(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis presided over Mass in St Peter’s Basilica on Sunday, to offer thanks to God together with the College of Cardinals, one day after bestowing the Red Hat on twenty new prelates from around the world. Below, please find the official English translation of the Holy Father’s homily.
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“Lord, if you choose, you can make me clean”… Jesus, moved with compassion, stretched out his hand and touched him, and said: “I do choose. Be made clean!” ( Mk 1:40-41). The compassion of Jesus! That com-passion which made him draw near to every person in pain! Jesus does not hold back; instead, he gets involved in people’s pain and their need… for the simple reason that he knows and wants to show com-passion , because he has a heart unashamed to have “compassion” .
“Jesus could no longer go into a town openly, but stayed in the country; and people came to him from every quarter” ( Mk 1:45). This means that Jesus not only healed the leper but also took upon himself the marginalization enjoined by the law of Moses (cf. Lev 13:1-2, 45-46). Jesus is unafraid to risk sharing in the suffering of others; he pays the price of it in full (cf. Is 53:4).
Compassion leads Jesus to concrete action: he reinstates the marginalized! These are the three key concepts that the Church proposes in today’s liturgy of the word: the compassion of Jesus in the face of marginalization and his desire to reinstate .
Marginalization: Moses, in his legislation regarding lepers, says that they are to be kept alone and apart from the community for the duration of their illness. He declares them: “unclean!” (cf. Lev 13:1-2, 45-46).
Imagine how much suffering and shame lepers must have felt: physically, socially, psychologically and spiritually! They are not only victims of disease, but they feel guilty about it, punished for their sins! Theirs is a living death; they are like someone whose father has spit in his face (cf. Num 12:14).
In addition, lepers inspire fear, contempt and loathing, and so they are abandoned by their families, shunned by other persons, cast out by society. Indeed, society rejects them and forces them to live apart from the healthy. It excludes them. So much so that if a healthy person approached a leper, he would be punished severely, and often be treated as a leper himself.
The purpose for this rule was “to safeguard the healthy”, “to protect the righteous” , and, in order to guard them from any risk, to eliminate “the peril” by treating the diseased person harshly. As the high priest Caiaphas decreed: “It is better to have one man die for the people than to have the whole nation destroyed” ( Jn 11:50).
Reinstatement: Jesus revolutionizes and upsets that fearful, narrow and prejudiced mentality. He does not abolish the law of Moses, but rather brings it to fulfillment (cf. Mt 5:17). He does so by stating, for example, that the law of retaliation is counterproductive, that God is not pleased by a Sabbath observance which demeans or condemns a man. He does so by refusing to condemn the sinful woman, but saves her from the blind zeal of those prepared to stone her ruthlessly in the belief that they were applying the law of Moses. Jesus also revolutionizes consciences in the Sermon on the Mount (cf. Mt 5), opening new horizons for humanity and fully revealing God’s “logic”. The logic of love, based not on fear but on freedom and charity, on healthy zeal and the saving will of God. For “God our Saviour desires everyone to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” ( 1 Tim 2:3-4). “I desire mercy and not sacrifice” ( Mt 12:7; Hos 6:6).
Jesus, the new Moses, wanted to heal the leper. He wanted to touch him and restore him to the community without being “hemmed in” by prejudice, conformity to the prevailing mindset or worry about becoming infected. Jesus responds immediately to the leper’s plea, without waiting to study the situation and all its possible consequences! For Jesus, what matters above all is reaching out to save those far off, healing the wounds of the sick, restoring everyone to God’s family! And this is scandalous to some people!
Jesus is not afraid of this kind of scandal! He does not think of the closed-minded who are scandalized even by a work of healing, scandalized before any kind of openness, by any action outside of their mental and spiritual boxes, by any caress or sign of tenderness which does not fit into their usual thinking and their ritual purity. He wanted to reinstate the outcast, to save those outside the camp (cf. Jn 10).
There are two ways of thinking and of having faith: we can fear to lose the saved and we can want to save the lost. Even today it can happen that we stand at the crossroads of these two ways of thinking. The thinking of the doctors of the law, which would remove the danger by casting out the diseased person, and the thinking of God, who in his mercy embraces and accepts by reinstating him and turning evil into good, condemnation into salvation and exclusion into proclamation.
