At 7:00am local time this morning (1:00am EST), the Holy Father, Pope Francis celebrated Mass inside the chapel at the Casa Santa Marta.
Let us pray today for those who have died, for those who have lost their lives because of this virus. In a special way, I want to pray for the health care workers who have died in recent days. They have given their lives in service to the sick.
The theme of both of today's readings is the Law: the Law that God gives to his people, the Law that the Lord has given to us ... the Law which Jesus wanted to demonstrate to its perfection. But there is something that draws our attention: the way in which God gives the Law. He says: For what great nation is there that has gods so close to it as the Lord, our God, is to us whenever we call upon him? (Deut 4:7). The Lord gives the Law to his people with an attitude of closeness. These are not the prescriptions of a governor who is far away, or of a dictator. There is a closeness, and we know through revelation that this is the closeness of a father who is accompanying his people by giving them the gift of the Law.
God is close to us. For what great nation is there that has gods so close to it as the Lord, our God is to us whenever we call upon him every time that we call upon him? (Deut 4:7). Our God is a God of closeness; he is a God who is close to us, who walks with his people. That image in the desert ... clouds, the column of fire to protect the people. God was walking with his people. He is not a God who leaves the prescriptions written down and then goes away. He makes his prescriptions, he writes them with his own hands on rock and then gives them to his people ... but, he doesn't simply give the prescriptions and then leave. He walks with us, he is close to us. What great nation has a god so close ... he is the essence of closeness. Our God is a god of closeness.
And mankind's first response, in the first pages of the bible is made known in two attitudes of non-closeness. Our response is always to draw away. We draw away from God. He comes close and we draw away. The two first stories in the bible. The first attitude, we see with Adam's wife ... with Adam and his wife, is the tendency to hide themselves. They hide from God's closeness. It is a shame, because it is a sin. Sin leads us to hide, to not desiring closeness. We often make up a theology based solely on the viewpoint of the judge, and for this reason we hide ... because we are afraid.
The second human attitude in response to this proposal of closeness on the part of God is to kill. To kill a brother. I am not my brother's keeper. These are two attitudes that cancel out every form of closeness. Mankind rebels against God's closeness. He wants to be the ruler of relations, and closeness always brings with it some kind of weakness. By drawing close to us, God makes himself weak, and the closer he comes to us, the weaker he seems to be. When he comes to us, to live with us, he makes himself a man, one of us; he makes himself weak ... and he carries weakness even to the extreme of death, the most brutal death, a death reserved for assassins, a death reserved for the greatest of sinners. Closeness humbles God. He humbles himself in order to be with us, in order to walk with us, in order to help us. God's closeness speaks to us about humility.
He is not a great God out there. No, he is close. He is at home. This is evident in Jesus. God made himself a man, close to us, even to the point of death, close to his disciples who he accompanied, who he taught, who he encouraged with love. We can think for example of the closeness of Jesus with the disillusioned disciples on the road to Emmaus. They were anguished, they were defeated ... and he drew close to them, slowly, in order to help them understand the message of life proclaimed by the Resurrection. Our God is close and He asks us to be close to each other, not to draw away from each other in this moment of crisis as we face the pandemic. There is a tendency to draw away from each other, to make this tendency more evident. Maybe we can't draw physically closer, for fear of contamination but if we redevelop within ourselves an attitude of closeness among ourselves ... though offering a prayer, some form of help, there are many ways to be close to others, and why should we be close to each other? Because our God is close. He wanted to accompany us in life. He is the God of proximity. We are not isolated persons, we are close, because the inheritance we have received from God is closeness.
Let us ask the Lord to grant us the grace of closeness to each other. Let us not hide from one another, let us not wash our hands like Cain did ... thinking that it's someone else's problem. No, let us be close. Proximity, closeness. For what great nation is there that has gods so close to it as the Lord, our God, is to us whenever we call upon him?
Once again this morning, following the distribution of communion at Mass, there was a period of silent prayer and adoration of the Blessed Sacrament which concluded with the recitation of the concluding prayer. The Holy Father then blessed all those who were in attendance. Then the Blessed Sacrament was reposed.
