Pope: 'when we meet the Lord we
will bring only what we have given'
Reflecting on the Gospel reading of the day at the Sunday
Angelus, Pope Francis reminded the faithful that when we meet the Lord we will
be called to account for our lives.
By Linda Bordoni
Addressing the crowds gathered in St. Peter’s Square for
the Angelus, Pope Francis on Sunday reflected on
the Gospel passage in which the Lord talks to disciples about how all men will
be called to account for their lives.
Referring to the reading from the Gospel of Mark, the Pope
said it is not so much a discourse about the end of the world, but rather an
invitation to live the present well, to be vigilant and always ready for when
we will be called to account for our lives.
The radiant face of the Lord
He said that although the words in the passage describe the
end of times, Jesus is telling us that “the light that will shine on that last
day will be unique and new: it will be the light of the Lord Jesus that will
come in glory with all the saints”.
In that encounter, he explained, we will finally see his
Face in the full light of the Trinity; a Face that is radiant with love, and
before which every human being will also appear in total truth.
The Pope said that the history of humanity, like the
personal history of each of us, cannot be understood as a simple succession of
words and facts that have no meaning.
Nor, he continued, can it be interpreted in the light of a
fatalistic vision, as if everything were already established according to a
destiny that takes away freedom and prevents us from making choices that are
the fruit of a true decision.
Rather, he continued, Jesus says that the history of peoples
and that of individuals has an end and a goal to be achieved: the definitive
encounter with the Lord.
Heaven and earth will pass away
The Pope said that no one knows the time or the way in which
that encounter will happen, but he pointed out, there is a fundamental
principle with which we must confront ourselves: “Heaven and earth will pass
away but His words will not pass away”.
Thus, he said, “each of us will have to understand whether
the Word of the Son of God has enlightened our personal existence, or whether
he or she has turned their back on him, preferring to trust in their own
words”.
Cunning and wealth will be of no use
No one, Pope Francis said, can escape this moment. And he
warned that the cunning behavior that we so often resort to in order to put on
an appearance will no longer be of use, just as the power of money and the
economic means with which we presume to buy everything and everyone, will no
longer be of use either.
“We will have with us nothing more than what we have
achieved in this life by believing in his Word: all and nothing of what we have
lived or neglected to do” he said.
Pope Francis concluded his catechesis invoking the
intercession of the Virgin Mary “so that the realization of our temporariness
on earth and of our limitations do not plunge us into anguish, but directs us
back to our responsibility towards ourselves, towards our neighbour, towards
the whole world”.
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