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(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis presided over Mass in St Peter’s Square on Sunday for the Feast of Divine Mercy, and encouraged the faithful to be “apostles of mercy” toward those in need.

“We are all called to become living writers of the Gospel, heralds of the Good News to all men and women today,” the Pope told the crowds during his homily.

“We do this by practicing the corporal and spiritual works of mercy, which are the hallmarks of the Christian life. 

“By means of these simple yet powerful gestures, even when unseen, we can accompany the needy, bringing God’s tenderness and consolation.” 

Pope Francis referred back to the day’s Gospel taken from John, which recounts the episode in which the Apostle Thomas doubts the Resurrection until he puts his hand in Jesus’ side.

These scenes denotes the contrast between the disciple’s “fear” as they hid behind closed doors, and the “mission” on which Jesus sends them: “to proclaim the message of forgiveness,” the Pope said.

“Being apostles of mercy means touching and soothing the wounds that today afflict the bodies and souls of many of our brothers and sisters.”

“Curing these wounds, we profess Jesus, we make him present and alive; we allow others, who touch his mercy with their own hands, to recognize him as ‘Lord and God.’”

The official translation of Pope Francis’ homily for Divine Mercy Sunday is below:

“Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book” (Jn 20:30).  The Gospel is the book of God’s mercy, to be read and reread, because everything that Jesus said and did is an expression of the Father’s mercy.  Not everything, however, was written down; the Gospel of mercy remains an open book, in which the signs of Christ’s disciples, which are concrete acts of love and the best witness to mercy, continue to be written.  We are all called to become living writers of the Gospel, heralds of the Good News to all men and women today.  We do this by practicing the corporal and spiritual works of mercy, which are the hallmarks of the Christian life.  By means of these simple yet powerful gestures, even when unseen, we can accompany the needy, bringing God’s tenderness and consolation.  Thus continues the work of Jesus on Easter day, when he poured into the hearts of his fearful disciples the Father’s mercy, bringing them the Holy Spirit who forgives sins and brings joy.

At the same time, the story we have just heard presents an evident contrast: on the one hand, there is the fear of the disciples, who gathered behind closed doors; on the other hand, there is the mission of Jesus, who sends them into the world to proclaim the message of forgiveness.  This contrast may also be present in us, experienced as an interior struggle between a closed heart and the call of love to open doors closed by sin. It is a call that frees us to go out of ourselves. Christ, who for love entered through doors barred by sin, death and the powers of hell, wants to enter into each one of us to break open the locked doors of our hearts.  Jesus, who by his resurrection has overcome the fear and dread which imprison us, wishes to throw open our closed doors and send us out.  The path that the Risen Master shows us is a one way street, it goes in only one direction: this means that we must move beyond ourselves to witness to the healing power of love that has conquered us.  We see before us a humanity that is often wounded and fearful, a humanity that bears the scars of pain and uncertainty.  Before the anguished cry for mercy and peace, Jesus confidently exhorts us: “As the Father has sent me, even so I send you” (Jn 20:21).

In God’s mercy, all of our infirmities find healing.  His mercy, in fact, does not keep a distance: it seeks to encounter all forms of poverty and to free this world of so many types of slavery.  Mercy desires to reach the wounds of all, to heal them. Being apostles of mercy means touching and soothing the wounds that today afflict the bodies and souls of many of our brothers and sisters.  Curing these wounds, we profess Jesus, we make him present and alive; we allow others, who touch his mercy with their own hands, to recognize him as “Lord and God” (Jn 20:28), as did the Apostle Thomas.  This is the mission that he entrusts to us.  So many people ask to be listened to and to be understood.  The Gospel of mercy, to be proclaimed and written in our daily lives, seeks people with patient and open hearts, “good Samaritans” who understand compassion and silence before the mystery of each brother and sister.  The Gospel of mercy requires generous and joyful servants, people who love freely without expecting anything in return.

“Peace be with you!” (Jn 20:21) is the greeting of Jesus to his disciples; this same peace awaits men and women of our own day.  It is not a negotiated peace, it is not the absence of conflict: it is his peace, the peace that comes from the heart of the Risen Lord, the peace that has defeated sin, fear and death.  It is a peace that does not divide but unites; it is a peace that does not abandon us but makes us feel listened to and loved; it is a peace that persists even in pain and enables hope to blossom.  This peace, as on the day of Easter, is born ever anew by the forgiveness of God which calms our anxious hearts.  To be bearers of his peace: this is the mission entrusted to the Church on Easter day.  In Christ, we are born to be instruments of reconciliation, to bring the Father’s forgiveness to everyone, to reveal his loving face through concrete gestures of mercy.

In the responsorial Psalm we heard these words: “His love endures forever” (Ps 117/118:2).  Truly, God’s mercy is forever; it never ends, it never runs out, it never gives up when faced with closed doors, and it never tires.  In this forever we find strength in moments of trial and weakness because we are sure that God does not abandon us.  He remains with usforever.  Let us give thanks for so great a love, which we find impossible to grasp.  Let us ask for the grace to never grow tired of drawing from the well of the Father’s mercy and bringing it to the world: let us ask that we too may be merciful, to spread the power of the Gospel everywhere.

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Vatican City, Apr 3, 2016 / 04:08 am (CNA/EWTN News).- On Divine Mercy Sunday Pope Francis said the “Gospel of Mercy” begun by Jesus and the apostles is still unfinished, and is an open book that each person is called to write through their words and actions.

“The Gospel is the book of God’s mercy, to be read and reread, because everything that Jesus said and did is an expression of the Father’s mercy,” the Pope said April 3.

