VATICAN CITY. The Pontiff says enough to slave girls on the streets of “our cities”. He thanks the people of Morocco for trying to save little Rayan. And it tells the story of John, a young Ghanaian dying from Monferrato: the country raised funds to fulfill his desire to return to his father before he died. These are the main passages of the Angelus in St. Peter’s Square.
Looking out the window of his study in the Vatican Apostolic Palace, the Pope points out that today’s Gospel “takes us to the shores of the lake of Galilee. The crowd is crowding around Jesus, while some disappointed fishermen, including Simon Peter, wash their nets after a bad night of fishing ”. And behold, the Son of God gets «right in Simon’s boat; then he invites him to put out to sea and cast the nets again. Let us stop on these two actions of Jesus: first he gets into the boat and then, the second, he invites us to put out into the deep. It was a bad night, without fish, but Peter trusts and takes off ».
First of all, Christ «gets into Simon’s boat. To do what? To teach. He is asking for that boat, which is not full of fish but has returned to shore empty, after a night of fatigue and disappointment ». According to the Bishop of Rome it is «a beautiful image for us too. Every day the boat of our life leaves the shores of the house to enter the sea of daily activities; every day we try to “fish off”, to cultivate dreams, to carry out projects, to experience love in our relationships. But often, like Peter, we experience the “night of empty nets” – the night of empty nets -, the disappointment of working hard and not seeing the desired results: “We struggled all night and took nothing”, says Simone “.
How often “we are left with a sense of defeat, while disappointment and bitterness are born in our hearts”. For Francesco “two very dangerous worms”.
What does the Lord do then? He chooses «just to get on our boat. From there he wants to announce the Gospel. Precisely that empty boat, symbol of our incapacity, becomes the “chair” of Jesus, the pulpit from which he proclaims the Word. And this the Lord loves to do – the Lord is the Lord of surprises, of miracles in surprises -: to get on the boat of our life when we have nothing to offer him; enter our voids and fill them with the presence of him; use our poverty to announce his wealth, our miseries to proclaim his mercy “. Pope Francis invites us to remember this: God does not want «a cruise ship, a poor” ramshackle “boat is enough for him, as long as we welcome him. This yes, welcome it; he does not care on which boat, to welcome him. But we – I ask myself – do we get him on the boat of our life? Shall we make the little we have available to him? ». Sometimes “we feel unworthy of Him because we are sinners. But this is an excuse that the Lord does not like, because he pushes him away from us! He is the God of closeness, compassion, tenderness, and he does not seek perfectionism: he seeks acceptance. To you too he says: “Let me get into the boat of your life” – “But, Lord, look …” – “So, let me get in, just as it is”. Let’s think about it ».
In this way God rebuilds Peter’s trust. Having got into his boat, after having preached he says to him: “Put out into the deep” ». It is not a suitable time to fish, it is broad daylight, but “Peter trusts Jesus. He is not based on the strategies of the fishermen, whom he knew well, but on the novelty of Jesus. That amazement that moved him to do what Jesus did to him. he said. It is the same for us: if we welcome the Lord on our boat, we can put out into the deep ». With Jesus “we sail in the sea of life without fear, without giving in to disappointment when nothing is caught and without surrendering to” there is nothing more to be done “». Always, in “personal life as in that of the Church and of society, there is something beautiful and courageous that can be done, always.” We can always start over, the Lord always invites us to get back into the game because He opens up new possibilities “. And then «let us accept the invitation: let us drive out pessimism and mistrust and let us set sail with Jesus! Even our little empty boat will witness a miraculous catch ».
After the Marian Prayer, Bergoglio underlines that today “we are celebrating the International Day against Female Genital Mutilation. There are about three million girls who, every year, undergo this operation, often in very dangerous conditions for their health ”. This practice, “unfortunately widespread in various regions of the world, humiliates the dignity of women and seriously undermines her physical integrity”.
And on Tuesday, the liturgical memorial of «Saint Josephine Bakhita, the World Day of Prayer and Reflection Against Trafficking in Persons will be celebrated. This is a deep wound, inflicted by the shameful search for economic interests without any respect for the human person. Many girls – we see them on the streets – who are not free, they are slaves of traffickers, who send them to work and, if they don’t bring the money, they beat them. Today this happens in our cities. Let’s think about it seriously ».
In the face of these “wounds of humanity, I express my sorrow and urge all those responsible for them to act decisively, to prevent both exploitation and humiliating practices that particularly afflict women and girls”.
Today, in Italy, “the Day for Life is also celebrated, on the theme” Guarding all life “. This appeal is valid for everyone, especially for the weakest categories: the elderly, the sick, and even children who are prevented from being born. I join the Italian Bishops in promoting the culture of life as a response to the logic of waste and the demographic decline. Every life must be guarded, always!
We are used to seeing, reading in the media so many bad things, bad news, accidents, murders … so many things. But today I would like to mention two beautiful things ».
One, in Morocco, “like a whole people has clung to save Rayan. It was all the people there, working to save a child! They gave it their all. Unfortunately he didn’t make it. But that example – today I was reading in the Messenger -, those photographs of a people, there, waiting to save a child … Thanks to this people for this testimony! ».
And another, «which happened here in Italy, and will not appear in the newspaper. In Monferrato: John, a 25-year-old migrant from Ghana, who to get here suffered all that many migrants suffer, and eventually settled in Monferrato, he began to work, to make his future, in a Winery. And then he got sick with a terrible cancer, he is dying. And when they told him the truth what he wanted to do [ha risposto:] “Go home to hug my dad before he dies.” Dying, she thought of her father. And in that village of Monferrato they immediately collected and, stuffed with morphine, put him on the plane, he and a companion, and sent him so that he could die in the arms of his father. This shows us that today, in the midst of so much bad news, there are good things, there are “saints next door”. Thank you for these two testimonies which are good for us ».
Francis greets you, Romans and pilgrims! In particular, those from Germany, Poland and Valencia (Spain); as well as the university students of Madrid – they are noisy, these Spaniards! – and the faithful of the parish of San Francesco d’Assisi in Rome. A special greeting to the nuns of the Talitha Kum group, committed against trafficking. Thank you! Thank you for what you are doing, for your courage. Thank you. I encourage you in your work and I bless the statue of Saint Giuseppina Bakhita ».
And to everyone «I wish you a happy Sunday. And please don’t forget to pray for me. Have a good lunch and goodbye ».
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