Lord always goes in search of the lost, pope says

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Even when a person seems totally lost and unable to find a way back to God, the Lord is already looking for him or her, said the text for Pope Francis’ weekly general audience.

“Let us nurture our desire to see Jesus, and above all let us allow ourselves to be found by the mercy of God, who always comes in search of us, in whatever situation we may be lost,” said the text prepared for April 2.

While Pope Francis was not holding audiences since he was still recovering from double pneumonia and multiple infections, the Vatican has been publishing the texts prepared for his general audiences each Wednesday.

During the Holy Year 2025, the pope’s audiences have focused on “Jesus Christ our hope.” The text for April 2 was the third in a series looking at Gospel stories of Jesus’ encounter with different people and how meeting him changed their lives.

After looking at Nicodemus and then the Samaritan woman at the well, the early April text focused on the story of Zacchaeus from Luke 19:1-10.

Pope Francis, who often talks about how God is waiting for people to turn back to him, wrote that the Zacchaeus story “has a special place in my spiritual journey.”

Zacchaeus was the chief tax collector and so probably reviled by his neighbors. The Gospel also says Zacchaeus was wealthy, “suggesting that he has grown rich on the backs of others, abusing his position,” the pope’s text said.

Zacchaeus hears that Jesus is coming to Jericho, and he wants to see him, but he is too short to see over the crowd.

Something similar can happen to everyone, the pope said. “It is our reality: we have limitations that we have to deal with.”

To find a way around those limitations, he said, “you need to be courageous and unashamed; you need a little of the simplicity of children and not to worry about your own image. Zacchaeus, like a child, climbs a tree.”

He might have thought he could see Jesus without being seen, the pope said, but the Lord notices him.

Zacchaeus — and the people in the crowd — probably expected Jesus to rebuke him for being a tax collector, but Jesus asks him to climb down and tells him that he wants to go to his house.

The Gospel story shows that “God does not pass by without looking for those who are lost,” the pope said.

And “Luke highlights the joy in Zacchaeus’ heart,” the text said. “It is the joy of one who feels that he has been seen, acknowledged and above all forgiven.”

“Jesus’ gaze is not one of reproach, but of mercy,” the pope continued. “It is that mercy we sometimes struggle to accept, especially when God forgives those who, in our opinion, do not deserve it.”

After he is forgiven by Jesus, Zacchaeus vows to return four times the amount of money he has extorted from anyone, the Gospel says.

“It is not a price to be paid, because God’s forgiveness is free,” the pope said, “but rather the desire to imitate the one by whom he felt loved.”