At 10:00am this morning, the fourth Jubilee Audience was held in Saint Peter's Square. Pope Francis established these Jubilee Audiences which are held on one Saturday each month during the Jubilee of Mercy in order for him to meet with pilgrims and the faithful who are in Rome to participate in the Jubilee.
During his speech, the Pope added a mediation on another essential aspect of mercy: almsgiving (based on the biblical passage Mt 6:1-4).
After having summarized his catechesis in various languages, the Holy Father addressed particular greetings to each group of the faithful in attendance.
The Jubilee Audience concluded with the chanting of the Our Father and the Apostolic Blessing.
Dear brothers and sisters, good morning!
The Gospel that we have just heard permits us to discover an essential aspect of mercy: almsgiving. Giving alms might seem to be a simple thing, but we must pay attention not to rob this gesture of the great content that it possesses. In fact, the term almsgiving, is derived from a Greek word that means mercy. Therefore, almsgiving should be understood with the same richness and wealth as the practice of mercy. And just as there are a thousand ways to show mercy, almsgiving too can be demonstrated in just as many ways, to relieve the suffering of all those who are in need.
The duty of almsgiving is as old as the Bible. Sacrifice and almsgiving were two duties which every religious person was compelled to follow. There are important pages in the Old Testament where God calls for special attention to be paid to the poor who are defined as those who have nothing, those who are strangers, foreigners, orphans and widows. In the Bible, this is a continual refrain: the needy, widows, strangers, foreigners, orphans ... the words of a refrain. This is how God wants us to see our brothers and sisters; in fact, I would say that they are the focus of the message: praise God with sacrifice and praise God with almsgiving.
Together with an obligation to remember them, we also receive valuable direction: Give generously and, given as gifts, your hearts will not be grieved (Deut 15:10). This means that charity requires, above all, an attitude of interior joy. Offering mercy cannot be a burden or a nuisance from which we seek to quickly free ourselves. How many people justify their choice not to give alms by saying: But how can this be? This is the money that I would rather use to buy wine and get drunk. But if someone gets drunk, this is because he has chosen another path! And you, what do you do in secret, that no one else sees? Are you the one who is to judge the poor man who asks you to share some spare change so that he can buy a glass of wine? I like to remember the story of the elderly Tobit who, after having received a great sum of money, called his son and instructed him with these words: Give alms to all those who practice justice ... Do not look away from anyone who is poor, and God will not remove his gaze from you (Tob 4:7-8). These are very wise words that help us to understand the value of almsgiving.
As we have heard, Jesus left us an invaluable teaching about almsgiving. Above all, he asks us not to give alms in order to be praised or admired by other people for our generosity: do it in such a way that your right hand does not know what your left hand is doing (cf Mt 6:3). Appearances don't count, but rather our capacity to stop and to look into the faces of those who ask us for help. Every one of us can ask ourselves: Am I able to stop and to look someone else in the face, to look them in the eyes, even the person who asks me for help? Am I able to do that? Therefore, we should not identify almsgiving with simple coins that are offered in a hurry, without looking people in the face, without stopping and speaking with them in order to understand what they truly need. At the same time, we should distinguish between the poor and the various forms of begging that do not do justice to those who are truly poor. In short, almsgiving is a gesture of love that is offered to those we meet; it is a gesture of sincere attention to those who come to us and ask for our help, offered in secret where only God sees and understands the value of the giving that is offered.
But almsgiving should also be something that is a sacrifice for us. I remember a mother: she had three children who were six, five and three years old, more or less. She always taught her children that they should give alms to anyone who asked for them. They were having lunch: each one of them was eating a veal cutlet, as they say in my homeland, a breaded cutlet. There was a knock at the door. The eldest of the children went to the door and came back: Mommy, there is a poor man who is asking for something to eat. What should we do?, he asked his mother. Let's give him something - and they all repeated - Let's give him something. Good, we'll give him half of your cutlet, and half of yours, and half of yours, and we can make two sandwiches - Ah no, mom, no! No? You give what is yours, giving has a cost associated with it. This is what it means to get involved with the poor. I deprive myself of something in order to give of myself. To all parents, I say: teach your children to give alms in this way, and to be generous with what they have.
Let us make Saint Paul's words our own: In every way, I have shown you that we must help the weak by working in this way, remembering the words of the Lord Jesus, who said: 'It is more blessed to give than to receive' (Acts 20:35; cf 2 Cor 9:7).
Thank you!
The Holy Father's catechesis was then summarized in various languages, and He greeted each group of the faithful in attendance. To English-speaking visitors, he said:
I greet the English-speaking visitors taking part in today’s Audience, particularly the pilgrims from the Archdiocese of Dublin. In the joy of the Risen Lord, I invoke upon you and your families the loving mercy of God our Father. May the Lord bless you all!
