Today in his homily at Casa Santa Marta, Pope Francis invites everyone to sit in silence, without distractions, focusing on the good and bad of life and a God who has always remained faithful, even in the time of Abraham.
POPE FRANCIS
'I invite you to take, today, five minutes, ten minutes, sitting, no radio, no TV; sit and think about your own story: the blessings and troubles, everything. The graces and sins altogether. I am sure that amidst the things that may be bad - because we all have them, many bad things in life - if today we do this, we will discover the beauty of God's love, the beauty of His mercy, the beauty of hope. And I'm sure we all will be filled with joy.'
He said Abraham was faced with a hopeless situation, but because he obeyed and trusted, God fulfilled His promise to make his descendants as numerous as the stars.
EXTRACTS FROM PAPAL HOMILY
'Put to the test, after having his son, his teenage boy is asked to be offered as a sacrifice. He obeyed and went ahead against every hope. That's our father Abraham, who goes forward, forward, forward, and when Jesus says that Abraham saw his day, and saw Jesus, he was filled with joy. Yes: he found promise in that and in the joy of seeing the fullness of the covenant to fulfillment, the joy of seeing that God had not deceived him. God - as we prayed in song between the readings - is always faithful to His covenant.'
The pact, by Abraham, lies in having always obeyed. On the part of God, the promise is to make him a father of many nations. 'Not to be Abram, but I will call you Abraham,' the Lord says. Then in another dialogue, always in the book of Genesis, God tells him that his descendants will be as numerous as the stars of heaven and the sand on the seashore. And today we can say, 'I am one of those stars. I am a grain of sand.'â?â?¨â?¨
'Looking at history: I am not alone, I am a people. We go together. The Church is a people. It is a people who are wanted by God, a people who were given a father on Earth who obeyed, and we have a brother who gave His life for us, to make us the people. And so we can look at the Father and give thanks; look at Jesus and give thanks; and look at Abraham and at each of us, who are all part of the journey.'
'I invite you to take, today, five minutes, ten minutes, sitting, no radio, no TV; sit and think about your own story: the blessings and troubles, everything. The graces and sins altogether. And there, watching the faithfulness of the God who has remained faithful to his covenant, He has remained faithful to the promise He had made to Abraham, He remained faithful to salvation that He had promised in his Son Jesus. I am sure that amidst the things that may be bad - because we all have them, many bad things in life - if today we do this, we will discover the beauty of God's love, the beauty of His mercy, the beauty of hope. And I'm sure we all will be filled with joy.'
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