Saturday, March 23, 2013

Praying with the gardeners



Pope Francis celebrated Mass yesterday with employees of the gardening and cleaning services of the Vatican City State, giving them a brief homily on charity toward our brothers and sisters.


According to a report filed in l'Osservatore Romano, during the homily, the Holy Father told the gathered assembly: When we have a heart of stone, it happens that we pick up real stones and stone Jesus Christ in the person of our brothers and sisters, especially the weakest of them.  The gospel prescribed for yesterday's Mass (Jn 10:31-42) recounts the story of Jews who picked up rocks and wanted to stone Jesus.

His Holiness celebrated the Mass in the chapel of the Domus Sanctae Marthae.  Concelebrating with him were Cardinal Raul Eduardo Vela Chiriboga, Archbishop-emeritus of Quito, Equador; Archbishop Lorenzo Baldisseri, Secretary of the College of Cardinals and of the Congregation for Bishops; Monsignor Alfred Xuereb and Monsignor Battista Ricca, director of the Domus Sanctae Marthae.

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