In his homily in Casa Santa Marta, Pope Francis spoke about three parts of the priesthood of Christ: past, present and future. The pope said Jesus offered Himself on the cross for everyone's forgiveness and salvation; He currently intercedes and prays for us; finally, He will return to bring all humanity to heaven.
POPE FRANCIS
'There is this great wonder, this priesthood of Jesus in three stages â?? that in which He pardons sins, once for all; that in which He intercedes now for us; and that which will occur when He returns. But there is also the contrary: the â??unforgivable blasphemy.â?? Itâ??s hard to hear Jesus saying these things, but He says it, and if He says it, it is true. â??Amen I say to you, the children of men will all be forgivenâ?? â?? and we know that the Lord forgives everything if we open our hearts a bit. Everything!â?
The pope said while Christ can forgive everything, those who speak blasphemies against the love of God are closed to forgiveness because they can't allow themselves to be forgiven.
EXCERPTS OF PAPAL HOMILY IN ENGLISH
(Source: Vatican Radio)
'There is this great wonder, this priesthood of Jesus in three stages â?? that in which He pardons sins, once for all; that in which He intercedes now for us; and that which will occur when He returns. But there is also the contrary: the â??unforgivable blasphemy.â?? Itâ??s hard to hear Jesus saying these things, but He says it, and if He says it, it is true. â??Amen I say to you, all will be forgiven the children of menâ?? â?? and we know that the Lord forgives everything if we open our hearts a bit. Everything! The sins and even the blasphemies they speak â?? even blasphemies will be pardoned! â?? but the one who will have blasphemed the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven in eternity.â?
'Even Jesus as the High Priest received this anointing. And what was the first anointing? The flesh of Mary with the work of the Holy Spirit. And he who blasphemes about this, blasphemes about the foundation of the love of God, which is the redemption, the re-creation; blasphemy about the priesthood of Christ. â??But the Lord does not forgive that wickedness?â?? [you might ask]. â??No! The Lord forgives everything!â?? But one who says these things is closed to forgiveness. He doesnâ??t want to be forgiven! He doesnâ??t allow himself to be forgiven! This is the ugliness of the blasphemy against the Holy Spirit: It does not allow itself to be forgiven, because it denies the priestly anointing of Jesus, accomplished by the Spirit.â?
Today it would be good for us, during the Mass, to consider that here on the altar the living memorial is made â?? because He will be present here â?? of the first priesthood of Jesus, when He offers His life for us. There is also the living memorial of the second priesthood, because He will pray here. But also, in this Mass â?? we will say it after the Our Father â?? there is that third priesthood of Jesus, when He will return, and [that is] our hope of glory. In this Mass, let us think about these beautiful things. And let us ask for grace from the Lord that our hearts might never be closed â?? might never be closed! â?? to this wonder, to this great, freely-given wonder.â?
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