Pope Franci's 7th Sunday Homily to Deacons

St. Stephen, one of irst seven deacons in the Christian Church, in a 1601 painting by Giacomo Cavedone

POPE FRANCIS ANGELUS – Sunday, 23 February 2025

Text prepared by Pope Francis for the Mass of 7th Sunday of Year

Brothers and sisters,
This morning, in St. Peter’s Basilica, the Eucharist is celebrated with the ordination of some candidates to the diaconate was celebrated. I greet them and the participants in the Jubilee of Deacons, which is taking place in the Vatican in these days; and I thank the Dicasteries for the Clergy and for Evangelization for preparing this event.
Dear brother deacons, you dedicate yourselves to the word and to the service of charity; you carry out your service in the Church with words and deeds, bringing God’s love and mercy to everyone.
I urge you to continue your apostolate with joy and, as today’s Gospel suggests, to be a sign of a love that embraces all, that transforms evil into good and that creates a fraternal world.
Do not be afraid to risk love!
On my part, I continuing my hospitalization at the Gemelli Hospital, with confidence, continuing with the necessary treatment; and rest is also part of the therapy!
I sincerely thank the doctors and health workers of this hospital for the attention they give me and for the dedication with which they carry out their service among the sick.
Tomorrow will be the third anniversary of the great war against Ukraine: a painful and shameful event for all humanity!
While reaffirming my closeness to the suffering Ukrainian people, I invite you to remember the victims of all armed conflicts and to pray for the gift of peace in Palestine, Israel and throughout the Middle East, Myanmar, Kivu and Sudan.
In the last few days I have received many messages of affection, and I have been particularly touched by the letters and drawings of children.
Thank you for this closeness and for the prayers of consolation that I have received from all over the world! I entrust you all to Mary’s intercession and ask you to pray for me.

Pope Francis’ homily – read by Msgr. Rino Fisichella
at the Holy Mass and Ordinations to the Diaconate
Saint Peter’s Basilica – 7^th Sunday in Ordinary Time, 23 February 2025

First reading ; 1 Samuel 26:2, 7-9, 11-13, 22-23.
Saul set off and went down to the wilderness of Ziph, accompanied by three thousand men chosen from Israel to search for David in the wilderness of Ziph. In the dark David and Abishai made their way towards the force, where they found Saul lying asleep inside the camp, his spear stuck in the ground beside his head, with Abner and the troops lying round him. Then Abishai said to David, ‘Today God has put your enemy in your power; so now let me pin him to the ground with his own spear. Just one stroke! I will not need to strike him twice.’
David answered Abishai, ‘Do not kill him, for who can lift his hand against the Lord’s anointed and be without guilt? The Lord forbid that I should raise my hand against the Lord’s anointed!
But now take the spear beside his head and the pitcher of water and let us go away.’
David took the spear and the pitcher of water from beside Saul’s head, and they made off.
No one saw, no one knew, no one woke up; they were all asleep, for a deep sleep from the Lord had fallen on them. David crossed to the other side and halted on the top of the mountain a long way off; there was a wide space between them. He called out, ‘Here is the king’s spear. Let one of the soldiers come across and take it.
The Lord repays everyone for his uprightness and loyalty.
Today the Lord put you in my power, but I would not raise my hand against the Lord’s anointed.’

