SUMMARY:
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POPE FRANCIS: CHRIST'S MESSAGE IS MERCY
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ANGELUS: “IF GOD DIDN'T FORGIVE EVERYONE, THE WORLD WOULD NOT
EXIST.”
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POPE
FRANCIS: CHRIST'S MESSAGE IS MERCY
Vatican
City, 17 March 2013 (VIS) – This morning, Pope Francis celebrated
Mass at the Vatican parish of St. Anna, the doors of which were
crowded from the earliest morning hours with a large number of
people. The pontiff was greeted by Cardinal Angelo Comastri, his
vicar general for Vatican City State.
Today's
Gospel, on this Fifth Sunday in Lent, narrates the story of the
adulterous woman whom the Pharisees want to stone. Instead, Christ
forgives her, and those who accused her disperse, intimidated by
Jesus' bending down to write on the ground with His finger.
In
his homily, the Holy Father recalled that, before this story, Jesus
had retired to the mountain to pray and later had gone down to the
Temple where everyone listened to him. In the end, they left him
alone with the woman. “Jesus' solitude!”, he said. “It is a
fruitful solitude—both that of His prayer with the Father as well
as the other, so beautiful, ... of his mercy toward this woman. This
is the Church's message today.”
“There
is a difference between the people,” he continued. “On the one
hand are the people who come to listen to him and before whom He
takes a seat and teaches. These are the people who want to listen to
Jesus' words; the people with open hearts, in need of the Word of
God.” Nevertheless, “there were others who didn't listen, who
could not listen. Among those were the ones who had gone to him with
that woman, wanting him to condemn her. … I also think we are like
this people who, on the one hand want to listen to Jesus, but, on the
other hand, at times, like to be cruel to others, isn't that right?
To condemn others, right? This is Jesus' message: mercy. On my part,
I say it with humility; this is the the Lord's strongest message:
mercy. He himself said: 'I did not come for the righteous'. The
righteous can justify themselves. … Jesus came for the sinners.”
For
example, think of the gossip after the call of Matthew: 'but that one
keeps company with sinners!' And He has come for us, when we
recognize that we are sinners. But if we are like the Pharisee before
the altar—'Oh God, I thank you that I am not like the rest of
humanity—greedy, dishonest, adulterous—or even like this tax
collector.'—then we do not know the Lord's heart and we will never
have the joy of feeling this mercy! It is not easy to trust in God's
mercy because it is an incomprehensible abyss. But we must do it!”
The
Pope explained that sometimes people say to priests: “'Oh, Father,
if you knew my life you wouldn't say that.' 'Why? What have you
done?' 'Oh, I've done bad things.' 'Good! Go to Jesus; He likes you
to tell him these things. He forgets. He has the special ability to
forget. He forgets them, kisses you, embraces you, and tells you
only: 'Neither do I condemn you. Go and sin no more.' He only gives
you this counsel. A month later we are the same … We return to the
Lord. The Lord never tires of forgiving us, never! We are the ones
who get tired of asking forgiveness. Let us ask for the grace to
never tire of asking forgiveness, because He never tires of forgiving
us. Let us ask for this grace.”
At
the end of the Mass, the Pope presented some of those who were
present at the celebration:
“Here
are a few who aren't parishioners, these Argentinian priests. One is
my auxiliary bishop but today they are my parishioners. I also want
you to meet a priest who comes from very far away and is here: a
priest who, for a long time, has worked with street kids and drug
addicts. He opened a school for them and has done many things so that
they might know Jesus. All of those street kids have a job today
thanks to what they were able to study. They are capable of working.
They believe in and love Jesus.” The Pope then addressed the
priests, saying: “Come, come and greet the people.” And to all:
“Pray for this man. He works in Uruguay. He is the founder of the
John Paul II high school; that's his job. I don't know how he got
here today. I understand. Thank you. Pray for him.”
After
greeting the parishioners, the Pope appeared at the Vatican's Porta
Angelica Street, next to the Santa Anna Gate that is one of the
entrances into the Vatican City State, to greet the thousands of
people who wanted to see him before he prayed his first Angelus as
Pope.
ANGELUS:
“IF GOD DIDN'T FORGIVE EVERYONE, THE WORLD WOULD NOT EXIST.”
Vatican
City, 17 March 2013 (VIS) – “Never forget this: the Lord never
tires of forgiving us. Have you thought about the patience that God
has with each of us?” These were the words that Pope Francis
addressed to the nearly 200,000 people who had travelled from around
Italy and from around the world in previous days to be able to live
this first Angelus with the new Pope.
The
event lasted only 15 minutes, many of which passed in attentive
silence from the people assembled. “If God did not forgive us all,
the world would not exist,” the Holy Father affirmed. The Roman
Pontiff, Francis, spoke only in Italian. In the crowd, on his
father's shoulders, three-year-old Francesco said, in his child's
language: “I like. My Pope.”
