(Vatican Radio) At his Wednesday general audience Pope Francis focused on the parable of the prodigal son to show how God welcomes us all with an unconditional love. Even in the most difficult situations, he told pilgrims and visitors gathered in St Peter’s Square, God waits for us and longs to embrace us.
The Pope explained that the parable talks about both the prodigal son and his older brother, who also needs to learn to accept the father’s mercy. Both the younger son, who is expecting to be punished, and the older son, who expects a reward for his good behavior, are not acting according to God’s love, which transcends both reward and punishment, the Pope said. The greatest joy for the father, he stressed, is to see his two sons reunited and recognizing each other as brothers.
Pope Francis notes that the parable ends without our knowing how the older brother responds to the father’s invitation to celebrate his brother’s return. Jesus is challenging each of us, he said, to think about how we respond to God’s invitation, to open our hearts to his reconciling love and to become “merciful like the Father”.
Please find below the English summary of the Pope’s words at the Wednesday general audience
Dear Brothers and Sisters: In our continuing catechesis for this Holy Year of Mercy, we now turn to Jesus’ parable of the merciful father who welcomes back his prodigal son with unconditional love and forgiveness. Jesus wishes to teach us that we are children of God not because of any merits of our own but because of the infinite love of our heavenly Father.
How often do we need to be reminded of God’s unchanging love and ready forgiveness, lest we lose heart when we ourselves or our dear ones go astray! The parable speaks not only of the prodigal son, but also of his older brother, who must also learn to accept the father’s mercy, which transcends both reward and punishment.
By calling for a feast of thanksgiving, the father is really asking each son to share his joy by recognizing the other as a brother. The parable ends without our knowing how the older brother responds to this invitation. Jesus in effect is challenging each of us to think about how we respond to God’s invitation, to open our hearts to his reconciling love and to become “merciful like the Father”.
I greet the English-speaking pilgrims and visitors taking part in today’s Audience, particularly those from England, Ireland, Denmark, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, the Seychelles 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!
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis called for “prayer and dialogue” in Brazil as a political crisis threatens to unseat President Dilma Rousseff. Addressing Portuguese-speaking pilgrims during his General Audience, Pope Francis turned his thoughts to Brazil. “In these days, as we prepare for the feast of Pentecost, I ask the Lord to abundantly pour out the gifts of His Spirit, so that the country, in these moments of difficulty, proceeds on the path of harmony and peace, with the help of prayer and dialogue” – Pope Francis said – “May the closeness of Our Lady of Aparecida, who as a good mother will never abandons her children, both defend and guide you on this journey.” President Rousseff is facing impeachment proceedings after being accused of hiding the public deficit during her 2014 re-election campaign. She denies the charges. (from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis said missionaries are docile to the call of the Holy Spirit which leads them to be consumed by a burning desire to dedicate their life to announcing the gospel, even in the most distant places. The characteristics of those men and women who choose to serve the Church by going on mission were the focus of the Pope’s homily at his morning Mass celebrated in the Santa Marta residence on Tuesday.
The cue for Pope Francis’ reflections during his homily was taken from the day’s reading where Paul takes his leave from the community at Miletus and talks of being compelled by the Holy Spirit to go next to Jerusalem. The Pope describes this call from the Spirit as an irresistible drive to donate one’s life to the service of Christ and even to consume it or burn it up on His behalf. He said this was the flame that burned in the heart of St Paul and every apostle and it’s the same flame that’s alive in the hearts of so many young people who have left their family and homeland to announce Jesus in far off lands.
“Compelled by the Spirit”
Referring to the day’s reading, Pope Francis said it was a touching episode where Paul knows that he will not see the community of Miletus again and tells his listeners that the Spirit was leading him to Jerusalem. He noted that Paul acknowledges the absolute mastery of the Spirit over his life who has always pushed him to announce the gospel despite the problems and difficulties. I believe, the Pope said, this excerpt evokes for us the life of missionaries throughout the ages.
“They went forward compelled by the Holy Spirit: a vocation! And when we went to the cemeteries in those places, we see their tombs: so many of them died at an early age before they reached 40. The reason is because they were not used to and couldn’t recover from the diseases present in those places. They gave up their young lives: they had consumed their lives. I’m thinking of them in their last moment on earth, far from their homeland, their families and their loved ones, who said: ‘What I did was worth it!’”
Missionaries: glory of the Church
Pope Francis went on to describe how a missionary sets out without knowing what awaits him or her and mentions in this context the final farewell given by St Francis Xavier on his deathbed which evokes that of St. Paul. In his speech bidding farewell at Miletus, Paul said that “in one city after another the Holy Spirit has been warning me that imprisonment and hardships await me.” The missionary, he continued, ‘knows that life will not be easy but he goes ahead,’ just like the apostles of our times.
“Our missionaries, these evangelisation heroes of our times….. Europe who filled up other continents with missionaries…. And these people went there without ever returning home…. I think it is only right that we give thanks to the Lord for their testimony. It’s right that we rejoice for having these missionaries who are true witnesses. I’m wondering what the final moment on earth was like for these people: how did they bid farewell? Like Xaxier: ‘I left everything but it was worth it!’ They passed away, nameless. They were martyrs who offered up their lives for the Gospel. These missionaries are our glory! The glory of our Church!”
Young people who consumed their lives for a noble cause
Concluding his homily, Pope Francis said one key quality of a missionary is that “docility” towards the Spirit and said he prayed that instead of the dissatisfaction afflicting today’s young people the voice of the Spirit compels them to give over their lives for a noble cause.
