At 10:00am this morning, the seventh Jubilee Audience was held in Saint Peter's Square. The Jubilee Audiences are gatherings that Pope Francis holds once a month in order to meet with pilgrims and the faithful who are coming to Rome during the Jubilee of Mercy.
During this morning's meeting, the Pope added a mediation on the true meaning of conversion (inspired by Lk 24:45-48).
Following the customary summaries of his catechesis, presented in various languages, the Holy Father offered greetings to each group of the faithful in attendance.
The Jubilee Audience concluded with the chanting of the Pater Noster and the Apostolic Blessing.
Dear brothers and sisters, good morning!
After his resurrection, Jesus appeared several times to his disciples before ascending into the Father's glory. The gospel passage that we have just heard (Lk 24:45-48) narrates one of these apparitions, in which the Lord indicated the fundamental content of the preaching that the disciples should offer to the world. We can summarize it in two words: conversion and forgiveness of sins. These are two qualifying aspects of God's mercy by means of which he lovingly cares for us. Today, let us take the first of these aspects into consideration: conversion.
What is conversion? It is present throughout the bible, and in a special way in the preaching of the prophets who constantly invite the people to return to the Lord, to ask for forgiveness and to change their way of life. According to the prophets, conversion means changing directions and turning back to the Lord, relying on the certainty that he loves us and that his love is always faithful. Return to the Lord.
Jesus used conversion as the first word of his preaching: Repent and believe the good news (Mk 1:15). With this proclamation, He presented himself to the people, calling them to welcome his word as the final and definitive word spoken by the Father to all of humanity (cf Mk 12:1-11). With respect to the preaching of the prophets, Jesus insisted even more on the interior dimension of conversion. In fact, the whole person is involved in conversion: heart and mind, in order to become a new creation, a new person. Change your hearts and be renewed.
When Jesus calls people to conversion, he does not stand in judgement of the person; instead he does so out of his closeness, his sharing in the human condition ... in the streets, in homes, at the table ... Mercy shown toward those who need to change their lives came about through his loving presence, involving everyone in his story of salvation. Jesus persuaded people through kindness and love, and through his own behaviours, he deeply touched the hearts of all those who felt attracted by the love of God and sensed the need to change their lives. For example, the conversion of Matthew (cf Mt 9:9-13) and of Zaccaeus (cf Lk 19:1-10) happened in this very way, for they felt within their souls that they were loved by Jesus and through him, equally loved by the Father. True conversion occurs when we welcome the gift of grace; a clear sign of his authenticity is that we recognize the needs of our brothers and sisters and are ready to go out to meet them.
Dear brothers and sisters, how many times do we ourselves feel the need for a change that affects our whole person! How many times do we say: I have to change, I cannot continue like this ... My life will be fruitless if I continue along this path; it will be a useless life and I will never be happy. How many times do such thoughts come into our minds, how many times? ... And Jesus, who is always at our side with his hand outstretched, says: Come, come to me. I will do the work: I will change your heart, I will change your life, I will make you happy. Do we believe this, or not? Do we believe it, or not? What do you think: do you believe this or not? Less applause and more voices: do you believe it or not? (The people respond: Yes!). This is how it is. Jesus who is always with us invites us to change our lives. And with the Holy Spirit, he is the one who plants within us the desire to change our lives and to be better people. Let us respond to the Lord's call and let us try not to put up any resistance, because only if we are open to his mercy, will we discover true life and true joy. We only need to throw the doors wide open, and He will do all the rest. He does everything, but it's up to us to open our hearts so that he can heal us and help us to go forward. I assure you that we will all be happier. Thank you.
The Holy Father's catechesis was then summarized and presented in various languages. He himself offered greetings to each group of pilgrims in attendance. To English-speaking visitors, he said:
I greet the English-speaking pilgrims and visitors taking part in today’s Audience, particularly those from England, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Singapore and the United States of America. With prayerful good wishes that the present Jubilee of Mercy will be a moment of grace and spiritual renewal for you and your families, I invoke upon all of you joy and peace in our Lord Jesus Christ.
