General audience, Benedict XVI speaks of prayer in the Letters of St. Paul. It is true that "we do not know how to pray: We can only open ourselves up, make time available for God; wait for Him to help us truly enter into dialogue”. World Day of the Family, work, supports it and allows it to be ...

Benedict XVI, on a pastoral visit to Arezzo, calls on the city and the Italian society to gain strength from faith and love in the Christian and humanist tradition to address the challenges and difficulties experienced by families, poor and young. Along with prayer and solidarity, the need to ...

Receiving the national directors of the Pontifical Missionary Society, Benedict XVI underlines the need for mission, although "the messengers of the Gospel," continue to be persecuted. A thought for Father Massimo Cenci, who passed away this morning: "The Lord reward him for all the work he ...

Benedict XVI continues to devote catechesis for the general audience to prayer. He comments on the captivity and liberation of Peter. "The Apostle even in chains is clam, he does not feel alone, the community is praying for him, the Lord is near." "To pray well" means "to turn towards God and not ...

During the Regina Caeli, Benedict XVI explains the parable of the vine and the branches, calling on the faithful to pray, take the Sacraments and engage in charity because "all our actions have in Him the beginning and the end." The pontiff also announces his presence at the Seventh World Meeting ...

Scientific research and quest for meaning "spring from a single source, that Logos that presides over the work of creation and guides the understanding of history." The loss of this unity generates a crisis of thought. "A dangerous imbalance between what is technically possible and what is morally ...

General audience, Benedict XVI speaks of the witness and the prayer of St. Stephen, the first Christian martyr. Our prayer must be the contemplation of Jesus as "Lord of our, of my daily existence." In Him "we may be able to turn to God with the trust and abandonment of children who turn to a ...

World Day of Prayer for Vocations, Pope Benedict XVI ordains nine new priests, eight for the diocese of Rome and one for Vietnam. "The Lord always calls, but often we do not listen. We are distracted by many things, other more superficial voices." The 'essence of the priesthood "to be ever more ...

At the general audience, Benedict XVI returns to emphasize the necessity of prayer for us today, used to evaluating everything according to the criteria of productivity and efficiency, "we must not lose ourselves in pure activism." "The Church must not only proclaim the Word, but live the Word ...

After the resurrection, Jesus opens the minds of the apostles to understanding the Scriptures about Christ, "may our hearts and our minds be open to the understanding of Scriptures". In this period when children usually make the first communion, Benedict XVI invites priests, catechists and parents' ...

Benedict XVI returns to devote general audience catechism to prayer. The first Christian community, persecuted, unites in prayer and does not ask God to ensure their safety, but the courage of faith. An example to follow in our personal lives, God is present in our lives, even in difficult moments, ...

During the Regina Caeli, Benedict XVI refers to the feast established by the Polish pope, and calls on all pilgrims to be "witnesses of Divine Mercy" in the world. He greets the faithful from the Santo Spirito in Sassia Church and the sanctuary in Lagiewniki, where Saint Faustina Kowalska lived. ...

General audience, Benedict XVI invites us to make the Easter season "an opportunity to discover the joy and enthusiasm of faith, the presence of the risen Christ among us. This so we can make the same journey as the two disciples on the road to Emmaus, by rediscovering the Word of God and the ...

The Easter message, Benedict XVI: "If Jesus is risen, then – and only then – has something truly new happened, something that changes the state of humanity and the world". Last night, during the vigil "with regard to material things, our knowledge and our technical accomplishments are legion, but ...

Benedict XVI celebrates the Chrism Mass. Referring to a "call to disobedience" from a movement of Austrian priests he says that disobedience "is not" a path and does not renew the Church. The example is Jesus, obedient even unto the cross." Religious illiteracy "and the 'Year of the faith. The ...

General audience, Benedict XVI retraces the just completed journey. Tomorrow the Easter Triduum begins: "May the resurrection really be realized in us." Appeals against landmines, "terrible and insidious weapons."

