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L’O S S E RVATOR E ROMANOWEEKLY EDITION

Unicuique suum

IN ENGLISHNon praevalebunt

Fifty-third year, number 14 (2.641) Vatican City Friday, 3 April 2020

Go d’s consoling embraceHoly Father presides at an extraordinary moment of prayer and special ‘Urbi et Orbi’ blessing

Something more thanfear of loneliness and

abandonmentANDREA MONDA

The English author C.S. Lewis, who hadbeen recently widowed after his wife’sdeath from a tumour, wrote a letter tocomfort his seriously ill friend Malcolm.In it, he recounts the Passion of Jesuswho had been abandoned by all, floggedand unjustly condemned to death, andwho felt so alone that he addressed theFather from the Cross with the words:“My God why have you forsaken me?”A very unique way to comfort.

Some time earlier Jesus had been askedan anxiety ridden question on death: “Doyou not care if we perish?”. It had comefrom the disciples who had awakened Je-sus from his sleep at the stern of the boatin the storm in the Sea of Galilee. PopeFrancis lingered on this scene narrated inthe Gospel of Mark and echoed thisquestion several times during his dis-course yesterday afternoon in SaintPe t e r ’s Square. The Pope then prayed be-fore the icon of the Salus Populi Romaniand before the crucifix of the Church ofSan Marcello which had been moved forthe occasion and placed in the square infront of the Basilica, in the rain.

The wooden face displays a grimaceof suffering that seems to ask: “Do younot care if I perish?”. Jesus died alone,condemned by his people, abandoned byhis friends. He died alone from the ter-rible suffering resulting, not only fromhis wounds, but above all from the suf-focation caused by being nailed to thecross. A crucified [person] dies from as-phyxia. Yesterday almost 1,000 peopledied from the coronavirus throughoutItaly. They died alone from asphyxia,unable to breathe. The most dreadful as-pect of this pandemic is precisely theloneliness to which it condemns us tolive and, above all, to die. All this scaresevery man and woman, but it mysteri-ously offers something more to Christi-ans. Christians know that Jesus contin-ues to suffer in these brothers and sis-ters, as if completing what is lacking inChrist’s afflictions (Colossians 1:24).

At the end of his letter to Malcolm,Lewis writes: “I think it is only in ashared darkness that you and I canreally meet at present; shared with oneanother and, what matters most, withour Master. We are not on an untroddenpath. Rather, on the main-road”.

For the Pope's homily, see page 4/5

L’OSSERVATORE ROMANOWEEKLY EDITION

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page 2 L’OSSERVATORE ROMANO Friday, 3 April 2020, number 14

VAT I C A NBULLETIN

AUDIENCES

Thursday, 26 March

Archbishop Giacomo Morandi, titu-lar of Cerveteri, Secretary of theCongregation for the Doctrine ofthe FaithCardinal Robert Sarah, Prefect ofthe Congregation for Divine Wor-ship and the Discipline of the Sacra-mentsH.E. Mr Mario Juan Bosco CayotaZappettini, Ambassador of Uruguay,on a farewell visitProf. Marco Impagliazzo, Presidentof the Sant’Egidio CommunityFriday, 27 March

Cardinal Peter Kodwo Appiah Turk-son, Prefect of the Dicastery for Pro-moting Integral Human Develop-ment, and his entourageFr Abbot Guillermo Léon ArboledaTamayo, OSB, President of TheSubiaco Cassinese Congregation ofthe Order of Saint BenedictSaturday, 28 March

Prof. Andrea Monda, Editor-in-Chief of L’Osservatore Romano

Cardinal Marc Ouellet, PSS, Prefectof the Congregation for BishopsProf. Paolo Papanti-Pelletier, solejudge of the Tribunal of VaticanCity StateProf. Franco Anelli, MagnificentRector of the Catholic University ofthe Sacred HeartHon. Mrs Virginia Raggi, Mayor ofRome, ItalyMonday, 30 March

H.E. Mr Giuseppe Conte, PrimeMinister of ItalyArchbishop Vincenzo Paglia, Presid-ent of the Pontifical Academy forLife

OR I E N TA L CHURCHES

The Holy Father gave his assent tothe appointment by the Synod ofBishops of the Patriarchal Church ofAntioch for Syrians of Fr CamilAfram Antoine Semaan as Exarchfor Syrian faithful living in Jerus-alem, Palestine and Jordan, assign-ing him the titular see of Hierapolisfor Syrians. Until now he has servedas parish administrator of the samecircumscription (28 Mar.).

Bishop-elect Semaan, 39, wasborn in Beirut, Lebanon. He holds adegree in philosophy and theology;a licence in canon law. He was or-dained a priest on 24 June 2006.

CHANGES IN EP I S C O PAT E

The Holy Father accepted the resig-nation of Archbishop Antonio JoséLópez Castillo from his office asArchbishop of Barquisimeto, Vene-zuela (25 Mar.).The Holy Father accepted the resig-nation of Bishop Marcello Romanofrom his office as Bishop of Araçuaí,Brazil (25 Mar.).The Holy Father accepted the resig-nation of Bishop Robert JosephBaker from his office as Bishop ofBirmingham, USA (25 Mar.).The Holy Father appointed BishopSteven John Raica as Bishop ofBirmingham. Until now he hasserved as Bishop of Gaylord, USA(25 Mar.).The Holy Father appointed Fr JánKub oš as Auxiliary Bishop of theDiocese of Spiš, Slovakia, assigninghim the titular episcopal See ofQuiza. Until now he has served asparish priest and Dean in Kežm a ro k ,member of the Presbyteral Coun-

cil and of the College of Consultors(25 Mar.).

