Sunday, April 15, 2018

Pope visits a Roman parish

This afternoon in Rome, the Holy Father, Pope Francis paid a pastoral visit to the Roman parish of Saint Paul of the Cross in Corviale.

Upon his arrival, at 3:40pm local time (9:40am EDT), the Pope was welcomed by Archbishop Angelo de Donatis, Vicar General for the Diocese of Rome; by His Excellency, Paolo Selvadagi, Auxiliary Bishop for the Western sector of the diocese; by the pastor, Father Roberto Cassano; by the associate pastor, Father Gabriele Petreni and by two members of the parish staff.

In the yard outside the church, Pope Francis met with the children who are preparing for sacraments as well as their families and spoke with four of the children.  Then, in the parish hall, the Pope met with a large group of elderly and the poor.  Afterwards, in the corridor, he greeted representatives of various associations.  Later, in a catechism hall, Pope Francis met with prisoners who are involved in a programme of social reintegration which involves various crafts.  Finally, he heard the confessions of a few penitents.

At 5:20pm local time (11:20am EDT), the Holy Father presided over the Eucharistic celebration in the parish church.  Representatives from the XXXI prefecture and a few priests who are friends of the community were in attendance with the Pope to concelebrate the Mass.  Following the proclamation of the gospel, Pope Francis shared an unscripted homily.

At the conclusion of the Mass, the pastor offered a few words of greeting to the Holy Father and there was an exchange of gifts before the Pope returned to the Vatican.


Homily of the Holy Father, Pope Francis
during the Mass celebrated at the parish of
San Paolo della Croce a Corviale

The disciples knew that Jesus had risen, because Mary Magdalene had told them about it that morning; then Peter saw him; then the disciples who were on their way back to Emmaus recounted the details of their encounter with the risen Jesus.  They knew: he is risen and alive.  But that truth had not yet entered into their hearts.  That truth, yes, they knew it, but they still were doubtful.  They would have preferred to have that truth in their minds, perhaps.  It is less risky to have a truth in our minds that to hold it in our hearts.  It is less dangerous.

They were all gathered together and the Lord appeared.  At first, they were afraid and thought he was a ghost.  But Jesus himself told them: No, look, touch me.  See the wounds.  A ghost doesn't have a body, see, it is I!  Why did they not believe?  Because they doubted?  There is a word in the gospel that gives us an explanation: Yet in their joy they still did not believe and were filled with amazement ... In their joy they could not believe.  There was so much joy!  If that is true, it was an immense joy!  Ah, I don't believe it.  I can't.  They could not believe that so much joy was possible; the joy that Jesus brought with him.

This happens also to us when we receive good news.  Before being able to welcome such news in our hearts, we say: Is it true?  How do you know this?  Where did you hear it?  We do this in order to be sure, because if it is true, there will be great joy.  If this is what happens to us when we are small, can you imagine how it was for the disciples!  There was so much joy that it was better to say: No, I can't believe it.  But he was there!  Yes, but he couldn't be there.  They could not accept it; they could not allow themselves to think in their hearts that he was truly alive.  And in the end, obviously, they believed.  This is the renewed youthfulness that the Lord gives us.  In today's Collect (Opening Prayer), we heard about renewed youthfulness.  We are used to growing older with our sins ... Sin makes our hearts grow older, always.  It makes our hearts hard, old, tired.  Sin tires the heart and we lose a little of our faith in the risen Christ: No I don't think so ... That would be so joyous ... Yes, yes, it is true, but he is in heaven taking care of his own affairs ... But I am his concern!  Every one of us!  But we are not able to make this connection.

In today's second reading, the apostle John says: If someone has sinned, we have an advocate with the Father.  Don't be afraid, He will forgive you.  He renews us.  Sin makes us grow old, but Jesus - risen, living - renews us.  This is the strength of the risen Jesus.  When we approach the sacrament of Penance, it is in order to be renewed, reinvigorated.  And the risen Jesus does this.  It is the risen Jesus who is present among us today: he will soon be here on the altar, he is in his Word ... On the altar, he will be like this: risen!  It is Christ who wants to defend us, our Advocate, when we have sinned, in order to reinvigorate us.

