God of Joy, Pope of Mercy

from Asia News:

"All three parables speak of God's joy. God is joyful! That is something interesting. What is God's joy? Forgiveness. God's joy is forgiveness! It is the joy of the shepherd who finds his sheep; the joy of the woman who finds her coin; it is the joy of the father who welcomes home a son who was lost, who was as good as dead, but is alive again, back home. This is the whole Gospel. This is the whole of Christianity!"

"Yet, there is nothing sentimental about it, nor a sense of 'doing good'! On the contrary, mercy is the true force that can save man and the world from the 'cancer' of sin, of moral and spiritual evil. Only love fills the emptiness, the negative chasms that evil opens in hearts and history. Only love can do this and this is God's joy."

"Jesus is all mercy, all love. He is God made ​​man. Everyone here is the lost sheep, the lost coin, and each of us is the son who has wasted his freedom following false idols, the illusions of happiness, and lost everything. He is a patient father. He respects our freedom, but remains loyal. And when we return to Him, he welcomes us as children, into his house, because he never stops, not even for a moment, to wait for us, with love. And his heart celebrates every child who comes back. He celebrates because it is joy. He celebrates when one of us sinners comes back."