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Sunday, March 27, 2016
HOMILY OF HIS HOLINESS POPE FRANCIS
CELEBRATION OF PALM SUNDAY OF THE PASSION OF THE LORD
Saint Peter's Square
XXXI World Youth Day
Sunday, 20 March 2016



“Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” (cf. Lk 19:38), the crowd of Jerusalem exclaimed joyfully as they welcomed Jesus. We have made that enthusiasm our own: by waving our olive and palm branches we have expressed our praise and our joy, our desire to receive Jesus who comes to us. Just as he entered Jerusalem, so he desires to enter our cities and our lives. As he did in the Gospel, riding on a donkey, so too he comes to us in humility; he comes “in the name of the Lord”. Through the power of his divine love he forgives our sins and reconciles us to the Father and with ourselves.

Jesus is pleased with the crowd’s showing their affection for him. When the Pharisees ask him to silence the children and the others who are acclaiming him, he responds: “I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out” (Lk 19:40). Nothing could dampen their enthusiasm for Jesus’ entry. May nothing prevent us from finding in him the source of our joy, true joy, which abides and brings peace; for it is Jesus alone who saves us from the snares of sin, death, fear and sadness.

Today’s liturgy teaches us that the Lord has not saved us by his triumphal entry or by means of powerful miracles. The Apostle Paul, in the second reading, epitomizes in two verbs the path of redemption: Jesus “emptied” and “humbled” himself (Phil 2:7-8). These two verbs show the boundlessness of God’s love for us. Jesus emptied himself: he did not cling to the glory that was his as the Son of God, but became the Son of man in order to be in solidarity with us sinners in all things; yet he was without sin. Even more, he lived among us in “the condition of a servant” (v. 7); not of a king or a prince, but of a servant. Therefore he humbled himself, and the abyss of his humiliation, as Holy Week shows us, seems to be bottomless.

The first sign of this love “without end” (Jn 13:1) is the washing of the feet. “The Lord and Master” (Jn 13:14) stoops to his disciples’ feet, as only servants would have done. He shows us by example that we need to allow his love to reach us, a love which bends down to us; we cannot do any less, we cannot love without letting ourselves be loved by him first, without experiencing his surprising tenderness and without accepting that true love consists in concrete service.

But this is only the beginning. The humiliation of Jesus reaches its utmost in the Passion: he is sold for thirty pieces of silver and betrayed by the kiss of a disciple whom he had chosen and called his friend. Nearly all the others flee and abandon him; Peter denies him three times in the courtyard of the temple. Humiliated in his spirit by mockery, insults and spitting, he suffers in his body terrible brutality: the blows, the scourging and the crown of thorns make his face unrecognizable. He also experiences shame and disgraceful condemnation by religious and political authorities: he is made into sin and considered to be unjust. Pilate then sends him to Herod, who in turn sends him to the Roman governor. Even as every form of justice is denied to him, Jesus also experiences in his own flesh indifference, since no one wishes to take responsibility for his fate. And I think of the many people, so many outcasts, so many asylum seekers, so many refugees, all of those for whose fate no one wishes to take responsibility. The crowd, who just a little earlier had acclaimed him, now changes their praise into a cry of accusation, even to the point of preferring that a murderer be released in his place. And so the hour of death on the cross arrives, that most painful form of shame reserved for traitors, slaves and the worst kind of criminals. But isolation, defamation and pain are not yet the full extent of his deprivation. To be totally in solidarity with us, he also experiences on the Cross the mysterious abandonment of the Father. In his abandonment, however, he prays and entrusts himself: “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit” (Lk 23:46). Hanging from the wood of the cross, beside derision he now confronts the last temptation: to come down from the Cross, to conquer evil by might and to show the face of a powerful and invincible God. Jesus, however, even here at the height of his annihilation, reveals the true face of God, which is mercy. He forgives those who are crucifying him, he opens the gates of paradise to the repentant thief and he touches the heart of the centurion. If the mystery of evil is unfathomable, then the reality of Love poured out through him is infinite, reaching even to the tomb and to hell. He takes upon himself all our pain that he may redeem it, bringing light to darkness, life to death, love to hatred.