“I would like to say to the young men and women of nowadays who don’t feel at ease – (who say) ‘But I’m not that happy with this consumerist and narcissistic culture ….’ ‘But look at the horizon! Look who’s there, look at our missionaries!’ Pray to the Holy Spirit who compels them to go far away, to consume or burn up their lives. It’s a rather hard word but it’s worth it to really live our lives. But we need to live it in a good way, to ‘consume’ it in service, in evangelizing and journeying forward. This is the joy of announcing the Gospel.”
Listen to this report by Susy Hodges:
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) May 10 th marks the anniversary of the first encounter between Pope Paul VI, the Bishop of Rome, and head of the Coptic Orthodox Church, Pope Shenouda III, which took place 43 years ago. Today, on the Day of Friendship between Copts and Catholics, Pope Francis has written to His Holiness Tawadros II, Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of the See of Saint Mark, to commemorate the occasion.
In his letter to head of the Coptic Orthodox Church in Egypt, Pope Francis expressed his joy “at the ever deeper spiritual bonds” between the two communities, and thanked God for “the steps we have taken together along the path of reconciliation and friendship”. He went on to say, “though we are still journeying towards the day when we will gather as one at the same Eucharistic table, we are able even now to make visible the communion uniting us”.
Pope Francis has also said in his letter that the Copts and Catholics are “called to offer a common response founded upon the Gospel”, in the face of contemporary challenges, particularly in the Middle East, where Christians continue to face daily persecution. “As we continue our earthly pilgrimage, if we learn to bear each other as burdens and to exchange the rich patrimony of our respective traditions, then we will see more clearly that what unites us is greater than what divides us.”
Below please find the full text by Pope Francis:
PONTIFICAL LETTER
For the Day of Friendship between Copts and Catholics
10 May 2016
To His Holiness Tawadros II
Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of the See of Saint Mark
Recalling with pleasure the third anniversary of our fraternal meeting in Rome on 10 May 2013, I offer heartfelt best wishes to Your Holiness for peace and health, and I express my joy at the ever deeper spiritual bonds uniting the See of Peter and the See of Mark.
It is with gratitude to the Lord our God that I recall the steps we have taken together along the path of reconciliation and friendship. After centuries of silence, misunderstanding and even hostility, Catholics and Copts increasingly are encountering one another, entering into dialogue, and cooperating together in proclaiming the Gospel and serving humanity. In this renewed spirit of friendship, the Lord helps us to see that the bond uniting us is born of the same call and mission we received from the Father on the day of our baptism. Indeed, it is through baptism that we become members of the one Body of Christ that is the Church (cf. 1 Cor 12:13), God’s own people, who proclaim his praises (cf. 1 Pet 2:9). May the Holy Spirit, the mainspring and bearer of all gifts, unite us evermore in the bond of Christian love and guide us in our shared pilgrimage, in truth and charity, towards full communion.
I would like also to express to Your Holiness my deep appreciation for the generous hospitality offered during the thirteenth meeting of the Joint International Commission for the Theological Dialogue Between the Catholic Church and the Oriental Orthodox Churches, held in Cairo at the invitation of the Patriarchate of the See of Saint Mark. I am grateful to you for receiving the members of the Joint Commission at the Saint Bishoy Monastery in Wadi Natrum, and I am certain that we share the ardent hope that this important dialogue may continue to progress and bear abundant fruits.
Though we are still journeying towards the day when we will gather as one at the same eucharistic table, we are able even now to make visible the communion uniting us. Copts and Catholics can witness together to important values such as the holiness and dignity of every human life, the sanctity of marriage and family life, and respect for the creation entrusted to us by God. In the face of many contemporary challenges, Copts and Catholics are called to offer a common response founded upon the Gospel. As we continue our earthly pilgrimage, if we learn to bear each other’s burdens and to exchange the rich patrimony of our respective traditions, then we will see more clearly that what unites us is greater than what divides us.
Your Holiness, every day my thoughts and prayers are with the Christian communities in Egypt and the Middle East, so many of whom are experiencing great hardship and tragic situations. I am well aware of your grave concern for the situation in the Middle East, especially in Iraq and Syria, where our Christian brothers and sisters and other religious communities are facing daily trials. May God our Father grant peace and consolation to all those who suffer, and inspire the international community to respond wisely and justly to such unprecedented violence.
On this occasion that has rightly become known as the day of friendship between Copts and Catholics, I willingly exchange with Your Holiness a fraternal embrace of peace in Christ the Risen Lord.
FRANCIS
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Monday received in private audience Cardinal Angelo Amato, S.D.B., Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints. In the course of the Audience, the Supreme Pontiff authorized the Congregation to promulgate decrees regarding:
the miracle, attributed to the intercession of Blessed Ludovico Pavoni, Priest, Founder of the Congregation of the Sons of Mary Immaculate; born 11 November 1784, died 1 April 1849;
the miracle, attributed to the intercession of Blessed Solomon Leclercq (né Guillaume-Nicolas-Louis Leclerq), of the Brothers of the Christian Schools, Martyr; born 15 November 1745, died 2 September 1792;
the heroic virtue of the Servant of God Rafaél Manuel Almansa Riaño, Diocesan Priest, formerly Professed Priest of the Order of Friars Minor; born 2 August 1840, died 28 June 1927.
The recognition of miracles for Ludovico Pavoni and Solomon Leclercq clears the way for the canonization of the two blesseds.
Father Ludovico Pavoni founded the Congregation of the Sons of Mary Immaculate (the “Pavoniani”) dedicated to the human and Christian education of children, especially needy boys, with the goal of teaching them useful professions.
A member of the Brothers of the Christian Schools, Father Solomon Leclercq exercised his ministry in France in the late 19 th century. Father Leclercq went into hiding when religious orders were outlawed during the French Revolution. He was martyred, along with nearly 200 hundred others, during the September Massacres of 1792.
Rafaél Manuel Almansa Riaño ministered in Colombia in the late 19th and early 20th century.
(from Vatican Radio)…