Pope Francis at Mass says “Let us not be scandalized by Jesus; but, on the contrary, let us be indignant at all those situations where life is degraded, wounded, and killed"

 PASTORAL VISIT OF THE HOLY FATHER FRANCIS
IN TRIESTE ON THE OCCASION OF THE 50TH SOCIAL WEEK OF CATHOLICS IN ITALY
HOMILY OF THE HOLY FATHER
Piazza Unità d'Italia (Trieste)

Leaving the “Generali Convention Center” in an open car, the Holy Father Francis moved to Piazza Unità d'Italia where, at 10.00 am, he presided over the Holy Mass. Concelebrating with the Pope was His Eminence Cardinal Matteo Maria Zuppi, Metropolitan Archbishop of Bologna, President of the Italian Episcopal Conference, H.E. Monsignor Luigi Renna, Archbishop of Catania, President of the Organizing Committee of the Social Weeks, and H.E. Monsignor Enrico Trevisi, Bishop of Trieste, together with 98 Bishops and 260 Priests. Also present were Bishops and Pastors of the Serbian Orthodox, Greek Orthodox and Lutheran Churches.

Before the celebration of the Holy Mass in Piazza Unità d'Italia, the Pope met Mrs. Maria, 111 years old, resident in Trieste, with whom he exchanged a brief greeting. The Pontiff gave her a rosary and blessed her.

At the end of the Eucharistic Celebration, in which around 8,500 faithful took part, after the words of thanks from the Bishop of Trieste, H.E. Monsignor Enrico Trevisi, the Pope led the recitation of the Angelus. Once the final blessing was pronounced, Pope Francis took leave of the civil and religious authorities and, at 12.16 pm, left by helicopter from Molo Audace in Trieste to return to Rome. The Holy Father landed in the Vatican at 1.57 pm and returned to Casa Santa Marta.

Sunday, July 7, 2024
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To reawaken the hope of broken hearts and support the hardships of the journey, God has always raised prophets among his people. Yet, as today's First Reading tells us, telling us the events of Ezekiel, they often found rebellious people, "stubborn and hard-hearted children" (Ez 2:4), and they were rejected.
Jesus also has the same experience as the prophets. He returns to Nazareth, his homeland, among the people with whom he grew up, yet he is not recognized, he is even rejected: "he came to his people, and his people did not welcome him" (Jn 1:11). The Gospel tells us that Jesus "was a source of scandal to them" (Mk 6:3), but the word "scandal" does not refer to something obscene or indecent as we use it today; scandal means "a stumbling block", that is, an obstacle, an impediment, something that blocks you and prevents you from going further. Let's ask ourselves: what is the obstacle that prevents us from believing in Jesus?
Listening to the speeches of his fellow villagers, we see that they stop only at his earthly history, at his family origin and, therefore, they are unable to explain how so much wisdom and even the ability to perform miracles. The scandal, then, is the humanity of Jesus. The obstacle that prevents these people from recognizing the presence of God in Jesus is the fact that He is human, he is simply the son of Joseph the carpenter: how can God, omnipotent, reveal itself in the fragility of a man's flesh? How can an omnipotent and strong God, who created the earth and freed his people from slavery, make himself weak to the point of coming into the flesh and stooping to wash the disciples' feet? This is the scandal.
Brothers and sisters, a faith founded on a human God, who lowers himself towards humanity, who cares for it, who is moved by our wounds, who takes our tiredness upon himself, who breaks like bread to we. A strong and powerful God, who is on my side and satisfies me in everything is attractive; a weak God, a God who dies on the cross out of love and also asks me to overcome all selfishness and offer my life for the salvation of the world; and this, brothers and sisters, is a scandal.
Yet, putting ourselves before the Lord Jesus and looking at the challenges that challenge us, on the many social and political problems also discussed in this Social Week, on the concrete life of our people and their efforts, we can say that today we need precisely this scandal. We need the scandal of faith. We do not need a religiosity closed in on itself, which raises its gaze to the sky without worrying about what happens on earth and celebrates liturgies in the temple while forgetting about the dust that flows on our streets. Instead, we need the scandal of faith - we need the scandal of faith - a faith rooted in the God who became man and, therefore, a human faith, a faith of flesh, which enters into history, which caresses life of the people, who heal broken hearts, who become the leaven of hope and the germ of a new world. It is a faith that awakens consciences from their torpor, that puts its finger in the wounds, in the wounds of society - there are many -, a faith that raises questions about the future of man and history; it is a restless faith, and we need to live a restless life, a faith that moves from heart to heart, a faith that receives society's problems from outside, a restless faith that helps to overcome the mediocrity and sloth of heart, which becomes a thorn in the flesh of a society often anesthetized and stunned by consumerism. And I'll stop on this for a bit... It is said that our society is a bit anesthetized and stunned by consumerism: have you thought about whether consumerism has entered your heart? That anxiety of having, of having things, of having more, that anxiety of wasting money. Consumerism is a plague, it is a cancer: it sickens your heart, it makes you selfish, it makes you only look at yourself. Brothers and sisters, above all, we need a faith that displaces the calculations of human selfishness, that denounces evil, that points the finger at injustices, that disturbs the plots of those who, in the shadow of power, play on the skin of weak. And how many, how many – we know – use faith to exploit people. That's not faith.