God’s way of acting may seem so far removed from our own, that he was annihilated for our sake, while it seems difficult for us to even forget ourselves a little. He comes to save us; we are called to choose his way: the way of service, of giving, of forgetfulness of ourselves. Let us walk this path, pausing in these days to gaze upon the Crucifix; it is the “royal seat of God”. I invite you during this week to gaze often upon this “royal seat of God”, to learn about the humble love which saves and gives life, so that we may give up all selfishness, and the seeking of power and fame. By humbling himself, Jesus invites us to walk on his path. Let us turn our faces to him, let us ask for the grace to understand at least something of the mystery of his obliteration for our sake; and then, in silence, let us contemplate the mystery of this Week.
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Sunday, March 27, 2016
ANGELUS POPE FRANCIS
Saint Peter's Square
Palm Sunday, 20 March 2016
 
PHOTO: GETTYIMAGES.IT

I greet all of you who have taken part in this celebration and those who have joined us by television, radio and other means of communication.

Today we are celebrating the 31st World Youth Day, which will culminate at the end of July with the great World Meeting in Krakow. The theme is “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy” (Mt 5:7). My special greeting goes to all the young people present, and to all the young people of the world. I hope that you will be able to come in great numbers to Krakow, the homeland of St John Paul ii, the author of the World Youth Days. Let us entrust to his intercession the remaining months of preparation for this pilgrimage which, within the context of the Holy Year of Mercy, will be the Jubilee of Young People at the universal level of the Church.

Many young volunteers from Krakow are here with us. On returning to Poland, they will take to their nation’s leaders the olive branches gathered in Jerusalem, Assisi and Montecassino and blessed today in this Square, as an invitation to cultivate initiatives for peace, reconciliation and fraternity. Thank you for this beautiful initiative; go forth with courage! Now let us pray to the Virgin Mary, that she help us to live Holy Week with spiritual intensity.
[Angelus Domini...].

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Tuesday, March 22, 2016
Donna peccatrice e Gesù
 
FOTO: qui
Bellissimo questo brano di Giov 8, 1-8 che abbiamo letto nella quinta domenica di quaresima. Il brano ci mostra l’amore di Gesù verso i poveri dello spirito. Gesù è sempre nella parte dei deboli. Donna peccatrice davanti gli uomini che vogliono lapidarla a causa del suo peccatto. La risposta di Gesù è un atteggiamento importante verso di noi stessi. Chi non ha peccato tra di noi? Tutti abbiamo. Chi non ha, diceva Gesù, sarà per prima a lapidarla. Ma nessuno. È perchè abbiamo tutti peccati.

Padre attraverso Gesù ci mostra l’amore di Dio verso tutti noi. Dio non vede i nostri peccatti per amarci. Lui stesso che per prima ad amarci. È un invito per noi di trasmettere il suo amore verso gli altri perchè Lui che amarci per prima.


Buona domenica.
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Sunday, March 20, 2016
ANGELUS POPE FRANCIS
Saint Peter's Square
Fifth Sunday of Lent, 13 March 2016



Dear Brothers and Sisters, Good morning!
The Gospel of this Fifth Sunday of Lent (cf. Jn 8:1-11) is so beautiful, I really enjoy reading and rereading it. It presents the episode of the adulterous woman, highlighting the theme of the mercy of God, who never wants the sinner to die, but that the sinner convert and live. The scene unfolds on the Temple grounds. Imagine that there on the parvis [of St Peter’s Basilica], Jesus is teaching the people, when several scribes and Pharisees arrive, dragging before him a woman caught in adultery. That woman is thus placed between Jesus and the crowd (cf. v. 3), between the mercy of the Son of God and the violence and anger of her accusers. In fact, they did not come to the Teacher to ask his opinion — they were bad people — but to ensnare him. Indeed, were Jesus to follow the stringent law, approving that the woman be stoned, he would lose his reputation of meekness and goodness which so fascinated the people; however, were he to be merciful, he would be flouting the law, which he himself said he did not wish to abolish but fulfil (cf. Mt 5:17). This is the situation Jesus is placed in.

