During his daily morning Mass, Pope Francis talked about Christian life. He explained that being Christian is very simple, at times, it may seem complicated.
POPE FRANCIS
'These are the two conditions in order to follow Jesus: to listen to the word of God, and to put it into practice. This is the Christian life â?? nothing more. It's simple, simple. Maybe weâ??ve made it a little difficult, with many explanations that no one understands, but Christian life is: to listen to the Word of God and to put it in practice.â?
The Pope concluded that Christians need to listen to the Word of God with their ears and hearts, since the Gospel, he said, speaks to each person individually.
SUMMARY OF THE POPE'S HOMILY
(Source: Vatican Radio)
'Jesus continued to talk to people and loved the people and He loved the crowd, to the point that He says, â??these who follow me, that immense crowd, are my mother and my brothers â?? thatâ??s who they areâ??. He explains: â??those who listen to the Word of God, put it into practiceâ??. These are the two conditions in order to follow Jesus: to listen to the word of God, and to put it into practice. This is the Christian life â?? nothing more. Simple, simple. Maybe weâ??ve made it a little difficult, with many explanations that no one understands, but the Christian life is thus: listening to the Word of God and practicing it.â?
'Every time we do this â?? each time we open the Gospel and read a passage and ask ourselves: â??Is God speaking to me with this? Is He saying something to me?â?? â?? and if He is saying something, what is it that He is saying? This is [what it means] to listen to the Word of God: to listen with your ears and hear with your heart. Open your heart to the Word of God. The enemies of Jesus heard the word of Jesus, but were there in order to try to find a mistake, to make Him slip, so that He would lose His authority. They never asked themselves, though: â??What is God saying to me in this Word?â?? God not only speaks to all: yes, he does speak to all of us â?? but He also speaks to to every one of us â?? to each of us. The Gospel was written for each of us.â?
'Jesus receives everyone, even those who go to hear the Word of God and then betray Him. Think of Judas. â??Friend,â?? He says, in that moment where Judas betrays him. The Lord is always sowing His word, and asks [us] only [to have] an open heart [with which] to listen and willingness to put it into practice. For this reason, then prayer today, which is that of the Psalm [119:35]: â??Lead me Lord in the path of thy commandments,â?? that is, the path of your Word, that I may learn with your guidance to put it into practice.â?
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