***

Dear brothers and sisters, good morning and happy feast day!

Today, on the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, the Gospel tells us about one of the most important, most beautiful moments in the history of humanity: the Annunciation (cf. Lk 26-38), when Mary’s “yes” to the Archangel Gabriel permitted the Incarnation of the Son of God, Jesus. It is a scene that inspires the greatest wonder and emotion because God, the Most High, the Omnipotent, by means of the Angel converses with a young girl from Nazareth, asking for her collaboration for His plan of salvation. If today you find a little time, look in the Gospel of Saint Luke and read this scene. I assure you that it will do you good, a lot of good!

As in the scene of the creation of Adam, painted by Michelangelo in the Sistine Chapel, where the finger of the heavenly Father touches the finger of the man; thus here too the human and the divine encounter each other, at the beginning of our Redemption, they meet with a wonderful delicacy, in the blessed instant in which the Virgin Mary utters her “yes”. She is a woman in a small peripheral village and is called for ever to the centre of history: on her answer depends the fate of humanity, which can smile and hope again, because its destiny has been placed in good hands. She will be the one to bear the Saviour, conceived by the Holy Spirit.

Mary, then, as the Archangel Gabriel greets her, is “full of grace” (Lk 1:28), the Immaculate, entirely at the service of the Word of God, always with the Lord, to whom she entrusts herself completely. In her, there is nothing that resists His will, nothing that opposes truth and charity. Here is her blessedness, which all generations will sing. Let us also rejoice because the Immaculate has given us Jesus, who is our salvation!

Brothers and sisters, contemplating this mystery we can ask ourselves: in our time, ravaged by wars and bent on the effort to possess and dominate, where do I place my hope? In strength, in money, in powerful friends? Do I place my hope there? Or in God’s infinite mercy? And in the face of the shiny false models circulating in the media and on the internet, where do I look for my happiness? Where is the treasure of my heart? Is it in the fact that God loves me freely, that His love always goes before me, and is ready to forgive me when I return repentant to Him? In that filial hope in God’s love? Or am I deluding myself in trying to assert my ego and my will at all costs?

Brothers and sisters, as the opening of the Holy Door of the Jubilee approaches, let us open the doors of the heart and the mind to the Lord. He is born of Mary Immaculate: let us implore the intercession of Mary. And I will give you a piece of advice. Today it is a good day to decide to make a good Confession. If you cannot go today, this week, until next Sunday, open your heart and the Lord will forgive everything, everything, everything. And so, in Mary’s hands, we will be happier.

Thank you for reading our content. If you would like to receive ZENIT’s daily e-mail news, you can subscribe for free through this link.

The post Immaculate Conception explained by the Pope as the encounter between the human and the divine appeared first on ZENIT - English.

***

Dear brothers and sisters, happy Sunday!

The Gospel of today’s liturgy (Lk 21:25-28, 34-36), first Sunday of Advent, speaks to us about cosmic upheavals and anxiety and fear in humanity. In this context, Jesus addresses a word of hope to His disciples: “Stand erect and raise your heads because your redemption is at hand” (v. 28). The Master’s concern is that their hearts do not grow drowsy (cf. v. 34) and that they await the coming of the Son of Man with vigilance.

Jesus’ invitation is this: raise your head high and keep your hearts light and awake.

Indeed, many of Jesus’ contemporaries, faced with the catastrophic events they saw happening around them – persecutions, conflicts, natural disasters – are gripped by anxiety and think that the end of the world is coming. Their hearts are weighed down with fear. Jesus, however, wants to free them from present anxieties and false convictions, showing them how to stay awake in their hearts, how to read events from the plan of God, who works salvation even within the most dramatic events of history. That is why He suggests that they turn their gaze to Heaven to understand the things of earth: “Stand erect and raise your heads” (v. 28). It is beautiful… “Stand erect and raise your heads”.

Brothers and sisters, for us too Jesus’ recommendation is important: “Beware that your hearts do not become drowsy” (v. 34). All of us, in many moments of life, ask ourselves: what can I do to have a light heart, a wakeful heart, a free heart? A heart that does not let itself be crushed by sadness? And sadness is awful, it is awful. Indeed, it can happen that the anxiety, fears and worries about our personal lives or about what is happening in the world today weigh down on us like boulders and throw us into discouragement. If worries weigh down our hearts and induce us to close in on ourselves, Jesus, on the contrary, invites us to lift up our heads, to trust in His love that wants to save us and that draws close to us in every situation of our existence, He asks us to make room for Him in order to find hope again.