These two ways of thinking are present throughout the Church’s history: casting off and reinstating . Saint Paul, following the Lord’s command to bring the Gospel message to the ends of the earth (cf. Mt 28:19), caused scandal and met powerful resistance and great hostility, especially from those who demanded unconditional obedience to the Mosaic law, even on the part of converted pagans. Saint Peter, too, was bitterly criticized by the community when he entered the house of the pagan centurion Cornelius (cf. Acts 10).
The Church’s way, from the time of the Council of Jerusalem, has always always been the way of Jesus, the way of mercy and reinstatement. This does not mean underestimating the dangers of letting wolves into the fold, but welcoming the repentant prodigal son; healing the wounds of sin with courage and determination; rolling up our sleeves and not standing by and watching passively the suffering of the world. The way of the Church is not to condemn anyone for eternity; to pour out the balm of God’s mercy on all those who ask for it with a sincere heart. The way of the Church is precisely to leave her four walls behind and to go out in search of those who are distant, those on the “outskirts” of life. It is to adopt fully God’s own approach, to follow the Master who said: “Those who are well have no need of the physician, but those who are sick; I have come to call, not the righteous but sinners to repentance” ( Lk 5:31-32).
In healing the leper, Jesus does not harm the healthy. Rather, he frees them from fear. He does not endanger them, but gives them a brother. He does not devalue the law but instead values those for whom God gave the law. Indeed, Jesus frees the healthy from the temptation of the “older brother” (cf. Lk 15:11-32), the burden of envy and the grumbling of the labourers who bore “the burden of the day and the heat” (cf. Mt 20:1-16).
In a word: charity cannot be neutral, indifferent, lukewarm or impartial! Charity is infectious, it excites, it risks and it engages! For true charity is always unmerited, unconditional and gratuitous! (cf. 1 Cor 13). Charity is creative in finding the right words to speak to all those considered incurable and hence untouchable. Contact is the true language of communication, the same endearing language which brought healing to the leper. How many healings can we perform if only we learn this language! The leper, once cured, became a messenger of God’s love. The Gospel tells us that “he went out and began to proclaim it freely and to spread the word” (cf. Mk 1:45).
Dear new Cardinals, this is the “logic”, the mind of Jesus, and this is the way of the Church. Not only to welcome and reinstate with evangelical courage all those who knock at our door, but to go out and to seek, fearlessly and without prejudice, those who are distant, freely sharing what we ourselves freely received. “Whoever says: ‘I abide in [Christ]’, ought to walk just as he walked” ( 1 Jn 2:6). Total openness to serving others is our hallmark, it alone is our title of honour!
In this Eucharist which finds us gathered around the altar of the Lord, let us implore the intercession of Mary, Mother of the Church, who herself experienced marginalization as a result of slander (cf. Jn 8:41) and exile (cf. Mt 2:13-23). May she obtain for us the grace to be God’s faithful servants. May she – our Mother – teach us to be unafraid of tenderly welcoming the outcast; to be unafraid of tenderness and compassion. May she clothe us in patience as we seek to accompany them on their journey, without seeking the benefits of worldly success. May she show us Jesus and help us to walk in his footsteps.
Dear brothers, as we look to Jesus and our Mother Mary, I urge you to serve the Church in such a way that Christians – edified by our witness – will not be tempted to turn to Jesus without turning to the outcast, to become a closed caste with nothing authentically ecclesial about it. I urge you to serve Jesus crucified in every person who is emarginated, for whatever reason; to see the Lord in every excluded person who is hungry, thirsty, naked; to see the Lord present even in those who have lost their faith, or turned away from the practice of their faith; to see the Lord who is imprisoned, sick, unemployed, persecuted; to see the Lord in the leper – whether in body or soul – who encounters discrimination! We will not find the Lord unless we truly accept the marginalized! May we always have before us the image of Saint Francis, who was unafraid to embrace the leper and to accept every kind of outcast. Truly the Gospel of the marginalized is where our credibility is found and revealed!
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Among the 20 new Church leaders that Pope Francis made members of the College of Cardinals on Saturday was Bishop Soane Patita Mafi from the Polynesian archipelago of Tonga in the Pacific Ocean. At just 53 years of age, he becomes the youngest member of the College of Cardinals, as well as the first man in the history of this young Church to receive this honour.
