At noon today, the Holy Father, Pope Francis appeared at the window of his apartment in the Vatican Apostolic Palace to recite the Angelus along with the faithful and with pilgrims who had gathered in Saint Peter's Square for his weekly meeting.
Dear brothers and sisters, good morning.
This Sunday, the liturgy proposes a few gospel parables, brief narrations which Jesus used to proclaim the Kingdom of heaven to the crowds. Among those which are spoken of in today's gospel, there is one which is rather complex, one which Jesus explains to his disciples: the one about the wheat and the weeds, which addresses the problem of evil in the world and underscores God's patience (cf Mt 13:24-30, 36-43). The scene takes place in a field where the master is sowing good seed, but one night an enemy arrives and sows weeds, a term which comes from the same Hebrew root as the name Satan, and which refers to the concept of division. Everyone knows that the demon is divisive, one who seeks to divide people, families and nations from one another. The servants immediately want to tear out the weeds, but the master prevents them, saying: This cannot be done, because if you pull up the weeds, you might uproot the wheat along with it (Mt 13:29). We all know that when weeds sprout and grow, they can look so much like wheat - that it is very easy to confuse the two.
There is a double meaning to this parable. First, it tells us that evil in the world doesn't come from God, but from his enemy, the Evil One. This is curious, the devil sows his weeds at night, in darkness, in the midst of confusion; he goes to places where there is no light in order to sow his weeds. The devil is smart: he has sown evil alongside the good, and this is why it is impossible for us to easily separate evil from good; but in the end, God is capable of dividing one from another.
We come now to the second theme: the contrast between the impatience of the servants and the patience of the proprietor of the field, who represents God. We are sometimes in a great hurry to judge, to classify, to separate good things from bad things ... But we should always remember the prayer of the proud man: O God, I thank you that I am good, that I am not like other men who are sinners ... (cf. Lk: 18:11-12). On the other hand, God knows how to wait. He watches over the field that is every person's life with patience and mercy: he sees much better than we, all the dirt and evil, but he also sees the possibilities for good that sprout, and he waits patiently for them to grow. God is patient, he knows how to wait. How beautiful this is: our God is a patient father, who always waits and who is always ready to welcome us, to forgive us. He will always forgive us if we go to Him.
The master's attitude is one of hope founded on the certainty that evil has neither the first nor the last word. It is thanks to God's patient hope that the weeds, that is to say the heart that is weighed down with sin, can also become good grain in the end. But be careful: gospel patience is not the same as indifference to evil; we should never confuse good with evil! Confronted with all the weeds that are present in our world, the disciple of Jesus is called to imitate God's patience, feeding hope with the support of an unshakable faith in the ultimate victory of good which is a gift from God.
As a matter of fact, in the end, evil will be removed, eliminated: at harvest time, that is at the time of the final judgement, the reapers will carry out the master's orders, separating the weeds and burning them (cf. Mt 13:30). On the day of the final harvest, the judge will be Jesus, the One who sowed the good seed in the world and who himself became a grain of wheat, when he died and rose again. Ultimately, we will all be judged by the same standards that we ourselves have judged: the mercy that we have shown toward others will also be used on us. Let us ask Our Lady, our Mother, to help us grow in patience, in hope and in mercy toward all our brothers and sisters.
Following the recitation of the Angelus, the Holy Father continued:
Dear brothers and sisters,
I have been preoccupied by the news I've been hearing about the Christian community in Mossul (Iraq) and in other parts of the Middle East where from the very beginning of Christianity, they have lived with their fellow citizens, offering a significant contribution to the good of society. Today, they are being persecuted; our brothers and sisters are being persecuted, they are being driven out, they have to leave their homes without even the possibility of taking anything along with them. To these families and these persons, I want to express my closeness and my constant prayer. Dear brothers and sisters who are suffering so much persecution, I know how much you are suffering, I know that you have been stripped of everything. I am united with you in faith in Him who has won victory over evil! And to you, here in the square, and all of you who are watching on television, I want to invite you to remember these Christian communities in your prayers. I also urge you to persevere in prayer for the situations of tension and conflict which persist in various parts of the world, especially in the Middle East and in Ukraine. May the God of peace inspire in all people an authentic desire for dialogue and reconciliation. Violence can never be overcome by violence. Violence can only be overcome by peace! Let us pray in silence, asking for peace; everyone, in silence ... Mary, Queen of peace, pray for us!
I wish to greet all of you, pilgrims from various parts of Italy and from other countries.
I greet the choir from the Diocese of Killala (Ireland), the Benedictine Sisters of Divine Providence and the Sisters of Charity of Santa Giovanna Antida, the faithful from Pescara and Villanova in Padua, the young people from Messina and the children who are spending their summer holidays in Tivoli. Please, don't forget to pray for me. I wish you all a good Sunday, and a good lunch. Good bye!
