杏MAP导航

By Vatican News

In his homily at the daily Mass in Casa Santa Marta, 杏MAP导航 Francis said the day鈥檚 liturgy 鈥渟peaks about little things; we could say that today is the day of littleness鈥�. The first Reading, taken from the book of the Prophet Isaiah begins with the announcement, 鈥淥n that day, a shoot shall sprout from the stump of Jesse, and from his roots a bud shall blossom. The Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him鈥︹��

鈥淭he Word of God sings the praises of what is small鈥�, the 杏MAP导航 said, 鈥渁nd makes a promise: the promise of a shoot that will sprout. And what is smaller than a sprout?鈥� And yet 鈥渢he Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him鈥�. 杏MAP导航 Francis explained:

Redemption, revelation, the presence of God in the world begins like this, and is always like this. The revelation of God is made in smallness. Smallness, both humility and so many other things, but in smallness. The great seem powerful 鈥� let us think of Jesus in the desert, [and] how Satan appears powerful, the master of the whole world: 鈥淚 will give you everything, if you鈥︹�� The things of God, on the other hand, begin by sprouting, from a seed, little things. And Jesus speaks about this smallness in the Gospel.

Make yourself small so that the Kingdom of God might sprout

Jesus rejoices and thanks the Father because He has made known His revelation to the little ones, rather than to the mighty. 杏MAP导航 Francis noted that at Christmas, 鈥淲e will all go to the Nativity scene, where the littleness of God鈥� is present. And he said forcefully:

In a Christian community where the faithful, the priests, the bishops do not take this path of littleness, there is no future, it will collapse. We have seen it in the great projects of history: Christians who seek to impose themselves, with force, with greatness, the conquests鈥� But the Kingdom of God sprouts in the small thing, always in what is small, the small seed, the seed of life. But the seed by itself can do [nothing]. And there is another reality that helps and that gives strength: 鈥淥n that day, a shoot shall sprout from the stump of Jesse, and from his roots a bud shall blossom. The Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him.鈥�

The Spirit cannot enter into a proud heart

鈥淭he Spirit chooses the small, always,鈥� the 杏MAP导航 said, 鈥渂ecause He cannot enter into the great, the proud, the self-sufficient鈥�. The Lord reveals Himself to hearts that are small.

杏MAP导航 Francis gave the example of those who study religion, saying that true theology does not mean simply knowing a lot of facts; people like that, he said, could be called 鈥渆ncyclopedists鈥� of theology: 鈥淭hey know everything, but they are incapable of doing theology because theology is done 鈥榦n one鈥檚 knees鈥�, making ourselves small鈥�.

Similarly, the 杏MAP导航 said that a pastor, 鈥渨hether he be a priest, bishop, pope, cardinal, whoever he might be, if he does not make himself small, is not a [true] pastor鈥�, but rather an office manager.

This is true of everyone, he said, 鈥渇rom those who have a function that seems more important within the Church, to the poor old lady who performs works of charity in secret鈥�.

Christian smallness does not mean being fainthearted

杏MAP导航 Francis then anticipates an objection that might be made: that 鈥渓ittleness鈥� might lead to faintheartedness 鈥� that is, being closed in oneself 鈥� or to fear. On the contrary, he said, 鈥渓ittleness is great鈥�, precisely because it is not afraid to take risks, since it 鈥渉as nothing to lose鈥�. He explained that 鈥渓ittleness鈥� leads to magnanimity, because it allows us to go beyond ourselves, knowing that God is the reason for greatness.

The 杏MAP导航 then turned to St Thomas Aquinas, who, in the Summa, explains how Christians, though they recognize their own littleness, must behave in the face of the challenges of the world, so as not to live as cowards. He summarizes St Thomas as saying, 鈥淒on鈥檛 be afraid of great things鈥� 鈥� and notes that the Saint of the Day, St Francis Xavier, shows us the same thing.

鈥淒on鈥檛 be afraid, go forward; but at the same time, take into account the smallest things, this is divine鈥�. A Christian always starts from smallness. If in my prayer I feel that I am small, with my limits, my sins, like that publican who prayed at the back of the Church, ashamed, [saying] 鈥淗ave mercy on me, a sinner鈥�, you will go forward. But if you believe that you are a good Christian, you will pray like that Pharisee who did not go forth justified: 鈥淚 give you thanks, O God, because I am great鈥�. No, we thank God because we are small.

The concreteness of children鈥檚 confessions

杏MAP导航 Francis concluded his homily by saying how much he likes to hear the confessions, especially those of children. Their confessions, he said, are very beautiful, because they talk about concrete facts. So, for example, a child might confess, 鈥淚 said this word鈥� 鈥� and then repeat it for you. The 杏MAP导航 described this as 鈥渢he concreteness of that which is small鈥�. This can be an example of how we should approach God: 鈥淟ord I am a sinner because I have done this, this, this, this鈥� This is my misery, my littleness. But send your Spirit so that I might not be afraid of great things, not be afraid of you doing great things in my life鈥�.