ANGELUS TODAY
AsiaNews says the Angelus crowd today was around 50,000.
The Holy Father reflected on the Gospel reading today about Zacchaeus of Jericho, saying God does not discriminate between rich and poor.
He also reminded the faithful that yesterday in Romania, the Church beatified Szilárd Bogdánffy, Romanian bishop and martyr, who was arrested in 1949 by the Communists, jailed and died in prison.
In English, he said this:
I would now like to offer a word of greeting to all the English-speaking visitors present at today’s Angelus prayer!
In the liturgy of the word this morning, Our Lord tells us that he "has come to seek out and save those who were lost". May we always know our need for God and embrace his will for us, in love and humility. May God abundantly bless you and your loved ones!
Here is a full translation of the Pope's words today:
Dear brothers and sisters:
The evangelist Luke pays particular attention to the theme of Jesus's mercy. In his accounts, we find episodes which highlight the merciful love of God and of Christ, who says that he came to call not on the just but on the sinners (cfr Lk 5,32).
Among the accounts typical of Luke is that of the conversion of Zacchaeus which we read in today's liturgy. Zacchaeus was a publican, indeed, the chief publican of Jericho, an important city near the banks of the Jordan river.
Publicans were the tax collectors who exacted the tributes that Jews had to pay the Roman emperor, and for this alone, they were considered public sinners [by their fellow Jews] . Moreover, they often took advantage of their position to extort money from the people.
And so, Zacchaeus was very rich but also much despised by his townmates. Thus, when Jesus, passing through Jericho, stopped at the house of Zacchaeus, this caused a general scandal.
But the Lord knew very well what he was doing. He had, so to speak, taken a risk, and he won the wager. Zacchaeus, profoundly struck by Jesus's visit, decided to change his life and promised to restitute his victims four times what he had robbed them.
"Today salvation has come to this house," Jesus said. "..the Son of Man has come to seek and to save what was lost."
God does not exclude anyone, neither the poor nor the rich. God is not conditioned by our human prejudices, but sees in each person a soul to be saved, and he is especially drawn to those who have been judged lost and who consider themselves lost.
Jesus Christ, the incarnation of God, showed this immense mercy, which does not lessen the gravity of sin, but always aims to save the sinner, to offer him the possibility to rescue himself, to start anew, to convert.
In another passage of the Gospel, Jesus says it is very difficult for the rich to enter the Kingdom of heaven (cfr Mt 19,23). In the case of Zacchaeus, we see that, just when it seems impossible, it happens.
Says St. Jerome: "He gave away his wealth and immediately replaced it with the wealth of the Kingdom of heaven" (Homily on Psalm 83.3). And St. Maximus of Turin adds: "Wealth, for the foolish, feeds dishonesty. But for the wise, it is an aid to virtue. The latter are offered an opportunity for salvation; the former have an obstacle which will lead to their loss" (Sermons, 95).
Dear friends, Zacchaeus welcomed Jesus and repented, because Jesus first welcomed him. He did not condemn him, but met his desire for salvation.
Let us pray to the Virgin Mary, perfect model of communion with Jesus, so that we too can experience the joy of being visited by the Son of God, to be renewed in his love, and to transmit his mercy to others.
After the prayers, he said:
Yesterday, at the Cathedral of Oradea Mare in Romania, Cardinal Peter Erdo [Archbishop of Budapest, Hungary], proclaimed Blessed the bishop and martyr Szilárd Bogdánffy.
In 1949, when he was 38, he was consecrated bishop clandestinely, and therefore arrested by the Communist regime in his country, Romania, on the charge of conspiracy. After four years of suffering and humiliation, he died in jail.
Let us give thanks to God for this heroic pastor of the Church who followed the Lamb to the very end. May his witness comfort those who are persecuted today because of the Gospel.
[Modificato da TERESA BENEDETTA 01/11/2010 06:20]