Pope Francis at Mass says "“We have been sent into the world to preach the Gospel based not on our own merits, but by the grace of God” and Beatifies a Nun in Belgium
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APOSTOLIC JOURNEY OF HIS HOLINESS POPE FRANCIS
TO LUXEMBOURG AND BELGIUM
(September 26-29, 2024)
TO LUXEMBOURG AND BELGIUM
(September 26-29, 2024)
The Mass at Brussel’s King Baudouin Stadium, with nearly 40,000 people, on Sunday morning was the final public event of Pope Francis’ 4-day Apostolic Journey to Luxembourg and Belgium. During the Mass, the Pope beatified Anne of Jesus, a 17th-century Spanish nun who brought St. Teresa of Avila’s reform of the Carmelite Order to Belgium and other parts of Europe. In his homily, the Holy Father praised Blessed Anne of Jesus for bearing witness to the Christian faith through poverty, prayer, and charity, especially at a time “marked by painful scandals.”
HOLY MASS AND BEATIFICATION
OF THE VENERABLE SERVANT OF GOD ANNE DE JÉSUS
FULL TEXT HOMILY OF THE HOLY FATHER
King Baudouin Stadium (Brussels)
Sunday, September 29, 2024
___________________________
“Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck and he were thrown into the sea” (Mk 9:42). With these words, addressed to the disciples, Jesus warns against the danger of scandalizing, that is, of obstructing the path and hurting the lives of the “little ones”. It is a strong warning, a severe warning, on which we must stop and reflect. I would like to do this with you, also in light of the other sacred texts, through three key words: openness, communion and testimony.
At the beginning, openness. The first reading and the Gospel tell us about it, showing us the free action of the Holy Spirit who, in the story of the exodus, fills with his gift of prophecy not only the elders who went with Moses to the tent of meeting, but also two men who had remained in the camp.
This makes us think, because, if at first their absence from the group of the elect was scandalous, after the gift of the Spirit it is scandalous to forbid them to exercise the mission that, despite this, they have received. Moses, a humble and wise man, understands this well, who with an open mind and heart says: "Would that all the people of the Lord were prophets and that the Lord would put his spirit upon them!" (Nm 11:29). A beautiful hope!
These are wise words, which prelude to what Jesus says in the Gospel (see Mk 9:38-43.45.47-48). Here the scene takes place in Capernaum, and the disciples in turn want to prevent a man from casting out demons in the name of the Master, because – they say – “he did not follow us” (Mk 9:38), that is, “he is not in our group”. They think like this: “Whoever does not follow us, whoever is not ‘one of us’ cannot work miracles, he has no right to do so”. But Jesus surprises them – as always, Jesus always surprises us – and they surprise them and rebuke them, inviting them to go beyond their patterns, not to be “scandalized” by God’s freedom. He says to them: “Do not stop him […] whoever is not against us is for us” (Mk 9:39-40).
Let us look carefully at these two scenes, that of Moses and that of Jesus, because they also concern us and our Christian life. In fact, with Baptism, we all received a mission in the Church. But it is a gift, not a title of boasting. The Community of believers is not a circle of privileged people, it is a family of the saved, and we are not sent to bring the Gospel to the world for our merits, but by the grace of God, by his mercy and by the trust that, beyond all our limitations and sins, He continues to place in us with the love of the Father, seeing in us what we ourselves cannot see. For this reason he calls us, sends us and accompanies us patiently day by day.
And so, if we want to cooperate, with open and caring love, in the free action of the Spirit without being a scandal, an obstacle to anyone with our presumption and our rigidity, we need to carry out our mission with humility, gratitude and joy. We must not resent it, but rather rejoice in the fact that others can also do what we do, so that the Kingdom of God may grow and so that we can all find ourselves united, one day, in the arms of the Father.
