At 10:00am today, in the Vatican Basilica, the Holy Father, Pope Francis presided over the celebration of the Eucharist on the occasion of the Jubilee of socially excluded persons which has been taking place from November 11 to today in the context of the Year of Mercy.
For you… the sun of justice shall rise, with healing in its wings (Mal 4:2). The words of the Prophet Malachi, which we heard in the first reading, shed light on today’s Jubilee. They come to us from the last page of the last Old Testament prophet. They are words directed to those who trust in the Lord, who place their hope in him, who see in him life’s greatest good and refuse to live only for themselves and their own interests. For those who are materially poor but rich in God, the sun of justice will rise. These are the poor in spirit, to whom Jesus promised the kingdom of heaven (cf Mt 5:3) and whom God, through the words of the Prophet Malachi, calls my special possession (Mal 3:17). The prophet contrasts them with the proud, those who seek a secure life in their self-sufficiency and their earthly possessions. This last page of the Old Testament raises challenging questions about the ultimate meaning of life: where do I look for security? In the Lord or in other forms of security not pleasing to God? Where is my life headed, what does my heart long for? The Lord of life or ephemeral things that cannot satisfy?
Similar questions appear in today’s Gospel. Jesus is in Jerusalem for the last and most important page of his earthly life: his death and resurrection. He is in the precincts of the Temple, adorned with noble stones and offerings (Lk 21:5). People were speaking of the beautiful exterior of the temple, when Jesus said: The days will come when there shall not be left here one stone upon another (Lk 21:6). He adds that there will be no lack of conflicts, famine, convulsions on earth and in the heavens. Jesus does not want to frighten us, but to tell us that everything we now see will inevitably pass away. Even the strongest kingdoms, the most sacred buildings and the surest realities of this world do not last for ever; sooner or later they fall.
In response, people immediately put two questions to the Master: When will this be, and what will be the sign? (Lk 21:7). When and what … We are constantly driven by curiosity: we want to know when and we want to see signs. Yet Jesus does not care for such curiosity. On the contrary, he exhorts us not to be taken in by apocalyptic preachers. Those who follow Jesus pay no heed to prophets of doom, the nonsense of horoscopes, or terrifying sermons and predictions that distract from the truly important things. Amid the din of so many voices, the Lord asks us to distinguish between what is from him and what is from the false spirit. This is important: to distinguish the word of wisdom that the God speaks to us each day from the shouting of those who seek in God’s name to frighten, to nourish division and fear.
Jesus firmly tells us not to be afraid of the upheavals in every period of history, not even in the face of the most serious trials and injustices that may befall his disciples. He asks us to persevere in the good and to place all our trust in God, who does not disappoint: Not a hair of your head will perish (Lk 21:18). God does not forget his faithful ones, his precious possession. He does not forget us.
Today, however, he questions us about the meaning of our lives. Using an image, we could say that these readings serve as a strainer through which our life can be poured: they remind us that almost everything in this world is passing away, like running water. But there are treasured realities that remain, like a precious stone in a strainer. What endures, what has value in life, what riches do not disappear? Surely these two: the Lord and our neighbour. These two riches do no disappear! These are the greatest goods; these are to be loved. Everything else – the heavens, the earth, all that is most beautiful, even this Basilica – will pass away; but we must never exclude God or others from our lives.
Today, though, when we speak of exclusion, we immediately think of concrete people, not useless objects but precious persons. The human person, set by God at the pinnacle of creation, is often discarded, set aside in favour of ephemeral things. This is unacceptable, because in God’s eyes man is the most precious good. It is ominous that we are growing used to this rejection. We should be worried when our consciences are anaesthetized and we no longer see the brother or sister suffering at our side, or notice the grave problems in our world, which become a mere refrain familiar from the headlines on the evening news.
Dear brothers and sisters, today is your Jubilee. Your presence here helps us to be attuned to God’s wavelength, to see what he sees. He sees not only appearances (cf 1 Sam 16:7), but turns his gaze to the humble and contrite in spirit (Is 66:2), to the many poor Lazaruses of our day. What harm we do to ourselves when we fail to notice Lazarus, excluded and cast out (cf Lk 16:19-21)! It is turning away from God himself. It is the symptom of a spiritual sclerosis when we are only interested in objects to be produced rather than in persons to be loved. This is the origin of the tragic contradiction of our age: as progress and new possibilities increase, which is a good thing, less and less people are able to benefit from them. This is a great injustice that should concern us much more than knowing when or how the world will end. Because we cannot go about our business quietly at home while Lazarus lies at the door. There is no peace in the homes of the prosperous as long as justice is lacking in the home of everyone.
