Pope at Mass: “Let’s return to
our Father”
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| Pope Francis reverences the altar after celebrating Mass, 20 March 2020 |
Once again the Pope prays for healthcare providers in the
hard hit Bergamo region of Italy during his Mass at the Casa Santa Marta on
Friday, and urges us to “return to our Father who is waiting for us”. (With
link to playback of live broadcast)
By Vatican News
“Yesterday, I received a message from a priest from the
Bergamo region who asked for prayers for the doctors working there…. They are
at the end their strength…and are truly giving their lives to help those who
are ill, to save others’ lives.” He also prayed for civil leaders who are
managing the crisis and often “suffer from being misunderstood”. “They are the
pillars helping us move out of the situation and are defending us from this
crisis”, the Pope added. “So, let’s pray for them”.
Song from his childhood
The Pope introduced his homily saying the words “return to
the Lord, your God, from the first reading from Hosea (14:2), always remind him
of a song sung by Carlo Buti 75 years ago.
"The Italian families in Buenos Aires used to listen
to it. They liked it a lot. ‘Return to your daddy, he will still sing you a
lullaby’. Return. But it’s your Father who tells you to return. God is your
Daddy. He’s not a judge. He’s your Daddy. Go back home."
Father waits for His wayward son
That memory then lead him to the 15th chapter
of Luke. There, another Father waits for his son who left home taking “all that
money and wasting it”.
"If he sees him from a distance, it’s because He was
waiting for him. How many times He went up the terrace day after day, month
after months, perhaps years even. He waited for His son."
The Father’s tenderness
This is how God’s shows His tenderness. “It speaks to us
especially during Lent”, the Pope said.
"[Lent] is the time to enter into ourselves and to
remember the Father and return to our Daddy. ‘But, Father, I’m ashamed to go
back because, you know, Father I've …done so many things wrong’. What will the
Lord say? ‘Return. I will heal their defection. I will love them freely; for my
wrath is turned away from them (Hosea 14:4).’ Return to your Father. The God of
tenderness will heal us.”
This Father will heal us of “so many of life’s
wounds”, the Pope explained.
“Going back to God is going back to an embrace, the
Father’s embrace, It’s not going to God. No, it’s going back home.”
Confession when a priest is not available
This habit of returning home “takes flesh in the Sacrament
of Reconciliation”, the Pope explained.
“I know that many of you go to confession before Easter…
Many will say to me: ‘But Father…I can't leave the house and I want to make my
peace with the Lord. I want Him to embrace me… How can I do that unless I find
a priest?’. Do what the catechism says. It's very clear. If you don't find a
priest to go to confession, speak to God. He's your Father. Tell Him the truth:
‘Lord. I did this and this and this. Pardon me.’ Ask His forgiveness with all
your heart with an act of contrition, and promise Him, ‘afterward I will go to
confession.’ You will return to God's grace immediately. You yourself can draw
near, as the catechism teaches us, to God's forgiveness,s without having a
priest at hand.”
Return
At the end of his homily, the Pope expressed the hope that
the word “return” might “echo in our ears today”.
“Return to your Daddy. Return to your Father. He’s
waiting for you, and He will throw a feast for you.”
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