All followers are invited to remember their first encounter with Jesus, Pope Francis said yesterday in his weekly Angelus prayer.
Remembering the disciples first meeting with Jesus, the Pope asked the crowd at Saint Peter’s Square to take three words from the Gospel – to seek, stay with and to proclaim Jesus.
Addressing the first word, seek, the Pope described the kind of followers we should aim to be.
He said, “The Lord does not want to make proselytes, He does not want to gain superficial followers; the Lord wants people who question themselves and let themselves be challenged by His Word. Therefore, to be disciples of Jesus, it is necessary first of all to seek Him, it is necessary to seek Him, then to have an open, searching heart, not a satiated or complacent heart.”
The Pope then emphasised the importance of staying in a relationship with Jesus and what form that relationship would take.
He recalled how the first disciples wished to meet Jesus and talk with him, from which we can learn that “faith is not a theory, no; it is an encounter…it is going to see where the Lord stays, and dwelling with Him. Encountering the Lord and staying with Him.”
Only then, he said, is it time to finally proclaim, when you have already sought and stayed with Jesus. Then, the follower will feel “the need to communicate the gift they received”.
Following this reflection on the Gospel, Pope Francis once again encouraged the audience to consider their own relationship with seeking, staying and proclaiming. He asked them to think, “Are we still disciples, enamoured of the Lord, do we seek the Lord, or do we settle into a faith made up of habits?”
After praying the Angelus, the Pope remembered the victims of the landslide in Colombia.
He also spoke of the cruelty of war in Ukraine, Palestine and Israel, emphasising the need to pray and educate for peace.
“At the beginning of the year, we exchanged wishes of peace, but weapons continue to kill and destroy. Let us pray that those who have power over these conflicts reflect on the fact that war is not the way to resolve them, because it sows death among civilians and destroys cities and infrastructure.”
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