ANGELUS
POPE FRANCIS
Saint Peter's Square
Sunday, 28 August 2016
Sunday, 28 August 2016
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| PHOTO:raptureandendtimes.com |
Dear Brothers and Sisters, Good morning!
In the scene from today’s Gospel passage, Jesus, in
the home of one of the chief Pharisees, observes that the guests at lunch rush
to choose the first place. It is a scene that we have seen so often: seeking
the best place even “with our elbows”. Observing this scene, Jesus shares two
short parables, and with them two instructions: one concerning the place, and
the other concerning the reward.
The first analogy is set at a wedding banquet. Jesus
says: “When you are invited by any one to a marriage feast, do not sit down in
a place of honor, lest a more eminent man than you be invited by him; and he
who invited you both will come and say to you, ‘Give place to this man’, and
then you will begin with shame to take the lowest place” (Lk 14:8-9). With this
recommendation, Jesus does not intend to give rules of social behaviour, but
rather a lesson on the value of humility. History teaches that pride,
careerism, vanity and ostentation are the causes of many evils. And Jesus helps
us to understand the necessity of choosing the last place, that is, of seeking
to be small and hidden: humility. When we place ourselves before God in this
dimension of humility, God exalts us, he stoops down to us so as to lift us up
to himself; “For every one who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who
humbles himself will be exhalted” (v. 11).
Jesus’ words emphasize completely different and
opposing attitudes: the attitude of those who choose their own place and the
attitude of those who allow God to assign it and await a reward from Him. Let
us not forget this: God pays much more than men do! He gives us a much greater
place than that which men give us! The place that God gives us is close to his
heart and his reward is eternal life. “You will be blessed”, Jesus says, “you
will be repaid at the resurrection of the just” (v. 14).
This is what is described in the second parable, in
which Jesus points out the attitude of selflessness that ought to characterize
hospitality, and he says: “But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the maimed,
the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you”
(vv. 13-14). This means choosing gratuitousness rather than self-seeking and
calculating to obtain a reward, seeking interest and trying to increase your
wealth.
Indeed, the poor, the simple, those who ‘don’t count’,
can never reciprocate an invitation to a meal. In this way Jesus shows his
preference for the poor and the excluded, who are the privileged in the Kingdom
of God, and he launches the fundamental message of the Gospel which is to serve
others out of love for God. Today, Jesus gives voice to those who are
voiceless, and to each one of us he addresses an urgent appeal to open our
hearts and to make our own the sufferings and anxieties of the poor, the
hungry, the marginalized, the refugees, those who are defeated by life, those
who are rejected by society and by the arrogance of the strong. And those who
are discarded make up the vast majority of the population.
At this time, I think with gratitude of the soup
kitchens where many volunteers offer their services, giving food to people who
are alone, in need, unemployed or homeless. These soup kitchens and other works
of mercy — such as visiting the sick and the imprisoned — are a training ground
for charity that spreads the culture of gratuity, as those who work in these
places are motivated by God’s love and enlightened by the wisdom of the Gospel.
In this way serving others becomes a testimony of love, which makes the love of
Christ visible and credible.
Let us ask the Virgin Mary, who was humble throughout
her whole life, to lead us every day along the way of humility, and to render
us capable of free gestures of welcome and solidarity with those who are
marginalized, so as to become worthy of the divine reward.
After the Angelus:
Dear Brothers and Sisters, I wish to renew my
spiritual closeness to the citizens of Lazio, the Marches and Umbria, who were
gravely hit by the earthquake in recent days. I think in particular of the
people of Amatrice, Accumoli, Arquata and Pescara del Tronto, and Norcia. I
would like to say again to those dear people that the Church shares in their
suffering and their concerns. Let us pray for those who have died and for those
who have survived. The attentiveness of the authorities, police, civil protection
and volunteers who are serving, shows how important solidarity is in overcoming
such painful trials. Dear brothers and sisters, as soon as possible I too hope
to come to see you, so as to personally bring you the comfort of faith, the
embrace of a father and brother, and the support of Christian hope. Let us pray
for these brothers and sisters all together:
Hail Mary...
Yesterday, in Santiago del Estero, in Argentina, Sr
MarÃa Antonia de San José was beatified; the people call her Mama Antula. May
her exemplary Christian witness, especially her apostolate in promoting the
Spiritual Exercises, inspire the desire to adhere ever more to Christ and the
Gospel.
On Thursday, 1 September, we will celebrate the World
Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation, together with our Orthodox brothers and
other Churches. It will be an opportunity to strengthen the common commitment
to safeguarding life and respecting the environment and nature.
I wish you all a happy Sunday, and please, do not
forget to pray for me. Have a good lunch. Arrivederci!
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