This wicked intention was hidden behind the question that they asked Jesus: “What do you say about her?” (Jn 8:5). Jesus did not respond; he kept silent and made a mysterious gesture: he “bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground” (v. 7). Perhaps he was drawing, some said that he wrote down the sins of the Pharisees... however, he was writing, as if he were elsewhere. In this way he helped everyone to calm down, not to act on the wave of impulsiveness, and to seek the justice of God. But those wicked men persisted and waited for him to answer. They seemed to thirst for blood. Then Jesus looked up and said: “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her” (v. 7). This response confounded the accusers, disarming all of them in the true sense of the word: they all lay down their “weapons”, that is, the stones ready to be thrown, both the visible ones against the woman and those concealed against Jesus. While the Lord continued to write on the ground, to draw, I don’t know.... The accusers went away, one after the other, heads down, beginning with the eldest, most aware of not being without sin. How much good it does us to be aware that we too are sinners! When we speak ill of others — something we know well — how much good it will do us to have the courage to drop down the stones we have to throw at others, and to think a little about our own sins!

Only the woman and Jesus remained: misery and mercy. How often does this happen to us when we stop before the confessional, with shame, to show our misery and ask for forgiveness! “Woman, where are they?” (v. 10), Jesus said to her. This question is enough, and his merciful gaze, full of love, in order to let that person feel — perhaps for the first time — that she has dignity, that she is not her sin, she has personal dignity; that she can change her life, she can emerge from her slavery and walk on a new path.

Dear brothers and sisters, that woman represents all of us. We are sinners, meaning adulterers before God, betrayers of his fidelity. Her experience represents God’s will for each of us: not our condemnation but our salvation through Jesus. He is the grace which saves from sin and from death. On the ground, in the dust of which every human being is made (Gen 2:7), he wrote God’s sentence: “I want not that you die but that you live”. God does not nail us to our sin, he does not identify us by the evil we have committed. We have a name, and God does not identify this name with the sin we have committed. He wants to free us, and wants that we too want it together with him. He wants us to be free to convert from evil to good, and this is possible — it is possible! — with his grace.

May the Virgin Mary help us to entrust ourselves completely to God’s mercy, in order to become new creatures.

After the Angelus:
Dear brothers and sisters, I greet all of you, from Rome, from Italy and from various countries, in particular pilgrims from Seville [Spain], Freiburg, Germany, Innsbruck [Austria] and Ontario, Canada.

Now I would like to renew the gesture of giving you a pocket-sized Gospel. It incorporates the Gospel of Luke, which we are reading on the Sundays of this liturgical year. The booklet is entitled: “St Luke’s Gospel of Mercy”; indeed, the Evangelist recalls the words of Jesus: “Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful” (6:36), from which the theme of this Jubilee Year is drawn. It will be distributed free of charge by volunteers of the Santa Marta Paediatric Dispensary in the Vatican, and by some of the elderly and grandparents from Rome. How deserving are the grandfathers and grandmothers who pass the faith on to their grandchildren! I encourage you to take up this Gospel and read it, a passage every day; thus the Father’s mercy will dwell in your heart and you will be able to offer it to those whom you meet. At the end, on page 123, there are the seven corporal works of mercy and the seven spiritual works of mercy. It would be beautiful if you could memorize them, so it is easier to do them! I encourage you to take up this Gospel, so that the Father’s mercy may work within you. And you volunteers, grandfathers and grandmothers who are distributing the Gospel, be sure that the people who are in Pius xii Square — you see they could not enter — that they too receive this Gospel.

I wish everyone a happy Sunday. Please, do not forget to pray for me. Enjoy your lunch. Arrivederci!

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Sunday, March 20, 2016
EXTRAORDINARY JUBILEE OF MERCY
JUBILEE AUDIENCE POPE FRANCIS
Saturday, 12 March 2016

Mercy and service

Dear Brothers and Sisters, Good morning!
We are approaching the celebration of Easter, the central mystery of our faith. The Gospel of John — which we just heard — recounts that, before dying and rising for us, Jesus made a gesture that was carved into the memory of his disciples: the washing of feet. That gesture was so unexpected and unsettling that Peter didn’t want to accept it. I would like to reflect on Christ’s concluding words: “Do you know what I have done to you? [...] If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet” (Jn 13:12, 14). In this way Jesus indicates to his disciples that service is the way to live out their faith in him and to bear witness to his love. Jesus applied to himself the “Servant of God” image used by the Prophet Isaiah. He, who is Lord, makes himself servant!

