(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis, in his homily at the Consistory which took place in St Peter’s Basilica on Saturday, reflected on the Lord’s “Sermon on the Plain,” found in the Gospel of St Luke.
The Holy Father said that, by taking the Apostles down from the mountaintop and setting them in the midst of the people on the plain, our Lord “shows the Apostles, and ourselves, that the true heights are reached on the plain, while the plain reminds us that the heights are found in a gaze and above all in a call: ‘Be merciful as the Father is merciful’.”
Speaking to the newly created Cardinals, Pope Francis said, “Today each of you, dear brothers, is asked to cherish in your own heart, and in the heart, this summons to be merciful like the Father.”
Read the full text of the Pope’s homily, as prepared:
Homily of His Holiness Pope Francis
Consistory for the Creation of New Cardinals
19 November 2016
The Gospel passage we have just heard (cf. Lk 6:27-36) is often referred to as the “Sermon on the Plain”. After choosing the Twelve, Jesus came down with his disciples to a great multitude of people who were waiting to hear him and to be healed. The call of the Apostles is linked to this “setting out”, descending to the plain to encounter the multitudes who, as the Gospel says, were “troubled” (cf. v. 18). Instead of keeping the Apostles at the top of the mountain, their being chosen leads them to the heart of the crowd; it sets them in the midst of those who are troubled, on the “plain” of their daily lives. The Lord thus shows the Apostles, and ourselves, that the true heights are reached on the plain, while the plain reminds us that the heights are found in a gaze and above all in a call: “Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful” (v. 36).
This call is accompanied by four commands or exhortations, which the Lord gives as a way of moulding the Apostles’ vocation through real, everyday situations. They are four actions that will shape, embody and make tangible the path of discipleship. We could say that they represent four stages of a mystagogy of mercy: love , do good , bless and pray . I think we can all agree on these, and see them as something reasonable. They are four things we can easily do for our friends and for those more or less close to us, people we like, people whose tastes and habits are similar to our own.
The problem comes when Jesus tells us for whom we have do these things. Here he is very clear. He minces no words, he uses no euphemisms. He tells us: love your enemies ; do good to those who hate you ; bless those who curse you ; pray for those who mistreat you (cf. vv. 27-28).
These are not things we spontaneously do in dealing with people we consider our opponents or enemies. Our first instinctive reaction in such cases is to dismiss, discredit or curse them. Often we try to “demonize” them, so as to have a “sacred” justification for dismissing them. Jesus tells us to do exactly the opposite with our enemies, those who hate us, those who curse us or slander us. We are to love them, to do good to them, to bless them and to pray for them.
Here we find ourselves confronted with one of the very hallmarks of Jesus’ message, where its power and secret are concealed. Here too is the source of our joy, the power of our mission and our preaching of the Good News. My enemy is someone I must love. In God’s heart there are no enemies. God only has sons and daughters. We are the ones who raise walls, build barriers and label people. God has sons and daughters, precisely so that no one will be turned away. God’s love has the flavour of fidelity towards everyone, for it is a visceral love, a parental love that never abandons us, even when we go astray. Our Father does not wait for us to be good before he loves the world, he does not wait for us to be a little bit better or more perfect before he loves us; he loves us because he chose to love us, he loves us because he has made us his sons and daughters. He loved us even when we were enemies (cf. Rom 5:10). The Father’s unconditional love for all people was, and is, the true prerequisite for the conversion of our pitiful hearts that tend to judge, divide, oppose and condemn. To know that God continues to love even those who reject him is a boundless source of confidence and an impetus for our mission. No matter how sullied our hands may be, God cannot be stopped from placing in those hands the Life he wishes to bestow on us.
