Pope: To meet Jesus, we must go on the journey
(Vatican Radio) The Christian faith is not a theory or a
philosophy – it is the encounter with Jesus. That was the message of Pope
Francis at the morning Mass at the Casa Santa Marta at the beginning of Advent.
The Pope emphasized that in order to truly encounter Jesus we undertake the
journey with three attitudes: vigilant in prayer, industrious in charity,
exultant in praise.
Encountering Jesus: this is “the grace that we desire in
Advent.” Pope Francis centred the homily for the Holy Mass on the theme of the
encounter with the Lord. He noted first that in this period of the year, the
Liturgy shows us many encounters with Jesus: with His Mother in the womb, with
Saint John the Baptist, with the Shepherds, with the Magi. All this, he said,
shows us that Advent is “a time for journeying and going forth to meet the
Lord, that is, a time to not stand still."
Prayer, charity, and praise: how we encounter the Lord
And so we must ask ourselves how we can go forth to meet
Jesus. “What are the attitudes that I must have in order to encounter the
Lord?” How, the Pope asks, “must I prepare my heart for the encounter with the
Lord?”
In the prayer at the beginning of the Mass, the Liturgy
points out three attitudes: vigilance in prayer, industriousness in charity,
and exultant in praise. That is, I must pray, with vigilance. I must be
hardworking in charity – fraternal charity, not only giving alms, no; but being
tolerant of the people who annoy me, being tolerant at home of the children
when they make too much noise; or of the husband or wife when they are
difficult; or the mother-in-law… I don’t know… but tolerant: tolerant… charity,
always, but hard-working. And also the joy of praising the Lord: ‘Exulting in
joy.’ That is how we must live this journey, this desire to encounter the Lord.
To encounter Him in a good way. Not standing still. And we will encounter the
Lord.
However, the Pope added, “there will be a surprise, because
He is the Lord of surprises.” The Lord, too, “does not stand still.” “I am on a
journey to encounter Him, and He is on a journey to encounter me, and when we
meet one another we see that the great surprise is that He was seeking me before
I began to seek Him.”
The Lord always goes before us in the encounter
Pope Francis said that this “is the great surprise of the
encounter with the Lord: He sought us first. He is always first. He makes His
journey in order to find us.” That is what happened with the Centurion:
The Lord always goes beyond, goes first. We take one step
and He takes ten. Always. The abundance of grace, of His love, of His
tenderness that never tires of seeking us. Even, at times, with small things:
We think that encountering the Lord would be something magnificent, like that
man of Syria, Naaman, who was a leper [did]. And it’s not simple… And he too
had a great surprise at God’s way of acting. And our God is the God of
surprises, the God that is seeking us, is awaiting us, and asks of us only the
little step of good will.
We must have the “desire to encounter Him,” the Pope
continued. And then He “helps us.” The Lord, he said, “will accompany us during
our life. Although many times, perhaps, we seem to be far from Him, “He waits
for us like the father of the prodigal son.”
Faith does not consist in knowing dogmas, but in
encountering Jesus
“Often times,” he added, “He sees that we want to draw
close, and He comes out to meet us. It is the encounter with the Lord: This is
the important thing! The encounter.” Pope Francis said he was always struck by
something Pope Benedict had said, “that the faith is not a theory, a
philosophy, an idea; it is an encounter. An encounter with Jesus.” If, on the
other hand, “one has not encountered His mercy,” it would be possible even
“recite the Creed from memory” without necessarily having faith”:
The doctors of the Law knew everything, all the dogmas of
that time, all the morals of that time, everything. They did not have faith,
because their hearts were far from God. Drawing away or having the will to go
forward to encounter. And this is the grace that we ask for today: ‘O God, our
Father, raise up in us the desire to meet your Christ,’ with good works. To
meet Jesus. And for this we remember the grace that we have asked in prayer,
with vigilance in prayer, industriousness in charity, and exulting in praise.
And so we will encounter the Lord and we will have a very beautiful
surprise.
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