During his speech, the Pope added a mediation on another essential aspect of mercy: almsgiving (based on the biblical passage Mt 6:1-4).
After having summarized his catechesis in various languages, the Holy Father addressed particular greetings to each group of the faithful in attendance.
The Jubilee Audience concluded with the chanting of the Our Father and the Apostolic Blessing.
Catechesis of the Holy Father, Pope Francis
for the Jubilee Audience
Dear brothers and sisters, good morning!
The Gospel that we have just heard permits us to discover an essential aspect of mercy: almsgiving. Giving alms might seem to be a simple thing, but we must pay attention not to rob this gesture of the great content that it possesses. In fact, the term almsgiving, is derived from a Greek word that means mercy. Therefore, almsgiving should be understood with the same richness and wealth as the practice of mercy. And just as there are a thousand ways to show mercy, almsgiving too can be demonstrated in just as many ways, to relieve the suffering of all those who are in need.
The duty of almsgiving is as old as the Bible. Sacrifice and almsgiving were two duties which every religious person was compelled to follow. There are important pages in the Old Testament where God calls for special attention to be paid to the poor who are defined as those who have nothing, those who are strangers, foreigners, orphans and widows. In the Bible, this is a continual refrain: the needy, widows, strangers, foreigners, orphans ... the words of a refrain. This is how God wants us to see our brothers and sisters; in fact, I would say that they are the focus of the message: praise God with sacrifice and praise God with almsgiving.
Together with an obligation to remember them, we also receive valuable direction: Give generously and, given as gifts, your hearts will not be grieved (Deut 15:10). This means that charity requires, above all, an attitude of interior joy. Offering mercy cannot be a burden or a nuisance from which we seek to quickly free ourselves. How many people justify their choice not to give alms by saying: But how can this be? This is the money that I would rather use to buy wine and get drunk. But if someone gets drunk, this is because he has chosen another path! And you, what do you do in secret, that no one else sees? Are you the one who is to judge the poor man who asks you to share some spare change so that he can buy a glass of wine? I like to remember the story of the elderly Tobit who, after having received a great sum of money, called his son and instructed him with these words: Give alms to all those who practice justice ... Do not look away from anyone who is poor, and God will not remove his gaze from you (Tob 4:7-8). These are very wise words that help us to understand the value of almsgiving.
As we have heard, Jesus left us an invaluable teaching about almsgiving. Above all, he asks us not to give alms in order to be praised or admired by other people for our generosity: do it in such a way that your right hand does not know what your left hand is doing (cf Mt 6:3). Appearances don't count, but rather our capacity to stop and to look into the faces of those who ask us for help. Every one of us can ask ourselves: Am I able to stop and to look someone else in the face, to look them in the eyes, even the person who asks me for help? Am I able to do that? Therefore, we should not identify almsgiving with simple coins that are offered in a hurry, without looking people in the face, without stopping and speaking with them in order to understand what they truly need. At the same time, we should distinguish between the poor and the various forms of begging that do not do justice to those who are truly poor. In short, almsgiving is a gesture of love that is offered to those we meet; it is a gesture of sincere attention to those who come to us and ask for our help, offered in secret where only God sees and understands the value of the giving that is offered.
But almsgiving should also be something that is a sacrifice for us. I remember a mother: she had three children who were six, five and three years old, more or less. She always taught her children that they should give alms to anyone who asked for them. They were having lunch: each one of them was eating a veal cutlet, as they say in my homeland, a breaded cutlet. There was a knock at the door. The eldest of the children went to the door and came back: Mommy, there is a poor man who is asking for something to eat. What should we do?, he asked his mother. Let's give him something - and they all repeated - Let's give him something. Good, we'll give him half of your cutlet, and half of yours, and half of yours, and we can make two sandwiches - Ah no, mom, no! No? You give what is yours, giving has a cost associated with it. This is what it means to get involved with the poor. I deprive myself of something in order to give of myself. To all parents, I say: teach your children to give alms in this way, and to be generous with what they have.
Let us make Saint Paul's words our own: In every way, I have shown you that we must help the weak by working in this way, remembering the words of the Lord Jesus, who said: 'It is more blessed to give than to receive' (Acts 20:35; cf 2 Cor 9:7).
Thank you!
The Holy Father's catechesis was then summarized in various languages, and He greeted each group of the faithful in attendance. To English-speaking visitors, he said:
I greet the English-speaking visitors taking part in today’s Audience, particularly the pilgrims from the Archdiocese of Dublin. In the joy of the Risen Lord, I invoke upon you and your families the loving mercy of God our Father. May the Lord bless you all!
No comments:
Post a Comment