Vatican City ( AsiaNews) - Making a "definite choice" for the Lord , just like the persecuted Christians of every age, like those who entrust themselves to God, even in "extreme situations".
The passages of the Old and New Testament that speak of the young Jewish
slaves at the court of Nebuchadnezzar and the widow who goes to the temple to worship
the Lord, were pointed to by Pope Francis during the mass celebrated at Casa
Santa Marta as examples of "trusting in the Lord.
"
The
widow throws everything she had on the treasure heap of the Temple , the young Jews
remain faithful to the Lord risking their lives. As
reported by Vatican Radio , the Pope noted that " both - the widow and
young people - have risked something. They risk by choosing in favor of the
Lord, with an open heart, without personal interests, without meanness. They
were not mean. The Lord , the Lord is everything. The Lord is God and they
entrust themselves to the Lord. They didn't do this because of a - allow me the
word - fanatical power, no: ' We must do this Lord ',! It was something else!
They entrusted themselves, because they knew that the Lord is faithful . They entrusted themselves to the faithfulness that
always exists, because the Lord can not mutate , He can not : He is always
faithful, He cannot be unfaithful, he can not deny himself. "
This
trust in the Lord led them "to make this choice , for the Lord" ,
because they know that He is "faithful." "Even
in the Church, in the history of the Church there are men, women , old people,
young people, who make that choice . When we hear the life of the martyrs ,
when we read about the persecutions against the Christians in the newspapers,
today , we think of these brothers and sisters
in extreme situations , who make this choice. They live in this time. They are
an example to us and encourage us to throw all that we have on treasure heap of
the Church".
The
Lord , the Pope recalled , helps young Jews in bondage to come out of
difficulties and also the widow is helped by the Lord. There
is praise from Jesus for her and behind this praise there is also a victory. "
Let us think, Pope Francis said, about the brothers and sisters who have made
courageous, definitive choices throughout history, and continue to do so today.
But let us also think about the many mothers and fathers who make small but
definitive choices of faith every day, with their families and with their
children. Let us ask the Lord, Pope Francis concluded, for the grace of
courage, the courage to go on with our Christian lives, in everyday life and in
the most extreme situations.