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GENERAL AUDIENCE: On the Parable of the Prodigal Son by ZENIT Staff
Here is a ZENIT translation of the address Pope Francis gave during this morning’s general audience in St. Peter’s Square.
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Dear Brothers and Sisters, good morning!
Today, this audience is being held in two places: as there was the danger of rain, the sick are in Paul VI Hall and connected with us with a giant screen – two places but only one Audience. We greet the sick who are in Paul VI Hall.
Today, we wish to reflect on the parable of the merciful Father. It speaks of a Father and his two sons, and it makes us know the infinite mercy of God.
We begin from the end, that is, from the joy of the Father’s heart, who says: ‘Take the fattened calf and slaughter it. Then let us celebrate with a feast, because this son of mine was dead, and has come to life again; he was lost, and has been found” (Luke 15: vv. 23-24). With these words the Father interrupted his younger son at the moment he was confessing his fault: “I no longer deserve to be called your son …” (v. 19). However, this expression is unbearable for the heart of the Father, who instead hastens to restore to his son the signs of his dignity: the best robe, the ring and the shoes. Jesus does not describe a Father who is offended and resentful, a Father that, for instance, says to his son: “you’ll pay for this.” No, the Father embraces him, awaits him with love. On the contrary, the only thing that the Father has at heart is that this son is before him safe and sound, and this makes him happy and he celebrates. The welcome of the son that returns is described in a moving way. “While he was still a long way off, his father caught sight of him, and was filled with compassion. He ran to his son, embraced him and kissed him.” (v. 20). How much tenderness; he saw him from afar: what does this mean? That the Father went out continually on the terrace to look at the road and see if his son was returning; that son who had done just about everything, but the Father awaited him. How beautiful is the Father’s tenderness! The Father’s mercy is overflowing, unconditional, and it is manifested before the son speaks. The son certainly knows he has erred and he acknowledges it: “I have sinned … treat me as one of your hired servants”(v. 19). But these words dissolve in face of the Father’s forgiveness. His Father’s embrace and kiss make him understand that he was always considered son, despite everything. This teaching of Jesus is important: our condition of children of God is fruit of the love of the Father’s heart; it does not depend on our merits or our actions and, therefore, no one can take it away, not even the devil! No one can take away this dignity.
This word of Jesus encourages us never to despair. I think of mothers and fathers in apprehension when they see their children distancing themselves, entering dangerous ways. I think of parish priests and catechists who sometimes wonder if their work was in vain. But I also think of those who are in prison, and who think that their life has ended; of all those who have made mistaken choices and are unable to look at the future; of all those who hunger for mercy and forgiveness and believe that they do not merit it … In whatever situation of life, I must not forget that I will never cease to be a child of God, of a Father who loves me and awaits my return. Even in the most awful situation of life, God awaits me, God wants to embrace me, God awaits me.
There is another son in the parable, the elder; he is also in need of discovering the Father’s mercy. He has always remained at home, but he is so different from the Father! His words lack tenderness: ‘Look, All These Years I served you and not once did I disobey your orders … But When Your son returns … ‘ (vv. 29-30). We see the contempt: he never says: “Father,” he never says “brother,” he only thinks of himself; he boasts of having remained always beside the Father and of having served him; yet he never lived this closeness with joy. And now he accuses the Father of never having given him a kid to make merry. Poor Father! One son went away, and the other was never truly close to him! The Father’s suffering is like the suffering of god, the suffering of Jesus when we distance ourselves, or because we go far away or because we are close without being close.
The elder son is also in need of mercy. The just, those who believe themselves just, are also in need of mercy. This son represents us when we wonder if it is worthwhile to toil so much if then we receive nothing in return. Jesus reminds us that one does not remain in the Father’s house to have a compensation, but because one has the dignity of co-responsible children. It is not about “bartering” with God, but about following Jesus who gave Himself on the cross without measure.
