Be Meek and Humble to Overcome the hatred of the World: Pope
Vatican City, 04 May 2013: We always remain meek and humble to defeat the flattery
and hatred of the world, said Pope Francis during his Mass on Saturday morning, in
the chapel of his St. Martha residence. In his homily, the Pope focused on the struggle
between the love of Christ and the hatred of the prince of this world. He explained
that the way of the Christians is the way of Jesus and why we should not be afraid
of being persecuted. Among the faithful was a group of Pontifical Swiss Guards, who
attended the Mass, concelebrated by Msgr. Lorenzo Baldisseri, secretary of the Congregation
for Bishops.
"The way of the Christians is the way of Jesus. If we want to
be followers of Jesus, there is no another way except the one he showed, the Pope
said. And one of the consequences of following his path is to invite the hatred of
the world, and the prince of this world. The world would love its own. 'but I have
chosen you, from the world'. By choosing us, Jesus has rescued us from the world,
and that is pure grace! With his death and resurrection, Jesus has redeemed us from
the power of the world, from the power of the devil, from the power of the prince
of this world, elaborated the Pope. And the origin of hate is this, explained the
Pontiff, we are saved. And the Prince of the world who does not want us to be saved,
hates us."
There are "many persecuted Christian communities in the world -
noted the Pope sadly – today than earlier days. Why is it? asked the Pope. It is because
"the spirit of the world hates", he said.
"with the prince of this world you
cannot dialogue. That is clear! But today, dialogue is necessary for peace. It is
an attitude that we must have among us to feel, to understand. Dialogue comes from
charity and love. Only respond with the Word of God that defends us, while the world
hates us. Then the Pontiff explained how little by little we fall into big trap of
the Prince of this world. It always begins with a pious lie: 'Do it, do it, do: there
is no problem. It’s a flattering, and doing so we fall into the trap.
The Lord,
continued Pope Francis, asks us to remain like sheep, because he can defend you if
you fall into the hands of the wolves.
You may ask the question: 'Father, what
is the weapon to defend against these seductions? The weapon is the same weapon of
Jesus, the Word of God, and then humility and meekness. These are the weapons that
the prince of this world and the spirit world does not tolerate, because his proposals
are proposals for worldly power, vanity and riches.
The Pontiff concluded with
the invocation to the Virgin Mary to "help us to become meek and humble in the way
of Jesus. Source: VR Sedoc