ANGELUS POPE FRANCIS
Saint
Peter's Square
Sunday, 27 November 2016
Sunday, 27 November 2016
 |
| PHOTO: L'OSSERVATORE ROMANO |
Dear Brothers and Sisters, Good
morning!
Today in the Church a new liturgical year begins,
which is a new journey of faith for the People of God. And as always, we begin
with Advent. The passage of the Gospel (cf. (Mt 24:37-44) introduces us to one
of the most evocative themes of Advent: the visit of the Lord to humanity.
The first visit — we all know — occurred with the Incarnation, Jesus’ birth in
the cave of Bethlehem; the second takes place in the present: the Lord visits
us constantly, each day, walking alongside us and being a consoling presence;
in the end, there will be the third, the last visit, which we proclaim each
time that we recite the Creed: “He will come again in glory to judge the
living and the dead”. Today, the Lord speaks to us about this final visit,
which will take place at the end of time, and he tells us where we will arrive
on our journey.
The Word of God emphasizes the contrast between the
normal unfolding of events, the everyday routine, and the unexpected
coming of the Lord. Jesus says: “For as in those days before the flood they
were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day when
Noah entered the ark, and they did not know until the flood came and swept them
all away” (vv. 38-39): so says Jesus. It always strikes a cord when we think
about the hours which precede a great disaster: everyone is calm, and they go
about their usual business without realizing that their lives are about to be
turned upside down. Of course, the Gospel does not want to scare us, but to
open our horizons to another, greater dimension, one which, on the one
hand puts into perspective everyday things, while at the same time making them
precious, crucial. The relationship with the God-who-comes-to-visit-us gives
every gesture, every thing a different light, a substance, a symbolic value.
From this perspective there also comes an
invitation to sobriety, to not be controlled by the things of this
world, by material reality, but rather to govern them. If, by contrast, we
allow ourselves to be influenced and overpowered by these things, we cannot
perceive that there is something very important: our final encounter with the
Lord: this is important. That encounter. And everyday matters must have this
horizon, and must be directed to that horizon. This encounter with the Lord who
comes for us. In that moment, as the Gospel says, “Then two men will be in the
field; one is taken and one is left” (v. 40). It is an invitation to be
vigilant, because in not knowing when he will come, we need to be ever ready to
leave.
In this season of Advent, we are called to expand
the horizons of our hearts, to be amazed by the life which presents itself each
day with newness. In order to do this, we must learn to not depend on our own
certainties, on our own established strategies, because the Lord comes at a
time that we do not imagine. He comes to bring us into a more beautiful and
grand dimension.
May Our Lady, the Virgin of Advent, help us not to
consider ourselves proprietors of our life, not to resist when the Lord comes
to change it, but to be ready to let ourselves be visited by him, the awaited
and welcome guest, even if it disturbs our plans.
After the
Angelus:
Dear
brothers and sisters, I wish to assure my prayers for the peoples of Central
America, especially Costa Rica and Nicaragua, which have been struck by a
hurricane and, the latter, also by a powerful earthquake. And I also pray for
those in northern Italy who are suffering from floods.
I greet all of you pilgrims who have come from
Italy and various countries: families, parish groups, associations. I
especially greet the faithful coming from Lebanon, Egypt, Slovakia, and the
choir of Limburg, Germany. I affectionately greet the Ecuadorian community
present here; the families of the Tra Noi (“Among Us”) Movement; groups
from Altamura, Rieti, San Casciano in Val di Pesa; UNITALSI [National Italian
Union of Transportation of the Sick to Lourdes and International Shrines] of
Capaccio, and the students of Bacheria.
I wish all of you a happy Sunday, and a good Advent
journey to encounter the Lord. May it be a time of hope: to encounter the Lord
who comes to encounter us; true hope, founded on God’s fidelity, and on our
responsibility. And please,
do not forget to pray for me. Have a good lunch. Arrivederci!
© Copyright
- Libreria Editrice Vaticana
Post a Comment