Pope Francis wants the Catholic Church to harness the openness of John XXIII and John Paul II'slove of the family as it moves into the future, writes William Scholes
IT was the Sunday of four Popes, as Pope Francis inscribed the names of Pope John XXIII and Pope John Paul II in the 'Book of Saints', before a gathering of pilgrims which included Pope Benedict XVI.
And whatever the controversies around the canonisations - John XXIII's because he has been credited with only one miracle, John Paul II's for its swiftness - all in St Peter's Square were focused on paying homage to two of the Catholic Church's most devoted, adored and revolutionary servants.
Pope Francis, with his characteristic mastery of the pithy phrase, summed up the two Popes' contributions in his homily.
John XXIII, he said, was "the Pope of openness to the Holy Spirit", a reference to his visionary decision to call the Second Vatican Council, whose reforming creativity seems to so infuse Francis himself.
Francis described John Paul II as "the Pope of the family", recalling that "at the heart of this Sunday, which concludes the Octave of Easter and which John Paul II wished to dedicate to Divine Mercy, are the glorious wounds of the risen Jesus".
Pope Francis went on to talk about how "the wounds of Jesus are a scandal"; they are "a stumbling block for faith, yet they are also the test of faith".
"That is why on the body of the risen Christ the wounds never pass away: they remain, for those wounds are the enduring sign of God's love for us," he said.
"They are essential for believing in God. Not for believing that God exists, but for believing that God is love, mercy and faithfulness."
Neither John XXIII nor John Paul II were afraid "to look upon the wounds of Jesus, to touch his torn hands and his pierced side", Francis said.
He said they "were priests, bishops and Popes of the 20th century".
"They lived through the tragic events of that century, but they were not over-whelmed by them," the Pope said.
"For them, God was more powerful; faith was more powerful - faith in Jesus Christ the Redeemer of man and the Lord of history; the mercy of God, shown by those five wounds, was more powerful; and more powerful too was the closeness of Mary our Mother."
The first Christians, as described in the Acts of the Apostles, were a community who lived the heart of the Gospel "in simplicity and fraternity".
"This is also the image of the Church which the Second Vatican Council set before us," Pope Francis said.
"In convening the Council, John XXIII showed an exquisite openness to the Holy Spirit.
"He let himself be led and he was for the Church a pastor, a servant-leader. This was his great service to the Church; he was the Pope of openness to the Spirit."
John Paul II had said he wanted to "be remembered as the Pope of the family", recalled Francis.
"I am particularly happy to point this out as we are in the process of journeying with families towards the Synod on the family."
Pope Francis, who seems to embody so much of both John XXIII and John Paul II, asked that the Church would "be open to the Holy Spirit in pastoral service to the family" in the run-up to Synod on the family.
"May both of them teach us not to be scandalised by the wounds of Christ and to enter ever more deeply into the mystery of divine mercy, which always hopes and always forgives, because it always loves," he said.