For the first time in its history, the Holy See Press Office today released English and Spanish translations of the Holy Father’s reflections at today’s Angelus, as well as his words after praying the Angelus with the faithful in St. Peter’s Square. Though I usually post a summary, following are those English texts in full as they offer some wonderful food for reflection about the Holy Trinity and Sacred Heart of Jesus. I am sure you know that the Church always dedicates the month of June to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
For the second Sunday in a row, Pope Francis appeared at the window of his study in the Apostolic Palace that overlooks St. Peter’s Square where a small group of faithful, having gone through two security checks, gathered to pray with him.
“THE ACTION OF THE MOST HOLY TRINITY, A SINGLE PLAN OF LOVE THAT SAVES HUMANITY”
Dear brothers and sisters, good day! Today’s Gospel (see Jn 3: 16-18), on the Feast of the Most Holy Trinity, demonstrates – with John’s succinct language – the mystery of God’s love for the world, His creation. In the brief dialogue with Nicodemus, Jesus presents Himself as He who brings to fulfilment the Father’s plan of salvation for the world. He affirms: “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life” (v. 16). These words are to indicate that the action of the three divine Persons – Father, Son and Holy Spirit – is all a single plan of love that saves humanity and the world. (photo vatican media)
The world is marked by evil and corruption, and we men and women are sinners; therefore, God could intervene to judge the world, to destroy evil and castigate sinners. Instead, He loves the world, despite its sins; God loves every one of us even when we make mistakes and distance ourselves from Him. God the Father loves the world so much that, to save it, He gives what is most precious to Him: His only-begotten Son, who gives His life for humanity, rises again, returns to the Father and together with Him sends the Holy Spirit. The Trinity is therefore Love, all in the service of the world, which He wishes to save and recreate.
When Jesus affirms that the Father has given His only-begotten Son, we spontaneously think of Abraham and his offering of his son Isaac, about whom the Book of Genesis speaks (cf. 22: 1-14): this is the “measure without measure” of God’s love. And let us also think of how God reveals Himself to Moses: full of tenderness, merciful and compassionate, slow to anger and full of grace and fidelity. The encounter with this God encouraged Moses, who, as the book of Exodus tells us, was not afraid to stand between the people and the Lord, saying to Him: “Although this is a stiff-necked people, forgive our wickedness and our sin, and take us as your inheritance” (34: 9).
Dear brothers and sisters, today’s feast day invites us to let ourselves once again be fascinated by the beauty of God; beauty, goodness and inexhaustible truth. But also humble, close, who became flesh in order to enter into our life, into our history, so that every man and woman may encounter it and have eternal life. And this is faith: to welcome God-Love who gives Himself in Christ, to let ourselves be encountered by Him and to trust in Him.
We live faith in Christ in listening to the Word and partaking in the Sacraments, through which the Holy Spirit gives us God’s grace. Through the Sacraments we can remain in a continuous relationship with the divine Persons, we are stimulated to bear witness to evangelical charity, and we are sustained in our effort to live in unity and in peace, so that everything may be to the glory of the Most Holy Trinity, of God-Love.
May the Virgin Mary, dwelling-place of the Trinity, help us to welcome with an open heart the love of God, which fills us with joy and gives meaning to our journey in this world, always guiding us towards our destination, which is Heaven.
“THE HEART OF JESUS, A WELLSPRING OF GOD’S MERCY, FORGIVENESS AND TENDERNESS”
Dear brothers and sisters, I greet you all, Romans and pilgrims: individual faithful, families and religious communities. Your presence in the square is a sign that the acute phase of the epidemic is over in Italy, even though it remains necessary to follow the rules in force carefully. But unfortunately in other countries, especially in Latin America, the virus continues to claim many victims. I wish to express my closeness to those populations, to the sick and their families, and to all those who care for them.
The month of June is dedicated in a special way to the Heart of Christ, a devotion that unites the great spiritual teachers and the simple among the people of God. Indeed, the human and divine Heart of Jesus is the wellspring where we can always draw upon God’s mercy, forgiveness and tenderness. We can do so by focusing on a passage from the Gospel, feeling that at the centre of every gesture, of every word of Jesus there is love, the love of the Father. And we can do this by adoring the Eucharist, where this love is present in the Sacrament. Then our heart too, little by little, will become more patient, more generous, more merciful.
I wish you all a good Sunday. Please, do not forget to pray for me. Have a good lunch, and arrivederci.
Joan's Rome 