In
his Angelus on Sunday, Pope Francis spoke about the words of Jesus from
the Gospel of the day: “You are the salt of the earth... you are the
light of the world.”
These words “amaze us,” the Pope said, when
we consider who they were addressed to. “They were fishers, simple
people... But Jesus saw them with the eyes of God.”
The Holy Father said
these words are a consequence of the Beatitudes, which they immediately
follow. If we are poor in spirit, meek, pure of heart, merciful... then
we will be the salt of the earth and the light of the world.
Christians,
he said, “receive a mission in regard to all humanity: with faith and
with love they can direct, consecrate, and make fruitful all humanity.”
We are all “missionary disciples, and we are called to become in the
world a living Gospel.” If Christians lose their savour, if their light
goes out, their presence in the world loses its efficacy. “Do you want
to be burning lamps,” he asked the crowd, “or extinguished lamps?”
After
the Angelus prayer, Pope Francis noted that on Tuesday the Church will
celebrate the memorial of Our Lady of Lourdes, and will commemorate the
World Day of the Sick. This, he said, is the right time to put the sick
“at the centre of the community, to pray for them and with them, to be
close to them.” He called on each one of us to imitate the example of
the Lord, who cared for all, shared their sufferings, and opened hearts
to hope.
The Holy Father also spoke about health care workers
and their “precious work.” Every day, he said, they encounter sickness,
not only of the fragile body, but of persons. The Pope spoke strongly
about the dignity of the person which can “never be reduced to their
faculties or capabilities,” and is not lessened when people become
“weak, invalid, and in need of help.” He spoke about families, “where it
is normal to care for the sick themselves,” recognizing the
difficulties they face. “So many write to me,” Pope Francis said,
promising that he prays for all of them. “I say to them: don’t be afraid
of fragility! Help one another with love, and feel the consoling
presence of God.”
Returning to the day’s Gospel, Pope Francis
said it is precisely “the generous and Christian attitude toward the
sick” that is the salt of the earth and the light of the world.
Pope
Francis also greeted the organizers and athletes taking part in the
Winter Olympic Games in Sochi, Russia. He offered his best wishes that
the Games might be “a true festival of sport and of friendship.”
After
greeting pilgrim groups from around the world — including a group of
teachers and students from England — the Holy Father prayed for all
those suffering on account of natural disasters. Nature, he said,
“challenges us to be sympathetic and attentive to the protection of
creation, in order to prevent, as far as possible, the most serious
consequences.”
Before concluding the Angelus address, Pope
Francis once again called on the faithful to answer the question he had
posed earlier: “Do you want to be burning lamps,” bearing the light of
Christ to the world, “or spent lamps?” To which the crowd responded:
“Burning lamps! Burning lamps!” “The Christian bearing the light is a
burning lamp... Let us always go forward with the light of Jesus!”