At noon today, in the Sala Regia in the Apostolic Palace, the Holy Father, Pope Francis received in audience, participants in the annual course on the Internal Forum offered by the Apostolic Penitentiary.
Dear brothers, good morning!
I am pleased to meet with you, during this time of Lent in the Jubilee Year of Mercy, during your annual Course on the internal forum. I cordially greet Cardinal Piacenza, Major Penitentiary, and I thank him for his courteous expressions. I greet the Regent - who has a beautiful face, he must be a good confessor! - the Prelates, the Officials and the staff of the Penitentiary, the Colleges of ordinary and extraordinary confessors from the Papal Basilicas - whose numbers have been augmented during the Jubilee - and all those who are participating in the Course, which is intended to help new priests and seminarians who will soon be ordained to celebrate the Sacrament of Reconciliation well. The celebration of this Sacrament does in fact require adequate and updated preparation, so that those who seek forgiveness will be able to touch the greatness of mercy, the source of true interior peace (cf Bull, Misericordiae Vultus, 17).
The mystery of the Christian faith can be summed up in one word: mercy. It became alive, visible and reached its culmination in Jesus of Nazareth (MV, 1). In this sense, mercy, before being an attitude or a human virtue, is a definitive choice God has made for the good of every human being, for our eternal salvation; a choice which was sealed with the blood of the Son of God.
This divine mercy can freely reach all those who seek it. In fact, the possibility of forgiveness is available to all people, thrown wide open like the largest of holy doors, so that it might coincide with the very heart of the Father who loves and waits for all his children, especially those who have done something wrong and who have distanced themselves. The Father's mercy can reach every person in a variety of ways: through the openness of a sincere conscience; through the reading of the Word of God that converts the heart; by means of a meeting with a merciful sister or brother; or in a life experience that speaks to us of woundedness, sin, forgiveness and mercy.
However, there is a sure way of mercy, along which we pass from the possibility of something real to the hope of something certain. This way is Jesus, who has power on earth to forgive sins (Lk 5:24) and has passed this mission on to the Church (cf Jn 20:21-23). The Sacrament of Reconciliation is therefore a privileged place for living the experience of God's mercy and for celebrating the feast of an encounter with the Father. We forget this last aspect, much too easily: I go, I ask for forgiveness, I experience the embrace of forgiveness and I forget to celebrate. This is not a matter of theological doctrine but I would say - stretching a bit - that the feast is a part of the Sacrament: as though the penance I've been given is also part of the celebration I have to experience with the Father who has forgiven me.
As confessors, when we go to the confessional in order to welcome our brothers and sisters, we must always remember that we are instruments of God's mercy for them; therefore we must be careful to not place any obstacles between the penitent and this gift of salvation! The confessor is, himself, a sinner, a man who is still in need of forgiveness; more than anyone else, he cannot do without the mercy of God, who has chosen and appointed him (cf Jn 15:16) for this great task. He must therefore always be disposed in an attitude of humble faith and generosity, having as his ony desire that every faithful might have the experience of the Father's love. In this regard, there is no shortage of holy brothers to which we can look: including Leopold Mandic and Pio of Pietrelcina, whose mortal remains we venerated one month ago here at the Vatican. And also - if you will permit me - one of my own family: Father Cappello.
Every faithful penitent, after the absolution given by the priest, has the certainty in faith that his or her sins no longer exist. They no longer exist! God is omnipotent. I like to think that he has a weakness: a bad memory. Once he forgives you, he forgets. This is great! Sins no longer exist, they have been cancelled by divine mercy. Every absolution is, in a certain sense, a jubilee of the heart, that gladdens not only the faithful and the Church, but above all God himself. Jesus said this: There will be more joy in heave over one single sinner who repents, than for ninety-nine just persons who have no need of forgiveness (Lk 15:7). It is important therefore, that the confessor be also a channel of joy and that the faithful, after having received forgiveness, no longer feels burdened by guilt, but can enjoy the work of God who has freed him, that he can live in thanksgiving, ready to repair the harm that has been done and to go out to meet his brothers with a good and open heart.