Brothers and sisters, let us ask for the grace to believe that Christ is alive, that he is risen!  This is our faith, and if we believe this, the other things will be secondary.  This is our faith, this is our true youthfulness.  Christ's victory over death, Christ's victory over sin.  Christ is alive, Yes, yes, now we will receive Communion ... But when you receive Communion, are you sure that Jesus is alive, present, risen?  Yes, it is only a little bit of blessed bread ... No, it is Jesus!  Christ is alive and risen in the midst of us and if we don't believe this, we will never be good Christians, we can never be good Christians.

But even though they could not believe such joyful news, they were still filled with amazement.  Let us ask the Lord for grace so that this joy may not impede us from growing , the grace to touch the risen Jesus: touch him in our encounters in prayer; in other encounters during the celebration of sacraments; in our encounters through the sacraments; in the meeting with his forgiveness that is the youthful renewal of the Church; in the encounter with the sick, when we have to find him, with those in prison, with those who are the most in need, with children, with the elderly.  If we feel the need to do something good, it is the risen Jesus who motivates us to do such things.  It is always joy, joy that keeps us young.

Let us ask for the grace to be a joyous community, because I'm sure that every one of us has faith, we have faith, we have met with the risen Christ.


Meeting with children
outside the church of Saint Paul of the Cross

I. Leonardo
Good morning Pope Francis!
I want to know something: what is your favorite gospel passage and why?

Pope Francis
What is your name?

Leonardo
Leonardo

Pope Francis
Leonardo.  Good Leonardo.  The gospel is filled with beautiful passages, very beautiful.  But you asked me which one is my favorite.  I will answer with one condition, that when you return home, you will find this passage in the gospel and read it.  Do you promise?

Children
Yes!

Pope Francis
All of you?

Children
Yes!

Pope Francis
One passage that I like very much is in the gospel of Matthew, when Jesus meets that businessman, that traitor who was named Matthew.  He was truly at the door of the city, he was attached to money, and he made people pay the tourist tax.  Did you pay a tax to enter here?

Children
No!

Pope Francis
No!  But we see that there is no Matthew here, thank God!  We won't have to pay to enter.  That's good.  And that man was a traitor because people paid taxes and he gave them to the army that was occupying Palestine at the time - it was the Roman army - he would give the money to the Romans.  This is a terrible sin, no?  How terrible!  A person who is attached to money is a terrible person!  But this man was even worse because he had forgotten that he was not a Roman, that he was Palestinian; he sold his country every time that he made other people pay the tax.  And Jesus was passing by - tax collectors were despised by everyone - Jesus passed by, looked at Matthew and said: Get up, come.  And that man couldn't believe.  A despised man, a traitor, a sinner ... And that man got up and followed Jesus.

And why do I like this passage? - te second question - because in it, we see the strength that Jesus had to change a heart.  His heart was the worst, but Jesus managed to change it.  Perhaps you know people who say: Ah, I could never be good, because I have done many things in my past, I could never change ... Jesus is capable of changing even the worst of us; he can make that person an evangelizer, an apostle and a saint.  This is why I like this passage in the bible so much, because we see the strength of Jesus to change our hearts, to make us good.  Don't forget your promise: what was that promise?

Children:
Read the gospel.

Pope Francis:
But not the whole thing!  Read that passage.  Find it.  The passage about Matthew, his name was Matthew, but at the time - when Jesus met him - his name was Levi.  Find it, read it at home and say: But look at this, look at this ... It is beautiful.  Thank you Leonardo, thank you!


II. Carlotta
Hello Pope Francis!  When we receive Baptism, we become children of God; what about people who are not baptized, are they not children of God?

Pope Francis
Stay there.  What is your name?

Carlotta
Carlotta.

Pope Francis
Carlotta.  Tell me Carlotta, I want to turn the question and ask you: what do you think?  People who are not baptized, are they children of God or are they not children of God?  What does your heart tell you?

Carlotta
Yes.