By washing the feet of the Apostles, Jesus wished to reveal God’s mode of action in regard to us, and to give an example of his “new commandment” (Jn 13:34) to love one another as He has loved us, that is, laying down his life for us. John repeats this in his First Letter: “By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. [...] Little children, let us not love in word or speech but in deed and in truth” (3:16, 18).



Love, therefore, is the practical service that we offer to others. Love is not a word, it is a deed, a service; humble service, hiddenand silent, like Jesus said himself: “do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing” (Mt 6:3). It entails putting at others’ disposal the gifts that the Holy Spirit has given us, so that the community might thrive (cf. 1 Cor 12:4-11). Furthermore, it is expressed in the sharing of material goods, so that no one be left in need. This sharing with and dedication to those in need is the lifestyle that God suggests, even to non-Christians, as the authentic path of humanity.

Finally, let us not forget that by washing the feet of his disciples and asking them to do the same, Jesus invites that we too confess our failings and pray for one another in order to learn how to forgive with the heart. In this sense, let us remember the words of Bishop St Augustine, when he wrote: “Nor should the Christian think it beneath him to do what was done by Christ. For when the body is bent at a brother’s feet, the feeling of such humility is either awakened in the heart itself, or is strengthened if already present. [...] Let us therefore forgive one another his faults, and pray for one another’s faults, and thus in a manner wash one another’s feet (In Joh 58:4-5). Love, charity is service, helping others, serving others. There are many people who go through life like this, in service to others. Last week I received a letter from a person who thanked me for the Year of Mercy; she asked me to pray for her, that she might be able to grow closer to the Lord. The life of this person is caring for her mother and her brother: her mother is bedridden, elderly, lucid but unable to move; and her brother is disabled, in a wheelchair. This person, her life, is serving, supporting. And this is love! When you can forget yourself and think of others, this is love! And with the washing of feet the Lord teaches us to be servants, and more: to serve as he has served us, each and every one of us.

Therefore, dear brothers and sisters, being merciful like the Father means following Jesus on the path of service. Thank you.

Special greetings:
I greet the English-speaking pilgrims and visitors taking part in today’s Audience, including those from Ireland, the Philippines, Canada and the United States. I thank the choirs for their praise of God in song. With prayerful good wishes that the present Jubilee of Mercy will be a moment of grace and spiritual renewal for you and your families, I invoke upon all of you joy and peace in our Lord Jesus Christ. God bless you all!

I greet young people, the sick and newlyweds. Today we celebrate the liturgical memory of St Maximilian of Tebessa, martyr for conscientious objection during the time of the Roman Empire. Dear young people, learn from him how to defend the values in which you believe; dear sick people, offer up your sufferings for those who still today suffer persecution for their faith; and you, dear newlyweds, may you be God’s collaborators in the task of raising your children.

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Saturday, March 19, 2016
FOTO: parmaitaly

È stato molto bello la via crucis a Felino questa sera. Hanno partecipato sia i bambini che gli adulti. I bambini sono stati molto bravi. Il parroco diceva, sono stati loro a proporle questa via crucis. Solo sette stazioni ma è veramente interessante.

L’aria campagna si sente subito quando siamo arrivati. Il campanile è alto. Si vede che la presenza della chiesa è da tanto tempo. Lo stile del campanile è vecchio, vuol dire che l’ha costruita da tanto tempo. Bisogna andare a leggere la storia di questa chiesa.

Sono fortunato perchè stato io a chiedere a Carlos e Pandri a partecipare in questa via crucis. Prima di me c’era Pietro. Quindi, eravamo in quattro. In parrocchia abbiamo salutato i parrocchiani, anche il nostro fratello saveriani Padre Paolo.

La gente ha ancora la fede molto forte. Non sto dicendo che non c'è la fede in Italia. Sono sicuro che abbia la fede. I cristiani sono tanti. Mi piacerebbe partecipare alla messa e le attività della chiesa in campagna come questa perché si vede proprio il coraggio della gente di praticare la loro fede. Non come quelli della città che a volte la chiesa propria vuota. Sono cristiani-cattolici anche loro, ma non sono venuti in chiesa. Comunque, tutti siamo cristiani in questo senso, siano quelli praticanti che no.

