For the 25th anniversary since Pope Francis became a bishop, he honored the special day by celebrating a Mass with the cardinals in Rome at the Apostolic Palace.
While the average age of those present was around 75, Pope Francis remembered that they are not ancient people governing the Church.
POPE FRANCIS
'A person who does not want us says that we are the gerontocracy of the Church. It's a hoax. This person does not understand what he says. We are not old Spartan senators: we are grandparents, we are grandparents.â?
He recalled when God called Abram in Genesis, and spoke about three pieces of advice one needs to follow to complete their Christian mission, no matter their age: arise, look and hope.
POPE FRANCIS
'To us today the Lord says the same, 'Arise! Look! Hope!' He tells us that it's not time to put our lives in retirement, to close our story, to summarize our story. The Lord tells us that our story is open, still: it is open until the end. It is open with a mission. These three requirements tell us the mission: 'Arise! Look! Hope! ''
Pope Francis said Abram was nearing the age of retirement when God called him to continue walking forward. As such, the pope encouraged the cardinals in attendance saying they still have a mission and purpose in life.
POPE FRANCIS
'For us, this 'arise, look, hope' is called 'dreaming.' We are grandparents called to dream and give our dream to today's youth: they need it. They will take from our dreams the power to prophesy and carry on their task.â?
He ended his anniversary Mass by thanking the cardinals for their fraternity. He also asked for forgiveness for his sins and for continued perseverance in faith, hope and charity.
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