In his Sunday Angelus, Pope Francis reflected on the beatitudes from the Gospel of St. Luke. He warned against those who propose themselves to be dispensers of happiness; and which leads one into idolatry, rather than totally trusting in God.
POPE FRANCIS
“They come and promise success in good times, great earnings within reach, magical solutions to every problem, and so on. However, without realizing, it is easy to slip into sin against the first commandment: idolatry, replacing God with an idol.”
The pope added that happiness comes to those who place themselves at the side of God and serve the poor. He said the Beatitudes also helps one to overcome the illusions within this world.
POPE FRANCIS
“The Beatitudes of Jesus are a decisive message, which spurs us on not to place our trust in material and transitory things, not to seek happiness by following the sellers of smoke - who many times are sellers of death - the professionals of illusion.”
After the Angelus prayer, the pope asked everyone to pray for the upcoming summit “Meeting on the Protection of Minors” from Feb. 21-24.
POPE FRANCIS
“I invite you to pray for this appointment, which I wanted as an act of strong pastoral responsibility in the face of an urgent challenge of our time.”
The pope has requested this meeting to “prevent and combat the worldwide problem of the sexual abuse of minors.” The Presidents of all the Episcopal Conferences and victims of abuse will be in attendance. It will be a meeting filled with prayer, discernment, testimonies and working together.
