11/20/2022, 14.22
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Pope: our roots are found in the open arms of Jesus on the cross

Pope Francis makes a private visit to Asti (Italy) to see his 90-year-old cousin, in the place his parents left when they emigrated to Argentina. “Everyone thinks that they know what's wrong in society, [. . .] in the world and in the Church,” Francis said in his homily on the feast of Christ the King. “But do we do anything? Do we get our hands dirty like our God nailed to wood or do we stand with our hands in our pockets watching?”

Asti (AsiaNews) – Pope Francis today led the Mass at the Cathedral of Asti, northern Italy, on the occasion of the feast of Christ the King. In his homily, he said: “Everyone thinks they know what's wrong in society, [. . .] in the world and also in the Church [. . .] But do we do anything?”

Today’s liturgical service was the only public event for Pope Francis, who is on a private, two-day visit to the birthplace of his parents before they emigrated to Argentina.

The visit to Piedmont began yesterday with lunch in Portacomaro, at the home of the pope’s cousin, Carla, who turned 90 a few days ago. The pontiff also visited another cousin, who lives in a retirement home in a nearby village.

Francis began his homily today speaking in act about roots. “In this land, made valuable by the good products of the soil, above all by the genuine industriousness of its people, I came to rediscover the taste of roots. But once again, today it is the Gospel that brings us back to the roots of faith."

Calling on the faithful to look at Jesus’s kingship on the cross, he noted that “He is not seated on a comfortable throne, but is hanging from a scaffold; the God who overthrows the mighty from their thrones works as a servant crucified by the powerful”.

Such a God is “adorned only with nails and thorns, stripped of everything, but rich in love; from the throne of the cross he no longer teaches the crowds with his words, no longer lifts his hand to teach. He does more: he does not point the finger at anyone, but opens his arms to everyone. This is how our king shows himself: with open arms."

Faced with such an embrace, we have two paths before us: Letting ourselves be involved, as the Good Thief did, or remain spectators. Hence, Francis warns the faithful to be on their guard against this danger.

"We see today's crises, the decline in faith, the lack of participation," he said. But “What do we do anything? Do we limit ourselves to theorising, do we limit ourselves to criticising, or do we roll up our sleeves, take life into our own hands, move from the ‘if’ of excuses to the ‘yes’ of prayer and service?

“Everyone thinks that they know what's wrong in society, everyone; we talk every day about what is wrong in the world and also in the Church – many things are wrong in the Church. But do we do anything? Do we get our hands dirty like our God nailed to wood or do we stand with our hands in our pockets watching?

“Today, while Jesus, stripped naked on the cross, removes every veil from God and destroys every false image of His kingship, let us look to Him to find the courage to look to ourselves, to walk the paths of confidence and intercession, to make ourselves servants to reign with Him.”

Finally, at the Angelus, on the Sunday in which the World Youth Day is celebrated in the dioceses, Francis urged young people “not to stay still thinking about ourselves, wasting our lives and chasing after comforts or the latest fads, but to aim for the heights, get on the move, leaving behind our own fears to take someone in need by the hand.”

Thus, “we need young people who are truly “transgressive”, young people who are truly “transgressive”, nonconformists, who are not slaves to their mobile phones, but who change the world like Mary, bearing Jesus to others, taking care of others, building fraternal communities with others, making dreams of peace come true!

“Right now, we are living a famine of peace: we are living a famine of peace. Let’s think of how many places in the world are scourged by war, in particular of war-torn Ukraine.”

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