At noon today, local time 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!
In today's Gospel (cf Mt 5: 13-16), Jesus says to his disciples: You are the salt of the earth ... You are the light of the world (Mt 5: 13.14). He uses symbolic language to indicate to those who intend to follow him some criteria for living with presence and as witnesses in the world.
The first image is salt. Salt is the element that gives food flavour and that preserves food from corruption. The disciple is therefore called to keep away from society the dangers, the corrosive germs that pollute people's lives. It is a question of resisting moral degradation and sin, of testifying to the values of honesty and fraternity, without giving in to the worldly enticements of rivalry, power and wealth. The disciple is salt who, despite his daily failures - because we all have them - gets up from the dust of his mistakes, starting again with courage and patience, every day, in order to seek dialogue and encounter with others. The disciple is salt who does not seek consensus and praise, but strives to be a humble, constructive presence, in fidelity to the teachings of Jesus who came into the world not to be served, but to serve. And this attitude is needed so much!
The second image that Jesus proposes to his disciples is that of light: You are the light of the world. Light dispels darkness and allows you to see. Jesus is the light that has dispelled the darkness, but darkness still remains in the world and in individual people. It is the task of the Christian to disperse the darkness by making the light of Christ shine and by proclaiming his Gospel. This is an irradiation which can also derive from our words, but must above all stem from our good works (Mt 5: 16). A disciple and a Christian community are light in the world when they direct others to God, helping each other to experience his goodness and his mercy. Jesus' disciple is light when he knows how to live his faith outside of confined spaces, when he helps to eliminate prejudices, to eliminate slanders, and to let the light of truth enter into situations that have been spoiled by hypocrisy and lies. It is up to us to bring light to such situations. But it is not my light, it is the light of Jesus: we are tools for the light of Jesus to reach everyone.
Jesus invites us not to be afraid to live in the world, even if there are sometimes conditions of conflict and sin to be found. In the face of violence, injustice, oppression, the Christian cannot close in on himself or hide within the safety of his own fence; even the Church cannot close in on herself, she cannot abandon her mission of evangelization and service. At the Last Supper, Jesus asked the Father not to remove the disciples from the world, to leave them there in the world, but to keep them from the spirit of the world. The Church spends her efforts generously and tenderly on the little ones and on the poor: this is not the spirit of the world, this is the light, it is salt. The Church listens to the cry of the little ones and those who are excluded, because she is aware of being a pilgrim community called to prolong the saving presence of Jesus Christ in history.
May the Holy Virgin help us to be salt and light in the midst of people, bearing and sharing the good news of God's love with all people through our words and our example.
Following the recitation of the Angelus, the Holy Father continued:
Dear brothers and sisters,
Yesterday, during the liturgical memorial of Saint Josephine Bakhita, we celebrated the World Day of prayer and reflection against Human Trafficking. In order to heal this plague - because it's a real plague! - which exploits the weak, everyone's commitment is needed: institutions, associations and educational agencies. On the prevention front, I would like to point out how various research efforts show that criminal organizations are increasingly using modern means of communication to entice victims with deception. Therefore, it is necessary on the one hand to educate about the healthy use of technological means, and on the other hand, to supervise and to call the suppliers of these services to their proper responsibilities.
Painful news continues to arrive from the north-west of Syria, particularly concerning the conditions of many women and children, and people who are being forced to flee due to military escalation. I renew my heartfelt appeal to the international community and to all the actors involved to make use of diplomatic instruments, dialogue and negotiations, in compliance with International Humanitarian Law, to safeguard the lives and fates of civilians. Let us pray for this beloved and tormented Syria: Hail Mary ...
I greet all of you, from Italy and from other countries, in particular the pilgrims from Seville, Carmona and Cadiz.
I greet the faithful from Milan, Napoli-Fuorigrotta, Portici and Crispano; the young people who have recently been Confirmed in Rosolina and those who have come from Prato; and those who are participating in the International Symposium organized by Catholic Action on the theme: The pedagogy of holiness.
And I wish you all a good Sunday. Please, don't forget to pray for me. Enjoy your lunch and good bye!
Testo originale nella lingua italiana
Greetings of the Holy Father, Pope Francis
prior to the recitation of the Angelus
Dear brothers and sisters, good morning!
