At 10:00am today, the final Jubilee Audience began in Saint Peter's Square.
In his speech, the Pope added a meditation on the theme: Mercy and inclusion (cf Mt 11:25-28). After having summarized his catechesis in various languages, the Holy Father addressed greetings to each group of the faithful in attendance.
The Jubilee Audience concluded with the chanting of the Pater Noster and the Apostolic blessing.
Dear brothers and sisters, good morning!
In this final Saturday Jubilee Audience, I want to present an important aspect of mercy: inclusion. In fact, God, in his loving design, does not want to exclude anyone, but rather wants to include everyone. For example, through Baptism, he makes us his children in Christ, members of his body which is the Church. And we Christians are invited to use the same criteria: mercy is our way of acting, the style through which we seek to include others in our lives, avoiding the tendency to become closed in upon ourselves and our own self-centred comforts.
In the passage of Matthew's gospel which we have just heart, Jesus extends a truly universal invitation: Come to me, all you who are tired and over burdened, and I will give you rest (Mt 11:28). No one is excluded from this call, because Jesus' mission is to reveal the love of the Father to every person. It is up to us to open our hearts, to trust Jesus, to welcome his message of love and to enter into the mystery of salvation.
This aspect of mercy, inclusion, is demonstrated in his arms which are thrown wide open to welcome without excluding anyone, without judging others based on their social status, their language, their race, their culture, their religion: in our eyes, there is only a person who needs be loved like God loves us. The person I find in my work, in my neighbourhood, is a person I must love, like God loves me. But this person is from that country, another country, that religion, another ... He is a person who loves God and I should love him. This is what it means to include, this is inclusion.
There are many tired and oppressed people who we meet, even today! In the streets, in public office, in doctors' offices ... Jesus' gaze rests on each one of those faces, even through our eyes. And how are our hearts? Are they merciful? And do we think and act inclusively? The gospel calls us to recognize in the history of humanity the plan of a great work of inclusion which, fully respecting the liberty of each person, of every community of every people, calls all people to form a family of brothers and sisters, in justice, in solidarity and in peace, and to be part of the Church, which is the body of Christ.
The words of Jesus are so true; he invites those who are tired and afflicted to go to him in order to find rest! His arms spread wide open on the cross show us that no one is excluded from his love and from his mercy, even the greatest of sinners: no one! We are all included in his love and in his mercy. The most immediate expression with which we feel welcomed and included in Him is his forgiveness. We all need to be forgiven by God. And we all need to meet brothers and sisters who can help us to go to Jesus and to open ourselves to the gift that he offers us on the cross. Let us not become obstacles to one another! Let us not exclude anyone! In fact, with humility and simplicity, let us make ourselves instruments of the inclusive mercy of the Father. That's what the inclusive mercy of the Father is like. Throughout the world, our holy Mother, the Church continues the great embrace of Christ who died and rose again. Even this (Saint Peter's) Square, with it colonnades, expresses this embrace. Let us engage in this movement of including others, so that we can become witnesses to the mercy with which God has welcomed and still welcomes everyone of us.
The Holy Father's catechesis was then summarized in various languages, and His Holiness offered greetings to each group of the faithful in attendance. To English-speaking pilgrims, he said:
I greet the English-speaking pilgrims and visitors taking part in today’s Audience, particularly those from Ireland and Pakistan. With prayerful good wishes that the present Jubilee of Mercy will be a moment of grace and spiritual renewal for you and your families, I invoke upon all of you joy and peace in our Lord Jesus Christ.
In his speech, the Pope added a meditation on the theme: Mercy and inclusion (cf Mt 11:25-28). After having summarized his catechesis in various languages, the Holy Father addressed greetings to each group of the faithful in attendance.
The Jubilee Audience concluded with the chanting of the Pater Noster and the Apostolic blessing.
Catechesis of the Holy Father, Pope Francis
for the Jubilee Audience
Dear brothers and sisters, good morning!
In this final Saturday Jubilee Audience, I want to present an important aspect of mercy: inclusion. In fact, God, in his loving design, does not want to exclude anyone, but rather wants to include everyone. For example, through Baptism, he makes us his children in Christ, members of his body which is the Church. And we Christians are invited to use the same criteria: mercy is our way of acting, the style through which we seek to include others in our lives, avoiding the tendency to become closed in upon ourselves and our own self-centred comforts.
In the passage of Matthew's gospel which we have just heart, Jesus extends a truly universal invitation: Come to me, all you who are tired and over burdened, and I will give you rest (Mt 11:28). No one is excluded from this call, because Jesus' mission is to reveal the love of the Father to every person. It is up to us to open our hearts, to trust Jesus, to welcome his message of love and to enter into the mystery of salvation.
This aspect of mercy, inclusion, is demonstrated in his arms which are thrown wide open to welcome without excluding anyone, without judging others based on their social status, their language, their race, their culture, their religion: in our eyes, there is only a person who needs be loved like God loves us. The person I find in my work, in my neighbourhood, is a person I must love, like God loves me. But this person is from that country, another country, that religion, another ... He is a person who loves God and I should love him. This is what it means to include, this is inclusion.
There are many tired and oppressed people who we meet, even today! In the streets, in public office, in doctors' offices ... Jesus' gaze rests on each one of those faces, even through our eyes. And how are our hearts? Are they merciful? And do we think and act inclusively? The gospel calls us to recognize in the history of humanity the plan of a great work of inclusion which, fully respecting the liberty of each person, of every community of every people, calls all people to form a family of brothers and sisters, in justice, in solidarity and in peace, and to be part of the Church, which is the body of Christ.
The words of Jesus are so true; he invites those who are tired and afflicted to go to him in order to find rest! His arms spread wide open on the cross show us that no one is excluded from his love and from his mercy, even the greatest of sinners: no one! We are all included in his love and in his mercy. The most immediate expression with which we feel welcomed and included in Him is his forgiveness. We all need to be forgiven by God. And we all need to meet brothers and sisters who can help us to go to Jesus and to open ourselves to the gift that he offers us on the cross. Let us not become obstacles to one another! Let us not exclude anyone! In fact, with humility and simplicity, let us make ourselves instruments of the inclusive mercy of the Father. That's what the inclusive mercy of the Father is like. Throughout the world, our holy Mother, the Church continues the great embrace of Christ who died and rose again. Even this (Saint Peter's) Square, with it colonnades, expresses this embrace. Let us engage in this movement of including others, so that we can become witnesses to the mercy with which God has welcomed and still welcomes everyone of us.
The Holy Father's catechesis was then summarized in various languages, and His Holiness offered greetings to each group of the faithful in attendance. To English-speaking pilgrims, he said:
I greet the English-speaking pilgrims and visitors taking part in today’s Audience, particularly those from Ireland and Pakistan. With prayerful good wishes that the present Jubilee of Mercy will be a moment of grace and spiritual renewal for you and your families, I invoke upon all of you joy and peace in our Lord Jesus Christ.
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