Vatican

Pope Francis will travel to Asti Nov. 19 for a private family celebration of his cousin’s 90th birthday, and he will celebrate a public Mass the next morning in the Asti cathedral, the Vatican said.

Reviewing one’s life is an essential step in discerning God’s call because it helps one see places where God was at work, even in small things, and also helps one recognize “toxic” thoughts of self-doubt, Pope Francis said.

While many Catholic movements go through a period of confusion after their founder dies, the key to continued flourishing is to remember with gratitude the founder’s gifts and to be open to new ways or new places the Holy Spirit wants them to grow, Pope Francis told members of Communion and Liberation.

Prayer is medicine for one’s faith and it reinvigorates the soul, Pope Francis said.

Complaining can be “a poison to the soul, a poison to life” and “almost a sin” when it prevents people from building and strengthening “the desire to move forward,” he said during his weekly general audience in St. Peter’s Square Oct. 12.