Pope at Audience: Mercy as the instrument of communion
(Vatican Radio) At his
General Audience on Wednesday, which was held in the Paul VI Hall at the
Vatican, Pope Francis spoke about mercy as the instrument of communion.
Reflecting on the miracle of
the multiplication of the loaves and fishes, taken from the Gospel of St
Matthew, the Holy Father focused on Jesus’ compassion for the people who follow
after Him. “His compassion is not a vague sentiment,” the Pope said. Jesus
“loves us so much, and wants to be close to us.”
Jesus’ concern for the crowd
is the impetus for the miracle of the loaves and fishes. Jesus, though, does
not act alone, but wishes to involve His disciples in the miracle. “He shows
them that the few loaves and fishes they have, with the power of faith and of
prayer, can be shared by all the people,” the Pope said. “It is a miracle that
He does, but it is the miracle of faith, of prayer with compassion and love.”
Pope Francis noted that
Jesus’ actions in performing the miracle — lifting His eyes to heaven, saying
the blessing, breaking the bread, and giving it — are the same actions He
performs at the Last Supper — and the same signs performed by every priest when
he offers the Sacrifice of the Mass. “The Christian community is born and
reborn continually by this Eucharistic communion,” the Pope said. Our communion
with Christ, he continued, impels us to go out to the men and women of our day,
“to offer them the concrete sign of the mercy” of Christ. In this way, all
believers are made “servants of mercy.”
Concluding his catechesis,
the Holy Father asked us all to pray that the Lord “might always make His
Church capable of this holy service,” and might help each of us “to be
instruments of communion” in our own relationships, “visible signs of the mercy
of God.”
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