‘The journey of a Christian starts anew every morning, trusting in the Lord and open to his many surprises.’
According to Vatican Radio, Pope Francis stressed this during his daily morning Mass at Casa Santa Marta, today, June 26, 2017, marking his last daily Mass until after the summer break and his Sept. 6-11 Apostolic Trip to Colombia.
Drawing inspiration from today’s readings, the Holy Father focused on when God asks a 75-year-old Abraham to leave his country, his homeland, his father’s house and go forth where to Lord directed him.
The Bible and the Gospels, the Jesuit Pope said, are full of stories and episodes in which the prophets and the disciples are called to go forth.
Don’t be “too settled, stationary, fixed,” the Pope noted, saying the lifestyle of a Christian is based on three dimensions: renouncing and going forth, trusting in G0d’s promises and receiving His blessing.
«To be a Christian always implies this dimension of stripping oneself of something,» the Pope said, noting this dimension reflects Jesus’s renunciation on the Cross. «There is always the need to ‘go forth,’ to take a first step.»
If Christians do not have the “capacity” to be “stripped and to renounce,” the Pope warned, they are not “authentic Christians.”
Abraham did not build a house, the Jesuit Pope observed, but only pitched a tent, showing “he was on a journey and trusted God.” Every morning, a Christian’s journey and trust in God’s surprises, he noted, starts anew.
At times, the Pope recognized, these surprises are good and bad, «such as illness or of a death,” but, he encouraged: «We must always be open because we know that He will take us to a safe place, to a land that has been prepared especially for us.»
«A Christian,» he noted, «does not read the horoscope to foresee the future; a Christian does not consult a fortune teller who looks into a crystal ball or reads your palm…” the Pope said.
Like Abraham, we walk toward a new land, the Pope stressed, noting Christians allow themselves to be guided by God who takes them on the path toward fulfilling His promises.
Pope Francis concluded, noting, “Deep down, Christian life is so simple!”
