JUBILEE AUDIENCE POPE FRANCIS
EXTRAORDINARY JUBILEE OF MERCY
St Peter's Square
Saturday, 18 June 2016
Saturday, 18 June 2016
Mercy and
conversion (cf. Lk 24:45-48)
Dear
Brothers and Sisters, Good morning!
After his Resurrection, Jesus
appeared several times to his disciples before ascending to the glory of the
Father. The Gospel passage that we have just heard (Lk 24:45-48) recounts one
of these manifestations, in which the Lord indicates the fundamental content of
the preaching that they must offer the world. We can synthesize it in two
words: “conversion” and “forgiveness of sins”. These are the two qualifying
aspects of the mercy of God who lovingly cares for us. Today let us take into
considerationconversion.
What is conversion? It is
present throughout the Bible, and particularly in the preaching of the
prophets, who continually urge the people to “return to the Lord” by asking him
for forgiveness and changing their ways. Conversion, according to the prophets,
means changing direction and turning to the Lord anew, relying on the certainty
that He loves us and his love is ever steadfast. Returning to the Lord.
Jesus made conversion the
first word of his preaching: “Repent and believe in the Gospel” (Mk 1:15). With
this proclamation he presents himself to the people, asking them to accept his
Word as God’s final and definitive words to humanity (cf. Mk 12:1-11). Speaking
of conversion with regard to the preaching of the prophets, Jesus insists even
more on the interior dimension. In fact, it involves the whole person, heart
and mind, in order to become a new creature, a new person. Change your heart
and you will be renewed.
When Jesus calls one to
conversion, he does not set himself up as judge of persons, but he calls from a
position nearby, because he shares in the human condition, and therefore calls
from the street, from the home, from the table.... Mercy towards those who
needed to change their lives came about through his lovable presence so as to
involve each person in his salvation history. Jesus persuaded people with his
kindness, with love and with his way of being, he touched the depths of
people’s hearts and they felt attracted by the love of God and urged to change
their lifestyle. For example, the conversion of Matthew (cf. Mt 9:9-13) and of
Zacchaeus (cf. Lk 19:1-10) happened in exactly this manner, because they felt
loved by Jesus and, through Him, by the Father. True conversion happens when we
accept the gift of grace, and a clear sign of its authenticity is when we
become aware of the needs of our brothers and are ready to draw near to them.
Dear brothers and sisters, how
many times have we also felt the need to effect a change which would involve
our entire person! How often do we say to ourselves: “I need to change, I can’t
continue this way.... My life on this path will not bear fruit; it will be a
useless life and I will not be happy”. How often these thoughts come, how
often!... And Jesus, who is near us, extends his hand and says, “Come, come to
me. I’ll do the work: I’ll change your heart, I’ll change your life, I will
make you happy”. But do we believe this, yes or no? What do you think: do you
believe this or not? Less applause and more voice! Do you believe or not?
[‘Yes!’]. So it is. Jesus who is with us invites us to change our life. It is
He, with the Holy Spirit, who sows in us this restlessness to change our life
and be a little better. Let us follow, therefore, this invitation of the Lord
and let us not put up resistance, because only if we open ourselves to His
mercy will we find true life and true joy.
All we have to do is open the
door wide, and He will do the rest. He does everything, but we must open our
heart wide so that he can heal us and make us go forward. I assure you that we
will be much happier. Thank you.
Special
greetings:
I greet the English-speaking
pilgrims and visitors taking part in today’s Audience, particularly those from
England, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Singapore and the United States of America. With
prayerful good wishes that the current Jubilee of Mercy may be a time of grace
and spiritual renewal for you and your families, I invoke upon all of you
the joy and peace of our Lord Jesus Christ.
I extend a special greeting to young
people, to the sick and to newlyweds. Next
Saturday we will celebrate the memory of St William Abbot (or St William of
Montevergine). Dear young people, may his evangelical zeal inspire
you to courageous choices for the good; dear sick people, may his
gentleness sustain you in carrying your cross in spiritual union with the heart
of Christ; dearnewlyweds, may his bond with Christ the Saviour help you
to unite your family with love. Thank you.
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