In today's Gospel (cf Mt 5: 13-16), Jesus says to his disciples: You are the salt of the earth ... You are the light of the world (Mt 5: 13.14). He uses symbolic language to indicate to those who intend to follow him some criteria for living with presence and as witnesses in the world.
The first image is salt. Salt is the element that gives food flavour and that preserves food from corruption. The disciple is therefore called to keep away from society the dangers, the corrosive germs that pollute people's lives. It is a question of resisting moral degradation and sin, of testifying to the values of honesty and fraternity, without giving in to the worldly enticements of rivalry, power and wealth. The disciple is salt who, despite his daily failures - because we all have them - gets up from the dust of his mistakes, starting again with courage and patience, every day, in order to seek dialogue and encounter with others. The disciple is salt who does not seek consensus and praise, but strives to be a humble, constructive presence, in fidelity to the teachings of Jesus who came into the world not to be served, but to serve. And this attitude is needed so much!
The second image that Jesus proposes to his disciples is that of light: You are the light of the world. Light dispels darkness and allows you to see. Jesus is the light that has dispelled the darkness, but darkness still remains in the world and in individual people. It is the task of the Christian to disperse the darkness by making the light of Christ shine and by proclaiming his Gospel. This is an irradiation which can also derive from our words, but must above all stem from our good works (Mt 5: 16). A disciple and a Christian community are light in the world when they direct others to God, helping each other to experience his goodness and his mercy. Jesus' disciple is light when he knows how to live his faith outside of confined spaces, when he helps to eliminate prejudices, to eliminate slanders, and to let the light of truth enter into situations that have been spoiled by hypocrisy and lies. It is up to us to bring light to such situations. But it is not my light, it is the light of Jesus: we are tools for the light of Jesus to reach everyone.
Jesus invites us not to be afraid to live in the world, even if there are sometimes conditions of conflict and sin to be found. In the face of violence, injustice, oppression, the Christian cannot close in on himself or hide within the safety of his own fence; even the Church cannot close in on herself, she cannot abandon her mission of evangelization and service. At the Last Supper, Jesus asked the Father not to remove the disciples from the world, to leave them there in the world, but to keep them from the spirit of the world. The Church spends her efforts generously and tenderly on the little ones and on the poor: this is not the spirit of the world, this is the light, it is salt. The Church listens to the cry of the little ones and those who are excluded, because she is aware of being a pilgrim community called to prolong the saving presence of Jesus Christ in history.
May the Holy Virgin help us to be salt and light in the midst of people, bearing and sharing the good news of God's love with all people through our words and our example.
Following the recitation of the Angelus, the Holy Father continued:
Dear brothers and sisters,
Yesterday, during the liturgical memorial of Saint Josephine Bakhita, we celebrated the World Day of prayer and reflection against Human Trafficking. In order to heal this plague - because it's a real plague! - which exploits the weak, everyone's commitment is needed: institutions, associations and educational agencies. On the prevention front, I would like to point out how various research efforts show that criminal organizations are increasingly using modern means of communication to entice victims with deception. Therefore, it is necessary on the one hand to educate about the healthy use of technological means, and on the other hand, to supervise and to call the suppliers of these services to their proper responsibilities.
Painful news continues to arrive from the north-west of Syria, particularly concerning the conditions of many women and children, and people who are being forced to flee due to military escalation. I renew my heartfelt appeal to the international community and to all the actors involved to make use of diplomatic instruments, dialogue and negotiations, in compliance with International Humanitarian Law, to safeguard the lives and fates of civilians. Let us pray for this beloved and tormented Syria: Hail Mary ...
I greet all of you, from Italy and from other countries, in particular the pilgrims from Seville, Carmona and Cadiz.
I greet the faithful from Milan, Napoli-Fuorigrotta, Portici and Crispano; the young people who have recently been Confirmed in Rosolina and those who have come from Prato; and those who are participating in the International Symposium organized by Catholic Action on the theme: The pedagogy of holiness.
And I wish you all a good Sunday. Please, don't forget to pray for me. Enjoy your lunch and good bye!
Testo originale nella lingua italiana
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