Vatican City, 10 May 2015 (VIS) –
During this Sunday's Regina Coeli, before thousands of faithful
gathered in St. Peter's Square, the Pope commented on the day's
Gospel reading which “takes us back to the Cenacle, where we hear
Jesus' new commandment, 'that you love one another as I have loved
you'”. He affirmed, “these words, pronounced during the Last
Supper, summarise all Jesus' message; or rather, they summarise all
He has gone. Jesus gave His life for His friends. Friends who had not
understood Him, who had at the crucial moment abandoned, betrayed and
denied Him. This shows us that He loves us even though we do not
deserve His love: this is how Jesus loves us!”.
“In this way, Jesus shows us the road
to follow Him, the path of love. His commandment is not a simple
precept, … something abstract and external with regard to life.
Christ's commandment is new because He was the first to realise it,
He gave flesh to it, and thus the law of love is written once and for
all in the heart of man. … It is a concrete path, a road that leads
us out of ourselves to reach out to others. Jesus showed us that
God's love is implemented in love for our neighbour. They both go
together. The pages of the Gospel are full of this love: adults and
children, the cultured and the simple, rich and poor, the righteous
and sinners all find welcome in Christ's heart”.
“This Word of the Lord calls upon us
to love each other, even if we do not always understand each other,
even if we do not always agree … but it is precisely there that we
see Christian love. A love that is shown even if there are
differences of opinion and character: but love is greater than these
differences. And this is the love that Jesus has taught us. … This
love of Christ, that the Holy Spirit pours into our hearts, works
wonders every day in the Church and in the world. There are many
large and small gestures that obey the Lord's commandment”.
“Little everyday gestures, gestures
of closeness to an elderly person, a child, a sick person, someone
who is alone or in difficulty, homeless, jobless, an immigrant, a
refugee. … Thanks to the strength of this Word of Christ, every one
of us can be close to the brother and the sister he encounters.
Gestures of closeness, of proximity. In these gestures, the love that
Christ has taught us is made manifest”.
Following the Regina Coeli, the Pope
greeted, among others, the Italian State Forestry Corps, which is
organising the national day for National Reserves for the rediscovery
and respect for the beauty of creation; the participants in the
conference, promoted by the Italian Episcopal Conference in support
of high-quality schooling open to families; a delegation of women
from “Komen Italia”, an association engaged in the fight against
breast cancer; and those who have taken part in an initiative for
life which took place in Rome this morning.
“And, speaking of life”, he added,
“today in many countries we celebrate Mother's Day: let us remember
all mothers with gratitude and affection, and let us applaud them,
all the mothers who are here in the Square. And with this applause,
let us embrace all mothers, all our dear mothers: those who live with
us physically, but also those who remain with us spiritually. May the
Lord bless them all, and may Our Lady, to whom this month is
dedicated, protect them”.
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