In the homily of the Mass for Sunday of the Word of God, read by Archbishop Rino Fisichella, Pope Francis invites Christians to set aside time for Sacred Scripture and underlines that the Word of God is a consolation but also an appeal to conversion.
By Lydia O’Kane
The 2nd Sunday Mass of the Word of God was celebrated by Archbishop Rino Fisichella, President of the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of the New Evangelization, replacing Pope Francis, who suffers from a painful sciatica crisis.
In his homily, which was read by Archbishop Fisichella, Pope Francis focused his attention on what Jesus says and to whom He says this when he proclaims the Kingdom of God.
What Jesus says
The Pope recalled how Jesus begins his preaching with the words: “This is the time of fulfillment. The kingdom of God is at hand ”.
He went on to say that the first message to be drawn from this is that “God is near and His kingdom has come down to earth”.
“The time of his distance ended when, in Jesus, He became a man,” said the Pope.
God is near
He emphasized that: “First of all, we must believe and proclaim that God has approached us, that we have been forgiven and merciful”.
The word of God, said Pope Francis, continues to tell us: “Do not be afraid, I am with you. I am at your side and I will always be present ».
“In speaking to us,” said the Pope, the Lord “reminds us that he has welcomed us from the heart, that we are precious in his eyes and that he has us in the palm of his hand”.
“The word of God is a consolation, but also a call to conversion,” said Pope Francis. “’Repent,’ says Jesus, immediately after proclaiming God’s closeness.”
Those who hear the word of God, emphasized Pope Francis, “are constantly reminded that life does not consist in protecting us from others, but in finding them in the name of God who is near”.
No one is far from the heart of God
Turning his attention to whom Jesus speaks, the Pope recalled that his first words are for 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 it to tell us that no one is far from the heart of God”.
Observing the “particular power” that the word of God has, the Pope emphasized how it can “touch each person directly”.
“The disciples would never forget the words they heard that day on the lake, in their boats, in the company of their families and co-workers: words that marked their lives forever.” Jesus said to them, ‘Follow me, I will make you fishers of men.’ “
“He did not appeal to them using lofty words and ideas,” said Pope Francis, but he spoke for their lives and told them that they should be “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 with us; looking for us where we are and walking beside us.
Make room for the Word of God
In conclusion, Pope Francis urged everyone to “not ignore the word of God. It is a love letter, written for us by the One who knows us best. “
He also urged the faithful to always take him with them and give him “a worthy place in our homes”.
In order to focus on the word of God, the Pope prayed that we too would have the strength to “turn off the television and open the Bible, turn off our cell phone and open the Gospel”.