(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis said God is like a gentle father who holds us by the hand and we need to become like a small child to have a dialogue with Him. This was the focus of his homily during the Mass he celebrated on Friday in the Santa Marta residence.
June 27th is the feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Pope’s homily was a reflection on the nature of the love between God and his people. He described this feast as a celebration of God’s love in Jesus Christ.
“There are two aspects to this love. First, love is more about giving than receiving. Second, love is more about actions than words. When we say it’s more about giving than receiving, that’s because love communicates, it always communicates. And it’s received by the one who is loved. And when we say that it’s more about actions than words, that’s because love always generates life and makes us grow.”
Pope Francis said that in order to understand God’s love we need to become small like a child and what God seeks from us is a relationship like that between a father and child. God gives us a caress and tells us: I’m by your side.
“This is the tenderness of our Lord and of His love; this is what He tells us and this gives us the strength to be tender. But if we feel we’re strong, we’ll never experience those caresses from the Lord, those caresses from Him that are so wonderful. ‘Don’t be afraid, for I am with you and I’ll hold your hand’… These are all words spoken by the Lord that help us to understand that mysterious love He has for us. And when Jesus speaks about Himself, he says: ‘ I am meek and humble of heart.’ Even He, the Son of God, lowers himself to receive his Father’s love.”
Pope Francis concluded by homily by noting that God is always there in front of us, waiting for us and urges God to give us the grace to enter into the mysterious world of his love.
“When we arrive, He’s there. When we look for Him, He has already been looking for us. He is always in front of us, waiting to receive us in His heart, in His love. And these two things can help us to understand the mystery of God’s love for us. In order to communicate this, He needs us to be like small children, to lower ourselves. And at the same time, He needs our astonishment when we look for Him and find Him there, waiting for us."
Shared from Radio Vatican
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