In his homily in Casa Santa Marta, the pope warns Christians of the ways of thinking and judging that the world offers, because they deprive a person of freedom.
POPE FRANCIS
'In moments of trials and tribulations, we always are tempted to look back, to look at the worldly patterns of behavior, at the patterns that we had before setting out the path towards salvation: without freedom. Without freedom, one cannot be holy. Freedom is the condition for moving forward, while looking at the light ahead of us.”
Pope Francis explained that continuing on the path of holiness as a Christian is not having the “face of a holy card,” but living with hope in the grace that God gives.
EXTRACTS OF PAPAL HOMILY
Source: Vatican Radio
“The call to holiness, which is the normal call, is our call to live as a Christian, namely living as a Christian is the same as saying 'living as a saint'. Many times we think of holiness as something extraordinary, like having visions or lofty prayers... or some think that being holy means having a face like that in a cameo... no. Being holy is something else. It is to proceed along this path that the Lord tells us about holiness. And what is it, to proceed along the path of holiness? Peter says it: Put all your hope in that grace that will be given to you when Jesus Christ manifests Himself.'
'But we are not mistaken, because we see the light and we know the way. When you walk with the light behind you, you can see the road well, but in reality there is shadow, not light, in front of you.”
'This is the correct translation of this advice - do not adopt the worldly patterns, - do not adopt those patterns of behavior, that worldly way of thinking, that way of thinking and judging that the world offers you because this deprives you of freedom. And to proceed towards holiness, one must be free: free to go forward, looking at the light, going forward. And when we return, as he says here, to the way of life we had before our encounter with Jesus Christ or when we return to those patterns of worldly behavior, we lose our freedom.”
“In moments of trials and tribulations, we always are tempted to look back, to look at the worldly patterns of behavior, at the patterns that we had before setting out the path towards salvation: without freedom. And without freedom one cannot be holy. Freedom is the condition for moving forward while looking at the light ahead of us. Do not adopt the worldly patterns of behavior, walk forward, looking at the light that is the promise, in hope; this is the promise like the people of God in the desert: when they looked forward everything went fine; when they were nostalgic because they could no longer eat the good things they formerly had, they made mistakes and forgot that they had no freedom back there.”
