At the Wednesday general audience at the Vatican on June 3, Pope Leo XIV called Catholics to be open to an “encounter with God by rediscovering the signs and symbols of the sacred liturgy.”
“We need to let ourselves be educated by the rites of the liturgy, tending to the beauty of our celebrations with a delicate hand and without arbitrariness,” Leo said to the faithful.
Leoʼs remarks were part of his catechesis on the liturgy, focusing on the Second Vatican Councilʼs document Sacrosanctum Concilium. In his remarks, the pope explained the councilʼs teaching about participation in the liturgy through its signs and symbols.
“In the liturgy, we are invited to participate — body, mind, and heart — and enter into a dimension inhabited by the Holy Spirit. In order to enter into this dimension, the liturgy is woven with signs and symbols that have a performative and transformative dimension,” Leo said.
He also called on Catholics to recall the meaning of the various gestures associated with the liturgy, such as the sign of peace and kneeling before the Blessed Sacrament. He explained that these symbols and signs are not arbitrary gestures, but are important for helping Catholics experience “the presence of God through Jesus Christ.”
“The rites of the Christian liturgy are not an outward covering of the sacramental mystery or a set of arbitrary ceremonies,” Leo said. “Rather, they are the ecclesial mediation through which the divine gift reaches us. Through the sacred rite, we are thus formed in listening to the Word of God, in thanksgiving and adoration, in fraternal sharing, and in ecclesial communion.”
In an appeal at the end of the general audience, Leo invited Catholics to bear public witness to the mystery of the Eucharist during the upcoming eucharistic processions for the Solemnity of Corpus Christi.
“The processions with the Blessed Sacrament that take place in the streets of many towns are an expression of popular eucharistic piety; in this regard, I encourage you to keep alive this beautiful manifestation of public witness to the faith,” Leo said.
He also gave a special greeting to priests serving in the Middle East amid continuing armed conflicts in the region.
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Pope Leo XIV is inviting Catholics around the world to join him in praying a rosary for peace on May 30.
The Holy Father is set to pray the rosary live from the Lourdes Grotto in the Vatican Gardens at 7 p.m. Rome time. Monsignor Walter R. Rossi, rector of the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C., will join Pope Leo in praying the rosary with a simultaneous livestream at 1 p.m. ET, according to a May 22 press release.
Shrines that have joined the initiative, coordinated by the Dicastery for Evangelization, include: the Shrine of the Mother of God (Zarvanytsia, Ukraine); the International Shrine of Our Lady of Peace and Good Voyage (Antipolo, Philippines); the Shrine of Our Lady of the Rosary (Fátima, Portugal); the Shrine of Our Lady Queen of Peace (Medjugorje, Bosnia and Herzegovina); the Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes (Lourdes, France); the Shrine of St. Charbel Annaya (Byblos, Lebanon); and the Pontifical Shrine of the Holy House (Loreto, Italy).
“As the preeminent Marian shrine and patronal church of the United States, the basilica joins shrines throughout the world in this worldwide rosary with the Holy Father,” according to a statement from the basilica in Washington, D.C. “All are invited to participate in this special moment of unity and prayer for peace throughout the world.”
During his homily at Pentecost, Leo called Catholics to pray to the Holy Spirit to “save us from the evil of war, which is overcome not by a superpower but by the omnipotence of love.”
Leo has issued repeated calls for peace around the world, including the Middle East, Africa, and Ukraine, since the start of his pontificate.
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TODAY: Begin your Novena to the Holy Spirit! This is the Church's FIRST novena, which Our Lord instructed the Apostles to pray in anticipation of the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. It's still the only novena officially prescribed by the Church, and it is a powerful plea to the Third Person of the Blessed Trinity for the light and strength we Christians sorely need!
Pray with us here (new prayers will be added each day): https://t.co/k9jEvWkddK
There are saints all over the place in Rome! This is where St. Catherine of Siena is venerated. We came here today because it's her feast day. We're part of a family that is not limited by space and time, and St. Catherine reminds us of that! There are saints all over the place, but the saints are with us wherever we are. @thegnewsroom
On Holy Saturday the Church is, as it were, at the Lord’s tomb, meditating on his passion and death, and on his descent into hell, and awaiting his resurrection with prayer and fasting.
Holy Saturday is the day of the Paschal Triduum when the Virgin Mary remains in prayer beside the tomb, accompanying the Church in its sorrow after the Passion and Death of Christ. But this is a hopeful waiting, as we also prepare to celebrate His Resurrection at the "Easter Vigil". Thank you for strengthening our faith, Most Holy Mother Mary!
How to live Holy Saturday?
Catholics begin the day with a spirit of mourning, maintaining an atmosphere of silence and meditation. These are hours of waiting in which Catholics remember that Jesus was placed in the tomb and later descended into hell.
But we do not wait alone, for Our Most Holy Mother accompanies us in the moment when God seems absent. Today, the Virgin Mary stands firm beside the tomb of her Son, strengthening the faith, trust, and hope of all her children.
Later, as night falls, Catholics attend the Easter Vigil, the most important and special Mass of the liturgical year, where we joyfully celebrate the victory of our God, the blessed night when Jesus rose from the dead and crowned His work of salvation.
🙏Prayer for today:
Lord, by the suffering of Christ your Son you have saved us all from the death we inherited from sinful Adam. By the law of nature we have borne the likeness of his manhood. May the sanctifying power of grace help us to put on the likeness of our Lord in heaven, who lives and reigns for ever and ever. Amen.