Pope
Francis: Open your hearts to Jesus' mercy
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis celebrated Mass at the parish of
Santa Maria Madre del Redentore Sunday evening in the Roman suburb of Tor Bella
Monaca.
In his homily, Pope Francis warned Christians they cannot fool
Jesus, acting like saints when they are in church, but living like pagans in
their daily lives. Jesus knows what is in the heart of man, he said, and he
calls those who live this double life “hypocrites.”
The Pope said Christians would do well to look into their hearts
and there “to look upon Jesus.” The Lord, he said, knows that people are
sinners but there is no need to be afraid to acknowledge this sinfulness.
Many sins can be found in one’s heart: sins of selfishness,
pride, envy jealousy. Christians must open their heart to Jesus, and ask Him to
cleanse it. Jesus does not cleanse hearts with a whip, as He cleansed the
Temple. Rather, He purifies hearts with the “whip” of mercy, said the Pope.
The Pope also met with the children of the parish, taking
several questions from them.
In response to a question about the existence of hell, the Pope
explained that hell is for those who decide they do not need God or God’s
mercy.
“No one sends you to hell: you go to hell because you choose to
be there,” he said. “Hell is wanting to distance yourself from God because you
do not want God.”
In response to a question regarding Christian morality, he said
living a moral life is a grace and the response of having encountered Jesus and
loving him.
When faced with temptation, ask Jesus to watch over you and not
to leave you, he counseled the young people. And when you fall, quickly get up,
he exhorted. “Jesus helps you get up when you fall,” he said.
The Pope also met with members of the parish council, pastoral
workers and collaborators of the parish. He spoke of the poverty within the
parish territory and the ways in which unemployment, injustice and
discrimination have put the people’s goodness to the test.
Not only are people perhaps tempted to do “ugly things” to get
by, there are also the temptations of addictions, such as drugs and alcohol,
that add to the problem, he said.
Speaking with the parish workers, he said they have understood
that that there is goodness among the poor, despite these difficulties that are
sometimes present, and the parishioners offer them an alternative to a
situation in which they may feel constricted to “do ugly things.”
“When people are well cared for, they do not fall into the net
of bad people,” he said
He then gave them, what he termed “the first pastoral commandment”:
closeness to all people, even to those who may have done wrong because even
they have hearts and are loved by God.
“We cannot go to a family that has sick or hungry children or
that has fallen into vice with ‘you must, you must, you must.’ No. We must go
with closeness, with the caress that Jesus taught us,” he said.
Before the Mass, the Pope also visited the church of Santa
Giovanna Antida, within the parish boundaries, where he met with members of the
community who are sick or poor, and who are cared for by the Missionaries of
Charity.
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