Grazie a Pandri e Carlos.


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Friday, March 18, 2016
FOTO: qui

È il momento bello per trovarci insieme davanti alla parola di Dio. La parola che non solo ci fa pensare, ma ci fa insistere al suo amore. Questo amore che ci invita sempre ad avvicinarci alla sorgente dell’amore che è Dio stesso.

Questa sera abbiamo fatto la lectio divina con i ragazzi del pozzo di sicar. C’erano le ragazze, Anna e Gigi. C’eravamo io, Innocent, e Pietro. Padre Alfio ci ha aiutato a riflettere e ad andare più in fondo della ricchezza della parola che abbiamo meditato. Il brano del Luca 15, 11-32. Il padre e il suo figlio prodigo. Il padre che è misericordioso. Il figlio prodigo che si è accorto del suo peccato. Il primo figlio che non si è accorto con l’amore del padre ha verso di Lui.

Padre Alfio nella sua spiegazione in inglese ci diceva che il padre in questo brano è il Padre, i figli sono gli uomini. Il Padre ci invita ad Accettare il suo amore verso di noi e così noi possiamo perdonare anche gli altri. Come il padre ha perdonato il suo figlio prodigo.

Era interessante perché la lectio divina si è fatto in Inglese. Grazie a Innocent che ha preparato il video e il testo. Grazie a Padre Alfio che ci ha aiutato ad spiegare bene il senso della lettura. Visto che le ragazze del pozzo sono della lingua inglese ‘nigeriano’. Grazie a Gigi e Anna che hanno partecipato. Grazie a Pietro per la sua presenza in mezzo a noi. Grazie a tutti.

Dopo aver fatto la lectio, abbiamo mangiato la torta insieme giù nel nostro refettorio. È un momento di fraternità.
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Wednesday, March 16, 2016
UN SALUTO AD ALESSANDRO
 
FOTO: Parrocchia Maria Imaculata
Oggi è ultimo giorno con Alessandro. Lui parte per Brasile al venerdì prossimo. Lui ci lascerà per almeno fino alla fine dell’anno scolastico. Mi diceva rimanerà in Brasile fino settembre. Quindi, proprio per sei mesi.

Ho incontrato Alessandro nel nostro gruppo di catechismo, gruppo Misericordia. Simonetta che ci ha presentato. È un bel ragazzo. Faceva tante cose per la missione in Brasile. Perciò, vuole sempre tornare là. È adesso il momento giusto per lui. Non è più per tre mesi come prima ma per sei. Ci dice anche che ha il progetto più lungo ancora cioè vuole rimanere per un anno fino tre anni. È il suo desiderio.

Oggi, nella classe di catechismo, ci ha parlato di questo desiderio. Prima di guardare un piccolo video, ci ha spiegato che anche lui aveva e ha ancora il desiderio di andare in missione. Questo desiderio non è una cosa semplice. Diciamo che una cosa che tira di più. Sua mamma anche non ha capito niente di questo desiderio, di questa scelta di Alessandro. Anche la famiglia gli hanno fatto le domande. Come mai? Hanno preoccupato anche della vita di Alessandro. Come il cibo la in Brasile, come il sostegno economico, come la vita, ecc. Tanta preoccupazione. Ma, alla fine tocca Alessandro a decidere tutto. Alessandro alla fine decide di tornare in Brasile perché sente sempre questo desiderio forte.

Insieme Pacifique, Maria Chiara, Mattia ed Ester, abbiamo salutato Alessandro. C’era un modo semplice che abbiamo fatto, cioè di scrivere in un biglietto di buon viaggio e per dire grazie per l’esperienza vissuta insieme in questo gruppo.

Grazie di cuore Alessandro e buon viaggio.

Parma, 15/3/2016

Gordi
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Tuesday, March 15, 2016
FOTO: qui

Qualcuno diceva che questo brano che abbiamo letto in quarta domenica di quaresima è il vangelo di tutti i vangeli. Oppure è il riassume di tutti vangeli. Perché? Perché è bellissimo. Il brano è di Luca 15, 1-3, 11-32. Si tratta di due figli diversi e il padre. Alla fine del brano possiamo capire che questo brano non parla del figlio prodigo (secondo figlio) o del primo figlio. Il brano parla del Padre misericordioso verso i suoi figli. I figli hanno un carattere diversa. Uno va fuori casa. Dopo aver perso i soldi si sente il bisogno di tornare a casa, al padre suo. Uno invece rimane in casa ma non sente l’amore del padre.

