miniZibaldone

From the general audience Christian prayer begins from this level. It’s not an exercise for ascetics; it starts from reality, from the heart and from the flesh of people that live in need, or who share the condition of those that don’t have what is necessary to live. Not even the highest Christian mystics can do without the simplicity of this request. Jesus’ prayer begins with a pressing demand, which is very similar to the entreaty of a beggar: “Give us our daily bread!” This prayer comes from evidence that we often forget, that is, that we aren’t self-sufficient creatures, and that every day we need to eat. The Scriptures show us that for many people the encounter with Jesus began from a question. Jesus doesn’t ask for refine invocations, rather, the whole of human existence, with its most concrete and daily problems, can become a prayer. . . .   Therefore, Jesus teaches us to ask the Father for daily bread. He teaches us to do so united to so many men and women fo...

From the General Audience It’s good to stress that we confess, be it to God or to brothers, that we are sinners: this helps us to understand the dimension of sin that, while it separates us from God, also divides us from our brethren and vice versa . The words we say with the mouth are accompanied by the gesture of beating our breast, acknowledging that I have sinned by my own fault, and not that of others. It often happens in fact that, out of fear and shame, we point the finger to accuse others. It costs to admit that we are culpable, but it does us good to confess it sincerely, to confess our sins. I remember a story, which an old missionary told, of a woman who went to confession and began to tell the errors of her husband; then she went on to tell the errors of her mother-in-law and then the sins of neighbors.  At a certain point, the confessor said to her: “But, lady, tell me, have you finished?  — Very good: you have finished with others’ sins. Now begin to...

From the general audience Mercy and forgiveness must not remain beautiful words, but be realized in daily life. To love and to forgive are the concrete and visible signs that faith has transformed our hearts and they enable us to express in ourselves the very life of God -- to love and forgive as God loves and forgives.[...]  Salvation cannot be paid for; salvation is not purchased. Jesus is the Door, and Jesus is free! [...] With His love He says to us that precisely when we acknowledge our sins He is still closer and spurs us to look ahead. He says more: that when we acknowledge our sins and ask for forgiveness, there is a celebration in Heaven. Jesus celebrates: this is His mercy: let us not be discouraged. Forward, forward with this!  [full text]

From the Audience Why a Jubilee of Mercy? What does this mean? The Church is in need of this extraordinary moment. I do not say: this extraordinary moment is good for the Church. I  say: the Church is in need of this extraordinary moment. In our age of profound changes, the Church is called to offer her particular contribution, rendering visible  the signs of the presence and closeness of God. [...] Therefore, this Jubilee is a privileged moment for the Church to learn to choose only “what pleases God most.” And, what is it that ‘pleases God most”? To forgive His  children, to have mercy on them. [...] To turn one’s look to God, our Merciful Father, and to brothers in need of mercy, means to focus our attention on the essential content of the Gospel: Jesus, Mercy  made flesh, which renders visible to our eyes the great mystery of the Trinitarian Love of God. To celebrate a Jubilee of Mercy means to put again at the center of  our personal life and of that o...

From a General Audience I would like to say a word about the missionaries. Men and women who have left their homeland, everything ... They went there as youths, leading a life of so much, so much work, sometimes sleeping on the ground. At a certain moment, I met a Sister at Bangui who was Italian. One could see she was elderly: “How old are you?” I asked. “81” – “But not so much, two [years] older than me.” This sister was there since she was 23-24 years old: her whole life! And, like her, so many others. She was with a little girl. And the girl said to her in Italian: “Grandmother.” And the sister said to me: “But I, in fact, am not from here, but from the neighboring country, Congo, but I came in a canoe with this girl.” So the missionaries are courageous. “And what do you do, Sister?” “I am a nurse, but then I studied a bit here and became an obstetrician and I made 3,280 children be born,” she said to me. A whole life for life, for the life of others. And there are so many, so ...

From the General Audience With this reflection we have arrived at the threshold of the Jubilee, it is close. Before us is the door, but not only the Holy Door, the other – the great door of God’s Mercy, and it is a beautiful door! – which receives our repentance, offering the grace of His forgiveness. The door is generously open; a bit of courage is needed on our part to cross the threshold. Each one of us has within himself things that burden him. All of us. We are all sinners! […] The Jubilee signifies the great door of God’s mercy but also the small doors of our churches open to let the Lord come in – or many times to let the Lord go out – prisoner of our structures, of our egoism and of so many things… [B]ut there are so many where armour-plated doors have become normal. We must not yield to the idea of having to apply this system to our whole life, to the life of the family, of the city, of the society, and even less so to the life of the Church. It would be terrible! An in...