Dear brothers and sisters,

Thank you all for your warm and cordial welcome!

I am deeply moved by the testimony shared with us by Montse and Josefina. Thank you very much. I also appreciate the words of Father Jesús, which highlight the commitment of the chaplains and volunteers of the diocesan prison ministry in Sant Feliu de Llobregat.

Every human being is “worthy” by the mere fact “of having been willed, created and loved by God” (Magnifica Humanitas, 52). There is, therefore, no situation that causes the Lord to turn his gaze away from us. It is a consoling truth that accompanies us at all times and reminds us how his merciful love always outweighs whatever good or evil we may have done.

Dear brothers and sisters, this is especially true for you who bear the burden of being far from your loved ones and who suffer because of your current circumstances. When you are tempted to feel inferior and think it is not worth going on, “lift up your eyes” to the One who, through the presence of so many people, never ceases to show you his love and closeness.

Even if anxiety and sadness mark certain moments of your journey, remember that life’s mistakes do not define a person’s identity. Saint Augustine, in his Confessions, speaks of this when he shares his life journey with us. If we trust in divine grace and allow ourselves to be guided and transformed by it, we discover in our lives how the past does not condemn the future, but rather offers us the possibility of changing our decisions and choices.

Let us make room for the Lord in our hearts and seek his face. Let us allow his love to guide us. Let us cling to him, who continually invites us to hope and shows us a wonderful horizon that no physical barrier can prevent us from reaching. Today, he continues to speak to us in the depths of our consciences, helping us discover that he dwells among us. He is only waiting for us to give him a chance.

Dear friends, I invite you to keep dreaming God’s dream. To each of you I say: God loves you just as you are, but he dreams of you being even better! The Lord allows us all to start anew, for being human and being Christian does not mean never making mistakes, but rather growing in the ability to convert, repent, make amends and, above all, to reconcile and forgive.

I entrust you in a special way to the maternal intercession of Our Lady of Mercy, and I willingly ask the Lord to bless you. Thank you very much.