Pope: with Baptism we receive 'Christian identity' which parents and godparents must safeguard
Francis baptises 16 children, and expresses the hope that in Kazakhstan "social harmony will be found as soon as possible through the search for dialogue, justice and the common good". Prayer "is not an escape route, it is not a magic ritual or a repetition of chants learned by heart", "it is the key that opens the heart to the Lord".
Vatican City (AsiaNews) - With Baptism we receive "Christian identity" that parents and godparents must "safeguard". This is "the task" that Pope Francis entrusted to those who this morning brought 16 infants - 7 boys and 9 girls, children of Vatican employees - to the Sistine Chapel where they received Baptism.
The ceremony took place on the day in which the Baptism of Jesus is remembered. Recalling it at the Angelus, Francis stressed that in that first moment of his public life, "Jesus does not present himself with some miracle or by climbing up on a cathedra to teach. He stands in line with sinners who were going to receive baptism from John. He shares the lot of us sinners, he comes down to us" and prays.
To the 10,000 people present in St Peter's Square despite the drizzly day, Francis also said that he had learned "with sorrow that there have been victims during the protests that have broken out in recent days in Kazakhstan. I pray for them and for their families, and I hope that social harmony will be found as soon as possible through the search for dialogue, justice and the common good. I entrust the Kazakh people to the protection of Our Lady, Queen of Peace of Oziornoje".
In a brief homily this morning, he said that "there is a very beautiful liturgical hymn in today's feast which says that the people of Israel went to the Jordan 'with bare feet and a bare soul', that is, a soul that wanted to be bathed by God, that had no wealth, that needed God. Today these children also come here with 'bare feet and bare souls' to receive God's justification, the strength of Jesus, the strength to go on in life".
This theme was taken up again at the Angelus, when he said that in Jesus' prayer "we can see the 'two movements' of Jesus' life: on the one hand he descends with us, in the waters of the Jordan; on the other hand he raises his gaze and heart by praying to the Father. This is a great lesson for us: we are all immersed in the problems of life and in many intricate situations, called to face difficult moments and choices that pull us down.
However, he added, "if we do not want to be crushed, we need to lift everything upwards. And this is what prayer does, it is not an escape route, it is not a magic ritual or a repetition of chants learnt by heart. Praying is the way to let God act in us, to grasp what He wants to communicate to us even in the most difficult situations, praying to have the strength to go on. Prayer helps us because it unites us to God, it opens us up to an encounter with Him. Yes, prayer is the key that opens the heart to the Lord". "It is to dialogue with God, it is to listen to his Word, it is to adore: to remain in silence entrusting to him what we live. And sometimes it is also to cry out to Him like Job, to vent with Him".
The Pope went on to say, "to use a beautiful image from today's Gospel, prayer 'opens up the sky' (cf. v. 21): it gives life oxygen, breath even in the midst of anguish and makes us see things in a broader way. Above all, it allows us to have the same experience as Jesus at the Jordan: it makes us feel like children loved by the Father. To us too, when we pray, the Father says, as to Jesus in the Gospel: "You are my son, the beloved" (cf. v. 22). Our being children began on the day of our Baptism, which immersed us in Christ and made us into beloved children of the Father. Let us not forget the date of our Baptism!".
Pope Francis concluded "today let us ask ourselves: how is my prayer? Do I pray out of habit, unwillingly, just reciting formulas? Or do I cultivate intimacy with God, dialogue with Him, listen to His Word? Among the many things we do," he concluded, "let us not neglect prayer: let us devote time to it, let us use short invocations to be repeated often, let us read the Gospel every day".
.png)
11/01/2009
13/01/2019 13:28
