Pope: when we do not want to live with Jesus, ways of living that are not coherent with the Gospel prevail
Francis ordained 16 priests and called for an end to the violence and unnecessary bloodshed in Nicaragua where "following social protests, clashes occurred, causing some victims".
Vatican City (AsiaNews) - Jesus knows each of us and each of us should try to get to know Jesus. “When the desire to live the relationship with Jesus, to listen to his voice and to follow him faithfully cools in our communities, it is inevitable that other ways of thinking and living that that are not coherent with the Gospel will prevail," said Pope Francis today before the Regina Caeli.
The Holy Father was inspired by the passage in the Acts of the Apostles in which "Peter openly declares that the healing of the crippled man, made by him and of which all Jerusalem was talking about, was done in the name of Jesus, because ‘There is no salvation through anyone else’ (4:12).”
“But who is the Christ who heals?” asked the pontiff before 30,00 people present in St Peter's Square. “What does being healed by Him consist of? What does he heal us from? And through what attitudes? We find the answer to all these questions in today's Gospel, where Jesus says: " I am the good shepherd. A good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep" (Jn 10:11).
“Jesus’s self-presentation cannot be reduced to an emotional suggestion, without any concrete effect! Jesus heals through his being a shepherd who gives life. Giving his life for us, Jesus says to each one: 'your life is worth so much to me, that to save it I give all of myself'. It is precisely this offering of his life that makes him a good Shepherd par excellence, the one who heals, the One who allows us to live a beautiful and fruitful life."
"The second part of the same Gospel page tells us under what conditions Jesus can heal us and can make our lives joyful and fruitful. ‘I am the good shepherd, and I know mine and mine know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father’ (Jn 14:15). Jesus does not speak of intellectual knowledge, but of a personal relationship, of predilection, of mutual tenderness, a reflection of the same intimate relationship of love between Him and the Father. This is the attitude through which a living and personal relationship with Jesus is realised: letting ourselves be known by Him; not closing oneself in oneself, opening oneself to the Lord.
“He is attentive to each of us, knows our heart deeply: he knows our strengths and our faults, the projects we have achieved and the hopes that have been disappointed. But he accepts us the way we are, even with our sins, to forgive us. He guides us with love so that we can cross paths that are also inaccessible without losing the way. In turn, we are called to know Jesus. This implies an encounter with Him, one that arouses the desire to follow him, abandoning self-referential attitudes to set out on new paths, indicated by Christ himself and open to vast horizons."
Before the recitation of the Marian prayer, on World Day of Prayer for Vocations, Francis ordained sixteen priests. During the rite celebrated in Saint Peter's Basilica, the pope reminded them to be collaborators of Jesus, the "only High Priest of the New Testament".
"Conscious of having been chosen among men and constituted in their favour to attend to the things of God, exert Christ’s priestly work in joy and sincere charity, solely focused on pleasing God and not yourselves or men, for other interests. Only the service to God, for the good of the holy faithful people of God.
“Finally, participating in the mission of Christ, Head and Pastor, in filial communion with your Bishop, commit yourselves to uniting the faithful into one family to lead them to God the Father through Christ in the Holy Spirit. And always hold before your eyes the example of the Good Shepherd, who did not come to be served, but to serve and to seek and save what was lost."
Six of the new priests come from the Redemptoris Mater Diocesan College, five from the Pontifical Roman Major Seminary, four from the Family of the Disciples, and one from the Opera Don Orione.
The pope also spoke about the World Day to the people present in Saint Peter's Square for the Regina Caeli. "Let us thank God so that he may continue to generate in the Church stories of love for Jesus Christ, to praise his glory and serve his brothers. Today, in particular, we are thankful for new priests whom I recently ordained in Saint Peter's Basilica. Let us ask the Lord to send many good workers to work in his field, as well as to multiply vocations to the consecrated life and Christian marriage."
Francis also said that he was "very concerned about what is happening in Nicaragua, where, following social protests, clashes occurred, causing some victims. I express my closeness in prayer to that beloved country, and I join the bishops calling for an end to all the violence and useless bloodshed; may the outstanding issues be resolved peacefully and with a sense of responsibility.”
.png)
24/10/2019 17:56
11/05/2014
