GENERAL AUDIENCE POPE FRANCIS
Saint Peter's Square
Wednesday, 16 November 2016
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| PHOTO: L'OOSERVATORE ROMANO |
36. Bearing wrongs patiently
Dear Brothers and Sisters, Good
morning!
We dedicate today’s catechesis to
a work of mercy that we all know very well, but that perhaps we do not put into
practice as we should: bearing wrongs patiently. We are all very
good at identifying something that can be bothersome: it happens when we encounter
someone on the street, or when we receive a phone call.... We immediately
think: “How long will I have to listen to this person’s complaints, gossip,
requests or boastings? It also happens, at times, that the bothersome people
are those who are closest to us. There is always someone among our relatives;
the workplace is not without them; not even in our free time are we spared.
What are we supposed to do with people who annoy us? But often we also annoy
others. Why was this also added among the works of mercy? Bear wrongs
patiently.
In the Bible we see that God
himself must employ mercy in order to bear the lamentings of his people. For
example, in the Book of Exodus the people become truly unbearable: first they
cry because they are slaves in Egypt, and God frees them; then, in the desert,
they complain because there is nothing to eat (cf. 16:3), and God sends them
quails and manna (cf. 16:13-16), but nevertheless the complaints do not cease.
Moses served as mediator between God and the people, and several times he too
would have annoyed the Lord. But God had patience and thus he taught Moses and
also the people this essential dimension of faith.
Therefore a first question arises
spontaneously: do we ever conduct an examination of conscience in order to see
if we too, at times, might be annoying to others? It’s easy to point a finger
against the faults and shortcomings of others, but we must learn to put
ourselves in their shoes.
Above all let us look to Jesus:
how much patience he had to have in the three years of his public life! Once,
while he was walking with his disciples, he was stopped by James and John’s
mother, who said to him: “Command that these two sons of mine may sit, one at
your right hand and one at your left, in your kingdom” (Mt 20:21). The mother
was lobbying for her sons, but she was their mother.... Even from that
situation Jesus is inspired to give a fundamental lesson: his is not a kingdom
of power, it is not a kingdom of glory like those on earth, but of service and
charitable giving to others. Jesus teaches to always go to the essential and to
look further in order to accept our mission responsibly. Here we can see the
reference to two other spiritual works of mercy: that of admonishing
sinners and that of instructing the ignorant. Let us think
about the great effort that can be made when we help people to grow in faith
and in life. I think, for example, of catechists — among whom are many mothers
and many women religious — who devote time to teaching young people the basic
elements of the faith. How much effort, especially when the kids would prefer
to play rather than listen to the catechism!
To accompany in the search for
the essential is beautiful and important, because it makes us share the joy of
savouring the meaning of life. It often happens that we encounter people who
linger on superficial, ephemeral and banal things; at times because they have
never met anyone who spurs them to seek something else, to appreciate the true
treasures. Teaching to look to the essential is a crucial help, especially in a
time such as ours which seems to have lost its bearings and pursues short-lived
satisfaction. Teaching to discover what the Lord wants from us and how we can
correspond means setting out on the path to grow in our own vocation, the path
of true joy. This is how Jesus’ words to James and John’s mother, and then to
the whole group of disciples, points the way to avoid falling into envy,
ambition and adulation, temptations which are always lurking even among us
Christians. The need for counseling, admonition and teaching must not make us
feel superior to others, but obligates us first and foremost to return to
ourselves to verify whether we are coherent with what we ask of others. Let us
not forget Jesus’ words: “Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s
eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?” (Lk 6:41). May the
Holy Spirit help us to be patient in bearing [wrongs], and humble and simple in
giving counsel.
APPEAL
Next Sunday, 20 November, Universal Children’s
Day is being celebrated. I appeal to the conscience of all,
institutions and families, that children may always be protected and their
well-being be defended, so that they never fall into forms of slavery, into
recruitment by armed groups or into mistreatment. I hope that the international
community may watch over their life, guaranteeing to every girl and boy the
right to school and to education, so that their growth may be peaceful and they
may look confidently to the future.
Special greetings:
I greet the English-speaking pilgrims and visitors
taking part in today’s Audience, particularly those from Great Britain,
Ireland, Denmark, Iceland, Malta, Nigeria, Indonesia, Malaysia, the
Philippines, New Zealand, Canada and the United States of America. With
prayerful good wishes that these final days of the Jubilee of Mercy will be a
moment of grace and spiritual renewal for you and your families, I invoke upon
all of you joy and peace in our Lord Jesus Christ.
I extend a special greeting to young people,
to the sick and to newlyweds. In the month of
November the liturgy invites us to pray for the deceased. Let us not forget
those who loved us and those who preceded us in the faith, as well as those
whom no one remembers: the suffrage in the Eucharistic Celebration is the best
spiritual help that we can offer their souls. Let us remember
with particular affection the victims of the recent earthquake in central
Italy: let us pray for them and for their families and let us continue to be in
solidarity with those who have suffered losses.
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