The Virus of Selfish Indifference

APRIL 19, 2020 | Homily at Church of Santo Spirito in Sassia

On this feast of Divine Mercy, the most beautiful message comes from Thomas, the disciple who arrived late; he was the only one missing. But the Lord waited for Thomas. Mercy does not abandon those who stay behind. Now, while we are looking forward to a slow and arduous recovery from the pandemic, there is a danger that we will forget those who are left behind. The risk is that we may then be struck by an even worse virus, that of selfish indifference. A virus spread by the thought that life is better if it is better for me, and that everything will be fine if it is fine for me. It begins there and ends up selecting one person over another, discarding the poor, and sacrificing those left behind on the altar of progress. The present pandemic, however, reminds us that there are no differences or borders between those who suffer. We are all frail, all equal, all precious. May we be profoundly shaken by what is happening all around us: the time has come to eliminate inequalities, to heal the injustice that is undermining the health of the entire human family! Let us learn from the early Christian community described in the Acts of the Apostles. It received mercy and lived with mercy: “All who believed were together and had all things in common; and they sold their possessions and goods and distributed them to all, as any had need” (Acts 2:44-45). This is not some ideology: it is Christianity.

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The Risen Christ as the Center of Community

April 11, 2009 | REGINA CÆLI

The true centre of the communion of the first Christians was fundamentally the Risen Christ. Indeed, the Gospel recounts that at the moment of the Passion, when the divine Teacher was arrested and condemned to death, the disciples dispersed. Only Mary and the women, with the Apostle John, stayed together and followed him to Calvary. Risen, Jesus gave his disciples a new unity, stronger than before, invincible because it was founded not on human resources but on divine mercy, which made them all feel loved and forgiven by him. It is therefore God’s merciful love that firmly unites the Church, today as in the past, and makes humanity a single family; divine love which through the Crucified and Risen Jesus forgives us our sins and renews us from within. Inspired by this deep conviction, my beloved Predecessor, John Paul II, desired to call this Sunday, the second Sunday of Easter, Divine Mercy Sunday, and indicated to all the Risen Christ as the source of trust and hope, accepting the spiritual message transmitted by the Lord to St Faustina Kowalska, summed up in the invocation “Jesus, I trust in you!”.

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Peace Be With You

APRIL 11, 1999 | Homily at Parish of Our Lady of Loreto (Rome)

1. “Eight days later … the doors were shut, but Jesus came and stood among them, and said, ‘Peace be with you'” (Jn 20:26).

On this Octave of Easter we hear again the greeting of peace which Jesus gave the Apostles on the very day of his Resurrection: “Peace be with you”. By his Death and Resurrection, Christ has reconciled us with the Father and offered the precious gift of peace to all who accept it. His redemptive grace makes them witnesses of his peace, committing them to become peacemakers by receiving this supernatural gift of God and expressing it in concrete acts of reconciliation and brotherhood.

How much the world needs genuine peace at the end of this millennium: this need touches individuals, families and the very life of nations! How many situations of tension and war unfortunately remain in the world, in Europe and on other continents! These days our eyes are filled with images of violence and death coming from Kosovo and the Balkans, where a conflict is being waged with tragic consequences. In spite of it all, we do not want to give up the hope of peace. Like Thomas and the other Apostles, we are called in this Easter season to renew our faith in the Lord who conquered sin and death, receiving the gift of peace from him and spreading it in every way we can.

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