Pope: like Peter and Paul, let us be conquered by Christ
Vatican City (AsiaNews) - "Dear brothers, what a joy to believe in a God who is all love, all grace! This is the faith that Peter and Paul received from Christ and passed on to the Church. Let us praise the Lord for these two glorious witnesses, and, like them, let us be conquered by Christ," said Pope Francis in his presentation of the two apostles the Church celebrates today, Saints Peter and Paul, in his reflection before the Angelus to the faithful in St Peter's Square. Earlier, the pope celebrated Mass in the basilica, bestowing the pallium on 34 metropolitan archbishops during a service, according to a decades-long tradition, attended by a delegation of the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, led by Metropolitan Ioannis Zioulas.
The pontiff noted that today is "the feast of the Church of Rome, founded on the martyrdom of the two apostles," but also, he quickly added, "a big feast for the universal Church, because the whole People of God is in their debt for their gift of faith. »
"Peter," the pope explained, "was the first to confess that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of God. Paul spread the news in the Greco-Roman world. As Providence would have it, both arrived in Rome and it was here that both shed their blood for the faith. For this reason, the Church of Rome became, immediately, spontaneously, the reference point for all the churches around the world. Not for the power of the Empire, but for the strength of martyrdom, the testimony to Christ! Basically, it is always and only the love of Christ that generates faith and drives the Church forward. "
"Let us think about Peter," he added. "When he confessed his faith in Jesus, it was not due to his human powers, but because he had been conquered by the grace Jesus gave off, by the love he felt in his words and saw in his actions. Jesus was God's love in person!"
"The same happened to Paul, though in a different way. As a young man, Paul was an enemy of the Christians. When the Risen Christ called him on the Damascus road, his life was transformed. He realised that Jesus was not dead, but alive, and that he loved him too, even though he was his enemy! This is the experience of God's mercy and forgiveness in Jesus Christ. This is the Good News, the Gospel that Peter and Paul experienced on themselves and for which they gave their lives."
"Dear brothers and sisters, what a joy to believe in a God who is all love, all grace! This is the faith that Peter and Paul received from Christ and passed on to the Church. Let us praise the Lord for these two glorious witnesses, and, like them, let us be conquered by Christ. "
"Let also us not forget that Peter had a brother, Andrew," he added, "who met Jesus first, spoke of Him to Peter and took Peter to meet [the Lord]."
"I like to remember this because even today, in accordance with a beautiful tradition, a delegation from the Patriarchate of Constantinople, whose patron saint is the Apostle Andrew, is in Rome right now. Together, let us send our cordial greetings to Patriarch Bartholomew I; let us pray for him and for that [Orthodox] Church," words that elicited a round of applause from the square. Afterwards, the pope asked everyone to say a Hail Mary together for the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew.
Francis also called on everyone to pray for "the metropolitan archbishops of the various Churches of the world to whom, a little while ago, I bestowed the pallium, the symbol of communion."
Mgr Dieudonne Nzapalainga of Bangui (Central African Republic) was one of them. In fact, in his final greetings, the pope mentioned in particular the "sorely tried" communities of the "Central African people", urging them to "walk with faith and hope."
Sadly, that country has recently been devastated by the violence of Seleka rebels, following a coup on 24 March that brought to power former rebel leader Michel Djotodia.
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