At 4:00pm this afternoon in Rome (10:00am EDT), inside the Vatican Basilica, the Holy Father, Pope Francis held an Ordinary Public Consistory for the creation of 13 new Cardinals, for the imposition of the berretta, the presentation of rings and the assigning of the degrees of the new Cardinals.
The celebration began with a greeting, a prayer and the reading of a passage from the gospel of Mark (Mk 6:30-37a). Then, the Pope shared his homily.
The Holy Father then read the formula for the creation of new Cardinals and solemnly proclaimed the names of the new Cardinals, assigning their degrees at the same time. The Rite continued with the profession of faith by the new Cardinals in front of the people of God and the oath of fidelity and obedience to Pope Francis and his successors.
The new Cardinals, in the order of their creation, then knelt before the Holy Father who imposed their respective Cardinalatial berretta and presented each one of them with a ring as well as the name of the church in Rome which has been assigned to him as a sign of his participation along withe the Pope in caring for the city of Rome.
Following these assignments, the Bull of Cardinalatial creation, which also contains confirmation of the degree that has been assigned to each of the new Cardinals was presented and the Holy Father exchanged a sign of peace with each of them.
At the centre of the gospel passage we have heard (Mk 6:30-37a), we find the compassion of Jesus (cf Lk 6:34). Compassion is a key word in the gospel; it is written in the heart of Christ, it is written forever in the heart of God.
In the Gospels we often see Jesus feeling compassion for suffering people. The more we read, and the more we contemplate, the more we understand that the Lord's compassion is not an occasional, sporadic attitude, but it is constant, indeed, it seems to be the attitude of his heart, in which the mercy of God was incarnated.
For example, Mark reports that when Jesus began to go through Galilee preaching and casting out demons, a leper came to him, begging him on his knees and saying to him: 'If you want, you can purify me!'. He took pity on him, held out his hand, touched it and said to him: I want to, be purified! (1,40-42). In this gesture and in these words there is the mission of Jesus, the Redeemer of mankind: the Redeemer in compassion. He embodies God's will to purify the sick human being from the leprosy of sin; He is the outstretched hand of God that touches our sick flesh and accomplishes this work by filling the abyss of separation.
Jesus goes out in search of people who have been rejected, those who are now hopeless. Like that man who was paralyzed for thirty-eight years, lying near the pool of Bethsaida, waiting in vain for someone to help him go down into the water (cf Jn 5: 1-9).
This compassion has not sprung up at some point in the history of salvation, no, it has always been in God, imprinted in his Father's heart. Let us think of the story of Moses' vocation, for example, when God speaks to him from the burning bush and says to him: "I have observed the misery of my people in Egypt and I have heard their cry ...: I know their sufferings (Ex 3:7). This is the Father's compassion!
God's love for his people is imbued with compassion, to the point that, in this covenant relationship, what is divine is compassionate, while unfortunately it seems that what is human is so devoid of it, so far away. God himself says it: How could I abandon you, Ephraim, how do you surrender yourself to others, Israel? ... My heart is moved inside me, my soul trembles with compassion ... because I am God and not man, I am the Holy One in your midst and I will not come into my wrath (Hos 11:8-9).
Jesus' disciples often demonstrate that they are without compassion, as in this case, faced with the problem of crowds to feed. They basically say: Let them manage for themselves ... This is a common attitude among us humans, even when we are religious. We wash our hands. The role we occupy is not enough to make us be compassionate, as is shown by the behaviour of the priest and the Levite who, seeing a dying man on the side of the road, passed by on to the other side (cf Lk 10:31-32). They will have said to themselves: It is not my place. There is always some excuse, some justification for looking at another side. And when a churchman becomes an official, this is the most bitter outcome. There are always justifications, sometimes they are also codified and give rise to institutional waste, as in the case of lepers: Of course, they must stay outside, that's right. This is what we thought, and this is what we still think. From this all too human attitude also derive structures of non-compassion.