Dear brothers, in this our time, marked by individualism, by many wounds and by temptations to become closed in upon ourselves, it is a true and proper gift to see and to accompany people who come in search of mercy. This also entails, for all of us, an even greater obligation for evangelical coherence and paternal benevolence; we are custodians, and never rulers, of both the Lord's sheep and His grace.
Let us return the Sacrament of Reconciliation to the centre of our lives, and not just during this Jubilee Year. It is truly a space that belongs to the Holy Spirit, in which all people, confessors and penitents alike, can have the experience of the unique definitive and faithful love that the Lord has for each of his children, a love that never disappoints. Saint Leopold Mandic used to say: God's mercy is greater than our expectations. To those who were suffering, he would say: In heaven, we have the heart of a mother. The Virgin, our Mother who, at the foot of the cross experienced all the suffering that is possible for any human being, she knows our woes and she consoles us. It is always Mary, refuge of sinners and mother of mercy who guides and sustains the fundamental ministry of Reconciliation.
And what should I do if I find myself in difficulty and cannot grant absolution? What must I do? First of all, look for a way, many times we will find the way. Second: do not depend solely on the spoken word, but also the language of gestures. There are people who cannot speak, and with a gesture, they express their repentance, their suffering. And third: if you cannot grant absolution, speak like a father: Listen, this is the reason why I can't grant you absolution, but I can assure you that God loves you, that God is waiting for you! Let us pray together to Our Lady, asking her to take care of you, and then come, come back because I will be waiting, just like God is waiting for you; and then give that person a blessing. In this way, that person will go out of the confession and think: I have found a priest who hasn't beaten me up. How often have we heard about people who say: I never go to confession, because I once went and the priest screamed at me. Even in the few cases where I could not absolve, the penitents should always be able to feel the warmth of a father who blesses them and tells them to come back. And it is also important that you pray a little with him or with her. This is always the point: they can find a father. And this too is a festival, and God knows how to forgive even better than we do. But at least we can be the image of the Father.
I wish to thank the Apostolic Penitentiary for its precious service, and I willingly bless all of you and your ministry which is carried out as a channel of mercy, especially during this time of jubilee. Please remember to pray also for me.
And today, I too will go there, with your penitentiaries, to celebrate Reconciliation in Saint Peter's.
Speech of the Holy Father, Pope Francis
to confessors
Dear brothers, good morning!
I am pleased to meet with you, during this time of Lent in the Jubilee Year of Mercy, during your annual Course on the internal forum. I cordially greet Cardinal Piacenza, Major Penitentiary, and I thank him for his courteous expressions. I greet the Regent - who has a beautiful face, he must be a good confessor! - the Prelates, the Officials and the staff of the Penitentiary, the Colleges of ordinary and extraordinary confessors from the Papal Basilicas - whose numbers have been augmented during the Jubilee - and all those who are participating in the Course, which is intended to help new priests and seminarians who will soon be ordained to celebrate the Sacrament of Reconciliation well. The celebration of this Sacrament does in fact require adequate and updated preparation, so that those who seek forgiveness will be able to touch the greatness of mercy, the source of true interior peace (cf Bull, Misericordiae Vultus, 17).
The mystery of the Christian faith can be summed up in one word: mercy. It became alive, visible and reached its culmination in Jesus of Nazareth (MV, 1). In this sense, mercy, before being an attitude or a human virtue, is a definitive choice God has made for the good of every human being, for our eternal salvation; a choice which was sealed with the blood of the Son of God.
This divine mercy can freely reach all those who seek it. In fact, the possibility of forgiveness is available to all people, thrown wide open like the largest of holy doors, so that it might coincide with the very heart of the Father who loves and waits for all his children, especially those who have done something wrong and who have distanced themselves. The Father's mercy can reach every person in a variety of ways: through the openness of a sincere conscience; through the reading of the Word of God that converts the heart; by means of a meeting with a merciful sister or brother; or in a life experience that speaks to us of woundedness, sin, forgiveness and mercy.
