Jesus, who is "light of the world" says: "Have courage: let yourself be illuminated, let yourself be seen for what you have inside, because it is I who will carry you forward, to save you. I don't condemn you. I will save you."
Vatican City (AsiaNews) - May God help those who work in the media in this time of pandemic to transmit the truth. This was Pope Francis’ prayer intention introducing Mass this morning at Casa Santa Marta. "We pray today - he said - for men and women who work in the media. During this pandemic, they risk a lot and work is a lot. May the Lord help them in this work of transmission, always, of the truth ”.
In his homily, the Pope commented on the passage from the Gospel (Jn 12: 44-50) which "shows us the intimacy that existed between Jesus and the Father. Jesus did what the Father told him to do.”
The Pope said Jesus specifies his mission: 'I came into the world as a light, so that everyone who believes in me does not remain in the dark'. ‘He presents himself to us as a light. Jesus 'mission is to illuminate' and he himself said: 'I am the light of the world'. "
"The drama of the light of Jesus - continued Francis - is that it has been rejected" as John says: “He came to his family and his family did not welcome him. They loved darkness more than light. " “They cannot accept the light, they cannot; they are slaves to darkness. This will Jesus’ struggle: to illuminate, to bring the light that shows things as they are, as they are; it shows freedom, it shows the truth”.
“Paul had this experience of the transition from darkness to light, when the Lord met him on the road to Damascus. He was blinded. " “He had this experience of the passage from darkness, in which he was, to the light. It is also our passage, which we received sacramentally in baptism: for this reason, in the early centuries, baptism was called 'enlightenment', because it gives you light".
But "his people rejected him. They are so accustomed to the darkness that the light dazzles them" and "this is the drama of our sin: sin blinds us and we cannot tolerate the light. We have sick eyes. Jesus clearly says this in Matthew's Gospel: 'If your eye is sick, your whole body will be sick.' And 'if your eye only sees the darkness, how much darkness will there be inside you?'. 'Conversion is to go from darkness to light. But what is it that sickens our eyes, the eyes of faith and blind them? Vices, worldly spirit, pride "."
These three things, the Pope said again, urge us "to remain safe in the darkness. We often talk about the mafias: this is it. But there are spiritual mafias, there are domestic mafias ": it is" looking for someone else to cover themselves and stay in the darkness. It is not easy to live in the light. The light makes us see so many bad things inside ourselves that we don't want to see: the vices, the sins ... We think of our vices, we think of our pride, we think of our worldly spirit: these things blind us, they distance us from the light of Jesus ".
But Jesus himself says that He is the light: "I came into the world not to condemn the world, but to save the world". He says: “Have courage: let yourself be illuminated, let yourself be seen for what you have inside, because it is I who will carry you forward, to save you. I don't condemn you. I will save you. "
"He saves us from the darkness that we have inside, from the darkness of everyday life, of social life, of political life, of national, international life ... a lot of darkness". "He saves us. But he asks us to see first; have the courage to see our darkness so that the light of the Lord may come in and save us. We must not be afraid of the Lord - he concluded - He is very good, He is mild, He is close to us. He came to save us. We are not afraid of the light of Jesus.”