Benedict XVI celebrates the rite of Palm Sunday, which begins Holy Week and coincides with the 27th World Youth Day. Receive from Christ " a look of blessing: a wise and loving look, capable of grasping the world’s beauty and having compassion on its fragility ", because God does not feel "disgust" ...

A passionate homily by Benedict XVI on the feast of the Chair of St. Peter, celebrated along with 22 new cardinals. Being Peter’s "rock" is not dependent on the person, but on the office entrusted to him by Jesus The Church "does not exist for Herself," but is "a window", which carries the light of ...

Benedict XVI gives the red hat and ring 22 new cardinals. Among them, John Tong, bishop of Hong Kong and George Alencherry, major archbishop of Ernakulam (Kerala, India). The Pope stresses that the logic of Christ – which also should be that of the cardinals - is to serve God and man in "absolute ...

Visiting the Major Seminary of Rome, Benedict XVI emphasizes that the Christian must not "conform himself" to powers which “almost demand adoration” such as the world of finance and the media, which risk transforming the world into a virtual reality.

Benedict XVI dedicates a second general audience to the prayer of the dying Jesus. Three "words" in which "the first and third are explicitly addressed to the Father and the second to the good thief crucified with him." In the latter, said Benedict XVI, "there is hope that the sincere prayer after ...

Benedict XVI celebrates the Day for Consecrated Life. "Today the prayers of the entire Community, is dedicated to every consecrated person, giving thanks to God the Father, the giver of all good, for the gift of this vocation, and invokes it again with faith." During the Year of Faith, those who ...

General audience, Benedict XVI speaks of Jesus' prayer in Gethsemane. In prayer there is the relationship of tenderness, affection and trust that binds Jesus to the Father, the knowledge of the omnipotence of the Father, full adherence to the will of the Father.

Benedict XVI concludes the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. As Saul became Paul only through God’s intervention, prayer for the unity asks us to "conform" ourselves to His divine will.

'"Silence and the Word: path of evangelization," the theme of the 46th World Day of Social Communications. Today " people today are frequently bombarded with answers to questions they have never asked and to needs of which they were unaware". Silence helps us to "recognize and focus on the really ...

The criteria for interpretation of canon law in the speech that Benedict XVI addressed today to the Roman Rota. The constant need to " sentire cum Ecclesia " which leads to the " search for the right solutions in everyday life of the faithful and the community."

Parents and priests are the “mediators” who can help young people discover their vocation, especially that of total consecration. He greets representatives of Rome’s migrant communities on World Day of Migrants and Refugees and invites people to take part in the Week of prayer for Christian Unity ...

Continuing the cycle of catechesis "as Jesus prayed," Benedict XVI dedicates the general audience to the Last Supper. The gestures and words of Jesus. By participating in the Eucharist, "we live in an extraordinary way the prayer that Jesus has made and continually makes for each one of us so that ...

Benedict XVI's Message for the next World Day of the Sick, on the theme " Stand up and go; your faith has saved you," which also looks at the upcoming "Year of Faith," " a propitious and valuable occasion to rediscover the strength and beauty of faith, to examine its contents, and to bear witness ...

Te Deum for New Year, Benedict XVI returns to the urgency of the "question of faith." " Christ’s disciples are called to reawaken in themselves and in others the longing for God and the joy of living him and bearing witness to him." "It is in God that our last hour must come to a close, the last ...

On the 45th World Day of Peace - the theme of "Educating young people in justice and peace" - Pope Benedict XVI speaks of a "critical educational challenge." Education is not only "instruction" the relativistic culture devalues the meaning of education. The task of the family, school and religious ...

Prayer in the life of the Holy Family of Nazareth at the heart of the last general audience of the year. "Children, even from an early age, can learn to perceive the sense of God, through the teaching and example of parents, living in an atmosphere of God's presence."

Finding an answer to "faith fatigue" is the true "reform" that the Church has needed in recent years. World Youth Days have a sense of belonging to the Church, the gift of their time, adoration of God, awareness of need of forgiveness, joy in being loved by God

General Audience dedicated approach of the Incarnation. The external aspects, while beautiful and important, must not absorb the meaning of a festival that celebrates "the mystery that has marked and continues to mark the history of man, God became man and dwelt among us". And still does so today. ...

