Pope at Jubilee Audience: ‘Be reconciled to God’
(Vatican Radio) Pope
Francis on Saturday held an extraordinary Jubilee Audience in St. Peter’s
Square for thousands of eager pilgrims. The Audience also celebrated the
Jubilee for members of the police and armed forces.
The Holy Father focused in
his catechesis on a very important point of mercy: reconciliation, taking the
apostle St. Paul’s words in the second letter to the Corinthians 5:20-21 as his
guide: “So we are ambassadors for Christ, as if God were appealing through us.
We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made
him to be sin who did not know sin, so that we might become the righteousness
of God in him.”
Pope Francis said St. Paul’s
words ‘be reconciled to God’ are an invitation for all Christians, especially
in this Jubilee Year of Mercy. He said God constantly offers us his forgiveness,
and our sins can never keep us from God’s mercy.
“Often we believe our sins
push God away from us: in reality, by sinning we push ourselves away from Him,
but He, seeing us in danger, keeps searching for us. God never accepts the
possibility that someone could remain estranged from His love, as long as He
finds in that person some sign of contrition for the evil committed.”
The Holy Father went on to
say that, in our sinfulness, we can only return to God by freely accepting his
grace. For this, he has given us his Son Jesus, whose cross is a bridge
leading us back to the Father.
“The sinner sees only himself
and thus pretends to be self-sufficient; for this reason, sin distances us ever
more from God, and this can become a barrier. However, Jesus comes to look for
us like a good shepherd who is not content until he has not found the lost
sheep (cf. Luke 15:4-6). He rebuilds the bridge which connects us to the Father
and allows us to rediscover our dignity as sons and daughters. With the offer of
his life, he has reconciled us to the Father and given us the gift of eternal
life (cf. John 10:15). ‘Be reconciled to God!”
Reconciliation brings
peace and contributes to society
He said this Holy Year of
Mercy is a time for each of us to accept this offer of reconciliation and, in
our communities, to bring it to the world around us. Being reconciled
with God not only brings inner healing and peace, but also impels us to work
for reconciliation within society at every level, and thus contribute to the building
of a global culture of peace, justice and solidarity.
“Let us accept, therefore,
the invitation to be reconciled to God to become new creatures and to be able
to radiate His mercy among our brothers and sisters.”
After the audience Pope
Francis offered a special welcome to the members of the armed forces and police
from throughout the world, especially those present at the audience from
Canada, Kenya, Korea, the Philippines, and the United States of America.
(Devin Sean Watkins)
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