Dear brothers and sisters, happy Sunday!

This Sunday, the Evangelist Luke presents Jesus to us in the synagogue in Nazareth, the town where He grew up. He reads the passage from the prophet Isaiah announcing the Messiah's evangelizing and liberating mission. He then says, in the general silence: ‘Today this Scripture has been fulfilled’ (cf. Lk 4:21).

Let us Imagine the surprise and dismay of Jesus' fellow citizens, who knew Him as the carpenter Joseph's son and would never have imagined that He could present himself as the Messiah.

It was bewildering. Yet this is precisely how it was: Jesus proclaims that, by His presence, ‘a year acceptable to the Lord’ (v. 19) has come. It is the glad tidings for all and in a special way for the poor, for the captives, for the blind, for the oppressed (cf. v. 18).

That day, in Nazareth, Jesus confronted His interlocutors with a choice about His identity and mission. No one in the synagogue could help but wonder: is He only the carpenter's son who arrogates to Himself a role that does not belong to Him, or is He truly the Messiah, sent by God to save the people from sin and all evil?

The Evangelist tells us that the Nazarenes failed to recognize the Lord's anointed one in Jesus. They thought they knew Him too well, and this, instead of facilitating the opening of their minds and hearts, prevented them from doing so, like a veil obscuring the light.

Sisters and brothers, this event, with the due analogies, also happens for us today. We too are challenged by the presence and words of Jesus; we too are called to recognize in Him the Son of God, our Saviour. But it may happen to us, as it did to His countrymen, to think that we already know Him, that we already know everything about Him, that we have grown up with Him, in school, in the parish, in catechism, in a country with a Catholic culture... And so, for us too, He is a Person who is close, indeed perhaps even ‘too’ close.

But let us try to ask ourselves: do we sense the unique authority with which Jesus of Nazareth speaks? Do we recognize that He is the bearer of a proclamation of salvation that no one else can give us? And I, do I feel in need of this salvation? Do I feel that I too am in some way poor, imprisoned, blind, oppressed? Then, only then, ‘the year of grace’ will be for me!

Let us turn confidently to Mary, Mother of God and our Mother, to help us recognize Jesus.

Dear brothers and sisters!

The ongoing conflict in Sudan, which began in April 2023, is causing the most serious humanitarian crisis in the world, with dramatic consequences in South Sudan too. I am close to the peoples of both countries and I invite them to fraternity, solidarity, to avoid any kind of violence and not to allow themselves to be exploited. I renew my appeal to those who are at war in Sudan for them to put an end to hostilities and to agree to sit at the negotiating table. I urge the international community to do all it can to get the necessary humanitarian aid to the displaced people and to help the belligerents find paths to peace soon.

I look with concern at the situation in Colombia, particularly to the Catatumbo region, where clashes between armed groups have claimed many civilian lives and displaced more than thirty thousand people. I express my closeness to them and pray for them.

Today is World Leprosy Day. I encourage all those who work on behalf of those afflicted by this disease to continue their efforts, also helping those who heal to be reintegrated into society. May they not be marginalized!

Tomorrow is the International Day of Commemoration in Memory of the Victims of the Holocaust: 80 years have passed since the liberation of the Auschwitz concentration camp. The horror of the extermination of millions of Jews and people of other faiths during those years can neither be forgotten nor denied. I remember the talented Hungarian poet Edith Bruck, who lives in Rome. She suffered because of all of that... She is a good woman. We also remember many Christians, among them many martyrs. I renew my appeal for everyone to work together to eradicate the scourge of anti-Semitism, along with all forms of discrimination and religious persecution. Let us build a more fraternal, more just world, together. Let us educate young people to have a heart open to all, following the logic of fraternity, forgiveness and peace.

And it is with joy that I welcome all of you, boys and girls of the Italian Catholic Action, of the parishes and Catholic schools of Rome. You have come here at the end of the ‘Caravan of Peace’, during which you reflected on the presence of Jesus in your lives, witnessing to your peers the beauty of welcome and fraternity. And now let us listen to these good people who want to tell us something...Come on! Make yourself heard!

[a message is read]

Now he [the boy reading] said a very beautiful word... [boy continues reading ‘In this way they would be able to silence all weapons...’] this boy is a good one! Please greet all the boys and girls on my behalf.

I wish you all a good Sunday. And please don't forget to pray for me. Have a good lunch and arrivederci!

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