Pope: have the courage to follow "patient" Jesus, who went alone to the Cross
Jesus is "firm and obedient" to the will of the Father, but before this decision, before the path to Jerusalem and the Cross, the disciples do not follow their Master. Speak with Jesus, asking him: "How often do I try to do many things and do I not look at you, at what you have done for me? You have come with patience - the patient man, patient God - with patience you tolerate my sins, my failures”.
Vatican City (AsiaNews) - Have the courage to follow Jesus who accepts the will of the Father and goes alone to the cross, misunderstood and abandoned by the disciples, said Pope Francis at Mass this morning at Casa Santa Marta, commenting on the passage of the Gospel of Luke, which tells of Jesus walking with his disciples to Jerusalem as “the days for Jesus to be taken up were fulfilled”.
Accepting the will of his Father, Jesus – he said – resolutely determined to undertake that journey and announced His intention to the disciples. “Only once, the Pope recalled, in the Garden of Gethsemane did He ask the Father to ‘remove the cup of wrath He was about to drink’, but each time He submitted to the Father’s will.” That’s what the Father wants of us, he said, determination and obedience, and He will await with infinite patience.
Francis went on to explain that the disciples did not follow their Master during his journey to Jerusalem. “At times the disciples did not understand what Jesus was saying or did not want to understand because they were afraid; other times they hid the truth or they were distracted by other things; or – as we can read in today’s Gospel: they searched for an alibi so as not to think about what was awaiting the Lord” he said.
He pointed out that Jesus was alone in his decision because no one understood the mystery of Jesus, and noted that the only one that God sent to strengthen and comfort Him in the Garden of Gethsemane was an angel sent from Heaven. “Let us take some time, the Pope said, to think about Jesus who loved us so much, who walked alone towards the cross: think about Him and thank Him for his obedience and His courage and enter into conversation with Him.”
Francis concluded, "Speak with Jesus, asking him: "How often do I try to do many things and do I not look at you, at what you have done for me? You have come with patience - the patient man, patient God - with patience you tolerate my sins, my failures”. “Take some time today – five, ten, fifteen minutes – either before the crucifix or with your imagination, to ‘see’ Jesus walking determinately towards Jerusalem and ask for the grace to have the courage to follow him closely” he said.
.png)
07/02/2019 17:28