He noted how at the end of the day’s Gospel reading from John, the evangelist expressed that while Jesus carried out many signs in the presence of his disciples, not all of them were written down.

Because of this, “the Gospel of mercy remains an open book, in which the signs of Christ’s disciples, which are concrete acts of love and the best witness to mercy, continue to be written,” he said.

“We are all called to become living writers of the Gospel,” Francis continued, explaining that this is done by practicing the corporal and spiritual works of mercy, “which are the hallmarks of the Christian life.”

“By means of these simple yet powerful gestures, even when unseen, we can accompany the needy, bringing God’s tenderness and consolation.”

Pope Francis spoke to a full St. Peter’s Square during his Mass on Divine Mercy Sunday, a feast instituted by St. John Paul II and which takes place every year the second Sunday after Easter.

In his homily, the Pope focused on the healings carried out by the disciples in the day’s first reading from Acts, as well as Jesus’ appearance to them in the upper room in the Gospel passage from John.

He noted that in addition to speaking of the signs that Jesus did, the Gospel also presents a contrast between the fear of the disciples, who “gathered behind closed doors,” and the mission of Jesus, “who sends them into the world to proclaim the message of forgiveness.”

This contrast between “a closed heart and the call of love to open doors closed by sin” exists in the heart of many people today, Francis observed, explaining that Jesus’ call is one “that frees us to go out of ourselves.”

“Jesus, who by his resurrection has overcome the fear and dread which imprison us, wishes to throw open our closed doors and send us out,” he said, noting that much of humanity today is wounded, fearful, and marked by pain and uncertainty.

However, every infirmity finds healing in God’s mercy, the Pope said, adding that this mercy isn’t far off, but seeks to be close to those effected by poverty and to free the world from all types of slavery.

To be an apostle, he said, means “touching and soothing the wounds that today afflict the bodies and souls of many of our brothers and sisters.”

When we cure the wounds of our suffering brothers and sisters, “we profess Jesus” and make him alive and present in the world, Francis observed, adding that “this is the mission that he entrusts to us.”

Pope Francis then pointed to Jesus’ appearance to his disciples in the Gospel, noting how he greeted them with the words “peace be with you.”

The peace that Jesus offered is the same one which “awaits men and women of our own day,” he said, explaining that it isn’t “a negotiated peace” absent of conflict, but one that comes from the heart of God, uniting us and making us feel loved.

To be bearers of this peace is the mission that was entrusted to the Church on Easter day, the Pope said, adding that this peace is constantly renewed by God’s forgiveness.

Francis closed his homily by encouraging faithful to give thanks for God’s great love, “which we find impossible to grasp,” and which never abandons us.

He prayed that all would receive the grace “to never grow tired of drawing from the well of the Father’s mercy and bringing it to the world,” and asked that “we too may be merciful, to spread the power of the Gospel everywhere, and to write those pages of the Gospel which John the Apostle did not write.”

After Mass Pope Francis led pilgrims in praying the traditional Regina Caeli prayer, calling to mind all countries affected by war and violence, particularly the Ukraine.

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Vatican City, Apr 3, 2016 / 05:20 am (CNA/EWTN News).- On Sunday Pope Francis announced that a special collection will be taken up in all Catholic churches in Europe April 24, the funds of which will go toward relief for all suffering due to ongoing violence in Ukraine.

After celebrating Mass in St. Peter’s Square on Divine Mercy Sunday, Pope Francis led pilgrims in praying the Regina Caeli, telling them beforehand that “on this day, which is like the heart of the Holy Year of Mercy, my thoughts go to all peoples who are thirsty for peace and reconciliation.”

“I think, in particular here in Europe, of the plight of those who suffer the consequences of violence in Ukraine,” he said, and pointed to the thousands who have either died, or continue to suffer due to a serious humanitarian crisis in the conflict areas.

Additionally, the Pope noted that so far “more than a million” people have been forced to leave their homes due to the severity of the situation, the majority of whom “are elderly and children.”

Francis assured his closeness and prayer to those suffering, and announced his decision “to promote a humanitarian support in their favor.”

“To this end, a special collection will take place in all of the Catholic Churches in Europe April 24,” he said, and invited faithful to participate with a “generous contribution.”

In addition to alleviating the material suffering of those effected by the conflict, the act serves as an expression of the Pope’s closeness and solidarity, as well as that of the entire Greek Catholic Church, Francis said.

“I fervently hope that this will, without further delay, help to promote peace and respect of rights in that land which is so tried.”

Conflict erupted in Ukraine in November 2013, when the former government refused to sign the Association Agreement with the European Union, leading to months of violent protests.

Tensions deepened in February 2014, when the country’s former president was ousted following the protests, and a new government appointed. In March of that year, Ukraine’s eastern peninsula of Crimea was annexed by Russia and pro-Russian separatist rebels have since taken control of eastern portions of Ukraine, around Donetsk and Luhansk.

More than 6,500 people, including civilians, have died in the fighting between Ukraine's military and pro-Russian separatists. Roughly a million others have been forced to flee due to violence and a lack of basic humanitarian necessities.

Rebels have been supported by both Russian arms and troops, according to both Ukraine and Western nations. A ceasefire was brokered and officially began at midnight Feb. 15, 2015, however there have been constant and ongoing violations.

The announcement of Pope Francis’ special collection was made nearly a month after his March 7 meeting with leaders of the Permanent Synod of the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church (UGCC), who were gathered in Rome for their annual synod of bishops.

In his appeal, the Pope also noted how April 4 marks the World Day against Landmines, and prayed that a renewed commitment would be made to free the world from “these terrible weapons.”

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