Speaking about friendship, the Pontiff emphasized in his words before praying the Regina Caeli prayer this Sunday with the faithful gathered in St. Peter’s Square, that “friendship is not the result of calculations or coercion: it arises spontaneously when we recognize in the other something of us.”
Silvonei José – Vatican News
“A true friend does not abandon you, not even when you make a mistake: he corrects you, perhaps even reprimands you, but he forgives you and does not abandon you.” This is what Pope Francis said as he stood at the window of his office in the Apostolic Palace, Vatican, to recite the Regina Caeli with the faithful and pilgrims gathered in St. Peter’s Square.
“Today, the Gospel tells us about Jesus who says to the Apostles: “I no longer call you servants, but friends” – says the Pontiff – “What does this mean? In the Bible, God’s servants are special people, to whom he entrusts important missions, for example, Moses, King David, the prophet Elijah, even the Virgin Mary. They are people in whose hands God places his treasures. But all this is not enough, according to Jesus, to say who we are to Him: we need more, something greater, which goes beyond our possessions and our own projects: we need friendship.”
“As a child, we learn how beautiful this experience is: to friends, we offer our toys and the most beautiful gifts – emphasizes Pope Francis – then, when we grow up, as teenagers, we trust them with our first secrets; as young people we offer loyalty; as adults, we share satisfactions and concerns; as elderly people, we share memories, considerations and silences of long days. The Word of God, in the Book of Proverbs, tells us that “perfume and incense gladden the heart and the advice of a friend sweetens the soul”. Let us think for a moment about our friends and thank the Lord!”
Faithful in Saint Peter’s Square
”Friendship is not the result of calculations or coercion: it arises spontaneously when we recognize something about ourselves in the other. And, if it is true, it is so strong that it does not fail even in the face of betrayal. A friend loves at all times”, the Book of Proverbs also states, as Jesus shows us when he says to Judas, who betrays him with a kiss: “Friend, that’s why you’re here!
Brazilian faithful
The Pope emphasizes again: “a true friend does not abandon you, not even when you make a mistake: he corrects you, perhaps he rebukes you, but he forgives you and does not abandon you.”
And today Jesus, in the Gospel, tells us that, for Him, we are precisely that, friends: dear people beyond all merit and all expectations, to whom He extends His hand and offers His love, His Grace, His Word; with whom he shares what is most dear to him, everything he heard from the Father. To the point of becoming fragile for us, of placing himself in our hands, without defense and without pretensions, because he loves us, wants our good and wants us to share in what is his. And so let us ask ourselves, said the Pope: what face does the Lord have for me? A friend’s face or a stranger’s? Do I feel loved by Him as a dear person? And what is the face of Jesus that I witness to others, especially those who make mistakes and need forgiveness?
And Francis concludes: “may Mary help us to grow in friendship with her Son and spread it around us”.
Saint Peter’s Square
