Scottish Catholic Observer

Keep praying to God to ‘overcome evil with good,’ the Holy Father told the audience gathered in St Peter’s Square  for his Angelus yesterday.

“God is our ally, faith in him is our strength, and prayer is the expression of this faith,” the Pope said.

“If the faith goes out, if prayer goes out, and we walk in the darkness, we will be lost on the journey of life.”

During the Angelus, the Pope also reflected on that day’s Gospel on the ‘persistent widow’ who convinced an unjust judge to reconsider his verdict.

“We can therefore learn from this widow in the gospel,” said Pope Francis. “She knew to fight for her children.”

The reflection on the ‘persistent widow’ allowed Pope Francis to praise the role of women in Catholic life, through their work for their families and in the Missions.

“I think of the many women who struggle for their families, who pray, who never grow tired,” he said. “Let us remember today, all of us, these women who with their approach give us a true witness of faith, of courage, of a model of prayer.”

He then commemorated the life of Afra Martinelli, an Italian missionary working in Nigeria who was killed during a robbery in the country.

The Pope said that both Christians and Muslims in her adopted community were united in their grief.

“She announced the Gospel with her life, with the works she accomplished, a centre of instruction,” the Pope said. “In this way she spread the flame of faith, she fought the good fight.”

The Pope concluded his reflections with a message to the mothers of Argentina, celebrated on the’ Mother’s Day.

“I offer an affectionate greeting to the mothers of my land!”