Padre ci mostra la sua misericordia. Lui che è per il primo ad avvicinarsi a figlio prodigo. Lui che è andato ad accoglierlo. Anche verso il primo figlio. Il padre che è andato fuori a spiegarlo che il suo fratello è tornato. Che bello no, questo padre. Padre Alfio ci diceva che il padre di questo brano è il Padre, e due figli sono tutti noi esseri umani.


Grazie Dio per la tua misericordia verso tutti noi.
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Monday, March 14, 2016



Era una domenica sera di 6 marzo scorso. Hanno parlato della loro esperienza su Brasile. Erano i giovani di 18-24 anni. Hanno vissuto in Brasile per uno, due o tre messi nell’estate. La maggioranza sono di Parma, c’era una ragazza di Reggio Emilia. Comunque, sono di Emilia Romagna. Era interessante ascoltare la loro testimonianza.

Silvia, una ragazza di Reggio con il suo amico erano insieme con Daniele in Brasile nel 2013. Hanno vissuto insieme la gente del Brasile. Con i bambini, hanno fatto il gres, la lezione della scuola cioè per aiutare i bambini a fare i compiti. Hanno anche fatto qualche lavoro con i genitori. Hanno invitato i bambini e i genitori a partecipare in qualche attività insieme: cucinare, cenare, danzare, ballare, giocare, ecc. Con queste attività si collega lo spirito della famiglia.

È questo spirito che rimane sempre nella loro esperienza, sia dei bambini che dei giovani emiliani. Purtroppo, sono rimasti in due adesso, Silvia e il suo amico. Daniele è scomparso in Brasile. Federico, il papà di Daniele, nell’introduzione della condivisione ha detto che questo evento è come una memoria per Daniele, per ricordare la sua attività in Brasile insieme con i suoi amici. Non solo questo. Simonetta, la mamma ha aggiunto anche che questa sera è il momento per condividere e per vedere insieme il percorso attraverso le attività dei amici di Daniele e alla fine per invitare la gente a partecipare a queste attività tramite la caritas diocesana.

Dopo di loro, ci sono ancora tanti giovani che hanno vissuto i momenti belli durante l’estate in Brasile. Per la prossima volta, ci sarà Alessandro che è stato lì nel 2014 scorso. Alessandro partirà nel 18 marzo prossimo. Don Corrado che è stato in Brasile nella zona in cui questi giovani hanno lavorato ha ringraziato i giovani, “Il vostro aiuto è per il bene della gente e anche per la vostra vita.” Ecco su questo punto che un giovane diceva, la vostra vita ha il valore grande quando noi siamo capaci di condividerla con gli altri. È una frase bellissima.

Grazie a tutti voi giovani. Non penso che ci siano ancora i giovani così.

Parma, 14/3/2016
Gordi 
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Sunday, March 13, 2016
ANGELUS POPE FRANCIS
Saint Peter's Square
Fourth Sunday of Lent, 6 March 2016



Dear Brothers and Sisters, Good morning!
In Chapter 15 of Luke’s Gospel, we find three parables of mercy: that of the sheep found (vv. 4-7), that of the coin found (vv. 8-10), and the great parable of the prodigal son, or rather, of the merciful father (vv. 11-32). Today, it would be nice for each of us to open Chapter 15 of the Gospel according to Luke, and read these three parables. During the Lenten itinerary, the Gospel presents to us this very parable of the merciful Father, featuring a father with his two sons. The story highlights some features of this father who is a man always ready to forgive and to hope against hope. Especially striking is the father’s tolerance before the younger son’s decision to leave home: he could have opposed it, knowing that he was still immature, a youth, or sought a lawyer not to give him his inheritance, as the father was still living. Instead, he allows the son to leave, although foreseeing the possible risks. God works with us like this: He allows us to be free, even to making mistakes, because in creating us, He has given us the great gift of freedom. It is for us to put it to good use. This gift of freedom that God gives us always amazes me!

