In a homily at the Mass on the land that welcomed St. Paul after his ship sank, Francis spoke of forgiveness and mercy: “God who always forgives and believes in us and each time gives us the possibility to start over. It cannot be an occasion to start a new, different life under the sign of mercy.” “
Jackson Urban – Vatican City
On this Sunday, the 3rd, Pope Francis continued his “short but beautiful” journey to the Republic of Malta. After praying in the Grotto and Basilica of Saint Paul in Rabat, it is time to meet the Maltese faithful for mass at Praca dos Celeros in Floriana.
Forgiveness and Mercy: In the homily inspired by the harlot incident narrated in the Gospel of John, the Pope states that she “knew mercy in her misery and returned with healing in the forgiveness of Jesus,” suggesting to us the following: Church, “Let us begin again to attend the gospel school, the school of the God of hope which It always surprises us,” because if we follow Jesus, “we will not succeed in focusing on the denial of sins, but in going out lovingly in search of sinners.
Addressing the nearly 20,000 believers and representatives of various faiths present at the ceremony, the pope begins by explaining that people look to Jesus to hear him, because “his doctrine is not abstract, it touches and liberates life, transforms it. It renews it”, which reveals the ‘scent of God’s people,'” which is not satisfied with the temple made of stones, but is wrapped around the person of Jesus.”
But there were some absent: the woman – the stray, the stray seeks happiness in wrong ways – and her accusers, the scribes and Pharisees, who “believe that they already know everything, and have no need of the teachings of Jesus.”
Hypocrisy moth and finger pointing addiction
Francis explains that the accusers of an adulterous woman are those who pride themselves on being “the observers of God’s law, orderly and just people. They do not care about their own mistakes, but are very attentive to the discovery of others ”, that is, they seek Jesus not to listen to him, but to find a reason to fall into his accusation:
It is an attempt to depict the interior of those intellectuals and religious people, who know the Bible, attend the Temple, but submit all this to their own interests and do not fight against the evil thoughts that stir in their hearts. In the eyes of the people, they appear to be God’s experts, yet they do not recognize Jesus; On the contrary, they see him as an enemy that they need to eliminate. And to achieve this, they put before him, as if something, contemptuously call her “this woman” and openly denounce her fornication. They pressure the woman to be stoned, and they pour on her the hatred they feel for the pity of Jesus. And they do all this under the guise of their reputation as clerics.
Francisco explains that this fact shows that even in our religiosity “one can glimpse Hypocrisy moth and finger pointing addiction; And this at all times, in any society ”:
There is always the danger of Jesus being misunderstood, his name on his lips, but his denial in works. This can be done even when the banners are raised with a cross.
Mercy is the heart of God
“Then – asks the Pope – how do we know if we are pupils in the master’s school?” “With our view – he answers – from our view to our neighbor,” it can be as Jesus does, mercifully, or as accusers of the gospel, in an accusatory and contemptuous way:
In fact, those who think they are defending the faith by pointing fingers at others may have a religious vision, but they do not embrace the spirit of the gospel, because they forget the mercy that is the heart of God.
Inner poverty is the most valuable treasure for man
But in order to understand whether we are true disciples of the teacher, “it is also necessary to check how we perceive ourselves.” The accusers about whom the Bible speaks believe that they have nothing to learn, and that their outward appearance is perfect, “but the truth of the heart is lacking”:
It is the figure of believers in every age who make faith an element of the facade, where the venerable outward appearance is highlighted, but the inner poverty is lacking, and it is the most precious treasure of man. In fact, what matters to Jesus is the openness available to those who do not feel perfect, but are in need of salvation.
Jesus asks for the truth of the heart
In this sense, “When we are in prayer and even when we are participating in beautiful religious ceremonies, it is good to ask ourselves if we are in harmony with the Lord,” we ask Him: “Jesus, I am here with you, but what do you want from me? What do you want to change in my heart in My life? How do you want me to see others?”
Questions of great value, “For the Lord is not content with appearance, but seeks the truth of the heart. And when we truly open our hearts to Him, Jesus can work wonders in us.” And this is what happens to the adulterous woman, “her situation seems hopeless, but in her eyes a new and unimaginable horizon opens”:
Covered in curses, ready to receive stubborn words and severe punishment, with astonishment she finds herself acquitted by God, who opens her an unexpected future: “Has no one judged you? – Jesus said to him – I do not condemn you either. Go and from now on do not sin again.” What a difference between the master and the accused! These quoted the bible of religion; Jesus, the Word of God personally, completely rehabilitates the woman, restoring her hope.
Sins and failures, occasion for a new life under the sign of mercy
The pope says that this case teaches us “that any warning, if it is not motivated by alms and does not contain alms, drowns out those who received it. On the other hand, God always leaves open possibility and knows how to find, each time, the paths of liberation and salvation”:
That woman’s life changes thanks to forgiveness. I like to think that, being forgiven by Jesus, she in turn learned to forgive. Perhaps he will come to see his accusers no longer rigid and perverted people, but like those who allowed him to meet Jesus. The Lord wants us also, his disciples, and we as a Church, God forgive us, to become tireless witnesses to reconciliation: witnesses of a God for whom there is no word “irretrievable”; From God who always forgives, continues to believe in us and each time gives us the possibility to start over. There is no sin or failure that cannot become an occasion to start a new and different life under the sign of mercy..
God visits us through our inner wounds
So says the Holy Father, Lord Jesus. Those who have experienced her forgiveness know well, like the woman in the Bible, who discovers that “God visits us through our inner wounds: above all in these wounds the Lord prefers to be present, because He did not come for the healthy, but for the sick”:
And today this woman, who knew mercy in her misery and returned healed by the forgiveness of Jesus, is proposing to us as a church that we begin anew to attend the Gospel school, the school of the God of hope that always surprises us. . If we are imitated by him, we will not succeed in focusing on condemning sins, but in going out lovingly in search of sinners. We will not count gifts, but we will look for absentees. We won’t point an accusing finger again, but we’ll start listening. We will not ignore the despised, but we will look to those who are considered last in the first place. This is what Jesus teaches us today by example. Let’s be surprised. We gladly welcome your news.
