Pope says the Church serves the Word until martyrdom

24 June, 2013 - Like St. John the Baptist, the Church is called to proclaim the Word of God to the point of martyrdom. Pope Francis made the point on Monday while celebrating morning Mass in the chapel of the Casa Santa Marta residence, in the Vatican. Marking the liturgical feast of John the Baptist, the Pope said the Church must never take anything for herself, but must be always at the service of the Gospel. He said John the Baptist is difficult to understand. He is a prophet, a great man who ended up miserable. The Pope said John is a voice without becoming the Word, because the Word is Another. John therefore is one who shows the way to Another. Pope Francis said the precursor of Christ was a man of light, but not a light that was his own; he reflected the light like the moon, which disappeared when Jesus began his preaching. Hence John was neither the Word nor the Light. From what we know of John, the Pope said, his vocation was one of self-abasement. Like John the Baptist, the Pope said, the Church exists to proclaim the Word until martyrdom – a martyrdom in the hands of the arrogant of the earth. Just as John denied himself regarding himself a voice and not the Word, so too the Church must always be at the service of the Word. He therefore urged all to pray that the Church is a voice that points to the Word until martyrdom.