» 03/07/2010 14:17 VATICAN Converting is looking at history and pain through the “eyes of God”, Pope says In the Angelus and his visit to a Rome parish, Benedict XVI points out that what happens, including pain, must provide an opportunity to overcome the illusion that we can live without God, who “since he always wants what is good for his children, sometimes allows as part of the inscrutable plan of his love that they experience pain in order to find a greater good.”
Vatican City (AsiaNews) – The invitation to convert, which characterises Lent, calls on people to read history as well as suffering from the perspective of faith, “through God’s eyes, who, even when he acknowledges that human beings experience pain, does so as part of a plan of love. This is the lesson drawn from today’s Gospel, which Benedict XVI illustrated before 20,000 people, who crowded St Peter’s Square for the Angelus at noon. He did the same at the start of the morning during a visit to the Rome Parish of San Giovanni della Croce, in Castel Giubileo, in the northern part of the diocese.
“In the excerpt from today’s Gospel,” the Pope said during the Angelus, “Jesus is asked about some sad events, such as the killing of some Galileans inside the temple on order of Pontius Pilate and the crushing of passers-by under the falling tower of Siloam (Lk, 13:1-5). Confronted with the facile notion that evil is the consequence of divine punishment, Jesus proclaims God’s innocence for he is good and cannot wish evil upon anyone. Warning against the idea that tragedies are the immediate effect of the personal faults of those who endure them, he says, “Do you think that because these Galileans suffered in this way they were greater sinners than all other Galileans? By no means! But I tell you, if you do not repent, you will all perish as they did! (Lk, 13:2-3)”.
“Jesus invites us to read these facts differently, placing them in a perspective of conversion,” the Pontiff said. “Such tragedies and sad events should not arouse our curiosity or desire to discover would-be offenders. With God’s help, they must give us an opportunity to reflect and overcome the illusion that we can live without God and strengthen our resolve to change our lives. In the face of sin, God reveals himself full of mercy; unfailingly, he reminds sinners to shun evil, grow in his love and help their neighbours in need in concrete ways to live the joy of grace and eternal death. The possibility of conversion requires us to learn to read the facts of life from the perspective of faith, moved by the sacred fear of God. In light of suffering and loss, true wisdom means letting ourselves be moved by the precariousness of existence. It also means reading human history through the eyes of God, who, since he always wants what is good for his children, sometimes allows as part of the inscrutable plan of his love that they experience pain in order to find a greater good.”
Equally informed by today’s Gospel, during his visit to the Rome parish the Pope pointed out that Jesus demands, “a greater commitment in the path of conversion because shutting oneself off from the Lord, not taking the path of conversion, leads to death of the soul. During Lent, God invites each one of us to change our life, to think and live according to the Gospel, to correct our way of praying, doing things, working and relating to others. Jesus makes this appeal to us, not with sternness for its own sake, but because he is concerned about our welfare, happiness and salvation. For our part, we must respond to him with a sincere inner effort, asking him to make us understand in what way we must convert.”
Lastly, the Holy Father in today’s Gospel also focused on the “perspective of mercy”. “Referring to the use of time, Jesus presented the parable of the fig tree planted in an orchard, which turns out to be unfruitful (cf Lk, 13:6-9). The exchange between the owner and the gardened shows, on the one hand, how merciful God is, patient and willing to give man the time to convert; and on the other, the need to start to change one’s life within and without in order not to lose the opportunity that God’s mercy provides us to overcome our spiritual idleness and reciprocate our filial love for God’s love.”
During his visit, Benedict XVI praised the parish’s openness to Church movements and new communities. “I urge you to continue with courage in this direction,” he said, “but do so by bringing in all groups as part of a united pastoral plan.”