“My son, you are here with me always; everything I have is yours. But now we must celebrate and rejoice” (v. 31). So says the Father to the elder son. His is the logic of mercy! The younger son thought he merited a punishment because of his sins; the elder son expected a recompense for his services. The two brothers do not speak to one another; they live different stories, but both reason according to a logic that is foreign to Jesus: if you do good you receive a prize, if you do evil you get punished. And this is not Jesus’ logic, it isn’t! This logic is subverted by the Father’s words: “It was fitting to make merry and be glad, for this your brother was dead, and is alive; he was lost, and is found” (v. 31). The Father recovered his lost son, and now he can also restore him to his brother! Without the younger, the elder son ceases to be a “brother.” The Father’s greatest joy is to see that his sons acknowledge each other as brothers.
The sons can decide whether to unite themselves to the Father’s joy or to refuse. They must question themselves about their desires and about the vision they have of life. The parable ends leaving the end in suspense: we do not know what the elder son decided to do. And this is a stimulus for us. This Gospel teaches us that they were are all need of entering the Father’s house and taking part in His joy, in His celebration of mercy and of fraternity. Brothers and sisters, let us open our heart to be “merciful like the Father!”[Original text: Italian] [Translation by ZENIT]
Greeting to the Italian-speaking Pilgrims
I greet the Italian-speaking pilgrims, addressing a particular welcome to the faithful of the diocese of Oppido Mamertina-Palmi, accompanied by the Bishop, Monsignor Francesco Milito and those of the Basilica of Saint Sossio in Frattamaggiore, with the Bishop of Aversa, Monsignor Angelo Spinillo. It is my heartfelt hope that your Jubilee pilgrimage will strengthen you in your adherence to Christ and in your generous resolutions of Christian witness.
I greet the Asian and African priests of the Saint Paul Apostle Pontifical Missionary College; the Antoniano Institute and the Saint Gotthard Foundation, which observes the 20 years of its foundation. I exhort you to live the Extraordinary Jubilee in such a way as to discover the exigency of the corporal and spiritual works of mercy as nourishment of our faith.
A particular thought goes to young people, the sick and newlyweds. Next Sunday, we will celebrate Pentecost. Dear young people, I hope that each of you will be able to recognize, among the many voices of the world, that of the Holy Spirit, who continues to speak to the heart of one who is able to listen. Dear sick, especially you guests of the Cottolengo of Trentola Ducenta, entrust yourselves to the Spirit who will not let you lack the consoling light of His presence. And you, dear newlyweds, particularly the couples of the Focolare Movement, I hope that you will be, in the world, mirror of God’s love with the fidelity of your love and the union of your faith.[Original text: Italian] [Translation by ZENIT]
Pope at General Audience: God Waits to Embrace You by Deborah Castellano Lubov
“Even in the bad situations of life, God is waiting for me, God wants to embrace me, God is waiting for me.”
Pope Francis reminded the faithful of this during his weekly General Audience this morning in St. Peter’s Square, as he continued his catechesis for the Holy Year of Mercy, turning to Jesus’ parable of the merciful father who welcomes back his prodigal son with unconditional love and forgiveness.
The Pope recalled that the only thing that the father cares about is that this child is before him, safe and sound, and this makes him happy and ready to celebrate.
“What beautiful tenderness of the father! The father’s mercy is overflowing, unconditional, and manifests itself even before the child speaks.”
The son’s sinfulness and unworthiness, Francis explained, dissolve in front of the father’s forgiveness. The father’s embrace and kiss make him understand that he was always considered his child, in spite of everything.
Nothing can rob us of being God’s child
“It is important this teaching of Jesus: our condition as children of God is the fruit of the love of the heart of the Father; It does not depend on our merits or by our actions, and then no one can take that away, not even the devil! No one can take away from this dignity.”
This word of Jesus, the Pope said, encourages us to never despair.
“I think of the mothers and fathers apprehensive when they see their children get away taking dangerous roads. I think the parish priests and catechists who sometimes wonder if their work was in vain. But I also think of those who are in prison, and he feels that his life is over; to those who have made wrong choices and fail to look to the future; to all those who hunger mercy and forgiveness and believe they do not deserve it.”