Bishop-elect Kuboš, 54, was bornin Trstená, Slovakia. He was or-dained a priest on 18 June 1989.

The Holy Father appointed BishopJean-Baptiste Tiama as Bishop ofMopti, Mali. Until now he hasserved as Bishop of Sikasso, Mali(27 Mar.).The Holy Father accepted the resig-nation of Archbishop Nicolaus AdiSeputra, MSC, from his office asArchbishop of Merauke, Indonesia(28 Mar.).The Holy Father appointed Fr RamiA l - Ka b a l a n as titular Bishop ofArethusa for Syrians. Until now hehas served as Apostolic Visitator forSyrian faithful living in WesternEurope and procurator of the Patri-archate of Antioch for Syrians at theHoly See. He has taken the name of‘Flavian’. (28 Mar.).

Bishop-elect Al-Kabalan, 40, wasborn in Zaydal, Syria. He holds: adegree in philosophy and theology;a licence in theology; a doctorate inoriental canon law. He was ordaineda priest on 16 July 2005.

The Holy Father accepted the resig-nation of Bishop Julio Edgar Cab-rera Ovalle from his office as Bishopof Jalapa, Guatemala (30 Mar.).The Holy Father appointed Fr JoséBenedicto Moscoso Miranda as

Bishop of Jalapa. Until now he hasserved as parish priest of La SagradaFamilia Parish, member of the Col-lege of Consultors and vicar forane(31 Mar.).

Bishop-elect Moscoso Miranda,60, was born in San Luis Jilote-peque, Guatemala. Before enteringthe seminary he studied accountingand philosophy; once in the semin-ary he studied theology. He was or-dained a priest on 3 January 1987.

The Holy Father accepted the resig-nation of Bishop Ignacy Dec fromhis office as Bishop of Świdnica, Po-land (31 Mar.).The Holy Father appointed BishopMarek Mendyk as Bishop of Świd-nica. Until now he has served as tit-ular Bishop of Rusuccuru and Aux-iliary Bishop of Legnica, Poland (31M a r. ) .

APOSTOLIC NUNCIO

The Holy Father appointed MsgrLuis Miguel Muñoz Cárdaba asApostolic Nuncio to Sudan and Er-itrea, at the same time raising him tothe dignity of archbishop and as-signing him the titular episcopal Seeof Nasai. Until now he has been aCounsellor to the said Nunciature(31 Mar.).

LENTEN SERMON

On Friday morning, 27 March, FrRaniero Cantalamessa, OFM Cap.,Preacher of the Papal Household,delivered the Third Lenten Sermonin the Redemptoris Mater Chapel.

Calendar for Holy Week Liturgical Celebrationspresided by the Holy Father

As a result of the extraordinarysituation that has arisen, due tothe spread of the Covid-19 pan-demic, and taking into accountthe provisions provided by theCongregation of Divine Wor-ship and the Discipline of theSacraments, with a Decreedated 25 March 2020, it has be-come necessary to provide anupdate in relation to the up-coming Liturgical Celebrationspresided over by the HolyFather: with regard to both theCalendar and the methods ofparticipation.

Therefore, the Holy Fatherwill celebrate the Holy Weekrites at the Altar of the

Cathedra, in Saint Peter’s Ba-silica, in accordance with thefollowing calendar and withoutthe participation of people:

5 AprilPalm Sunday of thePassion of the Lord

Commemoration of the entry ofthe Lord into Jerusalem andHoly Mass at 11:00 AM

9 AprilHoly Thursday

Holy Mass of the Lord’s Supper,11:00 AM

10 AprilGood Friday

Celebration of the Passion of theLord, 6:00 PM

Via Crucis on the parvis of SaintPeter’s Basilica, 9:00 PM

11 AprilHoly Saturday

Easter Vigil, 9:00 PM

12 AprilEaster Sunday of the

Resurrection of the LordHoly Mass at 11:00 AM.

At the end of Holy Mass, PopeFrancis will impart the Urbi etOrbi blessing.

number 14, Friday, 3 April 2020 L’OSSERVATORE ROMANO page 3

A journey of purificationThe Holy Father continues his series of catecheses on the Beatitudes

“To see God means having a personal relationship withhim. This requires looking deep within our hearts andmaking space for him”. Pope Francis explained this at theGeneral Audience on Wednesday, 1 April, as he continuedhis series of catecheses on the Beatitudes, focusing on thesixth Beatitude: “Blessed are the pure of heart, for theyshall see God”. The following is a translation of the HolyFa t h e r ’s words which he shared in Italian from the privatelibrary of the Vatican’s Apostolic Palace.

Dear Bothers and Sisters,Good Morning,Today, let us read together thesixth Beatitude which promisesthe vision of God and has purityof heart as a condition.

There is a Psalm that reads:“my heart says to thee, ‘Thy face,Lord, do I seek.’ Hide not thyface from me” (Ps 27[28]:8-9).

This language manifests thethirst for a personal relationshipwith God, not a mechanical one,not a somewhat vague one, no:personal, which the Book of Jobalso expresses as a sign of a sin-cere relationship. The Book ofJob reads: “I had heard of theeby the hearing of the ear, butnow my eyes see thee” (42:5).And often I think that this is thejourney of life, in our relationshipwith God. We know God fromhearsay, but with our experience,we go forward, forward, forward,and in the end, we come to knowhim directly, if we are faithful ...And this is the maturity of theSpirit.

