Having concluded the Opening Mass for the Special Assembly of the Synod of Bishops for the Pan-Amazonian Region, at noon local time today (6:00am EDT), Pope Francis appeared at the window of his study in the Vatican Apostolic Palace to recite the Angelus with the faithful and with pilgrims who were gathered in Saint Peter's Square.
Dear brothers and sisters, good morning!
Today's Gospel passage (cf Lk 17:5-10) presents the theme of faith, introduced by the disciples' request: Increase faith in us (Lk 17:6). This is a beautiful prayer, that we should pray so much during the day: Lord, increase faith in me! Jesus responds with two images: the mustard seed and the servant who makes himself available. If you had faith as much as a mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree: 'Be uprooted and go, plant yourself in the sea', and it would obey you (Lk 17:6). The mulberry is a robust tree, well rooted in the earth and resistant to winds. Therefore, Jesus wants to make it clear that faith, even if it is small, can have the strength to uproot even a mulberry tree, and then to transplant it into the sea, which is something even more unlikely: but nothing is impossible for those who have faith, because they do not rely on their own strength, but on God, who can do everything.
Faith that is like the mustard seed is faith that is not superb and self-confident; it does not pretend to be that of a great believer doing sometimes foolish things! It is a faith that in its humility feels a great need for God and in littleness, abandons itself with full trust to Him. It is faith that gives us the ability to look with hope at the alternate vicissitudes of life, which helps us to accept defeats as well as sufferings, in the awareness that evil never has, and will never have the last word.
How can we understand if we really have faith, that is, if our faith, though tiny, is genuine and pure? Jesus explains it to us by indicating what the measure of faith is: service. And he does so with a parable that at first glance is a little disconcerting, because it presents the figure of a bossy and indifferent master. But precisely this way of doing things brings out what is the true focus of the parable, that is the attitude of availability of the servant. Jesus wants to say that this is how the man who has faith in God is: he puts himself completely at the disposal of God's will, without calculations or claims.
This attitude towards God is also reflected in the way we behave in community: it is reflected in the joy of being at the service of one another, finding in this its own reward and not in the recognitions and the gains that can derive from it. This is what Jesus teaches at the end of this story: When you have done all that you have been ordered to do, say: 'We are useless servants. We have done what we had to do' (Lk 17:10).
Useless servants, that is, without pretending to be thanked, without claims. We are useless servants is an expression of humility, availability that is so good for the Church and recalls the right attitude to work in it: the humble service of which Jesus gave us the example when he washed the feet of the disciples (cf Jn 13:3-17). May the Virgin Mary, a woman of faith, help us to go down this path. We turn to her on the eve of the feast of Our Lady of the Rosary, in communion with the faithful gathered in Pompeii for the traditional Supplication.
Following the recitation of the Angelus, the Holy Father continued:
Dear brothers and sisters!
The Eucharistic celebration with which we began the Special Assembly of the Synod of Bishops for the Pan-Amazonian Region has just concluded in Saint Peter's Basilica. For three weeks the Synod Fathers, gathered around the Successor of Peter, will reflect on the mission of the Church in the Amazon region, on evangelization and on the promotion of an integral ecology. I ask you to accompany this ecclesial event with prayer, so that it may be lived in fraternal communion and docility to the Holy Spirit, who always shows the ways for witnessing to the Gospel.
I thank all of you pilgrims who have come in large numbers from Italy and from many parts of the world. I greet the faithful from Heidelberg, Germany, and from Rozlazino, Poland; the students from Dillingen, Germany as well, and those from the Istituto Sant’Alfonso in Bella Vista, Argentina.
I greet the group from Fara Vicentino and Zugliano, the families from Alta Val Tidone, the pilgrims from Castelli Romani who have marched for peace and those from Camisano Vicentino along the Via Francigena for an initiative of solidarity.
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 passage (cf Lk 17:5-10) presents the theme of faith, introduced by the disciples' request: Increase faith in us (Lk 17:6). This is a beautiful prayer, that we should pray so much during the day: Lord, increase faith in me! Jesus responds with two images: the mustard seed and the servant who makes himself available. If you had faith as much as a mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree: 'Be uprooted and go, plant yourself in the sea', and it would obey you (Lk 17:6). The mulberry is a robust tree, well rooted in the earth and resistant to winds. Therefore, Jesus wants to make it clear that faith, even if it is small, can have the strength to uproot even a mulberry tree, and then to transplant it into the sea, which is something even more unlikely: but nothing is impossible for those who have faith, because they do not rely on their own strength, but on God, who can do everything.
Faith that is like the mustard seed is faith that is not superb and self-confident; it does not pretend to be that of a great believer doing sometimes foolish things! It is a faith that in its humility feels a great need for God and in littleness, abandons itself with full trust to Him. It is faith that gives us the ability to look with hope at the alternate vicissitudes of life, which helps us to accept defeats as well as sufferings, in the awareness that evil never has, and will never have the last word.
How can we understand if we really have faith, that is, if our faith, though tiny, is genuine and pure? Jesus explains it to us by indicating what the measure of faith is: service. And he does so with a parable that at first glance is a little disconcerting, because it presents the figure of a bossy and indifferent master. But precisely this way of doing things brings out what is the true focus of the parable, that is the attitude of availability of the servant. Jesus wants to say that this is how the man who has faith in God is: he puts himself completely at the disposal of God's will, without calculations or claims.
This attitude towards God is also reflected in the way we behave in community: it is reflected in the joy of being at the service of one another, finding in this its own reward and not in the recognitions and the gains that can derive from it. This is what Jesus teaches at the end of this story: When you have done all that you have been ordered to do, say: 'We are useless servants. We have done what we had to do' (Lk 17:10).
Useless servants, that is, without pretending to be thanked, without claims. We are useless servants is an expression of humility, availability that is so good for the Church and recalls the right attitude to work in it: the humble service of which Jesus gave us the example when he washed the feet of the disciples (cf Jn 13:3-17). May the Virgin Mary, a woman of faith, help us to go down this path. We turn to her on the eve of the feast of Our Lady of the Rosary, in communion with the faithful gathered in Pompeii for the traditional Supplication.
Following the recitation of the Angelus, the Holy Father continued:
Dear brothers and sisters!
The Eucharistic celebration with which we began the Special Assembly of the Synod of Bishops for the Pan-Amazonian Region has just concluded in Saint Peter's Basilica. For three weeks the Synod Fathers, gathered around the Successor of Peter, will reflect on the mission of the Church in the Amazon region, on evangelization and on the promotion of an integral ecology. I ask you to accompany this ecclesial event with prayer, so that it may be lived in fraternal communion and docility to the Holy Spirit, who always shows the ways for witnessing to the Gospel.
I thank all of you pilgrims who have come in large numbers from Italy and from many parts of the world. I greet the faithful from Heidelberg, Germany, and from Rozlazino, Poland; the students from Dillingen, Germany as well, and those from the Istituto Sant’Alfonso in Bella Vista, Argentina.
I greet the group from Fara Vicentino and Zugliano, the families from Alta Val Tidone, the pilgrims from Castelli Romani who have marched for peace and those from Camisano Vicentino along the Via Francigena for an initiative of solidarity.
I wish you all a good Sunday. And, please, don't forget to pray for me. Enjoy your lunch and good bye!
No comments:
Post a Comment