At noon today in Rome (6:00am EDT), the Holy Father, 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.
Dear brothers and sisters, good morning!
The gospel for this Sunday (cf Mk 5:21-43) presents two miracles performed by Jesus, who might describe them as a kind of triumphal march toward life.
First, the evangelist speaks of a certain Jairus, one of the synagogue officials, who comes to Jesus and begs him to go to his house because his twelve-year-old daughter is dying. Jesus accepts his plea and goes with him; but, along the way, news arrives that the girl is dead. We can imagine that father's reaction. But Jesus tells him: Do not be afraid, only have faith! (Mk 5:36). Arriving at the house of Jairus, Jesus brings out the weeping people - there were also the women who were screaming loudly - and then enters the room with only the child's parents and three of his disciples, and addressing the dead girl, he says: Little girl, I say to you: get up! (Mk 5:41). And immediately the girl gets up, as if waking up from a deep sleep (cf Mk 5:42).
Within the story of this miracle, Mark inserts another miracle: the healing of a woman who suffered from bleeding and who was healed as soon as she touched Jesus' robe (cf Mk 5:27). What is striking is the fact that this woman's faith attracts - I should say steals - the divine saving power that exists in Christ, who, feeling that power has come out of him, tries to understand who has done this. And when the woman, filled with shame, comes forward and confesses everything, He tells her: Daughter, your faith has saved you (Mk 5:34).
These are two related stories, with a single focus: faith; and they show Jesus as the source of life, as the one who restores life to those who trust in him. The two protagonists, the father of the girl and the sick woman, are not disciples of Jesus and yet they are rewarded for their faith. They have faith in this man. From this we understand that everyone is allowed on the path of the Lord: no one should feel like an intruder, an abusive person or someone who has no right. To have access to his heart, to the heart of Jesus, there is only one requirement: to feel in need of healing and to entrust oneself to Him. I ask you: does each one of you feel in need of healing? Of something, some sin, some problem? And, if you hear this, do you have faith in Jesus? These are the two requisites for healing, to have access to his heart: we need to feel in need of healing and we need to rely on Him. Jesus goes out to find these people in the crowd and removes them from anonymity, frees them from the fear of living. He does this with a look and with a word that puts them on the road after so much suffering and humiliation. We too are called to learn and to imitate these words that liberate and these looks that restore the desire to live to those who have lost it.
In this Gospel passage, the themes of faith and the new life that Jesus came to offer to all people are intertwined. Entering the house where the girl lies dead, He drives out those who are agitated and lamenting (cf Mk 5:40) and says: The child is not dead, she is asleep (Mk 5:39). Jesus is the Lord, and before Him physical death is like a sleep: there is no reason to despair. But there is another death that we should be afraid of: that of the heart that is hardened by evil! Of that yes, we must be afraid! When we feel that our hearts are hardened, a heart that has been hardened is - you will permit me to say - a mummified heart ... we must be afraid of this. This is the death of the heart. But for Jesus, even sin, even the mummified heart is never the last word, because He has brought us the infinite mercy of the Father. And even if we have fallen, his soft and strong voice reaches out to us: I say to you: get up! It is beautiful to hear those words of Jesus addressed to each one of us: I tell you: stand up! Go. Get up, be brave, get up! And Jesus restores life to the girl and gives life back to the healed woman: life and faith to both.
Let us ask the Virgin Mary to accompany us on our journey of faith and love, especially for those who are in need. And let us invoke her maternal intercession for our brothers and sisters who are suffering in body and in spirit.
Following the recitation of the Angelus, the Holy Father continued:
Dear brothers and sisters,
Renewing my prayer for the beloved people of Nicaragua, I would like to join the efforts made by the Bishops of the country and many people of good will, in their role of mediation and witness for the process of national dialogue on the road to democracy.
The situation in Syria remains serious, especially in the province of Daraa, where military action in recent days has also affected schools and hospitals, and has caused thousands of new refugees. I renew, together with my prayers, my appeal for the people, who have already been tested for years, that they may be spared further suffering.
Amidst so many conflicts, it is right to point out an initiative that can be defined as historical - and we can also say that it is good news: in these days, after twenty years, the governments of Ethiopia and Eritrea have returned to talking together about peace. May this meeting illuminate a light of hope for these two countries in the Horn of Africa and for the entire African continent.
I also assure my prayers for the young people who have been missing for over a week in an underground cave in Thailand.
Next Saturday I will go to Bari, together with many Church leaders and leaders from other Christian Communities in the Middle East. We will spend a day of prayer and reflection on the ever dramatic situation in that region, where so many of our brothers and sisters in the faith continue to suffer, and we will implore with one voice: Peace be with you (Ps 122: 8). I ask everyone to accompany this pilgrimage of peace and unity with your prayer.
I offer my greetings to all of you, Romans and pilgrims. I greet especially the faithful who have come from Portugal and the priests of the Sacerdos Institute from the Pontifical University Regina Apostolorum; as well as the Franciscan Sisters of Penance and Christian Charity from Poland, and the faithful from Iraq.
I greet the parish groups and associations; the Missionary Sisters of Our Lady of the Apostles, the youth group from the pastoral unit of Gallio, the diocese of Padua, the young democrats from the parish of Maria Himmelfahrt in Schattdorf and the spiritual family of the Most Precious Blood of Christ, to whom the month of July is especially dedicated.
I wish you all a good Sunday. Please, don't forget to pray for me. Enjoy your lunch and good bye!
