Pope at Mass: the Lord is the
rock on which to build our lives
 |
| Pope Francis reflects on the readings during the morning Mass at Casa Santa.(Vatican Media) |
Speaking and acting. Sand and rock. High and low. Pope
Francis based his homily at the daily Mass on these three contrasts.
By Vatican News
Pope Francis in his homily on Thursday focused on three
pairs of words, drawn from the day’s Scripture readings: speaking and acting;
sand and rock; high and low.
Speaking and acting
The first pair, “to say and to do,” distinguishes two
contrasting approaches to the Christian life:
Speaking is a way of believing, but very superficial, a
halfway journey: I say that I am a Christian but I don’t act like a Christian.
To put it simply, it’s a little bit like dressing up as a Christian: only
saying the words is a kind of deception, speaking without doing. Jesus’
proposal is concrete, always concrete. When someone drew near and asked for
advice, [He always suggested] concrete things. The works of mercy are concrete.
Sand and rock
The second pair of words are also expressed as direct
opposites. Sand is “not solid,” it is a consequence of speaking” but not
acting; of dressing up like a Christian. But it is a life constructed without
foundations.
The rock, on the other hand, is the Lord:
He is the strength. But many times, those who trust in
the Lord are not seen, do not have success, they are hidden… but they are
steady. He doesn’t place his hope in speaking, in vanity, in pride, in the
ephemeral powers of life, [but] in the Lord, the rock. The concreteness of the
Christian life makes us go forward and build on the rock that is God, that is
Jesus; on the solid ground of the divinity. Not on appearances or vanities,
pride, recommendations… No. [On] the truth.
High and low
The Pope then turns to the third pair of terms, high and
low, which contrasts the path of the proud and the vain, on the one hand, with
the footsteps of the humble on the other. Quoting the reading from the Prophet
Isaiah, Pope Francis noted that the Lord, “humbles those in high places, and
the lofty city he brings down; He tumbles it to the ground, levels it with the
dust. It is trampled underfoot by the needy, by the footsteps of the poor.”
This passage from the Prophet Isaiah has the air of
the Magnificat, the song of our Lady: The Lord raises the
humble, those who are in the concreteness of every day, and beats down the
proud, those who build their lives on vanity, pride… these things do not last.
Questions for Advent
In this period of Advent, the Pope said, it would be helpful
to ask ourselves certain crucial questions: “Am I a Christian of words, or of
deeds?” “Am I building my life on the rock of God, or on the sand of
worldliness, of vanity?” “Am I humble, always trying to go along the lowly
path, without pride, so as to serve the Lord?”
Không có nhận xét nào:
Đăng nhận xét