Angelus from the Vatican: Pope Francis encourages "not to dialogue with the devil".In his reflection on today's Gospel, the Pope invited us to recall the encounter that each of us has had personally with Jesus in our lives: "Today's Gospel presents Jesus' encounter with the first disciples. This scene invites us to remember our first encounter with Jesus. Each of us has had our first encounter with Jesus; as a child, as an adolescent, as a young person, as an adult... When did I meet Jesus for the first time? We can think back. And after this thought, after this memory, renew the joy of following him and ask ourselves: what does it mean to be a disciple of Jesus? According to today's Gospel we can take three words: to seek Jesus, to dwell with Jesus, to proclaim Jesus".
On the other hand, the Holy Father recalled the importance of the search for God: "What were those first disciples searching for? We see it through the second verb: to live. They were not looking for news or information about God, or signs or miracles, but they wanted to meet the Messiah, to speak with him, to be with him, to listen to him. The first question they ask Him is: 'Where do you live' (v. 38). And Christ invites them to be with Him: 'Come and see' (v. 39). To be with Him, to live with Him, this is the most important thing for the disciple of the Lord. Faith, in short, is not a theory, no, it is an encounter: it is going to see where the Lord dwells and living with Him".
In conclusion, the Pope pointed out that this encounter necessarily leads to the proclamation: "That first encounter with Jesus was such a powerful experience that the two disciples remembered the hour forever: 'it was about four o'clock in the afternoon' (v. 39). This shows the power of that encounter. And their hearts were so full of joy that they immediately felt the need to communicate the gift they had received. In fact, one of them, Andrew, hastened to share it with his brother. Brothers and sisters, today we too commemorate our first encounter with the Lord. Each of us has had our first encounter, whether in the family or outside it... When did I meet the Lord? When did the Lord touch my heart? And we ask ourselves: are we still disciples in love with the Lord, are we seeking the Lord, or have we settled into a faith of habit?"
At the end of the Angelus, the Pope remembered the victims of the landslide in Colombia and of wars, especially in Ukraine, Israel and Palestine, and called for peace.
