For the very first time, Pope Francis' daily Mass, celebrated at the Casa Santa Marta was streamed live. At a time when public Masses are being cancelled for weeks and when many people are being quarantined in Italy, the Holy Father wishes to celebrate Mass with everyone who cannot leave their homes.
Pope Francis is offering his private daily Mass at his residence in the Casa Santa Marta for the victims of Coronavirus. At these daily Masses, Pope Francis normally welcome a small group of the faithful, but due to recent measures’ taken by the Vatican, they are now being kept private, without the participation of the faithful from outside the Vatican.
Recently, the Vatican announced the Pope would have the Masses, in this period, available to all the world’s faithful, via streaming on Vatican Media, on weekdays, at 7:00am local time in Rome (1:00am EST). This comes at a time when the Italian Bishops’ Conference has cancelled public Masses throughout the nation, until at least April 3rd, following guidelines put out by Italian authorities.
At the beginning of today’s Mass, the Holy Father expressed his closeness to those suffering, the elderly, and all those working to contain and cure the virus. He gave special words of appreciation for all the doctors, healthcare workers and volunteers.
In his homily, the Holy Father reflected on confession and how important it is that when we confess, we do not just go in with a list of sins, but that we have true shame for our sins, and wish to make an entirely new start.
In addition to Santa Marta, the Vatican is taking other steps to discourage crowds and keep people safe. They are televising the Pope giving privately, from the papal library, his weekly Angelus and General Audience addresses. Moreover, the Vatican Museums are now closed, along with the Vatican’s other similar museums. There have also been various guidelines implemented throughout the Vatican, to prevent the spread of the virus.
To date, one person, an external visitor, has been tested positive for Coronavirus in the Vatican. The five people the individual had contact with, are being quarantined.
During these days, I will offer Mass for the sick, those who are suffering because of this coronavirus epidemic, for the doctors, the nurses, the volunteers who are helping so many others, for families, for the elderly who live in retirement homes and for prisoners who are hidden away. This week, let us offer this special prayer together:
Save me O Lord and show me mercy.
My foot is on the right path;
in the assembly, let us bless the Lord (Ps 26: 11-12).
The first reading from the prophet Daniel is a confession of sins. The people recognize that they have sinned. They recognize that the Lord has been faithful to us, but we have sinned. We have sinned, been wicked and done evil; we have rebelled and departed from your commandments and your laws. We have not obeyed your servants the prophets, who spoke in your name to our kings, our princes, our fathers, and all the people of the land ( ). It is a confession of sins, to recognize that we have sinned.
When we are preparing to receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation, we have to do what is called an examination of conscience, and see what we have done in the eyes of God: we have sinned. To recognize that I have sinned. This recognition of sin cannot merely be the exercise of making a mental list of sins, and then reciting them to the priest so that the priest can forgive me. We shouldn't do this; it isn't right that we should do this. This would be like making a list of things that I should do, or things that I should see, or things that I have done wrong ... but then leaving them in our heads. A true confession of sins should come from our hearts.
Going to Confession is not merely a matter of reciting a list to the priest: I have done this and this, and this and this and this ... and then we leave thinking that we have been forgiven. We want to take a step, another step by making a confession of our sufferings from the heart, so that the list that we have made, of the bad things can descend from our minds into our hearts. This is what the prophet Daniel is doing: Justice, O Lord, is on your side; we are ashamed ... ( ).
When I remember that I have sinned, that I have not behaved well, and when I feel this in the heart, this is the feeling of shame: I am ashamed of having done this. I ask forgiveness, with shame. It is a grace to be ashamed of our sins. We should ask for this grace: Lord, may I be ashamed. Someone who has lost a sense of shame loses moral authority, loses respect for other people ... the same is true of the relationship we have with God. Justice, O Lord, is on your side; we are shamefaced even to his day: we, the men of Judah, the residents of Jerusalem, and all Israel, near and far, in all the countries to which you have scattered them because of their treachery toward you ( ). First, we recognize justice, then we can experience mercy.
When we not only have a memory of the sins that we have committed, but also the sentiment of shame, this touches God's heart and God responds with mercy. The journey that leads us to encounter God's mercy is the recognition of our shame, motivated by terrible things, bad things that we have done. So when I go to confession, I will not only recite a list of sins, but also my sentiments of confusion, of shame for having done all of it and God is so good, so merciful, so just.
Today, let us ask for the grace of shame, so that we might know our sins. May the Lord grant this grace to all of us.
