Pope: entrust the sufferings of the Ukrainian people to the Virgin

Francis spoke after the Regina Caeli on Good Shepherd Sunday, the day the Church celebrates the World Day of Vocations. He also turned his thoughts to mothers.

Vatican City (AsiaNews) – Pope Francis led the Regina Caeli in front of the 20,000 people this morning in St. Peter's Square. After the Marian prayer, the pontiff noted in his address that “Right now, many members of the faithful are gathered around the image of Mary venerated in the Shrine of Pompei, to pray the Supplication that sprang from the heart of Blessed Bartolo Longo. Kneeling in spirit before the image of the Virgin, I entrust to her the ardent desire for peace of the many people in various parts of the world who suffer the senseless calamity of war.”

“I present the sufferings and tears of the Ukrainian people to the Holy Virgin,” Francis added. “Before the madness of war, please, let us continue to pray the Rosary for peace each day. And let us pray for the leaders of nations, so that they might not lose the ‘pulse of the people’ who want peace and who know well that weapons never achieve it, never.”

The pope had some thoughts for the victims of the explosion that tore through a large hotel last Friday in the capital of Cuba, Havana, causing at least 30 deaths and 70 wounded. He also mentioned World Day of Prayer for Vocations, which is celebrated today.

“This,” he said, “is the day on which, because of our baptism, we all feel called to follow Jesus, to say yes to him, to imitate him so as to discover the joy of giving one’s life, of serving the Gospel joyfully and enthusiastically.”

The pontiff cited one example to follow, Maria Agostina Rivas López, known as Aguchita, a Sister of the Congregation of Our Lady of Charity of the Good Shepherd. Killed in hatred of the faith in 1990 and beatified yesterday in Peru, “this heroic missionary always remained near the poor, especially indigenous women and peasants, witnessing to the Gospel of justice and peace.”

In commenting today’s Gospel (cf. Jn 10:27-30), before the Regina Caeli, Francis spoke of the bond between the Lord and each one of us, using the image of the sheep listening to the voice of the Good Shepherd. In doing so, he stressed the verbs to hear, know and follow.

“The initiative always comes from the Lord. Everything comes from his grace,” the pope said. “[I]t is he who calls us to communion with him. But this communion comes about if we open ourselves to listen[ing].” The latter means being available, docile, open to dialogue, in an age when everyone is rushing about and it is hard to hear each other.

“Let us ask ourselves today if we are listening children, if we find time for the Word of God, if we give space and attention to our brothers and sisters.” Indeed, those who listen to others also listen to the Lord and can experience being heard by him in his prayers.

“Listening to Jesus thus becomes the way for us to discover that he knows us. [. . .] To know in the biblical sense also means to love. It means that the Lord, “while he reads our inner beings,” loves us, he does not condemn us.”

Jesus, according to the pope, seeks intimacy with each one, to make us understand that he loves us and therefore never leaves us alone. Hence, he invites us to ask ourselves if, after experiencing his tenderness, we have changed our mind about him. “Do I still think of him as a distant faraway God, indifferent to my affairs, or do I know him as my good shepherd, who knows me and loves me?"

As for the image of the sheep who follow the shepherd, Francis asks: “What do those who follow Christ do? They go where he goes, along the same path, in the same direction. They go to seek those who are lost (cf. Lk 15:4), are interested in those who are far-off, take to heart the situation of those who suffer”.

It is up to each of us to let ourselves be loved by Jesus and to go from loving him to imitating him, invoking the help of the Virgin Mary.

At the end of the Regina Caeli, the pontiff asked for a round of applause for all mothers, on the day in which they are celebrated in many countries of the world. “Our prayer, our affection, and our best wishes for all our mothers,” he said.