Pope Francis: Good Thief a model of penitence
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis
offered his catechesis at the Wednesday General Audience on the topic of “The
Forgiveness of the Cross.”
The Holy Father focused on
the last moments of the Crucifixion, and especially on the two thieves who were
crucified alongside the Lord. One of the thieves insulted the Lord, calling on
Him to save Himself, and them. “They did not understand the mystery of the sacrifice of
Jesus,” the Pope said. Jesus is able to save precisely because He remained on
the Cross. By remaining on the Cross, Christ showed His omnipotence and forgave
us.
By dying on the Cross,
between two criminals, Jesus shows that “the salvation of God” is offered “for
everybody, no one is excluded. It is offered for all.”
To those who suffer, to those
suffering in a hospital bed, or living in a prison, those caught up in a war,
Pope Francis said, “Look to the Cross: God is with you, He remains with you
upon the Cross, He is offered to all as a Saviour.”
The Good Thief, on the other
hand, offers to us a model of penance, beginning with a filial fear of the Lord
– the fundamental attitude that opens up confidence in God, the understanding
of His omnipotence and mercy.
He then openly confesses his
guilt, the second necessary step of true penitence. “It’s true,” the Pope said,
“he was a great thief, he stole things all his life […] but in the end, he
stole heaven.”
Finally, the Good Thief
appealed directly to Jesus, who is so good and so merciful. In this way, the
Good Thief, a criminal condemned to death, “is a model for a man, for a
Christian who entrusts himself to Jesus.”
Concluding his catechesis,
Pope Francis turned once more to Christ: “In the hour of the Cross, the
salvation of Christ reached its climax; and His promise to the good thief
reveals the completion of His mission – that is, to save sinners.”
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