And so, let us ask ourselves: is my heart weighed down by fear, worries and anxieties about the future? Do I know how to look at daily events and the vicissitudes of history with God’s eyes, in prayer, with a broader horizon? Or do I let myself be overcome by despondency? May this Advent season be a precious opportunity to lift our gaze to Him, who lightens our hearts and sustains us on our way.

Let us now invoke the Virgin Mary, who even in times of trial was ready to accept God’s plan.

Thank you for reading our content. If you would like to receive ZENIT’s daily e-mail news, you can subscribe for free through this link.

The post What can we do to keep our hearts from becoming heavy? Pope Francis answers with the Gospel appeared first on ZENIT - English.

***

Dear brothers and sisters, happy Sunday!

Today the Gospel of the liturgy (Jn 18:33-37) shows us Jesus before Pontius Pilate. He has been handed over to the Roman procurator to be condemned to death. However, a brief dialogue begins between the two, between Jesus and Pilate. Through Pilate’s questions and the Lord’s answers, two words in particular are transformed, acquiring new meaning. Two words: the word “king” and the word “world.”

At first Pilate asks Jesus, “Are you the king of the Jews?” (v. 33). Thinking as an official of the empire does, he wants to understand whether the man in front of him is potentially threatening. For him, a king is the authority that rules over all his subjects. And this would be a menace for him, would it not? Jesus claims to be king, yes, but in quite another way! Jesus is a king insofar as he is a witness: he is the One who speaks the truth (cf. v. 37). The kingly power of Jesus, the Word incarnate, lies in his true word, in his effective word, that transforms the world.

The World: this is the second word. Pontius Pilate’s “world” is one where the strong triumph over the weak, the rich over the poor, the violent over the meek. A world, in other words, which we know well, unfortunately. Jesus is King, but his kingdom is not of Pilate’s world, and not of this world either (v. 36). Jesus’ world, indeed, is the new world, the eternal world, which God prepares for all by giving his life for our salvation. It is the kingdom of heaven, which Christ brings to this earth by pouring out grace and truth (cf. Jn. 1:17). The world, of which Jesus is King, redeems creation ruined by evil with the power proper to divine love. Jesus saves creation, because Jesus liberates, Jesus forgives, Jesus brings peace and justice. “But is this true Father?” – “Yes”. How is your soul? Is there something heaving it down? Some old sin? Jesus always forgives. This is the kingdom of Jesus. If there is something ugly within you, ask for forgiveness. And He always forgives.

Brothers and sisters, Jesus speaks to Pilate from up close, but the latter remains distant from him because he lives in a different world. Pilate does not open himself to the truth, even though it is right in front of him. He will let Jesus be crucified. He will order “The King of the Jews” (Jn 19:19) to be written above the cross, but without understanding the meaning of this word: “King of the Jews”, of these words. Yet Christ came into the world, into this world. The one who is from the truth, listens to his voice (cf. Jn 18:37). It is the voice of the King of the universe, who saves us.

Brothers and sisters, listening to the Lord brings light into our hearts and into our lives. So, let us try to ask ourselves – everyone ask themselves in their own heart: can I say that Jesus is my “king”? Or do I have other “kings” in my heart? In what sense? Is His Word my guide, my certainty? Do I see in Him the merciful face of God who always forgives, always forgives, who is waiting for us to give us his forgiveness?

Let us pray together to Mary, the handmaid of the Lord, as we await the Kingdom of God with hope.

Thank you for reading our content. If you would like to receive ZENIT’s daily e-mail news, you can subscribe for free through this link.

The post Pope Francis explains how Jesus is king appeared first on ZENIT - English.

***

Dear brothers and sisters, happy Sunday!

In the Gospel of today’s liturgy, Jesus describes a great tribulation: “the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light” (Mk 13:24). Faced with this suffering, many might think of the end of the world, but the Lord seizes the opportunity to offer a different interpretation, saying: “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away” (Mk 13:31).

