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Pilgrimage from Macerata to Loreto is the 38th Macerata-Loreto Pilgrimage on foot. The near-17.5 mile (28 kilometer) pilgrimage is made on foot and at night, concluding at the Shrine of Loreto where the Holy House is. “I have awaited you day and night” Dear friends, Going toward Loreto, you will more easily discover the bottomless depths of your need if you keep before your eyes the witness the Lord has given us to make a human journey today: Pope Francis. Who could have imagined his way of answering the problems of the world and the urgent needs of life? A Jubilee Year of Mercy. “Yes, humanly speaking, it is foolish, but ‘the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men’ (I Cor 1:25).” Let us learn this outlook from the Pope. “That which delights and attracts, that which humbles and overcomes, that which opens and unleashes, is not the power of instruments or the force of law, but rather the omnipotent weakness of divine love, which...

Holiness is a journey; holiness cannot be bought.  It can’t be sold. It cannot be given away. Holiness is a journey to God's presence that I must make: no one else can do it in my name. I can pray for someone to be holy, but he’s the one who has to work towards [holiness], not me. Walk in God's presence, in an impeccable way. From the homily "Jesus’ Kingdom of Heaven," the Pope stressed, is for "those who have the courage to go forward" and courage, he observed, is generated by "hope," the second element of the journey that leads to holiness. The kind of courage that hopes "in an encounter with Jesus."  The third element of this journey towards holiness, the Pope observed, appears in Peter’s words: "Put all your hope in that grace:”  "We cannot achieve holiness on our own,” affirmed Pope Francis.  “No, it is a grace. Being good, being saintly, going every day a little 'a step forward in the Christian life is a grace of ...

How am I doing on this Christian journey?  Am I standing still, making mistakes, turning here and there, stopping in front of the things that I like, or (am I  following) Jesus who said "I who am the Way. " ? From the homily Pope Francis reflected on the need for Christians to consistently follow Jesus and not get waylaid or blocked on their journey of faith.  He said there are many  different types of Christians who are following Jesus in a confused manner like the mummified Christian, the vagabond Christian, the stubborn Christian and the half  way Christian. [...]  “Christians who stay still, who don't go forward, are non-Christian Christians. We don’t know exactly what they are. They are slightly ‘paganized’ Christians: who  are there, who stay still and don’t go forward in their Christian lives, who don’t make the Beatitudes bloom in their lives, who don’t do Works of mercy… they are  motionless. Excuse me for saying it, but they are lik...

God is greater than our sin. Let us not forget this: God is greater than our sin! From the general audience Today we finish the catecheses on mercy in the Old Testament, and we do so meditating on Psalm 51, known as the Miserere . [...]  The “title” that the ancient Jewish tradition gave this Psalm makes reference to King David and his sin with Bathsheba, the wife of Uriah the Hittite. We know the  affair well. King David, called by God to tend His People and to lead them on paths of obedience to the Divine Law, betrays his mission and, after having committed  adultery with Bathsheba, has her husband killed. Terrible sin! Nathan, the prophet, reveals his guilt to him and helps him to acknowledge it. It is the moment of  reconciliation with God, in the confession of his sin. And here David was humble; he was great! [...]  The Psalmist entrusts himself to God’s goodness; he knows that divine forgiveness is extremely effective, because it creates that which...