POPE TALK | KAIROS GLOBAL | DECEMBER 2019

Author: Dr. Kochurani  Joseph

Animator, National Professionals Ministry, India

Religion should transmit ‘values and virtues’ to next generation

Speaking at an interreligious event at the Pontifical Lateran University, Pope stated that if people of faith do not transmit concrete values to young people, the message will get stuck in the incomprehensible abstract.  The responsibility towards the new generations requires above all the commitment to form them and listen to them in order to respond to the challenges of our times, without denying the immutable value of truth, but with a comprehensible and current language.

The saints show that real people can be holy

The saints were real people whose strength to face daily challenges came from the grace of Jesus Christ, showing that everyone can be holy. The saints of all times are not simply symbols or distant human beings, and unreachable. On the contrary, they are people who have lived with their feet on the ground. They have experienced the daily toil of existence with its successes and its failures, finding in the Lord the strength to always get up and continue the journey. To be holy means daily commitment to sanctification in the conditions, duties and circumstances of our life, trying to live everything with love and with charity.

Church must always be open, expansive and welcoming

The first Christians resolved their differences at the “Council of Jerusalem”, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. It reminds us that the ecclesial method of resolving conflicts is based on dialogue through careful and patient listening and discernment in the light of the Spirit.   The book of Acts reveals the nature of the Church and is “not a stronghold, but a tent, capable of widening her space” so that all may enter.  

An evangelizer should not impede God’s creativity

The experience of St. Peter in the Acts of the Apostles urge Christians to allow themselves to be amazed by God’s surprises and creativity with which He makes Himself known as the "Lord of all". The journey of the Gospel in the world is accompanied by the supreme creativity of God which manifests itself in surprising ways. Christians need to overcome particularism and open themselves to the universality of salvation, because God wants to save everyone. They are called to come out of themselves and open themselves up to others, to live close together which transforms every interpersonal relationship into an experience of fraternity. 

Christ converts our hearts to love others

God converted the heart of Saul, the persecutor of Christians, and transformed him into the fearless preacher we know as Saint Paul. That same sinful man became Saint Paul after his dramatic conversion to Christianity, offering us an example of the power of God’s love for each of us. God converted Saul by touching his heart, transforming the course of his life, which is accompanied by a new view of God, ourselves and others. 

She opened her house to the Apostles 

Pope recalled in the book of the Acts of the Apostles how evangelism entered Europe. Guided by the Holy Spirit, Paul sets sail for Macedonia, where, in Philippi, he first preaches to a group of women gathered for the Sabbath. One of them, Lydia, opens her heart to welcome Jesus, and, together with her household, is baptized. As a result, she opens her home to Christ’s followers, giving an example of the Christian hospitality born of faith. 

Pope Francis says…

• We are called to draw near to God and to others. 

• Each of us has and is “a mission on this earth” to witness, bless, console, rise up, and radiate the beauty of Jesus. 

• Holiness is the path of fullness that every Christian is called to follow in the faith and is the common vocation of the disciples of Christ.

• Holy Spirit guides the path of the evangelizers, showing them the way to follow.

• May Mary, our most holy Mother, a sign of consolation and sure hope, accompany us with her maternal intercession

DECEMBER

The Future of the Very YoungThat every country take the measures necessary to prioritize the future of the very young, especially those who are suffering.