VATICAN CITY — On Monday morning, Pope Francis celebrated Mass at Casa Santa Marta which was broadcast live in order to demonstrate his nearness to those affected by the Covid-19 coronavirus.
Yesterday, the Director of the Holy See Press Office announced that Pope Francis had decided that his 7.00 morning Mass would be broadcast in these days. This morning, Pope Francis introduced the liturgy saying “In these days, I will offer Mass for those who are sick from the coronavirus epidemic, for the doctors, nurses, volunteers who are helping them, for their families, for the elderly in nursing homes, for prisoners”. He then asked everyone to “pray together this week” the words of the entrance antiphon: “Redeem me, O Lord, and have mercy on me. My foot stands on level ground; I will bless the Lord in the assembly”.
The Pope then reflected on the first reading of the Second Monday of Lent from the Book of the Prophet Daniel (9:4-10). He characterised it as a “confession of sin”.
The people recognised that they had sinned. ‘We have sinned, been wicked and done evil; we have rebelled and departed from your commandments and your laws. We have not obeyed your servants the prophets, who spoke in your name to our kings, our princes, our fathers, and all the people of the land.’ This is a confession of sin, a recognition that we have sinned.
Preparation for the Sacrament of Reconciliation
Pope Francis went on to describe that “when we prepare ourselves to receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation, we have to do what is called an ‘examination of conscience’ “. He then differentiated between a list of sins done on an intellectual level and the heartfelt recognition of sin. It is not correct, the Pope said:
to make a list of sins in the mind, to say ‘I’ve sinned’, then say them to the priest and then the priest forgives me. That’s like drawing up a to-do list or things I need to have or what I’ve done wrong. This remains in the mind. A true confession of sins must remain in the heart.
Moving from the mind to the heart
The Pope invites us to take a step forward so that we confess our “misery, but from the heart…. This is what Daniel, the Prophet, did: ‘Justice, O Lord, is on your side; we are shamefaced’ “.
When I realise that I have sinned, that I haven’t prayed well, and I feel this in my heart, a sense of shame comes to us… Being ashamed of our sins as a grace we need to ask for. A person who has lost a sense of shame has lost a sense of moral judgement, has lost respect for others. The same thing regarding God…. ‘O LORD, we are shamefaced, like our kings, our princes, and our fathers, for having sinned against you. But yours, O Lord, our God’, first he said justice, now he said ‘compassion’.
We touch God’s heart
When a sense of shame is added to the memory that we have sinned, “this touches God’s heart”, Pope Francis explained. The sense of shame leads us to experience God’s mercy. Our confessions, then, will not consist in reading a list of sins, but in realising what we “have done to a God who is so good, so compassionate, so righteous”.
Pope Francis then concluded his homily, saying:
Today, let us ask for the grace of feeling ashamed, of feeling ashamed for our sins. May the Lord grant this grace to all of us.
