Pope Francis Sermon To End Year Of Faith

Here is the English translation of the Holy Father’s homily at the Closing Mass for the Year of Faith held in St. Peter’s Square today.

Today’s solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe, the crowning of the liturgical year, likewise marks the conclusion of the Year of Faith opened by Pope Benedict XVI, to whom our ideas now turn with love and gratitude for this present which he has actually provided us. By this providential effort, he offered us a chance to uncover the beauty of the trip of faith started on the day of our Baptism, which made us children of God and brothers and sisters in the Church. A trip which has as its best end our complete encounter with God, and throughout which the Holy Spirit cleanses us, raises us up and sanctifies us, so that we might enter into the happiness for which our hearts long.

I offer a polite and fraternal greeting to the Patriarchs and Major Archbishops of the Eastern Catholic Churches present. The exchange of peace which I will share with them is above all an indication of the recognition of the Bishop of Rome for these communities which have actually admitted the name of Christ with exemplary loyalty, frequently at a high cost.

With this gesture, through them, I would like to reach all those Christians living in the Holy Land, in Syria and in the entire East, and[simpleazon-image align=”right” asin=”1574551094″ locale=”us” height=”320″ src=”http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41CB0DMXW8L.jpg” width=”214″] get for them the present of peace and concord.

The Scripture readings announced to us have as their common style the centrality of Christ. Christ is at the center, Christ is the center. Christ is the center of creation, Christ is the center of his people and Christ is the center of history.

1. The apostle Paul, in the 2nd reading, taken from the letter to the Colossians, offers us an extensive vision of the midpoint of Jesus. He presents Christ to us as the first-born of all production: in him, through him and for him all things were produced. He is the center of all things, he is the beginning: Jesus Christ, the Lord. God has actually given him the fullness, the totality, so that in him all things might be integrated (cf. Col1:12 -20). He is the Lord of creation, he is the Lord of settlement.

This image makes it possible for to see that Jesus is the center of production; and so the attitude demanded of us as true believers is that of recognizing and accepting in our lives the centrality of Jesus Christ, in our thoughts, in our words and in our works. And so our thoughts will be Christian thoughts, ideas of Christ. Our works will be Christian works, works of Christ; and our words will be Christian words, words of Christ. But when this center is lost, when it is changed by something else, just harm can result for everything around us and for ourselves.

2. Besides being the center of production and the center of reconciliation, Christ is the center of the people of God. Today, he is here in our middle. He is below today in his word, and he will be below on the altar, alive and present amid us, his individuals. We see this in the first reading which describes the time when the people of Israel came to try to find David and blessed him king of Israel before the Lord (cf. 2 Sam 5:1 -3). In looking for an optimal king, the people were seeking God himself: a God who would be close to them, who would accompany them on their trip, who would be a brother to them.

Christ, the descendant of King David, is actually the “brother” around whom God’s individuals come together. It is he who takes care of his individuals, for everybody, even at the price of his life. In him we are all one, one people, united with him and sharing a single trip, a single fate. Just in him, in him as the center, do we get our identification as an individuals.

3. Finally, Christ is the center of the history of mankind as well as the center of the history of every individual. To him we can bring the delights and the hopes, the sorrows and problems which are part of our lives. When Jesus is the center, light lusters even amid the darkest times of our lives; he offers us hope, as he does to the good burglar in today’s Gospel.

[simpleazon-image align=”left” asin=”1574557203″ locale=”us” height=”320″ src=”http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51KTMCQ9GEL._SL160_.jpg” width=”214″]Whereas all the others deal with Jesus with disdain– “If you are the Christ, the Messiah King, conserve yourself by boiling down from the cross!”– the burglar who went astray in his life now repents, clings to the crucified Jesus and begs him: “Remember me, when you enter your kingdom” (Lk 23:42). Jesus promises him: “Today you will be with me in paradise” (v. 43), in his kingdom. Jesus talks just a word of forgiveness, not of condemnation; whenever anyone finds the guts to ask for this forgiveness, the Lord does not let such a petition go unheard.

Today we can all consider our own history, our own experience. Each of us has his/her own history: we consider our mistakes, our sins, our good times and our bleak times. We would do well, every one of us, on this day, to consider our own personal history, to take a look at Jesus and to keep telling him, seriously and silently: “Remember me, Lord, now that you are in your kingdom! Jesus, remember me, since I want to be good, but I just do not have the strength: I am a sinner, I am a sinner. But remember me, Jesus! You can remember me due to the fact that you are at the center, you are truly in your kingdom!” Exactly how stunning this is! Let us all do this today, each one of us in his/her own heart, again and again. “Remember me, Lord, you who are at the center, you who are in your kingdom”.

Jesus’ promise to the excellent robber provides us fantastic hope: it informs us that God’s grace is constantly greater than the prayer which sought it. The Lord always grants more, he is so generous, he constantly provides more than exactly what he has actually been asked: you ask him to bear in mind you, and he brings you into his kingdom! Let us go ahead together on this road!