Pope Francis celebrates the Divine Liturgy with Chaldean Catholics in St. Joseph’s Cathedral in Baghdad. He gives a homily explaining how witnessing love in the beatitudes helps to fulfill God’s promises.
By Robin Gomes
Pope Francis said on Saturday to Catholics in Iraq that they are precious in the eyes of God because they bear witness to the beatitudes of Jesus in their daily lives. He said that they are witnesses that, by living the beatitudes, they are helping God to fulfill His promises of peace.
The Pope made the observation in the homily during his first public Eucharistic celebration, called Divine Liturgy in the Chaldean and other Eastern rites, which he presided over at St. Joseph’s Chaldean Cathedral in the capital, Baghdad.
He based his homily on reading the day on the Beatitudes of the Gospel of St. Matthew and explained the wisdom of the Beatitudes and how they are practiced in daily life to help fulfill God’s promises.
Wisdom of the Beatitudes
The Pope pointed out that the search for wisdom has always attracted men and women. But often those with more resources can acquire more knowledge and have greater opportunities, while those who have less are left out.
“Such inequality, which has increased in our time,” said the Pope, “is unacceptable.” However, the Book of Wisdom reverses this logic, when it says: “the most humble can be forgiven with mercy, but the powerful will be powerfully tested. ”The most powerful are subjected to rigorous scrutiny, while the smallest are the privileged of God.
And Jesus, who is wisdom in person, makes this total inversion with the beatitudes. The poor, the weeping, the persecuted are called blessed.
It is no longer the rich who are great, but the poor in spirit; not those who can impose their will on others, but those who are kind to everyone; not those acclaimed by the crowd, but those who show mercy to their brothers and sisters.
Pope Francis in the Divine Liturgy
Love: the heart of the Beatitudes
The Pope explained that Jesus’ invitation to love, which is the heart of the Beatitudes, even though it seems weak in the eyes of the world, in fact always triumphs.
On the cross, love proved to be stronger than sin and, in the grave, conquered death. It is the same love that has made martyrs victorious in their trials, said the Pope, adding that in the past century there have been many more martyrs than in the past.
Love has also been the strength of Christians in Iraq, who have suffered prejudices and indignities, mistreatment and persecution in the name of Jesus. Saint Paul emphasizes this point in the second reading of the Divine Liturgy, when he says to the Corinthians: “Love never ends”.
“While the power, the glory and the vanity of the world pass,” said the Pope, “love remains”. The practice of the beatitudes asks us to become witnesses, day after day, living with meekness, mercy and purity of heart. “Testimony is the way to embody the wisdom of Jesus”, said the Pope, adding that the world is transformed “not by force and power, but by the beatitudes”.
The Pope sues in the Chaldean Cathedral of Saint Joseph
Love is patient
In addition, St. Paul explains how to witness to the love of Jesus. Love seems to be synonymous with kindness, generosity and good works, but Paul says that “love is patient”.
First, the Bible speaks of God’s patience with men and women who throughout history have been unfaithful, falling into the same old sins, said the Pope. However, the Lord always remained faithful, forgave and started again. This patience to start again each time is the first quality of love. He does not become discouraged, give up or surrender, but remains creative and responds to evil with good. God’s witnesses, the Pope said, are not passive or fatalistic, but they are always hopeful.
In the face of adversity, the Pope explained, there are always two temptations – either to flee and remain indifferent, or to react with anger and show strength. This was the case with the disciples in Gethsemane, when many fled and Peter drew his sword. However, neither the flight nor the sword achieved anything.
Jesus, on the other hand, changed history with the humble strength of love, with his patient testimony, which is what we are called to do; and this is how God keeps His promises.
The faithful gathered for the Divine Liturgy
Promises of the Beatitudes
The wisdom of Jesus embodied in the beatitudes, the Pope continued, asks for testimony and offers divine promises, such as the kingdom of heaven, comfort, satisfaction or seeing the face of God, which guarantee incomparable joy and never disappoint.
The Pope said that they are fulfilled through our weaknesses and inner poverty, and biblical figures such as Abraham and his wife Sarah, Moses, Our Lady and Peter are proof of this.
The Pope, therefore, urged Christians in Iraq to never give in to the feeling of helplessness and worthlessness, saying “God wants to do wonders precisely through our weaknesses”.
In conclusion, Pope Francis thanked God with and for the Christians of Iraq, for the many witnesses “in our own time”, who “are often forgotten by the news”, but are “precious in the eyes of God”. They are “witnesses who, by living the beatitudes, are helping God to fulfill His promises of peace”.