The Creation of Adam – Michelangelo – On Ceiling of the Sistine Chapel
http://www.news.va/en/news/pope-francis-1st-homily-full-text
2013-03-14 Vatican Radio
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis celebrated the Missa pro Ecclesiae in the Sistine Chapel on Thursday afternoon. Below, please find Vatican Radio’s translation of [condensed] text of his homily.
In these three readings I see that there is something in common: it is movement. In the first reading, movement is the journey [itself]; in the second reading, movement is in the up-building of the Church. In the third, in the Gospel, the movement is in [the act of] profession: walking, building, professing.
Walking: the House of Jacob. “O house of Jacob, Come, let us walk in the light of the Lord.” This is the first thing God said to Abraham: “Walk in my presence and be blameless.” Walking: our life is a journey and when we stop, there is something wrong. Walking always, in the presence of the Lord, in the light of the Lord, seeking to live with that blamelessness, which God asks of Abraham, in his promise.
The Rolling Stones
Building: to build the Church. There is talk of stones: stones have consistency, but [the stones spoken of are] living stones, stones anointed by the Holy Spirit. Build up the Church, the Bride of Christ, the cornerstone of which is the same Lord. With [every] movement in our lives, let us build!
Sonic Bloom Festival, 2012. Georgetown, Colorado. Photo by S.A.Bort
Third, professing: we can walk as much we want, we can build many things, but if we do not confess Jesus Christ, nothing will avail. . . . When one does not walk, one stalls. When one does not build on solid rocks, . . . everything collapses, it is without consistency. . . .
Walking, building-constructing, professing: the thing, however, is not so easy, because in walking, in building, in professing, there are sometimes shake-ups – there are movements that are not part of the path: there are movements that pull us back.
This Gospel continues with a special situation. The same Peter who confessed Jesus Christ, says, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God. I will follow you, but let us not speak of the Cross. This has nothing to do with it.” He says, “I’ll follow you on other ways, that do not include the Cross.” When we walk without the Cross, when we build without the Cross, and when we profess Christ without the Cross, we are not disciples of the Lord. We are worldly, we are bishops, priests, cardinals, Popes, but not disciples of the Lord.
photos by S.A.Bort – 2010
I would like that all of us, after these days of grace, might have the courage – the courage – to walk in the presence of the Lord, with the Cross of the Lord: to build the Church on the Blood of the Lord, which is shed on the Cross, and to profess the one glory, Christ Crucified. In this way, the Church will go forward.
My hope for all of us is that the Holy Spirit, that the prayer of Our Lady, our Mother, might grant us this grace: to walk, to build, to profess Jesus Christ Crucified. So be it.
Please see the following previous blogs of mine for further info on the significance of the Roman Catholic Church recently and throughout history.:
Pope Francis of Argentina: a Response to “Urbi et Orbi” (to the City and the World) (14 March 2013)
Cardinal Takes Over for Bishop and Advances on King (8 March 2012)
The President Caves to Georeligious Powers on Obamacare (10 February 2012)
Georeligious Power: A Paris Revolution. A Polish Revolution. An American Revolution? (30 January 2012)
