Pope Francis’ intended homily for last Sunday’s Holy Mass and ordinations to the diaconate, which was read by Msgr. Rino Fisichella because of the Holy Father’s hospitalization.

The message of today’s readings can be summed up in a single word: “gratuity”. That is surely a word dear to you as deacons, gathered here for the Jubilee celebration. Let us reflect on three specific aspects of this fundamental dimension of the Christian life in general and your ministry in particular: forgiveness, selfless service and communion.

First: forgiveness. The proclamation of forgiveness is an essential part of your ministry as deacons. Forgiveness is an indispensable element of every ecclesial vocation and a requirement of every human relationship. Jesus points to its necessity when he says, “Love your enemies” (Lk 6:27). This is certainly true: if we are to grow together and to share in one another’s strengths and weaknesses, achievements and failures, we need to be able to forgive and to ask forgiveness, to rebuild relationships and even to choose not to withhold our love from those who hurt or betray us. A world that feels nothing but hatred towards its adversaries is a world without hope and without a future, doomed to endless war, divisions and vendettas. Sadly, this is what we are witnessing today, on many different levels and in all parts of the world. Forgiveness means preparing a welcoming and safe future for us and our communities. Deacons, personally charged with a ministry that carries them to the peripheries of our world, are committed to seeing – and teaching others to see – in everyone, even in those who do us wrong and cause us suffering, a hurting sister or brother, and hence one in greater need than anyone of reconciliation, guidance and help.

Today’s first reading speaks of this openness of heart, presenting us with David’s loyal and selfless love for Saul, his king but also his persecutor. We see this again in the exemplary death of the deacon Stephen, who forgives those who are stoning. Above all, we find it exemplified in Jesus, the model of all diakonia, who, in “emptying” himself to the point of giving his life for us on the cross, prays for those who crucify him and opens the gates of Paradise to the good thief.

This brings us to the second point: selfless service. The Lord describes it in the Gospel in words that are simple and clear: “Do good and lend, expecting nothing in return” (Lk 6:35). A phrase that is brief yet evokes the beauty of friendship. First, God’s friendship towards us, but also our own friendship. For you as deacons, selfless service is not a secondary aspect of your activity, but an essential dimension of your very being. Through your ministry, you devote yourselves to being “sculptors” and “painters” of the merciful face of the Father.

In many Gospel passages, Jesus speaks of himself in this light. He does so with Philip, in the Upper Room, when, shortly after washing the feet of the Twelve, he says: “Whoever has seen me has seen the Father” (Jn 14:9). Again, when he institutes the Eucharist, he says: “I am among you as one who serves” (Lk 22:27). Even earlier, on the way to Jerusalem, when his disciples argued among themselves about who was the greatest, he explained that “the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many” (cf. Mk 10:45).

Brother deacons, the “gratuitous” work you carry out as an expression of your consecration to the charity of Christ thus becomes your primary proclamation of God’s word, a source of confidence and joy for those who encounter you. Perform it with a smile, without complaining and without seeking recognition, supporting one another, also in your relationships with bishops and priests, “as the expression of a Church committed to growing in the service of the Kingdom by appreciating all the grades of the ordained ministry.” Through your cooperation and generosity, you will be a bridge linking the altar to the street and the Eucharist to people’s daily lives. Charity will be your most beautiful liturgy and the liturgy your humblest service.

We come to the final point: gratuity as a source of communion. Giving and expecting nothing unites; it creates bonds because it expresses and nurtures a togetherness that has noaim but the gift of self and the good of others. Saint Lawrence, your patron, when asked by his accusers to hand over the treasures of the Church, showed them the poor and said: “These are our treasures!” 

Saint Peter's Basilica

Feb. 23