Greetings of the Holy Father, Pope Francis
prior to the recitation of the Angelus
Dear brothers and sisters, good morning.
This Sunday, the liturgy proposes a few gospel parables, brief narrations which Jesus used to proclaim the Kingdom of heaven to the crowds. Among those which are spoken of in today's gospel, there is one which is rather complex, one which Jesus explains to his disciples: the one about the wheat and the weeds, which addresses the problem of evil in the world and underscores God's patience (cf Mt 13:24-30, 36-43). The scene takes place in a field where the master is sowing good seed, but one night an enemy arrives and sows weeds, a term which comes from the same Hebrew root as the name Satan, and which refers to the concept of division. Everyone knows that the demon is divisive, one who seeks to divide people, families and nations from one another. The servants immediately want to tear out the weeds, but the master prevents them, saying: This cannot be done, because if you pull up the weeds, you might uproot the wheat along with it (Mt 13:29). We all know that when weeds sprout and grow, they can look so much like wheat - that it is very easy to confuse the two.
There is a double meaning to this parable. First, it tells us that evil in the world doesn't come from God, but from his enemy, the Evil One. This is curious, the devil sows his weeds at night, in darkness, in the midst of confusion; he goes to places where there is no light in order to sow his weeds. The devil is smart: he has sown evil alongside the good, and this is why it is impossible for us to easily separate evil from good; but in the end, God is capable of dividing one from another.
We come now to the second theme: the contrast between the impatience of the servants and the patience of the proprietor of the field, who represents God. We are sometimes in a great hurry to judge, to classify, to separate good things from bad things ... But we should always remember the prayer of the proud man: O God, I thank you that I am good, that I am not like other men who are sinners ... (cf. Lk: 18:11-12). On the other hand, God knows how to wait. He watches over the field that is every person's life with patience and mercy: he sees much better than we, all the dirt and evil, but he also sees the possibilities for good that sprout, and he waits patiently for them to grow. God is patient, he knows how to wait. How beautiful this is: our God is a patient father, who always waits and who is always ready to welcome us, to forgive us. He will always forgive us if we go to Him.
The master's attitude is one of hope founded on the certainty that evil has neither the first nor the last word. It is thanks to God's patient hope that the weeds, that is to say the heart that is weighed down with sin, can also become good grain in the end. But be careful: gospel patience is not the same as indifference to evil; we should never confuse good with evil! Confronted with all the weeds that are present in our world, the disciple of Jesus is called to imitate God's patience, feeding hope with the support of an unshakable faith in the ultimate victory of good which is a gift from God.
As a matter of fact, in the end, evil will be removed, eliminated: at harvest time, that is at the time of the final judgement, the reapers will carry out the master's orders, separating the weeds and burning them (cf. Mt 13:30). On the day of the final harvest, the judge will be Jesus, the One who sowed the good seed in the world and who himself became a grain of wheat, when he died and rose again. Ultimately, we will all be judged by the same standards that we ourselves have judged: the mercy that we have shown toward others will also be used on us. Let us ask Our Lady, our Mother, to help us grow in patience, in hope and in mercy toward all our brothers and sisters.
Following the recitation of the Angelus, the Holy Father continued:
Dear brothers and sisters,
I have been preoccupied by the news I've been hearing about the Christian community in Mossul (Iraq) and in other parts of the Middle East where from the very beginning of Christianity, they have lived with their fellow citizens, offering a significant contribution to the good of society. Today, they are being persecuted; our brothers and sisters are being persecuted, they are being driven out, they have to leave their homes without even the possibility of taking anything along with them. To these families and these persons, I want to express my closeness and my constant prayer. Dear brothers and sisters who are suffering so much persecution, I know how much you are suffering, I know that you have been stripped of everything. I am united with you in faith in Him who has won victory over evil! And to you, here in the square, and all of you who are watching on television, I want to invite you to remember these Christian communities in your prayers. I also urge you to persevere in prayer for the situations of tension and conflict which persist in various parts of the world, especially in the Middle East and in Ukraine. May the God of peace inspire in all people an authentic desire for dialogue and reconciliation. Violence can never be overcome by violence. Violence can only be overcome by peace! Let us pray in silence, asking for peace; everyone, in silence ... Mary, Queen of peace, pray for us!
I wish to greet all of you, pilgrims from various parts of Italy and from other countries.
I greet the choir from the Diocese of Killala (Ireland), the Benedictine Sisters of Divine Providence and the Sisters of Charity of Santa Giovanna Antida, the faithful from Pescara and Villanova in Padua, the young people from Messina and the children who are spending their summer holidays in Tivoli. Please, don't forget to pray for me. I wish you all a good Sunday, and a good lunch. Good bye!
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