At noon today, the Holy Father, Pope Francis appeared at the window of his study in the Vatican Apostolic Palace to lead the recitation of the Angelus along with the faithful and with pilgrims who were gathered in Saint Peter's Square.
Words of welcome by the Holy Father, Pope Francis
to introduce the prayer of the Angelus
Dear brothers and sisters, good morning!
In today’s liturgy we hear the words of the Letter to the
Hebrews: Let us run with perseverance the
race which lies ahead, keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus, the one who gives rise
to faith and brings it to fulfilment (Hb 12:1-2). This is an expression to which we should pay
particular attention during this Year of
Faith. Throughout this year, we are
keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus, because the faith which is our yes to the filial relationship with God
comes from Him, comes from Jesus. He is
the only mediator of this relationship between us and our Father who is in
heaven. Jesus is the Son, and we are
sons in Him.
But this Sunday’s Word of God also contains one of Jesus’
words which puts us in crisis, a word which needs to be explained, otherwise it
could lead to misunderstanding. Jesus
says to the disciples: Do you think that
I have come to bring peace on the earth?
No, I tell you, but division (Lk 12:51). What does this mean? It means that the faith is not a decorative
thing, merely ornamental; to live the faith is much more than merely decorating
your life with a bit of religion, as you might do with a cake which is
iced. No, faith is not like that. Faith involves choosing God as a foundational
criterion for life, and God is not empty, God is not neutral. God is always positive. God is love, and love is positive! Since Jesus came into the world, we cannot
pretend that God doesn’t know us, as if we were abstract things, empty, merely
nominally existing; no, God has a real face, he has a name: God is mercy, God
is faithfulness, God is life that is
given to all of us. This is why Jesus
says: I have come to bring division;
it is not that Jesus wants to divide us from one another, on the contrary:
Jesus is our peace, he is our reconciliation!
But this peace is not the peace of the tombs, it does not mean
neutrality. Jesus doesn’t bring
neutrality. His peace is not a
compromise at all costs. Following Jesus
involves renouncing evil, egotism and choosing good, truth and justice, even
when this requires sacrifice and the foregoing of our own interests. And this yes, we know, divides even the
closest ties. But be careful: Jesus
doesn’t divide! He sets out the
criteria: living for yourself, or living fr God and for others; being served or
serving others; obeying only ourselves, or obeying God. This is the sense in which Jesus is a sign of
contradiction (Lk 2:34).
Therefore the word of the Gospel does not in fact authorize the
use of force for the defence of the faith.
On the contrary, the true strength of Christians is the strength of the
truth and of love, which leads us to renounce all violence. Faith and violence are incompatible! Faith and violence are incompatible! Rather, faith and strength go together. A Christian is not violent, but is
strong. With what strength? That of meekness, the strength of meekness,
the strength of love.
Dear friends, even
among the relatives of Jesus, there were some who at a certain point didn’t
share his way of living or believe in the word he preached – the gospel tells
us so (Mk 3:20-21). But his Mother always
followed him faithfully, keeping the gaze of her heart always fixed on Jesus,
the Son of the Most High, and on his ministry.
In the end, thanks to Mary’s faith, the relatives of Jesus became part
of the first Christian community (Acts 1:14).
Let us ask Mary to help us to keep our gaze fixed on Jesus and to follow
him always, even when there is a cost involved.
After the Angelus, the Holy Father continued:
Remember this: to follow Jesus is not neutral, following
Jesus means to get involved, because faith is not a decorative thing, it is the
strength of the soul!
Dear brothers and sisters,
I greet you all with affection, Romans and pilgrims,
families, church groups, young people …
I want to ask you to pray for the victims of the sinking of
the ferry in the Philippines, and pray too for their families ... there is so
much pain!
We also continue to pray for peace in Egypt. All together,
let us pray: Mary, Queen of Peace, pray for us! Everyone responds: Mary, Queen of Peace, pray for us!
I greet the Polish folk group from Edmonton, Canada.
A special greeting to young people from Brembilla - I see ah,
I see you all! – not far from Bergamo, and I bless the torch that will travel
from Rome to their region. And I also greet the young people of Altamura.
I wish you all a good Sunday and a good lunch! Goodbye!
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