Swamp to the truce in Gaza, Pope Francis. And he expresses “gratitude to all the mediators, it is a good job to mediate so that peace can be made”, he underlines. He thanks the parties and, while he hopes that all “the hostages can soon return home to hug their loved ones again” and does not stop praying “for them and their families”, he also hopes that humanitarian aid can soon and in abundance reach the population of Gaza. On Saturday evening, on the eve of the announced ceasefire, a video call from the Pope encouraging families and children was shown in the Catholic parish of Gaza. And Francis still calls for an effort so that Israelis and Palestinians “can reach the right solution for the two States and can say yes to dialogue, yes to reconciliation, yes to peace”.
Looking to the rest of the world, while asking us to continue praying for the tormented Ukraine and for the countries at war, the Pontiff also highlights gestures of hope such as the liberation of prisoners in Cuba. A gesture that «concretes one of the intentions of this Jubilee year» and which the Pope hopes will be repeated in the coming months «in different parts of the world. Initiatives of this kind instill confidence.”
Before the Angelus he had explained the Gospel of the day with the transformation of water into wine at the wedding at Cana. Francis had placed the emphasis on two dimensions: «lack and overabundance. On the one hand the wine runs out and Mary says to Her Son: “They have no wine”; on the other hand, Jesus intervenes by filling six large amphorae and, in the end, the wine is so abundant and so exquisite that the master of the banquet asks the groom why he kept it until the end. God always responds to man’s lack with the superabundance of his love, God is not stingy, when he gives, he gives, not a little bit, he gives a lot. In the banquet of our life we sometimes realize that the wine is lacking, we lack strength. It happens when the worries that afflict us, the fears that assail us or the disruptive forces of evil take away the taste of life, the thrill of joy and the flavor of hope. Let us be careful, in the face of this lack the Lord gives, in superabundance, because he wants to celebrate with us.”