Greetings of the Holy Father, Pope Francis
prior to the celebration of the Mass
Let us pray today for those who have died, for those who have lost their lives because of this virus. In a special way, I want to pray for the health care workers who have died in recent days. They have given their lives in service to the sick.
Homily of the Holy Father, Pope Francis
during the Mass celebrated on 18 March 2020
The theme of both of today's readings is the Law: the Law that God gives to his people, the Law that the Lord has given to us ... the Law which Jesus wanted to demonstrate to its perfection. But there is something that draws our attention: the way in which God gives the Law. He says: For what great nation is there that has gods so close to it as the Lord, our God, is to us whenever we call upon him? (Deut 4:7). The Lord gives the Law to his people with an attitude of closeness. These are not the prescriptions of a governor who is far away, or of a dictator. There is a closeness, and we know through revelation that this is the closeness of a father who is accompanying his people by giving them the gift of the Law.
God is close to us. For what great nation is there that has gods so close to it as the Lord, our God is to us whenever we call upon him every time that we call upon him? (Deut 4:7). Our God is a God of closeness; he is a God who is close to us, who walks with his people. That image in the desert ... clouds, the column of fire to protect the people. God was walking with his people. He is not a God who leaves the prescriptions written down and then goes away. He makes his prescriptions, he writes them with his own hands on rock and then gives them to his people ... but, he doesn't simply give the prescriptions and then leave. He walks with us, he is close to us. What great nation has a god so close ... he is the essence of closeness. Our God is a god of closeness.
And mankind's first response, in the first pages of the bible is made known in two attitudes of non-closeness. Our response is always to draw away. We draw away from God. He comes close and we draw away. The two first stories in the bible. The first attitude, we see with Adam's wife ... with Adam and his wife, is the tendency to hide themselves. They hide from God's closeness. It is a shame, because it is a sin. Sin leads us to hide, to not desiring closeness. We often make up a theology based solely on the viewpoint of the judge, and for this reason we hide ... because we are afraid.
The second human attitude in response to this proposal of closeness on the part of God is to kill. To kill a brother. I am not my brother's keeper. These are two attitudes that cancel out every form of closeness. Mankind rebels against God's closeness. He wants to be the ruler of relations, and closeness always brings with it some kind of weakness. By drawing close to us, God makes himself weak, and the closer he comes to us, the weaker he seems to be. When he comes to us, to live with us, he makes himself a man, one of us; he makes himself weak ... and he carries weakness even to the extreme of death, the most brutal death, a death reserved for assassins, a death reserved for the greatest of sinners. Closeness humbles God. He humbles himself in order to be with us, in order to walk with us, in order to help us. God's closeness speaks to us about humility.
He is not a great God out there. No, he is close. He is at home. This is evident in Jesus. God made himself a man, close to us, even to the point of death, close to his disciples who he accompanied, who he taught, who he encouraged with love. We can think for example of the closeness of Jesus with the disillusioned disciples on the road to Emmaus. They were anguished, they were defeated ... and he drew close to them, slowly, in order to help them understand the message of life proclaimed by the Resurrection. Our God is close and He asks us to be close to each other, not to draw away from each other in this moment of crisis as we face the pandemic. There is a tendency to draw away from each other, to make this tendency more evident. Maybe we can't draw physically closer, for fear of contamination but if we redevelop within ourselves an attitude of closeness among ourselves ... though offering a prayer, some form of help, there are many ways to be close to others, and why should we be close to each other? Because our God is close. He wanted to accompany us in life. He is the God of proximity. We are not isolated persons, we are close, because the inheritance we have received from God is closeness.
Let us ask the Lord to grant us the grace of closeness to each other. Let us not hide from one another, let us not wash our hands like Cain did ... thinking that it's someone else's problem. No, let us be close. Proximity, closeness. For what great nation is there that has gods so close to it as the Lord, our God, is to us whenever we call upon him?
Once again this morning, following the distribution of communion at Mass, there was a period of silent prayer and adoration of the Blessed Sacrament which concluded with the recitation of the concluding prayer. The Holy Father then blessed all those who were in attendance. Then the Blessed Sacrament was reposed.
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