(Vatican Radio) On Thursday, Pope Francis held a Special Jubilee Audience , using the text of Matthew 25:35-36 as a launching point. He said that mercy is not an abstraction or a lifestyle but concrete and practical.
The English language summary of the Holy Father’s catechesis follows:
GENERAL AUDIENCE
(Thursday, 30 June 2016)
CATECHESIS
Works of Mercy ( Mt 25,31-46)
Dear Brothers and Sisters: During this Holy Year of Mercy, we have not only considered the gift of God’s mercy in itself, but also the works of mercy which we are called to practice as part of the Christian life. To paraphrase Saint James, we can say that mercy without works is dead. To be merciful like God our Father demands constant sensitivity to the needs, material and spiritual, of those around us. Jesus himself tells us in no uncertain terms that we will be judged by the mercy we show to the poor: those who hunger and thirst, the naked, the stranger, the sick and those in prison (cf. Mt 25:35-36). Particularly in our prosperous societies, Christians are called to guard against the temptation of indifference to the plea of so many of our brothers and sisters. In our rapidly changing and increasingly globalized world, many new forms of poverty are appearing. In response to them, may we prove creative in developing new and practical forms of charitable outreach as an expression of the way of mercy.
This past weekend I made a Pastoral Visit to Armenia, the first nation to embrace the Christian faith and a people which has remained faithful even in the midst of great trials. I also plan to go to Georgia and Azerbaijan in the near future, to affirm the ancient Christian roots of those countries and to support every effort to encourage peace and reconciliation in a spirit of respect for all. With gratitude for the welcome and fellowship showed me by the Armenian Apostolic Church, I ask the Virgin Mary to strengthen Christians everywhere to remain firm in the faith and to work for a society of ever greater justice and peace.
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) T oday the Lord invites us to make a serious examination of conscience, Pope Francis said Thursday at a special Jubilee audience at St Peter’s Square in Rome. It’s one thing to talk mercy but quite another to live it, he said. Mercy is not an abstraction or a lifestyle and, paraphrasing the words of St James the Apostle, mercy without works is dead in itself.
Listen to Alexander MacDonald’s report:
Pope Francis used the text of Matthew 25:31 as a launching point for discussing acts of mercy toward others. What makes mercy come alive is its dynamism to meet the spiritual and material needs of others, he said. Mercy has eyes to see, ears to listen, hands to help lift.
Sometimes we pass by dramatic situations of poverty and it seems that they don’t touch us, the Pope said. We continue as if nothing happened, in an indifference which ultimately makes us hypocrites and without realizing it, leads to a form of spiritual lethargy that numbs the soul and leaves life barren.
Those who have experienced mercy in their own lives, the Pope continued, cannot remain indifferent to the needs of our brothers. The teaching of the Lord Jesus does not allow for escape routes. “I was hungry and you gave me food; I was thirsty and you gave me drink; I was naked, displaced, sick, in prison and you visited me.”
Pope Francis concluded his catechesis by reflecting on his recent apostolic journey to Armenia, the first nation, he noted, to have embraced Christianity. He thanked the President of Armenia and the Catholicos Karekin II, the Partriarch, the Catholic bishops and the people of Armenia for welcoming him as a pilgrim in fraternity and peace.
Finally, Pope Francis said, as Christians we are called to strengthen our fraternal communion and bear witness to the Gospel of Christ.
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) On Wednesday, Pope Francis celebrated Mass in Saint Peter’s Basilica for the solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul, during which he said prayer is the “way out” when we become closed in on ourselves.
Pope Francis centred his June 29 homily on the day’s Gospel reading, and reflected on the themes of being opened and closed, as demonstrated by the lives of Saints Peter and Paul.
Drawing from examples from the life of Peter, such as when he was imprisoned, the Holy Father said “prayer appears as the main way out. It is a way out for the community, which risks closing in on itself out of persecution and fear.”
“Prayer, as humble entrustment to God and his holy will, is always the way out of our becoming ‘closed’, as individuals and as a community.”
Likewise, this theme of going out in service of the Gospel is seen in the writings of St Paul.
“Paul’s life was utterly projected forward, in bringing Christ to those who did not know him, and then in rushing, as it were, into Christ’s arms, to be “saved for his heavenly kingdom,” the Pope said.