Greetings of His Holiness, Pope Francis
prior to the recitation of the Angelus
Dear brothers and sisters, good morning!
The gospel for this Sunday (cf Mk 5:21-43) presents two miracles performed by Jesus, who might describe them as a kind of triumphal march toward life.
First, the evangelist speaks of a certain Jairus, one of the synagogue officials, who comes to Jesus and begs him to go to his house because his twelve-year-old daughter is dying. Jesus accepts his plea and goes with him; but, along the way, news arrives that the girl is dead. We can imagine that father's reaction. But Jesus tells him: Do not be afraid, only have faith! (Mk 5:36). Arriving at the house of Jairus, Jesus brings out the weeping people - there were also the women who were screaming loudly - and then enters the room with only the child's parents and three of his disciples, and addressing the dead girl, he says: Little girl, I say to you: get up! (Mk 5:41). And immediately the girl gets up, as if waking up from a deep sleep (cf Mk 5:42).
Within the story of this miracle, Mark inserts another miracle: the healing of a woman who suffered from bleeding and who was healed as soon as she touched Jesus' robe (cf Mk 5:27). What is striking is the fact that this woman's faith attracts - I should say steals - the divine saving power that exists in Christ, who, feeling that power has come out of him, tries to understand who has done this. And when the woman, filled with shame, comes forward and confesses everything, He tells her: Daughter, your faith has saved you (Mk 5:34).
These are two related stories, with a single focus: faith; and they show Jesus as the source of life, as the one who restores life to those who trust in him. The two protagonists, the father of the girl and the sick woman, are not disciples of Jesus and yet they are rewarded for their faith. They have faith in this man. From this we understand that everyone is allowed on the path of the Lord: no one should feel like an intruder, an abusive person or someone who has no right. To have access to his heart, to the heart of Jesus, there is only one requirement: to feel in need of healing and to entrust oneself to Him. I ask you: does each one of you feel in need of healing? Of something, some sin, some problem? And, if you hear this, do you have faith in Jesus? These are the two requisites for healing, to have access to his heart: we need to feel in need of healing and we need to rely on Him. Jesus goes out to find these people in the crowd and removes them from anonymity, frees them from the fear of living. He does this with a look and with a word that puts them on the road after so much suffering and humiliation. We too are called to learn and to imitate these words that liberate and these looks that restore the desire to live to those who have lost it.
In this Gospel passage, the themes of faith and the new life that Jesus came to offer to all people are intertwined. Entering the house where the girl lies dead, He drives out those who are agitated and lamenting (cf Mk 5:40) and says: The child is not dead, she is asleep (Mk 5:39). Jesus is the Lord, and before Him physical death is like a sleep: there is no reason to despair. But there is another death that we should be afraid of: that of the heart that is hardened by evil! Of that yes, we must be afraid! When we feel that our hearts are hardened, a heart that has been hardened is - you will permit me to say - a mummified heart ... we must be afraid of this. This is the death of the heart. But for Jesus, even sin, even the mummified heart is never the last word, because He has brought us the infinite mercy of the Father. And even if we have fallen, his soft and strong voice reaches out to us: I say to you: get up! It is beautiful to hear those words of Jesus addressed to each one of us: I tell you: stand up! Go. Get up, be brave, get up! And Jesus restores life to the girl and gives life back to the healed woman: life and faith to both.
Let us ask the Virgin Mary to accompany us on our journey of faith and love, especially for those who are in need. And let us invoke her maternal intercession for our brothers and sisters who are suffering in body and in spirit.
Following the recitation of the Angelus, the Holy Father continued:
Dear brothers and sisters,
Renewing my prayer for the beloved people of Nicaragua, I would like to join the efforts made by the Bishops of the country and many people of good will, in their role of mediation and witness for the process of national dialogue on the road to democracy.
The situation in Syria remains serious, especially in the province of Daraa, where military action in recent days has also affected schools and hospitals, and has caused thousands of new refugees. I renew, together with my prayers, my appeal for the people, who have already been tested for years, that they may be spared further suffering.
Amidst so many conflicts, it is right to point out an initiative that can be defined as historical - and we can also say that it is good news: in these days, after twenty years, the governments of Ethiopia and Eritrea have returned to talking together about peace. May this meeting illuminate a light of hope for these two countries in the Horn of Africa and for the entire African continent.
I also assure my prayers for the young people who have been missing for over a week in an underground cave in Thailand.
Next Saturday I will go to Bari, together with many Church leaders and leaders from other Christian Communities in the Middle East. We will spend a day of prayer and reflection on the ever dramatic situation in that region, where so many of our brothers and sisters in the faith continue to suffer, and we will implore with one voice: Peace be with you (Ps 122: 8). I ask everyone to accompany this pilgrimage of peace and unity with your prayer.
I offer my greetings to all of you, Romans and pilgrims. I greet especially the faithful who have come from Portugal and the priests of the Sacerdos Institute from the Pontifical University Regina Apostolorum; as well as the Franciscan Sisters of Penance and Christian Charity from Poland, and the faithful from Iraq.
I greet the parish groups and associations; the Missionary Sisters of Our Lady of the Apostles, the youth group from the pastoral unit of Gallio, the diocese of Padua, the young democrats from the parish of Maria Himmelfahrt in Schattdorf and the spiritual family of the Most Precious Blood of Christ, to whom the month of July is especially dedicated.
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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