On the forgiveness of sins

Today's General Audience was held in Saint Peter's Square beginning at 10:15.  The Holy Father met there with groups of pilgrims and the faithful who had come from all parts of Italy and from various parts of the world.

During his discourse, spoken in Italian, the Pope focused his meditation on the forgiveness of sins.

Following the syntheses of the catechesis in various languages, His Holiness greeted the pilgrims and visitors according to their language groups.  He then issued a call on the occasion of Pro Orantibus Day which will be observed tomorrow, November 21, and a call for the International Year of the Rural Family which will be inaugurated by the United Nations on Friday, November 22.

The General Audience concluded with the singing of the Pater Noster and the imparting of the Apostolic Blessing.

Catechesis of His Holiness, Pope Francis

for the General Audience

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Last Wednesday I spoke about the forgiveness of sins, referred in a particular way to Baptism. Today we continue with the subject of the forgiveness of sins, but in reference to the so-called “power of the keys,” which is a biblical symbol of the mission that Jesus gave to the Apostles.

First of all we must remember that the protagonist of the forgiveness of sins is the Holy Spirit. In his first apparition to the Apostles, in the Cenacle, the Risen Jesus made the gesture of breathing on them saying: “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained” (John 20:22-23). Jesus, transfigured in his body, is now the new man who offers the paschal gifts, fruit of his Death and Resurrection: What are these gifts? Peace, joy, the forgiveness of sin, the mission but above all he gives the Holy Spirit who is the source of all this. Jesus’ breath, accompanied by the words with which he communicates the Spirit, indicates the transmission of life, the new life regenerated by forgiveness.

However before doing the gesture of breathing and giving the Spirit, Jesus shows his wounds, in his hands and on his side: these wounds are the price of our salvation. The Holy Spirit brings us God’s forgiveness “passing through” Jesus’ wounds. These wounds that He wished to preserve: even in this moment He is in Heaven and showing the Father the wounds which have saved us. Through the strength of these wounds, our sins are forgiven:this is how Jesus has given his life for our peace, for our joy, for the gift of the grace in our soul, for the forgiveness of our sins. And it is very beautiful to see Jesus this way!

And we come to the second element: Jesus gives the Apostles the power of forgiving sins; It is a bit difficult to understand how a man can forgive sins, but Jesus gives this power. The Church is depository of the power of the keys,of either opening or closing forgiveness. God forgives every man in His sovereign mercy, but He himself willed that all those who belong to Christ and to his Church, should receive forgiveness through the ministers of the Community. God’s mercy reaches me through the apostolic ministry, my faults are forgiven and joy is given to me. Thus Jesus calls us to live reconciliation also in the ecclesial, communitarian dimension. And this is very beautiful. The Church, which is holy and at the same time needy of penance, accompanies our journey of conversion for the whole of life. The Church is not owner of the power of the keys, she is not owner, but servant of the ministry of mercy and rejoices every time that she can offer this divine gift.

Many persons, perhaps, do not understand the ecclesial dimension of forgiveness, because individualism and subjectivism prevail, and we Christians also resent it. God certainly forgives personally every sinner who is repentant, but the Christian is tied to Christ, and Christ is united to the Church. For us Christians there is another gift, and it is also an added commitment: to pass humbly through the ecclesial ministry. We should value this; it is a gift, a cure, a protection and also a security that God has forgiven me. I go to a brother priest and I say, “Father, I have done this…” And he responds: “But I forgive you; God forgives you.” In that moment, I am sure that God has forgiven me! And this is beautiful, this is having that security that God always forgives us, he does not tire of forgiving. And we should not tire of going to ask forgiveness. It may be embarrassing to tell our sins, but as our mothers and grandmothers would say, it is better to become red (blushed) one time than yellow a thousand times. You become red once, but then we come forgiven of our sins and we go forward.

Finally, a last point: the priest instrument for the forgiveness of sins. The forgiveness of God which is given to us in the Church, is transmitted to us through the ministry of a brother of ours, the priest; a man, who like us is in need of mercy, becomes truly instrument of mercy, giving us the unbounded love of God the Father ….Yes, as I said earlier, God always listens to you, but in the Sacrament of Reconciliation he sends a brother to bring you forgiveness, the security of forgiveness in the name of the Church.

The service that the priest gives as minister, on behalf of God, to forgive sins is very delicate, a very delicate service, and calls for his heart to be in peace; that he not mistreat the faithful, but that he be meek, benevolent and merciful; that he be able to sow hope in hearts and, above all, that he be aware that the brother or sister who approaches the Sacrament of Reconciliation seeks forgiveness and does so as so many people approached Jesus to be healed. For the priest who does not have this disposition of spirit, it is better that, until he corrects himself, he does not administer this Sacrament. Do the penitent faithful have the duty? No! They have the right to find in priests servants of God’s forgiveness.

Dear brothers, as members of the Church, are we aware of this gift that God Himself offers us? Do we feel the joy of this healing, of this maternal care that the Church has for us? Are we able to appreciate it with simplicity and assiduity? Let us not forget that God never tires of forgiving us; through the ministry of the priest He clasps us in a new embrace that regenerates us and enables us to rise again and take up our journey again. Because this is our life: to continually rise up and return on the path. 

Thank you.

To the English-speaking pilgrims present in Saint Peter's Square, the Holy Father said:

I offer an affectionate greeting to all the English-speaking pilgrims and visitors present at today’s Audience, including those from England, Wales, Korea and the United States of America. Upon all of you, I invoke God’s blessings of peace and joy!

Following the greetings issued in various languages, the Holy Father continued:

Tomorrow, November 21, the liturgical memorial of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the Temple, Pro Orantibus Day will also be observed, dedicated to the memory of cloistered religious communities.  This is an opportune occasion to thank the Lord for the gift of so many people who, in monasteries and hermitages, dedicate themselves to God in prayer and in perpetual silence. Let us give thanks to God for the witness of cloistered life and let us not forget to offer our brothers and sisters our spiritual and material support, so that they might accomplish their important mission.

On November 22, the United Nations will inaugurate the International Year of the Rural Family, at the same time highlighting the fact that agricultural economy and rural development find in the family a cooperation that is respectful of creation and attentive to concrete necessities.  Also in work, the family is a model of fraternity which lives an experience of unity and solidarity among all its members, with a concentrated sensitivity toward those who are most in need of assistance or help, intervening to stop the possibility of social conflict even at its source.  For these reasons, while expressing compassion for these opportune initiatives, I hope that they will contribute toward validating the innumerable benefits that the family contributes toward the economic, social, cultural and moral growth of the entire human community.