satisfaction than to see his children grow up, developing and flourishing. The
first reading that we have just heard points to this. The great city of
Nineveh,
was self-destructing as a result of oppression and dishonour, violence and
injustice. The grand capital's days were numbered because the violence within
it
could not continue. Then the Lord appeared and stirred Jonah's heart: the
Father
called and sent forth His messenger. Jonah was summoned to receive a mission.
'Go', he is told, because in 'forty days Nineveh shall be overthrown'. Go and
help them to understand that by the way they treat each other, ordering and
organising themselves, they are only creating death and destruction, suffering
and oppression. Make them see this is no way to live, neither for the king nor
his subjects, nor for farm fields nor for the cattle. Go and tell them that
they
have become used to this degrading way of life and have lost their sensitivity
to pain. Go and tell them that injustice has infected their way of seeing the
world. 'Therefore, go Jonah!'. God sent him to testify to what was happening,
He
sent him to wake up a people intoxicated with themselves".
 "In this text we find ourselves before the mystery of divine mercy. Mercy,
which always rejects wickedness, takes the human person in great earnest. Mercy
always appeals to the goodness of each person, even though it may be dormant
and
numbed. Far from bringing destruction, as we so often desire or want to bring
about ourselves, mercy seeks to transform each situation from within. Herein
lies the mystery of divine mercy. It seeks and invites us to conversion, it
invites us to repentance; it invites us to see the damage being done at every
level. Mercy always pierces evil in order to transform it. It is the mystery of
God our Father: He sends his Son who pierced into what was evil, He made
himself
sin in order to transform evil. This is his mercy".
 "The king listened to Jonah, the inhabitants of the city responded and penance
was decreed. God's mercy has entered the heart, revealing and showing wherein
our certainty and hope lie: there is always the possibility of change, we still
have time to transform what is destroying us as a people, what is demeaning our
humanity. Mercy encourages us to look to the present, and to trust what is
healthy and good beating in every heart. God's mercy is our shield and our
strength".
 Jonah helped them to see and to become aware. "Following this, his call found
men and women capable of repenting, and capable of weeping. To weep over
injustice, to cry over corruption, to cry over oppression. These are tears that
lead to transformation, that soften the heart; they are the tears that purify
our gaze and enable us to see the cycle of sin into which very often we have
sunk. They are tears that can sensitise our gaze and our attitude, which are
hardened and dormant in the face of another's suffering. They are the tears
that
can break us, capable of opening us to conversion. This is what happened to
Peter after having denied Jesus; he cried and those tears opened his heart".
 "This word echoes forcefully today among us; this word is the voice crying out
in the wilderness, inviting us to conversion. In this Year of Mercy, with you
here, I beg for God's mercy; with you I wish to plead for the gift of tears,
the
gift of conversion. Here in Ciudad Juárez, as in other border areas, there are
thousands of immigrants from Central America and other countries, not
forgetting
the many Mexicans who also seek to pass over 'to the other side'. Each step, a
journey laden with grave injustices: the enslaved, the imprisoned and extorted;
so many of these brothers and sisters of ours are the consequence of a trade in
human trafficking, the trafficking of persons".
 "We cannot deny the humanitarian crisis which in recent years has meant
migration for thousands of people, whether by train or highway or on foot,
crossing hundreds of kilometres through mountains, deserts and inhospitable
zones. The human tragedy that is forced migration is a global phenomenon today.
This crisis which can be measured in numbers and statistics, we want instead to
measure with names, stories, families. They are the brothers and sisters of
those expelled by poverty and violence, by drug trafficking and criminal
organizations. Being faced with so many legal vacuums, they get caught up in a
web that ensnares and always destroys the poorest. Not only do they suffer
poverty but they must also endure all these forms of violence. Injustice is
radicalised in the young; they are "cannon fodder", persecuted and threatened
when they try to flee the spiral of violence and the hell of drugs. And what
can
we say about the many women whose lives have been unjustly robbed?"
 "Let us together ask our God for the gift of conversion, the gift of tears,
let
us ask him to give us open hearts like the Ninevites, open to His call heard in
the suffering faces of countless men and women. No more death! No more
exploitation! There is always time to change, always a way out and always an
opportunity, there is always the time to implore the mercy of God. Just as in
Jonas' time, so too today may we commit ourselves to conversion; may we be
signs
lighting the way and announcing salvation. I know of the work of countless
civil
organisations working to support the rights of migrants. I know too of the
committed work of so many men and women religious, priests and lay people in
accompanying migrants and in defending life. They are on the front lines, often
risking their own lives. By their very lives they are prophets of mercy; they
are the beating heart and the accompanying feet of the Church that opens her
arms and sustains".
 "This time for conversion, this time for salvation, is the time for mercy. And
so, let us say together in response to the suffering on so many faces: in your
compassion and mercy, Lord, have pity on us ... cleanse us from our sins and
create in us a pure heart, a new spirit".
 "And now I also want to greet from here all our beloved brothers and sisters
who are joining us simultaneously from the other side of the frontier,
especially those who are gathered in the Stadium of the University of El Paso,
known as The Sun Bowl. ... Thanks to technology, we can pray, sing and
celebrate
together that merciful love which God gives us, and which no frontier can
prevent us from sharing. Thank you, brothers and sisters of El Paso, for making
us feel one single family and one same Christian community".

___________________________________________________________

 The Pope leaves Mexico: many lights proclaim hope in the Mexican people
 Vatican City, 17 February 2016 (VIS) - Pope Francis took leave of Mexico
today,
thanking God for granting him his visit to a country "that always surprises,
for
Mexico is a surprise!". He departed from the airport of Ciudad Juarez at 7 p.m.
local time (3 a.m. in Rome) today, 18 February, and is expected to arrive in
Rome at 3.15 p.m.
 The Holy Father again gave thanks to all those who made his pilgrimage
possible, including the state and local authorities and "all those anonymous
helpers who quietly gave of their very best to make these days a great family
celebration".
 "I have felt welcomed and warmly received by the love, the celebration, the
hope of this great Mexican family: thank you for having opened the doors of
your
lives to me, the doors of your nation", he added, then reciting the words of
Octavio Paz in his poem "Hermandad":
 "I am a man: I only last a brief while, and the night is vast.
 But I look up: the stars are writing.
 Without grasping I understand: I am also the writing
 and in this very instant someone is spelling me out".
 "Taking up these beautiful words, I dare to suggest that the one who spells us
out and marks out the road for us is the mysterious but real presence of God in
the real flesh of all people, especially the poorest and most needy of Mexico",
the Pontiff commented. "The night can seem vast and very dark, but in these
days
I have been able to observe that in this people there are many lights who
proclaim hope; I have been able to see in many of their testimonies, in their
faces, the presence of God who carries on walking in this land, guiding you,
sustaining hope; many men and women, with their everyday efforts, make it
possible for this Mexican society not to be left in darkness. Many men and
women
lining the streets as I went by, lifted up their children, showing them to me:
they are the future of Mexico, let us look after them, let us love them. These
children are tomorrow's prophets, they are the sign of a new dawn. And I assure
you that on some occasions, as I passed by, I felt I wanted to cry on seeing so
much hope among people who suffer so much".
 "May Mary, Mother of Guadalupe, continue to visit you, continue to walk on
your
lands - Mexico which cannot be understood without her - may she continue
helping
you to be missionaries and witnesses of mercy and reconciliation", he
concluded.
"Once again, thank you very much for this warm, so very warm, Mexican
hospitality".

___________________________________________________________

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