Ask God for the courage and strength to follow Jesus in your daily lives.
According to Vatican Radio, Pope Francis made this invitation during his daily morning Mass at Casa Santa Marta, on Oct. 3, 2017, as he reflected on Jesus’s journey to Jerusalem before His Crucifixion.
Francis reminded those present in his chapel to turn to Jesus as He did to His Father, for strength and courage.
“Take some time today – five, ten, fifteen minutes – either before the crucifix or with your imagination, to ‘see’ Jesus walking determinately towards Jerusalem and ask for the grace to have the courage to follow him closely” he said.
The Garden of Gethsemane was the only occasion in which Jesus asked the Father to ‘remove the cup of wrath He was about to drink’, but each time He submitted to the Father’s will.”
Francis explained that God wants us to do the same.
During the Lord’s journey to Jerusalem, the Pope recalled that the disciples did not follow Jesus, but that He was alone.
“At times,” Francis said, “the disciples did not understand what Jesus was saying or did not want to understand because they were afraid; other times they hid the truth or they were distracted by other things.”
“Or, as we can read in today’s Gospel,” he observed, “they searched for an alibi so as not to think about what was awaiting the Lord.”
Because no one understood the mystery of Jesus, the Pope said, Jesus was alone in his decision. He only had, Francis reminded, an angel God sent to Him from heaven to comfort and strengthen Him.
“Let us take some time, the Pope said, to think about Jesus who loved us so much, who walked alone towards the cross: think about Him and thank Him for his obedience and His courage and enter into conversation with Him.”
Concluding, Pope Francis called those present to speak to Jesus and acknowledge all the things He has done for us.