Pope Francis
Yes.  Ok, now i will explain.  You answered well, with a Christian flair!  We are all children of God.  All of us, all of us.  Even those who are not baptized?  Yes.  Even those who believe in other religions, those who are distant, who have other idols?  Yes, we are children of God.  Even the mafiosi are children of God? ... You are not sure ... Yes, even the mafiosi are children of God.  They would rather act like children of the devil, but they are children of God.  Everyone, everyone is a child of God, everyone.  But what is the difference?  God created everything, he loved everything and he placed in everyone's heart a conscience so that we could recognize good and distinguish it from evil.  Every person has this.  Every person knows, every person can perceive what is good and what is healthy; even people who do not know Jesus, who do not know Christianity, everyone has this ability in their souls, because God gave us this ability.  But when you were baptized, the Holy Spirit entered into your conscience and strengthened your belonging to God, and in that sense you became more a child of God, because you are a child of God just like everyone else, but also with the strength of the Holy Spirit who entered into your heart.  Do you understand, Carlotta?  Now, I want to ask all of you, and everyone respond: is every person a child of God?

Children
Yes!

Pope Francis
Good people are children of God?

Children
Yes!

Pope Francis
Bad people are children of God?

Children
Yes!

Pope Francis
Yes.  Even people who do not know God and those who have other religions, those who are distant, those who have idols, are we all children of God?

Children
Yes!

Pope Francis
The mafia, are they children of God?

Children
Yes.

Pope Francis
And we have to pray for them, that they return to God and truly recognize him!  Now, no one respond, but reply in your hearts: who among you is praying for the mafia, for their conversion?  Everyone respond in your heart.  Then, when we are baptized, who enters into our hearts? ... Louder!

Children
The Holy Spirit!



Pope Francis
Good!  You are very good!  What is your name?

Lorenzo
Lorenzo.

Pope Francis
Good Lorenzo!  The Holy Spirit enters, and this Holy Spirit makes us more the children of God, he gives us more strength to act like children of God.  This is the reason why Saint Paul has a phrase, and I want you to say it out loud with me.  Say: Do not grieve the Holy Spirit within you.  Why does he use these words?  Because a Christian, someone who is baptized and then behaves badly, is grieving the Holy Spirit within us.  The phrase is this: Do not grieve the Holy Spirit within you.  Can we say that together?

Pope Francis together with the children
Do not grieve the Holy Spirit within you.

Pope Francis
Once more!

Pope Francis together with the children
Do not grieve the Holy Spirit within you.

Pope Francis
And we, children of God, who through our Baptism have received the Holy Spirit within us, when we behave badly, when we commit a sin, we grieve the Holy Spirit within us.  Thank you Carlotta!


III. Edoardo
Dear Pope Francis, how did you feel when they elected you Pope?

Pope Francis
What is your name?

Edoardo
Edoardo.

Pope Francis
Edoardo, good.  I felt only that God wanted that, I got up and kept going.  I didn't feel anything spectacular, but maybe, this response seems a bit boring, but I wasn't afraid, I didn't feel any special joy.  I felt like the Lord wanted it, and I kept going, Edoardo.  Many times, the Lord is calling.  I met one of you who is discerning a vocation because you are hearing the Lord saying something to you inside.  Wen the Lord calls and says to you: Now, you go there, he gives you peace.  This is what we feel inside when there is a true call from God: peace.  I felt peace.  Thank you, Edoardo.

IV. Emanuele
I can't do it! ...

Pope Francis
Come, come here to me Emanuele!  Come here to me and whisper in my ear.  Whisper in my ear.  Come, come, come to me.

(Emanuele goes to Pope Francis and whispers her question in his ear)

Pope Francis
Maybe all of us would cry like Emanuele if we had pain in our hearts like she does.  She was crying for her father and she had the courage to do it in front of all of us, because in her heart, she loves her daddy.  I asked Emanuele for her permission to repeat her question in public and she told me yes.  So, I repeat: A short time ago, my daddy died.  He was an atheist but he had all four of his children baptized.  He was a good man.  Is daddy in heaven?  How beautiful it is for a child to say of her father: He was good.  What a beautiful witness that man gave to his children, now his children can say of him: He was a good man.  This is a beautiful testimony from a child who has inherited the strength of her father and, also, who has had the courage to cry in front of all of us.  If this man was able to create such children, it's true, he was a good man.  He was a good man.  That man did not have the gift of faith, he was not a believer, but he had his children baptized.  He had a good heart.  And she has a doubt that daddy, because he was not a believer, might not be in heaven.  The only one who says who gets to go to heaven is God.  But can we imagine the heart of God before that daddy?  What do you think? ... A daddy's heart!  God has the heart of a daddy.  And before a daddy, who didn't believe, but who was capable of having his children baptized and of giving that skill to his children, do you think that God would be able to leave that person far away from himself?  Think about it ... Speak loudly, be courageous ...