How do we reach this intimacy,to know God with our eyes? Wecan think of the disciples at Em-maus, for example, who have theLord beside them but “their eyeswere kept from recognizing him”(Lk 24:16). The Lord will opentheir eyes at the end of a journeythat culminates with the breakingof bread and had begun with ascolding: “O Foolish men, andslow of heart to believe all thatthe prophets have spoken” (Lk24:25). This is the reprimand atthe beginning. It is the root oftheir blindness: their hearts werefoolish and slow. And when theheart is foolish and slow, thingscannot be seen. Things appearfoggy. Herein lies the wisdom ofthis Beatitude: in order to con-template it, we need to enterwithin ourselves and make roomfor God because, as Saint Au-gustine says, God is “more in-ward than my innermost self”(“interior intimo meo” ConfessionsIII, 6, 11). In order to see God,there is neither the need to

change eyeglasses or vantagepoint, nor to change the theolo-gical authors who teach the path:we need to free the heart from itsdeception. This is the only path.

This is a decisive maturity:when we realize that our worstenemy is often hidden within ourheart. The most noble battle isthe one against the inner decep-tion that creates our sins. Becausesins change our inner vision, theychange our evaluation of things.They make us see things that arenot real or at least not that re a l .

It is thus important to under-stand what purity of heart is. Inorder to do so, we should remem-ber that, for the Bible, the heartdoes not consist only in feelings,but rather it is a human being’smost intimate place, the innerspace where people are them-selves. This is according to theBible.

The Gospel of Matthew itselfsays “if our eye is not sound,your whole body will be full ofdarkness” (Matt 6:23). This lightis the gaze of the heart, the per-spective, synthesis andthe point from whichreality can be seen (cf.Evangelii Gaudium, n.143).

But what does hav-ing a “p u re ” heartmean? A pure heartlives in the presence ofthe Lord, preserving inthe heart what isworthy of the relation-ship with him. Only inthis way can one pos-sess an intimate lifethat is “unified, linearand unwinding.

A purified heart is,therefore, the result ofa process that impliesliberation and renunci-ation. Those who arepure of heart are notborn that way butrather they have exper-ienced an inner simpli-fication, learning to re-

nounce the evil within oneself,which the Bible calls circumcisionof the heart (cf. Dt 10:16; 30:6, Ex44:9; Jer 4:4).

This inner purification impliesrecognition of the part of theheart that is under the influenceof evil — “You know Father, I feelthis way, I think this way, I seethis way and this is bad”: recog-nizing the bad part, the part thatis clouded by evil — in order tolearn the art of always allowingourselves to be trained andguided by the Holy Spirit. Thejourney from a sick heart, from asinful heart, from a heart thatcannot see things well because itis in sin, to the fullness of thelight of the heart, is the work ofthe Holy Spirit. He is the onewho guides us to take this jour-ney. Through this journey of theheart, we can achieve “seeingGo d”.

In this beatific vision, there is anescatological dimension of the fu-ture, as with all Beatitudes: it isthe joy of the Kingdom of Heav-en towards which we are directed.But there is also the other dimen-

sion: to see God means under-standing the design of Providencein what happens to us, to recog-nize his presence in the Sacra-ments, his presence in our broth-ers and sisters, especially the poorand the suffering, and to recog-nize God there where he mani-fests himself (cf. Catechism of theCatholic Church, n. 2519).

This Beatitude is somewhat thefruit of the preceding ones: if wehave listened to the thirst forgood that dwells within us andwe are aware of living of mercy, ajourney of freedom begins whichlasts an entire lifetime and leadsus to Heaven. It is serious work,work that is carried out by theHoly Spirit if we give him theroom to do it, if we are open tothe action of the Holy Spirit.This is why we can say that it ismostly the work of God in us —in the trials and the purificationsof life — and this is the work ofGod and of the Holy Spirit whobrings great joy, true and pro-found peace. Let us not be afraid,let us open the doors of our heartto the Holy Spirit so that he maypurify us and lead us forward inthis journey towards full joy.

SPECIAL GREETINGS

I greet the English-speakingfaithful joining us through themedia, as we continue on ourLenten journey towards Easter.Upon you and your families, I in-voke the strength and peace thatcome from our Lord Jesus Christ.May God bless you!

Lastly, I greet young people, thesick, the elderly and newlyweds.May the last glimpse of the Len-ten season that we are experien-cing, foster a suitable preparationfor the celebration of Easter, lead-ing each of us to an even deepercloseness to Christ. I offer myBlessing to everyone.

GENERAL AU D I E N C E

number 14, Friday, 3 April 2020 L’OSSERVATORE ROMANO page 4/5

Go d’s consoling embraceThe Pope’s words to the many ordinary people who courageously and selflessly give their lives for the good of all

The crucifix bathedin tears from heaven

ANDREA TORNIELLI

It was the protagonist of the prayerthat Pope Francis celebrated onFriday evening, 27 March, in anempty Saint Peter’s Square, im-mersed in an unreal silence, a fore-shadowing of Good Friday; theCrucifix bathed by the rain that ir-rigated the body, adding water tothe blood painted on the wood,which the Gospel tells us came outfrom the wound inflicted by thesp ear.

The cross of the Crucified Christthat had survived a fire and whichthe people of Rome used to carryon procession against the plague;that Crucified Christ that SaintJohn Paul II had embraced duringthe penitential liturgy of the Ju-bilee of the Year 2000, was the si-lent and defenceless protagonist atthe centre of the empty space.Even Mary Salus Populi Romani,protected in a plexiglass case thatbecame opaque from the rain, ap-peared to give way, as if to almostdisappear, humbly, before He,raised on the Cross for the salva-tion of humanity.