Today, in the cathedrals and shrines throughout the world, the Doors of Mercy are being closed. Let us ask for the grace not to close our eyes to God who sees us and to our neighbour who asks something of us. Let us open our eyes to God, purifying the eye of our hearts of deceitful and fearful images, from the god of power and retribution, the projection of human pride and fear. Let us look with trust to the God of mercy, with the certainty that love never ends (1 Cor 13:8). Let us renew our hope in the true life to which we are called, the life that will not pass away and that awaits us in communion with the Lord and with others, in a joy that will last forever, without end.
And let us open our eyes to our neighbour, especially to our brothers and sisters who are forgotten and excluded, to the Lazarus at our door. That is where the Church’s magnifying glass is pointed. May the Lord free us from turning it towards ourselves. May he turn us away from the trappings that distract us, from interests and privileges, from attachment to power and glory, from being seduced by the spirit of the world. Our Mother the Church looks in particular to that portion of humanity that is suffering and crying out, because she knows that these people belong to her by evangelical right (Paul VI, Address at the beginning of the Second Session of the Second Vatican Council, 29 September 1963).
By right but also by evangelical duty, for it is our responsibility to care for the true riches which are the poor. In the light of these reflections, I would like today to be the day of the poor. We are reminded of this by an ancient tradition according to which the Roman martyr Lawrence, before suffering a cruel martyrdom for the love of the Lord, distributed the goods of the community to the poor, whom he described as the true treasure of the Church. May the Lord grant that we may look without fear to what truly matters, and turn our hearts to our true treasure.
At the conclusion of the Mass celebrated in the Vatican Basilica for the Jubilee of socially excluded persons, at noon, Pope Francis appeared at the window of his study in the Vatican Apostolic Palace to recite the Angelus with the faithful and with pilgrims gathered in Saint Peter's Square for the usual Sunday appointment.
Dear brothers and sisters, good morning!
Today's gospel passage (Lk 21:5-19) contains the first part of Jesus' discourse about the end times, as it was recounted by Saint Luke. Jesus spoke these words while he was standing in front of the temple in Jerusalem, and was inspired by the expressions of admiration by the people for the beauty of the shrine and its decorations (cf Lk 21:5). Jesus said: The days are coming when what you see before you will be destroyed; not one stone will be left upon another (Lk 21:6). We can imagine the effect of these words on Jesus' disciples! However, he did not want to dishonour the temple, only to help them and us to understand that human constructions, even the most sacred, are transitory; we should not place our security in them. How many supposed certainties in our lives we think are definitive and then they are proven to be but temporary! On the other hand, how many are the problems that once seemed to be inescapable, and then we were able to overcome them!
Jesus knows that there are always some people who will speculate on the human need for security. For this reason, he says: Be careful not to be deceived (Lk 21:8), and he warns them of the many false messiahs who will present themselves (Lk 21:9). These exist even today! He goes on to say that we should not be terrorized or disoriented by wars, revolutions and calamities, for even they will be part of the reality of this world (cf Lk 21:10-11). The history of the Church is rich with examples of persons who have endured terrible trials and suffering with serenity, because they knew that they were firmly held in the hands of God. He is a faithful Father, a caring Father who does not abandon his children. God never abandons us! This certainty we carry in our hearts: God will never abandon us!
Remain firm in the Lord, in the certainty that He will not abandon us, go forth in hope, work at building a better world, despite the difficulties and sad events that mark our personal and collective existences, for the sake of that which really is important; this is how the Christian community is called to encounter the Lord's day. Precisely from this perspective, I want to place the commitment that results from these months in which we have lived the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy in faith, this Jubilee which concludes today in the Dioceses throughout the world with the closure of the Holy Doors in Cathedral churches. On one hand, the Holy Year has urged us to keep our gaze fixed on the fulfillment of God's kingdom and, on the other hand, to build a future here on earth by working to evangelize the present time so that it will become a time of salvation for all people.
