Pope
Francis: homily for Divine Mercy Vespers
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis presided over First Vespers of
Divine Mercy Sunday on Saturday evening, during which he also delivered the
homily. Below, please find the official English translation of the Holy
Father's prepared remarks.
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Dear Brothers and Sisters,
The greeting of the Risen Christ to his disciples on the evening
of Easter, “Peace be with you!” (Jn 20:19), continues to resound in
us all. Peace, especially during this Easter season, remains the desire
of so many people who suffer unprecedented violence of discrimination and death
simply because they bear the name “Christian”. Our prayer is all the more
intense and becomes a cry for help to the Father, who is rich in mercy, that he
may sustain the faith of our many brothers and sisters who are in pain.
At the same time, we ask for the grace of the conversion of our own hearts so
as to move from indifference to compassion.
Saint Paul reminds us that we have been saved through the
mystery of the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus. He is the
Reconciler, who is alive in our midst offering the way to reconciliation with
God and with each other. The Apostle recalls that, notwithstanding the
difficulties and the sufferings of life, the hope of salvation which Christ has
sown in our hearts nonetheless continues to grow. The mercy of God is
poured out upon us, making us just and giving us peace.
Many question in their hearts: why a Jubilee of Mercy today? Simply
because the Church, in this time of great historical change, is called to offer
more evident signs of God’s presence and closeness. This is not the time
to be distracted; on the contrary, we need to be vigilant and to reawaken in
ourselves the capacity to see what is essential. This is a time for the
Church to rediscover the meaning of the mission entrusted to her by the Lord on
the day of Easter: to be a sign and an instrument of the Father’s mercy (cf. Jn20:21-23).
For this reason, the Holy Year must keep alive the desire to know how to
welcome the numerous signs of the tenderness which God offers to the whole
world and, above all, to those who suffer, who are alone and abandoned, without
hope of being pardoned or feeling the Father’s love. A Holy Year to
experience strongly within ourselves the joy of having been found by Jesus, the
Good Shepherd who has come in search of us because we were lost. A
Jubilee to receive the warmth of his love when he bears us upon his shoulders
and brings us back to the Father’s house. A year in which to be touched
by the Lord Jesus and to be transformed by his mercy, so that we may become
witnesses to mercy. Here, then, is the reason for the Jubilee: because
this is the time for mercy. It is the favourable time to heal wounds, a
time not to be weary of meeting all those who are waiting to see and to touch
with their hands the signs of the closeness of God, a time to offer everyone
the way of forgiveness and reconciliation.
May the Mother of God open our eyes, so that we may comprehend
the task to which we have been called; and may she obtain for us the grace to
experience this Jubilee of Mercy as faithful and fruitful witnesses of Christ.
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