Here is a translation of the address Pope Francis gave today before and after praying the midday Angelus with those gathered in St. Peter’s Square.
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Dear brothers and sisters, hello!
Today we celebrate the solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity, which presents for our contemplation and adoration the divine life of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit: a life of communion and perfect love, origin and goal of the whole universe and every creature, God. In the Trinity we also recognize a model of the Church in which we are called to love each other as Jesus loved us. Love is the concrete sign that manifests faith in God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Love is distinctive of the Christian, as Jesus told us: “From this everyone will know that you are my disciples» (John 13:15). It is a contradiction to think of Christians who hate. It is a contradiction! And the devil always tries to make us hate because he is always sowing the discord of hate; he does not know love, God is love!
We are all called to witness to and proclaim the message that “God is love,” that God is not distant and unconcerned with our human affairs. He is near, he is always at our side, he journey’s with us to share our joys and sorrows, our hopes and our toils. He loves us so greatly and to such a point that he be became man, he came into the world not to judge it but that the world might be saved through Jesus (cf. John 3:16). This is God’s love in Jesus, this love that is so hard to understand but that we sense when we draw near to Jesus. And he always forgives us, he always waits for us, he loves us very much. And the love of Jesus that we feel is the love of God.
The Holy Spirit, gift of the risen Jesus, communicates the divine life to us and thus he draws us into the dynamism of the Trinity, which is a dynamism of love, communion, mutual service, sharing. A person who loves others for the joy itself of loving is a reflection of the Trinity. A parish in which people want what is best for each other and spiritual and material goods are shared is a reflection of the Trinity.
True love is without limits but it knows how to limit itself to encounter the other, to respect the other’s freedom. We go to Mass every Sunday and celebrate the Eucharist together and the Eucharist is like the “burning bush” in which the Trinity humbly dwells and communicates itself; because of this the Church placed the feast of “Corpus Domini” after that of the Trinity. Thursday, following the Roman tradition, we celebrate the Holy Mass at St. John Lateran and then we will process with the Most Blessed Sacrament. I invite Romans and pilgrims to participate to express our desire to be a people “gathered in the unity of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit” (St. Cyprian). I will expect all of you on Thursday at 7 p.m. for the Mass and procession of “Corpus Christi.”
May the Virgin Mary, perfect creature of the Trinity help us to make our whole life, in the little gestures and most important choices, a hymn of praise to God, who is Love.
[Following the recitation of the Angelus, the Holy Father again addressed those gathered in the piazza in front of St. Peter’s.]Dear brothers and sisters,
I have been following with great concern the events of the past several days in Iraq. I invite all of you to join in my prayer for the dear Iraqi nation, above all for the victims and those who grievously suffer from the growing violence, especially for the many persons – among whom there are many Christians – who have had to leave their homes. I would like to see security and peace for the whole country and a future of reconciliation and justice in which all Iraqis, regardless of their religious affiliation, can build up their homeland together, making it a model of coexistence. Let us all together pray to Our Lady for the Iraqi people.
Hail Mary…
Today I would like to announce that, accepting the invitation of the bishops and civil authorities of Albania, I intend to travel to Tirana on Sunday, September 21. With this short trip I would like to confirm the Church in Albania and show my encouragement and love toward a country that has long suffered from the ideologies of the past.
And now I greet all of you, dear pilgrims, present here today: many parish groups, families and associations. In particular I greet the members of the military from Colombia, the faithful from Taiwan and Hong Kong, from Avila and La Rioja in Spain, from Venado Tuerto in Argentina, from Cagliari, Albino, Vignola, Lucca and Battipaglia in Italy.
I greet the “Pro Sanctitate” movement on the 100th anniversary of the birth of its founder, the Servant of God Guglielmo Giaquinta. Dear friends, I encourage you to go forward in the apostolate of sanctity. I greet the young people of Casaleone, who received Confirmation, and the members of the Gruppo IDI Sanità of Rome.
A special thought goes out today to the home assistance workers and nurses, who come from many parts of the world and perform a precious service in families, especially among the elderly and people who cannot take care of themselves. Often we do not justly recognize the great and wonderful work that they do for families. Thank you so much!
And I wish everyone a good Sunday and a good lunch. And do not forget to pray for me. Goodbye!
[Translation by Joseph G Trabbic]
