Pope exhorts Christians to open their hearts with faith to Christ
December 02, 2013 - Pope Francis is reminding Christians that in our Advent journey
to meet Jesus, it is important we keep our hearts open to Him faith to allow Him to
transform us. Preaching a homily at Mass, Monday morning, at the Casa Santa Marta
residence, the Pope reflected on the day’s Gospel on the Faith of the Centurion who
asked Jesus to heal his servant. He reminded Christians that Christmas is not a mere
recurrence in time, but a journey for an encounter with the Lord that takes place
in faith in the heart and in life. Jesus marvels at the centurion’s faith, the Pope
said, explaining the soldier made a journey to meet the Lord, but he did it with faith.
Hence he not only met the Lord but also felt the joy of being met by the Lord. “This
encounter of faith is precisely the encounter we desire,” the Pope said. He explained
that it is important we allow ourselves be encountered by the Lord, for which we need
to have open hearts. He said that when we just meet the Lord, we so-to-say become
the master of this meeting, but when we allow ourselves to be met by Him, it is He
who re-fashiones us all over – the heart, the soul, life, hope and our journey. Like
the centurion, the Pope said, we are on a journey of faith, to meet the Lord and mainly
to allow ourselves be transformed by Him. This requires an open heart, as He meets
and speaks to me in person, not in a mass, and loves me concretely and wants that
we allow ourselves be loved by Him. The Pope thus urged Christians to approach Christmas
with perseverance in prayer, with brotherly charity towards those in need and with
joy in praise of the Lord, with an open heart, so that the Lord is able to meet us.