Pope at Audience: ‘Divine mercy is foundation of
Christian hope’
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| Pope Francis caresses a child at his General Audience in the PaulVI Hall.- ANSA |
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis continued his catechesis
on Christian hope with pilgrims gathered in the Paul VI Hall for the Wednesday
General Audience, saying that God’s mercy as embodied by Jesus both transforms
us and renews our hope.
In his address to pilgrims at the Wednesday General
Audience, Pope Francis spoke about God’s mercy and forgiveness as the driving
force or the “motor” of Christian hope.
He reflected on the passage in Luke’s Gospel (Lk 7:44-50) in
which Jesus forgives the sins of the woman who bathed his feet with her tears
and a precious ointment.
Pope Francis said that Jesus’ merciful action causes
scandal, because it overturns the dominant attitude of his time. Jesus, he
said, embraced sinners and the “untouchables” of his day, rather than rejecting
them as was commonplace.
“Jesus, faced with human pain, feels mercy; Jesus’ heart is
merciful. Jesus feels compassion. Literally: Jesus feels a tremor within.”
The Pope said Jesus’ astonishing attitude to those in
desperate situations, even those who have made many mistakes in life, marks our
Christian identity with the stamp of mercy.
And this gives a sure foundation to our hope.
Pope Francis then invited all present to reflect on the cost
of sin.
“Jesus does not go to the cross because He heals the sick,
preaches charity, or proclaims the beatitudes. The Son of God goes to the cross
above all because He forgives sins, and because He wants the total and
definitive liberation of the human heart.”
Finally, Pope Francis said God’s mercy both transforms us
and renews our hope.
“[W]e are all poor sinners, in need of the mercy of God Who
has the strength to transform us and to restore our hope every day.”
(Devin Sean Watkins)
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