In the gospel, Jesus exhorts us to remain firm in mind and heart in the certainty that God is leading our history and knows the ultimate end of things and events. Under the merciful gaze of the Lord, he unfolds history in its flowing uncertainty and in its interweaving of good and evil. All that takes place is preserved in Him; our lives cannot be lost they are in his hands.
Let us ask the Virgin Mary to help us, through the happy and sad events of this world, to remain steadfast in hope of eternity and the Kingdom of God. Let us ask the Virgin Mary to help us to understand the depth of this truth: God never abandons his children!
Preghiamo la Vergine Maria, perché ci aiuti, attraverso le vicende liete e tristi di questo mondo, a mantenere salda la speranza dell’eternità e del Regno di Dio. Preghiamo la Vergine Maria, perché ci aiuti a capire in profondità questa verità: Dio mai abbandona i suoi figli!
After the recitation of the Angelus, the Holy Father continued:
Dear brothers and sisters,
During this past week, the oldest wooden cross in Saint Peter's Basilica has been returned to the devotion of the people. It dates to the fourteenth century. After laborious restoration, it has been restored to its original splendour and will be installed in the Blessed Sacrament chapel as a remembrance of the Jubilee of Mercy.
In Italy, the Day of Thanksgiving for the fruits of the earth and for human labour is being observed. I join the bishops in expressing a wish that mother earth will always be cultivated in a sustainable way. The Church stands alongside the world of agriculture and exhorts all people not to forget the many people in various parts of the world who are deprived of essential goods such as food and water.
I greet you all, families, parishes, associations and single faithful, who have come from Italy and from many other parts of the world. In particular, I greet and thank the associations who over these past few days have led the Jubilee of marginalized persons. Thank you very much for your work and for your help! I greet the pilgrims who have come from Rio de Janeiro, Salerno, Piacenza, Veroli and Acri, as well as the Family counselling centre from Milan and the Italian Fraternity of the secular Trinitarian Order.
I wish you all a good Sunday. Please, don't forget to pray for me.
Enjoy your lunch, and good bye!
Homily of His Holiness, Pope Francis
for the Jubilee of Socially Excluded Persons
For you… the sun of justice shall rise, with healing in its wings (Mal 4:2). The words of the Prophet Malachi, which we heard in the first reading, shed light on today’s Jubilee. They come to us from the last page of the last Old Testament prophet. They are words directed to those who trust in the Lord, who place their hope in him, who see in him life’s greatest good and refuse to live only for themselves and their own interests. For those who are materially poor but rich in God, the sun of justice will rise. These are the poor in spirit, to whom Jesus promised the kingdom of heaven (cf Mt 5:3) and whom God, through the words of the Prophet Malachi, calls my special possession (Mal 3:17). The prophet contrasts them with the proud, those who seek a secure life in their self-sufficiency and their earthly possessions. This last page of the Old Testament raises challenging questions about the ultimate meaning of life: where do I look for security? In the Lord or in other forms of security not pleasing to God? Where is my life headed, what does my heart long for? The Lord of life or ephemeral things that cannot satisfy?
Similar questions appear in today’s Gospel. Jesus is in Jerusalem for the last and most important page of his earthly life: his death and resurrection. He is in the precincts of the Temple, adorned with noble stones and offerings (Lk 21:5). People were speaking of the beautiful exterior of the temple, when Jesus said: The days will come when there shall not be left here one stone upon another (Lk 21:6). He adds that there will be no lack of conflicts, famine, convulsions on earth and in the heavens. Jesus does not want to frighten us, but to tell us that everything we now see will inevitably pass away. Even the strongest kingdoms, the most sacred buildings and the surest realities of this world do not last for ever; sooner or later they fall.
In response, people immediately put two questions to the Master: When will this be, and what will be the sign? (Lk 21:7). When and what … We are constantly driven by curiosity: we want to know when and we want to see signs. Yet Jesus does not care for such curiosity. On the contrary, he exhorts us not to be taken in by apocalyptic preachers. Those who follow Jesus pay no heed to prophets of doom, the nonsense of horoscopes, or terrifying sermons and predictions that distract from the truly important things. Amid the din of so many voices, the Lord asks us to distinguish between what is from him and what is from the false spirit. This is important: to distinguish the word of wisdom that the God speaks to us each day from the shouting of those who seek in God’s name to frighten, to nourish division and fear.
