During the celebration for the installation of the Bishop of Rome on the Roman Cathedra in St. John Lateran, Pope Francis dedicated a part of his homily to the parable of the “father of mercy,” echoing the second Sunday after Easter or of Divine Mercy.

«I am always struck when I reread the parable of the merciful Father; it impresses me because it always gives me great hope. Think of that younger son who was in the Father’s house, who was loved; and yet he wants his part of the inheritance; he goes off, spends everything, hits rock bottom, where he could not be more distant from the Father, yet when he is at his lowest, he misses the warmth of the Father’s house and he goes back. And the Father? Had he forgotten the son? No, never. He is there, he sees the son from afar, he was waiting for him every hour of every day, the son was always in his father’s heart, even though he had left him, even though he had squandered his whole inheritance, his freedom. The Father, with patience, love, hope and mercy, had never for a second stopped thinking about him, and as soon as he sees him still far off, he runs out to meet him and embraces him with tenderness, the tenderness of God, without a word of reproach: he has returned! And that is the joy of the Father. In that embrace for his son is all this joy: he has returned! God is always waiting for us, he never grows tired. Jesus shows us this merciful patience of God so that we can regain confidence, hope – always! A great naturalized German citizen theologian, Romano Guardini, said that God responds to our weakness by his patience, and this is the reason for our confidence, our hope. It is like a dialogue between our weakness and the patience of God, it is a dialogue that, if we do it, will grant us hope».