Vatican’s Major Penitentiary
writes to confessors at Easter
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| Crucifix |
Cardinal Mauro Piacenza, the Vatican’s Major Penitentiary,
writes to confessors at Easter in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.
By Fr. Benedict Mayaki, SJ
Cardinal Piacenza opens his letter reminding confessors that
“mercy does not stop” and “God does not distance Himself”.
The letter was published on the website of the Apostolic
Penitentiary on 4 April.
The Cardinal writes in respect of the difficulties faced by
Christian communities in the light of restrictions put in place to stem the
spread of the coronavirus pandemic.
He notes that social distancing might be necessary for
health reasons, but it should not translate into distance from the Church or
the Sacraments.
Mercy does not stop
Cardinal Piacenza acknowledges that mercy is expressed in
the creativity employed by many priests to make pastoral care available to the
People of God. He adds that in these times more than ever before, “everyone
needs the closeness and caress of Jesus.”
The Cardinal notes that mercy expresses itself in the “small
gestures of tenderness and love made towards the poorest.” In this regard, he
gives examples of coronavirus sufferers, healthcare workers, the lonely and the
homeless.
If the ordinary celebration of the Sacrament of
Reconciliation is not possible, the Cardinal enjoins all confessors not to stop
their work of mercy, but rather fulfill their “priestly role as intercessors”
conferred on them at ordination. He invites them “to pray, console, and present
souls to God’s Divine Mercy”.
Call to Priests
The Cardinal stresses that mercy does not stop even if the
sacrifice of the Mass is celebrated without the physical presence of the
people. He notes that salvation flows from the Eucharist which is the source of
all grace for the Church and the world.
He calls on priests to rediscover the essence of their
priestly ministry. He reminds them that priests are ministers of Christ’s work
which is “the sacramental implementation of salvation.”
Other expressions of mercy
Cardinal Piacenza notes that mercy expresses itself in every
consideration to which the pandemic pushes us. It is “in the rediscovery of the
values which are worth living and dying for: in silence, adoration and prayer,
and in the rediscovery of the closeness of others and of God, above all.”
“Mercy does not stop at the celebration of the sacred
liturgy,” adds the Cardinal. Rather, it becomes “lived charity that extends its
friendly hand to those who suffer, and the forgiveness of God through priestly
ministry.”
Even those who have died are not exempt from mercy, writes
Cardinal Piacenza. They are reached by prayers of suffrage “in the Paschal
certainty that with death, relationships are not broken but are transformed,
and strengthened into the communion of saints.”
Cardinal Piacenza concludes his letter by entrusting the
ministry of reconciliation, and this unique Easter, to the protection of Our
Lady. He prays that “everyone may be given the new life for which every person
yearns.”
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