Church brings her Children to Encounter Jesus: Pope Francis

Vatican City, 17 September 2013: The Church has the courage of a woman who defends her children and bring them to encounter her Spouse, remarked Pope Francis in his homily at Mass, Tuesday morning, at Casa Santa Marta residence in the Vatican. Taking a cue from the day’s gospel where an encounter between Jesus and the widow of Naim is narrated, the Pontiff said that Jesus has the "capacity to suffer with us, to be close to our sufferings and to make them his own" adding that Jesus felt great compassion for this widow who had lost her only son and he "knew what it meant to be a widow at that time".

Elaborating the encounter in the Gospel, the Pope said that "the widow" is " an icon of the Church, because the Church is in a sense widow". "The Bridegroom is gone and you walk in history, hoping to find him. It makes me think of the widowhood of the Church. Our Mother Church is brave ! she has the courage of a woman who knows that her children are her own, and must defend them and bring them to meet with her Spouse."

The Pope reflected on some figures of widows in the Bible, in particular the Maccabean courageous widow with seven children who are martyred for not renouncing God. It’s a Church which, when she is faithful, knows how to cry. When the Church does not cry, something is not right. She weeps for her children, and prays! A Church that goes forward and does rear her children, gives them strength and accompanies them until the final farewell in order to leave them in the hands of her Spouse, who at the end will come to encounter her. This is our Mother Church !

As Jesus told the boy of the widow of Naim to get up from his bed of death, said the Pope, Jesus also tells us many times to get up" when we are dead to sin. Jesus then forgives us and bring us back to life and restores us with our mother, concluded the Pontiff. Source: VR Sedoc