The Holy Father has asked «that our life of holiness be this to enlarge the heart, so that the gratuity of God, the graces of God that are there, free, that He wants to give, reach our heart. So be it».
In the morning of June 11, 2019, Pope Francis celebrated the usual Eucharist in the chapel of Casa Santa Marta in which he has dedicated the homily to the theme of gratuity in the relationship with God and how we should cultivate it for to extend it to our relations with our neighbor.
The mission of Christians
Through the Gospel of the day ( Mt 10, 7-13), about the mission of the apostles, the Pope has referred to the mission of Christians. For him, the Christian «can not sit still», life is «making way, always» and his mission is «of service».
The vocation is «to serve»
On this, the Pontiff stressed that «the Christian life is to serve» and that it is very sad those who, although initially open to this mission of service, end up «using the people of God.» «This does a lot of evil, so much evil to the people of God. The vocation is to «serve», and not to «use», he added.
Free life
Similarly, the Holy Father stressed that Christian existence is «a life of gratuity» and, referring to the passage of the Gospel today, has referred to the Lord’s description of the nucleus of salvation: giving freely what has been freely received.
Salvation is not bought
The Bishop of Rome has continued explaining that «salvation is not bought», it is also free because God «makes us pay», «saves us for free».
He also defined this gratuity of God as «one of the most beautiful things and urged that we should do with others what the Lord does with us, give us freely.
Open the heart
Francisco said that the Lord is «full of gifts to give us» and that he only asks for one thing. «Let our hearts be opened»: «When we say ‘Our Father’ and pray, we open our hearts so that this gratuity comes. There is no relationship with God outside of gratuity.
Grace is not bought either
Likewise, in this sense, he emphasized that when we sometimes need something and fast, do penance or pray «it’s okay, but be alert: this is not to ‘pay for grace’, to ‘buy’ grace. This is to broaden your heart so that grace may come. Grace is free. «
«With God, it’s not about»
The Pope reiterated that all the goods of God are free and that the problem is the closing of the hearts of the people, that we are not able to receive «so much gratuitous love» and that we should not bargain with God, with the Lord «no it is about».
Do not negotiate with grace
The pope stressed the evil caused by the case of those pastors of the Church who «do business with the grace of God» and do not give it freely.
« In our spiritual life, we always have the danger of slipping over the payment, always, even talking to the Lord, as if we wanted to give a bribe to the Lord. Do not! The thing does not go there! It does not go that way. «Lord, if you do this to me, I will give you this.» No. I make this promise, but this widens my heart to receive what is there, free for us, «he stressed.
And it is this relationship of gratuity with God that will lead us to have it with others.
