Pope offers Mass for the
imprisoned
On Wednesday morning, Pope Francis celebrated Mass
especially for the imprisoned, praying that the Lord “might console them in
their difficult moment”.
By Vatican News
Pope Francis began the sacred liturgy on Wednesday morning
remembering the imprisoned. “In a special way I would like to pray for those
who are in prison” he prayed, “for our brothers and sisters…. They suffer and
we must be near to them with our prayer so that the Lord might console them”.
He then reflected on both readings from the liturgy of the day: Jeremiah
18:18-20 and Matthew 20:17-28.
Jeremiah a prophesy of Jesus
Pope Francis opened his homily with an explanation of how
the devil tempts us to reject His plan. Like he did with Jeremiah, the devil
first places obstacles in our way. Then he becomes malicious. Jeremiah’s
experience is also a prophesy “of the Lord’s passion”, the Pope said.
“Let’s place obstacles… The devil doesn’t say, ‘Let’s
conquer him’, or ‘Let’s kick him out’. No. ‘Let’s make his life difficult.
Torment him’…. It's not only a death sentence. It's more than that. It’s
humiliation….”
The devil’s first style
The devil has two styles when he persecutes Christians, the
Pope continued. First, he tries to seduce them with worldliness by “making them
change the plan of redemption”. This is the spirit of the world, expressed on
the lips of the Mother of the sons of Zebedee. Vanity, worldliness, careerism,
success: these are the ways “the devil proposes to distance us from the cross
of Christ”.
The devil’s second style
When that doesn’t work, he tries to destroy the person. “The
devil’s pride is so great that he tries to destroy and enjoys destroying
through maliciousness”, Pope Francis said. He then reflected on the persecution
of many saints and Christians. “They are not killed immediately. They are made
to suffer”, he said. They suffer every form of humiliation, even death.
It is what Jesus experienced. The two thieves crucified with
Jesus were not tormented like He was. They were left in peace to die. “No one
insulted them. They were not interested in them”, the Pope said.
Discernment conquers the devil
Discerning how the devil is working on us is the way to
overcome the obstacles the devil places on our path of discipleship. When a
person is persecuted, they face the devil’s “revenge” because it means they
have conquered him. This is evident today in the lives of many Christians who
are “cruelly persecuted”. He then reflected on the suffering endured by Asia
Bibi during her 9-year imprisonment. “This is the devil’s maliciousness”, the
Pope said.
The Pope’s prayer
Pope Francis concluded his homily with a prayer for this
discernment:
“May the Lord grant us the grace of knowing how to
discern when the spirit that wants to destroy us is present…and when the same
spirit wants to console us through the appearances of the world, with vanity.
“May the Lord grant us the grace to discern the Lord’s
way, which is the cross, from the way of the world which is vanity, and
appearance”.
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