The Father sees Christ’s wounds, Pope says in Regina Caeli address

June 02, 2014

In his June 1 Regina Caeli address, Pope Francis reflected on the Ascension of Jesus Christ into heaven.

The Solemnity of the Ascension is celebrated in Italy on the Sunday before Pentecost.

Christ ascended “to show us that the end of our journey is the Father,” the Pope said. “Jesus himself said that he was going to prepare a place for us in heaven.” At the same time, by the power of the Holy Spirit, Jesus “is always with us, and even now is here with us in the Piazza. The Lord is with us!”

“This is the great work of Jesus today in heaven, to show the Father the price of forgiveness, his wounds,” the Pope said. “This is a beautiful thing, which urges us to not fear to ask for forgiveness. The Father always forgives, because he sees the wounds of Jesus, he sees our sin, and he pardons it.”

Emphasizing Jesus’ mandate to “go and make disciples” is “a clear mandate, it is not optional,” Pope Francis said that “without Jesus, we can do nothing. In our apostolic work, our strength, our resources, our structures, are not enough, even if they are necessary. Without the presence of the Lord and the power of his Spirit, our work, however well organized, is ineffective.”

Following the recitation of the Regina Caeli, Pope Francis recalled that June 1 was also the World Communications Day and asked Mary, the Queen of peace, to intercede for peace in Ukraine and the Central African Republic.

 

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Further information:

• Le parole del Papa alla recita del Regina Caeli (Holy See Press Office)
• Regina coeli: Jesus remains with us (Vatican Radio)
• Regina Coeil: Jesus' Last Word to the Disciples Was the Order to Go Forth (VIS)
• Pope Francis: Message for World Communications Day