At the Angelus, the pontiff issued an appeal for Bishop Alverez sentenced to 26 years in prison by the Ortega regime after refusing to go into exile. Francis also called on the faithful to continue to pray and support earthquake victims in Turkey and Syria. “God loves us as one who is enamoured,” he said. Faith cannot be reduced to external acts.
Vatican City (AsiaNews) – Pope Francis spoke to the faithful gathered in St Peter's Square today for the Angelus prayer. In his address he said that “God does not reason with calculations and tables; he loves us as one who is enamoured.”
Citing the images of devastation that continue to come out of Turkey and Syria hit by an earthquake a week ago, he urged the faithful to continue praying and supporting the victims of the natural disaster.
The pope also made an appeal against political repression in Nicaragua, where Bishop Rolando Alvarez was sentenced to 26 years in prison by Daniel Ortega's region.
Commenting on today's liturgy about Jesus who did not come “to abolish the law or the prophets. I have come not to abolish but to fulfil” (Mt 5,17), the pontiff told the faithful to ask themselves what “to fulfil” means. He explained it starting with Jesus who said that we should reconcile with our brother before presenting an offering at the altar.
“Making an offering to God reciprocates the free giving of his gifts. It was a very important rite [. . .] so important that to interrupt it was forbidden other than for serious reasons. But Jesus states that it must be interrupted if a brother has something against us, in order to go and be reconciled with him first: only in this way is the rite fulfilled.
The message is clear. For Francis, “religious rules are necessary, they are good, but they are only the beginning: to fulfil them, it is necessary to go beyond the letter and live their meaning. The commandments that God has given us must not be locked up in the airless vaults of formal observance; otherwise, we are limited to an exterior, detached religiosity, servants of “God the Master” rather than children of “God the Father”.
“[T]his problem was present not only in Jesus’ time; it is there today too. At times, for example, we hear it said, ‘Father, I have not killed, I have not stolen, I have not harmed anyone…’, as if to say, ‘I am fine’. This is formal observance, which is satisfied with the bare minimum, whereas Jesus invites us to aspire to the maximum possible.”
Hence, he asks: “[H]ow do I live faith? Is it a matter of calculations, formalism, or a love story with God? Am I content merely with not doing harm, of keeping the “façade” in good order, or do I try to grow in love for God and others? And every now and then, do I check myself on Jesus’ great commandment, do I ask myself if I love my neighbour as He loves me? Because perhaps we are inflexible in judging others and forget to be merciful, as God is with us.
After the Angelus prayer, the pontiff urged the faithful to be close to earthquake victims in Syria and Turkey. “Let [. . .] us pray and think about what we can do for them. And let us not forget tormented Ukraine: may the Lord open ways of peace and give those responsible the courage to follow them.”
The pope also made an appeal in response to the tragic situation in Nicaragua, where Bishop Rolando Alvarez of Matagalpa, held in prison for six months, was sentenced to 26 years in prison by Daniel Ortega's regime after refusing to go into exile.
“The news from Nicaragua has saddened me a great deal, and I cannot but remember with concern Bishop Rolando Álvarez of Matagalpa, whom I care about greatly, sentenced to 26 years imprisonment, and also those who have been deported to the United States. I pray for them and for all those who are suffering in that dear nation, and I ask for your prayers.
“Let us also ask the Lord, by the intercession of the Immaculate Virgin Mary, to open the hearts of political leaders and all citizens to the sincere search for peace, which is born of truth, justice, freedom and love, and which is achieved through the patient pursuit of dialogue.”