Scottish Catholic Observer

Pope Francis led a series of retreats yesterday June 2 as part of the Jubilee for Priests. The retreats took place in churches throughout Rome and were attended by priests and seminarians throughout the world gathered for the celebrations.

The first retreat took place in St John Lateran where the Pope addressed an audience of priests from throughout Rome, describing them as sinners who were forgiven by God and called to ‘practice acts of mercy in his name.’

“Nothing unites us to God more than an act of mercy,” the Pope said. “Mercy makes us pass from the recognition that we have received mercy to a desire to show mercy to others. Mercy is an utterly free act of kindness and goodness.”

The Pope called on them to follow the example of the Prodigal son. “We have to see ourselves [as] poised between our utter shame and our sublime dignity. Dirty, impure, mean and selfish, yet at the same time, with feet washed, called and chosen to distribute the Lord’s multiplied loaves, blessed by our people, loved and cared for,” the Pope said.

“Only mercy makes this situation bearable. Without it, either we believe in our own righteousness like the Pharisees, or we shrink back like those who feel unworthy. In either case, our hearts grow hardened.”

The Pope then travelled to St Mary Major’s Basilica where he spoke to priests from throughout Italy about the nature of forgiveness.
“Ours is a heart which has been shown mercy and shows mercy,” the Pope said.

“The best practitioners of this mercy that rights wrongs are those who know that they themselves are forgiven and sent to help others. We see this with addiction counsellors: those who have overcome their own addiction are usually those who can best understand, help and challenge others.”

The Pope’s last retreat of the day took place in the Basilica of St Paul’s Outside of the Walls attended by Priests from outside Italy.
Here, the Pope’s message was based around the works of mercy, and how they manifest themselves in lay and family life.

“We usually think of the works of mercy individually and in relation to a specific initiative: hospitals for the sick, soup kitchens for the hungry, shelters for the homeless, schools for those to be educated, the confessional and spiritual direction for those needing counsel and forgiveness… But if we look at the works of mercy as a whole, we see that the object of mercy is human life itself and everything it embraces,” the Pope said.

“Life itself, as ‘spirit,’ needs to be educated, corrected, encouraged and consoled. We need others to counsel us, to forgive us, to put up with us and to pray for us.

“The family is where these works of mercy are practised in so normal and unpretentious a way that we don’t even realize it. Yet once a family with small children loses its mother, everything begins to fall apart. The cruellest and most relentless form of poverty is that of street children, without parents and prey to the vultures.”

The Jubilee for Priests concludes today with Mass at St Peter’s Square commemorating the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

This year, the Mass marks 160 years since the feast was established in the universal liturgical calendar. The Jubilee of Priests is one of many events for special groups within the Church taking place during the Year of Mercy, with the Jubilee for Deacons taking place last weekend (May 27-29) and the Jubilee for the Sick and People with Disabilities next weekend (June 10-12).