To outside observers, the Christian faith might appear somewhat nebulous. But Pope Francis on January 7, 2019, explained just how “concrete” Christianity is.
His remarks came in his homily at Mass at Casa Santa Marta in the Vatican, reported by Vatican News.
The Pope said that God became “concrete, born of a concrete woman, lived a concrete life, died a concrete death, and asks us to love concrete brothers and sisters”. He pointed out that God’s commandments are “concrete” – and that makes concreteness the “criterion” of Christianity.
As for the saint, they are “madmen of concreteness”, who help us walk on this path and discern the concrete things that the Lord wants, which are contrary to the fantasies and illusions of false prophets that St. John speaks about in his First Letter.
Pope Francis said that Jesus is a concrete man, a man who is God; not God disguised as a man. This, the Pope said, is the concreteness of the first commandment.
The second condition of this pact is also concrete he said – that of loving one another, concrete love, not fantasy love. It’s not saying “Oh how much I love you” and then destroying the person with tongue and slander.
In this task of discernment, the Pope said, it is a great help to hold spiritual conversations with people of spiritual authority who have the charism to help us see clearly. They could be priests, religious, lay people and others who have the ability to help us see what happens in my heart so as not to make mistakes.
