His Holiness Pope Francis while addressing the faithful gathered at the Holy Mass in Rabat’s Prince Moulay Abdellah Sports Complex, Morocco, exhorted the faithful to cultivate the culture of mercy. In his homily, the Pope focused on the older brother in the parable of the Prodigal Son. The father in the parable, who welcomed back the prodigal, also went out to seek his other son, who was upset at the welcome his brother received.
As reported by Vatican news, The story of the prodigal son shows us something of the mystery of human relations, His Holiness Pope Francis said, both in the celebration for the son who was lost, but also in the feeling of “betrayal and indignation” on the part of his brother. “On the threshold of that home,” the Pontiff said, “we see our own divisions and strife”. But, he continued, “we also see in all its radiant clarity, with no ifs and buts, the father’s desire that all his sons and daughters should share in his joy”. His Holiness Pope Francis said that, with this parable, “Jesus invites us to stop and contemplate the heart of our Father”. Only from this perspective, he said, “can we acknowledge once more that we are brothers and sisters”.
Concluding his homily, His Holiness Pope Francis noted that Jesus leaves the story of the prodigal son “open-ended” – we don’t know if the older son went into the celebration for his brother. “We can imagine”, the Pontiff said, “that this open ending is meant to be written by each individual and every community. We can complete it by the way we live, the way we regard others, and how we treat our neighbour”.
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