Pope at General Audience: Love
the world that persecutes you
At his General Audience on Wednesday, Pope Francis concludes
his series of catecheses on the Beatitudes, focusing on the final Beatitude,
“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is
the kingdom of heaven”.
By Christopher Wells
Pope Francis concluded his catechesis on the Beatitudes
during his General Audience on Wednesday, 29 April. His reflection focused on
the last of the Beatitudes: “Blessed are those who are persecuted for
righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven”.
A unified journey
The Holy Father noted that the happiness promised in this
final Beatitude is the same as that of the first: the Kingdom of Heaven. “Thus
we understand that we have arrived at the end of a unified journey” that
gradually unfolded as Christ proclaimed each succeeding Beatitude, the Pope
explained. “The Path of the Beatitudes is an Easter journey that leads from a
life according to the world to a life according to God”.
This evangelical path, however, cannot be approved by “the
world, with its idols, its compromises, and its priorities”. The all-too-human
“structures of sin” that we find in the world can only reject the Gospel values
of poverty, or meekness, or purity, “and declare that a life lived according to
the Gospel is an error and a problem”.
The drama of persecution
So, the Pope said, when the world sees people living the
beatitudes, there is discomfort that calls for a decision: either to be open to
discussion and goodness; or “to refuse that light and harden the heart, even to
the point of opposition and rage”.
This shows “the drama of persecution”, the Pope said, but
also reveals “the place of liberation from subjugation to success, vainglory,
and the compromises of the world”.
Those who reject the trappings of worldliness because of
Christ are happy and blessed, Pope Francis said, “because they have found
something more valuable than the whole world”.
Modern persecution of Christians
The Holy Father once more noted, with sorrow, the ongoing
persecution of Christians, which is greater now than it was even in the early
centuries of Christianity. He said, “we must hope and pray that their
tribulation will be ended as soon as possible”, and urged Christians to express
their closeness to their persecuted brothers and sisters, “the bleeding members
of the Body of Christ, which is the Church”.
He warned us, though, that hearing the final Beatitude
should not lead to a self-pitying attitude, or a victim mentality. When
Christians are despised by others, it is not always synonymous with
persecution. Sometimes we are at fault, he said, because “we have lost the
taste of Christ and of the Gospel”.
Pointing to the example of St Paul, Pope Francis noted that
when Paul thought he was righteous, he was in fact a persecutor. It was only
after he realized that he was such that he converted, and became “a man of
love, who faced gladly the persecution he suffered”.
Made to resemble Christ crucified
Pope Francis concluded by saying that facing exclusion and
persecution, “if God grants us the grace”, will make our lives resemble the
life of Christ, Who for our sake was “despised and rejected by men”.
Accepting Christ’s Spirit in our lives can lead us to truly
love the world, even to the point of offering our lives, “without compromising
with its deceptions, and even accepting its rejection” of us. This, said Pope
Francis, “is the life of the Kingdom of Heaven, the greatest joy, and true
happiness”.
Không có nhận xét nào:
Đăng nhận xét