Everyone is in Debt to God's Mercy, Pope Francis says

At the end of the audience Wednesday the pope recalled the March 19 celebration of the Solemnity of St. Joseph.

“In life, work, family, joy and pain he always sought and loved the Lord, deserving the praise of Scripture as a just and wise man,” he said. “Always invoke him with confidence, especially in difficult moments and entrust your existence to this great saint.”

In Italy, the bishops have called for a special day of prayer for St. Joseph’s feast day, inviting every family, every individual Catholic, and every religious community to pray the rosary at 9:00 pm, reflecting on the Luminous mysteries.

Pope Francis said he will join in praying the rosary from the Vatican.

“Mary, Mother of God, health of the sick, leads us to the luminous and transfigured face of Jesus Christ and to her Heart, to whom we turn with the prayer of the rosary, under the loving gaze of St. Joseph, Custodian of the Holy Family and of our families,” he said.

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Let us ask St. Joseph, he encouraged, “to take special care of our family... especially the sick and the people who are taking care of the sick: the doctors, nurses, volunteers, who risk their lives in this service.”

Francis’ catechesis was a reflection on the fifth beatitude: “Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.”

“Mercy is the very heart of God!” he said, quoting Jesus’ words in the Gospel of Luke: “Do not judge and you will not be judged; do not condemn and you will not be condemned; forgive and you will be forgiven.”

“Forgiveness given and forgiveness received” are two things which cannot be separated, the pope emphasized.

But, he noted, often the evil someone endures is so great, to forgive “seems like climbing a very high mountain.”

According to Francis, we should look at things from another perspective: We cannot do it alone, “it takes God’s grace, we must ask for it.”

“But precisely this poverty of ours becomes the force to forgive!” he added. “God precedes us and forgives us first. By receiving his forgiveness, we in turn become capable of forgiving.”

Pope Francis spoke about the importance the theme of mercy has had during his pontificate, recalling that his first Angelus address was about mercy.

“And this has remained very impressed on me as a message,” he said, “that I should always give as pope, a message that must be given every day: mercy.”

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Hannah Brockhaus is Catholic News Agency's senior Rome correspondent. She grew up in Omaha, Nebraska, and has a degree in English from Truman State University in Missouri.