The
event was days in planning. Through the media—above all TV and the
radio—many already had an idea of who the new Pope is. “I saw him
on TV and I was moved … by his humility. … He is one of us,”
commented 30-year-old Angelica who had gotten up at 6:00am this
morning to arrive at St. Peter's.
The
Holy Father commented on the day's Gospel reading, the passages that
recount the story of the adulterous woman. “God's face is that of a
merciful father who is always patient. … He never tires of
forgiving us if we know how to return to him with a contrite heart.
'Great is the Lord's mercy',” was the new Pope's profound message.
He combined his written text with spontaneous, off-the-cuff comments,
which were full of good humour. Following is the complete text of the
Pope's words.
“Dear
brothers and sisters, good morning!”, the Pope began. After our
first meeting last Wednesday, today I again give my greetings to you
all! And I am happy to do it on Sunday, the Lord's Day! This is
beautiful and important for us Christians: to meet on Sunday, to
greet one another, to talk as we are doing now, in the square. This
square that, thanks to the media, takes on worldly dimensions.”
“In
this Fifth Sunday of Lent, the Gospel presents us with the story of
the adulterous woman whom Jesus saves from being condemned to death.
It captures Jesus' attitude: we do not hear words of contempt, we do
not hear words of condemnation, but only words of love, of mercy,
that invite us to conversion. 'Neither do I condemn you. Go and sin
no more!' Well, brothers and sisters! God's face is that of a
merciful father who is always patient. Have you thought about God's
patience, the patience that He has with each of us? That is His
mercy. He always has patience, is always patient with us,
understanding us, awaiting us, never tiring of forgiving us if we
know how to return to him with a contrite heart. 'Great is the Lord's
mercy', says the Psalm.
“In
these days, I have been able to read a book by a cardinal—Cardinal
Kasper, a talented theologian, a good theologian—on mercy. And it
did me such good, that book, but don't think that I'm publicizing the
books of my cardinals. That is not the case! But it did me such good,
so much good... Cardinal Kasper said that hearing the word mercy
changes everything. It is the best thing that we can hear: it changes
the world. A bit of mercy makes the world less cold and more just. We
need to understand God's mercy well, this merciful Father who has
such patience... Think of the prophet Isaiah who asserts that even if
our sins were scarlet red, God's love would make them white as snow.
That is beautiful, [this aspect of mercy]. I remember when, just
after I was made bishop, in 1992, the Madonna of Fatima came to
Buenos Aires and a large Mass for the sick was celebrated. I went to
hear confessions at that Mass. Near the end of the Mass I got up
because I had to administer a confirmation. An over 80-year-old woman
came up to me, humbly, very humbly. I asked her: 'Nonna
[grandmother]—because that's how we address our elderly—Nonna,
you want to confess?' 'Yes', she told me. 'But if you haven't
sinned...' And she said to me: 'We have all sinned...' 'But perhaps
the Lord will not forgive you...' 'The Lord forgives everyone', she
told me, with certainy. 'But how do you know that, ma'am?' 'If the
Lord didn't forgive everyone, the world would not exist.' I wanted to
ask her: 'Tell me, have you studied at the Gregorian [Pontifical
University]?', because that is the wisdom that the Holy Spirit gives:
the inner wisdom of God's mercy. Let us not forget this word: God
never tires of forgiving us, never! 'So, Father, what is the
problem?' Well, the problem is that we get tired, we don't want to,
we get tired of asking forgiveness. Let us never get tired. Let us
never get tired. He is the loving Father who always forgives, who has
that heart of mercy for all of us. And let us also learn to be
merciful with everyone. Let us call upon the intercession of the
Madonna who has held in her arms the Mercy of God made human.”
After
praying the Angelus, the Pope greeted the tens of thousands of
faithful who overflowed St. Peter's Square: “Thank you for your
welcome and your prayers,” he said. I ask that you pray for me. I
renew my embrace to the faithful of Rome and extend it to all of you
who have come from various parts of Italy and the world just as to
those who are joining in with us by means of the media. I have chosen
the name of the Patron Saint of Italy, St. Francis of Assisi, and
this reinforces my spiritual ties to this land that, as you know, is
where my family originated. But Jesus has called us to be part of a
new family: his Church. [He has called] this family of God to walk
together the paths of the Gospel. May the Lord bless you and the
Virgin protect you! And don't forget this: The Lord never tires of
forgiving. We are the ones who tire of asking forgiveness.”
The
Pope's final words to the crowd gathered in the square were greeted
with deafening applause: “Have a good Sunday and enjoy your lunch!”
They were only 15 minutes, a quarter of an hour that, for many
thousands, held a stronger interest than the other two competing
activities taking place in Rome today: the city's marathon and the
Quirinal Palace's open house.
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