Regardless of the circumstances in which one finds oneself, Francis stressed, God never stops loving and is always waiting to welcome and embrace His children.
“In any situation in life,” Francis continued, “I must not forget that I’ll never stop being a child of God, being the son of a Father who loves me and waits for my return.”
Jesus’ reverse logic
The youngest son thought he deserved punishment because of his sins, the eldest son expected a reward for his services. Though they are different, they think both according to a logic alien to Jesus, if you do well you get a prize if you do bad you get punished.
“This is not the logic of Jesus, it is not!” the Pope stressed.
Children can decide whether or not to join in the father’s joy, Francis said, noting this Gospel teaches us that we all need to enter the house of the Father and share in his joy.
Pope Francis concluded, praying, let us open our hearts, to be “merciful as the Father!”
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On ZENIT’s Web page:
Full Translation to be made available shortly
Pope Recalls Our Lady of Fatima During General Audience by Deborah Castellano Lubov
During his weekly General Audience this morning in St. Peter’s Square, Pope Francis recalled that in this month of Mary, Friday marks the liturgical memorial of Our Lady of Fatima.
“In this apparition,” Pope Francis said, “Mary invites us once again to prayer, penance and conversion. She asks us to not offend God anymore. She warns all mankind of the need to surrender to God, the source of love and mercy.
“Follow the example of St. John Paul II, great devotee of Our Lady of Fatima, let us listen attentively to the Mother of God and seek peace for the world. Praised be Jesus Christ,” Francis said.
The Pope also gave greetings today to Slovak pilgrims and acknowledged that Sunday marks the Solemnity of Pentecost.
“We pray to Almighty God to pour out upon us the Holy Spirit with His gifts, so we can become courageous witnesses of Christ and the Gospel,” Pope Francis prayed.
Jobs for Syrian Christians: ‘Jesus Was a Carpenter – You Can Be Too’ by Joop Koopman
“Jesus was a carpenter—you can be too.” With these words the Melkite archbishop of Aleppo, Syria, recently urged on reluctant candidates eligible for a professional formation course offered by the local Church in Syria’s second city.
Even as fierce fighting between the Syrian regime and opposition forces continues to rain down death and destruction on the city, Archbishop Jean-Clément Jeanbart speaks with determination about his vision for life after his country’s bloody civil war. That vision has taken the form of the “Build to Stay” program, an ambitious initiative that aims to lay the groundwork—both practically and spiritually—for the enduring presence of the city’s local Christian community, its numbers cut in half to some 75,000 since the beginning of the Syrian civil war in 2011.
“We have to do all we can to make sure Christians can stay in Aleppo and return from exile once the fighting stops,” the archbishop told international Christian charity Aid to the Church in Need. The leader of the city’s largest Church community believes the end of war is in sight. “If the Syrian government regains full control of Aleppo,” he argues, it will have won the struggle for Syria. The regime, the prelate said, is winning, with rebel forces pushed out to the city’s suburbs and bombing the city indiscriminately—wanton violence he considers to be acts of desperation and frustration.
The “Build to Stay” program currently has some 150 trainees, in such areas as plumbing, heating and refrigeration, steel-work, brick-laying, and carpentry—but also more female-skewing trades such as nursing, clothing design, and even that of the beautician. Nurses are in high demand, particularly to care for elderly residents and for city-dwellers convalescing from their wounds. A particularly humble trade, carpentry has proven a bit of a hard sell, hence the archbishop’s reminder that Christ plied that trade. A modest stipend is now serving as an incentive.
Aided by bankers, teachers and business leaders who have remained in Aleppo and who are spreading the word among the city’s shell-shocked Christians, Archbishop Jeanbart has a staff of some 30, most of them volunteers, to run the training program he believes is key for the future of his Church in Aleppo. Its success in that city would make it a model for other Syrian communities, large and small, he believes.
