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Tuesday, July 2, 2013

SAINTS PETER AND PAUL TRANSMIT TO THE CHURCH THE FAITH IN A GOD OF LOVE AND GRACE


Vatican City, 29 June 2013 (VIS) – Following the Holy Mass celebrated in St. Peter's Basilica, Pope Francis appeared at the window of his study to pray the Angelus on Sunday with the faithful gathered in St. Peter’s Square, and recalled that the solemnity of Sts. Peter and Paul was a special feast for the Church of Rome, founded on the martyrdom of both apostles, and also for the Universal Church, “since all the People of God owe to them the gift of faith”.

While Peter “was the first to confess that Jesus is Christ, the Son of God, Paul spread this news throughout the Greek-Roman world. And Providence wished that both of them might reach Rome and there shed blood for the faith. The Church of Rome therefore became, spontaneously, the point of reference for all Churches around the world. Not for the power of the Empire, but for the strength of martyrdom and witness to Christ! In the end, it is always and only the love of Christ that generates faith and sustains the Church along her way”.

The Holy Father remarked that when Peter confessed his faith in Jesus, “he did not do so because of His human capacities, but rather because he had been moved by the grace Jesus emanated, by the love he felt in His words and saw in His gestures”. And the same happened to Paul when, as a young man and enemy of Christians, he was called upon by the Risen Christ on the road to Damascus and transformed by his vision: “He understood that Jesus was not dead, but alive, and loved even he who was His enemy. It was this experience of mercy, of God's forgiveness through Jesus Christ: this is the Good News, the Gospel the Peter and Paul experienced themselves and for which they gave their lives. Mercy, forgiveness! The Lord always forgives, the Lord has mercy, is merciful, has a merciful heart and awaits us always … what joy it is to believe in a God Who is all love, all grace! This is the faith that Peter and Paul received from Christ and which they have transmitted to the Church”.

Pope Francis also spoke of the apostle Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter, who shared with him his experience of faith in Jesus, and who had indeed encountered Him first. “I like to remember him also because today, in accordance with a beautiful tradition, Rome receives the delegation of the Patriarchate of Constantinople, whose patron is indeed the apostle Andrew”. The Pope went on to invite those present to pray together a Hail Mary for Patriarch Bartholomaios I, and to pray also for the metropolitan archbishops of the various Churches who received the Pallium this morning.

After the Marian prayer, the Pope greeted the pilgrims who had gathered to celebrate with the metropolitan archbishops: “I pray for their communities, and in particular I encourage the central African people, sorely tested at this time, to continue on their path with faith and hope”.




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