During the Epiphany Mass, Pope Francis stressed that one can encounter the Lord Jesus through “restless investigations”, “risks of the journey” and “surprises of adoration”. “We must worship God, not false idols; we must worship God without succumbing to the past and the seductive but empty logic of evil,” the Pope said.
(Vatican News Network)On January 6, Pope Francis presided over the Epiphany Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica, commemorating the journey of the Magi who had come to Bethlehem from the East. At the beginning of the homily of the Mass, the Pope set his eyes on “a rising star”, which indicates Jesus who “comes to enlighten the people and illuminate the darkness of men”. The most important question is: where can I find Jesus? Following the teaching of the Magi, the Pope explained, we can see that “faith does not come from our merits or theoretical reasoning, but from the gift of God”. We also understand that the first “place” of encounter with the Lord Jesus is “restless inquiry”.
“From the beginning the Magi have had the restlessness of the questioner. In their yearning for infinity, they scrutinized the sky, dazzled by the light of the stars, representing the tension towards the transcendent which animates the path of civilization”, the Pope affirmed. … and the continuous search of our heart. In fact, the star has left the question right in their hearts: Where is the child born? (see Mt 2:2)”
Where is the fullness of life, where is the love that never dies?
“The journey of faith begins when, by the grace of God, we are restless in our hearts to keep our sanity; when we allow ourselves to be questioned, we are not satisfied with the usual calm, but we throw ourselves into the challenges of every day,” he said the Pope. , the journey of faith begins when we stop staying in a neutral space and decide to enter the hardships of life. These hardships include relationships, surprises, the unexpected, the projects we want to carry on, the dreams we want to achieve, the fears we have to face, the pains we have to face. In these moments, those irrepressible questions arise in our hearts, pushing us to seek God: where is my happiness? where is my happiness? where is the fullness of life that I desire? Where is the love that never dies, never fades, never crumbles even in the face of fragility, failure and betrayal? What opportunities are hidden in my crisis and in my suffering?”
God lives in our restless questions
There is no shortage of “sedatives for the soul” and “substitutes” that “calm our anxieties” “to dispel these questions”, the Pope underlined: from the products of consumerism to the temptations of pleasure, from brilliant debates to the idols of blessing worship. “Everything seems to tell us: don’t think too much, go with the flow and enjoy life!” We always try to keep our hearts safe, but if the Magi did, they would never meet for the Lord Jesus.”
Therefore, we must not be “afraid to enter into such restless investigations”. Pope Francis reminds us that it is these insecurities that “lead us to Jesus”. Well, there is another place where we can meet the Lord Jesus. This possibility, the Pope explained, is “the risk of the journey”. “Indeed, the Magi did not stop there to look at the sky and contemplate the light of the stars, but they ventured on a perilous journey where no sure way and no map could be given in advance. They wanted to know who the King of the Jews was, who in Where was he born, where was he found. For this they asked Herod, who in turn summoned the chief priests and scribes of the people. The Magi walked on their journey: most of the words that describe their actions are verbs.”
Faith grows in the process of coming to God
Furthermore, faith cannot grow “without a continuous journey and a constant conversation with the Lord Jesus”. The Pope underlined that “it is not enough to have a few thoughts about God and a few prayers for peace of conscience”, but also to be “a disciple who follows Jesus and his Gospel”:
The Pope said: «We must remember: faith does not grow if it stands still; we cannot close faith in personal piety, nor close it within the walls of the church, but make it emerge and express it in the life that we are constantly going to God, to our brothers and sisters. Let us ask ourselves today: do I go to the Lord of my life and let him be the master of my life? Jesus, who are you to me? Where do you tell me to go, what do you ask of my life? What choices do you invite me to make for others?”
The end of everything is to let yourself be embraced by God
After the inconvenience of the investigation and the risks of the journey, the Pope has indicated a third place for the encounter with the Lord: the amazement of adoration. The Pope said: «After a long journey and a tiring search, the Magi entered the house and ‘seeing the Child and Mary his mother, fell down and adored him’ (ibid.: v. 11). This is the decisive point: our restlessness, our investigation, our spiritual journey and the practice of faith must converge in the adoration of the Lord Jesus. There the Magi find the center of the source, because everything springs from there, because the Lord Jesus inspires in us Feeling, feedback and action Everything starts from there and is fulfilled there, because the purpose of everything is not to reach personal goals and enjoy personal glory, but to meet God and receive his love, which is our hope. hearts to love and gives us the strength to build a more just and more loving world”.
Jesus is the radiant morning star
“Faith is a journey, a pilgrimage journey, an experience of leaving and starting over”. “If we do not put Jesus at the center and we do not adore him, there is no point in promoting pastoral care”, the Pope recalled. Today the Lord Jesus invites us to learn from the Magi: bow down like the Magi and adore him. We are to worship God, not our ego; we must worship God, and not false idols that seduce us with the magic of prestige and power, the charm of fake news; A thing of the past and a seductive but empty logic of evil. “
Finally, the Pope urged everyone to “open their hearts to meet discomfort, pray to have the courage to embark on the journey and end up in adoration”. “We are not afraid! This is the path of the Magi, the path of all the saints in history”, said the Pope.
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