We can take a closer look at this expression: what will pass and what will remain.

First of all, what will pass. 

In some circumstances in our life, when we are going through a crisis or experience some failure, as well as when we see around us the pain caused by wars, violence, natural disasters, we have the feeling that everything is coming to an end, and we feel that even the most beautiful things pass away. Crises and failures, however, though painful, are important, because they teach us to accord everything its due weight, not to attach our hearts to the realities of this world, because they will pass: they are destined to fade away.

At the same time, Jesus talks about what will remain.

Everything passes away, but His words will not pass away: Jesus’ words will remain for eternity. He thus invites us to trust in the Gospel, which contains a promise of salvation and eternity, and not to live under the anguish of death. For while everything passes away, Christ remains. In Him, in Christ, we shall one day find again the things and people who have passed away and who have accompanied us in our earthly existence. In the light of this promise of resurrection, every reality takes on a new meaning: everything dies and we too will one day die, but we will lose nothing of what we have built and loved, because death will be the beginning of a new life.

Brothers and sisters, even in tribulations, in crises, in failures, the Gospel invites us to look at life and history without fear of losing what ends, but with joy for what will remain. Let us not forget that God is preparing for us a future of life and joy.

And so, let us ask ourselves: are we attached to earthly things, which pass away, which pass quickly, or to the words of the Lord, which remain and guide us towards eternity? Let us ask ourselves this question, please. It will help us.

And let us pray to the Blessed Virgin, who entrusted herself totally to the Word of God, so that She may intercede for us.

Thank you for reading our content. If you would like to receive ZENIT’s daily e-mail news, you can subscribe for free through this link.

The post What will pass and what will remain in life: a brief reflection of Pope Francis from the Gospel appeared first on ZENIT - English.

***

Today the Gospel of the liturgy (cf. Mk 12:38-44) tells us about Jesus who, in the temple of Jerusalem, denounces before the people the hypocritical attitude of some scribes (cf. vv. 38-40).

These latter were accorded an important role in the community of Israel: they read, transcribed and interpreted the Scriptures. Therefore, they were held in high esteem and people revered them.

Beyond appearances, however, their behaviour often did not correspond to what they taught. They were not consistent. Some, in fact, on the strength of the prestige and power they enjoyed, looked down on others “from above” – this is very ugly, looking down on another person from above – they put on airs and, hiding behind a façade of feigned respectability and legalism, arrogated privileges to themselves and even went so far as to commit outright theft to the detriment of the weakest, such as widows (cf. v. 40). Instead of using the role they were invested with to serve others, they made it an instrument of arrogance and manipulation. And it happened that even prayer, for them, was in danger of no longer being a moment of encounter with the Lord, but an occasion to flaunt respectability and feigned piety, useful for attracting people’s attention and gaining approval (cf. ibid.). Remember what Jesus says about the prayer of the publican and the pharisee (cf. Lk 18:9-14).

They – not all of them – behaved like corrupt people, feeding a social and religious system in which it was normal to take advantage of others behind their backs, especially the most defenceless, committing injustices and ensuring impunity for themselves.

Jesus warned to stay away from these people, to “beware” of them (cf. v. 38), not to imitate them. Indeed, with His word and His example, as we know, He taught very different things about authority. He spoke about it in terms of self-sacrifice and humble service (cf. Mk 10:42-45), of maternal and paternal tenderness towards people (cf. Lk 11:11-13), especially those most in need (Lk 10:25-37). He invites those invested with it to look at others from their position of power, not to humiliate them, but to lift them up, giving them hope and assistance.

So, brothers and sisters, we can ask ourselves: how do I behave in my fields of responsibility? Do I act with humility, or do I vaunt my position? Am I generous and respectful with people, or do I treat them in a rude and authoritarian way? And with my most fragile brothers and sisters, am I close to them, do I know how to bow to help lift them up?

May the Virgin Mary help us fight the temptation of hypocrisy in ourselves – Jesus tells them they are hypocrites, hypocrisy is a great temptation –, and help us to do good, simply and without ostentation.

Thank you for reading our content. If you would like to receive ZENIT’s daily e-mail news, you can subscribe for free through this link.