“People’s fear of an invasion by ISIS or other radical Islamist groups” is abating, said Archbishop Jeanbart—“the people are beginning to have some hope.” He continued, “The Church has to capitalize on this glimmer of change and make sure that we are ready to give people the means to make a living” once peace returns to Syria.
“That’s the only way we can fight emigration,” the archbishop concluded,” and halt the exodus of faithful from the lands where the faith was born.”
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Aid to the Church in Need is an international Catholic charity under the guidance of the Holy See, providing assistance to the suffering and persecuted Church in more than 140 countries. www.churchinneed.org (USA); www.acnuk.org (UK); www.aidtochurch.org (AUS); www.acnireland.org (IRL); www.acn-aed-ca.org (CAN)www.acnmalta.org (Malta)
Daniel Berrigan and Non-Violence by Bishop Robert Barron
Last week Fr. Daniel Berrigan, S.J. passed away at the age of 94. Though many younger Catholics might not remember him, Fr. Berrigan was one of the most provocative and controversial religious figures of his time. Standing in the tradition of principled non-violence proposed by Mahatma Gandhi, Thomas Merton, Dorothy Day, and others, Berrigan led the charge against America’s involvement in the Vietnam conflict and its on-going participation in the Cold War and the nuclear arms race. He was most famous, of course, for his leadership of the “Catonsville Nine,” a group of protestors who, in the spring of 1968, broke into a building and burned draft records with homemade napalm. To say that he was, during that tumultuous time in American history, a polarizing figure would be an understatement.
I had the opportunity to meet and speak with Fr. Berrigan when he came to Mundelein Seminary in the mid 1990s. By that time, he was in his 70s, and much of the fire-brand quality that so marked him in his prime had evanesced. I found him very quiet and ruminative. I asked him about the film The Mission, in which he played a small role. As you might recall, that great movie ends ambiguously. When the peaceful and religiously vibrant mission was being forcibly closed by corrupt powers, Robert De Niro’s character, a Jesuit priest, resisted violently, while Jeremy Irons’s character, also a Jesuit priest, resisted non-violently, holding up the Blessed Sacrament in the midst of his people. Since both men were killed, and the mission destroyed, the film doesn’t really decide which of them was “correct;” rather it shows two paths, and invites the viewers to make up their own minds. Well, I asked Daniel Berrigan what he thought of the ending, and he said, with a bit of a weary smile, that it reflected the director’s views not his own. I took him to mean that he didn’t fully approve of the unresolved tension between the two paths of resistance to evil, preferring a clear endorsement of non-violence.
Not many years after I met Fr. Berrigan, I heard Cardinal Francis George speak at the University of Notre Dame. In the course of a question and answer period, he was asked about the theory and practice of non-violent resistance. The Cardinal gave an answer that I had never heard before and frankly have never heard since, namely, that the Church needs pacifists the same way it needs celibates, in order to witness to the eschaton even now in the midst of a fallen world. At the consummation of all things, we will neither marry nor be given in marriage, for marriage will have been transfigured into a mode of love intimate beyond our imagination. The celibacy of clergy and religious here below witnesses to this strange and beguiling state of affairs, which is why it always seems to the citizens of the fallen world a little “off.” In a very similar manner, the Cardinal was implying, those who live in radical non-violence even now bear witness to that time beyond time when “the lion will lie down with the lamb” and when “men will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks.”
“Now,” Cardinal George went on, “just as I don’t want everyone to be celibate, I don’t want everyone to be a pacifist!” He meant that it would be irresponsible for police departments, standing armies, and rightly constituted political authorities utterly to eschew violence, since this would be tantamount to a renunciation of their responsibility to protect the innocent. He was, of course, speaking out of the venerable Catholic tradition of just war, which teaches that, under certain stringent conditions, war is permitted so as to secure justice and security.
