At noon today in Rome (6:00am EDT), the Holy Father, Pope Francis led the recitation of the Angelus prayer from the Library inside the Vatican Apostolic Palace.
Dear brothers and sisters, good morning!
The Gospel for this fifth Sunday of Lent is that of the raising of Lazarus (cf Jn 11: 1-45). Lazarus was the brother of Marta and Maria; they were very close to Jesus. When he arrived in Bethany, Lazarus had been dead for four days; Martha ran to meet the Master and said to him: If you had been here, my brother would not have died! (Jn 11: 21). Jesus replied: Your brother will rise (Jn 11: 23); and added: I am the resurrection and the life; whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live (Jn 11: 25). Jesus showed himself as the Lord of life, the One who is capable of giving life even to the dead. Then Mary and other people arrived, all in tears, and then Jesus - the Gospel tells us - was deeply moved and ... burst into tears" (Jn 11: 33, 35). With this disturbance in his heart, he went to the grave, thanked the Father who always listens to him, opened the grave and shouted loudly: Lazarus, come out! (Jn 11: 43). And Lazarus came out with his feet and hands tied with bandages, and his face wrapped in a shroud (Jn 11: 44).
Here we touch with our hands, the truth that God not only is life and that He gives life, but He takes on the drama of death. Jesus could have avoided the death of his friend Lazarus, but he wanted to make our pain for the death of loved ones his own, and above all he wanted to show us God's dominion over death. In this Gospel passage we see that the faith of man and the omnipotence of God - of the love of God - are both sought and finally meet. It is like a double path: the faith of man and the omnipotence of the love of God that is sought and eventually met. We see this in the cry of Martha and Mary and all of us with them: If you had been here! ... And God's response is not a speech, no, God's response to the problem of death is Jesus: I am the resurrection and the life ... Have faith! In the midst of crying, you can continue to have faith, even if death seems to have won. Remove the stone from your heart! Let the Word of God bring life back to where there is death.
Even today Jesus repeats these words to us: Remove the stone. God did not create us for the grave, he created us for life: to be beautiful, good, joyful. But death entered the world through the devil's envy (Wis 2: 24), says the Book of Wisdom, and Jesus Christ came to free us from his snares.
Therefore, we are called to remove the stones of everything that tastes of death: for example, the hypocrisy with which faith is lived is death; destructive criticism of others is death; offense, slander is death; the marginalization of the poor is death. The Lord asks us to remove these stones from our hearts, and then life will flourish around us again. Christ is alive, and whoever welcomes him and follows to him comes into contact with life. Without Christ, or outside of Christ, not only is life not present, but we fall back into death.
The resurrection of Lazarus is also a sign of the re-creation that takes place in the believer through the Sacrament of Baptism, with our full inclusion into the Paschal Mystery of Christ. By the action and strength of the Holy Spirit, the Christian is a person who walks through life like a new creature: a creature for life and one who goes towards life.
May the Virgin Mary help us to be compassionate like her Son Jesus, who made our pain his own. May each of us be close to those who are facing trials, becoming for them a reflection of the love and tenderness of God, who frees us from death and makes life win.
Following the recitation of the Angelus, the Holy Father continued:
Dear brothers and sisters,
In recent days, the Secretary General of the United Nations has launched an appeal for a global and immediate ceasefire in all corners of the world, recalling the current emergency for COVID-19, which knows no borders. A call for a total ceasefire.
I join all those who have accepted this appeal and I invite everyone to follow up by stopping all forms of war and hostility, promoting the creation of corridors for humanitarian aid, openness to diplomacy and attention to those in a greater situations of vulnerability.
The joint commitment against the pandemic can lead everyone to recognize our need to strengthen fraternal bonds as members of a single family. In particular, it arouses a renewed commitment to overcoming rivalries among the leaders of nations and other stakeholders. Conflicts are not resolved through war! It is necessary to overcome antagonisms and contrasts, through dialogue and a constructive search for peace.
At this moment my thoughts go in a special way to all the people who are suffering from the vulnerability of being forced to live in a group: retirement homes, barracks ... In particular, I would like to mention people in prisons. I read an official memo from the Human Rights Commission that talks about the problem of overcrowded prisons, which could become a tragedy. I ask the authorities to be sensitive to this serious problem and to take the necessary measures to avoid future tragedies.
