Vatican
City, 30 June 2013 (VIS) – Jesus' steadfast decision to set out on
the path to Jerusalem, his final destination and the place where He
fulfilled His mission of salvation, and His freedom of conscience
were the themes of the Pope's final Angelus in the month of June,
prayed with tens of thousands of faithful gathered in St. Peter's
Square.
“From
that time forth after His steadfast decision, Jesus aims straight for
the finish line, and even to the people he meets and who ask to
follow Him, He clearly states the conditions: not having a permanent
abode; knowing how to detach oneself from familiar affections; not
succumbing to nostalgia for the past. But Jesus also said to his
disciples, charged with preceding Him on the way to Jerusalem to
announce His coming, not to impose anything: if they do not find
willing welcome, they are simply to continue, to move on. Jesus never
imposes” Pope Francis emphasized. “Jesus is humble. Jesus extends
invitations: 'If you want, come'. The humility of Jesus is like this:
He always invites us. He does not impose”.
“All
this makes us think … of the importance, even for Jesus, of
conscience: listening in his heart to the Father's voice, and
following it. Jesus, in his earthly life, was not, so to speak,
'remote-controlled': He was the Word made flesh, the Son of God made
man, and at one point he made a firm decision to go up to Jerusalem
for the last time - a decision taken in His conscience, but not on
His own: with the Father, in full union with Him! ... For this
reason, then, the decision was steadfast: because it was taken
together with the Father. In the Father, then, Jesus found the
strength and the light for His journey. Jesus was free. His decision
was a free one. Jesus wants us Christians to be free as he is: with
that liberty, which comes from this dialogue with the Father ...
Jesus wants neither selfish Christians, who follow their egos and do
not speak with God, nor weak Christians, without will:
'remote-controlled' Christians, incapable of creativity, who seek
always to connect with the will of another ... Jesus wants us free,
and this freedom – where is it found? It is to be found in the
inner dialogue with God in conscience. If a Christian … does not
know how to listen to God, in his own conscience, then he is not free
– he is not free”.
“So
we also must learn to listen more to our conscience. Be careful,
however: this does not mean we ought to follow our ego, do whatever
interests us, whatever suits us, whatever pleases us. That is not
conscience. Conscience is the interior space in which we can listen
to and hear the truth, the good, the voice of God. It is the inner
place of our relationship with Him, who speaks to our heart and helps
us to discern, to understand the path we ought to take, and once the
decision is made, to move forward, to remain faithful”.
Pope
Francis highlighted a wonderful example of how this relationship with
God in one's own conscience may be: Pope Benedict XVI, “when the
Lord showed him in prayer the step he had to take, followed his
conscience with a great sense of discernment and courage; that is, he
followed the will of God that spoke to his heart”. This example “is
of benefit to all of us, as an example to follow”.
“May
Mary help us to become more and more men and women of conscience,
free in our conscience … able to hear the voice of God and follow
it with decision” concluded the Pope.
After
the Angelus, the Holy Father remarked that today in Italy we
celebrate the Day of charity of the Pope, and he thanked the bishops
and all the parishes, especially the poorest, for the prayers and
offerings that support the many pastoral initiatives and charitable
activities of the Successor of Peter in every part of the world.
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