What I particularly appreciated about Cardinal George’s intervention was the deft manner in which he exhibited the Catholic both/and in regard to this famously controverted issue. Even as we hold to the legitimacy of violence under prescribed circumstances, so we hold to the legitimacy of non-violent forms of resistance, again, under the right circumstances. And to give the advocates of pacifism their due, non-violence is not tantamount to passivity or dreamy resignation in the face of evil. What becomes eminently clear in the social action of Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Dorothy Day, and John Paul II is that pacifism can constitute a massively efficacious means of battling evil and bringing about real change. Precisely by living now as we will all live in the eschaton, advocates of non-violence plant the seeds of eternal life in the soil of the fallen world.
In point of fact, Cardinal George’s clarification is in rather striking accord with the ending of The Mission. The Catholic tradition sides unambiguously with neither Jesuit, and it stands ready to affirm both Jesuits–again according to circumstances. And therefore is it appropriate to honor the radical and prophetic non-violence advocated by Fr. Berrigan? Absolutely–as long as we affirm, at the same time, that we don’t want everyone to be Fr. Berrigan.
Bishop Robert Barron is an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles and the founder of Word on Fire Catholic Ministries.
Planets, Dr. Seuss and Snowflakes—Combined Proof That There Is a Creator by ZENIT Staff
This reflection is by Larry Peterson of the Catholic Writers Guild. It is reprinted from the guild’s blog.
Ten years ago, NASA’s new, Horizon Spacecraft left our humble, little planet and began its voyage to to the edges of our solar system and beyond. After traveling 3 billion-plus miles, New Horizon finally passed Pluto, the furthest planet from our sun. I don’t know about you but I find it so humbling and awe inspiring that we human beings, using the perfection that surrounds us, can mange to find a planet that is so far away. Yet, within our universe, it would be as close as a neighbor down the street.
How can we possibly know how to measure distance and location and density and climate relating to places that are so unimaginably far away? The speed of light is 186,000 miles per second. Who figured that out? How do you measure the speed of light? Assuming the number is correct, that means in one minute light travels 11+ million miles. That would be almost 16 billion miles in one day. Multiply that number by four and a half years. Do you see where I’m going with this? The light from our own sun takes eight minutes to reach Earth. Now scientists have found an “exoplanet” which is more than a thousand light years away and they have figured out that it revolves around its sun in 385 daysvs our 365 days. WHEW!
Let’s move past Pluto. It seems NASA’s Kepler Space Telescope, launched in 2009, found this exoplanet; they named it Kepler 452b. This exoplanet could be similar to our hometown, Earth. “Hello sister planet, Kepler 452b.” The Kepler Telescope has identified close to 5000 exoplanets since it started scanning the deepest parts of space. But this is the first one that could be just like Earth. Now, get this–it is one thousand and four light years away. Our closest star system is Alpha Centauri, a mere 4.3 light years away. That means our closest star system is trillions of miles from our solar system and would take us tens of thousands of years to get there. Kepler 452b is 200 times further than that. My question is–how can we know these things?
By NASA/Ames/JPL-Caltech [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
What about Earth? Think of some of the things that Earth does without us thinking about them. Here is one example; we never think about TIME but without its never ending accuracy we would have chaos. There are 24 hours in a day. Not 25 or 23 or 24.8, but 24. What if there were a random number of hours in a day? Imagine the possibilities? So how did we get 24 hours in a day? One word can answer that question, “perfection.”
What about explosions? (Please bear with me–I do intend to make a point.) Explosions are destructive and, for the most part, maim, kill and destroy. Last Fourth of July a guy in Maine, in a festive frame of mind, brilliantly set a rocket off from the top of his head. He died instantly. Jason Pierre Paul, the all-pro defensive star for the NFL’s N.Y. Giants, blew several fingers off his hand with fireworks. C. J. Wilson, of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, retired because he blew several fingers of his hand with fireworks. We can go back 70 years and remember that on August 6, 1945, the atomic bomb blew the Japanese city of Hiroshima to smithereens. It also killed about 80,000 people. It follows that if I set a bomb off in my car the chances of the result being a nicer car are–well, ZERO.
