If you don’t feel in need of God’s mercy don’t go to Mass, says Pope

Pope Francis has said that if you no do feel that you are in need of God’s mercy then it is better not to go to Mass.

Speaking at his general audience today, Pope Francis said: “Sometimes someone asks: ‘Why bother going to church, the people who always go to Mass are sinners like the others’. If you do not feel in need of God’s mercy, if you do not feel you are a sinner, then it’s better not go to Mass, because we go to Mass because we are sinners and we want to receive the forgiveness of Jesus, to participate in His redemption, His forgiveness.

“That ‘I confess’ we say at the beginning is not a ‘pro forma’, is a true act of penance, ‘I am a sinner and I confess’. We have to go to Mass humbly, as sinners, and the Lord reconciles us.”

Pope Francis went on to say: “We celebrate the Eucharist not because we are worthy, but because we recognise our need for God’s mercy, incarnate in Jesus Christ… I wish to reflect on how we live the Eucharist in our daily lives.”

The Pope said that “the Eucharist affects the way we see others. So too the Eucharist brings us together with others – young and old, poor and affluent, neighbours and visitors. The Eucharist calls us to see all of them as our brothers and sisters.”

Pope Francis said that with the renewed idea from God’s gift presented in the service “our hearts are enlarged to receive and show mercy.”