In his Regina Caeli address for the Sixth Sunday of Easter, Pope Francis reflected on Christ’s words to his apostles, “I do not call you servants any longer, but friends” (John 15:15).
Jesus “tells us that for Him we are precisely this, friends: dear people beyond all merit and expectation, to whom He extends His hand and offers His love, His Grace, His Word; with whom – with us, friends – He shares what is dearest to Him, all that He has heard from the Father,” the Pope said to pilgrims gathered in St. Peter’s Square (video).
The Pope continued, “And so let us ask ourselves: what face does the Lord have for me? The face of a friend or of a stranger? Do I feel loved by Him as a dear person? And what is the face of Jesus that I show to others, especially to those who err and need forgiveness?”
“May Mary help us to grow in friendship with Her Son and to spread it around us,” Pope Francis concluded.