Ours is an age of grave global problems and issues. We live at a time in which polarization and exclusion are burgeoning and considered the only way to resolve conflicts. We see, for example, how quickly those among us with the status of a stranger, an immigrant, or a refugee, become a threat, take on the status of an enemy. An enemy because they come from a distant country or have different customs. An enemy because of the colour of their skin, their language or their social class. An enemy because they think differently or even have a different faith. An enemy because… And, without our realizing it, this way of thinking becomes part of the way we live and act. Everything and everyone then begins to savour of animosity. Little by little, our differences turn into symptoms of hostility, threats and violence. How many wounds grow deeper due to this epidemic of animosity and violence, which leaves its mark on the flesh of many of the defenceless, because their voice is weak and silenced by this pathology of indifference! How many situations of uncertainty and suffering are sown by this growing animosity between peoples, between us! Yes, between us, within our communities, our priests, our meetings. The virus of polarization and animosity permeates our way of thinking, feeling and acting. We are not immune from this and we need to take care lest such attitudes find a place in our hearts, because this would be contrary to the richness and universality of the Church, which is tangibly evident in the College of Cardinals. We come from distant lands; we have different traditions, skin colour, languages and social backgrounds; we think differently and we celebrate our faith in a variety of rites. None of this makes us enemies; instead, it is one of our greatest riches.
Dear brothers and sisters, Jesus never stops “coming down from the mountain”. He constantly desires to enter the crossroads of our history to proclaim the Gospel of Mercy. Jesus continues to call us and to send us to the “plain” where our people dwell. He continues to invite us to spend our lives sustaining our people in hope, so that they can be signs of reconciliation. As the Church, we are constantly being asked to open our eyes to see the wounds of so many of our brothers and sisters deprived of their dignity, deprived in their dignity.
My dear brothers, newly created Cardinals, the journey towards heaven begins in the plains, in a daily life broken and shared, spent and given. In the quiet daily gift of all that we are. Our mountaintop is this quality of love; our goal and aspiration is to strive, on life’s plain, together with the People of God, to become persons capable of forgiveness and reconciliation.
Today each of you, dear brothers, is asked to cherish in your own heart, and in the heart of the Church, this summons to be merciful like the Father. And to realize that “if something should rightly disturb us and trouble our consciences, it is the fact that so many of our brothers and sisters are living without the strength, light and consolation born of friendship with Jesus Christ, without a community of faith to support them, without meaning and a goal in life” ( Evangelii Gaudium , 49).
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis met on Friday with bishops from around the world who are attending a course at the Vatican tribunal of the Roman Rota to discuss recent developments regarding marriage annulments.
In September 2015 Pope Francis issued two new documents introducing reforms to the legal structures of the Church, making marital nullity trials simpler, faster and less expensive.
Listen to Ann Schneible’s report:
In his words to participants at the three day Vatican training course, the Pope noted that bishops must be both “teachers of the faith” but also those who learn from the needs and questions of men and women today.
Quoting from Scripture and from his predecessor Paul VI, Pope Francis said that the spiritual health of those entrusted to the bishops must be the goal of all pastoral activity.
Pursuing this aim of the “salvation of souls”, he said, it is important to eliminate all financial and bureaucratic impediments which prevent the faithful from gaining access to Church tribunals.
Following the example of Jesus, the Good Shephard, he said, the Church “incarnates” herself through the suffering of individuals, and must therefore care especially for those who feel excluded because of a marital breakdown.
By virtue of their baptism, the Pope stressed, these people remain fully part of the Church and the bishops are called to minister to them with particular love and concern.
(from Vatican Radio)…
Bulletin for 11/20/2016
(Vatican Radio) Members of the Presidency of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB), were in Rome in mid-November for their customary visit to the various Dicasteries of the Roman Curia.
Conference President Bishop Douglas Crosby, O.M.I., of Hamilton; Vice-president Bishop Lionel Gendron, P.S.S., of Sain-Jean-Longueuil; and Msgr Frank Leo, Jr., C.S.S., the CCCB’s General Secretary were received in an audience with Pope Francis at the beginning of their stay in Rome. Later, the prelates met with members of different Dicasteries.
As their visit drew to a close, Bishop Crosby came to Vatican Radio to explain the annual visit.
Listen to the full interview of Bishop Douglas Crosby, O.M.I., of Hamilton, President of the CCCB, with Christopher Wells:
When the members of the Presidency meet with the various Dicasteries, Bishop Crosby said, they talk about “the state of the union,” “the state of the Church in Canada, and particularly relating to the Dicasteries were visiting.”
Among other issues discussed, Bishop Crosby mentioned concerns about the recently enacted laws in Canada permitting euthanasia and assisted suicide.
