Pope Francis: we are capable of loving if we meet love

By meeting Love, discovering that he is loved despite his sins, he becomes capable of loving others, making money a sign of solidarity and communion. " These are the central words of Pope Francis' Angelus this Sunday 3 November in St. Peter's Square.

At the end of the Angelus a special thanks also from the Pope

I wish to extend my heartfelt thanks - said Francesco - to the Municipality and Diocese of San Severo in Puglia for the signature of the memorandum of understanding which took place on Monday 28 October, which will allow the laborers of the so-called "ghettos of the Capitanata", in the Foggia area, to obtain a domiciliation in the parishes and registration in the municipal registry.The possibility of having identity and residence documents will offer them new dignity and will allow them to exit from a condition of irregularity and exploitation.Thank you very much to the Municipality and to all those who worked on this plan.

The Pope's words before the Marian prayer

Dear brothers and sisters, good morning!
Today's Gospel (cf. Lk 19,1: 10-3) places us in the wake of Jesus who, on his way to Jerusalem, makes a stop in Jericho. There was a large crowd to welcome him, including a man named Zacchaeus, head of the "publicans", that is, of those Jews who collected taxes on behalf of the Roman Empire. He was rich not because of an honest profit, but because he asked for the "bribe", and this increased the contempt for him. Zacchaeus "tried to see who Jesus was" (v. XNUMX); he didn't want to meet him, but he was curious: he wanted to see that character whose extraordinary things he had heard.

And being short in stature, "to be able to see him" (v. 4) he climbs a tree. When Jesus arrives nearby, he looks up and sees him (cf. v. 5). This is important: the first glance is not of Zacchaeus, but of Jesus, who among the many faces that surround him, the crowd, seeks just that. The merciful gaze of the Lord reaches us before we realize that we need it to be saved. And with this gaze of the divine Master the miracle of the conversion of the sinner begins. In fact, Jesus calls him, and calls him by name: "Zacchaeus, come down immediately, because today I have to stop at your house" (v. 5). He doesn't scold him, he doesn't "preach" to him; he tells him that he must go to him: "he must", because it is the will of the Father. Despite the murmurings of the people, Jesus chooses to stay at that public sinner's house.

We too would have been scandalized by this behavior of Jesus. But the contempt and the closure towards the sinner only isolate and harden him in the evil he does against himself and against the community. Instead God condemns sin, but tries to save the sinner, goes to look for him to bring him back on the right path. Those who have never felt sought after by the mercy of God, find it difficult to grasp the extraordinary greatness of the gestures and words with which Jesus approaches Zacchaeus.

The welcome and attention of Jesus towards him lead that man to a clear change of mentality: in a moment he realizes how mean a life taken from money is, at the cost of stealing from others and receiving the their contempt.
Having the Lord there, at his home, makes him see everything with different eyes, even with a little of the tenderness with which Jesus looked at him. And his way of seeing and using money also changes: the gesture of grabbing is replaced by that of giving. In fact, he decides to give half of what he owns to the poor and to return the quadruple to those he has robbed (see v. 8). Zacchaeus discovers from Jesus that it is possible to love freely: until now he was stingy, now he becomes generous; he had the taste of massing, now rejoices in distributing. By meeting Love, discovering that he is loved despite his sins, he becomes capable of loving others, making money a sign of solidarity and communion.

May the Virgin Mary obtain the grace to always feel the merciful gaze of Jesus upon us, to go out to meet those who have done wrong with mercy, so that they too may welcome Jesus, who "came to seek and save what was lost. "(V. 10).

The greetings of Pope Francis after the Angelus
Dear brothers and sisters,
I am saddened by the violence of Christians in the Tewahedo Orthodox Church of Ethiopia. I express my closeness to this Church and to its Patriarch, dear brother Abuna Matthias, and I ask you to pray for all the victims of violence in that land. Let us pray together

I would like to extend my heartfelt thanks to the Municipality and the Diocese of San Severo in Puglia for the signing of the memorandum of understanding which took place on Monday 28 October, which will allow the laborers of the so-called "ghettos of the Capitanata", in the Foggia area, to obtain a domiciliation at parishes and enrollment in the municipal registry.The possibility of having identity and residence documents will offer them new dignity and will allow them to get out of a condition of irregularity and exploitation.Thank you very much to the Municipality and to all those who have worked for this plan. *** I extend my cordial greeting to all of you, Romans and pilgrims. In particular, I greet the historical guilds of the Schützen and the Knights of San Sebastiano from various European countries; and the faithful from Lordelo de Ouro (Portugal). I greet the groups from Reggio Calabria, Treviso, Pescara and Sant'Eufemia di Aspromonte; I greet the boys from Modena who received Confirmation, those from Petosino, diocese of Bergamo, and the Scouts who came by bicycle from Viterbo. I salute the Acuna Movement from Spain. I wish you all a good Sunday. Please don't forget to pray for me. Have a good lunch and goodbye.

Source: papaboys.org