Just before the solemn celebration in St Peter’s Basilica, Cardinal Mafi sat down with Philippa Hitchen to talk about the strong Christian faith in his country and about why the King and Queen of Tonga were also present to celebrate with him at Saturday’s Consistory…..
Listen:
The new cardinals says Tonga is considered one of the young Churches in Oceania as it has only existed for almost 200 years. It has small scattered dioceses in a population of about 100.000 people with Catholics making up just 15% but they are very active in the faith. Almost the whole nation is Christian, he says, with Methodists as the majority denomination. Ecumenical relations, he adds are very good with Church leaders working very actively together through the Tonga National Council of Churches (of which he is currently the chair) and the Tong National Forum of Church leaders…
Cardinal Mafi says globalisation is having a negative and positive impact on the country, with a lot more economic opportunities for people but also a lot of distractions. He says that many small groups or sects are arriving in Tonga and are influencing people – that’s why he chose as his bishops motto “Deepen the Faith”…..
Asked what the Church in Tonga can offer to the universal Church, the cardinal talks about the simplicity of life style and the sense of God in peoples’ lives. Also he says families ties are still strong and there is a respect for the elders in society….
Finally Cardinal Mafi tells the story of how he met the King and Queen of Tonga for a regular New Year greeting on January 1st and learnt that they were planning a trip to Rome in February. When he heard the news that he had been appointed a member of the College of Cardinals, he realised that the consistory would take place during the same time as their visit, thus they were able to share in the joy and celebration for all the people of the Kingdom of Tonga….
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Among the 20 new cardinals created by Pope Francis Saturday are men drawn from churches on the peripheries of the ecclesial and geographical world. The director of Vatican Radio English section, Sean Patrick Lovett, takes a closer look at some of the newest members of the College of Cardinals: Listen
Just how far do the peripheries of the Church extend? For an answer, you could go to Google maps or get out your world atlas. Or you could simply look at the countries from which the 20 new cardinals come, and see for yourself: from Mozambique to Mexico, from Thailand to Tonga. And, if you like alliteration, then why not continue: from Portugal to Panama, from Vietnam to Cape Verde. Not that I mean to leave out Burma, Uruguay and the furthest of them all – New Zealand. And did I mention Ethiopia, Spain and, of course, Italy? At my count that’s 14 countries in all, covering every continent on the globe – 20 men who, in Pope Francis’ words, “manifest the indissoluble link between the Church of Rome and the particular Churches present in the world”. And some of these Churches are “particular” indeed: the Church in Myanmar (which used to be Burma when I was at school) celebrated its 500 th anniversary last year – yet Yangon Archbishop, Charles Maung Bo, is the nation’s first-ever Cardinal. Cape Verde too, a string of volcanic islands off the coast of northwest Africa, received its first Cardinal in Bishop Arlindo Gomes Furtado. As did the Kingdom of Tonga, another archipelago of 176 islands in the South Pacific where 90% of the population are Christian. The Queen herself came to Rome to witness the installation of Bishop Soane Patita Paini Mafi who, at 53 years of age, becomes the youngest member of the College of Cardinals. He is a man of many records: the Episcopal Conference of the Pacific, of which he is President, covers the largest territory of any Bishops’ Conference in the world. One of the three new Italian Cardinals is Francesco Montenegro, Archbishop of Agrigento in Sicily. His archdiocese includes the tiny island of Lampedusa, infamously in the news because of the thousands of refugees who have drowned off its coast trying to make the perilous crossing from North Africa. In July 2013 he welcomed the newly-elected Pope Francis when he visited Lampedusa on his first pastoral visit outside Rome – and where, for the first time, he denounced the “globalization of indifference”. And what to say of the man who is Archbishop of the most remote capital city in the most remote country in the world (at least as seen from Rome): John Dew of Wellington, New Zealand? The only native English speaker of the new group of Cardinals, at 66 years of age, Cardinal Dew applies his Episcopal motto of “Peace through Integrity” to everything from the pastoral care of the Family to keeping the issue of climate change high on the world’s, and the Church’s, agenda. They may come from the furthermost corners of the planet, but Pope Francis’ message to all the new Cardinals was the same: “Just as the Church of Rome presides in love”, he said, “so too each particular Church is called to preside in love”. Quoting from St Paul’s “hymn to love” in his Letter to the Corinthians, Pope Francis reminded the Cardinals that “love is above all patient and kind…never jealous, boastful, or proud…never arrogant or rude…love bears all things…hopes all things, endures all things”. This, concluded the Pope, is our “spiritual and pastoral programme of life”. (from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) The Ordinary Public Consistory for the Creation of New Cardinals, which took place on Saturday, February 14 th , 2015, in St Peter’s Basilica, saw also the approval of the canonisations of three Blessed of the Church: Jeanne Emilie de Villeneuve; Mary of Jesus Crucified Baouardy; Marie Alphonsine Danil Ghattas. The Holy Father also announced that the date of the canonisations is May 17, 2015. Below, please find some brief biographical information on the soon-to-be canonised saints.
