(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Wednesday urged the faithful not to fall into indifference but to become active instruments of mercy.
Addressing the crowd gathered in St. Peter’s Square for the weekly General Audience at a time in which the Holy Year of Mercy is coming to an end, he reflected on the corporal work of mercy that calls us to visit the sick and the imprisoned.
Listen to the report by Linda Bordoni :
Recalling the many readings from the Scriptures that tell of how, during his life, Jesus incessantly reached out to the other, Pope Francis said: He is our model as we consider the corporal works of mercy that call on us to visit the sick and the imprisoned.
With these works of mercy, he said, the Lord invites us to perform gestures of great humanity.
Sick persons, he said, often feel very alone, and something as simple as a smile, the warm touch of a hand and a little company can prove to be excellent medicine.
Praising those who visit the sick in hospitals, the Pope said their contribution is of inestimable value.
When this kind of work is carried out in the name of the Lord, he explained, it also becomes an eloquent and effective expression of mercy: “Let us not deprive sick persons from obtaining comfort, or ourselves from being enriched by closeness to he who suffers”.
Likewise, the Pope continued, visiting the imprisoned is a fruitful way of bringing the Lord’s healing presence to those who are paying for their mistakes. Deprived of their freedom, they especially need to hear the message of God’s merciful love and forgiveness, and in this way to recognize their worth and dignity.
“Whatever act a prison inmate may have committed, he remains beloved by God” he said.
“Who can penetrate the intimacy of his conscience and understand what he is feeling? Who can understand his pain and remorse? It is too easy to wash one’s hands of the issue saying ‘he made a mistake’” he said.
As Christians, the Pope said, we are called upon to bring God’s mercy and its redemptive power to our brothers and sisters in need.
Pope Francis also spoke of how he has a special place in his heart for prisoners and recalled that Jesus himself, though innocent, suffered in prison for our sake.
He also mentioned the apostles, Peter and Paul, who used the time of their imprisonment to pray and proclaim the Gospel.
Finally, thinking back to last Sunday’s Jubilee of Prisoners and to his meeting with a group of inmates who told him they wanted to go on to share Saint Paul’s experience with other prisoners, the Pope pointed out that we can all be instruments of God’s mercy with a gesture, a word or a simple visit which, he said, have the power to give back joy and dignity to he or she whose joy and dignity have been taken away.
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) The Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, on Wednesday said he hoped the newly elected American president, Donald Trump, would be guided by God to serve his country but also to promote peace and wellbeing in the world.
Talking to journalists on the sidelines of a conference at Rome’s Lateran University, the cardinal said he respected the will of the American people as expressed in this exercise of democracy. “We send our congratulations to the new president”, he continued, in the hope that “his government may bear real fruit”.
Cardinal Parolin said it would be premature to comment on specific issues such as immigration, noting that the views of presidential candidates often differ from their policies once they become president and adding that Trump had already spoken “in leadership style”.
He said Trump can be “assured of our prayers that the Lord may enlighten and support him” in the service of his country, but also in the service of peace and wellbeing in the world. Cardinal Parolin concluded by saying he believes there is a need for everyone to work to change the situation in the world today, which is one of “grave wounds, of serious conflicts”.
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Wednesday urged the faithful not to fall into indifference but to become active instruments of mercy. The Pope’s words came during the weekly General Audience in St. Peter’s Square. As the Holy Year of Mercy comes to end, he was reflecting on the corporal work of mercy that calls us to visit the sick and the imprisoned. Please find below the English language synopsis of the Pope’s catechesis: Dear Brothers and Sisters: In our catechesis for this Holy Year of Mercy, we now consider two further corporal works of mercy: healing the sick and visiting the imprisoned. Jesus himself is our model in both. He shows us the importance of drawing near to those who so often feel alone and abandoned. How much good is done when we visit the sick and those in prison, and how much we ourselves are enriched by these acts of charity! Visiting the imprisoned is a fruitful way of bringing the Lord’s healing presence to those who are paying for their mistakes. Deprived of their freedom, they especially need to hear the message of God’s merciful love and forgiveness, and in this way to recognize their worth and dignity. Jesus himself, though innocent, suffered in prison for our sake, and the apostles Peter and Paul used the time of their imprisonment to pray and proclaim the Gospel. By visiting the sick and the imprisoned, may we bring God’s mercy and its redemptive power to our brothers and sisters in need. (from Vatican Radio)…