Pope says for Christians Jesus is real wealth; greets Muslims for Eid

August 12, 2013 - For Christians, God has a name and a face, and He is their real wealth. This was the heart of the message of Pope Francis at his weekly “Angelus” prayer at midday on Sunday, to a large crowd in St. Peter’s Square. Christians "are those who carry within themselves a deep desire of meeting their Lord together with their brothers and fellow travellers. God's love is the real wealth," the Pope said, speaking from the window of the papal apartment overlooking the square. Reflecting on Sunday’s Gospel reading in which Jesus reminds his disciples to treasure the things of heaven, the Pope asked, “Where is my treasure? … Can I say that it is the love of God?” He said, a Christian “is one who carries within himself a great and profound desire” for “a meeting with the Lord.” It is what gives meaning to the little daily commitments and also helps us to confront great trials,” the Pope said. The Gospel speaks of the desire for a “definitive meeting with Christ, a desire that makes us remain always ready, with an alert spirit, because we await this meeting with all of our hearts,” said the Pope. The love of God gives value and beauty to everything in life, the Pope said. It even “gives sense to negative experiences, because it allows us to go beyond, to not remain prisoners of evil, but helps us move forward, opening us always to hope, to the final horizon of our pilgrimage.” “It is at this horizon that we meet Jesus.”
After praying the “Angelus”, the Pope reiterated his best wishes to the world’s Muslims who are marking Eid-al-Fitr, at the end of the fasting month of Ramadan. The Pope hoped that all Christians and Muslims be true promoters of mutual respect and friendship, particularly through education.