Second reading: 1 Corinthians 15:45-49 The first Adam became a living soul; the last Adam, a life-giving spirit, The first man, Adam, as scripture says, became a living soul; but the last Adam has become a life-giving spirit. That is, first the one with the soul, not the spirit, and after that, the one with the spirit. The first man, being from the earth, is earthly by nature; the second man is from heaven. As this earthly man was, so are we on earth; and as the heavenly man is, so are we in heaven. And we, who have been modelled on the earthly man, will be modelled on the heavenly man. Gospel: Luke 6:27-38. Jesus said to his disciples: ‘I say this to you who are listening: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who treat you badly. To the man who slaps you on one cheek, present the other cheek too; to the man who takes your cloak from you, do not refuse your tunic. Give to everyone who asks you, and do not ask for your property back from the man who robs you. Treat others as you would like them to treat you. If you love those who love you, what thanks can you expect? Even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who do good to you, what thanks can you expect? For even sinners do that much. And if you lend to those from whom you hope to receive, what thanks can you expect? Even sinners lend to sinners to get back the same amount. Instead, love your enemies and do good, and lend without any hope of return. You will have a great reward, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he himself is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked. ‘Be compassionate as your Father is compassionate. Do not judge, and you will not be judged yourselves; do not condemn, and you will not be condemned yourselves; grant pardon, and you will be pardoned. Give, and there will be gifts for you: a full measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over, will be poured into your lap; because the amount you measure out is the amount you will be given back.’ Pope Francis’ Homily for Mass at the Ordination to Diaconate
The message of today’s readings can be summed up in a single word: “gratuity”.
This is certainly a word that is dear to you as deacons, gathered here for the Jubilee celebration.
So, let us reflect on three specific aspects of this fundamental dimension of the Christian life in general and of your ministry in particular: forgiveness, selfless service and communion. First: forgiveness.
The proclamation of forgiveness is an essential part of your ministry as deacons.
Indeed, forgiveness is an indispensable element of every ecclesial vocation and a requirement of every human relationship. Jesus points to its necessity and importance when he says, “Love your enemies” (Lk 6:27).
This is certainly true: if we are to grow together and share each other’s strengths and weaknesses, successes and failures, we must 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 toward its adversaries is a world without hope and without a future, doomed to endless war, division and revenge.
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 takes 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 therefore one who needs reconciliation, guidance and help more than anyone else.
Today’s first reading speaks of this openness of heart, presenting us with David’s faithful and selfless love for Saul, his king but also his persecutor ( 1 Sam 26:2, 7-9, 12-13, 22-23 above).
We see this again in the exemplary death of the deacon Stephen, who forgives those who are stoning him (Acts 7:60 – he knelt down and cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” And when he had said this, he fell asleep.).
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, prayed for those who crucified him and opened the gates of paradise to the good thief (Lk 23:34 – Jesus said, “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.”, Lk 23:42 – the good thief said, “Jesus, remember me when you come in your royal power.”^[c] Lk 23:43And he said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.”). This brings us to the second point: selfless service.
The Lord describes it in the Gospel with simple and clear words: “Do good and lend, expecting nothing in return” (Lk 6:35 above). A phrase that, although brief, evokes the beauty of friendship.
First, God’s friendship with 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.
Indeed, through your ministry, you dedicate yourselves to being “sculptors” and “painters” of the merciful face of the Father, and witnesses to the mystery of the Triune God. In many passages of the Gospel, 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).
But even earlier, on the road to Jerusalem, when his disciples were arguing among themselves about who was the greatest, he declared that “the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (cf. Mk 10:45).
Brother deacons, the “free” work that you carry out as an expression of your consecration to Christ’s charity thus becomes your primary proclamation of the Word of God, a source of trust and joy for those who meet you.
As often as possible, carry it out with a smile, without complaining and without seeking recognition, supporting one another, also in your relationships with bishops and priests, “as an expression of a Church that is committed to growing in the service of the Kingdom of God, valuing all grades of the ordained ministry” (Italian Episcopal Conference, Permanent Deacons in the Church in Italy. Guidelines and Norms, 1993, 55).
Through your collaboration and generosity, you will be a bridge that connects the altar to the street and the Eucharist to the daily life of the people. Charity will be your most beautiful liturgy and liturgy your humblest service. Now, we come to the final point: gratuitousness as a source of communion.
Giving without expecting anything in return unites; it creates bonds because it expresses and nourishes a communion that has no other goal than 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!”
This is how communion is built: by saying to your brothers and sisters with your words, but above all with your deeds, both individually and as a community: “You are important to us”, “We love you”, “We want you to be part of our journey and our life”.
This is exactly what you are doing.
Those of you who are permanent deacons do so as husbands, fathers, and grandparents who, through your service, choose to extend your families to those in need wherever you live. Dear deacons, your mission sets you apart from society in order to be immersed in it again, so that it may be an ever more open and welcoming place for all.
It is one of the most beautiful expressions of a synodal Church, a Church that “goes out”.
Soon some of you will “descend” the steps of ministry by receiving the sacrament of Holy Orders.
I deliberately say “descend” and not “ascend,” because being ordained is not an ascent, but a descent, in which we humble ourselves. We lower ourselves and divest ourselves.
In the words of St. Paul, through service we leave behind the “earthly man” and put on, in charity, the “man of heaven” (1 Cor 15:45-49 above).
Let us all reflect on what we are about to do, entrusting ourselves to the Virgin Mary, Handmaid of the Lord, and to St. Lawrence, your patron.
May they help us to live every expression of our ministry with a humble and loving heart, and to be, in “gratuity”, apostles of forgiveness, selfless servants of our brothers and sisters, and builders of communion.