Pope’s Morning Homily: Worldly Patterns Promise Everything & Give Nothing

During Morning Mass, Francis Says to Walk Toward Holiness, We Must ‘Be Free & Feel Free’

MAY 29, 2018 DEBORAH CASTELLANO LUBOV 

Do not remain attached to worldly ways of thinking and behavior. You know better. Hence, claim your freedom by embracing your call to holiness.

According to Vatican News, Pope Francis stressed this during his daily morning Mass at Casa Santa Marta as he reflected on the day’s reading from the First Letter of Peter which urges Christians to be holy in every aspect of their conduct.

In the homily, Francis discussed that call to holiness and the importance of moving away from our worldly way of thinking and behavior that formerly enslaved us.

“The call to holiness, which is the normal call, is our call to live as a Christian, namely living as a Christian is the same as saying ‘living as a saint’. Many times we think of holiness as something extraordinary, like having visions or lofty prayers … or some think that being holy means having a face like that in a cameo … no. Being holy is something else. It is to proceed along this path that the Lord tells us about holiness.”

“And what is it, to proceed along the path of holiness?” the Pope asked. “Peter says it,” he answered, “‘Put all your hope in that grace that will be given to you when Jesus Christ manifests Himself.'”

Walking towards holiness, the Pontiff said, means proceeding towards that grace, that encounter with Jesus Christ. Like walking towards the light, Francis highlighted that many times we don’t see the road well, because the light dazzles us.

“But we are not mistaken, noted the Pope, “because we see the light and we know the way”. When you walk with the light behind you, you can see the road well, but in reality there is shadow, not light, in front of you.”

The Pope urged Christians not to go back to their worldly patterns of behaving.

Stressing so many things enslave us, the Jesuit Pope stressed that for Christians to walk toward holiness, they need “to be free and to feel free.”

Do Not

It is for this reason, he said, that Peter urges us not to conform “to the desires of our former ignorance.” In his First Letter to the Romans, Saint Paul say: “Do not conform,” which means don’t get involved in worldly patterns of behavior.

“This is the correct translation of this advice – do not adopt the worldly patterns, – do not adopt those patterns of behavior, that worldly way of thinking, that way of thinking and judging that the world offers you because this deprives you of freedom.

To proceed towards holiness, the Pope stressed, one must be free: free to go forward, looking at the light, going forward. “When we return, as he says here, to the way of life we had before our encounter with Jesus Christ or when we return to those patterns of worldly behavior, we lose our freedom.”

“In moments of trials and tribulations, we always are tempted to look back, to look at the worldly patterns of behavior, at the patterns that we had before setting out the path towards salvation: without freedom. And without freedom one cannot be holy.”

“Freedom is the condition for moving forward while looking at the light ahead of us. Do not adopt the worldly patterns of behavior, walk forward, looking at the light that is the promise, in hope; this is the promise like the people of God in the desert: when they looked forward everything went fine; when they were nostalgic because they could no longer eat the good things they formerly had, they made mistakes and forgot that they had no freedom back there.”

Called Daily to Holiness

The Lord, the Pope reminded, calls us to holiness every day.

To know if we are on our way to this call, the Pope said there are two parameters. “First of all, if we look towards the light of the Lord in the hope of finding it and, then if when the trials come, we look ahead and do not lose our freedom by taking refuge in worldly patterns of behavior, which promise you everything and give you nothing.”

“You will be holy because I am holy: this is the Lord’s commandment.”

Pope Francis concluded, praying God to grant us the grace to understand correctly what the path of holiness is.