Benedict XVI made the announcement during a solemn Mass in St. Peter's dedicated to the Virgin of Guadalupe and the bicentennial of the independence of several Latin American countries. The communist regime of Cuba, which has mainland China as its main partner, seeks Church support for its reforms ...

Continuing his reflections on "how Jesus prayed," at the general audience Benedict XVI illustrates the '"hymn of joy." God reveals himself to the “least", rejecting earthly logic in which the rich and learned are those who posses the important things and transmit them to the poor. The "pure in ...

Benedict XVI will visit the island, with which China is the biggest trading partner, and which is stepping up political, economic and diplomatic ties. The trip will take place in March, in celebration of the Virgen de la Caridad del Cobre, the patroness of Cuba.

Angelus, Benedict XVI speaks of John the Baptist. An invitation to solidarity with "those who, often forcibly, they must leave their country, or are stateless."

The new evangelization is inseparable from the Christian family, there are areas, like the education of children and adolescents to love and marriage preparation, in which its leading role is necessary, in collaboration with the priests and under the leadership of bishops.

Speaking to thousands of young people participating in a project sponsored by the Foundation "Sister Nature" of Assisi, Benedict XVI says that "respect for the imprint of the Creator in all creation, leads to a better understanding of our true human and deepest identity." Respect for the ...

Benedict XVI points to the Polish pope who in his physical weakness, and stripped of everything, became "as his only Lord and Master, who from the Cross became a point of attraction and salvation for humanity." "The mystery of pain seems to blur the face of God, identifying him as being responsible ...

Benedict XVI recalled "the sufferings of the victims" and "conscientious efforts of the Church" to address the problem of sexual abuse. But he also remembers the urgency of the prophetic mission of the Church against a secularism that is destroying the "basics intellectual, cultural and moral ...

In Asia, the proclamation of the Gospel has reached only a small minority, "who often live the faith in difficulty, sometimes even persecution." Speaking to the Assembly of the Pontifical Council for the Laity, Benedict XVI says faith- once acquired - should not be taken for granted but has to be ...

Looking back at the stages of his trip to Benin at the general audience, Benedict XVI says that he found "a freshness in their yes to life, a freshness of religious awareness and of hope, a perception of reality in its totality with God and not reduced to a positivism which eventually extinguishes ...

At the General Audience, Benedict XVI illustrates Psalm 110 concluding his series of catechesis dedicated to these biblical prayers. In Church tradition it is seen as a fundamental Messianic text. Jesus, "priest eternal, holy, innocent, unstained, can save those who through him are close to God."

God gifts us all a talent and a mission. We need to custody charity in out every action, loving friends and enemies. A greeting for a large group of Filipino pilgrims. The beatification of Fr Carl Lampert, a martyr during Nazism.

At the Angelus, Benedict XVI recalls that we are all called to holiness. Looking at the Church not in its temporal and human aspect, marked by weakness, but as Christ willed it, “a communion of saints".

The Day of "pilgrims of truth, pilgrims of peace” has begun. Together with the pope, 300 delegates from over 50 countries worldwide. At least 100 are from Asia, the Muslim presence is growing. Unlike Assisi 1986, this time there are also representatives of those who do not belong to any religion, ...

Benedict XVI canonized Msgr.Guido Maria Conforti, founder of the Xaverian Missionaries, Don Luigi Guanella, founder of the Servants of Charity and the Daughters of Our Lady of Providence, who serve the disabled; Bonifacia Rodriguez de Castro, founder of the Congregation of the Servants of St. ...

The Year of Faith "will begin on 11 October 2012, the 50th anniversary of the Second Vatican Council, and will end November 24, 2013, Solemnity of Christ the King." Benedict XVI will prepare a special apostolic letter to explain its value to "strengthen our faith in Him and to proclaim Him with joy ...