(Vatican Radio) Resuming the daily Mass at the Casa Santa Marta after the summer break, Pope Francis, in his homily, spoke about the importance of working for peace in small, daily actions – because, he said, it is in small daily gestures that peace on a global scale is born.
It is not so much great international meetings that produce peace, he said. Rather, peace is a gift from God which is born in small places: in the heart, for instance; or in a dream, as happened to St Joseph when the angel told him not to fear to take Mary as his wife, because she would give the world “Emmanuel”, that is, “God with us.” And “God with us”, the Pope said, “is peace.”
A gift we work for each day
The Pope began his reflection from the liturgy, which pronounces the word “peace” from the very first prayer. The Holy Father focused on the words of the opening prayer, “that we might all grow in unity and in peace.” We must work “to grow” in peace, he said, because peace is a gift “that has its own life journey”; and so, each one of us must work to develop it:
“And this path of saints and sinners tells us that we too ought to take this gift of peace and make it the path in our own life, make it enter into us, make it enter the world. Peace is not made overnight; peace is a gift, but a gift that must be taken up and worked on every day. For this reason, we can say that peace is a gift that is crafted in the hands of men. We men and women, each day, should take a step towards peace: It is our work. It is our work with the gift we have received: to make peace.”
War in our hearts, war in the world
But how can we succeed in this objective? the Pope asked. He pointed to a specific word in the liturgy of the day, which speaks of “littleness”: that of Mary, which is celebrated at Christmas, and also that of Bethlehem, “so small that you are not even on the maps,” as Francis paraphrased:
“ Peace is a gift, it is a handcrafted gift that we must work for every day; but doing so in the small things, in daily ‘littleness.’ Great manifestations for peace, great international encounters, are not enough if peace is not then made in little things. On the contrary, you can speak of peace with splendid words, putting together a great conference… But if in your little things, in your heart, there is no peace, in your family there is no peace, in your neighbourhood there is no peace, in your place of work there is no peace, there will not be peace in the world.”
The question to ask
Pope Francis suggested that we should ask God for the grace of “the wisdom to make peace, in the little things of each day, but aiming at the horizons of the whole of humanity,” especially today, in which “we are living a war and all are seeking peace.” And in the meantime, he said, it would be good to start with this question:
“How is your heart, today? Is it at peace? If it is not at peace, before speaking of peace, make sure your own heart is at peace. How is your family, today? Is it at peace? If you are not able to bring peace to your family, your rectory, your congregation, bringing it more peace, then words of peace for the world are not enough. This is the question that I would like to ask today: How is the heart of each one of us? Is it at peace? How is the family of each one of us? Is it at peace? That’s how it is, isn’t it? To achieve peace in the world.”
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis invoked St. Teresa of Calcutta on Wednesday, in his final words to pilgrims and tourists before imposing his Apostolic Blessing at the end of the weekly General Audience.
“This past Sunday, we celebrated the caononisation of Mother Teresa of Calcutta,” said Pope Francis in special greetings to the sick, to young people, and to newlyweds in St. Peter’s Square for the occasion.
“Dear young people,” he continued, “become like her: artisans of mercy.”
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Wednesday greeted Ricardo Quaresma, a member of Portugal’s national football team which won the European Championship this summer. The encounter happened during the weekly General Audience .
The player brought Pope Francis a Portuguese national team shirt with the name “Francisco” and number “20” on the back. On Twitter and on his Facebook page before the meeting, Quaresma posted a photo of himself holding the shirt, with the caption “I am in the Vatican and bring a gift for Pope Francis. Do you think he is going to like it?”
Quaresma plays winger for the Turkish club Beşiktaş.
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis surprised German-speaking pilgrims in St. Peter’s Square on Wednesday, when he greeted them at the end of the weekly General Audience with a few improvised words in their native tongue.
“I am pleased to welcome the pilgrims from German-speaking countries and the Netherlands,” began the Holy Father, adding, “I greet in particular the faithful of the Diocese of Passau.” At that point, the Holy Father departed from his prepared remarks to invoke Our Lady, who has a famous shrine in Passau, which is a suffragan diocese of Munich and Friesing.
“You call to mind the Virgin of Altötting,” he said.
Pope Benedict XVI visited the shrine – the national shrine of the old Kingdom of Bavaria – during his 2006 trip, which also took him to Munich and Regensburg.
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis urged the faithful on Wednesday to make place in their lives for God’s message of Salvation with faith and without prejudice.
Speaking to the pilgrims gathered in St. Peter’s Square for the weekly General Audience , the Pope reflected on the Gospel reading of the day which speaks of God’s infinite mercy.
Taking his cue from St Matthew’s Gospel account of how John the Baptist – who was imprisoned both in a cell and in the darkness of a heart that failed to understand Jesus’ humble style – the Pope said John was upset because his expectations of Jesus’ ministry were not what he anticipated.
God – Francis said – did not send his Son to punish sinners and crush the wicked. Rather he came to invite them to conversion.
And pointing out that Jesus is the concrete instrument of the Father’s mercy that brings consolation and salvation to all, the Pope urged those present not to create false images of the Messiah for their own use and consumption.
When we construct our own image of God – he explained – this prevents us from experiencing his real presence among us.
“Some reduce Him to a false idol using his name to justify their interests, and even hatred and violence” he said.
Some seek him only in times of difficulty and others consider Christ a mere good master of ethical teachings: “one amongst many in history” he said.
Pope Francis concluded his catechesis reminding the faithful not to lose sight of the fact that faith calls us beyond ourselves to be his missionaries in the world.
“Let us renew our commitment to remove every obstacle that prevents us from experiencing the merciful works of our Father – he said – and let us ask him for an ever deeper faith so that we may be signs and instruments of his mercy”.
(from Vatican Radio)…