 Vatican Radio REPORT: Christians are called to be courageous in their weakness. We must recognize that we are weak and that, at times, we have to flee from sin without nostalgia, without looking back. We must not let temptation or fear keep us from God. Instead we must learn that ‘he who fights and runs away, lives to fight another day!’ This was the lesson at the heart of Pope Francis’ homily at morning Mass on Tuesday. Acting with hesitancy, always looking back, being afraid to turn to the Lord, the grace of the Holy Spirit. Pope Francis took his cue from the daily readings to dwell on four "possible attitudes in conflict situations, in difficult situations." The first attitude is that of the "slowness" of Lot. He decided to leave the city before it was destroyed, but he does so slowly. The angel tells him to run away, but he carries within an '"inability to detach himself from evil and sin." The Pope noted that we want to go out, we are determined, "but there is something that pulls us back," and so Lot begins to negotiate even with the angel. "It’s so hard to cut ties with a sinful situation. It is hard! Even in a temptation, it's hard! But the voice of God tells us this word: 'Escape! You cannot fight there, because the fire, the sulfur will kill you. Escape!' St. Therese of the Child Jesus taught us that sometimes, in some temptations, the only solution is to escape and not be ashamed to escape; to recognize that we are weak and we have to escape. And our popular wisdom, in its simplicity, says as much, somewhat ironically: 'he who fights and runs away, lives to fight another day.' Escaping to go forward along the path of Jesus." The Pope continued that the angel then says "do not look back," to escape and keep your eyes faced forward. Here, he said, is some advice on how to overcome our nostalgia of sin. Think of the People of God in the desert, he stressed: "They had everything, promises, everything." And yet "they were nostalgic for the onions of Egypt" and this "longing made them forget that they ate those onions on the table of slavery." There was the "longing to go back, to return." And the advice of the angel, the Pope observed, "is wise: Do not look back! Move ahead!" We must not do as Lot's wife, we must "leave behind all nostalgia, because there is also the temptation of curiosity." "Faced with sin, we must escape without any nostalgia. Curiosity does not help, it hurts! 'But, in this sinful world, what can we do? What is this sin like? I would like to know . . . ' No, do not! This curiosity will hurt you! Run away and do not look back! We are weak, all of us, and we must defend ourselves. The third situation is on the boat: it is fear. When there is great upheaval at sea, the boat was covered with the waves. 'Save us, Lord, we are lost!' they say. Fear! Even that is a temptation of the devil: to be afraid to move forward on the path of the Lord.” There is a temptation that says it is "better to stay here," where I'm safe. "But this – warned the Pope - is the slavery of Egypt." "I fear moving forward - the Pope said - I'm afraid of where the Lord will bring me.” Fear, however, "is not a good counselor." Jesus, he added, "so many times, said: 'Do not be afraid.' Fear does not help us." The fourth attitude "is the grace of the Holy Spirit." When Jesus calms the agitated sea, the disciples on the boat are filled with awe. "Faced with sin, nostalgia, fear," he said, we must always turn to the Lord. "Looking to the Lord, contemplating the Lord. This gifts us the beautiful wonder of a new encounter with the Lord. 'Lord, I am being tempted: I want to stay in this situation of sin, Lord, I am curious to know about these things, Lord, I'm afraid.' And they looked to the Lord: 'Save us, Lord, we are lost!' And wonder at a new encounter with Jesus followed. We must not be naive nor lukewarm Christians, but brave, courageous. We are weak, but we must be courageous in our weakness. And often our courage must be expressed in escaping without looking back, so as not to fall into the trap of wicked nostalgia. Do not be afraid and always look to the Lord! ". Mass was concelebrated by Cardinal Manuel Monteiro de Castro and Archbishop Beniamino Stella, and was attended by a group of priests and employees of the Tribunal of the Apostolic Penitentiary, and a group from the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy. SHARED FROM RADIO VATICANA |
| AUDIENCES Vatican City, 3 July 2013 (VIS) - Today, the Holy Father received in audience Archbishop Jean-Louis Brugues O.P., archivist and librarian of the Holy Roman Church. |
| OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS Vatican City, 3 July 2013 (VIS) – Today, the Holy Father: - appointed Archbishop Tarcisius Gervazio Ziyaye as archbishop of Lilongwe (area 24,025, population 5,064,000, Catholics 1,550,000, priests 84, religious 195), Malawi. Archbishop Ziyaye was previously archbishop of Blantyre, Malawi. He succeeds Archbishop Remi Joseph Gustave Sainte-Marie, M. Afr., whose resignation from the pastoral care of the same archdiocese the Holy Father accepted, upon having reached the age limit. - appointed Bishop Victor Henry Thakur as archbishop of Raipur (area 60,819, population 15,986,000, Catholics 69,453, priests 146, religious 580), India. Archbishop Thakur was previously bishop of Bettiah, India. He succeeds Archbishop Joseph Augustine Charanakunnel, whose resignation from the pastoral care of the same archdiocese the Holy Father accepted, upon having reached the age limit. - appointed Fr. Jose Maria Chaves dos Reis, of the clergy of Cameta, Brazil, as bishop of Abaetetuba (area 28,256, population 490,000, Catholics 351,000, priests 32, religious 40), Brazil. The bishop-elect was born in Oeiras do Para, Brazil in 1962 and was ordained a priest in 1996. Currently vicar general and rector of the“Bom Pastor” major seminary in Cameta, he also previously served in the same diocese in the roles of rector of the “Padre Josimo” minor seminary, vicar of the “San Joao Batista” cathedral, and parish priest in the Cathedral of Cameta. - appointed Msgr Joseph Arshad as bishop of Faisalabad (area 35,300, population 36,207,000, Catholics 155,000, priests 42, permanent deacons 4, religious 129), Pakistan. The bishop-elect was born in Lahore, Pakistan in 1964 and was ordained a priest in 1991. Currently nunciature counsellor to the apostolic nunciature in Bosnia-Herzegovina, he has held roles in the diplomatic service of the apostolic nunciatures of Malta, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Madagascar. - appointed Msgr Joao Gilberto de Moura, of the clergy of Ituiutaba, Brazil, as bishop of Jardim (area 69,972, population 397,000, Catholics 277,000, priests 15, permanent deacons 3, religious 23), Brazil. The bishop-elect was born in Ituiutaba, Brazil in 1963 and was ordained to the priesthood in 1995. He was named prelate of honour by his Holiness in 2008. Currently parish priest in the cathedral “Cristo Rei”, judicial vicar of the Ecclesiastic Tribunal of Ituiutaba, and procurator, economist and vicar general of the diocese of Ituiutaba, he has served in a number of pastoral roles in the same diocese. - appointed Cardinal John Onaiyekan, archbishop of Abuja, Nigeria as apostolic administrator ad nutum Sanctae Sedis of the diocese of Ahiara, Nigeria. |
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