At noon today in Rome (6:00am EST), 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 who were gathered in Saint Peter's Square.
Dear brothers and sisters, good morning!
Today's Gospel account (cf Mk 12:38-44) closes the series of teachings given by Jesus in the temple in Jerusalem, this time emphasizing two opposing figures: the scribe and the widow. But why are they opposed? The scribe represents important, rich, influential people; the other - the widow - represents the lowly, the poor, the weak. In reality, the resolute judgment of Jesus towards the scribes does not concern all of them, but it refers to those among them who flaunt their social position, they bear the title of rabbi, ie teacher. They love being revered and occupying the places of honour (cf Mk 12:38-39). What is worse is that their ostentation is above all of a religious nature, because they pray - Jesus says - for a long time in order to be seen (Mk 12:40) and they use God in order to be accredited as the defenders of his law. This attitude of superiority and vanity leads them to contempt for those who count little or those who are in a disadvantageous economic position, such as the case of widows.
Jesus unmasks this perverse mechanism: denounces the oppression of the weak made instrumentally on the basis of religious motivations, clearly saying that God is on the side of the weak. And to impress this lesson well in the minds of the disciples, he offers them a living example: a poor widow whose social position was irrelevant because she lacked a husband who could defend her rights, and who therefore became easy prey for some unscrupulous creditor, because those creditors persecuted the weak and forced them to pay them. This woman, who goes to put only two coins in the temple treasury - all that she had left - makes her offer while trying to go unnoticed; she is almost ashamed. But, precisely in this humility, she performs an act that is charged with great religious and spiritual significance. That gesture full of sacrifice does not escape Jesus' gaze; indeed, he sees in this gesture the total gift of self to which he wants to educate his disciples.
The teaching that Jesus offers us today helps us to recover what is essential in our life and fosters a concrete and daily relationship with God. Brothers and sisters, the Lord's scales are different from ours. He weighs people and their gestures differently: God does not measure quantity but quality, he searches the heart, he looks at the purity of our intentions. This means that our giving to God in prayer and to others in love should always shy away from ritualism and formalism, as well as from the logic of calculation, and must be an expression of gratuitousness, as Jesus did with us: he saved us for free; he did not make us pay for our redemption. He saved us for free. And we must do things as an expression of gratuitousness. This is why Jesus pointed out that poor and generous widow as a model of Christian life to be imitated. We do not know her name but we know her heart - we will find her in Heaven and we will go to greet her, surely -; and that is what counts before God. When we are tempted by the desire to appear generous and to account for our gestures of altruism, when we are too interested in the gaze of others and - what's the word - when we act like peacocks, we should think of this woman. It will do us good: it will help us to get rid of the superfluous, to go to what really matters, and to remain humble.
May the Virgin Mary, a poor woman who gave herself entirely to God, support us in our efforts to give the Lord and our brothers and sisters not merely something of ourselves, but our entire selves, in humble and generous efforts.
After the recitation of the Angelus, the Holy Father continued:
Dear brothers and sisters,
Yesterday in Barcelona, Father Theodore Illera del Olmo and fifteen of his companions who were martyred, were Beatified. They were thirteen consecrated persons and three lay faithful. Nine of the religious and lay people belonged to the Congregation of Saint Peter in Chains; three religious were Capuchins of the Mother of the Divine Shepherd and one was a Franciscan of the Sacred Heart. These new Blesseds were all killed for their faith, in different places and on different dates, during the war and the period of religious persecution during the last century in Spain. We praise the Lord for these courageous witnesses and applaud them!
Today marks the 100th anniversary of the end of the First World War, which my predecessor Benedict XVI defined as useless slaughter. For this reason today, at 13.30 Italian time, bells will ring all over the world, even those of Saint Peter's Basilica. The historical page of the First World War is a severe warning for everyone to reject the culture of war and to seek every legitimate means to put an end to the conflicts that still plague many regions of the world. It seems we never learn. While we pray for all the victims of that terrible tragedy, let us say forcefully: invest in peace, not in war! And, as an emblematic sign, we look to that of the great Saint Martin of Tours, which we remember today: he cut his cloak in two to share it with a poor man. This gesture of human solidarity indicates to all of us the path to building peace.
Next Sunday, we will celebrate the World Day of the Poor, will be celebrated, with many initiatives aimed at evangelization, prayer and sharing. Here too, in Saint Peter's Square, a health garrison has been set up which will offer treatment to those in need for the next week. I hope that this Day will foster growing attention to the needs of the poor, the marginalized and the hungry.
I thank all of you who have come from Rome, from Italy and from many parts of the world. I greet the faithful from Mengíbar (Spain), from Barcelona, the group who are part of the Immaculate Heart of Mary from Brazil, and those from the World Union of Catholic Teachers. I greet the ACLI Tourism Centre from Trent, the faithful from San Benedetto Po and the recently Confirmed from Chiuppano. I also greet the many Poles who I see here. There are so many of you!
