Pope: Calvary our true measure of greatness

(Vatican Radio) In his weekly Angelus address, Pope Benedict XVI continued his catechesis on the Gospel of Saint Mark. The Pope reminds us that the second half of the Gospel deals with Jesus' final journey to Jerusalem, a journey that will culminate in the His death and resurrection. After Saint Peter’s profession of faith in Jesus as the Messiah, the Pope recalls, “Jesus began to speak openly about what would happen in the end.” But, he notes, the disciples did not understand Jesus’ words.

“It is clear,” the Pope says, “that between Jesus and the disciples there is a deep interior distance; they are, so to speak, on two different wavelengths.” Pope Benedict tells us that “this reminds us that God’s logic is always ‘other’ with respect to our own”: God’s ways are not our ways. For this reason, “following the Lord requires of each person a profound conversion, a change in his or her way of thinking and living.”

The Holy Father points to pride as a key difference between God and human beings. “We, who are little, desire to appear great, to be first; while God, who is truly great, is not afraid to humble Himself, and make Himself last.”

Summing up this week’s message for English speaking pilgrims, Pope Benedict reflects on the call to be “last of all, and servants of all”: “May Christ’s supreme act of love on Calvary always be our true measure of greatness.”

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