By Cindy Wooden
VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Following Christ the King, whose regal
power is love and mercy, means the whole church and each Christian must
“follow his way of tangible love,” Pope Francis said.
Celebrating the feast of Christ the King Nov. 20 and
officially closing the extraordinary jubilee celebration of the Year of Mercy,
Pope Francis insisted, “we have received mercy in order to be
merciful.”
On a warm, late fall morning, St. Peter’s Square was filled with
an estimated 70,000 people for the Mass, which was concelebrated by the new
cardinals Pope Francis had created the previous day.
The pope and the new cardinals first went to the atrium of
St. Peter’s Basilica and gave thanks for “the gifts of grace
received” during the Holy Year. Pope Francis then went to the threshold of
the Holy Door and pulled each side shut. The door will be sealed until the next
Holy Year, which is likely to be 2025.
In his homily, Pope Francis said that even if the Holy Door
is closed, “the true door of mercy, which is the heart of Christ, always
remains open wide for us.”
The power of Christ the King, he said, “is not power as
defined by this world, but the love of God, a love capable of encountering and
healing all things.”
Like the “good thief” who turned to Jesus on the
cross and was assured a place in heaven, anyone who turns to God with trust can
be forgiven, the pope said. “He is ready to completely and forever cancel
our sin, because his memory — unlike our own — does not record evil that has
been done or keep score of injustices experienced.”
Loving like Christ loves us, he said, means constantly
seeking the grace to forgive others, forget the offenses committed and be
instruments of reconciliation in the world.
Following Christ the King also means accepting “the
scandal of his humble love,” which can be difficult because it
“unsettles and disturbs us.”
Christ’s love, the love Christians are called to imitate, is
concrete and tangible and is not concerned with personal comfort, power and
superiority.
Even in evangelization “the lure of power and success
seem an easy, quick way to spread the Gospel,” he said. The Year of Mercy
was a call to “rediscover the youthful, beautiful face of the church, the
face that is radiant when it is welcoming, free, faithful, poor in means but
rich in love, on mission.”
Christ the king, “our king, went to the ends of the
universe in order to embrace and save every living being,” he said. “He
did not condemn us, nor did he conquer us, and he never disregarded our
freedom, but he paved the way with a humble love that forgives all things,
hopes all things, sustains all things.”
Christ’s followers are called to continue his saving
mission, the pope said.
At the end of the Mass, Pope Francis signed his new
apostolic letter, “Misericordia et Misera,” (Mercy and Misery), which
a papal aide announced was written to affirm that the commitment to sharing the
merciful love of God continues because it is “the heart of the
Gospel.”
The pope gave the letter, which was to be made public Nov.
21, to a group of people representing different sectors of the church: Manila
Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, president of Caritas Internationalis; Scottish
Archbishop Leo Cushley of St. Andrews and Edinburgh, on behalf of diocesan bishops; two priests who were
“missionaries of mercy” for the Holy Year; a permanent deacon; two
religious women; an extended family; an engaged couple; two women catechists; a
person with disabilities; and a person who is ill.
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Follow Wooden on Twitter: @Cindy_Wooden.
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