In his homily at Casa Santa Marta, Pope Francis explained what paralyzes Christians with a very graphic example.
POPE FRANCIS
'â??Not taking risks, please, noâ?¦ prudenceâ?¦â?? 'Obeying all the commandments, all of themâ?¦' Yes, itâ??s true, but this paralyzes you too, it makes you forget so many graces received, it takes away memory, it takes away hope, because it doesnâ??t allow you to go forward. And the present of a Christian, of such a Christian, is like when one goes along the street and an unexpected rain comes, and the garment is not so good and the fabric shrinksâ?¦ Confined soulsâ?¦ This is cowardliness: this is the sin against memory, courage, patience, and hope.â?
He also added that pusillanimity and fear of everything are two sins contrary to giving up one's life in service to others, as Christ asks.
SUMMARY OF PAPAL HOMILY IN ENGLISH
(Source: Vatican Radio)
'â??Brothers, call to mind those first daysâ??: the days of enthusiasm, of going forward in the faith, when you began to live the faith, the anguished trialsâ?¦ You donâ??t understand the Christian life, even the spiritual life of each day, without memory. Not only do you not understand: You canâ??t live in a Christian way without memory. The memory of the salvation of God in my life, the memory of my troubles in my life; but how has the Lord saved me from these troubles? Memory is a grace: a grace to ask for. â??Lord, may I not forget your step in my life, may I not forget the good moments, also the ugly; the joys and the crosses.â?? The Christian is a man of memory.â?
'Hope: Looking to the future. Just as one cannot live a Christian life without memory of the steps taken, one cannot live a Christian life without looking to the future with hopeâ?¦ of the encounter with the Lord. And he uses a beautiful phrase: â??just a brief momentâ?¦â?? Eh, life is a breath, eh? It passes. When one is young, he thinks he has so much time before him, but then life teaches us that those words that we all say: â??But how time passes! I knew this person as a child, now theyâ??re getting married! How time passes!â?? It comes soon. But the hope of encountering it is a life in tension, between memory and hope, the past and the future.â?
'â??Not taking risks, please, noâ?¦ prudenceâ?¦â?? All the commandments, all of themâ?¦ Yes, itâ??s true, but this paralyzes you too, it makes you forget so many graces received, it takes away memory, it takes away hope, because it doesnâ??t allow you to go forward. And the present of a Christian, of such a Christian, is how when one goes along the street and an unexpected rain comes, and the garment is not so good and the fabric shrinksâ?¦ Confined soulsâ?¦ This is faintheartedness: this is the sin against memory, courage, patience, and hope. May the Lord make us grow in memory, make us grow in hope, give us courage and patience each and free us from that which is faintheartedness, being afraid of everythingâ?¦ Confined souls in order to save ourselves. And Jesus says: â??He who wills to save his life will lose it.â??â?
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