Pope Francis looked small andmore hunched as he walked — withsome effort and in solitude — upthe steps to the parvis, makinghimself the interpreter of theworld’s suffering to offer it at thefoot of the Cross. “Teacher, do younot care if we perish?”. The dis-tressing crisis that we are experien-cing with the pandemic “exp osesour vulnerability and uncoversthose false and superfluous certain-ties around which we have con-structed our daily schedules, ourprojects, our habits and priorities”and now “that we are in a stormysea, we implore you: ‘Wake up,L o rd ! ’”.

The siren of an ambulance, oneof many which in these days passthrough our neighbourhoods, res-cuing the newly infected, accom-panied the bells at the very mo-ment of the Urbi et Orbi Eucharist-ic Blessing when the Pope, stillalone, once again faced the deser-ted square lashed by the rain, mak-ing the sign of the Cross with theMonstrance. Yet again, He was theprotagonist, that Jesus who wishedto make himself nourishment forus and who still today repeats tous “Why are you afraid? Have youno faith?.... Do not be afraid”.

On Friday, 27 March, at 6:00 PM,Pope Francis presided over anextraordinary moment of prayer inSaint Peter’s Square, to implore foran end to the pandemic and for“God’s consoling embrace” to reach allof humanity adrift in a stormy sea,giving “health to our bodiesand comfort [to] our hearts. Thefollowing is the English text of theHoly Father’s homily.

When evening had come” (Mk4:35). The Gospel passage we havejust heard begins like this. Forweeks now it has been evening.Thick darkness has gathered overour squares, our streets and our cit-ies; it has taken over our lives,filling everything with a deafeningsilence and a distressing void, thatstops everything as it passes by; wefeel it in the air, we notice it inp eople’s gestures, their glances give CONTINUED ON PA G E 7

them away. We find ourselvesafraid and lost. Like the disciplesin the Gospel we were caught offguard by an unexpected, turbulentstorm. We have realized that weare on the same boat, all of us fra-gile and disoriented, but at thesame time important and needed,all of us called to row together,each of us in need of comfortingthe other. On this boat… are all ofus. Just like those disciples, whospoke anxiously with one voice,saying “We are perishing” (v. 38),so we too have realized that wecannot go on thinking of ourselves,but only together can we do this.

It is easy to recognize ourselvesin this story. What is harder to un-derstand is Jesus’ attitude. Whilehis disciples are quite naturallyalarmed and desperate, he standsin the stern, in the part of the boat

that sinks first. And what does hedo? In spite of the tempest, hesleeps on soundly, trusting in theFather; this is the only time in theGospels we see Jesus sleeping.When he wakes up, after calmingthe wind and the waters, he turnsto the disciples in a reproachingvoice: “Why are you afraid? Haveyou no faith?” (v. 40).

Let us try to understand. Inwhat does the lack of the disciples’faith consist, as contrasted with Je-sus’ trust? They had not stoppedbelieving in him; in fact, theycalled on him. But we see howthey call on him: “Teacher, do younot care if we perish?” (v. 38). Doyou not care: they think that Jesusis not interested in them, does notcare about them. One of the thingsthat hurts us and our families mostwhen we hear it said is: “Do you

not care about me?” It is a phrasethat wounds and unleashes stormsin our hearts. It would haveshaken Jesus too. Because he, morethan anyone, cares about us. In-deed, once they have called onhim, he saves his disciples fromtheir discouragement.

The storm exposes our vulnerab-ility and uncovers those false andsuperfluous certainties aroundwhich we have constructed ourdaily schedules, our projects, ourhabits and priorities. It shows ushow we have allowed to becomedull and feeble the very things thatnourish, sustain and strengthen ourlives and our communities. Thetempest lays bare all our prepack-aged ideas and forgetfulness ofwhat nourishes our people’s souls;all those attempts that anesthetizeus with ways of thinking and act-

ing that supposedly “save” us, butinstead prove incapable of puttingus in touch with our roots andkeeping alive the memory of thosewho have gone before us. We de-prive ourselves of the antibodieswe need to confront adversity.

In this storm, the façade ofthose stereotypes with which wecamouflaged our egos, always wor-rying about our image, has fallenaway, uncovering once more that(blessed) common belonging, ofwhich we cannot be deprived: ourbelonging as brothers and sisters.

“Why are you afraid? Have you nofaith?” Lord, your word this even-ing strikes us and regards us, all ofus. In this world, that you lovemore than we do, we have goneahead at breakneck speed, feeling

page 6 L’OSSERVATORE ROMANO Friday, 3 April 2020, number 14

Monday, 9 March

Mass for victims of coronavirus

During his homily for Mass at Santa Martaon Monday, 9 March, which was broadcastlive to be near to those affected by thecoronavirus, Pope Francis focused on the Sac-rament of Reconciliation as he reflected onthe First Reading on the Second Monday ofLent taken from the Book of the ProphetDaniel (9:4-10) in which the prophet confesseshis sins and those of his people. “When weprepare ourselves to receive the Sacrament ofReconciliation”, the Holy Father said, we haveto do an examination of conscience. However,there is a difference between making a list ofsins on the intellectual level and a heartfelt re-cognition of sin: “to make a list of sins in themind, to say ‘I’ve sinned’, then say them tothe priest and then the priest forgives me”, hesaid, is like making a to do list and this “re -mains in the mind. A true confession of sinsmust remain in the heart”, he pointed out.

