VATICAN CITY. The Pontiff expresses a new appeal for peace in Ukraine: “Do not surrender to the spiral of arms”. And on this 1st of May he warns on the subject of work: too many people lose their way by doing their job, it is a tragedy; the occupation is dignified, the Pope asks the Regina Coeli, that “an economy of peace” be promoted.
At 12 noon Francis looks out of the window of the study in the Vatican Apostolic Palace to recite the Marian Prayer with the faithful and pilgrims gathered in St. Peter’s Square, about 30 thousand according to the Vatican Gendarmerie.
In the introduction, the Bishop of Rome points out that today’s Gospel recounts «the third apparition of the risen Jesus to the apostles. It is a meeting that takes place near the lake of Galilee and mainly involves Simon Peter. It all begins with him saying to the other disciples: “I’m going fishing”. Nothing strange, he was a fisherman, but he had abandoned this profession since, right on the shore of that lake, he had left his nets to follow Jesus. And now, while the Risen One keeps waiting, Peter, perhaps a little disheartened, proposes to the others to go back to the former life. And the others accept: “We too come with you”. But “that night they caught nothing” ».
It can also happen “for us, out of tiredness, disappointment, perhaps out of laziness, to forget the Lord and neglect the great choices we have made, to be satisfied with something else”. For example, he does not spend time “talking to each other in the family, preferring personal pastimes; prayer is forgotten, letting oneself be taken over by one’s own needs; charity is neglected, with the excuse of daily emergencies. But, in doing so, we find ourselves disappointed: it was precisely the disappointment that Peter had, with empty nets, like him. It is a road that takes you back and does not satisfy you ».
And Jesus, «what does he do with Peter? He returns again to the shore of the lake where he had chosen him, Andrew, James and John, all four of them had chosen there. He does not reproach – Jesus does not reproach, he touches the heart, always – but he calls his disciples with tenderness: “Children”. Then he invites them, as in the past, to cast their nets again, with courage ». And once again «once again the networks are filled beyond belief. Brothers and sisters, when in life we have empty nets, it is not time to feel sorry for ourselves, to have fun, to go back to old pastimes. It is time to leave again with Jesus, it is time to find the courage to start again, it is time to set sail with Jesus ». Three verbs: «To start again, to begin again, to set sail again. Always, faced with a disappointment, or a life that has lost its meaning a little – “today I feel that I have gone backwards …” – you leave with Jesus, start again, set sail! He is waiting for you. And he thinks only of you, of me, of each one of us ».
St. Peter needs «that” shock “. When he hears John shouting: “It is the Lord!”, He immediately dives into the water and swims towards Jesus ». It is a gesture of “love, because love goes beyond the useful, the convenient and the due; love generates astonishment, inspires free, creative impulses. Thus, while John, the youngest, recognizes the Lord, it is Peter, who is older, who plunges to meet Him. In that plunge there is all the rediscovered enthusiasm of Simon Peter ».
Today the risen Christ invites us to a new impetus, all of us, each one of us, invites us to dive into goodness without the fear of losing something, without calculating too much, without waiting for the others to begin. Because? Do not wait for the others, because in order to go towards Jesus you have to put yourself out of balance. It is necessary to unbalance oneself with courage, to resume, and to resume unbalancing oneself, to take risks ». Bergoglio invites us to ask ourselves: «Am I capable of a few outbursts of generosity, or do I restrain the impulses of the heart and close myself in habit, or in fear? Jump, dive. This is the word of Jesus today ».
Then, at the end of this episode, “Jesus asks Peter, three times, the question:” Do you love me? “. The Risen One also asks us today: Do you love me? Because at Easter Jesus also wants our heart to rise again; because faith is not a question of knowledge, but of love. Do you love me ?, asks Jesus of you, of me, of us, who have empty nets and are so often afraid of starting over; to you, to me, to all of us, who do not have the courage to dive in and have perhaps lost the momentum. Do you love me ?, asks Jesus. Since then, Peter stopped fishing forever and dedicated himself to the service of God and his brothers, to the point of giving his life here, where we are now. And we, do we want to love Jesus? ».
The Pope invokes Our Lady, «who readily said ‘yes’ to the Lord», so that «she may help us to find the momentum of good».
After the Regina Coeli, Francesco underlines that «yesterday, in Milan, Don Mario Ciceri and Armida Barelli were beatified. The first was a vice-
country parish priest; he devoted himself to praying and confessing, visiting the sick and staying with the children at the oratory, as a gentle educator and safe guide. A shining example of a shepherd. Armida Barelli was founder and animator of the Women’s Youth of Catholic Action. She traveled all over Italy to call girls and young women to ecclesial and civil commitment. She collaborated with Father Gemelli to give life to a secular institute for women and to the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, which just today celebrates the annual day and in her honor she entitled it “With the heart of a woman”. An applause to the new Blessed! ».
Today begins the month dedicated to the Mother of God: “I would like to invite all the faithful and communities to pray the Rosary for peace every day in May”. My thoughts go immediately to the Ukrainian city of Mariupol, the ‘city of Mary’, barbarously bombed and destroyed. Even now, even from here, I renew the request that safe humanitarian corridors be set up for the people trapped in the steel mill of that city. I suffer and cry, thinking of the suffering of the Ukrainian population and in particular of the weakest, the elderly and children. There is even terrible news of children being expelled and deported. And while we are witnessing a macabre decline of humanity, I wonder, together with so many distressed people, if we are truly seeking peace; whether there is the will to avoid a continuous military and verbal escalation; if we are doing everything possible to keep the weapons silent. Please do not surrender to the logic of violence, to the perverse spiral of weapons. Let us take the path of dialogue and peace! Let’s pray”.
And then, «today is Labor Day. May it be a stimulus to renew the commitment so that work is decent everywhere and for everyone. And that the will to grow a peace economy comes from the world of work. And I would like to remember the workers who died in the work: a very widespread tragedy, perhaps too much ».
The day after tomorrow, May 3, is «World Press Freedom Day, sponsored by Unesco. I pay tribute to the journalists who pay in person to serve this right. Last year around the world 47 were killed and more than 350 imprisoned. A special thanks to those of them who, with courage, inform us about the wounds of humanity ».
The Pontiff greets “all of you, Romans and pilgrims from Italy and from many countries. In particular, I greet the faithful who have come from Spain, Portugal and the United States of America, as well as the Maronite parishes of Nazareth and that of Saint Rita in Warsaw. I greet the “Jubilate” choir of Conselve and the students of Mascalucia. A special thought to the “Meter” Association, which for many years has been fighting against violence and abuse of minors, always taking the side of the little ones. And also a greeting to the children of the Immaculate Conception ».
Finally, the Bishop of Rome wishes «a happy Sunday to all! And please don’t forget to pray for me. Have a good lunch and goodbye ».
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