Fr. Joel Sember

Priest. Pastor. Pilgrim. Let's walk together on the journey of life which is a pilgrimage to eternal life.

[Fr. Joel Sember @frjoelsember]

Tweet others as you would like to be tweeted. #TwitterGoldenRule

[Paulina Guzik @Guzik_Paulina]

In what will certainly become one of the most fundamental speeches of his pontificate, Pope Leo XIV told the Spanish Parliament, before receiving a 7-minute standing ovation: "The defense of human life is neither a partisan issue nor a confessional interest: it is a goal of civilization."

"If life ceases to be recognized as a fundamental value, what future can our societies have?" he said, speaking to a gathering of politicians, many supporting abortion and euthanasia.

"Can a community that casts into the shadows the unborn child, the elderly, the sick, those who suffer in silence, or those who depend entirely on the care of others be called fully just?"

"Every human life must be recognized and safeguarded from conception to its natural end, in every circumstance of its existence. When this certainty is obscured, the most vulnerable are the first victims, and the law loses its deepest meaning: to serve and protect every person."

"For this reason, the moral greatness of a nation is manifested, above all, in its capacity to accompany, protect and love those lives that are most fragile," he said, repeating what John Paul II emphasized decades ago.

Starting his speech he commented that Church's is the "message offered in the spirit of service to the human person."

"When the Church addresses anything concerning public life, she does so while respecting the proper mission of institutions and the legitimate responsibility of those who have received the mandate to legislate," Pope Leo said, emphasizing "the Church offers a reflection born of the desire to serve the common good."

He hailed Spain as country that "has known how to view the human being as more than just a cog in the social, economic or political order. It has recognized the human being as a creature open to truth, endowed with freedom, and driven by a thirst for eternity that no temporal reality can quench -- in a word, as someone whose dignity takes precedence over all utility and to whose service legislative action is subject."

He said it was Catholic orders that "helped to shape a legal and moral consciousness capable of remembering that authority always entails responsibility and that every human being must be recognized as a subject of rights and duties."

"That aspiration continues to resonate today: that dignity, justice and the common good should be the measure of social relations, both at the national and international levels."

Referring multiple times to his "Magnifica Humanitas" encyclical, he said: "When the common good ceases to be a shared horizon, public action runs the risk of fragmenting into partial interests, incapable of safeguarding what belongs to all."

"In this context, the family — the primary human reality and the natural foundation of the community — takes on particular importance," Pope Leo said.

"The family will always be the first school of humanity, where one learns, before anywhere else, the basic grammar of living together: welcoming life, caring for others, forgiving, serving and belonging."

"Human life can never be treated as a commodity," the pope said.

"A law does not attain its true greatness merely by having been formally enacted; it attains it when, in addition to being valid in form, it can stand before the dignity of the person and pass that test without shame."

"I invite you, then, to lift your gaze to the world around you, not to turn away from reality, but to remember that every decision by public authorities affects real people, especially those who have less power to make their voices heard."

"The expanse of one’s vision consists precisely in looking more deeply at what is at stake in every public decision. This is why, alongside technical solutions and legal reforms, a moral renewal is also needed."

Video: Vatican Media
(fragment of speech follows)

[Fr. Joel Sember @frjoelsember]

@fox11news I’m not seeing a big difference between Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump.

[Fr. Joel Sember @frjoelsember]

@fox11news That’s not war. That’s terrorism.

[Fr. Joel Sember @frjoelsember]

Hoping to help build a future that includes everyone, not based on fear and false promises.

https://t.co/P8nc6fy1vz

[Bishop David Ricken @BpDavidRicken]

First, I fully affirm and stand in solidarity with my brother bishop, Bishop Kevin Rhoades. He has spoken with clarity, courage, and fidelity to the Church's mission.
Second, let us turn with confidence to our Blessed Mother. Our Lady, pray for us! You are our loving Mother—we love you and entrust this to your Immaculate Heart.
In all things, may God's holy will be done. Amen.

[Fr. Joel Sember @frjoelsember]

ICE please stop killing people and lying about it.
#AlexPretti

https://t.co/ZNYS7rWHBx

[Pope Leo XIV @Pontifex]

#Peace is not merely the absence of conflict, but an active and demanding gift, which is built in the heart and from the heart. It calls each of us to renounce pride and vindictiveness and to resist the temptation to use words as weapons. This vision of peace has become all the more urgent, as geopolitical tension and fragmentation continue to deepen in ways that burden nations and strain the bonds of the human family.

[Fr. Joel Sember @frjoelsember]

Advent is Coming! Are You Ready? - https://t.co/VF7VTfG2PS

[Fr. Joel Sember @frjoelsember]

Right now ⁦@realDonaldTrump⁩ and his supporters are the #1 source of fake news and good people and innocent people are paying the price https://t.co/LaPYct68RJ

[Fr. Joel Sember @frjoelsember]

Tax law felon pardons tax law felons. https://t.co/QKE4bQkDzB

[Fr. Joel Sember @frjoelsember]

Using your office to enrich yourself is straight up crooked, Mr President.

[U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops @USCCB]

Our Holy Father, Leo XIV

[Fr. Joel Sember @frjoelsember]

Anyone else worried at how much this president’s behavior looks like dictatorship? Lawyers Beat Trump In Court! (For Now...) https://t.co/XrAKvGZRU4 via @YouTube

[Gretchen Crowe @GretchenOSV]

More than 180 cardinals were present at this morning's fifth general congregation meeting, where they decided on the date to start the conclave (May 7).

[Fr. Joel Sember @frjoelsember]

If some guy in India died and then rose again, it wouldn't impact you very much. But what if your best friend rose from the dead? That would change your life! Many people experience Easter as just a nice day because they don't know Jesus personally.
https://t.co/0rsphgS7sb

[All Saints Catholic @ASCSCrusaders]

We thank you, dear Lord, for the gift of Pope Francis, the 266th Pope of the Catholic Church! We join the Church in the mourning of Pope Francis. Send your Holy Spirit to strengthen the Church at this time, as we mourn his death and pay our respects to his legacy.

[Fr. Joel Sember @frjoelsember]

Our own Good Friday experiences can cause us to doubt that God is a good father. The Passion reading is full of people acting out of self-protection and self-reliance. Do you live like Jesus, trusting in your Good Father, or like his persecutors?
https://t.co/R2L1hfGVq3

[Fr. Joel Sember @frjoelsember]

God is with us! No matter how much we run from him, abandon him, or choose everything else besides him, God is still with us! And he chooses us. May this year's Triduum experience open your eyes, ears, and heart to God's presence. 
https://t.co/y4EiJaPiaE

[Fr. Joel Sember @frjoelsember]

God the Father calls Jesus to total self-giving love. We were made by love and for love. We only find fulfillment in self-giving love. So why can't we love like Jesus? Fear and selfishness become obstacles to truly loving.
https://t.co/1JVhhFocfv

[David Frum @davidfrum]

No exemptions though for the things poor people buy: inexpensive shoes, clothes, bedding, tableware.