Pope Francis invited the faithful to confessfrom the heart like Daniel did when he ex-

Wednesday, 11 March

Mass especially for detainees

On Wednesday morning, 11 March, PopeFrancis continued his live broadcasts of Massat Santa Marta by offering the celebration todetainees. “They suffer and we must be nearto them with our prayer so that the Lordmight console them”, he said. He began hishomily by referring to the day’s reading fromJeremiah and explained how the devil temptsus to reject God’s plan by placing obstacles.The devil, Pope Francis said, has two styles ofpersecuting Christians. First, he tries to seducewith worldliness by “making them change theplan of redemption”, in order to “distance usfrom the cross of Christ”. And then, he triesto destroy the person because “the devil’spride is so great that he tries to destroy andenjoys destroying through maliciousness”.

It is through discernment, the Holy Fatherexplained, that we can conquer the devil. In-deed, discerning how the devil is working onus is the very way to overcome the obstaclesthat the devil places on our path of disciple-

i n d i f f e re n c e ”; being so self-involved that welose our identity and become adjectives.

The parable, the Pope explained, tells thestory of a wealthy man who was pleased withhis wealth and his life and a poor man, Laz-arus, whom he saw regularly outside his door.To the wealthy man, it seemed natural to seethe poor man there. The Gospel narrativesays that when Lazarus died he was taken toheaven beside Abraham while the rich manwas simply buried.

There are two striking things about thisparable: “the fact that the rich man knew thatthis poor man existed and that his name wasLazarus but did not care”; and the “g re a tabyss” between the two men. Although therich man was informed, the Pope pointed out,his “heart was closed. Thus, the informationthat this man possessed could not reach hisheart, he did not know how to be moved”.

This also happens to us, the Pope re-marked. “Many of us, many groups of womenand men experience this detachment betweenwhat they think, what they know and whatthey feel ... they are indifferent”. The HolyFather said that the expression, “globalizationof indifference” came to him when he visitedLampedusa for the first time and witnessedthe migrant situation there. When we worryabout our personal matters, he said, we tendto forget “starving children, we forget thosepoor people who seek freedom on the fronti-ers of countries, migrants forced to flee fromhunger and war only to find a wall ... a wallthat does not let them in”.

Another striking thing about this Bible pas-sage, the Pope continued, is that we are nottold the name of the rich man. “The Gospeldoes not tell us the name of this man. He hadno name. He only had adjectives of his life:rich, powerful, many adjectives”. Our egoism,he said, “causes us to lose our identity, ourname”, and we fall into a culture of adjectiveswhere our worth is determined by what wehave and this is the result of indifference. TheHoly Father concluded his homily by invitingthe faithful to ask the Lord for the grace ofnot falling into a state of indifference beforehuman suffering, the grace to be moved to dosomething for others.

Friday, 13 March

Mass for Pastors

On Friday morning, 13 March, Pope Fran-cis began Holy Mass at Santa Marta with aprayer for priests “who need to accompanythe people of God during this crisis. May theLord grant them the strength and the abilityto choose the best ways to help”. During thehomily, he commented on the day’s Gospel(Mt 21:33-46) which narrates the parable ofthe tenants, and refers to God’s care of hispeople. The vineyard, the Holy Father ex-plained, represents the chosen people, the ten-ants are the Doctors of the Law and the ser-vants are the prophets. Meanwhile, the hedge,winepress and tower represent the covenantmade in Sinai. In the parable the servantswho are sent by God to receive the fruit ofthe vineyard from the tenants are beaten andkilled. This parable “is a story about infidel-ity” to God’s call and to the covenant made,the Pope explained. They confused the gift ofthe covenant for possession.

This change from gift to possession is theresult of the “sin of forgetting”. Rather thanreceive the gift that God made of himself, webegin to feel we own it. Thus, “the promise isno longer a promise, the election is no longeran election ... .It becomes an ideology”, theHoly Father explained. Because God made agift of himself to us, this gift must be givenfreely to others as it does not belong to us. Atthe end of his reflection, Pope Francis prayedthat we might be granted the grace of “re c e i v -ing the gift as a gift and of transmitting thisgift as a gift and not as a possession”.

pressed the shame involved in this process.Indeed, the Holy Father said, when we realizethat we have sinned and feel this in our heartswe are filled with shame. “Being ashamed ofour sins is a grace we need to ask”. When welose our sense of shame, he explained, we losea sense of moral judgment and respect forothers. On the other hand, when a sense ofshame is part of the memory of our sin, “thistouches God’s heart” because it means thatwe have understood what we “have done to aGod who is so good, so compassionate, sorighteous”. The Holy Father concluded hishomily by asking the Lord to grant us thegrace to feel ashamed for our sins.

Tuesday, 10 March

The Lord changes scarlet to white

On Tuesday, 10 March, the Holy Father con-tinued his reflection from the day before, onthe importance of recognizing and confessingour sins with our hearts, in his homily atSanta Marta. “Today the Lord calls all us sin-ners to enter into dialogue with him becausesin makes us withdraw into ourselves”, thePope said. That is precisely what happened toAdam and Eve. After sinning they hid them-selves in shame.

