Unni Cathrine Olsen

In the eyes of the world — shaped by a throwaway culture — illness is seen as a misfortune that diminishes a person’s worth. What a great lie! In the light of the Gospel, when lived with faith and united to the mystery of Christ’s Passion, illness is a path to growing in His love and sharing it. #ApostolicJourney #Peru vatican.va/content/leo-xiv/e…

Selfishness, injustice, and evil are not overcome by brutality, but by prayer, patience, and perseverance in denouncing what is wrong, by making our pleas with determination and working diligently to bring about the necessary changes, while never losing trust in God. #ApostolicJourney #Peru

Today, the promises of transhumanism and posthumanism are multiplying. These are ideological currents according to which, sooner or later, technology will eliminate all disease and pain, as well as aging and even death itself. Precisely because scientific progress is a supreme achievement of human intelligence, it must not be confused with a privilege reserved for millionaires seeking immortality, while entire peoples suffer from poverty and oppression. In the face of this mirage, which promotes the illusion of human beings perfected by cybernetics and biotechnology, Christian anthropology reminds us that a limitation is not a manufacturing defect, but rather the very condition of human grandeur. #ApostolicJourney #Peru #MagnificaHumanitas vatican.va/content/leo-xiv/e…

Let us make our homes schools of fraternity; our businesses communities of dignified work and social responsibility; our cultural differences opportunities for encounter; and our institutions places where women and men can participate and contribute to the common good. In this way, we can move toward a just society in which the dignity of every person is the foundation of true peace. #ApostolicJourney #Peru vatican.va/content/leo-xiv/e…

#Peace always begins “here and now” and depends on how we behave, how we look at one another, how we respect one another, and how we listen to one another. If we wish to spread peace, we must first safeguard and nurture it before God, within ourselves and among those dear to us, and then spread it in our communities and in the various spheres of social and political life. #ApostolicJourney #Peru

Human beings do not flourish in spite of their limitations, but often through them. It is precisely when our limitations become tangible in our lives that we can discover a new wisdom, experience the closeness of others, and encounter the presence of the Lord. #ApostolicJourney #Argentina #MagnificaHumanitas

Prison can be a place of profound changes and conversions, to growth, learning, and the acquisition of new skills and knowledge. After experiencing human fragility in its most painful form, many have learned to transform the desert of their own existence into a fruitful garden. Indeed, with God’s grace, it is possible to move beyond total darkness and kindle small lights of hope. vatican.va/content/leo-xiv/e…

The way we live out our vocation is what evangelizes. Neither age nor physical limitations can extinguish our zeal. Our strength may run out, but God’s power never will. #ApostolicJourney #Argentina vatican.va/content/leo-xiv/e…

True progress is not what increases the wellbeing of some by degrading ecosystems, shifting costs onto the most disadvantaged communities, or compromising the living conditions of those who will follow us.

Let us cultivate communion, welcoming our legitimate differences with charity and fostering fraternity, so that our unity may make Christ’s love visible and help many to encounter Him. #ApostolicJourney #Argentina

When economic profit is established as the sole criterion of success, a business becomes dehumanized and turns into a structure of sin that generates exclusion. Business leaders are called to overturn this technocratic mentality through ethical investment that gives priority to the dignity of work and environmental sustainability, recognizing that financial success must be measured in terms of the common good.

The family is the place where faith, human virtues, a culture of work, respect for the elderly, the defense of life, and fidelity to one’s word are handed on. Do not give in to those who dismiss the Christian family as outdated. On the contrary, today more than ever, the family remains a pillar amid the many insecurities of our time. #ApostolicJourney #Argentina

Mothers and grandmothers: never tire of passing on the faith! Preach with your lives as well as with your words. Insist on prayer, love, and hope. Do so with patience, without discouragement. Even if your loved ones seem far from God, continue to place them before him. There are doors that you cannot open, but God can. #ApostolicJourney #Uruguay

I would also like to address fathers and grandfathers. Young people need to see that you pray, receive the sacraments, treat your wives with respect, ask for forgiveness and live with integrity, even when doing so requires sacrifice. Children learn a great deal by seeing that their father can kneel before God without feeling that he is any less of a man for doing it.

When we pray for the dead, we do so not only for them, but also with them, drawn into a reciprocal relationship that the Holy Spirit brings to life in our hearts. The Church is a mystery of communion between Christ, our head, and us, His members: from Him we receive life. This communion unites the blessed souls who already contemplate the face of God and all those who, in heaven or on earth, are journeying toward the radiant destination.

Through work, one develops as a person, provides for family needs, expresses one’s own talent, participates in social life, and builds a better world by collaborating in God’s creative work. The real challenge is to offer everyone opportunities to make the most of their abilities. Unemployment, exploitation, and working conditions that endanger health and life itself are unacceptable (Gaudium et Spes, 67). #GeneralAudience

Faith in Christ tells us that our bond with the faithful departed is not broken, but transformed. Through our prayers for the repose of their souls, we accompany our loved ones toward full communion with the Lord, of which we already have a true foretaste here, in the Sacrament of the Eucharist. Inspired by this faith filled with hope, let us continue our earthly journey, awaiting the day when the Lord will wipe away every tear.

Holiness is not a privilege reserved for a few, but a universal vocation that speaks to each of us where we live. This is the hope-filled message of today’s feast: God sees the good that we do not see, knows stories that we do not know, and reaches hearts to which we have no access.