During this morning's meeting, the Pope added a mediation on the true meaning of conversion (inspired by Lk 24:45-48).
Following the customary summaries of his catechesis, presented in various languages, the Holy Father offered greetings to each group of the faithful in attendance.
The Jubilee Audience concluded with the chanting of the Pater Noster and the Apostolic Blessing.
Catechesis of the Holy Father, Pope Francis
for the Jubilee Audience
Dear brothers and sisters, good morning!
After his resurrection, Jesus appeared several times to his disciples before ascending into the Father's glory. The gospel passage that we have just heard (Lk 24:45-48) narrates one of these apparitions, in which the Lord indicated the fundamental content of the preaching that the disciples should offer to the world. We can summarize it in two words: conversion and forgiveness of sins. These are two qualifying aspects of God's mercy by means of which he lovingly cares for us. Today, let us take the first of these aspects into consideration: conversion.
What is conversion? It is present throughout the bible, and in a special way in the preaching of the prophets who constantly invite the people to return to the Lord, to ask for forgiveness and to change their way of life. According to the prophets, conversion means changing directions and turning back to the Lord, relying on the certainty that he loves us and that his love is always faithful. Return to the Lord.
Jesus used conversion as the first word of his preaching: Repent and believe the good news (Mk 1:15). With this proclamation, He presented himself to the people, calling them to welcome his word as the final and definitive word spoken by the Father to all of humanity (cf Mk 12:1-11). With respect to the preaching of the prophets, Jesus insisted even more on the interior dimension of conversion. In fact, the whole person is involved in conversion: heart and mind, in order to become a new creation, a new person. Change your hearts and be renewed.
When Jesus calls people to conversion, he does not stand in judgement of the person; instead he does so out of his closeness, his sharing in the human condition ... in the streets, in homes, at the table ... Mercy shown toward those who need to change their lives came about through his loving presence, involving everyone in his story of salvation. Jesus persuaded people through kindness and love, and through his own behaviours, he deeply touched the hearts of all those who felt attracted by the love of God and sensed the need to change their lives. For example, the conversion of Matthew (cf Mt 9:9-13) and of Zaccaeus (cf Lk 19:1-10) happened in this very way, for they felt within their souls that they were loved by Jesus and through him, equally loved by the Father. True conversion occurs when we welcome the gift of grace; a clear sign of his authenticity is that we recognize the needs of our brothers and sisters and are ready to go out to meet them.
Dear brothers and sisters, how many times do we ourselves feel the need for a change that affects our whole person! How many times do we say: I have to change, I cannot continue like this ... My life will be fruitless if I continue along this path; it will be a useless life and I will never be happy. How many times do such thoughts come into our minds, how many times? ... And Jesus, who is always at our side with his hand outstretched, says: Come, come to me. I will do the work: I will change your heart, I will change your life, I will make you happy. Do we believe this, or not? Do we believe it, or not? What do you think: do you believe this or not? Less applause and more voices: do you believe it or not? (The people respond: Yes!). This is how it is. Jesus who is always with us invites us to change our lives. And with the Holy Spirit, he is the one who plants within us the desire to change our lives and to be better people. Let us respond to the Lord's call and let us try not to put up any resistance, because only if we are open to his mercy, will we discover true life and true joy. We only need to throw the doors wide open, and He will do all the rest. He does everything, but it's up to us to open our hearts so that he can heal us and help us to go forward. I assure you that we will all be happier. Thank you.
The Holy Father's catechesis was then summarized and presented in various languages. He himself offered greetings to each group of pilgrims in attendance. To English-speaking visitors, he said:
I greet the English-speaking pilgrims and visitors taking part in today’s Audience, particularly those from England, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Singapore and the United States of America. With prayerful good wishes that the present Jubilee of Mercy will be a moment of grace and spiritual renewal for you and your families, I invoke upon all of you joy and peace in our Lord Jesus Christ.
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