The Pope then referred to the Readingfrom Isaiah (1:16-20) in which the Lord callssinners to talk with him: “Come now, let usreason together, says the Lord: though yoursins are like scarlet, they shall be as white assnow”. In other words, the Pope explained,the Lord is telling us to approach him andnot to be afraid of speaking to him becausehe can change everything. He then gave theexample of Saint Jerome who, he said, wasvery penitent, prayed a lot and always tried togive the Lord everything he asked of him.When the Lord continued to be unhappy des-pite all this, Jerome became angry and askedhim why he was unsatisfied with him despitehis efforts. And the Lord said, give me yoursins. The Pope invited the faithful to “havethe courage to go to the Lord with all ourwretchedness and speak to him” in order toavoid falling into the snare of believing we arenot sinners like the Doctors of the Law in theday’s Gospel passage from Matthew (23:1-12).

ship. When a person is persecuted, it is be-cause they are facing the vengeance of thedevil, for it means that they have conqueredhim. This is evident today in the lives ofmany Christians who are “cruelly persecuted”,the Holy Father said, as he gave the exampleof Asia Bibi’s suffering during her nine-yearimprisonment. He concluded his homily witha prayer asking the Lord to grant us this dis-cernment: “May the Lord grant us the graceto discern the Lord’s way which is the cross,from the way of the world which is vanity,and appearance”.

Thursday, 12 March

Mass for civil authorities

During his morning Mass at Santa Marta onThursday, 12 March, the Holy Father contin-ued to pray for those affected by thecoronavirus: “for the sick, their families, forparents who are home with their children, butabove all, I would like to ask you to pray forthe authorities” who have to make difficultdecisions for our wellbeing. In his homily ashe commented on the parable of the rich manand Lazarus, from the day’s Gospel Readingof Luke (Lk 16:19-31) he reflected on thetemptation of falling into a “globalization of

Morning Mass at the DomusSanctae Marthae

number 14, Friday, 3 April 2020 L’OSSERVATORE ROMANO page 7

Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue sends Message for the feast of Vesakh

Constructing a Culture of Compassion and Fraternity

powerful and able to do anything.Greedy for profit, we let ourselvesget caught up in things, and luredaway by haste. We did not stop atyour reproach to us, we were notshaken awake by wars or injusticeacross the world, nor did we listento the cry of the poor or of our ail-ing planet. We carried on regardless,thinking we would stay healthy in aworld that was sick. Now that weare in a stormy sea, we implore you:“Wake up, Lord!”.

“Why are you afraid? Have you nofaith?” Lord, you are calling to us,calling us to faith. Which is not somuch believing that you exist, butcoming to you and trusting in you.This Lent your call reverberates ur-gently: “Be converted!”, “Return tome with all your heart” (Joel 2:12).You are calling on us to seize thistime of trial as a time of choosing. Itis not the time of your judgement,but of our judgement: a time tochoose what matters and whatpasses away, a time to separate whatis necessary from what is not. It is atime to get our lives back on trackwith regard to you, Lord, and toothers. We can look to so many ex-emplary companions for the journey,who, even though fearful, have re-acted by giving their lives. This isthe force of the Spirit poured outand fashioned in courageous andgenerous self-denial. It is the life inthe Spirit that can redeem, valueand demonstrate how our lives arewoven together and sustained by or-

dinary people — often forgottenpeople — who do not appear innewspaper and magazine headlinesnor on the grand catwalks of thelatest show, but who without anydoubt are in these very days writingthe decisive events of our time: doc-tors, nurses, supermarket employees,cleaners, caregivers, providers oftransport, law and order forces, vo-lunteers, priests, religious men andwomen and so very many otherswho have understood that no onereaches salvation by themselves. Inthe face of so much suffering, wherethe authentic development of ourpeoples is assessed, we experiencethe priestly prayer of Jesus: “Thatthey may all be one” (Jn 17:21).How many people every day are ex-ercising patience and offering hope,taking care to sow not panic but ashared responsibility. How manyfathers, mothers, grandparents andteachers are showing our children, insmall everyday gestures, how to faceup to and navigate a crisis by ad-justing their routines, lifting theirgaze and fostering prayer. Howmany are praying, offering and in-terceding for the good of all. Prayerand quiet service: these are our vic-torious weapons.

“Why are you afraid? Have you nofaith”? Faith begins when we realisewe are in need of salvation. We arenot self-sufficient; by ourselves wefounder: we need the Lord, like an-cient navigators needed the stars.Let us invite Jesus into the boats ofour lives. Let us hand over our fears

to him so that he can conquer them.Like the disciples, we will experiencethat with him on board there will beno shipwreck. Because this is God’sstrength: turning to the goodeverything that happens to us, eventhe bad things. He brings serenityinto our storms, because with Godlife never dies.

The Lord asks us and, in themidst of our tempest, invites us toreawaken and put into practice thatsolidarity and hope capable of giv-ing strength, support and meaningto these hours when everythingseems to be floundering. The Lordawakens so as to reawaken and re-vive our Easter faith. We have ananchor: by his cross we have beensaved. We have a rudder: by hiscross we have been redeemed. Wehave a hope: by his cross we havebeen healed and embraced so thatnothing and no one can separate usfrom his redeeming love. In themidst of isolation when we are suf-fering from a lack of tenderness andchances to meet up, and we experi-ence the loss of so many things, letus once again listen to the proclama-tion that saves us: he is risen and isliving by our side. The Lord asks usfrom his cross to rediscover the lifethat awaits us, to look towards thosewho look to us, to strengthen, recog-nize and foster the grace that liveswithin us. Let us not quench thewavering flame (cf. Is 42:3) that nev-er falters, and let us allow hope tobe rekindled.