At this point we can ask ourselves: are we first of all aware that we have been the object of God's compassion? I speak to you in particular, brother Cardinals and those who are in the process of becoming Cardinals: is this awareness alive in you? To have been and to be always preceded and accompanied by his mercy? This consciousness was the permanent state of the immaculate heart of the Virgin Mary, who praised God as her saviour who looked upon the humility of his servant (Lk 1:48).
For me, it is so good to reflect on the passage of Ezekiel 16: the story of God's love with Jerusalem; in that conclusion, God says: I will establish my covenant with you and you will know that I am the Lord, so that you may remember and be ashamed and, in your confusion, you will no longer open your mouth when I have forgiven you for what you have done (Ez 16.62-63). Or in that other oracle of Hosea: I will lead you into the desert and speak to your heart ... There he will answer me as in the days of his youth, as when he came out of the land of Egypt (2,16-17). We can ask ourselves: do I feel God's compassion for me? Do I feel that I am a child of compassion?
Is the awareness of this compassion of God alive for us? It is not an optional thing, nor, I would say, an evangelical counsel. No. This is an essential requirement. If I do not feel that I am the object of God 's compassion, I do not understand his love. It is not a reality that can be explained. Either I feel it or I don't feel it. And if I don't feel it, how can I communicate it, witness it, give it? In fact, I won't be able to do this. Concretely: do I have compassion for that brother, for that bishop, that priest? ... Or do I always destroy with my attitude of condemnation, of indifference, of looking from a high place, actually washing my hands?
The ability to be loyal in one's ministry also depends on this living awareness. Even for you, brother Cardinals. The word compassion came to my heart at the very moment I started writing to you the letter dated September 1st. The willingness of a Cardinal to give his own blood - signified by the red color of your cassock - is certain when it is rooted in this awareness of having received compassion and in the capacity to have compassion. Otherwise, one cannot be loyal. Many unfair behaviours of churchmen depend on the lack of this sense of compassion received, and on the habit of looking from another side, from the habit of indifference.
Today, let us ask, through the intercession of Saint Peter, for the grace of a compassionate heart, to be witnesses of Him who has loved us and who loves us, who has looked upon us with mercy, who has called us, who has consecrated us and who has sent us to proclaim His gospel of salvation to the world.
Testo originale nella lingua italiana
Texte en français
The celebration began with a greeting, a prayer and the reading of a passage from the gospel of Mark (Mk 6:30-37a). Then, the Pope shared his homily.
The Holy Father then read the formula for the creation of new Cardinals and solemnly proclaimed the names of the new Cardinals, assigning their degrees at the same time. The Rite continued with the profession of faith by the new Cardinals in front of the people of God and the oath of fidelity and obedience to Pope Francis and his successors.
The new Cardinals, in the order of their creation, then knelt before the Holy Father who imposed their respective Cardinalatial berretta and presented each one of them with a ring as well as the name of the church in Rome which has been assigned to him as a sign of his participation along withe the Pope in caring for the city of Rome.
Following these assignments, the Bull of Cardinalatial creation, which also contains confirmation of the degree that has been assigned to each of the new Cardinals was presented and the Holy Father exchanged a sign of peace with each of them.
Homily of the Holy Father, Pope Francis
for the Ordinary Public Consistory
At the centre of the gospel passage we have heard (Mk 6:30-37a), we find the compassion of Jesus (cf Lk 6:34). Compassion is a key word in the gospel; it is written in the heart of Christ, it is written forever in the heart of God.
In the Gospels we often see Jesus feeling compassion for suffering people. The more we read, and the more we contemplate, the more we understand that the Lord's compassion is not an occasional, sporadic attitude, but it is constant, indeed, it seems to be the attitude of his heart, in which the mercy of God was incarnated.
For example, Mark reports that when Jesus began to go through Galilee preaching and casting out demons, a leper came to him, begging him on his knees and saying to him: 'If you want, you can purify me!'. He took pity on him, held out his hand, touched it and said to him: I want to, be purified! (1,40-42). In this gesture and in these words there is the mission of Jesus, the Redeemer of mankind: the Redeemer in compassion. He embodies God's will to purify the sick human being from the leprosy of sin; He is the outstretched hand of God that touches our sick flesh and accomplishes this work by filling the abyss of separation.
