(Vatican Radio) In order to ask forgiveness from God, we must follow the teaching of the “Our Father”: we must repent sincerely for our sins, knowing that God always forgives, and just as willingly forgive others. This was the centerpiece of Pope Francis’ remarks to the faithful following the readings of the day at Mass in the chapel of the Santa Marta residence in the Vatican.
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Focusing primarily on the reading from the Gospel according to St Matthew ( 18:21-35 ), in which the Lord counsels His disciples to forgive “seventy times seven” times, i.e. always and without stint, the Holy Father addressed the close connection between God’s forgiveness of our sins and our forgiveness of others.
Drawing on the Old Testament reading from the prophet Daniel , which tells of Azariah’s appeal to God for clemency, which he makes on behalf of the people, acknowledged as sinful and in need of pardon for having abandoned the way of the Lord. Azariah does not ask God simply to excuse, or to overlook, the sinfulness of the people, but to forgive them:
“Asking forgiveness is another thing: it’s not the same as simply saying, ‘excuse me.’ Did I make a mistake? ‘Sorry, I made a mistake. But, ‘I have sinned!’ – that is different: the one has nothing to do with the other. Sin is not a simple mistake. Sin is idolatry: it is to worship the idol, the idol of pride, vanity, money, ‘my self’, my own ‘well-being’. So many idols do we have: and for this, Azariah does not apologize: he asks forgiveness.”
Forgiveness must be asked sincerely, whole-heartedly – and forgiveness must be given whole-heartedly to those, who have injured us. The Pope recalled the action of the servant in the Gospel reading, who, having been forgiven a great debt by his master, yet fails to show such generosity of spirit to a fellow. The Holy Father explained that the dynamics of forgiveness are those, which Jesus teaches us in the Our Father:
“Jesus teaches us to pray to the Father in this way: ‘Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors.’ If I am not able to forgive, then I am not able to ask for forgiveness. ‘But, Father, I confess, I go to confession ….’. ‘And what do you do before you confess?’ ‘Well, I think of the things I did wrong.’ ‘Alright’ ‘Then I ask the Lord for forgiveness and promise not to do those things again.’ ‘Okay…and then go to the priest? Before you do, however, you’re missing something: have you forgiven those who have hurt you?’”
In sum, Pope Francis said that the forgiveness God will give you requires the forgiveness that you give to others:
“This is what Jesus teaches us about forgiveness: first, asking forgiveness is not a simple apology, it is to be aware of the sin, of the idolatry that I have committed, of the many idolatries; second, God always forgives, always – but He asks me to forgive [others]. If I do not forgive, in a sense, I close the door to God’s forgiveness. ‘Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors.’”
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) In order to ask forgiveness from God, we must follow the teaching of the “Our Father”: we must repent sincerely for our sins, knowing that God always forgives, and just as willingly forgive others. This was the centerpiece of Pope Francis’ remarks to the faithful following the readings of the day at Mass…
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(Vatican Radio) God acts in humility and in silence; “spectacle” is not His style. That was Pope Francis’ message at Mass on Monday in the Casa Santa Marta.
Listen to Christopher Wells’ report:
Jesus rebukes people of Nazareth for their lack of faith
In the Gospel of the day, Jesus rebukes the inhabitants of Nazareth for their lack of faith: at first, the Pope said, they listened with admiration, but later they exploded “with anger, with outrage”:
“In that moment, this people, who had heard with pleasure what Jesus had said, but did not like what He had said to one, two, or three of them; and perhaps some gossip had stood up and said, ‘But who is this who’s come to talk to us? Where has he studied in order to say these things to us? Let’s see his degree! This is the son of the carpenter, we know him.’ Fury erupted, and even violence. ‘And they drove Him out of the town, and led Him to the brow of the hill’… they wanted to throw Him down!”
Humility is God’s style
The first Reading speaks about Naaman, the commander of the Syrian army, who was a leper. The prophet Elisha tells him to wash himself seven times in the Jordan to be healed, and yet Naaman was indignant because he expected a grand gesture. But then he listened to the advice of the servants, and did what the prophet said, and he was cleansed of leprosy. The inhabitants of Nazareth were like Naaman, the Pope said. “They wanted a spectacle,” but “the style of the good God is not to produce a spectacle: God acts in humility, in silence, in the little things.” This begins with Creation, the Pope said, where the Lord does not use a “magic wand,” but creates man “with mud.” It is a style that runs through “the whole of salvation history”:
“When He desired to free His people, He freed them through the faith and confidence of a man, Moses. When He desired to cause the fall of the powerful city of Jericho, He did so through a prostitute. And for the conversion of the Samaritans He required the work of another sinner. When He invited David to fight against Goliath, it seemed crazy: the little David standing before that giant, who had a sword, who had so many things, while David had only a sling and the stones. When He told the Magi that a King was born to them, the Great King, what did they find? A little child, a manger. The simple things, the humility of God… this is the divine style, never the spectacle.”
God works in humility, not spectacles
The Pope noted that “one of the three temptations of Jesus in the desert” was to create a spectacle. Satan invites Him to cast Himself down from the pinnacle of the Temple so that, seeing the miracle, the people might believe in Him. “The Lord, instead, is revealed in simplicity, in humility,” he said. “It would do us good this Lent,” the Pope said, “to consider how the Lord has helped us in our lives, and how the Lord has led us onward. We will find that the Lord has always done this with simple things.”
He concluded, “This is how the Lord acts: He does things simply. He speaks silently to you, to the heart. Let us remember in our lives the many time we have felt these things: the humility of God is His style; the simplicity of God is His style. And even in the liturgical celebration, in the sacraments, what is beautiful is that which manifests the humility of God, and not the worldly spectacle. It would do us good to journey through our life and to consider the many times the Lord has visited us with His grace, and always with this humble style, the style He calls us, too, to have: humility.”
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) God acts in humility and in silence; “spectacle” is not His style. That was Pope Francis’ message at Mass on Monday in the Casa Santa Marta. Listen to Christopher Wells’ report: Jesus rebukes people of Nazareth for their lack of faith In the Gospel of the day, Jesus rebukes the inhabitants of Nazareth…
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(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Monday met with His Majesty Philippe, King of the Belgians, and Queen Mathilde, who subsequently met with His Eminence Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin, accompanied by Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, secretary for Relations with States.
A statement by the Holy See Press Office said the talks were “cordial”, and the good bilateral relations between Belgium and the Holy See were confirmed.
The parties also discussed other matters of mutual interest, such as social cohesion, the education of the young, the phenomenon of migration, and the importance of intercultural and interreligious dialogue.
Mention was then made of various problems of an international nature, with special reference to the future prospects of the European continent.
(from Vatican Radio)…