Francis invited a group of refugees, who came to Rome with Caritas Florence, onto the stage during the Audience, on Wednesday, June 22, the final one before the summer break. “Christians do not exclude anyone,” the Pope said.
A group of refugees who came to Rome with Caritas Florence and the European University, joined the Pope onstage at today’s General Audience in St. Peter’s Square. “So many,” Francis said to faithful, “think that it would have been better to stay in their land, but there was so much suffering, they are our refugees, but many consider them to be outsiders, please: they are our brothers, Christians do not exclude anyone, we give a place to all, let them all come."
Today’s General Audience is the final one before the summer break starts in July. Next Wednesday, Francis will preside over the Solemnity of the Apostles Peter and Paul in St. Peter’s Square.
The Pope’s catechesis today centred on a leper’s request to Jesus: “Lord, if you want, you can make me clean". This man, Francis explained, “is not just asking to be cured but to be ‘purified’, that is all of himself, body and soul to be healed. Leprosy was seen as a curse from God stemming from profound impurity. Lepers had to stay away from everyone; they couldn’t go to the temple or any divine service. Separated from God and from humans. Lepers led sad lives… Despite this, this leper does not succumb to illness nor to rules that exclude him.
For the sake of reaching Jesus he was not afraid to break the law and enters the city even though he was forbidden from doing so. When he found Jesus "he fell down before him, begging him: Lord, if you want, you can make me clean". Everything that this man, regarded as unclean, does and says is an expression of his faith! He recognizes the power of Jesus, he is sure [Jesus] has the power to heal him and that everything depends on his will. This faith is the power that allowed him to break every convention and to seek an encounter with Jesus and, kneeling before him, call him 'Lord'. The supplication of the leper shows that when we present ourselves to Jesus, long speeches are not necessary. Just a few words, provided they are full of faith in his omnipotence and goodness. Trusting God means losing ourselves in his infinite mercy." “I will confide something to you,” the Pope said, speaking off the cuff, “before going to bed each night I say this brief prayer: ‘Lord, if you want, you can make me clean’, then I say the Our Father prayer five times, one for each of Jesus’ wounds, because Jesus purified us with his wounds. I do this and so ca you at home, you can think of Jesus’ wounds and say the Our Father for each one: Jesus always listens to us.”
Jesus felt compassion towards this man, as Mark’s Gospel tells us and he heals him by placing one hand on him: “Jesus accompanies his words with a gesture in an explicit teaching. Against the provisions of the Law of Moses, which prohibited people from approaching a leper, Jesus stretches out his hand, and even touches him. How many times have we meet a poor man who comes to meet us! We can also be generous, we can have compassion, but we never usually touch him. We offer money, but avoid touching his hand. And we forget that this is the body of Christ! Jesus teaches us not to be afraid to touch the poor and the excluded, because He is in them. Touching the poor can cleanse us from hypocrisy and disquieted by his condition". Today, the Pope, said speaking off the cuff, “I am joined by these young men,” he continued, pointing at a group of young refugees who were sitting beside him on the stage. ““So many,” Francis said to faithful, “think that it would have been better to stay in their land, but there was so much suffering, they are our refugees, but many consider them to be outsiders, please: they are our brothers, Christians do not exclude anyone, we give a place to all, let them all come." The Pope said.
"After healing the leper, Jesus commands us not to tell anyone, but he says: ‘Go, show yourself to the priest and offer the sacrifices that Moses commanded for your cleansing, as a testimony to them.’ According to the Pope, this command shows three things: First, “the grace working within us does not seek sensationalism”. Second, “by having his healing officially verified by the priests and by celebrating with offering, the leper is readmitted into the community of believers and social life”. And third, the strength of compassion with which Jesus healed the leper brought the faith of this man to open up to mission. He was excluded, but he is now one of us.” "Let us think of ourselves, of our own miseries with sincerity ... each one of us has his or her own share. How often do we coat them in the hypocrisy of 'good manners'. And then you need to be alone, to kneel before God and pray: ‘Lord, if you want, you can make me clean'.”
Among those present in St. Peter’s Square today were a group of motorcyclists from Krakow who are taking part in a pilgrimage to Rome, organised by Fr. Adam Parszywka, head of communications at the WYD organising committee and director of the Salesian Volunteer Mission “Young people for the world”. At the end of the Audience the Pope gave a special thanks to the Gemelli hospital’s “Villetta della Misericordia” (little house of mercy) “a dormitory for homeless people that is run by the Community of Sant’Egidio, a concrete work of this Extraordinary Jubilee” and protagonists of the Saracen joust in Arezzo, Italy which this year is based on the theme of mercy. Before his catechesis, the Pope went on his usual ride round St. Peter’s Square to greet faithful. At halfway, an elderly woman hurled herself at the Pope’s jeep and Francis had the driver stop so he could listen to her as she clung onto the vehicle’s bars. Francis continued the final bit on foot, accompanied by a group of refugees whom went and sat either side of the papal seat. After the Audience, the young refugees had their photo taken with Francis, carrying a banner which read: “Refugees for a better future”.
