At noon today in Rome (6:00am EST), the Holy Father, Pope Francis appeared at the window of his study in the Vatican Apostolic Palace to recite the Angelus with the faithful and with pilgrims gathered in Saint Peter's Square.
Dear brothers and sisters, good morning!
Today's gospel (cf Lk 6:17, 20-26) presents the Beatitudes according to Saint Luke. The text contains four beatitudes and four warnings formulated with the expression: woe to you. With these words, which are strong and in incisive, Jesus opens our eyes, helps us to see as he sees, above and beyond mere appearances, beyond the surface, and he teaches us to discern situations with faith.
Jesus bestows the title of blessed upon the poor, the hungry, those who are afflicted and those who are persecuted; and he admonishes those who are rich, satisfied, laughing and those who are acclaimed by other people. The reason for this paradoxical blessedness lies in the fact that God is close to those who are suffering and intervenes in order to free them from their slavery; Jesus sees this, he already sees blessedness beyond the current negative reality. And also the woe to you, which is addressed to those who are doing well, is offered in order to wake them up to the dangerous deception of selfishness and to open them up to the logic of love, provided that they are still in time to do so.
Today's gospel therefore invites us to reflect on the profound sense of having faith, which consists in trusting entirely in the Lord. It is a matter of breaking down worldly idols in order to open our hearts to the living and true God; He alone can give our existence the fullness that we so desire and yet find so difficult to achieve. Brothers and sisters, there are many, even in our day, who propose themselves as dispensers of happiness: they appear and promise success in a very short time, they promise great profits that can be hand delivered, they promise magical solutions to every problem, and so on. It is easy in such situations to fall into sin against the first commandment - without realizing it - the sin of idolatry: replacing God with an idol. Idolatry and idols seem to be realities from another time, but in reality, they are present at all times! Even today. They describe some attitudes of our day even better than many sociological analyses.
This is the reason why Jesus opens our eyes to this reality. We are called to be happy, to be blessed, and we become more and more blessed from the moment when we place ourselves on the side of God, of his Kingdom, on the side of that which is not imagined but which endures for eternal life. We are happy if we realize that we are in need of God - and this is very important: Lord, I need you - and if, like Him and with Him, we are close to the poor, to those who are afflicted and those who are hungry. We too stand before the Lord: we are poor, afflicted, we are hungry before God. We become capable of joy every time that, even as we possess the things of the world, we do not turn these things into idols which have the power to empty our souls, but rather, we become capable of sharing with our brothers and sisters. Today's liturgy once again invites us to question ourselves about this and to find the truth in our hearts.
Jesus' Beatitudes are a decisive message which encourages us not to place our trust in material and transient things, not to seek happiness by following the sellers of smoke - who are often sellers of death - the professionals of illusion. We must not follow them, because they are incapable of giving us hope. The Lord helps us to open our eyes, to acquire a more penetrating look at reality, in order to be healed of chronic myopia with which the worldly spirit infects us. With his paradoxical Word God shakes us and makes us recognize what really enriches us, satisfies us, gives us joy and dignity. In short, what really gives meaning and fullness to our lives. May the Virgin Mary help us to listen to this Gospel with an open mind and heart, so that it bears fruit in our lives and we become witnesses of the happiness that does not disappoint, God's happiness that never disappoints.
After the recitation of the Angelus, the Holy Father continued:
Dear brothers and sisters,
From Thursday to Sunday of this coming week, here in the Vatican, we will hold a meeting of the Presidents from all the Episcopal Conferences, on the theme of the protection of minors in the Church. I invite you to pray for this gathering, which I have desired as a strong act of pastoral responsibility in the face of an urgent challenge in our time.
I greet all the families, the parishes, the associations and all those who have come from Rome, from Italy and from many other parts of the world; in particular, the pilgrims who have come from Croatia, from Toulon, Marseille and London; the students from Paris and from Badajoz. I greet the faithful from Sassari, Fermo, Castiglione del Lago, Concorezzo; the families from Trentino Alto Adige and the pilgrims from the Diocese of Vicenza.
