ANGELUS POPE FRANCIS 26 DECEMBER 2015
ANGELUS POPE FRANCIS
FEAST OF ST STEPHEN, PROTOMARTYR
Saint Peter's Square
Saturday, 26 December 2015
Saturday, 26 December 2015
Dear Brothers and Sisters, Good morning!
Today we
celebrate the Feast of St Stephen. The remembrance of the first martyr follows
immediately after the solemnity of Christmas. Yesterday we contemplated the
merciful love of God, who became flesh for us. Today we see the consistent
response of Jesus’ disciple, who gives his life. Yesterday the Saviour was born
on earth; today his faithful servant is born in heaven. Yesterday, as today,
the shadows of the rejection of life appear, but the light of love — which
conquers hatred and inaugurates a new world — shines even brighter. There is a
special aspect in today’s account of the Acts of the Apostles, which brings St
Stephen close to the Lord. It is his forgiveness before he is
stoned to death. Nailed to the cross, Jesus said, “Father, forgive
them; for they know not what they do” (Lk 23:34). Likewise, Stephen “knelt down
and cried with a loud voice, ‘Lord, do not hold this sin against them’” (Acts
7:60). Stephen is therefore a martyr, which means witness, because he
does as Jesus did. Indeed, true witnesses are those who act as He did:
those who pray, who love, who give, but above all those who forgive,
because forgiveness, as the word itself says, is the highest expression of
giving.
We could
ask, however, what good is it to forgive? Is it merely a good deed or does it
bring results? We find an answer in the very martyrdom of Stephen. Among those
for whom he implores forgiveness there is a young man named Saul; this man
persecuted the Church and tried to destroy her (cf. Acts 8:3). Shortly
thereafter Saul becomes Paul, the great saint, the apostle of the people. He
has received Stephen’s forgiveness. We could say that Paul is born by the grace
of God and by Stephen’s forgiveness.
We too are
born by the forgiveness of God. Not only in Baptism, but each time we are
forgiven our heart is reborn, it is renewed. With each step forward
in the life of faith the sign of divine mercy is imprinted anew. For only when
we are loved are we in turn able to love. Let us remember this, it will be good
for us: if we wish to progress in faith, first of all we must receive God’s
forgiveness; we must meet the Father, who is willing to forgive all things,
always, and who precisely in forgiving heals the heart and rekindles love. We
must never tire of asking for divine forgiveness, because only when we are
forgiven, when we feel we are forgiven, do we learn to forgive.
Forgiving,
however, is not an easy thing, it is always very difficult. How can we imitate
Jesus? From what point do we begin to pardon the small and great wrongs that we
suffer each day? First of all, beginning with prayer, as St Stephen did.
We begin with our own heart: with prayer we are able to face the resentment we
feel, by entrusting to God’s mercy those who have wronged us:
“Lord, I ask you for him, I ask you for her”. Then we discover that this inner
struggle to forgive cleanses us of evil, and that prayer and love free us from
the interior chains of bitterness. It is so awful to live in bitterness! Every
day we have the opportunity to practice forgiving, to live a gesture so lofty
that it brings man closer to God. Like our heavenly Father, may we too become
merciful, because through forgiveness, we conquer evil with good,
we transform hatred into love and in this way we make the world cleaner.
May the
Virgin Mary, to whom we entrust those — and unfortunately there are so many —
who like St Stephen suffer persecution in the name of the faith, our many
martyrs of today, direct our prayer to receive and give forgiveness. Receive
and give forgiveness.
After the Angelus:
Dear
brothers and sisters, I greet all of you pilgrims, from Italy and other
countries. I renew to all of you the wish that contemplating the Child Jesus,
with Mary and Joseph at his side, may engender an attitude of reciprocal mercy
and love in families, in parish and religious communities, in movements and
associations, in all the faithful and in all people of good will.
In recent
weeks I received many messages of good wishes from Rome and elsewhere. It is
impossible for me to respond to each one. Therefore, today I express to you and
to all my deep gratitude, especially for the gift of prayer.
Happy Feast
of St Stephen and please do not forget to prayer for me. Enjoy your
lunch! Arrivederci!
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