I wish you all a good Sunday. Please, don't forget to pray for me. Enjoy your lunch and good bye!
Greetings of the Holy Father, Pope Francis
prior to the recitation of the Angelus
Dear brothers and sisters, good morning!
Today's Gospel account (cf Mk 12:38-44) closes the series of teachings given by Jesus in the temple in Jerusalem, this time emphasizing two opposing figures: the scribe and the widow. But why are they opposed? The scribe represents important, rich, influential people; the other - the widow - represents the lowly, the poor, the weak. In reality, the resolute judgment of Jesus towards the scribes does not concern all of them, but it refers to those among them who flaunt their social position, they bear the title of rabbi, ie teacher. They love being revered and occupying the places of honour (cf Mk 12:38-39). What is worse is that their ostentation is above all of a religious nature, because they pray - Jesus says - for a long time in order to be seen (Mk 12:40) and they use God in order to be accredited as the defenders of his law. This attitude of superiority and vanity leads them to contempt for those who count little or those who are in a disadvantageous economic position, such as the case of widows.
Jesus unmasks this perverse mechanism: denounces the oppression of the weak made instrumentally on the basis of religious motivations, clearly saying that God is on the side of the weak. And to impress this lesson well in the minds of the disciples, he offers them a living example: a poor widow whose social position was irrelevant because she lacked a husband who could defend her rights, and who therefore became easy prey for some unscrupulous creditor, because those creditors persecuted the weak and forced them to pay them. This woman, who goes to put only two coins in the temple treasury - all that she had left - makes her offer while trying to go unnoticed; she is almost ashamed. But, precisely in this humility, she performs an act that is charged with great religious and spiritual significance. That gesture full of sacrifice does not escape Jesus' gaze; indeed, he sees in this gesture the total gift of self to which he wants to educate his disciples.
The teaching that Jesus offers us today helps us to recover what is essential in our life and fosters a concrete and daily relationship with God. Brothers and sisters, the Lord's scales are different from ours. He weighs people and their gestures differently: God does not measure quantity but quality, he searches the heart, he looks at the purity of our intentions. This means that our giving to God in prayer and to others in love should always shy away from ritualism and formalism, as well as from the logic of calculation, and must be an expression of gratuitousness, as Jesus did with us: he saved us for free; he did not make us pay for our redemption. He saved us for free. And we must do things as an expression of gratuitousness. This is why Jesus pointed out that poor and generous widow as a model of Christian life to be imitated. We do not know her name but we know her heart - we will find her in Heaven and we will go to greet her, surely -; and that is what counts before God. When we are tempted by the desire to appear generous and to account for our gestures of altruism, when we are too interested in the gaze of others and - what's the word - when we act like peacocks, we should think of this woman. It will do us good: it will help us to get rid of the superfluous, to go to what really matters, and to remain humble.
May the Virgin Mary, a poor woman who gave herself entirely to God, support us in our efforts to give the Lord and our brothers and sisters not merely something of ourselves, but our entire selves, in humble and generous efforts.
After the recitation of the Angelus, the Holy Father continued:
Dear brothers and sisters,
Yesterday in Barcelona, Father Theodore Illera del Olmo and fifteen of his companions who were martyred, were Beatified. They were thirteen consecrated persons and three lay faithful. Nine of the religious and lay people belonged to the Congregation of Saint Peter in Chains; three religious were Capuchins of the Mother of the Divine Shepherd and one was a Franciscan of the Sacred Heart. These new Blesseds were all killed for their faith, in different places and on different dates, during the war and the period of religious persecution during the last century in Spain. We praise the Lord for these courageous witnesses and applaud them!
Today marks the 100th anniversary of the end of the First World War, which my predecessor Benedict XVI defined as useless slaughter. For this reason today, at 13.30 Italian time, bells will ring all over the world, even those of Saint Peter's Basilica. The historical page of the First World War is a severe warning for everyone to reject the culture of war and to seek every legitimate means to put an end to the conflicts that still plague many regions of the world. It seems we never learn. While we pray for all the victims of that terrible tragedy, let us say forcefully: invest in peace, not in war! And, as an emblematic sign, we look to that of the great Saint Martin of Tours, which we remember today: he cut his cloak in two to share it with a poor man. This gesture of human solidarity indicates to all of us the path to building peace.
Next Sunday, we will celebrate the World Day of the Poor, will be celebrated, with many initiatives aimed at evangelization, prayer and sharing. Here too, in Saint Peter's Square, a health garrison has been set up which will offer treatment to those in need for the next week. I hope that this Day will foster growing attention to the needs of the poor, the marginalized and the hungry.
I thank all of you who have come from Rome, from Italy and from many parts of the world. I greet the faithful from Mengíbar (Spain), from Barcelona, the group who are part of the Immaculate Heart of Mary from Brazil, and those from the World Union of Catholic Teachers. I greet the ACLI Tourism Centre from Trent, the faithful from San Benedetto Po and the recently Confirmed from Chiuppano. I also greet the many Poles who I see here. There are so many of you!
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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