Everyone
No!

Pope Francis
Does God abandon his children?

Everyone
No!

Pope Francis
Does God abandon his children when they are good?

Everyone
No!

Pope Francis
There, Emanuele, there's your response.  Surely, God was proud of your daddy, because it is easier to be a believer, to have children baptized, than it is for a non-believer to have his children baptized.  Surely, this pleased God very much.  Speak with your daddy, pray to him.  Thank you Emanuele for your courage.

We spoke about a father, and our father is God.  Let us all pray to our Father, God.

Our Father ...

And now, I will bless you.  Every one of you, think about someone who you love, about someone who loves you, about someone who we all love, and also about those who we don't love, or those who are our enemies.  Let us also pray for them, ask God to bless even them.  May God bless us all and enlighten our hearts.

(Blessing)


Meeting with the elderly and the poor
in the parish hall

Father Roberto Cassano, Pastor
Your Holiness, we are - to paraphrase Saint Lawrence - before the treasure of Saint Paul of the Cross, of our parish: the poor and the elderly.  We have 100 families who help every month to prepare a package, thanks also to the support of the Knights of Malta, who have accepted the task of helping the poor; we help them whenever possible, in all kinds of material ways, with their bills and things like that, but also in immaterial ways, for example: we try to provide necessities from a psychological point of view whenever necessary, or simply a time to chat because one of the main problems in this parish is the loneliness experienced by the elderly.  And since this is a neighbourhood that is becoming increasingly elderly, we are in the greater majority.  Unfortunately, we could only invite a representative group: there are only 100 people here.  I give the floor to you, Your Holiness.

Pope Francis
I was just with the young: they were inquisitive, they asked questions.  Now I am with you, you are quieter ... Let us go on, slowly, because life has taught us, we have experience.  Someone says that young people run, but the elderly know, we know the way.  And you know the paths of life: many good paths, some others are not so good, there is also suffering, and there are things we have to do without ... The Lord loves you, and what the parish is doing with you, is a duty, a duty.  Because the people who are more in need are the focus of the parish and at the centre of the gospel.  For this reason, what your pastor has said makes me happy, the work that is being done with you.  I know that all of you have problems, illnesses, pains, spiritual problems, problems in your families, many things that we all know.  Everyone has his or her own pains, everyone has his or her own wounds, all of us.  But these should never cut us off from hope, from joy, because Jesus came to pay for our wounds with his own wounds.  This is a joy: Jesus paid for us, he is close to us, he loves us and when we are focused on our pains, our problems, let us think about the problems and the pains of Jesus, with which he has paid for all of us; and let us keep going.  And let us also do good for others: we can all do good, all of us.  Let us begin with prayer, praying for others, and also with doing good for others.  Everyone.  And let us do this with joy, the joy of being Christians.  Thank you for coming to the parish.  Your pastor said that you are the treasure of the parish.  Keep it up!

Let us pray and ask Our Lady to take care of this treasure.

Hail Mary ....

(Blessing)

And pray for e, please!  Pray for me, not against me! (laughter)


Parting words of the Holy Father, Pope Francis
before his return to the Vatican

Thank you very much for your company, for being here.  Thank you.

Thank you very much for your welcome and for the things you have shown me today.  I carry you in my heart and I promise to pray for you; and, you too, I ask you to pray for me.

Let's keep on going, keep up the good work.  We all need each other, all of us.  Together, let's keep going.  Sins?  We all have them.  Do you want to serve Jesus and to be good?  We all have this desire.  Let's keep going.  The Lord is always waiting for us with love, mercy and ready to make us young again.

Now, if you wish, we can pray to Our Lady and then I will give you my blessing.

Hail Mary ...

(Blessing)

Have a good evening!

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