Pope Francis: ‘we do not go to heaven in a carriage’
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis marked Ash
Wednesday inviting the faithful to renew their hope in Christ’s
promises and their commitment to follow Him ever more closely.
He was addressing the crowds gathered in St. Peter’s Square
for the weekly General Audience.
Pointing out that on Ash Wednesday we enter the liturgical
time of Lent, Pope Francis said this time of penitence and mortification
is actually a journey of hope as it is directs us on the path towards
Resurrection, and help us renew our Baptismal identity.
To better understand what this means, he said, we must refer
to the fundamental experience of the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt, in
which the Chosen People journeyed towards the Promised Land and, through
spiritual discipline and the gift of the Law, learned the love of God and neighbor.
The Scriptures, the Pope said, tell of a tormented journey
that symbolically lasted forty years, the time span of a generation, and that
difficulties and obstacles represented continuous temptations to regret Egypt
and to turn back. But, he said, the Lord stayed close to the people who finally
arrived in the Promised Land guided by Moses.
Their journey, he explained, was undertaken ‘in hope’, and
in this sense “it is an ‘exodus’ out of slavery and into freedom.
“Every step, every effort, every test, every fall and every
recovery has a sense within God’s design for salvation, as He wants life – not
death – and joy – not pain – for His people” he said.
The Pope said Easter is Jesus’ own exodus, his passover from
death to life, in which we participate through our rebirth in Baptism.
He said that by following Christ along the way of the Cross,
we share in his victory over sin and death; he explained that in order to
open this passage for us, Jesus had to cast off his glory, he had to humble
himself, he had to be obedient until death on the cross.
“This doesn’t mean that he did everything and we don’t have
to do anything” he said.
The Pope went on to highlight that it doesn’t mean “he went
through the cross and we will go to heaven in a carriage.” That is not how it
works.
He explained that our salvation is Jesus’ gift, but it is
part of a love story and requires our ‘yes’ and our participation.
With a heart open to this horizon, the Pope concluded, let
us enter into Lent feeling that we belong to the holy people of God: “may we
begin our journey of hope with joy.”
Không có nhận xét nào:
Đăng nhận xét