In his Sunday Mass sermon of the Word of God, read by Archbishop Rino Fisichella, Pope Francis invites Christians to make time for the Holy Scriptures and emphasizes that God’s Word is one of comfort but also a call to conversion.
By Lydia O’Kane
Holy Mass for the 2nd Sunday of the Word of God was celebrated by Archbishop Rino Fisichella, president of the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of the New Evangelization, who replaced Pope Francis suffering from a painful attack of sciatica.
In his sermon, read by Archbishop Fisichella, Pope Francis drew his attention to what Jesus was says and to who He says it as He proclaims the Kingdom of God.
What Jesus says
The pope noted how Jesus begins his preaching, saying, “This is the time of fulfillment. The kingdom of God is at hand.”
He went on to say that the first message that can be gleaned from this is that “God is near and His kingdom has come down to the earth.”
“The time of His distance ended when He became man in Jesus,” said the Pope.
God is near
He emphasized that, “First of all, we must believe and declare that God has come to us, that we have been forgiven and shown mercy.”
God’s word, said Pope Francis, keeps telling us, “Don’t be afraid, I’m with you. I’m by your side and I’ll always be there.”
“By speaking to us,” said the Pope, “the Lord is reminding us that He has taken us to heart, that we are precious to His eyes, and that He holds us in the palm of His hand.”
“God’s word is one of comfort, but also a call to repentance,” said Pope Francis. “Repent,” says Jesus, immediately after proclaiming God’s nearness. “
Those who hear God’s word, Pope Francis emphasized, “are constantly reminded that life is not about shielding ourselves from others, but about meeting them in the name of God who is near.”
No one is far from God’s heart
Getting his attention to who As Jesus speaks, the Pope noted that his first words to Galilean fishermen, whom he described as “simple people.”
Pope Francis pointed out that Jesus started with people “not from the center but from the periphery, and He did that to also tell us that no one is far from God’s heart”.
The Pope pointed to the “special power” of the word of God and stressed how it “can directly affect every person.”
“The disciples would never forget the words they heard that day on the shore of the lake, by their boats, in the company of their relatives and colleagues: words that defined their lives forever.” Jesus said to them, “Follow me, I will make you fishers of men.” ”
“He did not appeal to them with lofty words and ideas,” said Pope Francis, but spoke to their lives and told them that they would become “fishers of men.”
The Pope explained that Jesus spoke to them “in terms of their own livelihood.”
And he went on to say that Jesus does the same to us; looking for us where we are and walking by our side.
Make room for God’s Word
Finally, Pope Francis urged everyone “not to ignore God’s word. It is a love letter written to us by the One who knows us best. “
He also urged believers to carry it with them at all times and to give it “a worthy place in our home.”
In order to focus on God’s word, the Pope prayed that we would also be given the power “to turn off the television and open the Bible, turn off our cell phones, and open the gospel”.