(Vatican Radio) Thousands of people in Rome’s working class Magliana neighbourhood
welcomed Pope Francis on Sunday evening to the parish of San Gregorio Magno. The streets
were filled with people, many holding signs greeting the Pope in Roman dialect, still
spoken daily in the neighbourhood. The Pope spent three hours at the parish, and began
is visit by meeting young people in a soccer field, where he emphasized hope.
Pope
Francis told them they could not live without hope, which drives people to be creative,
to have children, to work. He said it’s not always easy to have hope today: “you
see so many terrible things, sickness, unemployment”. The Holy Father said hope is
a gift from God, and if you take away hope, then young people lose their faith and
lose their way.
Pope Francis also met with the old and infirm, and told them
to offer their suffering with Jesus on the Cross.
In a meeting with ex-convicts
and former drug addicts, the Holy Father reminded them the Lord is not just at Church,
but also in their own frailty. He said the best place to find Jesus in in “places
of human weakness”. He also lamented the culture of waste, pointing out as an example
the killing of unborn children in their mother’s womb.
The Holy Father heard
confessions before celebrating Mass, where the Gospel was the story of Lazarus being
raised from the dead.
“All of us have some parts …of our heart that are not
alive, that are a bit dead,” Pope Francis said. “Only the power of Jesus can help
us come out of these tombs of sin is in each and every one of us. But sometimes we
are too attached to these tombs and are reluctant to leave them. This is when our
soul starts to stink; this is the stench of sin.”
He said the promise of the
Gospel of the Day was that Jesus would open these tombs and let us out.
“The
Lord has the power to restore life to the dead,” said Pope Francis. “Do we have the
strength to hear what Jesus said to Lazarus: Come out?”
The Holy Father said
we must contemplate our attachment to sin, and avoid becoming corrupt by seeking the
forgiveness of the Lord.
The Pope had pocketsize books of the Gospels handed
out at the Mass, just as he did at the Angelus address in St. Peter’s Square earlier
in the day. He repeated his request that the Gospels be carried at all times, and
be read during any available moment, such as waiting in line or on the bus, but only
“when you are not busy watching your pockets.”