Pope: contemplation and service are 'the path' of a Christian's life

“In order to know which side we are on, or whether we are exaggerating because we are getting into an overly abstract, even gnostic, contemplation; or whether we are too busy; we must ask ourselves the question: ‘Am I in love with the Lord? Am I certain, certain that He has chosen me? Or do I live my Christianity like this, doing things… Yes, I do this, I do that; But what does my heart do? Does it contemplate?”

Vatican City (AsiaNews) – Pope Francis, in his homily this morning during Mass at Casa Santa Marta, said that contemplation and service are "the path" of a Christian's life. The key word for not making mistakes in a Christian life is to be "in love" with the Lord and to take inspiration from him for our actions.

This is how, in today’s reading, the apostle Paul describes his life in the First Letter to the Galatians. The balance between the two qualities of "contemplation and service" are well illustrated in today's Gospel (Lk 38,42) centred on the figures of Martha and Mary, sisters of Lazarus of Bethany, where Jesus was a guest.

"The two sisters, in their way of doing, teach us how we should go forward in the Christian life". Mary “listened to the Lord", whilst Marta was "distracted" because "she was occupied in services".

Martha was a "strong" woman, who could rebuke the Lord for not being present at the death of her brother Lazarus. She knew how to "put herself forward", courageous but devoid of "contemplation", unable to "waste time gazing upon the Lord".

"There are so many Christians, yes, they go to Mass on Sundays, but they are always busy. They have no time for their children, they don’t play with their children. This is bad. ‘I have so much to do, I’m so busy . . .’ [they say]. And in the end, they become worshippers of that religion which is busy-ness: they belong to the group of the busy, who are always doing things . . . But pause, gaze upon the Lord, take the Gospel, listen to the Word of the Lord, open your heart . . . No: always the language of the hands, always. And they do good, but not Christian good: a human good. These people lack contemplation. Martha lacked that. [She was] courageous, always going forward, taking things in hand, but lacking peace: losing time gazing upon the Lord.”

Conversely, for Francis, Mary’s contemplation is not a ‘dolce far niente’, sweet idleness. She "gazed at the Lord because the Lord had touched her heart and from there, from the inspiration of the Lord, came the work that had to be undertaken later.” It is St Benedict’s rule, "Ora et labora", embodied by cloistered monks and nuns, who certainly do not "spend all day gazing at the sky. They [also] pray and work."

The apostle Paul embodies this as well, as indicated in today's First Reading: "When God chose him he did not go out and preach" right away; instead, "he went to pray" and "contemplate the mystery of Jesus Christ who had been revealed to him."

“Everything Paul did, he did with this spirit of contemplation, of gazing upon the Lord. It was the Lord who spoke from his heart, because Paul was in love with the Lord. And this is the key for not going astray: ‘being in love’. In order to know which side we are on, or whether we are exaggerating because we are getting into an overly abstract, even gnostic, contemplation; or whether we are too busy; we must ask ourselves the question: ‘Am I in love with the Lord? Am I certain, certain that He has chosen me? Or do I live my Christianity like this, doing things . . . Yes, I do this, I do that; but what does my heart do? Does it contemplate?

It's like when a husband comes home from work and is welcomed by his wife. The one who is really in love does not let him sit down and then continue doing her housework. She "takes the time to be with him."

Thus, we too must take the time to be with the Lord at the service of others. "Contemplation and service: this is the path of our life. Each one of us can think to ourselves, ‘How much time each day do I give to contemplating the mystery of Jesus?’ And then, ‘How do I work? Do I work so much that there seems to be an alienation? Or is my work consistent with my faith, work as a service that comes from the Gospel?’ We would do well to consider this."

• vatican
• pope francis
• homily
• casa santa marta
• contemplation
• service
• in love