Mercy Is An Open Book – And It"s Our Task To Write It, Pope Says

On Divine Mercy Sunday Pope Francis said the “Gospel of Mercy” begun by Jesus and the apostles is still unfinished, and is an open book that each person is called to write through their words and actions.

“The Gospel is the book of God’s mercy, to be read and reread, because everything that Jesus said and did is an expression of the Father’s mercy,” the Pope said April 3.

He noted how at the end of the day’s Gospel reading from John, the evangelist expressed that while Jesus carried out many signs in the presence of his disciples, not all of them were written down.

Because of this, “the Gospel of mercy remains an open book, in which the signs of Christ’s disciples, which are concrete acts of love and the best witness to mercy, continue to be written,” he said.

“We are all called to become living writers of the Gospel,” Francis continued, explaining that this is done by practicing the corporal and spiritual works of mercy, “which are the hallmarks of the Christian life.”

“By means of these simple yet powerful gestures, even when unseen, we can accompany the needy, bringing God’s tenderness and consolation.”

Pope Francis spoke to a full St. Peter’s Square during his Mass on Divine Mercy Sunday, a feast instituted by St. John Paul II which takes place every year the second Sunday after Easter.

In his homily, the Pope focused on the healings carried out by the disciples in the day’s first reading from Acts, as well as Jesus’ appearance to them in the upper room in the Gospel passage from John.

He noted that in addition to speaking of the signs that Jesus did, the Gospel also presents a contrast between the fear of the disciples, who “gathered behind closed doors,” and the mission of Jesus, “who sends them into the world to proclaim the message of forgiveness.”

This contrast between “a closed heart and the call of love to open doors closed by sin” exists in the heart of many people today, Francis observed, explaining that Jesus’ call is one “that frees us to go out of ourselves.”

“Jesus, who by his resurrection has overcome the fear and dread which imprison us, wishes to throw open our closed doors and send us out,” he said, noting that much of humanity today is wounded, fearful, and marked by pain and uncertainty.

However, every infirmity finds healing in God’s mercy, the Pope said, adding that this mercy isn’t far off, but seeks to be close to those effected by poverty and to free the world from all types of slavery.

To be an apostle, he said, means “touching and soothing the wounds that today afflict the bodies and souls of many of our brothers and sisters.”

When we cure the wounds of our suffering brothers and sisters, “we profess Jesus” and make him alive and present in the world, Francis observed, adding that “this is the mission that he entrusts to us.”

Pope Francis then pointed to Jesus’ appearance to his disciples in the Gospel, noting how he greeted them with the words “peace be with you.”

The peace that Jesus offered is the same one which “awaits men and women of our own day,” he said, explaining that it isn’t “a negotiated peace” absent of conflict, but one that comes from the heart of God, uniting us and making us feel loved.

To be bearers of this peace is the mission that was entrusted to the Church on Easter day, the Pope said, adding that this peace is constantly renewed by God’s forgiveness.

Francis closed his homily by encouraging faithful to give thanks for God’s great love, “which we find impossible to grasp,” and which never abandons us.

He prayed that all would receive the grace “to never grow tired of drawing from the well of the Father’s mercy and bringing it to the world,” and asked that “we too may be merciful, to spread the power of the Gospel everywhere, and to write those pages of the Gospel which John the Apostle did not write.”

After Mass Pope Francis led pilgrims in praying the traditional Regina Caeli prayer, calling to mind all countries affected by war and violence, particularly the Ukraine.

-catholicnewsagency

Mercy Is An Open Book – And It"s Our Task To Write It, Pope Says

The Joy of Love": Pope Francis" Post-Synod Exhortation To Be Released Friday

Pope Francis’ apostolic exhortation on the family will be published on April 8, and will be called Amoris Laetitia (The Joy of Love), the Vatican announced today.

Amoris Laetitia will summarize the recent synod on the family and family life and provide guidance on pastoral issues that were discussed.

The exhortation, subtitled “On Love in the Family”, is a “post-synodal apostolic exhortation” and is addressed to the Church.

The document will summarize all that the synod said, Pope Francis told reporters on the plane from Mexico to Rome in late February.

The text, reportedly 200 pages long, will be presented by Cardinal Lorenzo Baldisseri, Secretary General of the Synod of Bishops, and Cardinal Christoph Schönborn, Archbishop of Vienna, at a press conference on Friday April 8 at 11:30 am.

The panel will also include a married couple from Italy: Professor Francesco Miano, lecturer in moral philosophy at the University of Rome and Professor Giuseppina De Simone in Miano, lecturer in philosophy at the Theological Faculty of Southern Italy in Naples.

The press conference can be seen via live streaming here.

Today, the Vatican has also announced Pope Francis’ prayer intentions for the month of April.

The Pope’s universal intention is “that small farmers may receive a just reward for their precious labor.”

He also hopes “that Christians in Africa may give witness to love and faith in Jesus Christ amid political-religious conflicts.”

 

The Joy of Love": Pope Francis" Post-Synod Exhortation To Be Released Friday

Pope Washes The Feet of 4 Nigerian Catholics

Pope Francis has visited a refugee centre to wash and kiss the feet of Muslim, Orthodox, Hindu and Catholic refugees — a gesture of welcome at a time when anti-Muslim and anti-immigrant sentiment has risen after the Brussels and Paris attacks.

ABC reports that several of the asylum seekers were reduced to tears as the 79-year-old pontiff kneeled before them, pouring water over their feet, drying them with a towel and bending to kiss them.

Those picked for this Easter ritual were four Nigerian Catholics, three Eritrean Coptic women, three Muslims from Mali, Pakistan and Syria and a Hindu Indian, as well as an Italian worker from the centre.

Speaking about the gesture, the pontiff said “We are all brothers and we want to live in peace”.

-AP/Reuters

Pope Washes The Feet of 4 Nigerian Catholics

Pope Calls For Worldwide Abolishing of Death Penalty

 

Pope Francis on Sunday called for the worldwide abolition of the death penalty, saying the commandment “You shall not kill” was absolute and equally valid for the guilty as for the innocent.

Using some of his strongest words ever against capital punishment, he also called on Catholic politicians worldwide to make “a courageous and exemplary gesture” by seeking a moratorium on executions during the Church’s current Holy Year, which ends in November.

“I appeal to the consciences of those who govern to reach an international consensus to abolish the death penalty,” he told tens of thousands of people in St. Peter’s Square.

“The commandment “You shall not kill,” has absolute value and applies to both the innocent and the guilty,” he told the crowd.

The 1.2 billion-member Catholic Church allowed the death penalty in extreme cases for centuries, but the position began to change under the late Pope John Paul, who died in 2005.

The pope added that there was now “a growing opposition to the death penalty even for the legitimate defense of society” because modern means existed to “efficiently repress crime without definitively denying the person who committed it the possibility of rehabilitating themselves.”

Francis made the comments to throw his weight behind an international conference against the death penalty starting Monday in Rome and organized by the Sant’Egidio Community, a worldwide Catholic peace and justice group.

Francis, who has visited a number of jails since his election as pope nearly three years ago and with the latest in Mexico last week also called for better prison conditions.

“All Christians and men of good will are called on to work not only for the abolition of the death penalty, but also to improve prison conditions so that they respect the human dignity of people who have been deprived of their freedom,” he said.

In the past, the pope also denounced life imprisonment, calling it “a hidden death penalty” and saying that more should be done to try to rehabilitate even the most hardened of criminals.

 

Pope Calls For Worldwide Abolishing of Death Penalty