Francis: God weeps for abuses against human dignity

Sebastian Samson Ferrari – Vatican City

“Being a Christian, touching the heart of the offended person and not being merely an act of exchangeable justice, presupposes two demanding approaches: recognizing one’s own guilt and asking for forgiveness.” The Holy Father underlined this during the audience ceremony given to participants in the “Repairing the Irreparable” Congress in the context of the 350th anniversary of the Presence of the Sacred Heart in Pare-le-Monial this Saturday, 4 May. In the 17th century, Jesus Christ revealed his heart to Sister Margaret Mary, a nun of the Visitation Order in a French commune in the Burgundy region. a meeting was called jubilee To return “love for love” to Christ. This Time of Grace began on December 27, 2023 and will end on June 27, 2025, the date of the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart.

In his speech, Pope Francis assured that “sometimes full reparation seems impossible, when property or loved ones are definitely lost or when certain situations become irreversible. But the intention to repair and concretely “Doing so is essential to the process.” Reconciliation and return of peace to the heart”.

On the morning of Saturday, May 4, the Holy Father met with participants in the Congress “Repairing the Repairable”. (Vatican Media)

The Pope also said that “Reparations, therefore, contribute not only to reconciliation between human beings, but also to reconciliation with God, since an evil committed against one’s neighbor is also an evil committed against God.” The crime is, as Ben Sirach the Wise says, “Let the tears of the widow flow down the cheeks of God, even within God’s people!”

The Pontiff specified that “all forms of reparation, human or spiritual, begin with the recognition of one’s own sin.” “Self-accusation is part of Christian wisdom; it pleases the Lord, for the Lord receives a contrite heart” (Sermon at St. Martha’s Mass, March 6, 2018). From this honest recognition of the harm done to the brother, and from this deep and honest feeling that love has been hurt, comes the desire to make reparation.”

The Bishop of Rome stressed that “asking for forgiveness reopens dialogue and reveals a desire to re-establish the bond of fraternal charity.” “And reparation – even a principle of reparation or simply a desire to make repair – guarantees the authenticity of the request for forgiveness, reveals its depth, its sincerity, touches the brother’s heart, consoles him. And awakens the acceptance of forgiveness. Thus, if the irreparable cannot be completely healed, love can always be reborn, making the wound bearable.

Meeting of the Holy Father with participants in the Congress “Repairing the Repairable” on Saturday morning, May 4. (Vatican Media)

In his greeting, Francis recalled that “Jesus asked St. Margaret Mary for acts of reparation for the crimes caused by the sins of human beings. If these acts consoled her heart, it means that reparation is for every It can also console the heart of a wounded person.” He also wished them that “the work of your Conference may renew and deepen the meaning of this beautiful practice of the Reparation of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, a practice which today is somewhat forgotten or may erroneously be considered obsolete. ” “And they also contribute to highlighting the place that each baptized person and theirs correspond to in the penitential path of the Church,” he said.

At the end of his message, the Successor of Peter expressed a set of prayers that the Jubilee of the Sacred Heart “awaken in so many pilgrims a great love of gratitude, a great affection for Jesus; and the Sanctuary of Pare-le-Interior. Monial will always be a place of comfort and kindness for every person seeking peace.”

After the greeting, the Pope prayed in Spanish:

The Holy Father offered a prayer within the framework of the jubilee of 350 years of apparitions in Pare-le-Monial. (Vatican Media)