Cardinal Cantara Mesa, the preacher of the Papal Palace, led the second meditation of this year’s Lent for the Holy See. Pope Francis was also there.
(Vatican News Network)On the morning of March 11, Cardinal Raniero Cantalamessa, the preacher of the Pope’s Palace, led the staff of the Holy See in the second meditation of this year’s Lent in the Paul VI Hall of the Vatican, talking about St. Luke urges us to have a personal relationship with Christ and the important role that lay people play in the Church’s mission of evangelization. Pope Francis personally attended the meditation.
The danger of ignoring God
Cardinal Cantara Mesa first quoted the words of St. Paul: “Although they knew God, they did not honor or thank him for being God” (Romans 1:21). It means that there is no “greater sin” than “refusing to honor God and give thanks to God”. To us it sounds a little strange to say: “It does not seem to us a heinous thing to be dishonored to God, not to be thankful to God.”
In order to understand the meaning of St. Paul’s words, “we need to understand what lies behind: refusing to recognize God as God, denying God the attention he deserves”, which is “ignoring” God. Ignoring does not mean “not knowing that He exists”, but “acting as if He does not exist”.
Develop a Personal Relationship with Jesus
So what significance do these words of St. Paul have for us today? The homily of the Pontifical House points out that, by emphasizing the “salvation brought about by Jesus Christ”, Saint Paul invites us to enter into a personal relationship with Jesus.
Catholics sometimes find it difficult to accept this concept and tend to explore the relationship with Christ from the perspective of “doctrine, sacrament and ecclesiology”. For the past five centuries, Catholic spirituality and pastoral work have viewed “with suspicion” any claims about a personal relationship with God. This attitude, however, is entirely the result of a misguided approach.
The cardinal stressed that, given that faith is no longer taken for granted today, it must be understood at the level of personal relationships, because “faith must be the result of personal choice”.
Laymen commit to the mission of evangelization
Cardinal Cantara Mesa then invited the people to reflect on how to kindle the love of Jesus Christ in the hearts of others. “In most of the cases I have known in my life, knowing someone who experienced this grace, going to a meeting, hearing a testimony helped people to know Christ, which in turn led to a better life,” said the cardinal. Change.”
For this reason, the role of the lay faithful is all the more important because “the laity is more integrated into the fabric of life in which the above-mentioned situations often occur”. Laymen who “discover what it means to know the living Jesus, desire to share this discovery with others”. Therefore, lay people should be the main evangelizers of the Church.
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