EXTRAORDINARY JUBILEE OF
MERCY
JUBILEE AUDIENCE POPE
FRANCIS
St
Peter's Square Saturday, 14 May 2016
Mercy
like piety
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
Good morning!
It is not a very nice day,
but you are brave and you came have come despite the rain. Thank you! This
audience is taking place in two locations: the sick are in the Paul VI Hall
because of the rain. They are more comfortable there and are following us on the
jumbo screen; and we are here. We are together... and I suggest that you greet
them with a round of applause. It’s not easy to applaud holding an umbrella in
your hand!
The piety that we wish to
talk about is a manifestation of God’s mercy. It is one of the seven gifts of
the Holy Spirit, whom the Lord offers to his disciples to render them “docile
in readily obeying divine inspirations” (Catechism of the Catholic Church,
n. 1831). Many times the Gospel refers to the spontaneous cry that the sick, of
those who are possessed, poor or afflicted people addressed to Jesus: “Have
mercy” (cf. Mk 10:47-48; Mt 15:22, 17:15). Jesus responded to all with his gaze
of mercy and the comfort of his presence. In those invocations for help or
requests for mercy, each person also expressed his or her faith in Jesus,
calling him ‘Teacher’, ‘Son of David’ and ‘Lord’. They perceived that there was
something extraordinary about Him, that could help them to emerge from their
state of distress. They perceived in Him the love of God himself. Even if the
people were crowding around him Jesus was aware of those cries for mercy and he
was moved to compassion, especially when he saw people suffering and wounded in
their dignity, as in the case of the haemorrhaging woman (cf. Mk 5:32). He
called her to trust in Him and in his Word (cf. Jn 6:48-55). For Jesus, feeling
compassion is the same as sharing in the distress of those he meets, but at the
same time, it is also getting involved in a personal way so that it might be
transformed into joy.
We too are called to
cultivate within us attitudes of compassion before the many situations of life,
to shake off the indifference that impedes us from recognizing the need of the
brothers and sisters who surround us and to free ourselves from the slavery of
material wellbeing (cf. 1 Tim 6:3-8).
Let us look to the example
of the Virgin Mary, who takes care of each one of her children and is for us
believers the icon of compassion. Dante Alighieri expresses it in the prayer to
Our Lady in Paradiso: “In you compassion is, in you is pity, [...]
in you is every goodness found in any creature (XXXIII, 19-21). Thank you.
Special greetings:
Through the intercession
of the Virgin Mary, we are invited on the eve of Pentecost, to shake off our
indifference that sometimes blinds us to the needs of our brothers and sisters,
and to free ourselves from the bondage of material goods.
May God bless you all.
I greet the
English-speaking pilgrims and visitors taking part in today’s Audience,
particularly those from England and the Philippines. In the joy of the Risen
Lord, I invoke upon you and your families the loving mercy of God our Father.
May the Lord bless you all!
I greet the young
people, the sick and the newlyweds. Today is
the Feast of St Matthias, the final Apostle to become one of the Twelve. May
his spiritual vigour encourage you, dear young people, especially
the students of the Sacred Heart and Paul VI of Rome, to be consistent with
your faith. May his abandonment in the Risen Christ sustain you, dear sick
people, in moments of great difficulty. May his missionary dedication remind
you, dear newlyweds, that love is the irreplaceable foundation of the family.
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