During his homily at Casa Santa Marta, Pope Francis spoke about the three characteristics the apostles received in the face of persecution, as a result of Easter joy: obedience, witness and realism.
POPE FRANCIS
“There have been so many persecutions since that time. Think about Christians persecuted in Africa and the Middle East. There are more today than in early Christianity: people in prison, killed, and hanged all to witness to Jesus. They are witnesses to the end.”
He added that Christian witness is patient when guiding others who don’t think alike or share the faith; it tolerates and accompanies, but never sells the truth.
EXCERPTS OF PAPAL HOMILY
(Source: Vatican News)
“The 50 days of Easter before Pentecost were a 'time of joy' for the Apostles because of Christ’s Resurrection. Theirs was a true joy, but it contained tints of doubt and fear. Only after Pentecost and the descent of the Holy Spirit, the Apostles’ joy became courageous, since they now understood the meaning of the Paschal mystery.
“First, obedience, and second, witness, which is such a nuisance to some. There have been so many persecutions since that time. Think about Christians persecuted in Africa and the Middle East. There are more today than in early Christianity: people in prison, killed, and hanged all to witness to Jesus. They are witnesses to the end.”
“It often happens that sins, compromises, or fears make us forget this first encounter, the one that changed our lives. We carry a memory with us that gets watered down to make us ‘rose-water’ Christians: watered-down and superficial. We must ask for the grace of the Holy Spirit of realism. Jesus has entered into my life and my heart. So has the Holy Spirit. I may have forgotten it, but the grace of the first encounter lives on in me.”
“Let us pray for it for one another: the joy that comes from the Holy Spirit: the joy of Easter obedience, the joy of Easter witness, and the joy of Easter realism.”
