Pope says culture of affluence and charm of the moment prevent following of Jesus
27 May, 2013 - In order to follow Jesus we must strip ourselves of the culture of
affluence and the charm of the moment. Pope Francis drew this inspiration from the
Gospel of Monday’s Mass, which he celebrated in the morning in the chapel of the Casa
Santa Marta residence in the Vatican. Besides prelates who concelebrated with him,
were some employees of the Vatican. Commenting on the Gospel episode of the good
young man who felt sad on having to leave his earthly goods in order to follow Jesus,
the Pope said, “riches are an impediment that does not make our journey to the Kingdom
of God easy.” He warned that each one of us has his own riches, which we are always
in search. Hence he said, “we must examine our conscience about these riches that
prevent us from coming close to Jesus on the path of life.” He pointed to two cultural
riches, namely, the culture of affluence and the charm of the moment. Pope Francis
said the culture of affluence is an anesthesia that makes us less courageous, makes
us lazy and selfish. As an example of this he said we don’t want to have more than
one child as we won’t be able to have a holiday, make a trip or buy a house. The
other richness is the charm of the moment, and lasting proposals that Jesus offers
does not satisfy us. Instead, the temporary pleases us because we are afraid of God’s
time, which is definite. Thus He is the Lord of time, and we are the lord of the
moment. As examples of this Pope Francis recalled a man who wanted to be a priest
but only for 10 years, or couples getting married until love lasts …. On the other
hand, the Pope spoke about many men and women who have left their native lands to
be missionaries for life, which he stressed is definitive, not momentary.