But the separation from his son is only physical; for the father always carries him in his heart; trustingly, he awaits his return; the father watches the road in the hope of seeing him. And one day he sees him appear in the distance (cf. v. 20). But this means that this father, every day, would climb up to the terrace to see if his son was coming back! Thus the father is moved to see him, he runs toward him, embraces him, kisses him. So much tenderness! And this son got into trouble! But the father still welcomes him so.

The father treated the eldest son the same way, but as he had always stayed at home, he is now indignant and complains because he does not understand and does not share all that kindness toward his brother that had wronged. The father also goes to meet this son and reminds him that they were always together, they share everything (v. 31), one must welcome with joy the brother who has finally returned home. And this makes me think of something: When one feels one is a sinner, one feels worthless, or as I’ve heard some — many — say: ‘Father, I am like dirt’, so then, this is the moment to go to the Father. Instead, when one feels righteous — ‘I always did the right thing …’ —, equally, the Father comes to seek us, because this attitude of feeling ‘right’, is the wrong attitude: it is pride! It comes from the devil. The Father waits for those who recognize they are sinners and goes in search of the ones who feel ‘righteous’. This is our Father!

In this parable, you can also glimpse a third son. A third son? Where? He’s hidden! And it is the one, ‘who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant” (Phil 2:6-7). This Servant-Son is Jesus!

He is ‘the extension of the arms and heart of the Father: he welcomed the prodigal Son and washed his dirty feet; he prepared the banquet for the feast of forgiveness. He, Jesus, teaches us to be “merciful as the Father is merciful”.

The figure of the Father in the parable reveals the heart of God. He is the Merciful Father who, in Jesus, loves us beyond measure, always awaits our conversion every time we make mistakes; he awaits our return when we turn away from him thinking, we can do without him; he is always ready to open his arms no matter what happened. As the father of the Gospel, God also continues to consider us his children, even when we get lost, and comes to us with tenderness when we return to him. He addresses us so kindly when we believe we are right. The errors we commit, even if bad, do not wear out the fidelity of his love. In the Sacrament of Reconciliation, we can always start out anew: He welcomes us, gives us the dignity of being his children and tells us: “Go ahead! Be at peace! Rise, go ahead!”

In this time of Lent that still separates us from Easter, we are called to intensify the inner journey of conversion. May the loving gaze of our Father touch us. Let us return and return to him with all our heart, rejecting any compromise with sin. May the Virgin Mary accompany us until the regenerating embrace with Divine Mercy.

After the Angelus:
Dear brothers and sisters, I express my closeness to the Missionaries of Charity for the grave loss they suffered two days ago with the killing of four Sisters in Aden, Yemen, where they were assisting the elderly. I pray for them and for the other people killed in the attack, and for their family members. These are the martyrs of today! They may not be on the cover of a magazine … [they] may not even make the news, but they gave their blood for the Church. These people are victims of the attack of those who killed them and of indifference too, of this globalization of indifference, which does not care…. May Mother Teresa accompany her martyr daughters of charity in Heaven, and intercede for peace and the sacred respect for human life.

As a concrete sign of commitment to peace and life, I want to mention and express admiration for humanitarian corridors in favour of refugees, launched recently in Italy. This pilot project, which combines solidarity and security, allows one to help people fleeing war and violence, as the hundred refugees who have already been transferred to Italy, including sick children, disabled people, war widows with children, and the elderly. I also welcome this initiative because it is an ecumenical one, supported by the Community of Sant’Egidio, the Italian Federation of Evangelical Churches, and the Waldensian and Methodist churches.

I ask, please, for your prayers for me and my collaborators, who from this evening until Friday, will be on retreat.

I wish you all a good Sunday. Have a nice lunch and arrivederci!

© Copyright - Libreria Editrice Vaticana


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Monday, March 07, 2016
ANGELUS POPE FRANCIS
Saint Peter's Square
Third Sunday of Lent, 28 February 2016


Dear Brothers and Sisters, Good morning!
Unfortunately, every day the press reports bad news: homicides, accidents, catastrophes.... In today’s Gospel passage, Jesus refers to two tragic events which had caused a stir: a cruel suppression carried out by Roman soldiers in the temple, and the collapse of the tower of Siloam in Jerusalem, which resulted in 18 deaths (cf. Lk 13:1-5).

