Pope Francis asks the faithful to pray for his imminent journey among the refugees on the Greek island of Lesbos- Closeness and solidarity

Francis will travel on Saturday, 16
April, to the island of Lesbos “in order to express closeness and solidarity
both to the displaced people and to the citizens of Lesbos and to all the
people of Greece, who are so generous in their welcome”. He will be accompanied
during the visit by Bartholomew, Patriarch of Constantinople, and Ieronymos,
Archbishop of Athens and All Greece. In making the announcement to the faithful
in St Peter’s Square, who gathered for the General Audience, the Pontiff asked
them to accompany him “with prayers, invoking the light and strength of the
Holy Spirit and the motherly intercession of the Virgin Mary”. The Pope spoke
of his upcoming journey and greeted the various groups in the Square, after
delivering the catechesis dedicated to the Gospel episode of the calling of
Matthew. The following is a translation of the Holy Father’s address, which was
given in Italian.

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Good morning!

We have heard the Gospel account of the
call of Matthew. Matthew was a “publican”, namely, a tax collector on behalf of
the Roman Empire, and for this reason was considered a public sinner. But Jesus
calls Matthew to follow him and to become his disciple. Matthew accepts, and
invites Jesus along with the disciples to have dinner at his house. Thus an
argument arises between the Pharisees and the disciples of Jesus over the fact
that the latter sit at a table with tax collectors and sinners. “You cannot go
to these people’s homes!”, they said. Jesus, in fact, does not stay away from
them, but instead goes to their houses and sits beside them; this means that
they too can become his disciples. It is likewise true that being Christian
does not render us flawless. Like Matthew the tax collector, each of us trusts
in the grace of the Lord regardless of our sins. We are all sinners, we have
all sinned. By calling Matthew, Jesus shows sinners that he does not look at
their past, at their social status, at external conventions, but rather, he
opens a new future to them. I once heard a beautiful saying: “There is no saint
without a past nor a sinner without a future”. This is what Jesus does. There
is no saint without a past nor a sinner without a future. It is enough to
respond to the call with a humble and sincere heart. The Church is not a
community of perfect people, but of disciples on a journey, who follow the Lord
because they know they are sinners and in need of his pardon. Thus, Christian
life is a school of humility which opens us to grace.

Such
behaviour is not understood by those who have the arrogance to believe they are
“just” and to believe they are better than others. Hubris and pride do not
allow one to recognize him- or herself as in need of salvation, but rather
prevent one from seeing the merciful face of God and from acting with mercy. They
are a barrier. Hubris and pride are a barrier that prevents a relationship with
God. Yet, this is precisely Jesus’ mission: coming in search of each of us, in
order to heal our wounds and to call us to follow him with love. He says so
explicitly: “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are
sick” (v. 12). Jesus presents himself as a good physician! He proclaims the
Kingdom of God, and the signs of its coming are clear: He heals people from
disease, frees them from fear, from death, and from the devil. Before Jesus, no
sinner is excluded — no sinner is excluded! Because the healing power of God
knows no infirmity that cannot be healed; and this must give us confidence and
open our heart to the Lord, that he may come and heal us.

By
calling sinners to his table, he heals them, restoring to them the vocation
that they believed had been lost and which the Pharisees had forgotten: that of
being guests at God’s banquet. According to the prophecy of Isaiah: “On this
mountain the Lord of hosts will make for all peoples a feast of fat things, a
feast of wine on the lees, of fat things full of marrow, of wine on the lees
well refined…. It will be said on that day, ‘Lo, this is our God; we have
waited for him, that he might save us. This is the Lord; we have waited for
him; let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation” (25:6, 9).

When
the Pharisees see only sinners among those who are invited, and refuse to be
seated with them, Jesus to the contrary reminds them that they too are guests
at God’s table. Thus, sitting at the table with Jesus means being transformed
and saved by him. In the Christian community the table of Jesus is twofold:
there is the table of the Word and thee is the table of the Eucharist (cf. Dei
Verbum, n. 21). These are the medicines with which the Divine Physician
heals us and nourishes us. With the first — the Word — He reveals himself and
invites us to a dialogue among friends. Jesus was not afraid to dialogue with
sinners, tax collectors, prostitutes…. No, he was not afraid: he loved
everyone! His Word permeates us and, like a scalpel, operates in depth so as to
free us from the evil lurking in our life. At times this Word is painful
because it discloses deception, reveals false excuses, lays bare hidden truths;
but at the same time it illuminates and purifies, gives strength and hope, it
is an invaluable tonic on our journey of faith. The Eucharist, for its part,
nourishes us with the very life of Jesus, like an immensely powerful remedy
and, in a mysterious way, it continuously renews the grace of our Baptism. By
approaching the Eucharist we are nourished of the Body and Blood of Jesus, and
by entering us, Jesus joins us to his Body!

Concluding
that dialogue with the Pharisees, Jesus reminds them of a word of the prophet Hosea
(6:6): “Go and learn what this means, ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice’”
(Mt 9:13). Addressing the people of Israel, the prophet reproaches them because
the prayers they raised were but empty and incoherent words. Despite God’s
covenant and mercy, the people often lived with a “façade-like” religiosity,
without living in depth the command of the Lord. This is why the prophet
emphasized: “I desire mercy”, namely the loyalty of a heart that recognizes its
own sins, which mends its ways and returns to be faithful to the covenant with
God. “And not sacrifice”: without a penitent heart, every religious action is
ineffective! Jesus also applies this prophetic phrase to human relationships:
the Pharisees were very religious in form, but were not willing to sit at the
table with tax collectors and sinners; they did not recognize the opportunity
for mending their ways and thus for healing; they did not place mercy in the
first place: although being faithful guardians of the Law, they showed that
they did not know the heart of God! It is as though you were given a parcel
with a gift inside and, rather than going to open the gift, you look only at
the paper it is wrapped in: only appearances, the form, and not the core of the
grace, of the gift that is given!

Dear
brothers and sisters, all of us are invited to the table of the Lord. Let us
make our own this invitation and sit beside the Lord together with his
disciples. Let us learn to look with mercy and to recognize each of them as
fellow guests at the table. We are all disciples who need to experience and
live the comforting word of Jesus. We all need to be nourished by the mercy of
God, for it is from this source that our salvation flows. Thank you!

SPECIAL GREETINGS

Next Saturday I shall go to the island of
Lesbos, through which in recent months a great number of refugees have passed.
I shall go, with my Brothers Bartholomew, Patriarch of Constantinople, and
Ieronymos, Archbishop of Athens and All Greece, in order to express closeness
and solidarity both to the displaced people and to the citizens of Lesbos and
to all the people of Greece, who are so generous in their welcome. I ask you,
please, to accompany me with prayers, invoking the light and strength of the
Holy Spirit and the motherly intercession of the Virgin Mary.

I
greet the English-speaking visitors taking part in today’s Audience,
particularly the pilgrims from England, Scotland, The Netherlands, Australia,
New Zealand, China, Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines, Canada and the United
States of America. In the joy of the
Risen Lord, I invoke upon you and your families the loving mercy of God our
Father. May the Lord bless you all!

I
offer a special greeting to young people, to the sick and to newlyweds. May the
Easter message continue to enable us to experience the astonishment of the
disciples at Emmaus: dear young people, the Lord Jesus alone knows how to
respond completely to the aspirations of happiness and goodness in your lives;
dear sick people, there is no greater consolation in your suffering than the
certainty of the Resurrection of Christ; and may you, dear newlyweds, live your
marriage in concrete adherence to Christ and to the Gospel teaching.