Pope: on conversion, Jesus persuaded people with kindness and love
In today’s jubilee audience, Pope Francis focused on conversion, the "first word" of Jesus 'preaching. With "the Holy Spirit,” he seeded “in us the restlessness to change life and be a little better.” He noted that the conversions of Matthew and Zacchaeus took place "because they felt loved by Jesus and, through Him, by the Father."
Vatican City (AsiaNews) - Pope Francis today held his special Jubilee Audience for June in St Peter’s Square, before a crowd of some 25,000.
Before he spoke, the pontiff rode the jeep into the crowd, and at one point he picked up four children, greeting them and kissing them one by one.
In his reflections, the Holy Father stressed that Jesus’ call to conversion was never judgemental. With his “way of being, Jesus touched the depth of people’s hearts and they felt attracted by the love of God and invited to change their life. For example, the conversion of Matthew (cf. Matthew 9,9-13) and of Zacchaeus (cf. Luke 19,1-10) happened in exactly this manner, because they felt loved by Jesus and, through Him, by the Father.”
For the pope, "conversion” and “forgiveness of sins” are the “two qualifying aspects of the mercy of God, which takes care of us in love.”
On conversion, the pope said that the word’s prophetic meaning and how Jesus dealt with it meant that “Jesus made conversion the first word of his preaching. ‘"Convert, and believe in the gospel’ (Mark 1,15), without looking or going back."
"Compared to the prophets’ preaching, Jesus insisted even more on the inner dimension of conversion. Indeed, the whole person is involved in it, heart and mind, to become a new creature. Changing one’s heart and one is renewed."
The pontiff then reflected on the unease that comes with the desire to change and the sense of failure that is felt when one is not able to change.
“Jesus who is with us invites us to change our life. It is He, with the Holy Spirit, who seeds in us the restlessness to change life and be a little better.”
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