Jesus firmly tells us not to be afraid of the upheavals in every period of history, not even in the face of the most serious trials and injustices that may befall his disciples. He asks us to persevere in the good and to place all our trust in God, who does not disappoint: Not a hair of your head will perish (Lk 21:18). God does not forget his faithful ones, his precious possession. He does not forget us.
Today, however, he questions us about the meaning of our lives. Using an image, we could say that these readings serve as a strainer through which our life can be poured: they remind us that almost everything in this world is passing away, like running water. But there are treasured realities that remain, like a precious stone in a strainer. What endures, what has value in life, what riches do not disappear? Surely these two: the Lord and our neighbour. These two riches do no disappear! These are the greatest goods; these are to be loved. Everything else – the heavens, the earth, all that is most beautiful, even this Basilica – will pass away; but we must never exclude God or others from our lives.
Today, though, when we speak of exclusion, we immediately think of concrete people, not useless objects but precious persons. The human person, set by God at the pinnacle of creation, is often discarded, set aside in favour of ephemeral things. This is unacceptable, because in God’s eyes man is the most precious good. It is ominous that we are growing used to this rejection. We should be worried when our consciences are anaesthetized and we no longer see the brother or sister suffering at our side, or notice the grave problems in our world, which become a mere refrain familiar from the headlines on the evening news.
Dear brothers and sisters, today is your Jubilee. Your presence here helps us to be attuned to God’s wavelength, to see what he sees. He sees not only appearances (cf 1 Sam 16:7), but turns his gaze to the humble and contrite in spirit (Is 66:2), to the many poor Lazaruses of our day. What harm we do to ourselves when we fail to notice Lazarus, excluded and cast out (cf Lk 16:19-21)! It is turning away from God himself. It is the symptom of a spiritual sclerosis when we are only interested in objects to be produced rather than in persons to be loved. This is the origin of the tragic contradiction of our age: as progress and new possibilities increase, which is a good thing, less and less people are able to benefit from them. This is a great injustice that should concern us much more than knowing when or how the world will end. Because we cannot go about our business quietly at home while Lazarus lies at the door. There is no peace in the homes of the prosperous as long as justice is lacking in the home of everyone.
Today, in the cathedrals and shrines throughout the world, the Doors of Mercy are being closed. Let us ask for the grace not to close our eyes to God who sees us and to our neighbour who asks something of us. Let us open our eyes to God, purifying the eye of our hearts of deceitful and fearful images, from the god of power and retribution, the projection of human pride and fear. Let us look with trust to the God of mercy, with the certainty that love never ends (1 Cor 13:8). Let us renew our hope in the true life to which we are called, the life that will not pass away and that awaits us in communion with the Lord and with others, in a joy that will last forever, without end.
And let us open our eyes to our neighbour, especially to our brothers and sisters who are forgotten and excluded, to the Lazarus at our door. That is where the Church’s magnifying glass is pointed. May the Lord free us from turning it towards ourselves. May he turn us away from the trappings that distract us, from interests and privileges, from attachment to power and glory, from being seduced by the spirit of the world. Our Mother the Church looks in particular to that portion of humanity that is suffering and crying out, because she knows that these people belong to her by evangelical right (Paul VI, Address at the beginning of the Second Session of the Second Vatican Council, 29 September 1963).
By right but also by evangelical duty, for it is our responsibility to care for the true riches which are the poor. In the light of these reflections, I would like today to be the day of the poor. We are reminded of this by an ancient tradition according to which the Roman martyr Lawrence, before suffering a cruel martyrdom for the love of the Lord, distributed the goods of the community to the poor, whom he described as the true treasure of the Church. May the Lord grant that we may look without fear to what truly matters, and turn our hearts to our true treasure.
At the conclusion of the Mass celebrated in the Vatican Basilica for the Jubilee of socially excluded persons, at noon, Pope Francis appeared at the window of his study in the Vatican Apostolic Palace to recite the Angelus with the faithful and with pilgrims gathered in Saint Peter's Square for the usual Sunday appointment.
