The Gate of Hope is Always Open to Sinners Pope John Paul II General Audience August 30, 2000 Dear Brothers and Sisters, In today’s catechesis we are reflecting on the theme of sin and conversion. Through sin, man distanced himself from God and destroyed the original harmony of creation. Yet Sacred Scripture testifies that God did not abandon the sinner but continually calls him to conversion. The Gospel proclaims that the Father sent Jesus, his Son, as the Lamb who would take away the sin of the world (cf. Jn 1:29). In the parables of the lost sheep, the lost coin and the lost son, Jesus describes how the Father lovingly seeks out sinners and calls them back to communion with himself. The Apostles too began their mission with a pressing call to conversion, the beginning of new life in God. The gate of hope is always open to sinners, for Christ pours divinity into the sick heart of humanity, and imbuing it with the Father’s Spirit enables it to become God through grace (Orientale Lumen, 15).
I warmly welcome the English-speaking visitors and pilgrims, especially those from England, Ireland, Denmark, Malta, India, Indonesia, Hong Kong and the United States of America. Upon you and your families I invoke the abundant blessings of Almighty God.