Pope: General audience summary on responding to God’s call
(Vatican Radio) In his weekly general audience in Peter’s Square on Wednesday, Pope Francis reflected how Jesus came to call not the righteous, but the sinners. The Pope drew from the Gospel account of Christ calling Matthew – a tax-collector and public sinner – to follow him.
Below, find the official English language summary of Pope Francis’ 13 April catechesis, which was originally delivered in Italian:
Dear Brothers and Sisters: In our catechesis for this Holy Year of Mercy, we now consider the Gospel account of the calling of Saint Matthew. Jesus not only invites a tax-collector, a public sinner, to be his disciple, but also sits at table with him, thus scandalizing the Pharisees. The Lord then explains that he has come to call not the righteous but sinners. The calling of Matthew reminds us that when Christ makes us his disciples, he does not look to our past but to the future. We need but respond to his call with a humble and sincere heart. Jesus invites us to sit with him at the table of the Eucharist, in which he purifies us by the power of his word and by the sacrament unites us ever more deeply to himself. Citing the prophet Hosea, he tells us that what God desires is “mercy, not sacrifice”, true conversion of heart and not merely formal acts of religion. May all of us, acknowledging our sins, respond more generously to the Lord’s invitation to sit at table with him, and with one another, with immense gratitude for his infinite mercy and saving love.