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Holy God,
Holy and Mighty,
Holy Immortal One,
have mercy upon us.
The Book of Divine Worship
Pope Francis recently visited the All Saints Anglican Church in Rome. It is known that the Pope as Cardinal Bergoglio of Argentina opposed Pope Benedict's formation of the Personal Ordinariates for persons of Anglican Patrimony. He told the Anglican Bishop of the Southern Cone of the Americas that the Catholic Church needed the Anglican Church to be the Anglican Church and a partner in witnessing to the secular culture, i.e., it did not need Anglicans becoming Roman Catholic. Pope Francis has gone to some lengths to assure the Personal Ordinariates of his support for them since his election as the Vicar of St. Peter.
Here is what Pope Francis said to the Anglicans gathered for worship at the Anglican parish in Rome:
VISIT TO THE ANGLICAN CHURCH OF “ALL SAINTS”
HOMILY OF HIS HOLINESS POPE FRANCIS
Sunday, 26 February AD 2017
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
I wish to thank you for your gracious invitation to celebrate this
parish anniversary with you. More than two hundred years have passed
since the first public Anglican liturgy was held in Rome for a group of
English residents in this part of the city. A great deal has changed in
Rome and in the world since then. In the course of these two
centuries, much has also changed between Anglicans and Catholics, who in
the past viewed each other with suspicion and hostility. Today, with
gratitude to God, we recognize one another as we truly are: brothers and
sisters in Christ, through our common baptism. As friends and pilgrims
we wish to walk the path together, to follow our Lord Jesus Christ
together.
You have invited me to bless the new icon of Christ the Saviour.
Christ looks at us, and his gaze upon us is one of salvation, of love
and compassion. It is the same merciful gaze which pierced the hearts
of the Apostles, who left the past behind and began a journey of new
life, in order to follow and proclaim the Lord. In this sacred image,
as Jesus looks upon us, he seems also to call out to us, to make an
appeal to us: “Are you ready to leave everything from your past for me?
Do you want to make my love known, my mercy?”
His gaze of divine mercy is the source of the whole Christian
ministry. The Apostle Paul says this to us, through his words to the
Corinthians which we have just heard. He writes: “Having this ministry
by the mercy of God, we do not lose heart” (2 Cor 4:1). Our ministry flows forth from the mercy of God, which sustains our ministry and prevents it losing its vigour.
Saint Paul did not always have an easy relationship with the
community at Corinth, as his letters show. There was also a painful
visit to this community, with heated words exchanged in writing. But
this passage shows Paul overcoming past differences. By living his
ministry in the light of mercy received, he does not give up in the face
of divisions, but devotes himself to reconciliation. When we, the
community of baptized Christians, find ourselves confronted with
disagreements and turn towards the merciful face of Christ to overcome
it, it is reassuring to know that we are doing as Saint Paul did in one
of the very first Christian communities.
How does Saint Paul grapple with this task, where does he begin? With humility, which is not only a beautiful virtue, but a question of identity.
Paul sees himself as a servant, proclaiming not himself but Christ
Jesus the Lord (v. 5). And he carries out this service, this ministry
according to the mercy shown him (v. 1): not on the basis of his
ability, nor by relying on his own strength, but by trusting that God is
watching over him and sustaining his weakness with mercy. Becoming
humble means drawing attention away from oneself, recognizing one’s
dependence on God as a beggar of mercy: this is the starting point so
that God may work in us. A past president of the World Council of
Churches described Christian evangelization as “a beggar telling another
beggar where he can find bread”. I believe Saint Paul would approve.
He grasped the fact that he was “fed by mercy” and that his priority was
to share his bread with others: the joy of being loved by the Lord, and
of loving him.
This is our most precious good, our treasure, and it is in this
context that Paul introduces one of his most famous images, one we can
all apply to ourselves: “we have this treasure in earthen vessels” (v.
7). We are but earthen vessels, yet we keep within us the greatest
treasure in the world. The Corinthians knew well that it was foolish to
preserve something precious in earthen vessels, which were inexpensive
but cracked easily. Keeping something valuable in them meant running
the risk of losing it. Paul, a graced sinner, humbly recognized that he
was fragile, just like an earthen vessel. But he experienced and knew
that it was precisely there that human misery opens itself to God’s
merciful action; the Lord performs wonders. That is how the
“extraordinary power” of God works (v. 7).
Trusting in this humble power, Paul serves the Gospel. Speaking of
some of his adversaries in Corinth, he calls them “super apostles” (2 Cor
12:11), perhaps, and with a certain irony, because they had criticized
him for his weaknesses even as they considered themselves observant,
even perfect. Paul, on the other hand, teaches that only in realizing
we are weak earthen vessels, sinners always in need of mercy, can the
treasure of God be poured into us and through us upon others.
Otherwise, we will merely be full of our treasures, which are corrupted
and spoiled in seemingly beautiful vessels. If we recognize our
weakness and ask for forgiveness, then the healing mercy of God will
shine in us and will be visible to those outside; others will notice in
some way, through us, the gentle beauty of Christ’s face.
At a certain point, perhaps in the most difficult moment with the
community in Corinth, the Apostle Paul cancelled a visit he had planned
to make there, also foregoing the offerings he would have received from
them (2 Cor 1:15-24). Though tensions existed in their
fellowship, these did not have the final word. The relationship was
restored and Paul received the offering for the care of the Church in
Jerusalem. The Christians in Corinth once again took up their work,
together with the other communities which Paul visited, to sustain those
in need. This is a powerful sign of renewed communion. The work that
your community is carrying out together with other English-speaking
communities here in Rome can be viewed in this light. True, solid
communion grows and is built up when people work together for those in
need. Through a united witness to charity, the merciful face of Jesus
is made visible in our city.
As Catholics and Anglicans, we are humbly grateful that, after
centuries of mutual mistrust, we are now able to recognize that the
fruitful grace of Christ is at work also in others. We thank the Lord
that among Christians the desire has grown for greater closeness, which
is manifested in our praying together and in our common witness to the
Gospel, above all in our various forms of service. At times, progress
on our journey towards full communion may seem slow and uncertain, but
today we can be encouraged by our gathering. For the first time, a
Bishop of Rome is visiting your community. It is a grace and also a
responsibility: the responsibility of strengthening our ties, to the
praise of Christ, in service of the Gospel and of this city.
Let us encourage one another to become ever more faithful disciples
of Jesus, always more liberated from our respective prejudices from the
past and ever more desirous to pray for and with others. A good sign of
this desire is the “twinning” taking place today between your parish of
All Saints and All Saints Catholic parish. May the saints of every
Christian confession, fully united in the Jerusalem above, open for us
here below the way to all the possible paths of a fraternal and shared
Christian journey. Where we are united in the name of Jesus, he is
there (cf. Mt 18:20), and turning his merciful gaze towards us,
he calls us to devote ourselves fully in the cause of unity and love.
May the face of God shine upon you, your families and this entire
community!
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