Pope Francis takes possession of the Lateran

Notice the crosier...

I have always loved the crosier of Paul VI - it reminds me of Paul's Letter to the Corinthians: "I determined that while I was with you I would speak of nothing but Jesus Christ and him crucified." - 1 Corinthians 2

Notice likewise, the background of the cathedra ... It reminds me of the scene in Zeffirelli's beloved film, Brother Sun, Sister Moon*, when Francis of Assisi meets the Pope, dressed in white.  The movie set was a glittering exaggeration of the real thing.  (I know the many fans of the film are interested to know that.  What?)

"Brothers and sisters, let us never lose trust in the patience and mercy of God!" - Pope Francis

The content of the Pope's homily is beautiful for Divine Mercy Sunday... he speaks of the Lord's patience.  His attitude brings to mind the beautiful words John Paul I** expressed about Our Lord's patience and mortal sin.

Pati divina - Divine suffering.

A priest once told me that is the Latin root of the word 'patience'.  It's like 'mercy' - derived from the Latin 'miserecordia' - the heart/love moved by pity/misery... or something like that.

Today the Holy Father also spoke of courage - the courage to return to God.  (The word also has a Latin derivative - 'cor' meaning heart):

Adam, after his sin, experiences shame, he feels naked, he senses the weight of what he has done; and yet God does not abandon him: if that moment of sin marks the beginning of his exile from God, there is already a promise of return, a possibility of return. God immediately asks: “Adam, where are you?” He seeks him out. Jesus took on our nakedness, he took upon himself the shame of Adam, the nakedness of his sin, in order to wash away our sin: by his wounds we have been healed. Remember what Saint Paul says: “What shall I boast of, if not my weakness, my poverty? Precisely in feeling my sinfulness, in looking at my sins, I can see and encounter God’s mercy, his love, and go to him to receive forgiveness.

In my own life, I have so often seen God’s merciful countenance, his patience; I have also seen so many people find the courage to enter the wounds of Jesus by saying to him: Lord, I am here, accept my poverty, hide my sin in your wounds, wash it away with your blood. And I have always seen that God did just this – he accepted them, consoled them, cleansed them, loved them.

Dear brothers and sisters, let us be enveloped by the mercy of God; let us trust in his patience, which always gives us more time. Let us find the courage to return to his house, to dwell in his loving wounds, allowing ourselves be loved by him and to encounter his mercy in the sacraments. We will feel his tenderness, so beautiful, we will feel his embrace, and we too will become more capable of mercy, patience, forgiveness and love. - Papal Homily, Divine Mercy Sunday 2013

 

Heart calling unto heart.


*Song for this post here.  What?  ;)

** Papa Luciani said: "I will limit myself to recommending one virtue so dear to the Lord: He said, 'Learn from me who am meek and humble of heart." I risk saying an error, but I am saying it: the Lord loves humility so much that, sometimes, he permits grave sins. Why? So that those who have committed these sins, afterwards, having repented, may remain humble. One is not tempted to believe oneself half–saint or half–angel, when one knows that one has committed grave faults. The Lord so much recommended: be humble." - Translation thanks to Don Marco.

A story about Divine Mercy...

Sometimes we need to witness, and sometimes we need witnesses.

The legend of the poor musician and Divine Mercy

There is a legend connected to the painting of Christ on the cross (1605) by Kasper Kurcz hanging in the Romanesque Church of the Holy Saviour in Kraków’s Zwierzyniec. It portrays Jesus in a long, red tunic and golden shoes, of which one is dropping towards a poor fiddler playing at the foot of the cross. The painting, replaced the old Romanesque crucifix, which was rumoured to be a gift sent from Moravia to the first Christian prince of Poland. The crucifix, presenting Christ naked, received the royal tunic, a crown studded with diamonds, and golden shoes to add to its reverence. 

There was a poor fiddler who came frequently to praise the Lord with his music at the foot of the crucifix. God, seeing the poverty in the home of the pious musician, decided to help by removing one of the precious shoes from the figure of Christ, and casting it to the feet of the fiddler. Afraid that someone may accuse him of stealing, the boy asked God to place the shoe back on Christ’s foot. The next time the fiddler turned up by the crucifix, he saw a crowd of people. When he began to play, the golden shoe slipped off Christ’s foot again and fell at his feet. This time, nobody could doubt the honesty of the musician. The crucifix was moved to Italy in the 17th century and was replaced by a painting showing Christ and the fiddler, which to this day reminds us of divine grace, mercy, and generosity. - Source

Jesus!  I trust in you!

Keep repeating that - all through the apostasy.

“In order to solve their problems many people resort to fortune tellers and tarot cards. But only Jesus saves and we must bear witness to this! He is the only one. " - Pope Francis