Pope Francis presided over the canonization ceremony of John Paul I in St. Peter’s Square, which was attended by 25,000 faithful. The Pope noted that John Paul I was a gentle and humble shepherd who followed Jesus without reservation.
(Vatican News Network) “By our apostolic authority, we confer the honor of the venerable and faithful servant of God, Pope John Paul I, henceforth called the Blessed”. Pope Francis used this verse to beat Albino Luciani on September 4, and is set to commemorate it every year on August 26, the same day Luciani was elected in 1978. 263 days of Peter’s successor.
The Blessed Ceremony was held in St. Peter’s Square on the morning of September 4. Pope Francis officiated the ceremony. More than 500 cardinals, bishops, priests and deacons were co-priests, and 25,000 faithful attended the ceremony in the rain. . The portrait of Pope Luciani on the central balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica slowly removes the covering amid the joyful singing of Alleluia, revealing a smiling face. This work is by Chinese artist Zhang Yan. brush.
The newly blessed relic presented to the altar is a piece of white paper with handwriting, which is a reflection on the three super virtues of faith, hope and love, written in 1956, and used by Pope Luciani as a 1978 On September 13th, 20th and 27th, the reference content of the catechism lecture was publicly received.
In his sermon at Mass, Pope Francis pointed out that Pope Luciani lived out “the joy of the Gospel, uncompromising, and always loving to the end” and that he “exemplified the poverty of the apostles, not only by not coveting material possessions, but also especially It is to overcome the temptation to put oneself at the center and seek one’s own glory.” He is a gentle and humble shepherd, following the example of Jesus, seeing himself as “dust worthy of God’s writing on it”.
“Pope Luciani uses a smile to convey the mercy of the Lord. A Church with a happy face, a serene face, a smiling face is beautiful, one that never closes the doors and windows, doesn’t feel dignified, doesn’t complain, doesn’t No resentment, no anger, no impatience, no sullenness, no nostalgia and the temptation to fall back.”
In conjunction with the Gospel of the day, the Pope continues to discuss the holiness of John Paul I. The Gospel narrates that “many multitudes walked with Jesus” (Luke 14:25), to whom Jesus’ words were unattractive but very strict: whoever loves him no more than his own, who does not bear his own cross, who does not turn away The wealth of this world cannot be his disciple.
“Many people are fascinated by Jesus’ words and surprised by his actions, so they see Jesus as their hope for the future,” the Pope said. Such situations “occur today, especially in times of personal and social crisis”, when we “become more vulnerable”. “We trust people who are opportunistic and tricky” who exploit social fear and promise to solve problems “when in reality, they just want to increase their visibility and power, their image, and control things. Ability”.
“God’s style is different from these people, because he does not use our needs, he never uses our weakness to exalt himself. Not interested. He does not worship numbers, seek consensus, and is not an idolater of personal success. Instead, he seems concerned when people follow him ecstatically. He is not attracted by the lure of fame because fame makes people Fascinated, He asks everyone to carefully discern the motives for following Him and the consequences that follow.”
Many who follow Jesus may look to Him to deliver them from their enemies, believing that He “would take power” and distribute it, or that Jesus was “a miracle worker who would solve hunger and disease problems” “.
“In fact, one can follow the Lord for various reasons, and we must admit that, some of them are worldly: behind the appearance of perfect piety, there may be hidden the pursuit of personal prestige purely for the satisfaction of one’s own needs , wanting to have a role to keep things under control, and desire to take up space and privilege, and desire to be recognized, etc. Doing so can even use God as a tool.”
But Jesus candidly stated that following him “also means ‘carrying the cross’, carrying the burdens of yourself and others as he did, making life a gift, and imitating his generous and merciful love for us.” The Pope pointed out that these are “choices to devote one’s life to”, and Jesus therefore asks his followers not to put anything in front of this love.
Hence the need to “look at him more than ourselves, and learn to love in the process of drawing love from the Crucifixion”. Pope Francis also used the teachings of Pope Luciani to help people understand that God’s love for human beings “never overshadows our lives, but always shines on us, even in the darkest nights”. John Paul I said “We are the objects of God’s eternal love”.
“Thus, looking at the Crucifixion, we are invited to reach this height of love: to purify our false understanding of God and our closure, to love him and others in the Church and in society, and to love those who do not share our ideas people, even our enemies. To love: even to sacrifice, to be silent, to be ununderstood, to be alone, to be blocked, to be persecuted. This is because, as John Paul I said, if you want to kiss the crucified Jesus of the Cross, ‘You can only bend down before the cross and let yourself be pierced by some thorns in the crown of thorns, the crown of the Lord’s head.”
The Pope urged everyone to look up and take risks, and not be satisfied with “a faith that lives by”, because “if we give up giving ourselves because we are afraid of losing ourselves,” then we will let go of the “unfinished”. relationships, jobs, entrusted responsibilities, dreams, and even beliefs”, “and never take the decisive step, take off, take risks for good, and actually give for others.”
Instead, Jesus asks us to live the gospel because only then can we live a “thorough” life without compromise. Such was the life of Albino Luciani.
The Pope finally asked all the faithful present to plead with this “our father and brother” to give us a “smile of the heart”, a smile that is clear and not deceitful. Let us join him in this prayer: “Lord, please accept me as I am, with my flaws and shortcomings, but make me who you want me to be.”
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The Canon of John Paul I