And this brings us to the second word: communion. Saint James speaks to us about it in the second reading (see James 5:1-6) with two strong images: the riches that are corrupted (see v. 3), and the protests of the reapers that reach the ears of the Lord (see v. 4). He reminds us, thus, that the only way of life is that of giving, of the love that unites in sharing. The way of selfishness generates only closures, walls and obstacles – “scandals”, precisely – chaining us to things and distancing us from God and our brothers.
Selfishness, like everything that impedes charity, is “scandalous” because it crushes the little ones, humiliating the dignity of people and suffocating the cry of the poor (see Ps 9:13). And this was true in the time of Saint Paul as it is for us today. Let us think, for example, of what happens when the life of individuals and communities is based solely on the principles of interest and the logic of the market (see Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Gaudium, 54-58). A world is created in which there is no longer room for those in difficulty, nor is there mercy for those who make mistakes, nor compassion for those who suffer and cannot cope. There is none.
Let us think about what happens when little ones are scandalized, hurt, abused by those who should care for them, the wounds of pain and impotence first of all in the victims, but also in their families and in the community. With my mind and heart I return to the stories of some of these “little ones” that I met the day before yesterday. I heard them, I felt their suffering as abused people and I repeat it here: in the Church there is room for everyone, everyone, everyone but we will all be judged and there is no room for abuse, there is no room for covering up abuse. I ask everyone: do not cover up abuse! I ask the bishops: do not cover up abuse! Condemn abusers and help them heal from this disease of abuse. Evil cannot be hidden: evil must be brought out into the open, so that it is known, as some abused people have done with courage. So that it is known. And so that the abuser is judged. Let the abuser be judged, whether lay, priest or bishop: let him be judged.
The Word of God is clear: it says that the “protests of the harvesters” and the “cry of the poor” cannot be ignored, they cannot be erased, as if they were the wrong note in the perfect concert of the world of well-being, nor can they be muffled with some form of superficial welfare. On the contrary, they are the living voice of the Spirit, they remind us who we are – we are all poor sinners, all of us, the first self –; and abused people are a lament that rises to heaven, that touches the soul, that makes us ashamed and calls us to convert. Let us not hinder their prophetic voice, silencing it with our indifference. Let us listen to what Jesus says in the Gospel: far from us the scandalous eye, that sees the poor and turns away! Far from us the scandalous hand, that closes into a fist to hide its treasures and greedily withdraws into its pockets! My grandmother used to say: “The devil enters through the pockets”. That hand that strikes to commit sexual abuse, an abuse of power, an abuse of conscience against those who are weaker. And how many cases of abuse do we have in our history, in our society! Far from us the scandalous foot, which runs fast not to get close to those who suffer, but to “pass by” and keep their distance! Away with all this: far from us! Nothing good and solid is built like this! And a question that I like to ask people: “Do you give alms?” – “Yes, Father, yes!” – “And tell me, when you give alms, do you touch the hand of the needy person, or do you throw it away and look the other way? Do you look into the eyes of the people who suffer?”. Let’s think about this.
If we want to sow for the future, also on a social and economic level, it will do us good to go back to putting the Gospel of mercy at the basis of our choices. Jesus is mercy. All of us, all of us, have been shown mercy. Otherwise, however seemingly imposing, the monuments of our opulence will always be colossi with feet of clay (see Dan 2:31-45). Let us not fool ourselves: without love nothing lasts, everything vanishes, crumbles, and leaves us prisoners of an elusive, empty and meaningless life, of an inconsistent world that, beyond the facades, has lost all credibility. Why? Because it has scandalized the little ones.
And so we come to the third word: testimony. We can take inspiration, in this regard, from the life and work of Anna of Jesus, Anna de Lobera, on the day of her Beatification. This woman was among the protagonists, in the Church of her time, of a great reform movement, in the footsteps of a “giant of the spirit” – Teresa of Avila – whose ideals she spread in Spain, in France and also here, in Brussels, and in what were then called the Spanish Netherlands.
In a time marked by painful scandals, inside and outside the Christian community, she and her companions, with their simple and poor life, made of prayer, work and charity, were able to bring many people back to the faith, to the point that someone defined their foundation in this city as a "spiritual magnet".
