(Vatican Radio) During his weekly general audience, Pope Francis spoke on the mercy of God as spoken about in the Bible.
Delivering his catechesis Wednesday in the Vatican’s Paul VI hall, the Pope said in the Old Testament, God reveals he is the God of Mercy.
The Holy Father explained how the Hebrew word for Mercy evokes the sort of tenderness shown by a mother for her child.
In Scripture, the Pope said, the God of mercy is gracious, slow to anger, and abounds in “steadfast love and faithfulness.”
Pope Francis concluded his catechesis by inviting the faithful during the Jubilee of Mercy to “turn to God with all our heart, trusting in his mercy and grace, his infinite faithfulness and love.”
Below find the official English language summary of Pope Francis’ catechesis:
Dear Brothers and Sisters:
In this Jubilee Year, our weekly catechesis will explore the mystery of divine mercy. In the Book of Exodus, God defines himself as the God of mercy. In words which echo throughout the Old Testament, he tells Moses that he is “the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness” ( Ex 34:6). The Hebrew word for mercy evokes the tender and visceral love of a mother for her child. The God of mercy is also gracious , ever ready to understand and forgive. He is slow to anger , prepared to wait patiently, like a wise farmer, for the seeds of repentance to grow in our hearts. Likewise, he abounds in steadfast love and faithfulness . God’s love, freely given, precedes any merit on our part; his faithfulness, like that of the father in the parable of the prodigal son, has no limits. He waits for us, ever ready to forgive our sins and to welcome us back to a right relationship with him. In this Year of Mercy, may we turn to God with all our heart, trusting in his mercy and grace, his infinite faithfulness and love.
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis Wednesday remembered the victims of Tuesday’s suicide bomb attack in Istanbul which left ten people dead.
Listen to Ann Schneible’s report:
Speaking in the Vatican’s Paul VI Hall during his weekly general audience, the Pope asked for prayers for those killed in the attack, and for their families.
“Before concluding our encounter, in which we have reflected on God’s Mercy, I invite you to pray for the victims of the attack which took place yesterday in Istanbul.”
“May God, the merciful, grant eternal peace to the departed, comfort to their families, determined solidarity to the whole society, and convert the hearts of the violent.”
The suicide bomber killed nine German and one Peruvian tourist on Jan 12 in Istanbul’s historic Sultanahmet Square.
The Islamic State is being blamed for the attack, which also injured fifteen people.
The bomber has been identified by Turkish authorities as a Syrian who recently entered the country.
Turkish police have detained one person in connection with the attack.
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis says prayer works miracles and prevents the hardening of the heart.
His words came on Tuesday morning during morning Mass at the Casa Santa Marta.
“It’s the prayer of the faithful – the Pope said – that brings change to the Church; it’s not us popes, bishops or priests who carry the Church forward, but the Saints”.
Listen to the report by Linda Bordoni:
Pope Francis took his cue from the Bible reading of the day which tells the story of Hannah, a woman whom, deeply distressed by her infertility, desperately prays to the Lord to give her a child, and of Eli, a priest, who looks on vaguely from afar and superficially judges the woman as a drunkard as he can see her babbling but cannot hear her words.
“Hannah was praying silently, her lips moved but her voice was not heard. Hers is the courage of a woman of faith who is weeping and grieving and asks the Lord for his grace. There are many good women in the Church, many! They place all their trust in prayer… Let us think of one of them, Saint Monica who was able, with her tears, to be granted the grace of conversion for her son, Saint Augustine. There are so many” the Pope said.
Eli, the priest, is “a poor man” towards whom, Francis says, he feels “a certain sympathy” because – he explains – “I find faults in myself that allow me to understand him well and feel close to him.” “How easily – the Pope continues – do we judge people and lack the respect to say: ‘I wonder what he has in his heart? I do not know, but I will say nothing…’ When the heart lacks compassion one always thinks evil” and does not understand those who pray “with pain and anguish” and “entrust that pain and anguish to the Lord”.
“Jesus knows this kind of prayer. When he was in Gethsemane and was so anguished and hurt he sweated blood, He did not accuse the Father: ‘Father, if You are willing, remove this cup from me; yet not my will, but Yours be done’”. Jesus responded in the same way of the woman: with meekness. Sometimes, we pray, we ask things of God, but often we do not know how to engage with the Lord, to ask for grace” he said.
The Pope also recalled the story of a man in Buenos Aires whose 9-year-old-daughter was dying in hospital. He said he spent the night at the shrine of the Virgin of Luján clinging to the gate and praying for the grace of healing. The next morning, when he returned to the hospital, his daughter was healed:
“Prayer works miracles; it works miracles for Christians, whether they be faithful laypeople, priests, bishops who have lost compassion. The prayers of the faithful change the Church: it’s not us popes, bishops, priests or nuns who carry the Church forward, but Saints. Saints are those who dare to believe that God is the Lord and that He can do everything” Pope Francis concluded.
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Italian actor Roberto Benigni said on Tuesday Pope Francis is “so full of mercy, you could sell it by the pound.”
He was speaking during the presentation of Pope Francis’ book length interview with journalist Andrea Tornielli – entitled The Name of God is Mercy – which took place at the Patristic Institute “Augustinianum,” located near the Vatican.
Benigni called the book “beautiful” and said it was possible to read portions “in five minutes, while waiting for a late train.”
In an excited and exuberant presentation, he said “you cannot speak in moderation about this Pope.”
“It’s a revolution, and it’s wonderful…I have done everything to see him,” he said.
“The core of the ministry of Pope Francis is just this: Mercy,” Benigni said.
The actor added that mercy is not “a virtue,” and “does not sit still for a second, but reaches out to sinners and the poor.”
He also said the book “raises our hearts without watering down our brains.”
Benigni was joined in the presentation by the Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin.
“ The Name of God is Mercy is not an interview which “covers the field on all the burning questions of the world,” Cardinal Parolin said. “Those who are seeking such revelations might perhaps be disappointed.”
The book, instead, explores “the great mystery of the mercy of God.”
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican Secretary of State, on Tuesday expressed his sorrow for the terrorist attack which took place in Istanbul, Turkey. “What is happening [in Turkey] pains us. What is happening there, what continues to repeat itself, confirms that the best medicine in the face of these evils is always mercy.” At least 10 people were killed in a suicide bomb attack Tuesday morning in the Sultanahmet district of Istanbul, near the city’s famous Blue Mosque. His words came in response to a sideline question at the presentation of Pope Francis’ new book The Name of God is Mercy . (from Vatican Radio)…