Pope: The Sacred Heart of Jesus, the mercy of God gives life to man, it raises us from the dead
Vatican City (AsiaNews) "The mercy of God," symbolized by the Heart of Jesus, "gives life to man, it raises us from death." This is was the focus of Pope Francis address today before praying the Angelus with the faithful in St. Peter's Square, among which a group of pilgrims from Mumbai (India), whom the pontiff greeted after the prayer Marian. As has become custom at this point, the square was full of people from all over the world.
Francis, who pays great attention
to popular piety, began by noting that two ago the Church celebrated the
Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, a feast that sets "the tone for the entire
month" of June. "Popular
piety - he added - adds great value to a lot of the symbols, and the Heart of
Jesus is the ultimate symbol of God's mercy, but is not an imaginary symbol, it
is a real symbol, which represents the center of the source from which the
salvation for all humanity flows. "
"But
the mercy of Jesus is not just sentiment, indeed, is a life giving force, which
resuscitates man." The
Pope then recalled the Gospel of today's Mass, which tells of the widow of Nain's
children being raised from the dead (Luke 7, 11-17).
"The gaze of Jesus -
explained the pope - is now fixed on the mother in tears. The evangelist Luke
says:" Seeing her, the Lord was moved with great compassion "(v. 13).
This" compassion "is God's And in conclusion, he added: "Let us
turn to the Virgin Mary, her immaculate heart, her mother's heart, he shared
the most of the" compassion "of God, especially at the hour of the
passion and death of Jesus Mary help us to be meek , meek and
merciful with our brothers. "
After
the Angelus Francis greeted the different groups of pilgrims. And
surprisingly has not added: "Today, let's not forget the love of Jesus"love
for man, this is mercy, God's attitude in the face of human misery, of our
poverty, our suffering, our anguish. The biblical term "compassion" recalls
the mother's womb: a
mother, in fact, reacts in a completely unique way before the pain of her children.
The Scripture says this is how God loves us"."
"And
what is the fruit of this love? It is life! Jesus said to the widow of
Nain:" Do not weep, "and then he called the dead boy and awoke him as
if from sleep (cf. vv. 13-15). The
mercy of God gives life to man, it raises us from the dead. The Lord is always
watching us with mercy, He awaits us with mercy. Let us not be afraid to
approach him! Have a merciful heart! If we show our inner wounds, our
sins, He always forgives us. He is pure mercy". And
the Pope repeated several times: "Let us always remember: Jesus is pure
mercy He always forgives us! Let's go to Jesus."
And in conclusion, he added:
"Let us turn to the Virgin Mary, her immaculate heart, her mother's heart,
she who shared the" compassion "of God the most, especially at the
hour of the passion and death of Jesus. Mary help us to be meek , meek and
merciful with our brothers. "
After
the Angelus Francis greeted the different groups of pilgrims. And
surprisingly added: "Today, let's not forget the love of Jesus".
And speaking of surprises,
yesterday evening, the pope addressed pilgrims from Macerata to Loreto, the
annual pilgrimage proposed by Communion and Liberation, which this year reached
its 35th edition. This
year about 100 thousand people attended, mostly young people (see photo).
The
Pope phoned the young people gathered in the stadium Helvia Recina of Macerata at
the beginning of the pilgrimage.
After
greeting those present and wishing Card. Marc
Ouellet, who would soon after presided at the Eucharist, a happy birthday, Francis
added: "I know that you will walk for 28 kilometers through the night,
reciting the rosary, singing together, guided. This is beautiful because this is
the paradigm of life. Life is
a pilgrimage. What's important is our encounter with Jesus on this journey, our
encounter with Him, and this gives us faith. Allow yourself to be guided by
Jesus, let yourself be guided by Jesus !
So many times for us as faith is a self-evident presupposition of living: we
say "I believe in God" - and that's fine - but how do you live this
life of faith? It's what you do with that faith that becomes a real experience.
When
we meet, when we meet the Lord, He surprises us. We could call Him
the Lord of surprises. Be
open to God's surprises for you too, the event of this night-time pilgrimage,
which grows every year, is a surprise, it is a sign that nothing is impossible
with God. How else can you explain that
you were 300 in '1978 you have become 90,000 last year? You
too can count on Jesus, on this charming and attractive presence. When
you feel tired and you will be tempted to go on your own, think about this:
repeat your yes, pray that each of you will recognize in His flesh wounded in
body and spirit, your own humanity in need of Christ's humanity, the only one
that can really satisfy man's desire.
The
theme you have chosen for this night refers to this. Go
forward with hope, dear young people, go forward in hope! And
please: do not let them rob you of hope, a hope gifted you by the Lord. Have a good Mass, a good pilgrimage, and May the
good Lord bless you. Pray for me.
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