Today’s Gospel from Luke is an invitation to be prepared for the coming of the Lord, and to make that vigilance concrete in a life full of good works.
The Pope said this today before praying the midday Angelus with those gathered in St. Peter’s Square.
He recalled an image he’s used on other occasions regarding death and the end of our time on earth: “We can have many things, be very attached to money, have a lot. But after the end, we can’t take it with us. Remember that the shroud doesn’t have pockets,” he said.
The Holy Father reflected on various lessons from the three parables given in today’s liturgy.
From the first, which describes the master of the house rewarding his vigilant servants by sitting them at table and serving them himself, the Pope noted:
“Considering this carefully, we see that this happens already each time that we find the Lord in prayer, or in serving the poor, and above all in the Eucharist, where he prepares a banquet to nourish us with his Word and his Body.”
Regarding the parable lesson about the servant who takes advantage of his authority, the Pope said that this is at the root of many problems today.
“Many injustices, much violence and daily evils arise from the idea of behaving like lords of life and of others. And we have only one lord,” the Pope said, and this, Our Lord, “prefers that we call him Father.”
“We are servants, all of us are sinners, sons, but he is the only Father,” he said.
Vigilant servants awaiting their meeting with the Lord will have a life full of good fruits, the Pontiff affirmed.
“Jesus today reminds us that awaiting eternal blessedness does not free us from the commitment to make the world more just and more inhabitable. In fact, precisely our hope of possessing the Kingdom in eternity drives us to work to improve the condition of our earthly life, especially that of our weakest brothers.”
The Holy Father concluded with a prayer to Our Lady, that she might “help us to be people and communities who are not limited to the present, or worse, nostalgic for the past, but rather, projected toward the future of God, toward the encounter with him, our life and our hope.”
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On ZENIT’s Web page:
Full text: https://zenit.org/articles/angelus-address-on-vigilance-and-awaiting-the-lord/
