In a sermon to the pope and the Roman Curia, Preacher of the Papal Household Father Roberto Pasolini explained that achieving true fraternity poses many challenges and requires inner transformation.<\/p>\n
Preacher of the Papal Household Father Roberto Pasolini continued on March 13 with the second Lenten homily, inspired by the conversion of St. Francis of Assisi and titled \u201cIf Anyone Is in Christ, He Is a New Creation: Conversion to the Gospel According to St. Francis.\u201d<\/p>\n
Before Pope Leo XIV and members of the Roman Curia gathered in the Paul VI Audience Hall, the Capuchin friar meditated on fraternity, referring to it as both a gift and a \u201cserious and urgent\u201d responsibility \u2014 especially in a society marked by division.<\/p>\n
In his sermon reported by Vatican News, Pasolini explained that conversion is truly realized within fraternity, describing it as \u201cthe most eloquent sign of what the Gospel can accomplish in our lives.\u201d<\/p>\n
He also exhorted his listeners to \u201cgo beyond\u201d and to view our brothers and sisters not merely as a source of support or sustenance but as someone entrusted to us \u201cso that our lives may change.\u201d<\/p>\n
In this context, Pasolini emphasized that brothers and sisters in Christ, therefore, do not merely serve to confirm \u201cwhat we are\u201d but rather call us to a true transformation: \u201cThey become the concrete space in which God works on our humanity, loosening our rigidities and teaching us to live with a truer heart, one more capable of love.\u201d<\/p>\n
In light of the biblical account of Cain and Abel, the preacher to the papal household noted that a rift between brothers stems \u201cfrom a problem of perspective\u201d and urged the pope and the Roman Curia to ask themselves \u201cwho is Cain within us\u201d and how much space resentment occupies.<\/p>\n
He also recalled that, for St. Francis, fraternity is an opportunity \u201cto learn the merciful logic of the Gospel toward a neighbor who makes mistakes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen relationships crack and communion is wounded,\u201d Pasolini noted, \u201cthe Gospel does not first suggest defending one\u2019s own rights. Instead, it urges seeking the greatest and always possible good: the good that allows us to recognize in the other no longer an adversary or a debtor but a brother loved by the Lord,\u201d he affirmed.<\/p>\n
Pasolini thus invited his audience to focus on the conversion that arises \u201cprecisely from what others do to us, even when they hurt us or put us to the test,\u201d and, for this reason, \u201cwe must never lose sight of the horizon\u201d or the perspective of eternal life.<\/p>\n
\u201cFaith does not separate but reminds us that no one can be excluded from our hearts,\u201d he remarked.<\/p>\n
By way of conclusion, Pasolini noted that, amid the divisions, wars, and conflicts of the present day, Christians \u201ccannot limit ourselves to speaking of fraternity as an ideal to be achieved.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cWe are called to receive it as a gift, and, at the same time,\u201d he urged, \u201cto take it on as a very serious and urgent responsibility.\u201d<\/p>\n
This story\u00a0was first published\u00a0by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.<\/p>\n