Angelus: the only privilege in the eyes of God is not having privileges

Vatican City, 31 January 2016 (VIS) – At midday today the Pope prayed the Angelus with the pilgrims and faithful in St. Peter's Square. Beforehand he commented on the day's Gospel reading, which "like last Sunday leads us to the synagogue of Nazareth, the village of Galilee where Jesus grew up in His family and was known to all. He had left shortly before to begin His public life, but returns for the first time and presents Himself to the community, gathered on the Sabbath in the synagogue. He reads the passage from the prophet Isaiah, who speaks about the future messiah, and at the end declares: 'Today this Scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing'. His fellow townspeople, at first surprised and admiring, began to sneer and murmur among themselves, and to say, 'why does this man who claims to be the Consecrated of the Lord not repeat here the works and miracles that He did in Capernaum and the other nearby towns?'. Jesus then declares, 'No prophet is accepted in his own native place', and recalls the great prophets of the past, Elijah and Elisha, who worked miracles for the pagans in order to denounce the lack of faith of their people. At this point, those present are offended, they rise in indignation, they drive Jesus out of the town and want to throw Him over a precipice. But He, with the strength of His peace, 'passed through the midst of them and went away'. His hour had not yet come".

The Pope explained that this account of the Evangelist Luke is not simply the story of a community dispute, as can sometimes happen in our own neighbourhoods too, caused by envy and jealousies, but also brings to light a temptation that a religious person is always vulnerable to — we are all vulnerable to it — and which we must certainly avoid. … It is the temptation to consider religion as a human investment and thus to 'negotiate' with God, seeking our own interests. Instead, true religion is receiving the revelation of a God Who is the Father and Who cares for every one of his creatures, even the smallest and least significant in the eyes of man. This is precisely what Jesus’ prophetic ministry consists of: announcing that no human condition can be a motive for exclusion … from the heart of the Father, and that the only privilege in the eyes of God is that of not having privileges. The only privilege in the eyes of God is that of not having privileges, of not having protectors, of abandoning oneself in His hands".

“The 'today' proclaimed by Christ that day applies to every day; it resonates for us in this Square too, reminding us of the current importance of and need for salvation brought by Jesus to humanity. God goes out towards the men and women of all times and places in the concrete situations in which they find themselves. He also comes out towards us. He is always the one Who takes the first step. He comes to visit us with His mercy, to lift us from the dust of our sin; He comes to extend His hand to lift us from the abyss in which our pride has caused us to fall, and He invites us to welcome the consoling truth of the Gospel and to walk the paths of righteousness. He always comes to find us, to seek us".

Francis concluded by invoking Our Lady, explaining that the situation was a foretaste of what she would suffer below the Cross, seeing her Son in the synagogue, "first admired, then challenged, then insulted, and threatened with death. In her heart, filled with faith, she conserved all these things".

The Pope: be instruments of peace

Vatican City, 31 January 2016 (VIS) – Following today's Marian prayer the Pope greeted all the pilgrims gathered in St. Peter's Square and mentioned that today is World Leprosy Day. "This illness, although in regression, unfortunately still afflicts the poorest and most marginalised people. It is important to keep alive our solidarity with these brothers and sisters who are incapacitated by this disease. We assure them of our prayers and of our support to those who assist them. Well done to these laypeople, these nuns, these priests".

The Holy Father also dedicated some words to a group of young people from Catholic Action of the diocese of Rome, who have come to the end of their Caravan of Peace. He encouraged them to be instruments of peace and mercy among their peers, so that this year their "witness of peace, inspired by faith in Jesus, may be even more joyful and aware, enriched by the gesture of passing through the Holy Door". A group of young people read the Message aloud and released balloons in the square as a symbol of peace.

First Jubilee audience: mercy and mission

Vatican City, 30 January 2016 (VIS) – Pope Francis dedicated the first of his Jubilee audiences to the theme "Mercy and Mission". The Jubilee audiences are an initiative of the Holy Father during the Holy Year, enabling those who are unable to attend the Wednesday general audiences to participate in his catechesis. On this occasion more than 22,000 people were present in St. Peter's Square.

"Day by day we enter into the life of this Holy Year of Mercy. With His grace, the Lord guides our steps as we cross the Holy Door and comes towards us so as to stay always with us, despite our shortcomings and our contradictions. Let us never tire of asking His forgiveness, as when we are weak His closeness makes us stronger and allows us to live our faith with greater joy".

