At Mass, Pope Francis says "...today, everyone, brothers and sisters, of any religious confession, pray to God." Full Text

MORNING CELEBRATION BROADCASTED LIVE
FROM THE SANTA MARTA CHAPEL

HOMILY OF THE HOLY FATHER FRANCIS

"Brotherhood day, day of penance and prayer"

Thursday, May 14, 2020

Introduction

The High Committee for Human Brotherhood today called a Day of prayer and fasting, to ask God for mercy and mercy in this tragic moment of the pandemic. We are all brothers. St. Francis of Assisi said: "All brothers". And for this, men and women of all religious denominations, today, we join in prayer and penance, to ask for the grace of healing from this pandemic.

Homily

In the first reading we heard the story of Jonah, in the style of the time (cf. Gn 3,1-10). Since there was some pandemic, we do not know, in the city of Nineveh, a "moral pandemic" perhaps, [the city] was just about to be destroyed (see v. 4). And God sends Jonah to preach: prayer and penance, prayer and fasting (cf. vv. 7-8). Faced with that pandemic, [at first] Jonah was frightened and ran away (cf. Gn 1,3). Then the Lord called him for the second time and he agreed to go and preach this (cf. Gen.3,1-3). And today all of us, brothers and sisters of all religious traditions, pray: a day of prayer and fasting, of penance, called by the High Committee for Human Brotherhood. Each of us prays, communities pray, religious confessions pray, pray to God: all brothers, united in the brotherhood that unites us in this moment of pain and tragedy.

We did not wait for this pandemic, it came without us expecting it, but now it is there. And many people die. Many people die alone and many people die without being able to do anything. Many times the thought can come: "I don't care, thank God I saved myself". But think of others! Think about the tragedy and also about the economic consequences, the consequences on education, the consequences ..., what will happen next.

And for this today, everyone, brothers and sisters, of any religious confession, pray to God. Perhaps there will be someone who will say: "This is religious relativism and it cannot be done". But how can we not pray to the Father of all? Everyone prays as he knows, how he can, as he has received from his own culture. We are not praying against each other, this religious tradition against this, no! We are all united as human beings, as brothers, praying to God, according to one's culture, according to one's own tradition, according to one's beliefs, but brothers and praying to God, this is the important thing! Brothers, fasting, asking God for forgiveness for our sins, for the Lord to have mercy on us, for the Lord to forgive us, for the Lord to stop this pandemic. Today is a day of brotherhood, looking at the only Father: brothers and fatherhood. Prayer day.

We, last year, or rather in November of last year, did not know what a pandemic was: it came like a flood, it came suddenly. Now we are waking up a little. But there are many other pandemics that make people die and we don't notice it, we look elsewhere. We are a little unconscious in the face of the tragedies that are happening in the world right now. I would just like to tell you an official statistic of the first four months of this year, which does not mention the coronavirus pandemic, it speaks of another. In the first four months of this year, 3 million 700 thousand people died of starvation. There is the hunger pandemic. In four months, almost 4 million people. This prayer today, to ask that the Lord stop this pandemic, must make us think of the other pandemics in the world. There are many! The pandemic of wars, hunger and many others. But the important thing is that today - together and thanks to the courage that this High Committee for Human Brotherhood has had - together, we have been invited to pray each one according to his own tradition and to make a day of penance, fasting and also of charity , of help to others. This is the important thing. In the book of Jonah we heard that the Lord, when he saw how the people had reacted - who had converted -, the Lord stopped, stopped what He wanted to do.

God stop this tragedy, stop this pandemic. May God have mercy on us and stop other pandemics that are so bad: that of hunger, that of war, that of children without education. And we ask this as brothers , all together. May God bless us all and have mercy on us.

Prayer for spiritual communion

My Jesus, I believe that you are in the Blessed Sacrament. I love you above all things and I desire you in my soul. Since I cannot receive you sacramentally now, at least spiritually come to my heart. As already come, I embrace you and I join you all; do not allow me to ever separate you from You.

At the end of the Mass

I would like to thank Sir Tommaso today, the sound engineer who is working here today for the broadcast. He accompanied us on these broadcasts, he works in the Communication Department and retires, today is the last time he works. May the Lord bless him and accompany him in the new stage of life.
FULL TEXT  + Image Source: Vatican.va - a Translation from Italian