Pope at Mass: Jesus wants to
accompany us through sadness
Pope Francis celebrates Sunday Mass at the Casa Santa Marta
chapel praying for those who are sad. He reminds us in his homily that Jesus is
near to all who feel distress and dissatisfaction.
By Sr Bernadette Mary Reis, fsp
“Today in this Mass, we pray for all those who are suffering
from sadness, because they are alone or because they do not know what to expect
in the future”. This was Pope Francis’s prayer intention for Mass on Sunday at
the Casa Santa Marta chapel.
He once again listed families who are suffering financially
and may be without work.
Pope Francis focused his homily on the day’s Gospel (Luke
24:13-35). It recounts how the Lord accompanied the disciples on their way to
Emmaus.
Christians have met Jesus
Pope Francis began his homily with a description of a
Christian. “A person is Christian because he or she has met Jesus and has
allowed Jesus to meet them”. The Lord interacts with us in just the same way
that He interacted with the two disciples on the way to Emmaus, the Pope
continued.
We are thirsty for God
It begins with the “seed of dissatisfaction” that we are
born with, he explained. Many times, we are not aware of the thirst in our
souls for fulfillment. We take many wrong roads seeking what in the end never
satisfies us. What we are really thirsting for is “the encounter with God”,
Pope Francis stated.
God is thirsty for us
At the same time, God thirsts to meet us. This is why God
sent Jesus so that He could draw near and satisfy this thirst. Jesus is
extremely respectful of “our personal situation”, “He moves slowly”, “He is
respectful of our readiness”, “He is patient”, “He doesn’t rush ahead”, Pope
Francis explained. Jesus accompanies us at our side and invites us to
talk about what bothers us, even to the point of feigning ignorance.
The Lord likes to hear us speak so He can understand us
well and to give the correct response to our dissatisfaction. The Lord does not
accelerate. He always goes at our own pace… He waits for us to take the first
step. And when it is the right moment, He asks us a question… Then He responds.
He explains up until the right point... Then He pretends to go farther, to see
how deep our dissatisfaction is… At the moment when our dissatisfaction meets
Jesus, the life of grace and fullness of life begins there.
What did Jesus say?
Pope Francis says that he has always been curious to know
what Jesus said to those two disciples “so as to do the same”. “It must have
been a beautiful catechesis”, he said. Jesus accompanies us along the entire
journey, even when we are not aware of His presence.
We meet Jesus in the darkness of our doubts, even in the
horrible darkness of our sins. The Lord is always there to help us in our
distress. He’s always with us... The Lord accompanies us because He desires to
meet us. This is the core of Christianity.
The Pope’s prayer
The Pope’s concluding prayer was that “Jesus might grant to
each one of us the grace of meeting Him every day, to knowing and to
specifically recognize that He walks with us in every moment. He is our
companion along the pilgrim way”.
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