Pope Francis: trust the Lord even in extreme situations
(Vatican Radio) Christians are called to trust in the Lord, even in the most extreme
situations. These were the words of Pope Francis at Mass on Monday morning in the
Vatican’s Casa Santa Marta.
Pope Francis focused his homily on those characters
from the daily readings who testify to the importance of trusting in God, even in
extreme situations. In the Book of Daniel, the young Jewish men living as slaves of
King Nebuchadnezzar remain faithful to the Lord, even at risk of their own lives.
In the Gospel of Luke, the impoverished widow who puts two small coins into the offering
box is praised by Jesus, who says: “Those others have all made offerings from their
surplus wealth, but she, from her poverty, has offered her whole livelihood”.
The
Lord, Pope Francis says, is everything, and they trusted in the Lord. They didn’t
do so because of some fanatical force, but because they knew that the Lord is faithful.
They trusted in that faith which is always there, the Pope said, because the Lord
cannot be unfaithful, cannot deny Himself.
Choosing to be faithful to the Lord,
Pope Francis continued, is equally important in the little things and in the most
difficult situations. He remembered the men, women, elderly and young people who every
day choose to be faithful to the Lord, who live as martyrs, and as an example to us
all. When we read in the newspapers about Christians who are persecuted in our own
times, the Pope explained, we must take their lives as an encouragement to offer the
Church everything we have, our whole livelihood.
Let us think, Pope Francis
said, about the brothers and sisters who have made courageous, definitive choices
throughout history, and continue to do so today. But let us also think about the many
mothers and fathers who make small but definitive choices of faith every day, with
their families and with their children. Let us ask the Lord, Pope Francis concluded,
for the grace of courage, the courage to go on with our Christian lives, in everyday
life and in the most extreme situations.