Pope Francis said this morning at the recitation of the Marian prayer for the AngelusIn St. Peter's Square, he said that in order to know the Lord it is not enough to know something about him, but "it is necessary to follow him, to let oneself be touched and changed by his Gospel. It is a matter of having an encounter with him. You can know many things about Jesus, but if you have not met him you do not know who Jesus is".
"It changes the way of being, it changes the way of thinking, it changes the relationship you have with your brothers and sisters, it changes your disposition to accept and forgive, the choices you make in life, everything changes," he continued. It is not enough, he stressed, to know the doctrine, but it is necessary to have this encounter,
Francis then quoted the Lutheran theologian and pastor Bonhoeffer, a victim of Nazism, who wrote that the problem that never leaves me calm is that of knowing what Christianity really is for us today, or who Christ is. Unfortunately, many no longer ask themselves this question, and remain quiet, asleep, even far from God.
The Pope concluded: "It is important to ask ourselves who Jesus is for me and what place he occupies in my life? Do I allow the encounter with him to transform my life? May our Mother Mary, who allowed God to upset her plans, who followed Jesus to the Cross, help us in this.
The Pontiff's meditation started from the Gospel This Sunday, from St. Mark, in which Jesus asks his disciples: "Who do the people say that I am? Peter answers in the name of all: "You are Christ, that is, you are the Messiah",
However, when Jesus begins to speak of suffering and death, Peter himself objects, and Jesus rebukes him harshly. Looking at the attitude of the Apostle Peter, we can ask ourselves what it really means to know Jesus," the Pope said.
Vietnam, Myanmar, new Blessed in Mexico, ALS patients...
After the recitation of the AngelusThe Pope prayed for the victims of the floods in Vietnam and Myanmar, and asked for a round of applause for the Mexican Moisés Lira, priest of the Missionaries of the Holy Spirit and founder of the Congregation of the Missionaries of Charity of Mary Immaculate, beatified by Cardinal Marcello Semeraro, prefect of the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, in the Basilica of the Virgin of Guadalupe in Mexico City.
The Pope also prayed for those suffering from Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ELA), whose day is celebrated today in Italy, to whom he expressed his closeness, and that "the wars that bloody the world" should not be forgotten.
Francis prayed for the martyred Ukraine, Myanmar, the Middle East, and he stopped at "the mothers who have lost their children in the war", praying for the kidnapped people, that the hostages be released, and that "solutions for peace" be found.
