In his Friday homily at Casa Santa Marta, the Pope warned against a paralyzing fear within the Christian life, one that plagues people regardless of where they are in their spiritual journey. He also recommends three ways to escape the tunnel of fear that is presented in the story of Elijah.
POPE FRANCIS
'We must always seek the Lord. We all know how the bad moments are: moments that pull us down, moments without faith, dark, times when we do not see the horizon, we are unable to get up. We all know this, but it is the Lord who comes, who refreshes us with bread and with his strength and says: â??Arise and be on your way! Walk!â??â?
The Pope advocated for people stand upright and walk, remain in a strain of sonorous silence and to be brave in the hour of mission.
EXCERPTS FROM PAPAL HOMILY
(Source: Vatican Radio)
'To meet God it is necessary to go back to the situation where the man was at the time of creation, standing and walking. Thus did God created us: capable of standing full upright before Him, in his image and likeness, and on our way with Him. â??Go, go ahead: cultivate the land, make it grow; and multiply.â?? [Then, to Elijah], â??Enough! Go out and go up to the mountain and stand on the mountaintop in my presence.â?? Elijah stood up on his feet, he set off on his way.â?
'So much noise, so much majesty, so much bustle - and the Lord was not there. â??After the fire, the whisper of a gentle breezeâ?? or, as it is in the original, â??the strain of a sonorous silenceâ??: and the Lord is there, speaking to us in it.â?
'Go out. The prophet is invited to retrace his steps, to the desert, because he was given an assignment to fulfill. In this is captured the stimulus to be on the way, not closed, not within the selfishness of our comfort, but brave in bringing to others the message of the Lord, mission.â?
'We must always seek the Lord. We all know how are the bad moments: moments that pull us down, moments without faith, dark, times when we do not see the horizon, we are unable to get up. 'We all know this, but but it is the Lord who comes, who refreshes us with bread and with his strength and says: â??Arise and be on your way! Walk!â?? In order to meet the Lord we must be so: standing upright and on our way; then waiting for Him speak to us, with an open heart; and He will say, â??It is Iâ?? and there faith becomes strong â?? [and] is this faith for me to keep? No: It is for us to bring to others, to anoint others with it â?? it is for mission.â?
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