The Holy Father's Homily to the New Cardinals

Look at who is in the background.

(source)

At the heart of the Gospel, we have just heard (Mk 6:30-37) is the “compassion” of Jesus...

Once again, I'm perplexed by all the fears expressed by the Pope's critics, now watching him closely in Rome.  Fr. Z posted a sort of panicked Action Item post, stressing the gloom over-hanging Rome.  To tell you the truth, Z and his cronies, as well as a couple of Cardinals and Bishops, cast a blanket of doom over everything they witness in Rome and the Church.  Especially as regards the Amazon Synod.  They are all stocked up on crazy, fearing Masons and 'homosexualists' and all sorts of boogie men 'infiltrating' the Church to establish the New World Order.  I don't get it?  How did these scare tactics influence and overtake so many?

Yesterday the Holy Father appointed new Cardinals.  A joyous occasion, considering the new Cardinals are not the typical, expected choices - a diverse bunch.  Critics interpret the Pope's appointments the way they assess the Presidents choices for advisers or appointees to the courts.  It is an attitude which lacks a supernatural perspective, judging as human beings, rather than as God judges. 

Jesus goes out in search of the outcast, those without hope. 

The Pope's homily reveals so much about the Holy father himself, and his ardent desire to make known the merciful love of God - his compassion for ourselves as well as the most alienated.  When I read his words, it seems to me I hear the Gospel and then everything falls into place - everything the Pope says or does makes sense in the light of Christ. 

At the heart of the Gospel, we have just heard (Mk 6:30-37) is the “compassion” of Jesus (cf. 34). Compassion is a keyword in the Gospel. It is written in Christ’s heart; it is forever written in the heart of God.

In the Gospels, we often see Jesus’ compassion for those who are suffering. The more we read, the more we contemplate, the more we come to realize that the Lord’s compassion is not an occasional, sporadic emotion, but is steadfast and indeed seems to be the attitude of his heart, in which God’s mercy is made incarnate.

Jesus goes out in search of the outcast, those without hope. People like the man paralyzed for thirty-eight years who lay beside the pool of Bethzatha, waiting in vain for someone to bring him to the waters (cf. Jn 5:1-9).

Jesus’ disciples often show themselves lacking compassion, as in this case, when they are faced with the problem of having to feed the crowds. In effect, they say: “Let them worry about it themselves…” This is a common attitude among us human beings, even those of us who are religious persons or even religious “professionals”. The position we occupy is not enough to make us compassionate, as we see in the conduct of the priest and Levite who, seeing a dying man on the side of the road, pass to the other side (cf. Lk 10:31-32). They would have thought: “It’s not up to me”. There are always justifications; at times they are even codified and give rise to “institutional disregard”, as was the case with lepers: “Of course, they have to keep their distance; that is the right thing to do”. This all too human attitude also generates structures lacking compassion. - Finish reading here.

As the Holy Father said:  "At the heart of the Gospel, we have just heard (Mk 6:30-37) is the “compassion” of Jesus ..."  So - is Jeus going to abandon us then?  Is he going to desert the Church?  What is wrong with those who reject His Vicar, those who slander and calumniate the Holy Father?  There are Catholics online who call him a monster, a pig, and an assortment of other derisive names, even suggesting he is possessed, a heretic, an anti-pope.  Those who reject him, reject Christ.

Pray for the Holy Father.