“Jesus can not be known in “first class” but in everyday life.” This was the central message of Pope Francis’ homily today at morning Mass in Domus Sanctae Marthae. In order to fully understand Christ, one must speak the three languages that are necessary to know him: that of “the mind, heart, and action.”
Reflecting on Gospel of the day which related Herod’s question as to who was Christ, the Holy Father stated that it is the same question posed by all who encounter Jesus. “It is a question,” he noted, “that can be made out of curiosity or for security.” He noted that in the Gospel some are afraid of Jesus because his teachings may lead to a political conflict with the Romans.
“One may wonder, ‘Who is this that makes so many problems?’ the Pope said, “because really, Jesus makes problems.”
“You can not know Jesus without having problems. And I dare say: If you want to have a problem, go towards the path to know Jesus. Not one [problem], you will have many. But it is the path to know Jesus! You can not know Jesus in first class! Jesus is known through the daily paths walked every day. You cannot know Jesus in tranquility, not even in the library.”
Although pointing out that one can study and essentially know Jesus through Catechism and through “the beauty of the history of salvation, but it its not enough to understand Jesus through the mind.
“It is necessary to know Him in dialogue with Him, talking with Him, in prayer, kneeling. If you do not pray, if you do not talk with Jesus, you do not know Him. You know things about Jesus, but it does not go with that knowledge that your heart gives in prayer. To know Jesus with the mind, in the study of the Catechism; to know Jesus with the heart, in prayer, in dialogue with Him. This help us immensely, but it is not sufficient. There is a third path to know Jesus: it is following [Him]; to go with Him, to walk with Him.
The Holy Father stressed that in communicating with Christ in these three “languages” one can truly know Him
“When so many people, including us, ask this question: ‘Who is this?’, the Word of God says, ‘You want to know who he is? Read what the Church tells you about Him, talk to Him in prayer, and walk on the path with Him. Thus, you may know who this man is,” Pope Francis concluded.