Pope Francis is offering his private daily Mass at his residence in the Casa Santa Marta for the victims of Coronavirus. At these daily Masses, Pope Francis normally welcome a small group of the faithful, but due to recent measures’ taken by the Vatican, they are now being kept private, without the participation of the faithful from outside the Vatican.
Recently, the Vatican announced the Pope would have the Masses, in this period, available to all the world’s faithful, via streaming on Vatican Media, on weekdays, at 7:00am local time in Rome (1:00am EST). This comes at a time when the Italian Bishops’ Conference has cancelled public Masses throughout the nation, until at least April 3rd, following guidelines put out by Italian authorities.
At the beginning of today’s Mass, the Holy Father expressed his closeness to those suffering, the elderly, and all those working to contain and cure the virus. He gave special words of appreciation for all the doctors, healthcare workers and volunteers.
In his homily, the Holy Father reflected on confession and how important it is that when we confess, we do not just go in with a list of sins, but that we have true shame for our sins, and wish to make an entirely new start.
In addition to Santa Marta, the Vatican is taking other steps to discourage crowds and keep people safe. They are televising the Pope giving privately, from the papal library, his weekly Angelus and General Audience addresses. Moreover, the Vatican Museums are now closed, along with the Vatican’s other similar museums. There have also been various guidelines implemented throughout the Vatican, to prevent the spread of the virus.
To date, one person, an external visitor, has been tested positive for Coronavirus in the Vatican. The five people the individual had contact with, are being quarantined.
Greetings of the Holy Father, Pope Francis
prior to the beginning of the Mass
During these days, I will offer Mass for the sick, those who are suffering because of this coronavirus epidemic, for the doctors, the nurses, the volunteers who are helping so many others, for families, for the elderly who live in retirement homes and for prisoners who are hidden away. This week, let us offer this special prayer together:
Save me O Lord and show me mercy.
My foot is on the right path;
in the assembly, let us bless the Lord (Ps 26: 11-12).
Homily of the Holy Father, Pope Francis
during the Mass celebrated on 9 March 2020
The first reading from the prophet Daniel is a confession of sins. The people recognize that they have sinned. They recognize that the Lord has been faithful to us, but we have sinned. We have sinned, been wicked and done evil; we have rebelled and departed from your commandments and your laws. We have not obeyed your servants the prophets, who spoke in your name to our kings, our princes, our fathers, and all the people of the land ( ). It is a confession of sins, to recognize that we have sinned.
When we are preparing to receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation, we have to do what is called an examination of conscience, and see what we have done in the eyes of God: we have sinned. To recognize that I have sinned. This recognition of sin cannot merely be the exercise of making a mental list of sins, and then reciting them to the priest so that the priest can forgive me. We shouldn't do this; it isn't right that we should do this. This would be like making a list of things that I should do, or things that I should see, or things that I have done wrong ... but then leaving them in our heads. A true confession of sins should come from our hearts.
Going to Confession is not merely a matter of reciting a list to the priest: I have done this and this, and this and this and this ... and then we leave thinking that we have been forgiven. We want to take a step, another step by making a confession of our sufferings from the heart, so that the list that we have made, of the bad things can descend from our minds into our hearts. This is what the prophet Daniel is doing: Justice, O Lord, is on your side; we are ashamed ... ( ).
When I remember that I have sinned, that I have not behaved well, and when I feel this in the heart, this is the feeling of shame: I am ashamed of having done this. I ask forgiveness, with shame. It is a grace to be ashamed of our sins. We should ask for this grace: Lord, may I be ashamed. Someone who has lost a sense of shame loses moral authority, loses respect for other people ... the same is true of the relationship we have with God. Justice, O Lord, is on your side; we are shamefaced even to his day: we, the men of Judah, the residents of Jerusalem, and all Israel, near and far, in all the countries to which you have scattered them because of their treachery toward you ( ). First, we recognize justice, then we can experience mercy.
When we not only have a memory of the sins that we have committed, but also the sentiment of shame, this touches God's heart and God responds with mercy. The journey that leads us to encounter God's mercy is the recognition of our shame, motivated by terrible things, bad things that we have done. So when I go to confession, I will not only recite a list of sins, but also my sentiments of confusion, of shame for having done all of it and God is so good, so merciful, so just.
Today, let us ask for the grace of shame, so that we might know our sins. May the Lord grant this grace to all of us.
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