The first act that Pope Francis carried out in the Italian city of Verona this May 18 was a meeting with priests and consecrated persons in the Basilica of San Zeno. There, he asked priests to forgive “everything” in the sacrament of Reconciliation and that confession not be “a torture chair” for the faithful.
Upon entering the temple, the Holy Father prayed before the remains of San Zeno and handed over a jar of oil, one of the symbols of Christianity. Later, he shared a relaxed conversation with nuns. Then, the Pontiff referred to these nuns and highlighted that in the cloister “joy is not lost.”
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During his first speech of this trip, the second he will make within Italy in 2024, the Pontiff compared the vocation to “a great boat” and subsequently focused on two aspects: the call received and the mission.
First of all, he pointed out that at the origin of the Christian life is “the experience of the encounter with the Lord, which does not depend on our merits or our commitment, but on the love with which He comes to look for us, knocking on the door of our hearts and inviting us into a relationship with Him.”
“Have I found the Lord? “Do I let myself be found by the Lord?” Pope Francis asked next. Furthermore, he highlighted that “at the origin of priestly life and consecrated life are not us, our gifts or any special merit, but there is the surprising call of the Lord.”
He also stressed that the vocation “is pure grace” and urged us to never lose the wonder of the call: “It is nourished by the memory of the gift received by grace, a memory that must always be kept alive in us.”
“This is the first foundation of our consecration and our ministry: to accept the call received, to accept the gift with which God has surprised us,” he specified.
According to Pope Francis, “if we lose this conscience and this memory, we run the risk of putting ourselves at the center instead of the Lord; “We run the risk of becoming agitated around projects and activities that serve our own causes rather than those of the Kingdom.”
“We run the risk of living even the apostolate in the logic of promoting ourselves and seeking consensus, instead of spending our lives for the Gospel and for free service to the Church,” he stated.
Furthermore, he assured that “even when we feel the weight of fatigue and some disappointment, we remain serene and confident, sure that He will not leave us empty-handed,” and encouraged them to remember the call in dark moments to regain strength and resist.
Later, Pope Francis recalled that audacity is a gift that this Church knows well: “the audacity of witness and proclamation, the joy of a faith committed to charity, the inventiveness of a Church that knows how to grasp the signs of the times and respond to the needs of those who struggle the most.”
He then stated that “we must all bear the caress of God’s mercy” and addressed especially the priests to ask them to forgive “everything” in the Sacrament of Reconciliation: “please do not torture the penitents,” who This sacrament “should not be a torture chair,” the Holy Father urged him.
In this sense, he asked him to forgive without causing suffering and assured that “the Church needs forgiveness and you are the instruments.”
Later, he warned that “storms are not lacking in our days; Many of them have their roots in avarice, greed, the unbridled search for self-satisfaction, and are fueled by an individualistic, indifferent and violent culture.
Finally, the Holy Father thanked them for giving their lives to the Lord and for their commitment to the apostolate: “Go ahead with courage,” he invited them.
Furthermore, he pointed out that “evil is not normal,” only in hell. “Let’s not make evil something habitual,” he asked them, assuring that this way they can become “accomplices.”
“This is what I wish for you and your communities: a ‘capable holiness’, a living faith that with bold charity sows the Kingdom of God in every situation of daily life,” he said.
Where there is hatred, “may I be able to sow love,” which is stronger than death, Pope Francis finally stated.
Almudena Martínez-Bordiú
I am a graduate in Journalism and Advertising from the CEU San Pablo University in Madrid. Specialized in religious information in Spain since 2015. I have been a senior correspondent for ACI Prensa and EWTN Noticias in the Vatican for two years and I am currently a European correspondent based in Spain.