Jesus goes out in search of people who have been rejected, those who are now hopeless. Like that man who was paralyzed for thirty-eight years, lying near the pool of Bethsaida, waiting in vain for someone to help him go down into the water (cf Jn 5: 1-9).
This compassion has not sprung up at some point in the history of salvation, no, it has always been in God, imprinted in his Father's heart. Let us think of the story of Moses' vocation, for example, when God speaks to him from the burning bush and says to him: "I have observed the misery of my people in Egypt and I have heard their cry ...: I know their sufferings (Ex 3:7). This is the Father's compassion!
God's love for his people is imbued with compassion, to the point that, in this covenant relationship, what is divine is compassionate, while unfortunately it seems that what is human is so devoid of it, so far away. God himself says it: How could I abandon you, Ephraim, how do you surrender yourself to others, Israel? ... My heart is moved inside me, my soul trembles with compassion ... because I am God and not man, I am the Holy One in your midst and I will not come into my wrath (Hos 11:8-9).
Jesus' disciples often demonstrate that they are without compassion, as in this case, faced with the problem of crowds to feed. They basically say: Let them manage for themselves ... This is a common attitude among us humans, even when we are religious. We wash our hands. The role we occupy is not enough to make us be compassionate, as is shown by the behaviour of the priest and the Levite who, seeing a dying man on the side of the road, passed by on to the other side (cf Lk 10:31-32). They will have said to themselves: It is not my place. There is always some excuse, some justification for looking at another side. And when a churchman becomes an official, this is the most bitter outcome. There are always justifications, sometimes they are also codified and give rise to institutional waste, as in the case of lepers: Of course, they must stay outside, that's right. This is what we thought, and this is what we still think. From this all too human attitude also derive structures of non-compassion.
At this point we can ask ourselves: are we first of all aware that we have been the object of God's compassion? I speak to you in particular, brother Cardinals and those who are in the process of becoming Cardinals: is this awareness alive in you? To have been and to be always preceded and accompanied by his mercy? This consciousness was the permanent state of the immaculate heart of the Virgin Mary, who praised God as her saviour who looked upon the humility of his servant (Lk 1:48).
For me, it is so good to reflect on the passage of Ezekiel 16: the story of God's love with Jerusalem; in that conclusion, God says: I will establish my covenant with you and you will know that I am the Lord, so that you may remember and be ashamed and, in your confusion, you will no longer open your mouth when I have forgiven you for what you have done (Ez 16.62-63). Or in that other oracle of Hosea: I will lead you into the desert and speak to your heart ... There he will answer me as in the days of his youth, as when he came out of the land of Egypt (2,16-17). We can ask ourselves: do I feel God's compassion for me? Do I feel that I am a child of compassion?
Is the awareness of this compassion of God alive for us? It is not an optional thing, nor, I would say, an evangelical counsel. No. This is an essential requirement. If I do not feel that I am the object of God 's compassion, I do not understand his love. It is not a reality that can be explained. Either I feel it or I don't feel it. And if I don't feel it, how can I communicate it, witness it, give it? In fact, I won't be able to do this. Concretely: do I have compassion for that brother, for that bishop, that priest? ... Or do I always destroy with my attitude of condemnation, of indifference, of looking from a high place, actually washing my hands?
The ability to be loyal in one's ministry also depends on this living awareness. Even for you, brother Cardinals. The word compassion came to my heart at the very moment I started writing to you the letter dated September 1st. The willingness of a Cardinal to give his own blood - signified by the red color of your cassock - is certain when it is rooted in this awareness of having received compassion and in the capacity to have compassion. Otherwise, one cannot be loyal. Many unfair behaviours of churchmen depend on the lack of this sense of compassion received, and on the habit of looking from another side, from the habit of indifference.
Today, let us ask, through the intercession of Saint Peter, for the grace of a compassionate heart, to be witnesses of Him who has loved us and who loves us, who has looked upon us with mercy, who has called us, who has consecrated us and who has sent us to proclaim His gospel of salvation to the world.
Testo originale nella lingua italiana
Texte en français
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