Pope: Saints, family celebration, the beatitudes, the path of happiness
During the Angelus, Pope Francis said that the way of the beatitudes runs against the mindset of the world. People should choose between the path of "heaven or earth". For the pontiff, "we were born to never die again, we were born to enjoy the happiness of God!"
Vatican City (AsiaNews) – The Solemnity of All Saints, which the Catholic Church celebrates today, is "a family celebration,” said Pope Francis before reciting the Angelus together with pilgrims in St Peter’s Square. The saints "invite us on the path of happiness,” he added, “as indicated in today's Gospel", which is that of the Beatitudes (Matthew 5:1-12a).
"The saints are close to us,” the pontiff noted. “Indeed, they are our true brothers and sisters. They understand us, they love us, they know what is really our good for us, they help us and they wait for us. They are happy and they want us to be happy with them in paradise."
However, the way of the Beatitudes runs against the mindset of the world. "The Gospel says blessed are the poor, whilst the world says blessed are the rich. The Gospel says blessed are the meek, whilst the world says blessed are the arrogant. The Gospel says blessed are the pure, whilst the world says blessed are the cunning and the pleasure-seeking. This path of the beatitude, of holiness, seems to lead to defeat. Yet, as the first reading reminds us again, the saints hold "palm branches" (Rv 7:9), that is, the symbols of victory. They won, not the world. And they exhort us to choose their side, that of God who is Holy."
"We should ask ourselves on which side we stand: that of heaven or that of earth? Do we live for the Lord or for ourselves, for eternal happiness or for some fulfillment now? Let us ask ourselves: do we really want holiness? Or do we content ourselves with being Christians without infamy and without praise, who believe in God and esteem others but without exaggerating?"
"It is good for us to let ourselves be provoked by the saints, who here have not had half measures and from there ’cheer’ for us because we choose God, humility, meekness, mercy, purity, because we are passionate about heaven rather than the earth."
"Today our brothers and sisters do not ask us to hear a beautiful Gospel again but to put it into practice, to set out on the path of the Beatitudes. It is not about doing extraordinary things, but about following every day the path that leads us to heaven, in the family, at home. So today let us glimpse at our future and celebrate what we were born for: we were born to never die again, we were born to enjoy the happiness of God!"
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01/11/2020 13:50
