ANGELUS POPE
FRANCIS
Saint
Peter's Square
Second
Sunday of Lent, 1st March 2015
Dear Brothers and Sisters, Good morning.
Last
Sunday the Liturgy presented Jesus tempted by Satan in the desert, but
victorious over temptation. In the light of this Gospel, we are again made
aware of our condition as sinners, but also of the victory over evil for those
who undertake the journey of conversion and, like Jesus, want to do the Father’s
will. In this second Sunday of Lent, the Church points out to us the end of
this journey of conversion, namely participation in the glory of Christ, which
shines on the face of the obedient Servant, who died and rose for us.
The
Gospel page recounts the event of the Transfiguration, which takes place at the
height of Jesus’ public ministry. He is on his way to Jerusalem, where the
prophecies of the “Servant of God” and his redemptive sacrifice are to be
fulfilled. The crowds did not understand this: presented with a Messiah who
contrasted with their earthly expectations, they abandoned Him. They thought
the Messiah would be the liberator from Roman domination, the emancipator of
the homeland, and they do not like Jesus’ perspective and so they leave Him.
Neither do the Apostles understand the words with which Jesus proclaims the
outcome of his mission in the glorious passion, they do not understand! Jesus
thus chooses to give to Peter, James and John a foretaste of his glory, which
He will have after the Resurrection, in order to confirm them in faith and
encourage them to follow Him on the trying path, on the Way of the Cross. Thus,
on a high mountain, immersed in prayer, He is transfigured before them: his
face and his entire person irradiate a blinding light. The three disciples are
frightened, as a cloud envelops them and the Father’s voice sounds from above,
as at the Baptism on the Jordan: “This is my beloved Son; listen to him” (Mk
9:7). Jesus is the Son-made-Servant, sent into the world to save us all through
the Cross, fulfilling the plan of salvation. His full adherence to God’s will
renders his humanity transparent to the glory of God, who is love.
Jesus
thus reveals Himself as the perfect icon of the Father, the radiance of his
glory. He is the fulfillment of revelation; that is why beside Him appear
transfigured, Moses and Elijah appear; they represent the Law and the Prophets,
so as to signify that everything finishes and begins in Jesus, in his passion
and in his glory.
Their
instructions for the disciples and for us is this: “Listen to Him!”. Listen to
Jesus. He is the Saviour: follow Him. To listen to Christ, in fact, entails
taking up the logic of his Pascal Mystery, setting out on the journey with Him
to make of oneself a gift of love to others, in docile obedience to the will of
God, with an attitude of detachment from worldly things and of interior
freedom. One must, in other words, be willing to “lose one’s very life” (cf. Mk
8:35), by giving it up so that all men might be saved: thus, we will meet in
eternal happiness. The path to Jesus always leads us to happiness, don’t forget
it! Jesus’ way always leads us to happiness. There will always be a cross,
trials in the middle, but at the end we are always led to happiness. Jesus does
not deceive us, He promised us happiness and will give it to us if we follow
His ways.
With
Peter, James and John we too climb the Mount of the Transfiguration today and
stop in contemplation of the face of Jesus to retrieve the message and
translate it into our lives; for we too can be transfigured by Love. In
reality, love is capable of transfiguring everything. Love transfigures all! Do
you believe this? May the Virgin Mary, whom we now invoke with the prayer of
the Angelus, sustain us on this journey.
After the Angelus:
Appeal for peace in Syria, Iraq and Venezuela:
Dear
brothers and sisters, dramatic news of violence, kidnapping and harassment
aimed at Christians and other groups continues to arrive from Syria and Iraq. I
want to assure those suffering in these situations that we will not forget
them, we are close to them and we are praying that a stop be put to this
intolerable violence of which they are victims. Together with members of the
Roman Curia last Friday I offered the last Mass of the Spiritual Exercises for
this intention. At the same time I ask all, according to their capacities, to
work to alleviate the suffering of those being tried, often only because of the
faith they profess. Let us pray for these our brothers and sisters who are
suffering for the faith in Syria and Iraq.... Let us pray in silence....
I would
also like to call to mind Venezuela, which is again undergoing moments of acute
tension. I pray for the victims and, in particular, for the boy killed a few
days ago in San Cristóbal. I exhort everyone to reject violence and to respect
the dignity of every person and the sacredness of human life and I encourage
them to take up the common path for the good of the Country, opening again
space for encounter and sincere and constructive dialogue. I entrust that
beloved nation to the motherly intercession of Our Lady of Coromoto.
I
address a cordial greeting to all of you — families, parish groups,
associations — pilgrims from Rome, from Italy and from different countries.
I wish a
good Sunday to all. Don’t forget, please, to pray for me. Have a good lunch and
goodbye!
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Copyright - Libreria Editrice Vaticana
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