In the Holy Mass presided over by Pope Francis at the National Stadium in Bahrain, he spoke of the “power of Jesus” to love all people, including the enemy, and to break the chains of evil and build a world where we are all brothers.
(Vatican news network) Pope Francis went to the Bahrain National Stadium in Awali on Saturday 5 November at 8 to celebrate a holy mass for the faithful of the local Church, the first activity on the third day of the Pope’s trip. The ceremony was attended by about 30 thousand people, from four countries of the Apostolic Vicariate in the northern Arabian Peninsula, namely Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar and Saudi Arabia, as well as faithful from other Gulf countries and other regions.
The Pope first expressed to the faithful present “the love and concern of the universal Church”. He said the church “looks at you, hugs you, loves you and encourages you”.
In the homily of the Mass, the Pope stressed that “the more power is sought, the more peace is threatened”. The power of Christ is love: “His power does not require the strength of violence, but the weakness of love”. Jesus gave people “the authority to love, which is the authority to love as He is in his name”. So how to exercise this authority?
The Pope said: “It is unconditional love: not only when things go well, we feel we love, but always; not only our friends and neighbors, but all people, even our enemies. Always. Love and love for all. : we need to think about it a bit “.
The first is “eternal love”, which is Jesus’ invitation to “remain forever in his love, cultivate that love and exercise that love in whatever situation we find ourselves”. The Pope explained, however, that Jesus’ eyes were specific, and that his love for him “is not sentimental, as in moments of conflict in our relationships, without elements of hostility between peoples”. Jesus was a realist, and “made clear references to the ‘wicked’ and the ‘enemies’ (cf. Mt 5: 39.43)”.
“He knows that love and hate happen every day in our relationships; that every day in our hearts there is a struggle between light and darkness, between so many good intentions and desires and the vulnerability of sin, which often prevails. , dragging us into evil deeds. “
Today, “the power that operates in many parts of the world generates oppression and atrocities, those who seek to expand their space by restricting others, who impose their dominion by restricting fundamental freedoms, and who oppress the weak.” Seeing this, Jesus felt sad. His proposal was “surprising, courageous and daring”. He asks us to “remain faithful in love forever, despite all this, even in the face of evil and enemies”. But the human response, the Pope said, “has only forced us to ‘an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth'”. This is “revenge with the same weapon that was wounded”.
«Jesus courageously offers us his new, different, incredible proposal: ‘But I tell you: do not resist the wicked; and if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn him the other side ‘(ibid., 39). ) This is what the Lord asks of us: instead of dreaming of a world animated by fraternity with a conciliatory mentality, we strive to start from ourselves and begin to live the universal fraternity concretely and with courage, even if wounded Choose also the good and the stubborn, blocks the growth of revenge, suppress violence and disarm the mind. “
Jesus’ invitation “is not addressed primarily to the great human questions, but to the specific circumstances of our life: our relationships in the family, our relationships within the Christian community, our work relationships and social realities”. Whoever follows the King of Peace must always be at peace. “Peace cannot be created when a dirty word is returned with more ferocious words, when a slap is slapped with another slap. What is needed is to remove, to break the chains of evil, to break the rise of violence, to stop holding grudges. , stop complaining and self-pity “.
“What is needed is to remain in love, to love forever, and this is the way that Jesus showed for the glory of the Father who is in heaven and the establishment of peace on earth”, the Pope said. It is not enough, however, that love is “restricted to the small circle of those to whom we are equally loved.” Thus the Pope entered the theme “Love for all”.
“The real challenge is to learn to love all people, including enemies, to be children of the Father and build a world of brothers and sisters”. You have always heard: you must love your neighbor and hate your enemy! You say: he loves your enemies and prays for those who persecute you. ‘ (ibid., 43-44) This, in fact, means choosing not to have enemies, not to see others as obstacles to be overcome, but as Beloved brothers and sisters. To love the enemy is to bring to earth the image of the kingdom of heaven and to let the vision and the will of the Father descend into the world, which does not discriminate or discriminate, but “raises the sun on the wicked and the good rain on the just and on the unjust ‘(ibid., 45). “
“The strength of Jesus is love – the Pope underlined – Jesus has given us the strength to love so much in a way that we consider superhuman. However, such power cannot be the result of our efforts alone, but it is above all a grace. “This grace requires repeated requests:” Jesus, you love me, teach me to love as you do. Jesus, forgive me, teach me to forgive like you. Send your God, God of love. come on me! “
«We ask. Because we often make many requests to the Lord, but it is essential that Christians know how to love like Christ. Love is the greatest grace, if we give space to the Lord in our prayer, if we receive his presence in his transforming Word, in his revolutionary humility of breaking bread, we will receive this grace, so the walls that stiffen our hearts will begin to crumble, when the earth falls, we will find the joy of doing good works of mercy to all ».
“Then we will understand that the true happiness of life is to be lived through the Beatitudes and to be peacemakers”, concluded the Pope.
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