Embracing his cross means find-ing the courage to embrace all thehardships of the present time,abandoning for a moment our eager-ness for power and possessions inorder to make room for the creativ-ity that only the Spirit is capable ofinspiring. It means finding the cour-age to create spaces where everyonecan recognize that they are called,and to allow new forms of hospital-ity, fraternity and solidarity. By hiscross we have been saved in order toembrace hope and let it strengthenand sustain all measures and all pos-sible avenues for helping us protectourselves and others. Embracing theLord in order to embrace hope: thatis the strength of faith, which freesus from fear and gives us hope.

“Why are you afraid? Have you nofaith”? Dear brothers and sisters,from this place that tells of Peter’srock-solid faith, I would like thisevening to entrust all of you to theLord, through the intercession ofMary, Health of the People and Starof the stormy Sea. From this colon-nade that embraces Rome and thewhole world, may God’s blessingcome down upon you as a consolingembrace. Lord, may you bless theworld, give health to our bodies andcomfort our hearts. You ask us notto be afraid. Yet our faith is weakand we are fearful. But you, Lord,will not leave us at the mercy of thestorm. Tell us again: “Do not beafraid” (Mt 28:5). And we, togetherwith Peter, “cast all our anxietiesonto you, for you care about us” (cf.1 Pet 5:7).

CONTINUED FROM PA G E 4

“Buddhists and Christians: Construct-ing a Culture of Compassion and Fra-ternity” is the theme of the Messagethat the Pontifical Council for Interre-ligious Dialogue sent to Buddhists forthe feast of Vesakh/Hanamatsuri2020. The following is the English textof the Message which was jointly signedby Cardinal Miguel Ángel Ayuso Guix-ot, MCCJ, President of the Dicastery,and by Msgr Indunil J. KodithuwakkuK., Secretary.

Dear Buddhists Friends,On behalf of the Pontifical Coun-

cil for Interreligious Dialogue, weextend our heartfelt greetings andgood wishes to you and to allBuddhist communities around theworld as you celebrate the feast ofVe s a k h / H a n a m a t s u r i . For the last 24years, the Pontifical Council for In-terreligious Dialogue has sent greet-ings to you on this happy occasion.Since this year marks the 25th an-niversary of this traditional message,we would like to renew our bond offriendship and collaboration withthe various traditions you represent.

This year, we would like to reflectwith you on the theme “Buddhistsand Christians: Constructing a Cultureof Compassion and Fraternity”. We aremindful of the high value our re-spective religious traditions give to

compassion and fraternity in ourspiritual quest and in our witnessand service to a wounded humanityand a wounded earth.

The Document on Human Fratern-ity for World Peace and Living Togeth-er states: “Authentic teachings of re-ligions invite us to remain rooted inthe values of peace; to defend thevalues of mutual understanding, hu-man fraternity and harmonious co-existence”. Meeting the SupremeBuddhist Patriarch in Thailand lastNovember, His Holiness Pope Fran-cis expressed that “we can grow andlive together as good “neighb ors”and thus be able to promote amongthe followers of our religions the de-velopment of new charitable pro-jects, capable of generating and mul-tiplying practical initiatives on thepath of fraternity, especially with re-gard to the poor and our much-ab-used common home. In this way, wewill contribute to the formation of aculture of compassion, fraternity andencounter, both here and in otherparts of the world” (cf. Visiting theSupreme Buddhist Patriarch, Bangkok,21 November 2019).

The Feast of Ve s a k h / H a n a m a t s u r iprompts us to recall that PrinceSiddhartha set out in search of wis-dom by shaving his head and re-nouncing his princely status. He

traded his garments of Benares silkfor the simple robe of a monk. Hisnoble gesture reminds us of SaintFrancis of Assisi: he cut his hair andtraded his fine clothes for the simplerobe of a mendicant because hewanted to follow Jesus, who “emp-tied himself, taking the form of aslave” (Philippians 2:7) and had“nowhere to lay his head” (Matthew8:20). Their example and that oftheir followers inspire us to a life ofdetachment in view of what is mostimportant. Thus, in consequence, wemay more freely devote ourselves tofostering a culture of compassionand fraternity for the alleviation ofhuman and ecological suffering.

Everything is related. Interde-pendence brings us back to thetheme of compassion and fraternity.In a spirit of gratitude for yourfriendship, we humbly ask you toaccompany and support your Chris-tian friends in fostering loving kind-ness and fraternity in the worldtoday. As we, Buddhists and Christi-ans, learn from one another how tobecome ever more mindful and com-passionate, may we continue to lookfor ways to work together to makeour interconnectedness a source ofblessing for all sentient beings andfor the planet, our common home.

We believe that to guarantee thecontinuity of our universal solidarity,our shared journey requires educa-tional process. To this end, a globalevent will take place on 15 October2020 on the theme “Reinventing theGlobal Compact on Education”.“This meeting will rekindle our ded-ication for and with young people,renewing our passion for a moreopen and inclusive education, in-cluding patient listening, construct-ive dialogue and better mutual un-derstanding” (Pope Francis, Me s s a g efor the Launch of the Global Compacton Education, 12 September 2019).We invite you to work together withall to promote this initiative, indi-vidually and within your communit-ies, to nurture a new humanism. Weare also happy to see that Buddhistsand Christians are drawing ondeeply held values and working to-gether to uproot the causes of socialills in various parts of the world.

Let us pray for all those who areaffected by the coronavirus pandem-ic and for those who are caregivers.Let us encourage our faithful to livethis difficult moment with hope,compassion, and charity.

Dear Buddhist friends, in this spir-it of friendship and collaboration, wewish you once again a peaceful andjoyful feast of Vesakh/Hanamatsuri.