Referring to the close link between mercy and mission, Francis underlined that as Christians we have the responsibility to be missionaries of the Gospel. "When we receive good news or have a good experience it is natural that we wish to communicate it to others. … The joy we feel inspires us to do so. It should be the same when we encounter the Lord. Indeed, the concrete sign we have truly encountered Jesus is the joy we feel in communicating this to others too. This is not proselytism, but rather it is a gift: I give you what makes me joyful. Reading the Gospel we see that this was also the experience of the first disciples. … Encountering Jesus is the same as encountering His love. This love transforms us and makes us able to transmit to others the strength that it gives us".

"We could say that the day of our Baptism each one of us is given another name alongside the one we receive from our mother and father, and this name is 'Christopher', which means 'Christ-bearer'. The name of our approach, as bearers of Christ's joy and mercy", remarked the Holy Father. "The Christian is a bearer of Christ. … But the mercy we receive from the Father is not given to us as a private consolation, but rather makes us instruments to enable others to receive the same gift. There is a wonderful circularity between mercy and mission".

"Living mercy makes us missionaries of mercy, and being missionaries enables us increasingly to grow in God's mercy. So, let us take seriously the fact of being Christians, and let us commit ourselves to living as believers, because only in this way may the Gospel touch the people's hearts, opening them to receive the grace of love", concluded the Holy Father.

The Pope reiterates the importance of protecting workers' health

Vatican City, 30 January 2016 (VIS) – Following his catechesis the Pope greeted, among others, the Italian faithful including members of the National Association of Maimed and Injured Workers (ANMIL), whose presence offered the Holy Father the opportunity to reiterate the importance of protecting workers' health and safety and defending human life, a gift from God, especially when it is at its weakest and most fragile.

He also addressed the managers and employees of Rome's transport agency, ATAC, encouraging them in their work as today, he said, "the quality of social life depends greatly on the quality of transport". He expressed his hope for increased efforts to reduced pollution and thanked ATAC employees for their service to pilgrims, especially during the Jubilee Year.

Finally, he greeted the young, the sick and newly-weds. "Tomorrow we commemorate St. John Bosco, the apostle of youth. Look to him, dear young people, as an exemplary educator. You, dear sick people, may learn from his spiritual experience always to trust in the crucified Christ. And you, dear newly-weds, ask his intercession so as to take on your conjugal mission with generous commitment".

Presentation of the book "Witnesses of the Resurrected"

Vatican City, 1 February 2016 (VIS) – This morning a press conference was held in the Holy See Press Office to present the book "Witnesses of the Resurrected", the proceedings of the annual formation course for new bishops organised by the Congregation for Bishops, edited by the Vatican Publishing House (LEV). The speakers were Cardinal Marc Ouellet, P.S.S., prefect of the Congregation for Bishops; Archbishop Ilson de Jesus Montanari, secretary of the same Congregation, and Archbishop Francesco Cacucci of Bari-Bitonto, rapporteur of the Course.

"This experience began from afar", said Cardinal Ouellet. "Indeed, the Synods held during the last decades have shown that there is a need for the formation of all those who form part of the Church: laypeople, priests, men and women religious, and also bishops. … In the light of these declarations, the Congregation for Bishops, after careful discernment, began its experience of the course for new bishops. The first event, coordinated by the then-prefect, Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, was carried out in late June and early July 2001. The next will therefore be the sixteenth edition. Bishops from all over the world will travel to Rome for this initiative, under the patronage of the Congregation for Bishops, in collaboration with the Congregation for the Oriental Churches and, occasionally, the Congregation for the Evangelisation of Peoples".

"This means that more than 1500 bishops have started their pastoral mission via this experience of eight or nine days of cohabitation, fraternal exchange, conferences, debates and, above all, encounters with the Holy Father and representatives of the Curia Romana and the episcopate worldwide. The content shared in this course is published in this book and made available to the public, to allow observations and suggestions to be made that may be useful for improving the experience".

Archbishop Francesco Cacucci explained that "in a moment of hyperactivity and fragmentation, the bishop is called upon today more than ever to be a man of synthesis and to help priests, "brothers and friends", to share the essential. … The Congress of Italian Churches, held in Florence last November, was encouraged by the Holy Father to live an effective synodality. Walking together (synod) with priests, consecrated persons and laypeople may be tiresome but it is an expression of love, of the communion in the Church. It may be said, after St. Augustine, that when one loves, even hardship is beloved. Therefore, to be a 'witness of the Resurrecetd', the bishop is called upon to be a man of prayer, especially of prayer for intercession".

Archbishop Ilson de Jesus Montanari added that during these sixteen years the number of bishops participating has always been more than a hundred, and explained that after the first meetings, the Congregation for Oriental Churches joined in the experience, sending more bishops. "This presence has enabled us to obtain a better knowledge of the situation of these churches, which often face problems or are in minority situations, so as to strengthen fraternal relations with them", he concluded.