Jesus is aware of the superstitious mentality of his listeners and he knows that they misinterpreted that type of event. In fact, they thought that, if those people died in such a cruel way it was a sign that God was punishing them for some grave sin they had committed, as if to say “they deserved it”. Instead, the fact that they were saved from such a disgrace made them feel “good about themselves”. They “deserved it”; “I’m fine”.

Jesus clearly rejects this outlook, because God does not allow tragedies in order to punish sins, and he affirms that those poor victims were no worse than others. Instead, he invites his listeners to draw from these sad events a lesson that applies to everyone, because we are all sinners; in fact, he said to those who questioned him, “Unless you repent you will all likewise perish” (v. 3).

Today too, seeing certain misfortunes and sorrowful events, we can be tempted to “unload” the responsibility onto the victims, or even onto God himself. But the Gospel invites us to reflect: What idea do we have of God? Are we truly convinced that God is like that, or isn’t that just our projection, a god made to “our image and likeness”?

Jesus, on the contrary, invites us to change our heart, to make a radical about-face on the path of our lives, to abandon compromises with evil — and this is something we all do, compromises with evil, hypocrisy.... I think that nearly all of us has a little hypocrisy — in order to decidedly take up the path of the Gospel. But again there is the temptation to justify ourselves. What should we convert from? Aren’t we basically good people? — How many times have we thought this: “But after all I am a good man, I’m a good woman”... isn’t that true? “Am I not a believer and even quite a churchgoer?” And we believe that this way we are justified.

Unfortunately, each of us strongly resembles the tree that, over many years, has repeatedly shown that it’s infertile. But, fortunately for us, Jesus is like a farmer who, with limitless patience, still obtains a concession for the fruitless vine. “Let it alone this year” — he said to the owner — “we shall see if it bears fruit next year” (cf. v. 9).

A “year” of grace: the period of Christ’s ministry, the time of the Church before his glorious return, an interval of our life, marked by a certain number of Lenten seasons, which are offered to us as occasions of repentance and salvation, the duration of a Jubilee Year of Mercy. The invincible patience of Jesus! Have you thought about the patience of God? Have you ever thought as well of his limitless concern for sinners? How it should lead us to impatience with ourselves! It’s never too late to convert, never. God’s patience awaits us until the last moment.

Remember that little story from St Thérèse of the Child Jesus, when she prayed for that man who was condemned to death, a criminal, who did not want to receive the comfort of the Church. He rejected the priest, he didn’t want [forgiveness], he wanted to die like that. And she prayed in the convent, and when, at the moment of being executed, the man turned to the priest, took the Crucifix and kissed it. The patience of God! He does the same with us, with all of us. How many times, we don’t know — we’ll know in heaven — but how many times we are there, there ... [about to fall off the edge] and the Lord saves us. He saves us because he has great patience with us. And this is his mercy. It’s never too late to convert, but it’s urgent. Now is the time! Let us begin today.

May the Virgin Mary sustain us, so that we can open our hearts to the grace of God, to his mercy; and may she help us to never judge others, but rather to allow ourselves to be struck by daily misfortunes and to make a serious examination of our consciences and to repent.

After the Angelus:
Dear brothers and sisters, my prayer, and undoubtedly yours as well, always includes the dramatic situation of refugees who flee from wars and other inhuman situations. In particular, Greece and other countries that are at the forefront, are generously helping them, which requires the cooperation of all nations. A collective response can be effective and equitably distribute the burden. For this, it’s necessary to work toward negotiations decisively and unreservedly. At the same time, I have received with hope the news of the ceasing of hostilities in Syria, and I invite everyone to pray that this break may bring relief to the suffering population and open the path to dialogue and to the peace that is so desired.

I also wish to assure my closeness to the peoples of the Fiji Islands, harshly battered by a devastating cyclone. I pray for the victims and for those who are working to provide assistance.

I greet the group that has come on the occasion of “Rare Disease Day” with a special prayer and my encouragement for your mutual aid associations.

I wish you all a good Sunday. Don’t forget, please, to pray for me. Have a good lunch and arrivederci!

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