EXTRAORDINARY JUBILEE OF MERCY: Jubilee of the Roman Curia (FULL TEXT: English)

The liturgical feast of the Chair of St. Peter sees us gathered to celebrate the Jubilee of Mercy as a community service of the Roman Curia, the Governorate and institutions connected with the Holy See. We passed through the Holy Door and came to the tomb of the Apostle Peter to make our profession of faith; and today the Word of God enlightens in a special way our gestures.

At this time, each of us the Lord Jesus repeats his question: "Who do you say that I am?" ( Mt 16:15). A clear and direct question, in front of which you can not escape or remain neutral, or delay the response or delegate it to someone else. But in it there is nothing inquisitorial, rather, it is full of love! The love of our only Master, who today calls us to renew our faith in him, recognizing him as the Son of God and Lord of our lives. And the first called to renew his profession of faith is the Successor of Peter, who brings with him the responsibility of confirming the brethren (cf. Lk 22:32).

Let the grace of new plasmas our hearts to believe and open our mouths to make the profession of faith and to salvation (cf. Rom 10:10). We make our own, then, the words of Peter: "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God" ( Mt 16:16). Our thoughts and our eyes are fixed on Jesus Christ, the beginning and end of each activity of the Church. He is the foundation and no one can put a different one ( 1 Corinthians 3:11). He is the "rock" on which we must build. She remembers him with meaningful words St. Augustine when he writes that the Church, while agitated and shaken by the events of history, "does not collapse, because it is founded on the stone, from which Peter derives its name. It is the stone that takes its name from Peter, but Peter, who draws from the stone; as it is not the name Christ comes from the Christian, but the Christian name which comes from Christ. [...] The stone is Christ, the foundation of which Peter also was built "( In Joh 124, 5: PL 35, 1972).

Since this profession of faith is derived for each of us the duty to pay to God's call. To Pastors, above all, you are required to have the same model as God who takes care of his flock. The prophet Ezekiel described the way God acts: He goes in search of the lost sheep, leads back the strayed, the band wound and cure the sick (34,16). A behavior that is a sign that knows no boundaries. It is a faithful dedication, constant, unconditional, because all the weak can reach his mercy. And yet, we must not forget that the prophecy of Ezekiel starts from the observation of the deficiencies of the shepherds of Israel. Therefore it is also good to us, called to be pastors in the Church, let the face of God the Good Shepherd enlighten us, to purify us, transform us and give us back fully refurbished to our mission. That even in our workplaces we can hear, cultivate a strong pastoral sense, first of all to the people we meet every day. That no one will feel neglected or mistreated, but everyone can experience, first of all here, the loving care of the Good Shepherd.

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We are called to be collaborators of God in an enterprise so important and unique as that of witness with our existence the power of transforming grace and power of the Spirit who renews. Let the Lord deliver us from every temptation that departs from the essential of our mission, and rediscover the beauty of professing faith in the Lord Jesus. The fidelity to the ministry well combines with the mercy which we want to experience. In Sacred Scripture, indeed, faithfulness and mercy are an inseparable binomial. Where there is one, there is also the other, and just in their reciprocity and complementarity can be seen the very presence of the Good Shepherd. Loyalty that is required is to act according to the heart of Christ. As we heard from the words of the Apostle Peter, we must feed the flock with "generous soul" and become a "model" for all. In this way, "when the chief Shepherd appears," we will be able to receive the "crown of glory that does not fade away" ( 1 Pt 5:14).

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