Pope: the pastor when he is accused by the devil 'suffers, offers his life and prays'

The pastor "must have the power and authority that Jesus had, that of humility, that of meekness, of closeness, of the capacity for compassion, of tenderness". "When the people insulted him, that Good Friday, and shouted 'crucify him', he remained silent because he had compassion on those people deceived by the powerful who had money, who had power ... He was silent. He prayed ".

Vatican City (AsiaNews) - "The pastor, in difficult times, at times when the devil is unleashed, where the pastor is accused, but accused by the Great Accuser through so many people, so many powerful, suffers, offers his life and prays"  said Pope Francis today at Mass this morning at Casa Santa Marta, inspired by the passage from the Gospel of Luke (Lk 7: 11-17), which recounts the miracle of the resurrection of the widow's son.

What gave Jesus authority, Pope Francis explained, was that “he spent most of his time on the road”, touching, embracing, listening and looking at the people in the eye. “He was near them”, the Pope said. “this is what gave him authority”.

Jesus taught the same thing that many others taught, the Pope continued. It was how he taught that was different. Jesus “was meek, and did not cry out. He did not punish the people”. He never trumpeted the fact that he was the Messiah or a Prophet. “In the Gospel, when Jesus was not with people, he was with the Father praying”, Pope Francis said. His meekness toward the Father was expressed when he “visited the house of his Father which had become a shopping mall….” He was angry and threw everyone out, the Pope said. “He did this because he loved the Father, because he was humble before the Father”.

Jesus was overcome with compassion for the widow. Jesus “thought with his heart”, which was not separated from his head, Pope Francis said. Then Jesus tenderly touches her and speaks to her, “Do not weep”. “This is the icon of the pastor”. The pastor “needs to have the power and authority that Jesus had, that humility, that meekness, that nearness, the capacity to be compassionate and tender”, the Pope said.

The Pope brought up that it was also the people who yelled “crucify him”. Jesus then compassionately remained silent because “the people were deceived by the powerful”, Pope Francis explained. His response was silence and prayer. Here the shepherd chooses silence when the “Great Accuser” accuses him “through so many people”. Jesus “suffers, offers his life, and prays”, Pope Francis said. That prayer carried him even to the Cross, with strength; even there he had the capacity of drawing near to and healing the soul of the repentant thief.