Homily of Pope Francis at Sir John Guise Stadium in Papua New Guinea

Official text provided by the Vatican of the homily delivered by Pope Francis during the Mass he presided at the Sir John Guise Stadium in Port Moresby in Papua New Guinea.

The first words that the Lord addresses to us today are: “Be strong, do not fear!” (Is 35,4). The prophet Isaiah says it to all those who have a broken heart. In this way, he encourages and invites his people so that, even in the midst of difficulties and suffering, they look up to a horizon of hope and the future. He tells them that God comes to save, that He will come and on that day “the eyes of the blind will be opened and the ears of the deaf will be unstopped” (Is 35:5).

This prophecy is fulfilled in Jesus. In Saint Mark’s story, in particular, two things are evident: the distance of the deaf and the closeness of Jesus.

The remoteness of the deaf. This man was in a geographical area that, in today’s language, we would call “periphery.” The territory of the Decapolis was located on the other side of the Jordan and far from Jerusalem, which was the religious center. But that deaf man also experienced another type of remoteness; He was far from God, he was far from men because he did not have the possibility of communicating. He was deaf and that’s why he couldn’t hear others, he was mute and because of that he couldn’t talk to anyone. This man was an outcast from the world, he was isolated, he was a prisoner of his deafness and his muteness and, therefore, he could not open himself to communicate with others.

Now, we can read this condition of deaf-muteness in another sense, since it could happen to us that we find ourselves separated from communion and friendship with God and with our brothers when, more than the ears and the tongue, it is the heart that is obstructed. . There is an inner deafness and a muteness of the heart that depends on everything that closes us in ourselves, that closes us to God, closes us to others: selfishness, indifference, fear of taking risks and getting involved, resentment, hate, and the list could go on. All this distances us from God, it distances us from our brothers and also from ourselves; and it distances us from the joy of living.

Brothers and sisters, in the face of this distance, God responds with what is placed, with the closeness of Jesus. In His Son, God wants to show us above all this: that He is the close God, the compassionate God, who cares for our lives, who overcomes all distance. And in the Gospel passage, in fact, we see how Jesus goes to those peripheral territories, leaving Judea to meet the pagans (cf. Mark 7:31).

With his closeness, Jesus heals deafness, heals man’s muteness; In fact, when we feel distant, and decide to distance ourselves—from God, from our brothers and from those who are different from us—then we close ourselves in, we entrench ourselves in ourselves and we end up revolving only around our self, we become deaf to the Word of God and the cry of our neighbor and, therefore, incapable of dialogue with God and with our neighbor.

And you brothers and sisters, who live in this far away land, perhaps have the impression of being separated, separated from the Lord, separated from men, and this is not so, no: you are united, united in the Holy Spirit! , united in the Lord! And the Lord says to each one of you: “Open.” This is the most important thing: open to God, open to our brothers, open to the Gospel and make it the compass of our life.

The Lord also says to you today: “Courage, do not fear, Papuan people! Open up! Open yourself to the joy of the Gospel, open yourself to the encounter with God, open yourself to the love of your brothers.” May none of you remain deaf and dumb in the face of this invitation. On this path you are accompanied by Blessed John Mazzucconi who, among so many inconveniences and hostilities, brought Christ in your midst, so that no one would be deaf to the joyful message of salvation, and that everyone could loose their tongues to sing the love of God. May it be so, today, also for you.