In his sermon on Kossuth Square, the head of the Catholic Church asked the faithful to let the Lord of life into their hearts. He emphasized: we have been invited to leave our comfort zone and have the courage to go to all the peripheries where the light of the Gospel is needed.

"Be open doors!" - Pope Francis asked the faithful at the Holy Mass presented on Kossuth Lajos Square in Budapest on Sunday. The head of the Catholic Church urged those gathered to try to be like Jesus, open gates, gates that are not slammed in front of anyone, through which

everyone can enter and experience the beauty of the Lord's love and forgiveness.

He asked the faithful to let the Lord of life into their hearts, who comforts and heals, and then go out and become an open door in society themselves.

"We are not at the beginning of the story of our salvation. The starting point is God's call, his longing for us to reach us, his concern for us, the abundance of his mercy with which he wants to save us from sin and death, to give us life in abundance and endless joy. Jesus came as the good shepherd of humanity to call us by our name and lead us home," Pope Francis said, according to the Magyar Nemzet report .

The head of the Catholic Church emphasized that in all our life situations, our losses, our fears, the feeling of defeat that sometimes overwhelms us, the prison of sadness that threatens to take away our freedom,

Jesus calls us.

"He comes as a good shepherd and calls us by name to tell us how precious we are in His eyes. He comes to heal our wounds and take upon himself our weaknesses, to call us to unity in His flock and to know the Father and each other."

Francis emphasized: catholicity is that those whom the Good Shepherd called by name, called to receive and pass on his love, to make his flock inclusive and never exclusionary. "And that is why we are all called to cultivate the bonds of brotherhood and cooperation, without division, without considering our community as our own property, without being preoccupied with the protection of our own territory, but open to mutual love".

The Pope declared. Jesus is the gate that directs us into the world: he urges us to go out and meet our brothers and sisters. He said, excluding no one, we were all invited to:

to step out of our comfort zone and have the courage to reach all the peripherals,

where the light of the gospel is needed.

"It is sad and painful to see closed gates: the closed gates of our selfishness in front of those with whom we pass each other every day; the closed doors of our individualism in a society that threatens to wither away in loneliness for many; the closed doors of our indifference to the suffering and those living in poverty; the closed gates against those who are strangers, others, refugees, poor. Finally, the closed doors of our church communities: closed to ourselves, closed to the world, closed to those who are not in order, closed to those who long for God's forgiveness. I am asking you: let's open the gates!" said Pope Francis.

Be open doors - Pope Francis told everyone, from the laity to the church members to those who bear political and social responsibilities. He declared: let's let the lord of life into our hearts, and then let's go out and become open doors in society ourselves.

"Let's be open and inclusive towards each other to help Hungary grow on the path of brotherhood and peace"

said the Holy Father.

"My beloved, Jesus, the Good Shepherd, calls us by name and takes care of us with infinite tenderness. He is the gate and whoever enters through Him has eternal life: He is our future, the future of abundant life. Therefore, let us never be discouraged, never allow ourselves to be deprived of the joy and peace that He has given us, let us not close ourselves in problems or indifference. Let our Shepherd accompany us! May our lives, our families, our Christian communities and the whole of Hungary shine with him in the light of new life!" Pope Francis finally concluded his words.

You can watch the event here:

Featured image: Budapest, April 30, 2023. Pope Francis at the Holy Mass presented at Budapest's Kossuth Square on the third day of his three-day apostolic visit to Hungary, April 30, 2023. MTI/Zoltán Máthé