VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Even in difficult situations and harsh places, like prisons, when people focus on caring for one another, respecting each other and offering forgiveness, "beautiful flowers spring forth from the 'hard ground' of sin and suffering," Pope Leo XIV said.
Dressed in rose vestments for Gaudete Sunday, the third Sunday of Advent, the pope celebrated Mass in St. Peter's Basilica Dec. 15 for the Jubilee of Prisoners.
Inmates and former inmates -- both adults and juveniles -- from Italy, Spain, Portugal, Malta and Chile accompanied by guards and chaplains participated, as well as representatives from 85 other countries. It was the last of the major Jubilee events before Christmas and the closing of the Holy Year Jan. 6.
The hosts consecrated during the Mass were made by inmates at the Italian prisons of Opera, San Vittore and Bollate. They are part of a project that involves more than 300 inmates in prisons throughout Italy that regularly make hosts for 15,000 churches and parishes.
In his homily, Pope Leo acknowledged that living and working in a prison is difficult "and even the best proposals can encounter many obstacles."
But inmates, staff and family members must never give up, he said. "No human being is defined only by his or her actions," and "justice is always a process of reparation and reconciliation."
Prisons, jails and detention facilities must keep working to address overcrowding and a lack of commitment to guaranteeing "stable educational programs for rehabilitation and job opportunities."
"On a more personal level," he told them, everyone involved must deal with "the weight of the past, the wounds to be healed in body and heart, the disappointments, the infinite patience that is needed with oneself and with others when embarking on paths of conversion, and the temptation to give up or to no longer forgive."
For the Lord, though, "only one thing is important: that no one be lost and that all 'be saved,'" Pope Leo said.
"Let no one be lost! Let all be saved! This is what our God wants, this is his kingdom, and this is the goal of his actions in the world," he said. "As Christmas approaches, we too want to embrace more strongly his dream, while being steadfast and faithful in our commitment."
Christians, he said, "know that even in the face of the greatest challenges, we are not alone: the Lord is near, he walks with us, and with him at our side, something beautiful and joyful will always happen."
Reciting the Angelus at noon, Pope Leo quoted the introductory words to the day's Mass: "'Gaudete in Domino semper' –- Rejoice in the Lord always."
On Gaudete Sunday, the church calls believers to rejoice because "Jesus is our hope, especially in times of trial, when life seems to lose meaning and everything appears darker, words fail us, and we struggle to understand others."
"The words of Jesus," he said, "free us from the prison of despair and suffering. Every prophecy finds its expected fulfillment in him."
Christ "gives voice to the oppressed and to those whose voices have been silenced by violence and hatred," the pope said. "He defeats ideologies that make us deaf to the truth. He heals the ailments that deform the body."
