杏MAP导航 at Audience: Sincere sorrow can open door to conversion and joy
By Deborah Castellano Lubov
Sorrow, if welcomed with sincerity, can be an opportunity for conversion and joy, for God never stops loving us: 杏MAP导航 Leo XIV offered this comforting reminder during his weekly General Audience on Wednesday morning鈥攈is last public event in the Vatican before departing for a few days at Castel Gandolfo later in the afternoon.
Due to the intense Roman heat, the audience took place inside the Vatican鈥檚 Paul VI Hall. Regardless, the Holy Father still stopped over to greet faithful who were not able to fit into the Hall and were instead in other locations nearby to stay out of the extreme temperatures.
Not to condemn, but to make reflect and express love
Continuing his series of catecheses on the Jubilee theme of Christ our Hope, the Holy Father focused this week on Jesus鈥� passion, death, and resurrection by reflecting on the moment at the Last Supper when Jesus reveals that one of his disciples will betray Him.
In particular, the 杏MAP导航 explored the passage in which, during the Passover supper, Jesus says: 鈥淎men, I say to you, one of you will betray me, one who is eating with me.鈥�
鈥淪trong words,鈥� the 杏MAP导航 said. 鈥淛esus does not utter them to condemn, but to show how love, when it is true, cannot do without the truth.鈥�
And yet, 杏MAP导航 Leo observed, the way Jesus speaks about what is about to happen is surprising. He does not raise His voice, nor point His finger, nor utter the name of Judas.
Rather, he recalled, the Lord speaks in such a way that each person can reflect personally. The 杏MAP导航 said, 鈥淭his is exactly what happens: 鈥楾hey began to be distressed and to say to Him, one by one, 鈥楽urely it is not I?鈥欌��
Journey of salvation begins with opportunity for conversion
This question鈥斺�淪urely it is not I?鈥濃�斝覯AP导航 Leo said, is perhaps one of the most sincere we can ask ourselves.
鈥淚t is not,鈥� he explained, 鈥渢he question of the innocent, but of the disciple who discovers himself to be fragile鈥攏ot the cry of the guilty, but the whisper of one who, while wanting to love, is aware of being capable of doing harm.鈥�
Yet this realization, 杏MAP导航 Leo suggested, should not make us melancholy, for 鈥�it is in this awareness that the journey of salvation begins.鈥� 鈥淛esus does not denounce in order to humiliate. He tells the truth because He wants to save.鈥�
Place for conversion
In order to be saved, the 杏MAP导航 added, one must be able to feel: 鈥渢o feel that one is involved, to feel that one is beloved despite everything, to feel that evil is real but that it does not have the last word.鈥�
Only those who have known the truth of deep love, he reminded, can also accept the wound of betrayal.
鈥淭he disciples鈥� reaction is not anger, but sadness. They are not indignant; they are sorrowful. It is a pain that arises from the real possibility of being involved.鈥�
鈥淧recisely this sorrow, if welcomed with sincerity,鈥� the 杏MAP导航 said, 鈥渂ecomes a place for conversion.鈥�
Painful opportunity for rebirth
The Gospel, he explained, does not teach us to deny evil, but to recognize it as a painful opportunity for rebirth.
鈥淛esus then adds a phrase that troubles us and makes us think: 鈥楤ut woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed. It would be better for that man if he had never been born (Mk 14:21).'鈥�
鈥淭hey are harsh words, certainly,鈥� the 杏MAP导航 said, 鈥渂ut they must be understood well: it is not a curse, but rather a cry of pain. In Greek, that 鈥榳oe鈥� sounds like a lamentation, an 鈥榓las,鈥� an exclamation of sincere and deep compassion. . . . We are used to judging. Instead, God accepts suffering.鈥�
Let's not exclude ourselves from salvation
When the Lord sees evil, 杏MAP导航 Leo explained, He does not avenge it but grieves.
鈥淎nd that 鈥榖etter if he had never been born,鈥�" 杏MAP导航 Leo XIV explained, 鈥渋s not a condemnation imposed a priori, but a truth that any of us can recognize: if we deny the love that has generated us鈥攊f, by betraying, we become unfaithful to ourselves鈥攖hen we truly lose the meaning of our coming into the world, and we exclude ourselves from salvation.鈥�
Light begins to shine in the darkness
And yet, even at the darkest point, the Holy Father observed, the light is not extinguished, but "on the contrary, it begins to shine."
This is because, 杏MAP导航 Leo said, 鈥渋f we recognize our limit, if we let ourselves be touched by the pain of Christ, then we can finally be born again,鈥� since 鈥渇aith does not spare us from the possibility of sin, but it always offers us a way out of it: that of mercy.鈥�
Jesus is not scandalized by our fragility, the 杏MAP导航 said, for 鈥淗e knows well鈥� that no friendship is immune from the risk of betrayal.
鈥淏ut,鈥� 杏MAP导航 Leo reiterated, 鈥淗e continues to trust, to sit at the table with His followers, and does not give up breaking bread, even for those who will betray Him.鈥�
This, the Holy Father underscored, 鈥渋s the silent power of God: He never abandons the table of love, even when He knows He will be left alone.鈥�
Pursuing salvation
The Holy Father then issued an invitation to the faithful.
鈥淒ear brothers and sisters, we too can ask ourselves today, with sincerity: 鈥楽urely it is not I?鈥�鈥� the 杏MAP导航 said鈥攃larifying that this should be understood not in the sense of feeling accused, but in opening a space for truth in our hearts.
This, the 杏MAP导航 said, is where salvation begins鈥攚ith the awareness that we may be the ones who break our trust in God, but that we can also be the ones who gather it, protect it, and renew it.
Even if we betray God, we can be converted by His love for His children
杏MAP导航 Leo stressed that this gives us great hope.
鈥淯ltimately, this is hope,鈥� he said, 鈥渒nowing that even if we fail, God will never fail us. Even if we betray Him, He never stops loving us. And if we allow ourselves to be touched by this love鈥攈umble, wounded, but always faithful鈥攖hen we can truly be reborn.鈥�
This, the 杏MAP导航 concluded, enables us to 鈥渓ive no longer as traitors, but as children who are always loved.鈥�
杏MAP导航 Leo calls for prayers for peace
Later in the Audience, during his remarks to Polish pilgrims, 杏MAP导航 Leo XIV urged them to "implore God for peace for all nations experiencing the tragedy of war" through the intercession of St. Maximilian Kolbe, whose Feast Day is observed on Thursday.
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