At 12:00 noon today, the Holy Father, Pope Francis appeared at the
window of his study in the Vatican Apostolic Palace to recite the Angelus with
the faithful and with pilgrims who had gathered in Saint Peter's Square.
Address of His Holiness,
Pope Francis
prior to the recitation of the
Angelus
Dear brothers and sisters, good morning!
The Gospel for this fifth Sunday of Lent narrates
the resurrection of Lazarus. It is the last of the many signs accomplished by Jesus and a gesture that is too
large, too divine to be tolerated by the high priests, who upon learning the
facts, decided that Jesus had to die (cf. Jn 11:53).
Lazarus had already been dead for three days, when
Jesus arrived, and to his sisters Martha and Mary, He uttered words that have
forever been remembered by the Christian community. Jesus says: I am
the resurrection and the life, whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will
live; and he who lives and believes in me will never die (Jn 11:25).
Based on the Lord's words, we believe that the life of those who believe
in Jesu and who follow his commandment, after earthly death will be transformed
into a new, full and immortal life. Just as Jesus, was raised up in the
flesh, but was not be returned to an earthly life, so we will be resurrected
with our bodies which will be transformed into glorious bodies. He is
waiting for us with the Father, and the strength of the Holy Spirit who raised
him, and who will also raise up all those who are united to Him.
Before the sealed tomb of his friend
Lazarus, Jesus cried with a loud voice, ‘Lazarus, come out.’ The dead man came
out, his hands and feet bound with bandages, and his face wrapped with a cloth (11:43-44). This commanding cry is addressed to every man, because we are all
marked for death, all of us; it is the voice of he who is the Lord of life and
desires that all have it in abundance (John 10:10). Christ has not resigned
himself to the tombs that we have created with our choices of evil and death,
with our mistakes, with our sins. He does not resign himself to this! He
invites us, he almost commands us, to come out of the tombs in which our sins
have buried us. He insistently calls us out of the darkness of the prison in
which we have shut ourselves, contenting ourselves with a false, egoistic and
mediocre life. Come out! he tells us, Come out! It is a beautiful invitation
to true freedom, to let ourselves be seized by these words of Jesus that he
repeats to each one of us today. It is an invitation to remove the burial
shroud, the burial shroud of pride. Pride makes us slaves, slaves to
ourselves, slaves of many idols, of many things. Our resurrection begins here:
when we decide to obey this command of Jesus, going out into the light, into
life; when the masks fall from our face – often we are masked by sin, the masks
must fall! – and we rediscover the courage of our true face, created in the
image and likeness of God.
Jesus’ gesture, which raises Lazarus,
shows how far the power of God’s Grace can go and how far our conversion can
go, our change. But listen well: there is no limit to divine mercy offered to
all! There is no limit to divine mercy offered to all! Remember this well. And
we can say it all together: There is no limit to divine mercy offered to all! Let us say it together: There is no limit to divine mercy offered to all! The
Lord is always ready to remove the stone from the tomb of our sins, which
separate us from him, from the light of the living.
Following the recitation of the
Angelus, the Holy Father spoke again to those gathered in St. Peter’s Square:
I greet all the pilgrims present, in
particular the participants in the Congress of the Educational Commitment
Movement of Italian Catholic Action. Investing in education means investing in
hope!
I greet the faithful of Madrid and
Menorca; those from the Diocese of Concordia-Pordenone; the Brazilian group
Fraternidade e tráfico humano; the students from Canada, Australia, Belgium
and from Cartagena-Murcia; the Alpini of Como and Rome.
I greet the groups of young people
who have received or are preparing to receive Confirmation, the young people of
various parishes and the numerous students.
Exactly five years have passed since the
earthquake that struck Aquila and the surrounding area. In this moment we would
like to unite ourselves with that community, which has suffered so much, which
still suffers, struggles and hopes, with much confidence in God and in Our
Lady. Let us pray for all the victims: may they live forever in the Lord’s
peace. And let us pray for the journey of resurrection of the people of Aquila:
may solidarity and spiritual rebirth be the power of material reconstruction.
Let us also pray for the victims of
the Ebola virus, which has broken out in Guinea and nearby countries. May the
Lord sustain the efforts to combat this beginning of an epidemic to ensure care
and help for all those in need.
And now I would like to do a simple
thing for you. On the past Sundays I suggested to all of you to get yourself a
little Gospel to carry with you during the day to be able to read often. Then I
thought about the ancient tradition of the Church, during Lent, of giving the
Gospel to catechumens, to those who are preparing for Baptism. So, today I
would like to offer to you who are in the Square – as a sign for everyone –
a small book of the Gospels (he shows the people the book). It will be given to
you free of charge. There are places in the Square where you can get one. I see them there,
there, there… Go to those posts and get the Gospel. Get it, take it with you,
and read it every day: it is Jesus, in fact, who speaks to you there! It is
Jesus’ Word: this is Jesus’ Word!
And as he says: freely you have
received, freely give, give the message of the Gospel! But maybe some of you
think that this is not free. But how much does it cost? How much must I pay,
Father? Let us do something: in exchange for this gift, do an act of charity,
a gesture of gratuitous love, a prayer for enemies, an act of reconciliation,
something…
Today you can read the Gospel with
many technological instruments too. You can carry the whole Bible in a
telephone, in a tablet. The important thing is to read the Word of God, with
all the means, but read the Word of God: it is Jesus who speaks there! And
welcome it with an open heart. The good seed bears fruit!
I wish you a good Sunday and a good lunch! Good bye!
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