Having concluded the celebration of the Mass in the Vatican Basilica, during which he had ordained 11 new priests, at noon today (local time) the Holy Father, Pope Francis appeared at the window of his study in the Apostolic Palace to recite the Regina Caeli with the faithful and with pilgrims who were gathered in Saint Peter's Square for the usual Sunday appointment.
Dear brothers and sisters, good morning!
Today's gospel (Jn 10:27-30) offers us a few expressions spoken by Jesus during the festival of the dedication of the temple in Jerusalem, which was celebrated at the end of December. First, he finds himself in the vicinity of the temple, and perhaps that enclosed sacred space reminds him of the shepherd's fold. Jesus presents himself as the good shepherd and says: My sheep listen to my voice and I know them and they follow me. I give them eternal life and they will never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hands (Jn 10:27-28). These words help us to understand that no one can be said to be a follower of Jesus if he does not listen to his voice, and this listening should not be understood in a superficial way, but rather an enticing way, to the point of making it possible for a truly reciprocal conscience to exist, one which can result in a truly generous following expressed in the words: and they follow me (Jn 10:27). This is a listening that involves not only our ears, but also our hearts!
Therefore, the image of the shepherd and the sheep indicates the close relationship that Jesus wishes to establish with each one of us. He is our guide, our teacher, our friend, our model, but above all, he is our Saviour. In fact, the next phrase in this passage of the bible confirms it: I give them eternal life and they shall never perish, and no one can snatch them out of my hands (Jn 10:28). Who else can speak like this? Only Jesus, because the hand of Jesus is also the hand of the Father, and the Father is the greatest of all (Jn 10:29).
These words communicate a sense of absolute security and immense tenderness. Our life is fully and securely in the hands of Jesus and of the Father, which are one and the same, one love, one mercy, revealed once for all in the sacrifice of the cross. To save the lost sheep, which is all of us, the Shepherd made himself the lamb and allowed himself to be sacrificed in order to take upon himself, to take away all the sins of the world. In this way, He gave us life, life in abundance (cf Jn 10:10)! This mystery is renewed, in humility that is constantly surprising, on the Eucharistic table. There, the sheep gather to feed; there, we all become one, united with one another and with the Good Shepherd.
This is why we are no longer afraid: our life is forever saved from perdition. Nothing and no one can snatch us out of the hands of Jesus, because nothing and no one can overpower his love. The love of Jesus is invincible! The devil, the great enemy of God and of all his creatures, tries in many different ways to snatch eternal life from us, but the devil can do nothing if we do not open the doors of our soul and believe in his deceitful flattery.
The Virgin Mary listened and followed the voice of the Good Shepherd in complete docility. May she help us to joyfully welcome Jesus' invitation to become his disciples and to always live in the certainty of being held in the paternal hands of God.
Following the recitation of the Regina Caeli, the Holy Father continued:
Dear brothers and sisters,
I wish to thank all those who accompanied me in prayer during the visit I made yesterday to the island of Lesbos in Greece. To the refugees and to the Greek people, I carried the solidarity of the Church. With me were the Ecumenical Patriarch, Bartholomew and Archbishop Ieronymos of Athens and of all Greece, to demonstrate the unity in charity of all the Lord's disciples. We visited one of the refugee camps: including refugees from Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, Africa, and many other countries ... We greeted about 300 of these refugees, one by one. All three of us: Patriarch Bartholomew, Archbishop Ieronymos and I. Many of them were children; some of them - of those children - witnessed the deaths of their parents and their companions, some of those who drowned in the sea. I saw so much suffering! I want to tell you about one case in particular, the case of a young man, he was not yet 40 years old. I met him yesterday, with his two brothers. He is Muslim and he told me that he was married to a Christian woman, they loved each other and were expecting a child, but unfortunately, that girl was slaughtered by terrorists because she refused to deny Christ and to abandon her faith. She is a martyr! ... and that man was crying so much ...
Last night, a violent earthquake has struck in Ecuador, causing many casualties and much damage. Let us pray for those people; and also for the people of Japan, where there have also been some earthquakes in recent days. May the help of the Lord and of our brothers and sisters give them strength and sustain them.
Today is the World Day of Prayer for Vocations. We are invited to pray for vocations to the priesthood and to consecrated life. Also, today, this morning, I ordained eleven new priests. I renew my greetings to the newly-ordained priests, to their families and friends; and I invite all priests and seminarians to take part in their Jubilee, which will be observed during the first three days of June. To all of you young people, young men and women who are here in the Square: consider whether the Lord may not be calling you to consecrate your lives to his service, either as priests or in consecrated life.
With great affection, I greet you all, pilgrims from Italy and from many other parts of the world. There are families here, as well as parish groups, schools and associations: I bless you all. I especially greet the faithful from Madrid, San Paolo in Brazil and Varsavia; as well as the pilgrims from the Diocese of Cerreto Sannita-Telese-Sant'Agata dei Goti and Siena-Colle Val d'Elsa-Montalcino, accompanied by your Bishops; the faithful from Specchia and from Verona; the Laurenziana Choir from Mortara and the Parents for intensive neonatal care.
I am close to all the families who are preoccupied by the challenges of work. I think in particular of precarious work situations in Call Centres throughout Italy: I hope that the dignity of the human person will prevail and not the interests of particular parties.
