At 7:00am local time this morning (2:00am EDT), the Holy Father, Pope Francis celebrated Mass inside the chapel at the Casa Santa Marta.
I think of many people who are crying: isolated people, people in quarantine, the elderly who are alone, people who have recovered and people who are being treated, parents who are seeing that, since there is no salary coming in, they will not be able to feed their children. Many people are crying. Even us, in our hearts, we are accompanying all those people. And it won't hurt us to cry a little with the Lord who also is weeping for all his people.
Jesus had friends. He loved them all, but he had some friends with whom he had a special relationship, as one does with friends: relationships of more love, more confidence ... And many, many times he stayed at the house of these friends: Lazarus, Martha, Mary ... And Jesus he felt pain for his friend's illness and death. He arrived at the tomb and was deeply moved and very upset as he asked: Where did you put him? (Jn 11:34). And Jesus burst into tears. Jesus, God, but man, wept. Another time in the Gospel, it is said that Jesus cried: when he cried over Jerusalem (Lk 19:41-42). Jesus cries with great tenderness! He cries from the heart, he cries with love, he cries with his friends who are crying. The cry of Jesus. Perhaps, he cried at other times in life - we don't know -; certainly he cried in the Garden of Olives. But Jesus cries because he loves us, always.
He was deeply moved and very upset; he cried. How many times have we heard this commotion in the gospels: Jesus, with that phrase that is repeated: Seeing this, he had compassion (cf Mt 9:36; Mt 13:14). Jesus cannot see people and feel no compassion. His eyes look with the heart; Jesus sees with the eyes, but sees with the heart and is capable of crying.
Today, faced with a world that is suffering so much, so many people who are suffering the consequences of this pandemic, I ask myself: am I capable of crying as, surely, Jesus would have done and Jesus is doing it now? Does my heart resemble that of Jesus? And if it is too hard, even if I am able to speak, to do good, to help, but if my heart does not enter, if I am not able to cry, I must ask the Lord for this grace. Lord, may I cry with you, cry with your people who are suffering right now. Many are crying today. And we, from this altar, from this sacrifice of Jesus ... Jesus who was not ashamed to cry ... let us ask for the grace to cry. May it be for all of us today like the Sunday of tears.
After the completion of the Mass, the Holy Father spent some time in prayer before the Blessed Sacrament. He instructed all those who were watching from a distance:
People who cannot receive communion because of the distance, now make a spiritual communion.
His Holiness offered the following prayer, leading all those who were united with him in prayer via various media:
My Jesus, I believe that you are truly present in the Blessed Sacrament of the altar. I love you above all things and I desire you in my soul. Since I cannot receive You sacramentally now, at least spiritually come to my heart. As you have already come, I embrace you and I join myself to you. Do not let me ever be separated from you.
Greetings of the Holy Father, Pope Francis
prior to the celebration of the Mass
I think of many people who are crying: isolated people, people in quarantine, the elderly who are alone, people who have recovered and people who are being treated, parents who are seeing that, since there is no salary coming in, they will not be able to feed their children. Many people are crying. Even us, in our hearts, we are accompanying all those people. And it won't hurt us to cry a little with the Lord who also is weeping for all his people.
Homily of the Holy Father, Pope Francis
during the Mass celebrated on 29 March 2020
Jesus had friends. He loved them all, but he had some friends with whom he had a special relationship, as one does with friends: relationships of more love, more confidence ... And many, many times he stayed at the house of these friends: Lazarus, Martha, Mary ... And Jesus he felt pain for his friend's illness and death. He arrived at the tomb and was deeply moved and very upset as he asked: Where did you put him? (Jn 11:34). And Jesus burst into tears. Jesus, God, but man, wept. Another time in the Gospel, it is said that Jesus cried: when he cried over Jerusalem (Lk 19:41-42). Jesus cries with great tenderness! He cries from the heart, he cries with love, he cries with his friends who are crying. The cry of Jesus. Perhaps, he cried at other times in life - we don't know -; certainly he cried in the Garden of Olives. But Jesus cries because he loves us, always.
He was deeply moved and very upset; he cried. How many times have we heard this commotion in the gospels: Jesus, with that phrase that is repeated: Seeing this, he had compassion (cf Mt 9:36; Mt 13:14). Jesus cannot see people and feel no compassion. His eyes look with the heart; Jesus sees with the eyes, but sees with the heart and is capable of crying.
Today, faced with a world that is suffering so much, so many people who are suffering the consequences of this pandemic, I ask myself: am I capable of crying as, surely, Jesus would have done and Jesus is doing it now? Does my heart resemble that of Jesus? And if it is too hard, even if I am able to speak, to do good, to help, but if my heart does not enter, if I am not able to cry, I must ask the Lord for this grace. Lord, may I cry with you, cry with your people who are suffering right now. Many are crying today. And we, from this altar, from this sacrifice of Jesus ... Jesus who was not ashamed to cry ... let us ask for the grace to cry. May it be for all of us today like the Sunday of tears.
After the completion of the Mass, the Holy Father spent some time in prayer before the Blessed Sacrament. He instructed all those who were watching from a distance:
People who cannot receive communion because of the distance, now make a spiritual communion.
His Holiness offered the following prayer, leading all those who were united with him in prayer via various media:
Prayer to make a spiritual communion
My Jesus, I believe that you are truly present in the Blessed Sacrament of the altar. I love you above all things and I desire you in my soul. Since I cannot receive You sacramentally now, at least spiritually come to my heart. As you have already come, I embrace you and I join myself to you. Do not let me ever be separated from you.
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