Pope: God meddles with our lives and heals our wounds
October 22, 2013: Contemplation, proximity and abundance are the three words upon
which Pope Francis centered his homily on Tuesday at Mass at the Casa Santa Marta.
Speaking to those present for the morning celebration, the Pope reiterated that one
cannot understand God solely with the mind and pointed out that God challenges us
by "meddling" in our lives to heal our wounds, just as Jesus did.
Intelligence
– the Pope said – is not sufficient to enter into the mystery of God. You need contemplation,
proximity and abundance. Drawing his inspiration from the Letter of St. Paul to the
Romans, Pope Francis said there is only one way we can understand they the mystery
of our salvation, and that is: on our knees, in contemplation.
Intelligence
is not enough – he added: “ You need contemplation, intelligence, heart, knees praying…
all together: this is how we enter into the mystery”. And the Pope went on to speak
about closeness – or proximity. “One man created sin, Francis explained, and one man
saved us”. God is close, he is close to our history. From the very first moment when
he chose our father, Abraham, he walked with His people. And Jesus himself – he said
- had a craftsman’s job:a worker who uses his hands. The image that comes to mind
– the Pope continued – is that of a nurse in a hospital who heals our wounds, one
at a time. Just like God – he explained – who gets involved, who meddles in our miseries,
He gets close to our wounds and heals them with his hands. And to actually have hands
– he continued – He became man. So God saves us not only by decree: “He saves us with
tenderness and with caresses. He saves us with His life for us.”
And then
Pope Francis spoke of “abundance”. Where sins abound – he said – grace abounds. Each
of us knows his miseries and knows how they abound. But God’s challenge is to defeat
them and heal the wounds as Jesus did with His superabundance of grace and love. And
Francis pointed out that although some do not like to admit it: those who are closest
to the heart of Jesus are sinners, because He goes to look for them, calls them and
heals them, while those who are in good health do not need a doctor: “ I have come
to heal, to save."
The Pope concluded his homily reflecting on how some saints
say that one of the ugliest sins is distrust: distrust in God. “But how can we be
wary of a God who is so close, so good, who prefers the sinful heart ?" . This mystery
– he said - is not easy to understand with intelligence, but with the help of these
three words: "contemplation, proximity and abundance” because God "always wins with
the superabundance of his grace, with His tenderness ", with His wealth of mercy."