Go d’s consoling embrace

page 8 L’OSSERVATORE ROMANO Friday, 3 April 2020, number 14

ANGELUS

At the Angelus on Sunday, 29 March, Pope Francis joined arecent appeal launched by the United Nations Secretary-GeneralAntònio Guterrez, calling for an “immediate global ceasefire inall corners of the world” to counteract the Covid-19 emergency.Earlier, the Holy Father had reflected on the day’s Gospelpassage which recounts the Resurrection of Lazarus.The following is a translation of the Holy Father’s reflectionwhich he delivered in Italian from the private library ofthe Apostolic Palace.

Stop to all wars in the worldThe Pontiff joins appeal by UN Secretary-General for immediate global cease f i re

Dear Brothers and Sisters,Good Morning,The Gospel passage for this fifthSunday of Lent is the resurrec-tion of Lazarus (cf. Jn 11:1-45).Lazarus was Martha and Mary’sbrother; they were good friendsof Jesus. When Jesus arrives inBethany, Lazarus has alreadybeen dead for four days. Martharuns towards the Master and saysto Him: “If you had been here,my brother would not havedied!” (v. 21). Jesus replies to her:“Your brother will rise again” ( v.23) and adds: “I am the resurrec-tion and the life; he who believesin me, though he die, yet shall helive” (v. 25). Jesus makes himselfseen as the Lord of life, he whois capable of giving life even tothe dead. Then Mary and otherpeople arrive, in tears, and so Je-sus — the Gospel says — “wasdeeply moved in spirit andtroubled.... Jesus wept” (vv. 33,35). With this turmoil in hisheart, he goes to the tomb,thanks the Father who alwayslistens to him, has the tombopened and cries aloud: “Laz-arus, come out!” (v. 43). AndLazarus emerges with “his handsand feet bound with bandages and his face wrapped with acloth” (v. 44).

Here we can experience firsthand that God is life and giveslife, yet takes on the tragedy ofdeath. Jesus could have avoidedthe death of his friend Lazarus,but he wanted to share in oursuffering for the death of peopledear to us, and above all, hewished to demonstrate God’sdominion over death. In thisGospel passage we see that thefaith of man and the omnipo-tence of God, of God’s love, seekeach other and finally meet. It islike a two lane street: the faith ofman and the omnipotence ofGo d’s love seek each other and

finally meet. We see this in thecry of Martha and Mary, and ofall of us with them: “If you hadbeen here!”. And God’s answer isnot a speech, no, God’s answer tothe problem of death is Jesus: “Iam the resurrection and the life”... have faith. Amid grief, contin-ue to have faith, even when itseems that death has won. Takeaway the stone from your heart!Let the Word of God restore lifewhere there is death.

Today, too, Jesus repeats to us:“Take away the stone”. God didnot create us for the tomb, butrather he created us for life,[which is] beautiful, good, joyful.But “through the devil’s envydeath entered the world” (Wis2:24) says the Book of Wisdom,and Jesus Christ came to free usfrom its bonds.

We are thus called to take awaythe stones of all that suggestsdeath: for example, the hypocrisywith which faith is lived, is death;the destructive criticism of others,is death; insults, slander, aredeath; the marginalization of thepoor, is death. The Lord asks usto remove these stones from ourhearts, and life will then flourishagain around us. Christ lives, and

those who welcome him and fol-low him come into contact withlife. Without Christ, or outside ofChrist, not only is life notpresent, but one falls back intodeath.

The resurrection of Lazarus isalso a sign of the regenerationthat occurs in the believerthrough Baptism, with full integ-ration within the Paschal Mysteryof Christ. Through the action andpower of the Holy Spirit, theChristian is a person who jour-neys in life as a new creature: acreature for life, who goes to-wards life.

May the Virgin Mary help usto be compassionate like her sonJesus, who made our suffering hisown. May each of us be close tothose who are in difficulty, be-coming for them a reflection ofGo d’s love and tenderness, whichfrees us from death and makeslife victorious.

After the Angelus, the Holy Fathercontinued:

Dear brothers and sisters, theSecretary-General of the UnitedNations recently launched an ap-peal for an “immediate global

ceasefire in all corners of theworld”, citing the current Covid-19 crisis, which does not recogniseborders. An appeal for a totalc e a s e f i re .

I join those who have wel-comed this appeal and I inviteeveryone to follow it by ceasingall forms of hostility, promotingthe creation of humanitarian aidroutes, openness to diplomacy,and attentiveness to those whoare in situations of great vulner-a b i l i t y.

May our joint fight against thepandemic bring everyone to re-cognize the great need to rein-force brotherly and sisterly bondsas members of a single humanfamily. In particular, may it in-spire a renewed commitment toovercome rivalries among theleaders of nations and the partiesinvolved. Conflicts cannot be re-solved through war! Antagonismand differences must be overcomethrough dialogue and a construct-ive search for peace.

At this time, my thoughts turnespecially to all those people whosuffer the vulnerability of beingcompelled to live in a group: resthomes, barracks…. In particular Iwould like to mention those whoare in prison. I read an officialnote by the Commission for Hu-man Rights which mentions theproblem of overcrowded prisons,which could become a tragedy. Iask the authorities to be sensitiveto this serious problem and totake the necessary measures toavoid future tragedies.

I wish everyone a HappySunday. Please, do not forget topray for me; I do so for you. En-joy your lunch. Ar r i v e d e rc i .

The Raising of Lazarus, by Ducciodi Buoninsegna – Kimbell Art Museum