Pope: priests bring the Word of God and the Eucharist to the sick
"Have the courage to go with our miseries to speak to the Lord: 'Come, come! Discuss! Do not be afraid". "This is the invitation of the Lord. But there is always a deception: instead of going to talk to the Lord, pretend not to be sinners. " It is "appearance, vanity. Cover the truth of our heart with vanity. Vanity never heals! ".
Vatican City (AsiaNews) - "We pray to the Lord also for our priests, so that they may have the courage to go out and go to the sick, bringing the strength of the Word of God and the Eucharist and accompanying health workers, volunteers, in this work they are doing. "
In the second mass celebrated in a chapel of Casa Santa Marta "without guests", because of the coronavirus, Pope Francis once again recalled that the celebration is for those who suffer from coronavirus, for those who treat the sick, adding a thought for the priests.
Taking inspiration from the passage of the Gospel (Mt 23,1-12) in which Jesus invites us to follow what the scribes and Pharisees say, but not what they do, showing off their superiority, calling themselves masters, but refusing to behave consistently, Francis urged us to speak to God about our sins.
"Yesterday the word of God taught us to recognize our sins and to confess them." "Today," he continued, "the Lord asks all of us sinners to dialogue with Him". He then continued his reflection focusing on passage from the Book of Isaiah: "Come now, let us set things right, says the LORD: Though your sins be like scarlet, they may become white as snow".
Like Adam and Eve, we tend to hide ourselves because of the shame we feel because of the things we have done. Sin makes us close in ourselves. God calls to us to talk about it with Him instead.
"And the Lord calls us, 'Come on let's talk this over', the Lord says. Let's talk about your sin. Let's talk about your situation. Don't be afraid. No…. Come here. I'm able to change everything, the Lord says. "Don't be afraid to come and speak about it. Be courageous even before your misery. "
The Lord wants us to give Him our sins
Pope Francis then told the story about a saint who was discouraged. No matter what he did, he always felt that the Lord wasn’t satisfied. So, he asked the Lord what was missing. "Give me your sins. That's what's missing ", the Lord responded, the Pope said.
We deceive ourselves by not speaking with the Lord, Pope Francis continued. We pretend we are not sinners. This is what the Lord reproves the Doctors of the Law for. They did everything for appearance, he said, referring to the Gospel of Matthew 23.
"Appearance ... Vanity ... Covering the truth of our heart with vanity ... Vanity never heals ... Rather, it's poisonous. It increases our hardness of heart. [Vanity] says, ‘don't go to the Lord. Remain alone. Vanity is a place where we close ourselves to the Lord's call. But the invitation of the Lord is that of a father, a brother. 'Come on. Come here. Let's talk. In the end, I'm the one who can change your life from red to white. "
The Pope concluded his homily, saying that the Word of the Lord shows us that our prayer can be real. We can even pray about the reality of our sins.
"The Lord knows who we are ... but vanity invites us to cover that up. May the Lord help us. "
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