Vatican City, 10 February 2016 (VIS) –
This morning the Holy Father dedicated the catechesis of his
Wednesday general audience, held in St. Peter's Square, to a
reflection on the biblical meaning of the Jubilee. Francis explained
that every fifty years, on the Day of Atonement, a great event of
liberation was announced. It consisted of a type of "general
amnesty", in which all debts were cancelled and the land was
restored to its owners. The central idea is that the earth belongs to
God and has been entrusted to men as administrators. The Pope added
that the biblical jubilee was a true jubilee of mercy which had the
function of helping the people to experience genuine fraternity by
sincerely pursuing, by means of mutual assistance, the good of their
brother in need. Likewise he mentioned other rules and customs, such
as the payment of the tithe, or one-tenth of their harvest, or the
sharing of the first part of the harvest, and the prohibition of
loads with disproportionate rates of interest, all intended to help
the poor, the orphans and widows. Francis emphasised that the message
of the biblical jubilee invites us to construct a land and a society
based on solidarity, sharing and the just distribution of resources.
He stressed that if the Jubilee does
not "reach our pockets" then it is not a true jubilee, and
that this, "is in the Bible, it wasn't invented by the Pope".
"We are all guests of the Lord, awaiting the celestial homeland,
called upon to make the world that welcomes us inhabitable and human.
And how much of the harvest the more fortunate could give to those
who are in need! Not only the fruits of the fields, but also any
other produce of work: salaries, savings, the many things we possess
and which are often wasted. It also happens today".
"Thinking of this, the Holy
Scripture insistently exhorts us to respond generously to requests
for loans, without mean calculations and without demanding
unreasonable rates of interest. … This teaching remains current.
How many situations of usury do we see, and how much suffering and
anguish among families? Very often, in desperation, men even arrive
at the point of suicide because they can no longer cope; they are
without hope and no-one extends a hand to help them, only a hand to
demand they pay interest. Usury is a grave sin. … But the Lord
promised His blessing to those who extend their hand to give
generously. He will redouble the repayment, perhaps not in money but
with other things; it will always be redoubled". Francis
concluded by reiterating that "if we wish to receive God's
mercy, we must start by being merciful ourselves, starting with our
co-citizens, among families, peoples, continents. Contributing to
creating an earth without poverty means building societies without
discrimination, based on the solidarity that leads us to share what
we possess, in a division of resources based on brotherhood and
justice".
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