The post On appearances and the prayer of the tax collector and the Pharisee: a reflection of the Pope appeared first on ZENIT - English.

***

Dear brothers and sisters, good Sunday!

The Gospel of today’s liturgy (Mk 12:28-34) tells us about one of the many discussions Jesus had at the temple of Jerusalem. One of the scribes approaches Him and questions Him: “Which is the first of all the commandments?” (v. 28). Jesus responds by putting together two fundamental words of the Mosaic law: “You shall love the Lord your God” and “You shall love your neighbour” (vv. 30-31).

With his question, the scribe looks for “the first” of the commandments, that is, a principle at the basis of all the commandments; the Jews had many precepts and sought the basis of all of them, one that was fundamental; they tried to agree on a fundamental one, and there was discussion between them, good discussions because they were looking for the truth. And this question is essential for us too, for our life and for the journey of our faith. Indeed, we too at times feel lost among so many things, and ask ourselves: but, in the end, what is the most important thing of all? Where can I find the centre of my life, of my faith? Jesus gives us the answer, putting together two commandments that are the primary ones: the love of God and the love of neighbour. And this is the heart of our faith.

We all – as we know – need to return to the heart of life and faith, because the heart is “the radical source of their strengths, convictions” (Encyclical Dilexit nos, 9). And Jesus tells us that the source of everything is love, that we must never separate God from man. The Lord says to the disciple of every time: in your journey, what counts are not the exterior practices, such as burnt offerings and sacrifices (v. 33), but the readiness of heart with which you open yourself to God and to brethren in love. Brothers and sisters, we can do many things, but do them only for ourselves and without love, and this will not do; we do them with a distracted heart or even with a closed heart, and this will not do. All things must be done with love.

The Lord will come, and He will ask us first and foremost about love: “How did you love?”. It is important, then, to fix in our hearts the most important commandment. What is it? Love the Lord your God, and love your neighbour as yourself. And to carry out every day an examination of conscience and ask ourselves: is love for God and neighbour the centre of my life? Does my prayer to God impel me to go out to my brothers and sisters and love them gratuitously? Do I recognize the presence of the Lord in the faces of others?

May the Virgin Mary, who bore the law of God imprinted in her immaculate heart, help us to love the Lord and our brothers and sisters.

Thank you for reading our content. If you would like to receive ZENIT’s daily e-mail news, you can subscribe for free through this link.

The post Where to find the center of the life of faith? Pope Francis answers appeared first on ZENIT - English.

***

Today the Gospel of the liturgy (Mk 10:46-52) tells us about Jesus who cures a man from blindness. His name is Bartimaeus, but the crowd in the street ignore him: he is a poor beggar. Those people do not have eyes for the blind man; they leave him, they ignore him. No caring gaze, no feeling of compassion. Bartimaeus does not see either, but he hears and he makes himself heard. He shouts, he cries loudly, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” (v. 48). Jesus, however, hears and sees him. He places himself at his disposal and asks, “What do you want me to do for you?” (v. 51).

“What do you want me to do for you?”. This question, before a blind person, seems to be a provocation, and instead, it is a test. Jesus is asking Bartimaeus who he is truly looking for, and for what reason. Who is for you the “Son of David”? And thus the Lord starts to open the blind man’s eyes. Let us consider three aspects of this encounter, which becomes a dialogue: the cry, faith, the journey.

First of all, the cry of Bartimaeus, which is not only a request for help. It is an affirmation of himself. The blind man is saying, “I exist, look at me. I do not see you, Jesus. Do you see me?”. Yes, Jesus sees the beggar, and he listens to him, with the ears of the body and those of the heart. Think of ourselves, when we cross paths with a beggar on the street: how many times do we look away, how many times do we ignore him, as though he did not exist? And do we hear the cry of beggars?

Second point: faith. What does Jesus say? “Go your way; your faith has made you well” (v. 52). Bartimaeus sees because he believes; Christ is the light of his eyes. The Lord observes how Bartimaeus looks at him. How do I look at a beggar? Do I ignore him? Do I look at him like Jesus does? Am I capable of understanding his demands, his cry for help? When you give alms, do you look the beggar in the eye? Do you touch his hand to feel his flesh?