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Blessed Jeanne Emilie de Villeneuve was born in France, in Toulouse in 1811. She founded the Congregation of the Sisters of the Immaculate Conception for the education of poor girls and children, for the sick and for missions in faraway lands. She died of cholera on October 2 nd 1854. She was beatified by Pope Benedict XVI in 2009.
Blessed Mary Alphonsine Danil Ghattas was born in Jerusalem in 1843. When she was 15 she entered the Congregation of the Sisters of St Joseph of the Apparition. She worked tirelessly to help young people and Christian mothers. She had a special mystic affinity with the Mother of God. She founded the Congregation of Sisters of the Most Holy Rosary of Jerusalem, to which she belonged. She died in 1927 and was beatified by Pope Benedict XVI in 2009.
Blessed Mary of Jesus Crucified Baouardy was born Maria Baouardy in Abellin, a village in Upper Galilee, near Nazareth, in 1846 of Arab parents. She was baptized in the Melchite Greek Catholic Church. From early youth she experienced many sufferings together with extraordinary mystic phenomena. In France, she entered the Carmel of Pau. She was sent to India to found new Carmels, and then to Bethlehem, where she died in 1878. She was beatified by St John Paul II in 1983.
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis created 20 new Cardinals on Saturday morning in St Peter’s Basilica. Below, please find a list of the titular churches assigned each of the new Cardinals
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Dominique Mamberti
Titular Church
Santo Spirito in Sassia
Manuel José Macário do Nascimento Clemente
Titular Church
Sant’Antonio in Campo Marzio
Berhaneyesus Demerew Souraphiel, C.M.
Titular Church
San Romano Martire
John Atcherley Dew
Titular Church
Sant’Ippolito
Edoardo Menichelli
Titular Church
Sacri Cuori di Gesù e Maria a Tor Fiorenza
Pierre Nguyên Văn Nhon
Titular Church
San Tommaso Apostolo
Alberto Suárez Inda
Titular Church
San Policarpo
Charles Maung Bo, S.D.B.
Titular Church
Sant’Ireneo a Centocelle
Francis Xavier Kriengsak Kovithavanij
Titular Church
Santa Maria Addolorata
Francesco Montenegro
Titular Church
Santi Andrea e Gregorio al Monte Celio
Daniel Fernando Sturla Berhouet, S.D.B.
Titular Church
Santa Galla
Ricardo Blázquez Pérez
Titular Church
Santa Maria in Vallicella
José Luis Lacunza Maestrojuán, O.A.R.
Titular Church
San Giuseppe da Copertino
Arlindo Gomes Furtado
Titular Church
San Timoteo
Soane Patita Paini Mafi
Titular Church
Santa Paola Romana
José de Jesús Pimiento Rodríguez
Titular Church
San Giovanni Crisostomo a Monte Sacro Alto
Luigi De Magistris
Titular Church
Santissimi Nomi di Gesù e Maria in Via Lata
Karl-Josef Rauber
Titular Church
Sant’Antonio di Padova a Circonvallazione Appia
Luis Héctor Villalba
Titular Church
San Girolamo a Corviale
Júlio Duarte Langa
Titular Church
San Gabriele dell’Addolorata
(from Vatican Radio)…