Greetings of the Holy Father, Pope Francis
prior to the recitation of the Angelus
Dear brothers and sisters, good morning!
Today's gospel passage (Lk 21:5-19) contains the first part of Jesus' discourse about the end times, as it was recounted by Saint Luke. Jesus spoke these words while he was standing in front of the temple in Jerusalem, and was inspired by the expressions of admiration by the people for the beauty of the shrine and its decorations (cf Lk 21:5). Jesus said: The days are coming when what you see before you will be destroyed; not one stone will be left upon another (Lk 21:6). We can imagine the effect of these words on Jesus' disciples! However, he did not want to dishonour the temple, only to help them and us to understand that human constructions, even the most sacred, are transitory; we should not place our security in them. How many supposed certainties in our lives we think are definitive and then they are proven to be but temporary! On the other hand, how many are the problems that once seemed to be inescapable, and then we were able to overcome them!
Jesus knows that there are always some people who will speculate on the human need for security. For this reason, he says: Be careful not to be deceived (Lk 21:8), and he warns them of the many false messiahs who will present themselves (Lk 21:9). These exist even today! He goes on to say that we should not be terrorized or disoriented by wars, revolutions and calamities, for even they will be part of the reality of this world (cf Lk 21:10-11). The history of the Church is rich with examples of persons who have endured terrible trials and suffering with serenity, because they knew that they were firmly held in the hands of God. He is a faithful Father, a caring Father who does not abandon his children. God never abandons us! This certainty we carry in our hearts: God will never abandon us!
Remain firm in the Lord, in the certainty that He will not abandon us, go forth in hope, work at building a better world, despite the difficulties and sad events that mark our personal and collective existences, for the sake of that which really is important; this is how the Christian community is called to encounter the Lord's day. Precisely from this perspective, I want to place the commitment that results from these months in which we have lived the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy in faith, this Jubilee which concludes today in the Dioceses throughout the world with the closure of the Holy Doors in Cathedral churches. On one hand, the Holy Year has urged us to keep our gaze fixed on the fulfillment of God's kingdom and, on the other hand, to build a future here on earth by working to evangelize the present time so that it will become a time of salvation for all people.
In the gospel, Jesus exhorts us to remain firm in mind and heart in the certainty that God is leading our history and knows the ultimate end of things and events. Under the merciful gaze of the Lord, he unfolds history in its flowing uncertainty and in its interweaving of good and evil. All that takes place is preserved in Him; our lives cannot be lost they are in his hands.
Let us ask the Virgin Mary to help us, through the happy and sad events of this world, to remain steadfast in hope of eternity and the Kingdom of God. Let us ask the Virgin Mary to help us to understand the depth of this truth: God never abandons his children!
Preghiamo la Vergine Maria, perché ci aiuti, attraverso le vicende liete e tristi di questo mondo, a mantenere salda la speranza dell’eternità e del Regno di Dio. Preghiamo la Vergine Maria, perché ci aiuti a capire in profondità questa verità: Dio mai abbandona i suoi figli!
After the recitation of the Angelus, the Holy Father continued:
Dear brothers and sisters,
During this past week, the oldest wooden cross in Saint Peter's Basilica has been returned to the devotion of the people. It dates to the fourteenth century. After laborious restoration, it has been restored to its original splendour and will be installed in the Blessed Sacrament chapel as a remembrance of the Jubilee of Mercy.
In Italy, the Day of Thanksgiving for the fruits of the earth and for human labour is being observed. I join the bishops in expressing a wish that mother earth will always be cultivated in a sustainable way. The Church stands alongside the world of agriculture and exhorts all people not to forget the many people in various parts of the world who are deprived of essential goods such as food and water.
I greet you all, families, parishes, associations and single faithful, who have come from Italy and from many other parts of the world. In particular, I greet and thank the associations who over these past few days have led the Jubilee of marginalized persons. Thank you very much for your work and for your help! I greet the pilgrims who have come from Rio de Janeiro, Salerno, Piacenza, Veroli and Acri, as well as the Family counselling centre from Milan and the Italian Fraternity of the secular Trinitarian Order.
I wish you all a good Sunday. Please, don't forget to pray for me.
Enjoy your lunch, and good bye!
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