I wish you all a good Sunday. And please, do not forget to pray for me. Enjoy your lunch and good bye!
Greetings of the Holy Father, Pope Francis
prior to the recitation of the Regina Caeli
Dear brothers and sisters, good morning!
Today's gospel (Jn 10:27-30) offers us a few expressions spoken by Jesus during the festival of the dedication of the temple in Jerusalem, which was celebrated at the end of December. First, he finds himself in the vicinity of the temple, and perhaps that enclosed sacred space reminds him of the shepherd's fold. Jesus presents himself as the good shepherd and says: My sheep listen to my voice and I know them and they follow me. I give them eternal life and they will never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hands (Jn 10:27-28). These words help us to understand that no one can be said to be a follower of Jesus if he does not listen to his voice, and this listening should not be understood in a superficial way, but rather an enticing way, to the point of making it possible for a truly reciprocal conscience to exist, one which can result in a truly generous following expressed in the words: and they follow me (Jn 10:27). This is a listening that involves not only our ears, but also our hearts!
Therefore, the image of the shepherd and the sheep indicates the close relationship that Jesus wishes to establish with each one of us. He is our guide, our teacher, our friend, our model, but above all, he is our Saviour. In fact, the next phrase in this passage of the bible confirms it: I give them eternal life and they shall never perish, and no one can snatch them out of my hands (Jn 10:28). Who else can speak like this? Only Jesus, because the hand of Jesus is also the hand of the Father, and the Father is the greatest of all (Jn 10:29).
These words communicate a sense of absolute security and immense tenderness. Our life is fully and securely in the hands of Jesus and of the Father, which are one and the same, one love, one mercy, revealed once for all in the sacrifice of the cross. To save the lost sheep, which is all of us, the Shepherd made himself the lamb and allowed himself to be sacrificed in order to take upon himself, to take away all the sins of the world. In this way, He gave us life, life in abundance (cf Jn 10:10)! This mystery is renewed, in humility that is constantly surprising, on the Eucharistic table. There, the sheep gather to feed; there, we all become one, united with one another and with the Good Shepherd.
This is why we are no longer afraid: our life is forever saved from perdition. Nothing and no one can snatch us out of the hands of Jesus, because nothing and no one can overpower his love. The love of Jesus is invincible! The devil, the great enemy of God and of all his creatures, tries in many different ways to snatch eternal life from us, but the devil can do nothing if we do not open the doors of our soul and believe in his deceitful flattery.
The Virgin Mary listened and followed the voice of the Good Shepherd in complete docility. May she help us to joyfully welcome Jesus' invitation to become his disciples and to always live in the certainty of being held in the paternal hands of God.
Following the recitation of the Regina Caeli, the Holy Father continued:
Dear brothers and sisters,
I wish to thank all those who accompanied me in prayer during the visit I made yesterday to the island of Lesbos in Greece. To the refugees and to the Greek people, I carried the solidarity of the Church. With me were the Ecumenical Patriarch, Bartholomew and Archbishop Ieronymos of Athens and of all Greece, to demonstrate the unity in charity of all the Lord's disciples. We visited one of the refugee camps: including refugees from Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, Africa, and many other countries ... We greeted about 300 of these refugees, one by one. All three of us: Patriarch Bartholomew, Archbishop Ieronymos and I. Many of them were children; some of them - of those children - witnessed the deaths of their parents and their companions, some of those who drowned in the sea. I saw so much suffering! I want to tell you about one case in particular, the case of a young man, he was not yet 40 years old. I met him yesterday, with his two brothers. He is Muslim and he told me that he was married to a Christian woman, they loved each other and were expecting a child, but unfortunately, that girl was slaughtered by terrorists because she refused to deny Christ and to abandon her faith. She is a martyr! ... and that man was crying so much ...
Last night, a violent earthquake has struck in Ecuador, causing many casualties and much damage. Let us pray for those people; and also for the people of Japan, where there have also been some earthquakes in recent days. May the help of the Lord and of our brothers and sisters give them strength and sustain them.
Today is the World Day of Prayer for Vocations. We are invited to pray for vocations to the priesthood and to consecrated life. Also, today, this morning, I ordained eleven new priests. I renew my greetings to the newly-ordained priests, to their families and friends; and I invite all priests and seminarians to take part in their Jubilee, which will be observed during the first three days of June. To all of you young people, young men and women who are here in the Square: consider whether the Lord may not be calling you to consecrate your lives to his service, either as priests or in consecrated life.
With great affection, I greet you all, pilgrims from Italy and from many other parts of the world. There are families here, as well as parish groups, schools and associations: I bless you all. I especially greet the faithful from Madrid, San Paolo in Brazil and Varsavia; as well as the pilgrims from the Diocese of Cerreto Sannita-Telese-Sant'Agata dei Goti and Siena-Colle Val d'Elsa-Montalcino, accompanied by your Bishops; the faithful from Specchia and from Verona; the Laurenziana Choir from Mortara and the Parents for intensive neonatal care.
I am close to all the families who are preoccupied by the challenges of work. I think in particular of precarious work situations in Call Centres throughout Italy: I hope that the dignity of the human person will prevail and not the interests of particular parties.
I wish you all a good Sunday. And please, do not forget to pray for me. Enjoy your lunch and good bye!
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