26 - 11 - 2013, 07:04 AM
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 Francis kisses St. Peter's relics
Today Francis concluded the Year of Faith by venerating the relics of St. Peter. He held them in his hands during the Creed and the delivery of the Apostolic Exhortation “Evangelii Gaudium”. He also appealed for peace in Syria and the Holy Land
ANDREA TORNIELLI
vatican city When Jesus is on the Cross and the good thief is standing close by, he “speaks only a word of forgiveness, not of condemnation; whenever anyone finds the courage to ask for this forgiveness, the Lord does not let such a petition go unheard.” This was Francis’ closing message for the Year of Faith during today’s mass celebration in St. Peter’s Basilica. Today the Pope also venerated the relics of St. Peter which were found during the excavations which took place in the years following the death in 1939 of Pope Pius XI. Francis held the bronze display case containing the relics in a quasi embrace for almost six and a half minutes, for the whole duration of the Creed.
At the end of the mass, the Pope delivered the text of the Apostolic Exhortation “Evangelii Gaudium” to 36 representatives of the “people of God”, including two journalists. The “Evangelii Gaudium” on Evangelisation is to be published officially Tuesday. Before the start of the mass there was a collection, with all offerings going to victims of the Philippine typhoon disaster.
During his homily, the Pope remembered his predecessor Benedict XVI with affection and gratitude. He referred to the Year of Faith as a “providential initiative” and greeted Patriarchs and Major Archbishops of the Eastern Catholic Churches. "The exchange of peace, which I will make with them - he says - means, first of all the Bishop of Rome's high regard for these communities, who have confessed the name of Christ with an exemplary fidelity, often paying dearly. Similarly - he adds - through them, with this gesture I mean to embrace all Christians living in the Holy Land, Syria and throughout the East, and invoke the gift of peace and harmony for all.”
Commenting on today’s Gospel readings, the Pope spoke about the “centrality of Christ”. “Jesus is the centre of creation; and so the attitude demanded of us as true believers is that of recognizing and accepting in our lives the centrality of Jesus Christ, in our thoughts, in our words and in our works. When this centre is lost, when it is replaced by something else, only harm can result for everything around us and for ourselves.”
“Christ, the descendant of King David, is the "brother" around whom God's people come together. It is he who cares for his people, for all of us, even at the price of his life. In him we are all one; united with him, we share a single journey, a single destiny. Finally, Christ is the centre of the history of the human race and of every man and woman. To him we can bring the joys and the hopes, the sorrows and troubles which are part of our lives. When Jesus is the centre, light shines even amid the darkest times of our lives; he gives us hope, as he does to the good thief in today's Gospel.”
Francis recalled the words pronounced by the good thief, adding: “Jesus speaks only a word of forgiveness, not of condemnation; whenever anyone finds the courage to ask for this forgiveness, the Lord does not let such a petition go unheard. Jesus' promise to the good thief gives us great hope: it tells us that God's grace is always greater than the prayer which sought it. The Lord always grants more than what he has been asked: you ask him to remember you, and he brings you into his Kingdom! Let us ask the Lord to remember us, in the certainty that by his mercy we will be able to share his glory in paradise."
At the end of the mass, before the Angelus, Francis greeted the Ukrainian community which is commemorating the 80th anniversary of the Holodomor, the great famine endured by the Ukrainian population under the Soviet regime, which caused millions of deaths. He also remembered the 3rd centenary of the birth of Spanish Franciscan missionary, the Blessed Junípero Serra. The Pope gave special thanks to Mgr. Rino Fisichella, the President of the Pontifical Council for the New Evangelisation.
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