Pope: 'Let us give Jesus our sins'
Pope francis celebrates Holy Mass for the Vatican maintenance staff. |
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Friday
celebrated Mass for the maintenance staff of Vatican City
State, reminding them that our joy and our salvation lies in the fact that
Jesus came so that we can all be forgiven our sins.
Speaking to a group of Vatican employees who take care of
maintenance and general services, the Pope reflected on the Gospel reading of
the day which speaks of how Jesus invited Matthew, a tax collector, to dine
with him at his house.
He illustrated his words recalling a Caravaggio painting
“The Calling of St. Matthew” which he said, he used to like going to see when
he could walk the streets of Rome freely,before becoming Pope, and he described
the scene that features Matthew counting his money, and Jesus pointing at him
with his finger as he chooses him to dine at his table.
“When the Pharisees saw this – the Pope said - they said to
his disciples ‘Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?’ the
answer they received was ‘Those who are well do not need a physician, but the
sick do”.
“This, the Pope said, is an immense consolation because it
means that Jesus came for me”. “We are all sinners” he continued, “We all have
a degree in sin.”
The Pharisees, Francis explained, considered themselves just
and criticized Jesus for spending time in bad company, but the Lord said ‘I did
not come to call the righteous but sinners.’
Each of us, Pope Francis said, must recognize our strengths,
our weaknesses, our sins. He pointed out that Jesus condemned the Pharisees
because they were arrogant, vain and considered themselves to be superior to
others.
But Jesus, he said, comes to us because we are sinners, and
those who acknowledge this also know that Jesus “always forgives, always heals
our souls.
“And when you are afraid of being weak and of falling, Jesus
will help you back to your feet, he will heal you. This is our consolation. (…)
Do not be afraid. In bad times, in moments in which we feel weighed down from
things we may have done, during the many slippery slopes of life… remember:
Jesus love me because this is who I am” he said.
Pope Francis then recalled the figure of Saint Jerome who
offered the Lord his work of many years to which Jesus replied “No. Jerome.
That is not what I want most.” Finally Jerome asked Jesus to tell him what
would give him the most joy, and Jesus replied “Give me your sins…”
“Today, he concluded, let us give Jesus our sins, let us
think of His merciful heart. May it be our joy.”
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