The Pope: God help the rulers, be united in times of crisis for the good of the people

In the Mass at Santa Marta, Francis prays for the rulers who have the responsibility to take care of the peoples. In his homily, he says that in times of crisis one must be very firm and persevering in the conviction of faith, it is not the time to make changes: The Lord send us the Holy Spirit to be faithful and give us the strength not to sell the faith

Francis presided over Mass at Casa Santa Marta on the Saturday of the third week of Easter. In the introduction, the Pope addressed his thoughts to the rulers:

We pray today for the rulers who have the responsibility to take care of their peoples in these moments of crisis: heads of state, presidents of government, legislators, mayors, presidents of regions ... so that the Lord will help them and give them strength, because their work is not easy. And that when there are differences between them, they understand that, in times of crisis, they must be very united for the good of the people, because unity is superior to conflict.

Today, Saturday 2 May, 300 prayer groups join us in prayer, called the "madrugadores", in Spanish, that is the early risers: those who get up early to pray, make their own early rising, for prayer. They are joining us today, right now.

In the homily, the Pope commented on today's readings, starting from the passage of the Acts of the Apostles (Acts 9, 31-42) which reports how the first Christian community consolidated and, with the comfort of the Holy Spirit, grew in number. Then, he reports two events with Peter at the center: the healing of a paralytic in Lidda and the resurrection of a disciple called Tabità. The Church - says the Pope - grows in moments of comfort. But there are difficult times, persecutions, times of crisis that put believers in difficulty. As today's Gospel says (Jn 6, 60-69) in which, after the discourse on the living bread that came down from heaven, the flesh and blood of Christ who gives eternal life, many disciples abandon Jesus saying that his word is hard . Jesus knew that the disciples murmured and in this crisis he remembers that no one can come to him unless the Father attracts him. The moment of crisis is a moment of choice that puts us in front of the decisions we have to make. This pandemic is also a time of crisis. In the Gospel Jesus asks the Twelve if they too want to leave and Peter replies: «Lord, to whom shall we go? You have words of eternal life and we have believed and known that you are the Holy One of God ». Peter confesses that Jesus is the Son of God. Peter does not understand what Jesus says, eat the flesh and drink the blood, but he trusts. This - continues Francesco - helps us to live the moments of crisis. In times of crisis one must be very firm in the conviction of faith: there is perseverance, it is not the time to make changes, it is the moment of faithfulness and conversion. We Christians must learn to manage both moments of peace and crisis. May the Lord - the Pope's final prayer - send us the Holy Spirit to resist temptations in times of crisis and be faithful, with the hope of living after moments of peace, and give us the strength not to sell the faith

Vatican source Vatican official source