Pope says God’s salvation comes through man’s humility

March 24, 2014 - If we want to be saved, we must choose "the path of humility" of "self-marginalization" because God cannot find us in the midst of our securities. This was the message of the homily of Pope Francis at Mass, Monday morning, in the chapel of the Casa Santa Marta residence in the Vatican. He was sharing his reflection on the Gospel where Jesus recalls the Biblical episodes of Naaman healed of his leprosy under the instruction of Elisha and the widow of Zarephath saved from famine by Elijah. The Pope noted that that these two types of people were who were marginalized were saved when they humbly accepted the prophets. On the contrary Nazarenes do not accept Jesus, because "they were so confident in their faith, so secure in their observance of the commandments, that they did not need another salvation". And Jesus does not work any miracle among his own countrymen because of their lack of faith. Instead Jesus asks us to be humble and feel marginalized in order to need God’s salvation. Explaining the case of Naaman, the Pope said that initially the commander was angry at told to bathe in the Jordan, but later, when convinced by his servants, takes the humble plunge and is healed. This is the drama of a blind observance of the commandments, without faith. And Jesus tells us: 'Look, if you do not marginalize yourself, if you do not feel what it is like on the margins, you will not have salvation'. This is the humility, the path of humility: to feel so marginalized that we need the salvation of the Lord. He alone saves, not our observance of precepts. They didn't like this, it made them angry and they wanted to kill him".

Pope Francis pointed to Mary as a model of the Christian virtues of humility and obedience saying, she praised God for looking upon her humility, her smallness, and not her virginity and other good virtues she had. The Pope said God finds us not in the centre of our securities, but in the margins, in our sins, mistakes, in our need to be spiritually healed.