May 16, 2013 Thursday: Pope Francis, Daily Mass
St Paul causes trouble
With our witness to the truth, Christians must cause discomfort in “our comfortable structures”, even to the point of ending up “in trouble” because we must be enlivened by “a healthy spiritual craziness” in all “existential outskirts”. Following the example of St Paul, who “fought one battle after another”, believers must not retreat “to a relaxed life”. Today there are “too many Christians sitting in the living room, those who are educated”, those who are “lukewarm”, people for whom “everything goes well”, but who do not have “apostolic ardour within themselves”. This was the strong call to the mission — not only in far off lands but in the city — that Pope Francis delivered on Thursday, 16 May, at the Mass in the Chapel of the Domus Sanctae Marthae.
The starting point of his reflection was taken from the Acts of the Apostles (22:30; 23:6-11) which tells of St Paul’s battles.
It is “Paul who causes discomfort”. Paul was a man, explained the Pontiff, “who through his teaching and his attitude caused great discomfort because he proclaimed Jesus Christ. And the message of Jesus Christ makes our comfortable structures, even those Christian ones, uncomfortable”.
The Pope also called on the Holy Spirit so that “he may give all of us apostolic fervour; may he also give us the grace to feel uncomfortable about certain aspects of the Church which are too relaxed; the grace to go forward to the existential outskirts. The Church is in great need of this! Not only in far away lands, in young Churches, to peoples who do not yet know Jesus Christ. But here in the city, right in the city, we need Jesus Christ’s message. We thus ask the Holy Spirit for this grace of apostolic zeal: Christians with apostolic zeal. And if we make others uncomfortable, blessed be the Lord. Let’s go, and like the Lords says to Paul: “take courage!”.
www.news.va
With our witness to the truth, Christians must cause discomfort in “our comfortable structures”, even to the point of ending up “in trouble” because we must be enlivened by “a healthy spiritual craziness” in all “existential outskirts”. Following the example of St Paul, who “fought one battle after another”, believers must not retreat “to a relaxed life”. Today there are “too many Christians sitting in the living room, those who are educated”, those who are “lukewarm”, people for whom “everything goes well”, but who do not have “apostolic ardour within themselves”. This was the strong call to the mission — not only in far off lands but in the city — that Pope Francis delivered on Thursday, 16 May, at the Mass in the Chapel of the Domus Sanctae Marthae.
The starting point of his reflection was taken from the Acts of the Apostles (22:30; 23:6-11) which tells of St Paul’s battles.
It is “Paul who causes discomfort”. Paul was a man, explained the Pontiff, “who through his teaching and his attitude caused great discomfort because he proclaimed Jesus Christ. And the message of Jesus Christ makes our comfortable structures, even those Christian ones, uncomfortable”.
The Pope also called on the Holy Spirit so that “he may give all of us apostolic fervour; may he also give us the grace to feel uncomfortable about certain aspects of the Church which are too relaxed; the grace to go forward to the existential outskirts. The Church is in great need of this! Not only in far away lands, in young Churches, to peoples who do not yet know Jesus Christ. But here in the city, right in the city, we need Jesus Christ’s message. We thus ask the Holy Spirit for this grace of apostolic zeal: Christians with apostolic zeal. And if we make others uncomfortable, blessed be the Lord. Let’s go, and like the Lords says to Paul: “take courage!”.
www.news.va