Turning back to Peter, Pope Francis reflected on how he was set free by Christ’s “compassionate gaze” which “pierces the heart and brings tears of repentance.”
The Pope referenced the scene in the Gospels in which Peter encounters Jesus after having denied him three times.
“At that moment, Simon Peter was set free from the prison of his selfish pride and fear, and overcame the temptation of closing his heart to Jesus’s call to follow him along the way of the cross.”
Pope Francis also spoke of the “constant temptation for the Church” of “closing in on herself in the face of danger.”
“Prayer enable grace to open a way out from closure to openness, from fear to courage, from sadness to joy. And we can add: from division to unity.”
During the Mass, the Pope conferred the Pallium to twenty-five prelates from eleven countries who were named metropolitan archbishops over the past year. Included among them were US Archbishop Bernard Anthony Hebda of Saint Paul and Minneapolis, MN, Archbishop Adam Szal of Przemyśl, Poland, and Archbishop Basilio Athaei of Taunggyi, Myanmar.
The pallium is a woolen vestment conferred on a new archbishop by the Pope, traditionally on the solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul.
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) The Church of Rome was founded on the faith of Saints Peter and Paul , the two Apostles from the Holy Land whose feast day is celebrated 29 June: that’s what Pope Francis recalled during his midday Angelus address on this Rome holiday. The entire universal Church, he said, considers the two patron saints of Rome “two pillars and two great lights which shine not only in the Rome sky, but in the hearts of believers of the Orient and the West.”
In his catechesis, Pope Francis pointed out that the two apostles were very different: Peter, a humble fisherman and Paul, sophisticated and highly educated. The courageous decision of the two Near Eastern saints to embark on a difficult and dangerous journey to Rome gave this territory the Christian spiritual and cultural patrimony that has formed its very foundation, the Pope affirmed.
Both came to Rome to give witness to the Gospel among people and they sealed their mission of faith and charity with martyrdom, he added.
Today, Peter and Paul return among us in a symbolic way, the Pope said, traveling the streets of this city, knocking “at the doors of our homes, and above all, of our hearts.” They still desire to bring Jesus to us: “his merciful love, his consolation, his peace; Let us welcome their message!”
Referring to the celebration of Holy Mass which he had just concluded in St. Peter’s Basilica, Pope Francis said he blessed the Pallia for the new Metropolitan Archbishops who had been appointed this year. He renewed his best wishes to them and their families and encouraged them to “pursue with joy their mission in service to the Gospel, in communion with the entire Church and especially with the Seat of Peter” as symbolized in the Pallium.
Pope Francis said he welcomed with joy and affection Members of a delegation sent by his “dear brother,” Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew. Their presence, he added, “is sign of the existing fraternal bonds between our Churches. Let us pray so that the bonds of communion and common witness will strengthen.”
The Holy Father then entrusted to the Blessed Virgin Mary, “Salus Populi Romani” the entire world, and “in particular this city of Rome” so that it will always refer back to its rich foundation of spiritual and moral values “in its social life, its mission in Italy, in Europe and in the world.”
In his comments following the Angelus Prayer, Pope Francis prayed for the victims of Monday’s horrific terrorist attack at Istanbul’s main international airport, for their families and the “dear Turkish people.” He prayed for the conversion of “violent hearts” and asked the Lord to “sustain our steps on the path to peace.”
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Wednesday called for a moment of silent prayer for all those affected by a suicide attack in Istanbul’s international airport which killed dozens of people and injured some 150 others.
“Yesterday evening, in Istanbul, a brutal terrorist attack was committed, which has killed and injured many people,” the Pope said during his 29 June Angelus address after celebrating Mass for the solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul.
“We pray for the victims, for their families, and for the beloved people of Turkey. May the Lord convert the hearts of the violent, and sustain our feet on the way of peace.”
The Pope invited everyone in St Peter’s Square to take a moment of silent prayer, before leading the crowds in the recitation of the Hail Mary.
At least 36 people were killed Tuesday when suicide bombers struck the Ataturk Airport, and around 147 people were wounded.
Officials say they believe Islamic State militants are behind the June 29 attack, which is the latest in a series of attacks in Turkey in recent months.
(from Vatican Radio)…