I wish you all a good Sunday. And please, don't forget to pray for me. Enjoy your lunch and good bye!
Greetings of the Holy Father, Pope Francis
prior to the recitation of the Angelus
Dear brothers and sisters, good morning!
Today's gospel (cf Lk 6:17, 20-26) presents the Beatitudes according to Saint Luke. The text contains four beatitudes and four warnings formulated with the expression: woe to you. With these words, which are strong and in incisive, Jesus opens our eyes, helps us to see as he sees, above and beyond mere appearances, beyond the surface, and he teaches us to discern situations with faith.
Jesus bestows the title of blessed upon the poor, the hungry, those who are afflicted and those who are persecuted; and he admonishes those who are rich, satisfied, laughing and those who are acclaimed by other people. The reason for this paradoxical blessedness lies in the fact that God is close to those who are suffering and intervenes in order to free them from their slavery; Jesus sees this, he already sees blessedness beyond the current negative reality. And also the woe to you, which is addressed to those who are doing well, is offered in order to wake them up to the dangerous deception of selfishness and to open them up to the logic of love, provided that they are still in time to do so.
Today's gospel therefore invites us to reflect on the profound sense of having faith, which consists in trusting entirely in the Lord. It is a matter of breaking down worldly idols in order to open our hearts to the living and true God; He alone can give our existence the fullness that we so desire and yet find so difficult to achieve. Brothers and sisters, there are many, even in our day, who propose themselves as dispensers of happiness: they appear and promise success in a very short time, they promise great profits that can be hand delivered, they promise magical solutions to every problem, and so on. It is easy in such situations to fall into sin against the first commandment - without realizing it - the sin of idolatry: replacing God with an idol. Idolatry and idols seem to be realities from another time, but in reality, they are present at all times! Even today. They describe some attitudes of our day even better than many sociological analyses.
This is the reason why Jesus opens our eyes to this reality. We are called to be happy, to be blessed, and we become more and more blessed from the moment when we place ourselves on the side of God, of his Kingdom, on the side of that which is not imagined but which endures for eternal life. We are happy if we realize that we are in need of God - and this is very important: Lord, I need you - and if, like Him and with Him, we are close to the poor, to those who are afflicted and those who are hungry. We too stand before the Lord: we are poor, afflicted, we are hungry before God. We become capable of joy every time that, even as we possess the things of the world, we do not turn these things into idols which have the power to empty our souls, but rather, we become capable of sharing with our brothers and sisters. Today's liturgy once again invites us to question ourselves about this and to find the truth in our hearts.
Jesus' Beatitudes are a decisive message which encourages us not to place our trust in material and transient things, not to seek happiness by following the sellers of smoke - who are often sellers of death - the professionals of illusion. We must not follow them, because they are incapable of giving us hope. The Lord helps us to open our eyes, to acquire a more penetrating look at reality, in order to be healed of chronic myopia with which the worldly spirit infects us. With his paradoxical Word God shakes us and makes us recognize what really enriches us, satisfies us, gives us joy and dignity. In short, what really gives meaning and fullness to our lives. May the Virgin Mary help us to listen to this Gospel with an open mind and heart, so that it bears fruit in our lives and we become witnesses of the happiness that does not disappoint, God's happiness that never disappoints.
After the recitation of the Angelus, the Holy Father continued:
Dear brothers and sisters,
From Thursday to Sunday of this coming week, here in the Vatican, we will hold a meeting of the Presidents from all the Episcopal Conferences, on the theme of the protection of minors in the Church. I invite you to pray for this gathering, which I have desired as a strong act of pastoral responsibility in the face of an urgent challenge in our time.
I greet all the families, the parishes, the associations and all those who have come from Rome, from Italy and from many other parts of the world; in particular, the pilgrims who have come from Croatia, from Toulon, Marseille and London; the students from Paris and from Badajoz. I greet the faithful from Sassari, Fermo, Castiglione del Lago, Concorezzo; the families from Trentino Alto Adige and the pilgrims from the Diocese of Vicenza.
I wish you all a good Sunday. And please, don't forget to pray for me. Enjoy your lunch and good bye!
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