A poet from this city, describing in a lyric his usual return home in the evening, states that he is crossing a somewhat dark street, a place of degradation where the men and goods of the port are "debris", that is, waste of the humanity; yet right here – he writes – like this, I quote: «I find, passing by, the infinite in humility», because the prostitute and the sailor, the woman arguing and the soldier, «are all creatures of life and pain; the Lord stirs in them, as in me" (U. Saba, "Città Vecchia", in The Songbook (1900-1954) Definitive Edition, Turin, Einaudi, 1961). Let's not forget this: God hides in the dark corners of the life of our city, have you thought about this? To the dark corners in the life of our city? His presence is revealed precisely in the faces carved out by suffering and where degradation seems to triumph. The infinity of God is hidden in human misery, the Lord stirs and makes himself present, and makes himself a friendly presence precisely in the wounded flesh of the last, of the forgotten, of the discarded. The Lord manifests himself there. And we, who sometimes get scandalized unnecessarily by many little things, would do well to ask ourselves instead: why don't we get scandalized when faced with the evil that is spreading, the life that is humiliated, the problems of work, the suffering of migrants? Why do we remain apathetic and indifferent to the injustices of the world? Why don't we take to heart the situation of prisoners, which also rises from this city of Trieste like a cry of anguish? Why don't we contemplate the miseries, the pain, the waste of so many people in the city? We are afraid, we are afraid of finding Christ there.

Dear ones, Jesus lived the prophecy of everyday life in his own flesh, entering into the daily lives and stories of the people, demonstrating compassion within events, and he manifested being God, who is compassionate. And for this reason, someone was scandalized by Him, he became an obstacle, he was rejected to the point of being tried and condemned; yet, He remained faithful to his mission, he did not hide behind ambiguity, he did not come to terms with the logic of political and religious power. Of his life she made an offering of love to the Father. So too we Christians: we are called to be prophets, witnesses of the Kingdom of God, in all the situations we experience, in every place we live.

Brothers and sisters, from this city of Trieste, overlooking Europe, a crossroads of peoples and cultures, a frontier land, we nourish the dream of a new civilization founded on peace and brotherhood; please, let us not be scandalized by Jesus but, on the contrary, let us be indignant at all those situations in which life is brutalized, wounded, killed; we carry the prophecy of the Gospel in our flesh, with our choices even before with words. That coherence between choices and words. And to this Trieste Church I would like to say: forward! After you! Continue to work on the front line to spread the Gospel of hope, especially towards those who arrive from the Balkan route and towards all those who, in body or spirit, need to be encouraged and consoled. Let's commit ourselves together: so that by rediscovering ourselves loved by the Father we can all live as brothers. All brothers, with that smile of welcome and peace of soul. Thank you.