In the life of a Christian, humility is an indispensable quality that is needed in order to allow the gifts of the Holy Spiri t to grow. This was the reflection of Pope Francis in his homily at Mass, Tuesday morning, in the chapel of the Casa Santa Marta residence in the Vatican. Drawing inspiration from the Prophet Isaiah, the Pope said that every Christian is like “a small shoot on which the Spirit of the Lord rests, the spirit of wisdom and intelligence, the spirit of counsel and fortitude, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord “. “These,” the Pope said, “are the gifts of the Holy Spirit which grow from the smallness of the bud to the fullness of the Spirit. This is the promise, this is the Kingdom of God” and “the life of the Christian,” he stressed.
Listen to our report:
Humility
The Pope said that the task of a Christian is to be aware that each of us is a “sprout of that root which must grow with the power of the Holy Spirit, to the fullness of the Holy Spirit in us.” And our task, he said is to safeguard this sprout, this growth which is the Spirit.” The Holy Father said this is done by adopting a lifestyle of a Christian that resembles Christ , which is the path of humility.
The Holy Father said it takes faith and humility to believe that this bud, this small gift will grow to the fullness of the gifts of the Holy Spirit. He said, it takes humility to believe that the Father, Lord of Heaven and Earth, as the day’s Gospel says, has hidden these things from the wise and the learned and revealed them to the little ones. Humility means to be small, like the sprout that grows little by little to the fullness of life through the power of Holy Spirit.
Humiliation
The Pope further explained that being humble does not mean being polite, courteous or closing one’s eyes in prayer. Being humble means being able to accept humiliations. “ Humility without humiliation,” he stressed, “ is not humility. ” A humble man or a woman is one who is able to endure humiliations like Jesus whom the Pope described as “the great humiliated.”
Pope Francis recalled the example of many saints “who not only accepted humiliations but asked for them” in order to resemble Jesus. The Pope concluded his homily urging that the Lord “grant us this grace to safeguard this smallness towards the fullness of the Spirit without forgetting the root and by accepting humiliation.
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis has revealed his prayer intention for the month of December, which is “for the elderly”.
In a video message explaining the prayer petition, the Pope said “a people that does not take care of grandparents, that does not treat them well, has no future.”
He added that the “elderly have wisdom, they are entrusted with a great responsibility: to transmit their life experience, their family history, the history of a community, of a people.”
The Pope prayed: “Let us keep in mind our elders so that sustained by families and institutions, they may with their wisdom and experience collaborate in the education of new generations.”
Care and respect for the elderly has been a prominent issue addressed by Pope Francis throughout his pontificate. Last year he hosted a meeting marking National Grandparents’ Day in Italy and in 2015 he gave two Wednesday audience catechises on the elderly, pointing out that old age has a grace and a mission” and is “a true vocation from the Lord.”
The monthly videos detailing the Pontiff’s prayer intentions are promoted by the “Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network,” an organisation dedicated to assisting the mission of the Church and addressing the challenges facing humanity. The group encourages Catholics from around the world to submit ideas for prayer petitions and presents a selection of them for the Pope to choose for each month.
(Richard Paul Marsden)
Click below to watch the video message:
(from Vatican Radio)…