Finally, the journey. Bartimaeus, healed, “followed him on the way” (v. 52). But each one of us is Bartimaeus, blind within, who follows Jesus once he has approached Him. When you approach a poor person and make your proximity felt, it is Jesus who approaches you in the person of that poor man. Please, let us not be confused: alms are not the same as handouts. The person who receives the most grace from almsgiving is the one who gives, because he makes himself seen by the eyes of the Lord.

Let us pray together to Mary, the dawn of salvation, that she may guard our path in the light of Christ.

Thank you for reading our content. If you would like to receive ZENIT’s daily e-mail news, you can subscribe for free through this link.

The post 3 aspects of Jesus’ encounter with blind Bartimaeus briefly meditated by the Pope appeared first on ZENIT - English.

***

Dear brothers and sisters, good Sunday!

The Gospel of today’s liturgy (Mk 10, 17:30) tells us about a rich man who encounters Jesus and asks Him: “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” (v. 17). Jesus invites him to leave everything and follow Him, but the man, sorrowful, goes away because, as the text says, “he had great possessions” (v. 23). It costs to leave everything.

We can see the two movements of this man: at the beginning he runs, to go to Jesus; at the end, though, he goes away sorrowful, he goes away sad. First, he runs towards, and then he goes away. Let us dwell on this.

First of all, this man goes to Jesus running. It is as if something in his heart urges him on: in fact, although he has many riches, he is dissatisfied, he feels restlessness inside, he is searching for a fuller life. As the sick and the possessed often do (cf. Mk 3:10; 5:6), we see this in the Gospel, he throws himself at the Master’s feet; he is rich, yet in need of healing. He is rich but needs to be healed. Jesus looks at him with love (v. 21); then, He proposes a “therapy”: to sell everything he has, give it to the poor and follow Him. But, at this point, comes an unexpected conclusion: this man’s face falls and he goes away! So great and impetuous was his desire to meet Jesus; how cold and swift was his farewell.

We, too, carry in our hearts an irrepressible need for happiness and for a life full of meaning; however, we can fall into the illusion of thinking that the answer is found in the possession of material things and earthly securities. Instead, Jesus wants to bring us back to the truth of our desires and to make us discover that, in reality, the goodness we yearn for is God Himself, His love for us and the eternal life that He and He only can give us. The true wealth is to be looked upon with love by the Lord – this is a great wealth – and, as Jesus does with that man, to love each other by making our life a gift for others. Brothers and sisters, therefore, Jesus invites us to risk, to “risk love”: to sell everything to give it to the poor, which means divesting ourselves of the self and our false securities, making ourselves attentive to those who are in need and sharing our possessions, not just things, but what we are: our talents, our friendship, our time, and so on.

Brothers and sisters, that rich man did not want to risk, to risk what? He did not want to risk love, and he went away with a sad face. And us? Let us ask ourselves: what is our heart attached to? How do we satiate our hunger for life and happiness? Do we know how to share with those who are poor, with those who are in difficulty or in need of listening, of a smile, of a word to help them regain hope? Or who need to be listened to… Let us remember this: the true wealth is not the goods of this world, the true wealth is being loved by God, and learning to love like Him.

And now let us ask for the intercession of the Virgin Mary, so that she may help us discover in Jesus the treasure of life.

Thank you for reading our content. If you would like to receive ZENIT’s daily e-mail news, you can subscribe for free through this link.

The post The passage of the rich young man (who did not follow Jesus) explained by the Pope appeared first on ZENIT - English.

***

Today, in the Gospel of the liturgy (cf. Mk 10:2-16), Jesus speaks to us about marital love. As they have already done on some other occasions, some Pharisees ask him a provocative question about a controversial issue: a husband’s divorce from his wife. They would like to drag him into a quarrel, but he does not let them. Instead, he welcomes the opportunity to draw their attention to a more important discussion: the value of love between a man and a woman.

In Jesus’ time, the condition of the woman in marriage was greatly disadvantaged compared to that of the man: the husband could send his wife away, divorce her, even for trivial reasons, and this would be justified by legalistic interpretations of Scripture. For this reason, the Lord brings his interlocutors back to the demands of love. He reminds them that woman and man were willed by the Creator as equal in dignity and complementary in diversity. In this way they would be each the other’s helper, companion, but they would also be mutually stimulating and a challenge to grow (cf. Gen 2:20-23).