By choice, she left no writings. Instead, she committed herself to putting into practice what she had learned (see 1 Cor 15:3), and with her way of life she contributed to raising the Church in a moment of great difficulty.
Let us then gratefully welcome the model of “feminine holiness” that she left us (cf. Apostolic Exhortation Gaudete et exsultate, 12), delicate and strong, made of openness, communion and testimony. Let us commend ourselves to her prayer, imitate her virtues and renew with her our commitment to walk together in the footsteps of the Lord.
HOLY MASS AND BEATIFICATION
OF THE VENERABLE SERVANT OF GOD ANNE DE JÉSUS
FULL TEXT HOMILY OF THE HOLY FATHER
King Baudouin Stadium (Brussels)
Sunday, September 29, 2024
___________________________
“Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck and he were thrown into the sea” (Mk 9:42). With these words, addressed to the disciples, Jesus warns against the danger of scandalizing, that is, of obstructing the path and hurting the lives of the “little ones”. It is a strong warning, a severe warning, on which we must stop and reflect. I would like to do this with you, also in light of the other sacred texts, through three key words: openness, communion and testimony.
At the beginning, openness. The first reading and the Gospel tell us about it, showing us the free action of the Holy Spirit who, in the story of the exodus, fills with his gift of prophecy not only the elders who went with Moses to the tent of meeting, but also two men who had remained in the camp.
This makes us think, because, if at first their absence from the group of the elect was scandalous, after the gift of the Spirit it is scandalous to forbid them to exercise the mission that, despite this, they have received. Moses, a humble and wise man, understands this well, who with an open mind and heart says: "Would that all the people of the Lord were prophets and that the Lord would put his spirit upon them!" (Nm 11:29). A beautiful hope!
These are wise words, which prelude to what Jesus says in the Gospel (see Mk 9:38-43.45.47-48). Here the scene takes place in Capernaum, and the disciples in turn want to prevent a man from casting out demons in the name of the Master, because – they say – “he did not follow us” (Mk 9:38), that is, “he is not in our group”. They think like this: “Whoever does not follow us, whoever is not ‘one of us’ cannot work miracles, he has no right to do so”. But Jesus surprises them – as always, Jesus always surprises us – and they surprise them and rebuke them, inviting them to go beyond their patterns, not to be “scandalized” by God’s freedom. He says to them: “Do not stop him […] whoever is not against us is for us” (Mk 9:39-40).
Let us look carefully at these two scenes, that of Moses and that of Jesus, because they also concern us and our Christian life. In fact, with Baptism, we all received a mission in the Church. But it is a gift, not a title of boasting. The Community of believers is not a circle of privileged people, it is a family of the saved, and we are not sent to bring the Gospel to the world for our merits, but by the grace of God, by his mercy and by the trust that, beyond all our limitations and sins, He continues to place in us with the love of the Father, seeing in us what we ourselves cannot see. For this reason he calls us, sends us and accompanies us patiently day by day.
And so, if we want to cooperate, with open and caring love, in the free action of the Spirit without being a scandal, an obstacle to anyone with our presumption and our rigidity, we need to carry out our mission with humility, gratitude and joy. We must not resent it, but rather rejoice in the fact that others can also do what we do, so that the Kingdom of God may grow and so that we can all find ourselves united, one day, in the arms of the Father.
And this brings us to the second word: communion. Saint James speaks to us about it in the second reading (see James 5:1-6) with two strong images: the riches that are corrupted (see v. 3), and the protests of the reapers that reach the ears of the Lord (see v. 4). He reminds us, thus, that the only way of life is that of giving, of the love that unites in sharing. The way of selfishness generates only closures, walls and obstacles – “scandals”, precisely – chaining us to things and distancing us from God and our brothers.
Selfishness, like everything that impedes charity, is “scandalous” because it crushes the little ones, humiliating the dignity of people and suffocating the cry of the poor (see Ps 9:13). And this was true in the time of Saint Paul as it is for us today. Let us think, for example, of what happens when the life of individuals and communities is based solely on the principles of interest and the logic of the market (see Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Gaudium, 54-58). A world is created in which there is no longer room for those in difficulty, nor is there mercy for those who make mistakes, nor compassion for those who suffer and cannot cope. There is none.
