"Today's liturgy speaks to us of Jesus, who announces what will happen at the end of his life. The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill him; and after he is dead, three days later he will rise again".
"But the disciples, as they follow the Master, have something else on their minds, and also on their lips. When Jesus asked them what they were talking about, they did not answer. Let us pay attention to that silence," Pope Francis suggested in the meditation preceding the Angelus of this September 22, the 25th Sunday in Ordinary Time, taking as a reference the Gospel of today.
"The disciples kept silent because they were arguing about who was the greatest," the Pontiff continued. "They keep silent out of shame. What a contrast with the Lord's words. While Jesus entrusted to them the meaning of his own life, they spoke of power. And shame closes their mouths, just as pride had previously closed their hearts".
"Put yourself at the service of all"
"Jesus answers them openly: 'Whoever wants to be first, let him be last. If you want to be great, make yourself small. With a word as simple as it is decisive, Jesus renews our way of living. He teaches us that true power does not lie in dominating the strongest, but in caring for the weakest. True power is taking care of the weakest. This makes you great.
Francis continued to reflect on this idea: "Here is why the Master, in a moment, calls a child, places him among the disciples and embraces him saying: 'whoever welcomes a child like this in my name, welcomes Me'".
"We have been welcomed. He who was rejected, rose again."
"The child has no power, the child has need (...). Man needs life. All of us are alive because we have been welcomed. But power makes us forget this truth. And we become dominators, not servants. And the first to suffer are precisely the last, the little ones, the weak, the poor".
"How many people suffer and die because of power struggles. They are lives that the world rejects, as it rejected Jesus (...) He did not find an embrace, but a Cross, Yet the Gospel remains a living word full of hope. He who was rejected is risen. He is the Lord".
We can now ask ourselves, the Pope pointed out: "Do I know how to recognize the face of Jesus in the least of these? Do I care for my neighbor by serving generously? Do I thank those who care for me? Let us pray together to Mary to be like her, free from vainglory and ready to serve".
Condemnation of all violence and wars
Following the recitation of the Marian prayer of the AngelusThe Holy Father prayed for Juan Lopez, murdered a few days ago in Honduras. Juan Lopez was coordinator of the social pastoral of the diocese of Trujillo and a founding member of the pastoral of the poor. Integral Ecology In Honduras, as reported by Omnes, I join this church in mourning and condemning any form of violence.
He then greeted the Ecuadorians living in Rome, who are celebrating Our Lady of the Swan; a choir from Toledo, families and children from Slovakia, Mexican faithful, and various associations. In concluding, he asked that "the detainees be in dignified conditions", and as he always does, he asked that "we pray for peace" remembering that "on the war fronts, the tension is very high; that the voice of the people who ask for peace be heard". "Let us not forget the tormented Ukraine, Palestine, Israel, Myanmar".