And for this to happen, he emphasizes the need for their mutual gift to be full, to be engaging, to be without «half measures» – this is love – that it be the beginning of a new life (cf. Mk 10:7; Gen 2:24), destined to last not «as long as everything goes well» but forever, accepting each other and living united as «one flesh» (cf. Mk 10:8; Gen 2:24). Of course, this is not easy, this requires fidelity, even in difficulties, it requires respect, honesty, simplicity (cf. Mk 10:15). It requires being open to confrontation, sometimes even to discussion, when it is necessary, but also to be always ready to forgive and to be reconciled to the other. And I tell you: husband and wife, fight as much as you like, provided you always make peace, before the day is over! Do you know why? Because the cold war that comes the next day is dangerous. “And tell me, father, how should we make peace?” – “A gentle caress, like this, is enough”, but never end your day without making peace.

Let us not forget, also, that for spouses it is essential to be open to the gift of life, to the gift of children, that are the most beautiful fruit of love, the greatest blessing from God, a source of joy and hope for every home and all of society. Have children! Yesterday, I received a great consolation. It was the day of the Gendarmerie Corps, and a gendarme came with his eight children! It was beautiful to see him. Please, be open to life, to what God may send you.

Dear brothers and sisters, love is demanding, yes, but it is beautiful, and the more we allow ourselves to be involved by it, the more we discover true happiness in it. And now, let each one of us ask themselves: How is my love? Is it faithful? Is it generous? Is it creative? How are our families? Are they open to life, to the gift of children?

May the Virgin Mary help Christian spouses. Let us turn to her in spiritual union with the faithful gathered at the Shrine of Pompeii for the traditional Supplication to Our Lady of the Holy Rosary.

Thank you for reading our content. If you would like to receive ZENIT’s daily e-mail news, you can subscribe for free through this link.

The post The value of love between man and woman briefly explained by the Pope appeared first on ZENIT - English.

***

Today the Gospel of the liturgy (Mk 9:30-37) tells us about Jesus who announces what will happen at the culmination of His life: “The Son of man”, says Jesus, “will be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill Him; and when He is killed, after three days He will rise” (v. 31). The disciples, however, while they are following the Master, have other things in their mind and also on their lips. When Jesus asks them what they were talking about, they do not answer.

Let us pay attention to this silence: the disciples are silent because they were discussing who was the greatest (cf. v. 34).

They fall silent out of shame. What a contrast with the words of the Lord! While Jesus confided in them the meaning of His very life, they were talking about power. And so now shame closes their mouth, just as pride had closed their heart earlier.

And yet Jesus responds openly to the conversations whispered along the way: “If any one would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all” (cf. v. 35). Do you want to be great? Make yourself small, put yourself at the service of all.

With a word as simple as it is decisive, Jesus renews our way of living. He teaches us that true power does not lie in the dominion of the strongest, but in care for the weakest. True power is taking care of the weakest – this makes you great!

This is why the Master calls a child, puts him in the midst of the disciples and embraces him, saying: “Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me” (v. 37). The child has no power; the child has needs. When we take care of man, we recognize that man is always in need of life.

We, all of us, are alive because we have been welcomed, but power makes us forget this truth. You are alive because you have been welcomed! Then, we become dominators, not servants, and the first to suffer as a result are the last: the little ones, the weak, the poor.

Brothers and sisters, how many people, how many, suffer and die for power struggles! Theirs are lives that the world denies, as it denied Jesus, those who are excluded and die… When He is delivered into the hands of men, He finds not an embrace, but a cross. However, the Gospel remains living and filled with hope: He who has denied, is risen, He is the Lord!

Now, on this beautiful Sunday, we can ask ourselves: do I know how to recognize the face of Jesus in the smallest? Do I take care of my neighbour, serving generously? And do I thank those who take care of me?

Let us pray together to Mary, to be, like her, free of vainglory, and ready in service.

Thank you for reading our content. If you would like to receive ZENIT’s daily e-mail news, you can subscribe for free through this link.

The post Do you want to be great? Pope Francis answers what we must do appeared first on ZENIT - English.