POPE FRANCIS ANGELUS MESSAGE 19 January 2014, Vatican City. Dear brothers and sisters, With the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord, celebrated last Sunday, we entered the liturgical season called ordinary . On this second Sunday , the Gospel presents to us the scene of the encounter between Jesus and John the Baptist in the Jordan River. Who is telling the eyewitness, John the Evangelist, that before being a disciple of Jesus was a disciple of John the Baptist , along with his brother James, with Simon and Andrew , all of Galilee, all fishermen. The Baptist sees Jesus then advancing through the crowd , and inspired from above, recognizes in him as the messenger of God , for this indicates with these words: Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world ! (Jn 1:29). The word that is translated as take away literally means raise , take it upon themselves . Jesus came into the world with a specific mission: to free from the bondage of sin , charging the sins of mankind. In what way? Loving. There is no other way to overcome evil and sin, but with the love that leads to the gift of his life for others. In the testimony of John the Baptist , Jesus has the traits of the Servant of the Lord, that he bore our sufferings , took upon himself our sorrows (Isaiah 53.4 ), to die on the cross . He is the true paschal lamb , which is immersed in the river of our sin, to cleanse us . The Baptist sees before him a man who gets in line with sinners to be baptized , though not needed. A man that God sent into the world as a sacrificial lamb . In the New Testament the word lamb is used several times and always in reference to Jesus the Lamb This might be surprised , in fact, an animal that is not characterized by certain strength and robustness loads on their shoulders a burden so oppressive. The huge mass of evil is removed and taken away by a weak and fragile creature , a symbol of obedience, docility and helpless love , which comes with the sacrifice of himself. The lamb is not a ruler , but its a docile , non- aggressive, but peaceful ; shows no claws or teeth in the face of any attack , but it bears , and is submissive . And so is Jesus! So is Jesus, as a lamb. What does it mean for the Church, for us, today , to be disciples of Jesus the Lamb of God? Means to put in place of malice innocence , instead of the force love, instead of pride humility , in place of prestige service . Its a good job! We Christians must do this: put in place of malice innocence, instead of force love, instead of pride, humility, instead of prestige service . Being a follower of the Lamb means not living as a besieged citadel , but as a city set on a mountain, open , welcoming, supportive . It means not to assume an attitude of closure, but bring the Gospel to all , bearing witness with our lives to follow Jesus makes us freer and more joyful . After the Angelus the Holy Father greeted the representatives of immigrants : Dear Brothers and Sisters , Today we celebrate the World Day of Migrants and Refugees , on the theme Migrants and refugees : towards a better world , that I developed in my Message posted some time ago . I extend a special greeting to the representatives of various ethnic communities gathered here , in particular the Catholic community in Rome. Dear friends, you are close to the heart of the Church, because the Church is a people on a journey toward the Kingdom of God, that Jesus Christ brought into our midst. Do not lose hope for a better world ! I wish to live in peace in countries that welcome you , keeping the values of your culture of origin. I would like to thank those who work with migrants to welcome and accompany them in their difficult times , to defend those that Blessed Scalabrini called merchants of human flesh , who want to enslave the migrants! In particular , I wish to thank the Congregation of the Missionaries of St. Charles , Scalabrini fathers and sisters who do so much good for the Church and become migrants with migrants . At this time we think of the many migrants , many refugees , their suffering , their lives, many times without a job , without papers , so much pain , and together we can all say a prayer for migrants and refugees living situations more serious and more difficult. I greet with affection all of you , dear faithful from different parishes of Italy and other countries , as well as associations and various groups. Dear brothers and sisters , good morning! ( The theme of the Holy Father’s Message to mark the recurrence in 2014 is Migrants and Refugees: toward a better world. In the Message, published in August of 2013, the Holy Father writes, “A change of attitude towards migrants and refugees is needed on the part of everyone, moving away from attitudes of defensiveness and fear, indifference and marginalization – all typical of a throwaway culture – towards attitudes based on a culture of encounter, the only culture capable of building a better, more just and fraternal world.” )
Posted on: Sun, 19 Jan 2014 19:11:12 +0000
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