I wish you all a good Sunday. Please, don't forget to pray for me; I am also praying for you. Enjoy your lunch and good bye.
Testo originale nella lingua italiana
Greetings of the Holy Father, Pope Francis
prior to the recitation of the Angelus
Dear brothers and sisters, good morning!
The Gospel for this fifth Sunday of Lent is that of the raising of Lazarus (cf Jn 11: 1-45). Lazarus was the brother of Marta and Maria; they were very close to Jesus. When he arrived in Bethany, Lazarus had been dead for four days; Martha ran to meet the Master and said to him: If you had been here, my brother would not have died! (Jn 11: 21). Jesus replied: Your brother will rise (Jn 11: 23); and added: I am the resurrection and the life; whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live (Jn 11: 25). Jesus showed himself as the Lord of life, the One who is capable of giving life even to the dead. Then Mary and other people arrived, all in tears, and then Jesus - the Gospel tells us - was deeply moved and ... burst into tears" (Jn 11: 33, 35). With this disturbance in his heart, he went to the grave, thanked the Father who always listens to him, opened the grave and shouted loudly: Lazarus, come out! (Jn 11: 43). And Lazarus came out with his feet and hands tied with bandages, and his face wrapped in a shroud (Jn 11: 44).
Here we touch with our hands, the truth that God not only is life and that He gives life, but He takes on the drama of death. Jesus could have avoided the death of his friend Lazarus, but he wanted to make our pain for the death of loved ones his own, and above all he wanted to show us God's dominion over death. In this Gospel passage we see that the faith of man and the omnipotence of God - of the love of God - are both sought and finally meet. It is like a double path: the faith of man and the omnipotence of the love of God that is sought and eventually met. We see this in the cry of Martha and Mary and all of us with them: If you had been here! ... And God's response is not a speech, no, God's response to the problem of death is Jesus: I am the resurrection and the life ... Have faith! In the midst of crying, you can continue to have faith, even if death seems to have won. Remove the stone from your heart! Let the Word of God bring life back to where there is death.
Even today Jesus repeats these words to us: Remove the stone. God did not create us for the grave, he created us for life: to be beautiful, good, joyful. But death entered the world through the devil's envy (Wis 2: 24), says the Book of Wisdom, and Jesus Christ came to free us from his snares.
Therefore, we are called to remove the stones of everything that tastes of death: for example, the hypocrisy with which faith is lived is death; destructive criticism of others is death; offense, slander is death; the marginalization of the poor is death. The Lord asks us to remove these stones from our hearts, and then life will flourish around us again. Christ is alive, and whoever welcomes him and follows to him comes into contact with life. Without Christ, or outside of Christ, not only is life not present, but we fall back into death.
The resurrection of Lazarus is also a sign of the re-creation that takes place in the believer through the Sacrament of Baptism, with our full inclusion into the Paschal Mystery of Christ. By the action and strength of the Holy Spirit, the Christian is a person who walks through life like a new creature: a creature for life and one who goes towards life.
May the Virgin Mary help us to be compassionate like her Son Jesus, who made our pain his own. May each of us be close to those who are facing trials, becoming for them a reflection of the love and tenderness of God, who frees us from death and makes life win.
Following the recitation of the Angelus, the Holy Father continued:
Dear brothers and sisters,
In recent days, the Secretary General of the United Nations has launched an appeal for a global and immediate ceasefire in all corners of the world, recalling the current emergency for COVID-19, which knows no borders. A call for a total ceasefire.
The joint commitment against the pandemic can lead everyone to recognize our need to strengthen fraternal bonds as members of a single family. In particular, it arouses a renewed commitment to overcoming rivalries among the leaders of nations and other stakeholders. Conflicts are not resolved through war! It is necessary to overcome antagonisms and contrasts, through dialogue and a constructive search for peace.
At this moment my thoughts go in a special way to all the people who are suffering from the vulnerability of being forced to live in a group: retirement homes, barracks ... In particular, I would like to mention people in prisons. I read an official memo from the Human Rights Commission that talks about the problem of overcrowded prisons, which could become a tragedy. I ask the authorities to be sensitive to this serious problem and to take the necessary measures to avoid future tragedies.
I wish you all a good Sunday. Please, don't forget to pray for me; I am also praying for you. Enjoy your lunch and good bye.
Testo originale nella lingua italiana
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