July 6th, Commentaries and meditations from the tradition of the Church

Homilies, commentaries and meditations from the tradition of the Church

Francis, Pope

Homily (07-07-2013)

Sunday, July 7, 2013

Dear brothers and sisters,

[...] We gather again to celebrate the Eucharist, on the Lord's Day... Today the word of God speaks to us about mission. Where does mission come from? The answer is simple: it comes from a call that the Lord makes to us, and whoever is called by Him is called to be sent. What should be the style of the one sent? What are the points of reference of the Christian mission? The readings we have heard suggest three: the joy of consolation, the cross, and prayer.

1. The first element: the joy of consolation. The prophet Isaiah addresses a people who have gone through the dark period of exile, who have suffered a very difficult trial; but now, for Jerusalem, the time of consolation has arrived; sadness and fear must give way to joy: "Rejoice... be glad... be rejoicing," says the Prophet (66:10). It is a great invitation to joy. Why? What is the reason for this invitation to joy? Because the Lord will send down upon the Holy City and its inhabitants a "stream" of consolation, a stream of consolation—thus filled with consolation—a stream of maternal tenderness: "They will carry their children in their arms and caress them on their knees" (v. 12). As a mother places her child on her knees and caresses it, so the Lord will do with us and does with us. This is the stream of tenderness that gives us so much consolation. "As a child whom its mother comforts, so I will comfort you" (v. 13). Every Christian, and especially we, are called to be bearers of this message of hope that gives serenity and joy: the consolation of God, his tenderness for all. But we can only be bearers of it if we first experience the joy of being consoled by Him, of being loved by Him. This is important for our mission to be fruitful: to feel the consolation of God and transmit it. Sometimes I have met consecrated persons who are afraid of God's consolation, and... poor things, they torment themselves because they are afraid of this tenderness of God. But do not be afraid. Do not be afraid, the Lord is the Lord of consolation, the Lord of tenderness. The Lord is a Father, and He says that He will treat us as a mother treats her child, with His tenderness. Do not be afraid of the consolation of the Lord. Isaiah's invitation must resonate in our hearts: "Comfort, comfort my people" (40:1), and this must become a mission. To encounter the Lord who comforts us and to go and comfort the people of God, this is the mission. People today certainly need words, but above all they need us to bear witness to the mercy, the tenderness of the Lord, which warms the heart, awakens hope, and draws us toward goodness. The joy of bringing God's consolation!

2. The second point of reference for the mission is the Cross of Christ. Saint Paul, writing to the Galatians, says: "God forbid that I should glory save in the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ" (6:14). And he speaks of the "marks," that is, the wounds of the Crucified Christ, as the seal, the distinctive sign of his existence as an Apostle of the Gospel. In his ministry, Paul experienced suffering, weakness, and defeat, but also joy and consolation. This is the Paschal Mystery of Jesus: a mystery of death and resurrection. And it was precisely by allowing himself to be conformed to the death of Jesus that Saint Paul participated in his resurrection, in his victory. In the hour of darkness, in the hour of trial, the dawn of light and salvation is already present and active. The Paschal Mystery is the beating heart of the Church's mission! And if we remain within this mystery, we are safe both from a worldly and triumphalist vision of the mission, and from the discouragement that can arise in the face of trials and failures. Pastoral fruitfulness, the fruitfulness of the proclamation of the Gospel, does not come from success or failure according to human criteria of evaluation, but from conforming to the logic of the Cross of Jesus, which is the logic of going out of oneself and giving oneself, the logic of love. It is the Cross—always the Cross with Christ, because sometimes we are offered the Cross without Christ: that is of no use. It is the Cross, always the Cross with Christ, that guarantees the fruitfulness of our mission. And from the Cross, the supreme act of mercy and love, we are reborn as a "new creation" (Here 6,15).

3. Finally, the third element: prayer. In the Gospel we heard: "Pray therefore the Lord of the harvest to send forth laborers into his harvest" (Lc10:2). The workers for the harvest are not chosen through advertising campaigns or calls to serve generosity, but are "chosen" and "sent" by God. He is the one who chooses, He is the one who commands, He is the one who commands, He is the one who entrusts the mission. This is why prayer is important. The Church, Benedict XVI has repeatedly told us, is not ours, but God's; and how often we consecrated persons think it is ours! We turn it... into whatever occurs to us. But it is not ours, it is God's. The field to be cultivated is His. Thus, the mission is above all grace. The mission is grace. And if the apostle is the fruit of prayer, he will find in it the light and strength of his action. Indeed, our mission loses its fruitfulness, and even fades, at the very moment that the connection with the source, with the Lord, is interrupted.

Dear seminarians, dear novices, dear young people on the vocational journey. One of you, one of your formators, said to me the other day:evangelizing is done on our knees,Evangelization is done on one's knees. Listen carefully: "evangelization is done on one's knees." Always be men and women of prayer! Without a constant relationship with God, the mission becomes a function. But what do you do for a living? Are you a tailor, a cook, a priest, do you work as a priest, or do you work as a religious? No. It's not a job, it's something else. The risk of activism, of relying too much on structures, is always lurking. If we look at Jesus, we see that on the eve of every important decision and event, he would withdraw into intense and prolonged prayer. Let us cultivate the contemplative dimension, even in the turmoil of the most urgent and difficult commitments. The more the mission calls you to go to the existential peripheries, the more united your heart must be to Christ, full of mercy and love. Herein lies the secret of pastoral fruitfulness, of the fruitfulness of a disciple of the Lord!

Jesus sends his people without "bag, bag, or sandals" (Lc10.4). The spread of the Gospel is not assured by the number of people, the prestige of the institution, or the amount of resources available. What counts is being imbued with the love of Christ, allowing oneself to be led by the Holy Spirit, and grafting one's life onto the tree of life, which is the Cross of the Lord.

Dear friends, with great confidence I place you under the intercession of Mary Most Holy. She is the Mother who helps us make definitive decisions freely, without fear. May she help you bear witness to the joy of God's consolation, without fear of joy; may she help you conform to the logic of love of the Cross, to grow in an ever more intense union with the Lord in prayer. Thus will your life be rich and fruitful! Amen.