Pope says God’s mercy will save the world; praises 'cowboy priest'

September 16, 2013 - If, in our hearts, there is no mercy, no joy of forgiveness, we cannot be in communion with God, even if we observe all his precepts because it is love that saves. This was the heart of the reflection of Pope Francis during his weekly midday ‘Angelus’ prayer on Sunday in Rome’s St. Peter’s Square, where some 70,000 people defied pouring rain to pray and listen to him. Drawing inspiration from Sunday’s Gospel of Luke on the three parables of the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the prodigal son, the Pope said that that mercy is the only true force that can save man and the world from the "cancer" which sin, the moral and spiritual evil. If we live according to the law of 'an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth', the Pope said, we cannot come out of the spiral of evil. The Evil One is smart, and dupes us into thinking that human justice can save us and save the world. In fact, only God's justice can save us! And God's justice has revealed itself on the Cross.
The Pope continued, “Everyone here is the lost sheep, the lost coin, and each of us is the son who has wasted his freedom following false idols, the illusions of happiness, and lost everything. But God is a patient father, he respects our freedom, but remains loyal. And when we return to Him, he welcomes us as children, into his house, because he never stops, not even for a moment, to wait for us, with love. And celebrates when one of us sinners comes back. Only love fills the emptiness, the negative chasms that evil opens in hearts and history. Only love can do this and this is God's joy."
Pope Francis urged those present in St. Peter’s Square to think about a person with whom they don’t get along, or are angry with. “In silence, think about this person, pray for this person and let yourself become merciful towards this person," the Pope urged.
After praying the ‘Angelus’ Pope Francis spoke about the virtues of Fr. José Gabriel Brochero of Cordoba, who was declared Blessed at a ceremony in Argentina on Saturday. Popularly known as the ‘cowboy priest’, for going about his pastoral visits on a mule, Fr. Brochero died in 1914 at the age of 74. “Brochero was a normal man, fragile, like any of us,” Pope Francis noted, but his greatness came from the fact that, “he knew the love of Jesus. He let his heart be touched by the mercy of God.” A priest at the age of 26, Fr. Brochero was known for traversing his mountainous parish by mule to bring the gospel and sacraments to the people of Cordoba. The Pope said that for the people of his parish, receiving a visit from Fr. Brochero was like “a visit from Jesus to each family.” When visiting his parishioners, the Pope described how the priest would bring the image of the Virgin Mary and his Mass kit and prayer book. While explaining the faith he would “speak in a way that everyone could understand because what he said about the faith and love that he had toward Jesus would come directly from his heart.” His apostolic courage is an important witness for missionaries today, the Holy Father noted, adding, “Brochero did not stay in the parish offices: he would exhaust himself riding his mule and he ended up being sick with leprosy.” He was faithful to the end, continuing to “pray and celebrate Mass even as a blind leper,” the Pope added.