklong trip to Canada, Pope Francis on Sunday reflected on the dangers of coveting wealth and possessions.