Prayer enables grace to open a way out from closure to openness, from fear to courage, from sadness to joy. Moreover, when we pray, God hears us and works even through the ‘small openings.’
Pope Francis stressed this to the thousands of faithful gathered in St. Peter’s Basilica to celebrate the Feast of Saints Peter and Paul this morning. He presided over the Mass, which was present the Delegation from the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople.
The Holy Father also invested the pallium on 25 Metropolitan archbishops, including American Monsignor Bernard Anthony Hebda, Archbishop of St. Paul and Minneapolis, present at the celebration. The pallium, a woolen cloak that is a sign of their office, is made from the wool of lambs blessed by the Pope on the Feast of St. Agnes.
During his homily, Pope Francis greeted the delegation sent by the Ecumenical Patriarch, whom he met with yesterday in an audience at the Apostolic Palace. After welcoming the delegation, the Holy Father reflected on today’s readings, which recalled Peter’s release from prison by an angel.
The Jesuit Pope observed that the Word of God in today’s liturgy presents a clear central contrast between closing and opening. The reading from the Acts of the Apostles (12:1-11), he noted, shows three examples of “closing:” Peter being cast into prison; the community gathering behind closed doors in prayer; and Peter knocking at the closed door of the house of Mary, the mother of John called Mark, after being set free.
Prayer as ‘Key’ of Liberation
In all three, Francis noted, prayer appears as the main ‘way out.’
«It is a way out for the community, which risks closing in on itself out of persecution and fear.» It is a way out for Peter who, at the very beginning of the mission, was cast into prison by Herod and risks execution. Noting how the Church «prayed fervently to God for him” (Acts 12:5), the Lord responds to that prayer and sends his angel to liberate Peter.
«Prayer, as humble entrustment to God and his holy will, is always the way out of our becoming “closed”, as individuals and as a community,» Francis said.
The Pontiff recalled that Paul too, when writing to Timothy, speaks of his experience of liberation, specifically of finding a way out of his own impending execution. Paul, Francis noted, affirms that the Lord stood by him and gave him strength to carry out the work of evangelizing the nations.
*We can see the whole life of the Apostle,» the Pope said, «in terms of “going out” in service to the Gospel. Paul’s life was utterly projected forward, in bringing Christ to those who did not know him, and then in rushing, as it were, into Christ’s arms, to be “saved for his heavenly kingdom” (v. 18).
Then the Pope return to discussing Peter and stressed that Jesus shows us that his life, «– like the life of each of us – opens, opens up fully, when it receives from God the Father the grace of faith.»
While Simon, fisherman of Galilee sets out on his long and difficult journey, he is led to «go out of himself, leaving all his human supports behind, especially his pride tinged with courage and generous selflessness.»
Francis recalled Jesus’ decisive prayer for Simon: “I have prayed for you , that your own faith may not fail” (Lk 22:32), and His likewise compassionate gaze after Peter had denied him three times.
«At that moment,» he said, «Simon Peter was set free from the prison of his selfish pride and fear, and overcame the temptation of closing his heart to Jesus’s call to follow him along the way of the Cross.»
Detail Worthy of Consideration
Francis then pointed out to those gathered that, in the continuation of the passage from the Acts of the Apostles, there is a detail «worthy of consideration (cf. 12:12-17),» specifically when Peter finds himself miraculously freed from Herod’s prison, goes to the home of the mother of John called Mark, but the servant who is in disbelief hearing his knock, runs to tell her mistress, instead of opening the door to him.
«The account, which can seem comical,» he noted, «makes us perceive the climate of fear that led the Christian community to stay behind closed doors, but also closed to God’s surprises.
This detail, he also said, «speaks to us of a constant temptation for the Church, that of closing in on herself in the face of danger. But we also see the small openings through which God can work.»
Saint Luke tells us that in that house “many had gathered and were praying” (v. 12). Prayer enable grace to open a way out from closure to openness, from fear to courage, from sadness to joy. And we can add: from division to unity.
Francis also acknowledged how today is also a celebration of communion for the whole Church, evidenced by the presence of the metropolitan archbishops who have come for the blessing of the pallia, which they will receive from the Pontiff’s representatives in their respective sees.
Concluding his homily, Pope Francis prayed, «May Saints Peter and Paul intercede for us, so that we can joyfully advance on this journey, experience the liberating action of God, and bear witness to it before the world.»
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On ZENIT’s Web page:
Full Text of Pope’s Homily: http://zenit.org/articles/pope-francis-homily-for-the-feast-of-saints-peter-and-paul-2
