"Today I can't look out of the window because I have this problem with inflammation in my lungs (the doctors Braida will be the one to read the reflection because he is the one who does them and he always does them so well! Thank you very much for your presence".
This is how Pope Francis began his remarks before the prayer for the Angelus of the last Sunday of the liturgical year and the Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the universe. The Gospel speaks of the Last Judgment "and tells us that it will be about charity".
"The scene presented to us is that of a royal hall, in which Jesus is seated on a throne. What is so special about these friends in the eyes of their Lord?"
According to the world's criteria, the King's friends should be those who have given him wealth and power. However, according to Jesus' criteria, his friends are others: they are those who have served him in the weakest. "He is a King sensitive to the problem of hunger, to the need for a home, to sickness and imprisonment: realities all of them, unfortunately, always very current. Hungry, homeless people, often dressed as best they can, throng our streets: we meet them every day. And even with regard to sickness and imprisonment, we all know what it means to be sick, to make mistakes and pay the consequences," the Pope pointed out.
Thus, before the Marian prayer of the Angelus, the Pontiff recalled that "today's Gospel tells us that one is 'blessed' if one responds to these poverties with love, with service: not by turning away, but by giving food and drink, by clothing, by welcoming, by visiting, in a word, by being close to those in need. Jesus, our King who calls himself the Son of Man, has his favorite sisters and brothers in the most fragile men and women.
Finally, he turned to "Mary, Queen of Heaven and Earth, help us to love Jesus, our King, in his least brothers and sisters".
Holodomor in Ukraine
After praying the Angelus, Francis recalled that Ukraine commemorated yesterday" the Holodomor, genocide perpetrated by the Soviet regime that caused the starvation of millions of people 90 years ago."
That wound, instead of healing, is made even more painful by the atrocities of the war that continues to make these dear people suffer, the Holy Father stressed. "Let us continue to pray without tiring, because... the prayer is the force of peace that breaks the spiral of hatred, breaks the cycle of revenge and opens unsuspected paths of reconciliation".
Dialogue in the Middle East, and trip to Dubai
On the war in the Middle East, the Pope gave thanks to God because "at last there is a truce between Israel y Palestineand some hostages have been released". "Let us pray that they are all released as soon as possible - let us think of their families!", he added, "that more humanitarian aid enters Gaza and that we insist on dialogue: it is the only way, the only way to have peace. Those who do not want dialogue do not want peace.
Finally, the Pope asked for prayers in the face of "the climate threat that endangers life on Earth, especially for future generations. This is contrary to God's plan, who created everything for life. And he referred to his apostolic journey to DubaiNext weekend I will travel to the United Arab Emirates to speak on Saturday at COP28 in Dubai. I thank all those who will accompany this trip with prayer and with the commitment to take to heart the preservation of our common home".
The Holy Father also recalled that today the XXXVIII World Youth Day is being celebrated in the particular Churches on the theme "Rejoicing in Hope". I bless all those who are participating in the initiatives promoted in the dioceses, in continuity with WYD in Lisbon. I embrace young people, the present and future of the world, and I encourage them to be joyful protagonists in the life of the Church".
