Nov 25, 2024 Written by 

On low guard

Let us allow ourselves to be met by Jesus "with our guard down, open", so that he can renew us from the depths of our souls. This is Pope Francis' invitation at the beginning of the Advent season. The Pontiff addressed it to the faithful during the Mass celebrated this morning, Monday 2 December, in the chapel of Santa Marta.

The journey we begin in these days, he began, is "a new journey of the Church, a journey of the people of God, towards Christmas. And we walk to the encounter with the Lord'. Christmas is indeed an encounter: not just 'a temporal recurrence or,' the Pontiff specified, 'a memory of something beautiful. Christmas is more. We go on this road to meet the Lord'. So in the Advent season "we walk to meet Him. To encounter him with the heart, with life; to encounter him living, as he is; to encounter him with faith".

In truth, it is "not easy to live with faith", noted the Bishop of Rome. And he recalled the episode of the centurion who, according to the account in Matthew's Gospel (8:5-11), prostrates himself before Jesus to ask him to heal his servant. "The Lord, in the word we have heard," the Pope explained, "marvelled at this centurion. He marvelled at the faith he had. He had made a journey to meet the Lord. But he had done it in faith. Therefore not only did he meet the Lord, but he felt the joy of being met by the Lord. And this is precisely the encounter we want, the encounter of faith. To meet the Lord, but to be met by him. This is very important!".

When we limit ourselves only to meeting the Lord, he pointed out, 'we are the "masters" of this encounter'. When instead "we allow ourselves to be encountered by him, it is he who enters into us" and completely renews us.

"This," the Holy Father reiterated, "is what it means when Christ comes: to remake everything anew, to remake the heart, the soul, the life, the hope, the path".

At this time of the liturgical year, therefore, we are on a journey to meet the Lord, but also and above all "to let ourselves be met by him". And we must do this with an open heart, "so that he can meet me, tell me what he wants to tell me, which is not always what I want him to tell me!" Let us not forget then that "he is the Lord and he will tell me what he has for me", for each one of us, because "the Lord," the Pontiff specified, "does not look at us all together, as a mass: no, no! He looks at us one by one, in the face, in the eyes, because love is not an abstract love but a concrete love. Person by person. The Lord, person, looks at me, person'. That is why letting the Lord meet us ultimately means 'letting the Lord love us'.

"In the prayer at the beginning of the Mass," the Pontiff recalled, "we asked for the grace to make this journey with certain attitudes that help us. Perseverance in prayer: pray more. Hard work in fraternal charity: getting a little closer to those in need. And joy in praising the Lord". So 'let us begin this journey with prayer, charity and praise, with an open heart, so that the Lord may meet us'. But, the Pope asked in conclusion, "please, may he meet us with our guard down, open!"

[Pope Francis, St. Martha, in L'Osservatore Romano 02-03/12/2013]

10 Last modified on Monday, 25 November 2024 04:04
don Giuseppe Nespeca

Giuseppe Nespeca è architetto e sacerdote. Cultore della Sacra scrittura è autore della raccolta "Due Fuochi due Vie - Religione e Fede, Vangeli e Tao"; coautore del libro "Dialogo e Solstizio".

Email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Our shortages make us attentive, and unique. They should not be despised, but assumed and dynamized in communion - with recoveries that renew relationships. Falls are therefore also a precious signal: perhaps we are not using and investing our resources in the best possible way. So the collapses can quickly turn into (different) climbs even for those who have no self-esteem
Le nostre carenze ci rendono attenti, e unici. Non vanno disprezzate, ma assunte e dinamizzate in comunione - con recuperi che rinnovano i rapporti. Anche le cadute sono dunque un segnale prezioso: forse non stiamo utilizzando e investendo al meglio le nostre risorse. Così i crolli si possono trasformare rapidamente in risalite (differenti) anche per chi non ha stima di sé
God is Relationship simple: He demythologizes the idol of greatness. The Eternal is no longer the master of creation - He who manifested himself strong and peremptory; in his action, again in the Old Covenant illustrated through nature’s irrepressible powers
Dio è Relazione semplice: demitizza l’idolo della grandezza. L’Eterno non è più il padrone del creato - Colui che si manifestava forte e perentorio; nella sua azione, ancora nel Patto antico illustrato attraverso le potenze incontenibili della natura
Starting from his simple experience, the centurion understands the "remote" value of the Word and the magnet effect of personal Faith. The divine Face is already within things, and the Beatitudes do not create exclusions: they advocate a deeper adhesion, and (at the same time) a less strong manifestation
Partendo dalla sua semplice esperienza, il centurione comprende il valore “a distanza” della Parola e l’effetto-calamita della Fede personale. Il Cospetto divino è già dentro le cose, e le Beatitudini non creano esclusioni: caldeggiano un’adesione più profonda, e (insieme) una manifestazione meno forte
What kind of Coming is it? A shortcut or an act of power to equalize our stormy waves? The missionaries are animated by this certainty: the best stability is instability: that "roar of the sea and the waves" Coming, where no wave resembles the others.
Che tipo di Venuta è? Una scorciatoia o un atto di potenza che pareggi le nostre onde in tempesta? I missionari sono animati da questa certezza: la migliore stabilità è l’instabilità: quel «fragore del mare e dei flutti» che Viene, dove nessuna onda somiglia alle altre.
The words of his call are entrusted to our apostolic ministry and we must make them heard, like the other words of the Gospel, "to the end of the earth" (Acts 1:8). It is Christ's will that we would make them heard. The People of God have a right to hear them from us [Pope John Paul II]
Queste parole di chiamata sono affidate al nostro ministero apostolico e noi dobbiamo farle ascoltare, come le altre parole del Vangelo, «fino agli estremi confini della terra» (At 1, 8). E' volontà di Cristo che le facciamo ascoltare. Il Popolo di Dio ha diritto di ascoltarle da noi [Papa Giovanni Paolo II]
"In aeternum, Domine, verbum tuum constitutum est in caelo... firmasti terram, et permanet". This refers to the solidity of the Word. It is solid, it is the true reality on which one must base one's life (Pope Benedict)
«In aeternum, Domine, verbum tuum constitutum est in caelo... firmasti terram, et permanet». Si parla della solidità della Parola. Essa è solida, è la vera realtà sulla quale basare la propria vita (Papa Benedetto)

Due Fuochi due Vie - Vol. 1 Due Fuochi due Vie - Vol. 2 Due Fuochi due Vie - Vol. 3 Due Fuochi due Vie - Vol. 4 Due Fuochi due Vie - Vol. 5 Dialogo e Solstizio I fiammiferi di Maria

duevie.art

don Giuseppe Nespeca

Tel. 333-1329741


Disclaimer

Questo blog non rappresenta una testata giornalistica in quanto viene aggiornato senza alcuna periodicità. Non può pertanto considerarsi un prodotto editoriale ai sensi della legge N°62 del 07/03/2001.
Le immagini sono tratte da internet, ma se il loro uso violasse diritti d'autore, lo si comunichi all'autore del blog che provvederà alla loro pronta rimozione.
L'autore dichiara di non essere responsabile dei commenti lasciati nei post. Eventuali commenti dei lettori, lesivi dell'immagine o dell'onorabilità di persone terze, il cui contenuto fosse ritenuto non idoneo alla pubblicazione verranno insindacabilmente rimossi.