However, there is a sure way of mercy, along which we pass from the possibility of something real to the hope of something certain. This way is Jesus, who has power on earth to forgive sins (Lk 5:24) and has passed this mission on to the Church (cf Jn 20:21-23). The Sacrament of Reconciliation is therefore a privileged place for living the experience of God's mercy and for celebrating the feast of an encounter with the Father. We forget this last aspect, much too easily: I go, I ask for forgiveness, I experience the embrace of forgiveness and I forget to celebrate. This is not a matter of theological doctrine but I would say - stretching a bit - that the feast is a part of the Sacrament: as though the penance I've been given is also part of the celebration I have to experience with the Father who has forgiven me.
As confessors, when we go to the confessional in order to welcome our brothers and sisters, we must always remember that we are instruments of God's mercy for them; therefore we must be careful to not place any obstacles between the penitent and this gift of salvation! The confessor is, himself, a sinner, a man who is still in need of forgiveness; more than anyone else, he cannot do without the mercy of God, who has chosen and appointed him (cf Jn 15:16) for this great task. He must therefore always be disposed in an attitude of humble faith and generosity, having as his ony desire that every faithful might have the experience of the Father's love. In this regard, there is no shortage of holy brothers to which we can look: including Leopold Mandic and Pio of Pietrelcina, whose mortal remains we venerated one month ago here at the Vatican. And also - if you will permit me - one of my own family: Father Cappello.
Every faithful penitent, after the absolution given by the priest, has the certainty in faith that his or her sins no longer exist. They no longer exist! God is omnipotent. I like to think that he has a weakness: a bad memory. Once he forgives you, he forgets. This is great! Sins no longer exist, they have been cancelled by divine mercy. Every absolution is, in a certain sense, a jubilee of the heart, that gladdens not only the faithful and the Church, but above all God himself. Jesus said this: There will be more joy in heave over one single sinner who repents, than for ninety-nine just persons who have no need of forgiveness (Lk 15:7). It is important therefore, that the confessor be also a channel of joy and that the faithful, after having received forgiveness, no longer feels burdened by guilt, but can enjoy the work of God who has freed him, that he can live in thanksgiving, ready to repair the harm that has been done and to go out to meet his brothers with a good and open heart.
Dear brothers, in this our time, marked by individualism, by many wounds and by temptations to become closed in upon ourselves, it is a true and proper gift to see and to accompany people who come in search of mercy. This also entails, for all of us, an even greater obligation for evangelical coherence and paternal benevolence; we are custodians, and never rulers, of both the Lord's sheep and His grace.
Let us return the Sacrament of Reconciliation to the centre of our lives, and not just during this Jubilee Year. It is truly a space that belongs to the Holy Spirit, in which all people, confessors and penitents alike, can have the experience of the unique definitive and faithful love that the Lord has for each of his children, a love that never disappoints. Saint Leopold Mandic used to say: God's mercy is greater than our expectations. To those who were suffering, he would say: In heaven, we have the heart of a mother. The Virgin, our Mother who, at the foot of the cross experienced all the suffering that is possible for any human being, she knows our woes and she consoles us. It is always Mary, refuge of sinners and mother of mercy who guides and sustains the fundamental ministry of Reconciliation.
And what should I do if I find myself in difficulty and cannot grant absolution? What must I do? First of all, look for a way, many times we will find the way. Second: do not depend solely on the spoken word, but also the language of gestures. There are people who cannot speak, and with a gesture, they express their repentance, their suffering. And third: if you cannot grant absolution, speak like a father: Listen, this is the reason why I can't grant you absolution, but I can assure you that God loves you, that God is waiting for you! Let us pray together to Our Lady, asking her to take care of you, and then come, come back because I will be waiting, just like God is waiting for you; and then give that person a blessing. In this way, that person will go out of the confession and think: I have found a priest who hasn't beaten me up. How often have we heard about people who say: I never go to confession, because I once went and the priest screamed at me. Even in the few cases where I could not absolve, the penitents should always be able to feel the warmth of a father who blesses them and tells them to come back. And it is also important that you pray a little with him or with her. This is always the point: they can find a father. And this too is a festival, and God knows how to forgive even better than we do. But at least we can be the image of the Father.
I wish to thank the Apostolic Penitentiary for its precious service, and I willingly bless all of you and your ministry which is carried out as a channel of mercy, especially during this time of jubilee. Please remember to pray also for me.
And today, I too will go there, with your penitentiaries, to celebrate Reconciliation in Saint Peter's.
No comments:
Post a Comment