In the Sunday Angelus, the Holy Father meditated on the need to have recourse to the Lord in times of anxieties, problems and failures.
Vatican City (21/06/2021 18:00, Gaudium Press)
During the Angelus prayer this Sunday, Pope Francis commented on a passage from the Gospel of St. Mark in which Our Lord Jesus Christ calms the storm threatening the boat in which He is sailing with His disciples.
The text recounts the distress of Jesus’ disciples who, driven by fear of the violent waves shaking the small boat, are perplexed to see Jesus sleeping in the stern. Their reaction was to cry out: “Master, do you not care that we perish?”.
To be a disciple of Jesus, it is not enough to believe that God is present
Highlighting the disciples’ reaction, Pope Francis said that “often we too, assailed by the trials of life, cry out to the Lord: ‘Why do you remain silent and do nothing for me?'” At such moments, we must remember that “although he is asleep, Jesus is there and shares with his disciples all that is happening. His sleep, if on the one hand it surprises us, on the other it puts us to the test”.
“The Lord is there, present; indeed, he waits – so to speak – for us to engage him, to invoke him, to put him at the centre of what we are experiencing. His slumber causes us to wake up. Because to be disciples of Jesus it is not enough to believe God is there, that he exists, but we must put ourselves out there with him; we must also raise our voice with him. We must cry out to him.” stressed the Pontiff.
Faith begins from believing that we are not enough for ourselves
Highlighting the power of Faith, the Pope stressed that as the disciples approached, awoke and spoke with Jesus, they recognized that they were not able to stay afloat. And this is the beginning of our Faith, for according to the Pontiff, “Faith begins from believing that we are not enough for ourselves, from feeling in need of God.”
“When we overcome the temptation to close ourselves off, when we overcome the false religiosity that does not want to disturb God, when we cry out to him, he can work wonders in us. It is the gentle and extraordinary power of prayer, which works miracles.”
We must look to Jesus and not let ourselves be carried away by fear
The Holy Father further explained that after Our Lord Jesus Christ asked the disciples why did they fear and lack faith, we realize that we too must look to Jesus and not let ourselves be carried away by fear.
“How often we remain fixated on problems rather than going to the Lord and casting our concerns into him! How often we leave the Lord in a corner, at the bottom of the boat of life, to wake him only in a moment of need! let us ask for the grace of a faith that never tires of seeking the Lord, of knocking at the door of his Heart.,” he concluded. (EPC)
(Via Vatican.va)
Related Images:
