At a rain-soaked General Audience on Wednesday, Pope Francis called for renewed prayers for the upcoming Synod of Bishops in the Family.
After meeting briefly with a group of sick people gathered in the Paul VI Hall, Pope Francis greeted pilgrims in Saint Peter’s Square. The Pope began his reflection by noting that March 25th, the Solemnity of the Annunciation, marks a special stage in the journey of catechesis on the family, a moment to pause for prayer. The Annunciation, the “beginning of the mystery of the Incarnation” shows that God willed for His Only-begotten Son to not only be conceived in the womb of a mother, but to be welcomed into a true family. Pope Francis led his audience in the recitation of the Hail Mary as a means of contemplating the beauty of this relationship between God and mankind.
The Holy Father then noted that March 25th is celebrated in many countries as the Day of Life; it is also the twentieth anniversary of the encyclical Evangelium vitae by St John Paul II. Pope Francis noted that the family occupies a central place in the encyclical. “The words of my venerable Predecessor remind us that the human couple was blessed by God from the beginning to form a community of love and life, to which He entrusted the mission of procreation,” the Pope said, and Christian spouses open themselves to the blessing of children.
The Church too, he said, “is solemnly committed to the care of the family that results from it, as a gift of God for her own life, in good fortune and in bad: the bond between the Church and the family is sacred and inviolable.” The Church never abandons families, even when they are weak and wounded, but always seeks to heal them.
German Airbus Disaster
Pope Francis has expressed his closeness to the families of the victims of a plane crash in the French Alps.
In a telegram released on Tuesday, the Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin writes that the Holy Father “joins in the grief of the families” of the victims, which include many children. Pope Francis is also praying for those who died “entrusting them to the mercy of God” and he has expressed his sympathy for all those affected by the tragedy, including rescue workers who are carrying out their duties in difficult conditions.
No mercy without justice
At his morning Mass the Pope reflected on the need for mercy. Calling on Christians to express their faith in action, the Pope also turned to those who have yet to experience an encounter with Christ offering the gift of a pocket-sized Gospel in which “we can meet Jesus, listen to Him, and get to know Him”.
And commenting on the fact that 50 thousand copies of the Gospel were being distributed in the Square by 300 homeless people, the Pope said “this is a beautiful gesture” that Jesus approves: “those who are most needy are the ones who are giving us the Word of God”.
“Take it – he said – keep it in your pocket or in your handbag and read a passage a day. God’s word lights up our path. It will do you good!”
Reflecting on the reading for the Fifth Sunday of Lent, the Pope said that John tells of a group of Greeks of Jewish faith who came to Jerusalem to celebrate a feast day and said to Philip “We would like to see Jesus”. Francis pointed out that there were many people in the Holy city including High Priests, political leaders as well as ordinary citizens and people like those “Greeks” who were curious to get to know Jesus and to learn of his life.
And repeating the words “We would like to see Jesus”, Pope Francis said that there are many amongst us who would like to see Jesus, who are in search of his life-giving message. To them – he said – “there are three things we can offer: the Gospel, the crucifix and our witness”.
In the Gospel – the Pope said – we can meet Jesus and listen to his words; through the crucifix we have the tangible sign of His love for us when he died on the cross to save us; in being witnesses to Christianity we can express our faith in simple gestures of fraternal charity.
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CHURCH NEWS
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YEAR OF MERCY
Pope Francis has declared 2016 to be a Holy Year of Mercy. It actually begins on December 8, 2015, on the feast of the Immaculate Conception. It concludes on November 20, 2016, on the feast of Christ the King.
The special Jubilee Year will commence when Pope Francis opens the holy door at St. Peter's Basilica after a 09:30 Mass. Then on December 13th the holy doors of the Archbasilica of St. John Lateran and the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls are opened, as are the holy doors of cathedrals around the world, including the Cathedral in Letterkenny.
Tradition
Holy Years in the Catholic Church date back to the beginning of the 14th century. They were originally meant to be called every 25-50 years (at the pope's discretion), and were a time when all sins could be forgiven. The concept comes from the Biblical reference to a Jubilee when all slaves were to be set free and all debts absolved.
Pope Francis has been well aware of the need for reconciliation and reform within the Catholic Church. In the Vatican he has been making various changes to the administration facilities of the Curia, which is the central administration of the Church. The Pope has called for and is now providing a more open and transparent church.
For those who are hurt
In his address announcing the Year of Mercy, Pope Francis has made a clear and open call for reconciliation among all people, especially, among those who have been neglected, hurt or felt abandoned by the Church. He wants to make this reconciliation easy and simple everywhere. Many people have strayed from the Sacrament of Reconciliation or Confession and as a result many have strayed from or abandoned their faith - Francis is calling them back, not to him but to Jesus.
In the Gospel of St. John Jesus said, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you. He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day." (John 6,53)
Feeling of betrayal
Priests everywhere will tell us that people have fallen away from the practice of confession. When young children make their first confession for some it is their last! Adults feel no hesitation in receiving the Body of Christ when they attend weddings and funerals but rarely attend Holy Mass on Sundays. For some there is a fear of going into the confessional box, for others there is a reluctance to confess to priest because they think he is no different from themselves! For others, especially, those who have been hurt, there is a feeling of betrayal and lack of trust. But Jesus sends us the sacraments through his priests and the sacraments are there to help each one of us in our daily lives.
No pre condition other than sorrow
And that is just what this Year of Mercy is about. Forgiveness and no questions asked, doesn't matter whether you are standing or kneeling or sitting. It is about saying "I am sorry" and trying to do better in future, and, God knows, our world does need to do better. Pictures of a dead child being plucked from the sea, people being shot in cold blood in Paris, planes being bombed out of the sky - all of this tells us that our world is a sad place! What would make it better? We can, by loving God and our neighbour, irrespective of belief, colour, or creed.
Advent
As we come into the holy season of Advent there will be Reconciliation Services in churches everywhere - do not be afraid to be part of one. Pope Francis said to his priests:-
I will never tire of insisting that confessors be authentic signs of the Father's mercy. We do not become good confessors automatically. We become good confessors when, above all, we allow ourselves to be penitents in search of his mercy. Let us never forget that to be confessors means to participate in the very mission of Jesus to be a concrete sign of the constancy of divine love that pardons and saves. We priests have received the gift of the Holy Spirit for the forgiveness of sins, and we are responsible for this. None of us wields power over this Sacrament; rather, we are faithful servants of God's mercy through it.
Priest: Confessor and friend
Every confessor must accept the faithful as the father in the parable of the prodigal son: a father who runs out to meet his son despite the fact that he has squandered away his inheritance. Confessors are called to embrace the repentant son who comes back home and to express the joy of having him back again. Let us never tire of also going out to the other son who stands outside, incapable of rejoicing, in order to explain to him that his judgement is severe and unjust and meaningless in light of the father's boundless mercy.
May confessors not ask useless questions, but like the father in the parable, interrupt the speech prepared ahead of time by the prodigal son, so that confessors will learn to accept the plea for help and mercy pouring from the heart of every penitent.
In short, confessors are called to be a sign of the primacy of mercy always, everywhere, and in every situation, no matter what.