At 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 gathered in Saint Peter's Square.
Dear brothers and sisters, good morning!
The gospel passage for this Sunday (cf Mt 18:21-35) offers us a teaching about forgiveness, which does not negate the wrong that has been done but recognizes the fact that the human being, created in the image of God, is always greater than the wrong that has been committed. Saint Peter asks Jesus: If my brother sins against me, how often must I forgive? As many as seven times? (Mt 18:21). For Peter, it seems that the most he thinks he should forgive is seven times for the same person; and perhaps we might think that it is already a lot to forgive the same person twice. But Jesus responds: I say to you, not seven times but seventy-seven times seven (Mt 18:22), which is to say always: you should always forgive. He confirms this teaching by recounting the parable of the merciful king and the unforgiving servant, in which he shows the inconsistency of the one who himself is forgiven but later refuses to forgive.
The king in the parable is a generous man who, seized with compassion, forgives an enormous debt - ten thousand talents: enormous - and a servant who begs for forgiveness. But this same servant, who meets another servant like himself who owes him one hundred denari - much less money - behaves ruthlessly, throwing him into prison. The incoherent attitude demonstrated by the servant is also our challenge when we refuse to forgive our brothers. While the king in the parable is the image of God who loves us with a love that is rich in mercy and is always willing to welcome us, love us and forgive us.
At the moment of our Baptism, God has forgiven us, taking away an unpayable debt: original sin. But that takes place the first time. Then, with an unlimited level of mercy, He forgives us all of our faults when we demonstrate even the smallest amount of repentance. God is like that: merciful. When we are tempted to close our hearts to those who have offended us and ask for our forgiveness, let us remember the words of our heavenly father to the unforgiving servant: I forgave all your debt because you begged me to. Should you not have had pity on your fellow servant as I had pity on you? (Mt 18:32-33). Anyone who has experienced the joy, peace and interior freedom that comes from being forgiven can open his or her heart to granting forgiveness.
In the Lord's Prayer, Jesus wanted to include the same teaching we see in this parable. He directly linked the forgiveness that we ask for from God with the forgiveness that we grant to our brothers and sisters: Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us (Mt 6:12). God's forgiveness is the sign of his overwhelming love for us; this love leaves us free to move away from God, like the prodigal son, but every day, God waits for our return; this is the enterprising love of the shepherd for the lost sheep; it is the tenderness that welcomes every sinner who knocks at the door. Our heavenly Father - our Father - is full, full of love and wants to offer it to us, but he cannot do it if we close our hearts to love for others.
May the Virgin Mary help us to be more and more aware of the free gift, the great gift of forgiveness that we have received from God, so that we may become more and more merciful like Him, our good Father, who is slow to anger and great in mercy.
Following the recitation of the Angelus, the Holy Father continued:
Dear brothers and sisters,
I greet you all affectionately, Romans and pilgrims from various other countries: families, parish groups and associations.
I greet the faithful from La Plata (Argentina), the officials from the Military School in Colombia and the catechists from Rho.
I greet those who are participating in the Via Pacis race, which has included places of worship of various religious confessions present in Rome. I hope that this cultural and sporting initiative may help dialogue to continue so that we may all live in peace.
I greet the many young people who have come from Loreto, accompanied by the Capuchin Friars, who are beginning a day of reflection and meditation today: you have brought he aroma of the Shrine of the Holy House, thank you! I also greet the Pro Loco volunteers and the walkers who are beginning the relay for Assisi today. Enjoy your walk!
I wish you all a good Sunday. Please, don't forget to pray for me. Enjoy your lunch and good bye.
Greetings of the Holy Father, Pope Francis
prior to the recitation of the Angelus
Dear brothers and sisters, good morning!
The gospel passage for this Sunday (cf Mt 18:21-35) offers us a teaching about forgiveness, which does not negate the wrong that has been done but recognizes the fact that the human being, created in the image of God, is always greater than the wrong that has been committed. Saint Peter asks Jesus: If my brother sins against me, how often must I forgive? As many as seven times? (Mt 18:21). For Peter, it seems that the most he thinks he should forgive is seven times for the same person; and perhaps we might think that it is already a lot to forgive the same person twice. But Jesus responds: I say to you, not seven times but seventy-seven times seven (Mt 18:22), which is to say always: you should always forgive. He confirms this teaching by recounting the parable of the merciful king and the unforgiving servant, in which he shows the inconsistency of the one who himself is forgiven but later refuses to forgive.
The king in the parable is a generous man who, seized with compassion, forgives an enormous debt - ten thousand talents: enormous - and a servant who begs for forgiveness. But this same servant, who meets another servant like himself who owes him one hundred denari - much less money - behaves ruthlessly, throwing him into prison. The incoherent attitude demonstrated by the servant is also our challenge when we refuse to forgive our brothers. While the king in the parable is the image of God who loves us with a love that is rich in mercy and is always willing to welcome us, love us and forgive us.
At the moment of our Baptism, God has forgiven us, taking away an unpayable debt: original sin. But that takes place the first time. Then, with an unlimited level of mercy, He forgives us all of our faults when we demonstrate even the smallest amount of repentance. God is like that: merciful. When we are tempted to close our hearts to those who have offended us and ask for our forgiveness, let us remember the words of our heavenly father to the unforgiving servant: I forgave all your debt because you begged me to. Should you not have had pity on your fellow servant as I had pity on you? (Mt 18:32-33). Anyone who has experienced the joy, peace and interior freedom that comes from being forgiven can open his or her heart to granting forgiveness.
In the Lord's Prayer, Jesus wanted to include the same teaching we see in this parable. He directly linked the forgiveness that we ask for from God with the forgiveness that we grant to our brothers and sisters: Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us (Mt 6:12). God's forgiveness is the sign of his overwhelming love for us; this love leaves us free to move away from God, like the prodigal son, but every day, God waits for our return; this is the enterprising love of the shepherd for the lost sheep; it is the tenderness that welcomes every sinner who knocks at the door. Our heavenly Father - our Father - is full, full of love and wants to offer it to us, but he cannot do it if we close our hearts to love for others.
May the Virgin Mary help us to be more and more aware of the free gift, the great gift of forgiveness that we have received from God, so that we may become more and more merciful like Him, our good Father, who is slow to anger and great in mercy.
Following the recitation of the Angelus, the Holy Father continued:
Dear brothers and sisters,
I greet you all affectionately, Romans and pilgrims from various other countries: families, parish groups and associations.
I greet the faithful from La Plata (Argentina), the officials from the Military School in Colombia and the catechists from Rho.
I greet those who are participating in the Via Pacis race, which has included places of worship of various religious confessions present in Rome. I hope that this cultural and sporting initiative may help dialogue to continue so that we may all live in peace.
I greet the many young people who have come from Loreto, accompanied by the Capuchin Friars, who are beginning a day of reflection and meditation today: you have brought he aroma of the Shrine of the Holy House, thank you! I also greet the Pro Loco volunteers and the walkers who are beginning the relay for Assisi today. Enjoy your walk!
I wish you all a good Sunday. Please, don't forget to pray for me. Enjoy your lunch and good bye.
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