Pope Francis celebrates a growing mass on the feast of the presentation of the Lord, which is considered the World Day of Dedicated Life. In his attitude, the pope invites religious men and women to be patient and courageous in continuing to progress, exploring new paths, and responding to the encouragement of the Holy Spirit.
By author of Vatican News staff
During the Mass for the presentation of the Lord, Pope Francis focused on the words of Simeon when he “looked forward to the comfort of Israel” (Luke 2:25).
He presents his hymn in which he describes Simeon who recognized in the Child of Jesus “the light that came upon the Gentiles to shine:” He was an elderly man, explains the pope, who patiently waited for the fulfillment of the promises of the Lord.
The patience of Simeon
“Let us take a closer look at Simeon’s patience,” the pope said, “he has waited all his life and exercised the patience of the heart.”
He noted that ‘Simeon has learned that God does not come in extraordinary events, but that he works in the midst of the apparent monotony of our daily lives, in the regularly boring rhythm of our activities, in the little things we persevere with and reach humility in our efforts to do his will. ”
Simeon, the pope continued, did not grow weary, although there were certainly hurtful and difficult times in his long life, but he did not lose hope: “the flame still burns brightly in his heart.”
By trusting in the promise of the Lord, Pope Francis explained, he did not allow himself to be regretted by regret or by the feeling of despondency that may come as we approach the twilight of our lives.
“His hope and expectation are expressed in the daily patience of a man who remained vigilant despite everything, until ‘his eyes finally saw the salvation’ promised,” he said.
Pope Francis presides over Mass on the day of prayer for consecrated life
A mirror of God’s own patience
The pope then notes that Simeon’s patience is a mirror of God’s own patience. Simeon learned from the prayer and history of his people to see in the Lord “a merciful and gracious God, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.”
He reflected on the letter of St. Paul to the Romans in which the apostle says that patience ‘leads us to repentance’, quoting the German priest, writer and academic Romano Guardini, who once remarked that patience is God’s way. responding to our weakness and giving us time to change, the pope said, “More than anyone else, the Messiah, Jesus, who has Simeon in his arms, shows us the patience of God, the merciful Father we remain calls, even to our last hour. ”
God, Pope French repeated, does not demand perfection, but always opens up new possibilities when everything seems lost, in the desire to open a rift in our hardened hearts.
God never gets tired of waiting for us
‘This is the reason for our hope: that God never grows weary of waiting for us’, the pope said, adding:’ if we turn away, he comes looking for us; when we fall, he lifts us up; if we return to him after we have disappeared, he will wait for us with open arms. His love is not weighed in the balance of our human calculations, but gives us the courage to start anew. ”
Pope Francis leads Mass on the day of prayer for consecrated life
Our patience
Pope Francis then invited consecrated men and women to look at the patience of God and the patience of Simeon as they contemplated their own lives of devotion.
Patience, he said, is not just about tolerating problems or displaying grim determination, but it is not a sign of weakness, but the power of the mind that enables us to ‘bear the burden’. ‘of personal and community problems, accept others as different from ourselves, to persevere in goodness when all seems lost, and to keep progressing, even when overcome by fatigue and listlessness. ”
He pointed out what he calls three “institutions” in which patience can become concrete:
Personal life
Our personal lives, in which we respond to the Lord’s call, have not always been constant due to disappointments, frustrations, and feelings of powerlessness.
“In our lives as dedicated men and women, hope can slowly fade as a result of unfulfilled expectations. We must be patient with ourselves and wait in the hope of God’s own times and places, for he always stays true to his promises. If we remember it, it can help us to repeat our steps and relive our dreams, rather than becoming disappointing and discouraged, ”he said.
“Brothers and sisters,” warns the pope, “inner sorrow in our devoted persons is like a worm: a worm that eats us from within. Flee from inner sorrow!”
Community life
A second institution in which patience can become concrete, the pope continued, is community life.
He said that human relationships are not always peaceful, especially if it is a life project or an apostolic activity: there are times when conflict arises and no immediate solution can be expected, and that there are no hasty statements. should not be made.
The pope said there was a need for time to step back, to keep the peace and wait for a better time to resolve situations in charity and in truth, and he urged men and women living in communities to to cultivate this kind of reciprocal patience: ‘the ability to carry the life of one of our siblings on our own shoulders, including his or her weaknesses and shortcomings. ”
‘Let us keep in mind that the Lord does not call us to be soloists’, and there are many in the church who have said, He calls us’ to be part of a choir that sometimes has a note or two can miss but should always try to sing in harmony. ”
Our relationship with the world
The third setup that Pope Francis describes concerns our relationship with the world.
Remember how Simeon and Anna cherished the hope preached by the prophets, “though it is slow to be fulfilled and becomes silent in the midst of the unfaithfulness and ruins of our world.”
He said ‘they did not complain about how wrong things are, but patiently sought the light in the darkness of history’, emphasizing that ‘we also need the kind of patience not to fall into the trap of complain that ‘the world no longer listens to us’, or’ we have no profession anymore ‘,’ these are not easy times’ … ‘
‘It can happen that even when God patiently cultivates the ground of history and our own hearts, we impatiently show ourselves and want to judge everything immediately. In this way we lose hope, ”he said.
Pope Francis presides over Mass on the day of prayer for consecrated life
Patience helps us to be merciful
Pope Francis concluded his attitude by explaining that “patience helps us to be merciful in the way we view ourselves, our communities, and our world.”
He invited dedicated men and women and all believers to never cease to welcome the patience of the Holy Spirit, to never cease to carry one another and radiate the joy of brotherly life, and never to to patiently offer our service:
‘These are real challenges for our dedicated lives: we can not stay in the nostalgia for the past or just keep repeating the same old things. We need patience and courage to keep moving, to explore new paths, and to respond to the reminders of the Holy Spirit. ”
Never gossip and do not lose your sense of humor!
At the end of the mass, Pope Francis thanked Cardinal João Braz de Aviz, prefect of the Congregation for Sacred Institutions, for welcoming those present.
He noted that in this time of pandemic patience is needed to move forward “to offer the Lord our lives”.
And referring to his newly expressed homily devoted to ‘patience’, he reflected on how life within a religious community was filled with gossip.
“Please get rid of gossip,” he said, “it kills community life!”
The pope acknowledged that sometimes it is not easy, but invited dedicated men and women to ‘bite on their tongues’ before gossiping about others:’ Bite your tongue, then it will swell and occupy your mouth and you will not can not speak badly. ! ”
The other advice he had religiously for his brothers and sisters is to never lose their sense of humor: ‘It helps us so much. It’s the anti-gossip, knowing how to laugh at yourself, at situations, even at others – with a good heart! ”
‘Thank you,’ the pope concluded, ‘for what you are doing, thank you for your testimony. Thank you very much, thank you very much for your problems, for the way you carry them and for the way you carry the pain due to a lack of professions: keep courage, the Lord is great, the Lord loves us. Let us follow the Lord! ”
The World Day of Prayer for the Sacred Life was instituted in 1997 by Pope St. John Paul II. This celebration is connected to the feast of the presentation of the Lord on February 2nd. The celebration of the World Day of Sacred Life is carried over to the next Sunday to emphasize the gift of saints for the whole church.
Pope Francis presides over Mass on the day of prayer for consecrated life