Let us think about what happens when little ones are scandalized, hurt, abused by those who should care for them, the wounds of pain and impotence first of all in the victims, but also in their families and in the community. With my mind and heart I return to the stories of some of these “little ones” that I met the day before yesterday. I heard them, I felt their suffering as abused people and I repeat it here: in the Church there is room for everyone, everyone, everyone but we will all be judged and there is no room for abuse, there is no room for covering up abuse. I ask everyone: do not cover up abuse! I ask the bishops: do not cover up abuse! Condemn abusers and help them heal from this disease of abuse. Evil cannot be hidden: evil must be brought out into the open, so that it is known, as some abused people have done with courage. So that it is known. And so that the abuser is judged. Let the abuser be judged, whether lay, priest or bishop: let him be judged.
The Word of God is clear: it says that the “protests of the harvesters” and the “cry of the poor” cannot be ignored, they cannot be erased, as if they were the wrong note in the perfect concert of the world of well-being, nor can they be muffled with some form of superficial welfare. On the contrary, they are the living voice of the Spirit, they remind us who we are – we are all poor sinners, all of us, the first self –; and abused people are a lament that rises to heaven, that touches the soul, that makes us ashamed and calls us to convert. Let us not hinder their prophetic voice, silencing it with our indifference. Let us listen to what Jesus says in the Gospel: far from us the scandalous eye, that sees the poor and turns away! Far from us the scandalous hand, that closes into a fist to hide its treasures and greedily withdraws into its pockets! My grandmother used to say: “The devil enters through the pockets”. That hand that strikes to commit sexual abuse, an abuse of power, an abuse of conscience against those who are weaker. And how many cases of abuse do we have in our history, in our society! Far from us the scandalous foot, which runs fast not to get close to those who suffer, but to “pass by” and keep their distance! Away with all this: far from us! Nothing good and solid is built like this! And a question that I like to ask people: “Do you give alms?” – “Yes, Father, yes!” – “And tell me, when you give alms, do you touch the hand of the needy person, or do you throw it away and look the other way? Do you look into the eyes of the people who suffer?”. Let’s think about this.
If we want to sow for the future, also on a social and economic level, it will do us good to go back to putting the Gospel of mercy at the basis of our choices. Jesus is mercy. All of us, all of us, have been shown mercy. Otherwise, however seemingly imposing, the monuments of our opulence will always be colossi with feet of clay (see Dan 2:31-45). Let us not fool ourselves: without love nothing lasts, everything vanishes, crumbles, and leaves us prisoners of an elusive, empty and meaningless life, of an inconsistent world that, beyond the facades, has lost all credibility. Why? Because it has scandalized the little ones.
And so we come to the third word: testimony. We can take inspiration, in this regard, from the life and work of Anna of Jesus, Anna de Lobera, on the day of her Beatification. This woman was among the protagonists, in the Church of her time, of a great reform movement, in the footsteps of a “giant of the spirit” – Teresa of Avila – whose ideals she spread in Spain, in France and also here, in Brussels, and in what were then called the Spanish Netherlands.
In a time marked by painful scandals, inside and outside the Christian community, she and her companions, with their simple and poor life, made of prayer, work and charity, were able to bring many people back to the faith, to the point that someone defined their foundation in this city as a "spiritual magnet".
By choice, she left no writings. Instead, she committed herself to putting into practice what she had learned (see 1 Cor 15:3), and with her way of life she contributed to raising the Church in a moment of great difficulty.
Let us then gratefully welcome the model of “feminine holiness” that she left us (cf. Apostolic Exhortation Gaudete et exsultate, 12), delicate and strong, made of openness, communion and testimony. Let us commend ourselves to her prayer, imitate her virtues and renew with her our commitment to walk together in the footsteps of the Lord.
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