The Conference President also spoke of positive developments with regard to Dioceses in the northern part of Canada.
Overall, Bishop Crosby said the encounters with members of the Curia are “always very interesting,” giving both the Bishops and Curial officials a chance to get to know one another.
The CCCB Presidency’s annual visit to Rome concluded on Wednesday, just a few days before the solemn close of the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy.
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Papua New Guinea ’s first ever Cardinal , Sir John Ribat , is preparing to receive the red hat from Pope Francis with the humbleness and simplicity that befit truly special people.
The news of the Archbishop of Port Moresby’s appointment spread like wildfire through the Pacific region where Ribat serves as the President of the Federation of Catholic Bishops of Oceania.
Visiting Vatican Radio just two days before the Consistory, Cardinal elect Ribat (who by the way was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II this year) said that although Papua New Guinea is geographically as far as you can get from the See of Peter, Pope Francis’ appointment makes him feel very close…
Listen to the interview :
“It gives me a great feeling of closeness, in the sense that when we have issues or things that need to be attended to we will have someone who will be our voice representing the Church in PNG, Solomon Islands and the neighbouring countries as well” Cardinal Ribat says.
Speaking with passion of the work he spearheads – as Chairman of the ecumenical movement in Papua New Guinea – to promote ecumenical dialogue in a region where a large percentage of the faithful belong to protestant denominations, the Cardinal said they too “share this feeling of closeness”.
Cardinal Ribat also talks about his personal, very deep, experience of dialogue and sharing with other communions as he comes from a family where many of his relatives are from the Methodist tradition.
He speaks of the pain both Catholics and Protestants have to live with as they cannot share Holy Communion during Mass but says that for the moment this is what they all have to live with as they push towards full Christian Unity, a pathway that leads to lasting peace and friendship especially at this moment in history which is seeing so many divisions and conflicts.
Cardinal Ribat concedes that perhaps his ecumenical commitment is one of the reasons Pope Francis chose him to be part of the College of Cardinals.
“While we are saying that the Catholic Church is the mother church, then we have to be true to our name and embrace all” he says.
Regarding other issues that he feels are particular challenges he is called to address, the Cardinal speaks of the relationship his Bishops’ Conference has with Muslims – who are a minority in his geographical area – but whom have been invited to share their concerns with representatives of other faiths in this very difficult time.
“To go this way together means the building of peace, the building of unity, and that extends to all aspects of our life”, so this relationship, he says, is something I really value.
Cardinal Ribat also speaks of the need to give the right kind of spiritual and moral guidance to the people of a small nation that are dealing with exploitation and human trafficking.
He says that possibly in a moment in which the Pacific region is suffering first-hand the devastating effects of climate change, with rising sea levels that force island populations to abandon their homes in search of new environment to settle down, the Cardinal thinks that the experience of the Church in PNG can provide a precious contribution to Pope Francis’ call to “care for our common home”.
He also links this issue to the current migration issue that is affecting the entire globe and calls on the United Nations to redefine refugees and consider those being deeply affected by climate change on a par with those fleeing persecution and conflict.
Commenting on the fact that Francis has “sort of broken the protocol” of the way Cardinals are appointed by reaching so far out to small countries across the globe (countries that are not seen as world players when it comes to taking significant decisions and making investments), Cardinal Ribat said this speaks not only of the Pope’s will to promote inclusion for all, but also shows how the Church today is shifting its focus from the center to the peripheries.
And he says, developed nations have much to learn from smaller, underdeveloped nations regarding lifestyle and the protection of the environment.
Asked what he is going to say to Pope Francis when he meets him for the first time, Cardinal Ribat said he brings the greetings and the invitation to visit Papua New Guinea not only from the Catholics of the nation, but of all of its inhabitants!
Sir Cardinal Ribat, is 59-years-old. He was ordained in the Congregation of the Sacred Heart Missionaries in 1985. He was appointed as the auxiliary Bishop of Bereina in PNG in 2000 and became the bishop there in 2002. He became Archbishop of Port Moresby in 2008.
Not only is he the first Cardinal from Papua New Guinea, his appointment marks a first for the religious order of the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
(from Vatican Radio)…