So now–to the point. The Big Bang Theory of Creation has become the favored explanation of how our seemingly infinite universe came into existence. Scientists do agree that the universe did, in fact, have a beginning. They also know that the universe is expanding and changing and dying, just like we do. To the question: At the moment of creation when the unimaginable explosion took place or whether it was something like a giant balloon expanding and expanding until it “popped” spewing matter outwards, it all had to be controlled. Who did that?
Random explosions do not and cannot result in perfection. Twenty-four hours in a day is perfect for us imperfect species to depend on, including the animals. It is a contradiction to believe otherwise. Perfection surrounds us. We can predict the rising and setting of the sun to the second, the new and full moons to the minute. We know when the tides rise and fall and can predict their lowest and highest points to the minute. We know when an eclipse, whether solar or lunar will occur and where. We have learned how to use the world around us to maintain our very existence or, in many cases, destroy it.
Bottom line: because the universe is so vast and expansive (and apparently infinite) and all of it is moving and changing within a perfectly ordered system proves someone bigger and smarter than any of us put this in place. We cannot understand this. We cannot scientifically prove it. But, no matter what, we live in it and survive by it every second of every day of our lives. Perfection does not come from chaos. Perfection can only come from someone who is PERFECT. We here at the CWG know who that Person is even though we cannot see HIM or touch HIM. All we have to do is see a rising sun, a blooming rose, a full moon, a rainbow…or hear the cry of a newborn baby or ponder the magic of one snowflake, unique unto itself.
Maybe Dr. Seuss nailed it in his famous book, Horton Hears a Who. Maybe our planet Earth is really no bigger than Horton’s “Whoville.” Maybe we are specks on the end of a ball of dust. Maybe we are not as big and as smart as we think we are. We had to have a Creator. It is common sense. It is ultimately all in HIS hands. I am also sure HE subscribes to the famous sentence in Dr. Seuss’s book, “a person’s a person no matter how small.” Maybe those very “smart” people who reject what must be so need to breathe in a deep dose of humility and realize that this all did not just happen as the result of some random explosion or expansion. It is illogical and makes no sense (to me).
Pope Calls for Prayer, Dialogue in Brazil by ZENIT Staff
As a political crisis may result in the impeachment of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff, Pope Francis called for “prayer and dialogue” in the South American nation as he addressed Portuguese-speaking pilgrims during his General Audience this morning.
“In these days, as we prepare for the feast of Pentecost,” the Pope said, “I ask the Lord to abundantly pour out the gifts of His Spirit, so that the country, in these moments of difficulty, proceeds on the path of harmony and peace, with the help of prayer and dialogue.”
“May the closeness of Our Lady of Aparecida, who as a good mother will never abandon her children, both defend and guide you on this journey,” he concluded.
After being accused of hiding the public deficit during her 2014 re-election campaign, President Rousseff is facing impeachment proceedings, but denies the charges.
English Summary of Pope’s General Audience by ZENIT Staff
Here is the English-language summary of Pope Francis’ General Audience this morning in St. Peter’s Square:
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Speaker: Dear Brothers and Sisters: In our continuing catechesis for this Holy Year of Mercy, we now turn to Jesus’ parable of the merciful father who welcomes back his prodigal son with unconditional love and forgiveness. Jesus wishes to teach us that we are children of God not because of any merits of our own but because of the infinite love of our heavenly Father. How often do we need to be reminded of God’s unchanging love and ready forgiveness, lest we lose heart when we ourselves or our dear ones go astray! The parable speaks not only of the prodigal son, but also of his older brother, who must also learn to accept the father’s mercy, which transcends both reward and punishment. By calling for a feast of thanksgiving, the father is really asking each son to share his joy by recognizing the other as a brother. The parable ends without our knowing how the older brother responds to this invitation. Jesus in effect is challenging each of us to think about how we respond to God’s invitation, to open our hearts to his reconciling love and to become “merciful like the Father”.
Speaker: I greet the English-speaking pilgrims and visitors taking part in today’s Audience, particularly those from England, Ireland, Denmark, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, the Seychelles and the United States of America. 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!
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