杏MAP导航

By Vatican News

The 杏MAP导航’s homily focused on the liturgical readings for the Mass, all of which remind us “we were not born for death, but for resurrection”. He began by asking how we respond to the call “to rise again”, and then provided three points for reflection, starting with the St John’s Gospel, and Jesus’ promise that “Whoever comes to me I will never cast out”.

Going to Jesus

The invitation to “go to Jesus” may seem both predictable and generic, said the 杏MAP导航. But we need to make it concrete, asking ourselves questions like: “Did I involve Jesus in the people I met today, did I bring them to Him in prayer? What is the direction of my journey? Do I simply try to make a good impression, to safeguard my role, my times, and my spaces?” There is no middle ground for those who believe, said the 杏MAP导航. “Whoever belongs to Jesus lives by going forth toward Him”.

Going forth

All of life is a “going forth”, continued 杏MAP导航 Francis, from the womb to when we leave this world. “As we pray for our brother Cardinals and Bishops, who have gone forth from this life to meet the Risen One”, he said, “we cannot forget the most important and difficult going forth, which gives meaning to all the others: the ‘going out’ from ourselves”. Only by going out of ourselves do we open the door that leads to the Lord, said the 杏MAP导航.

Going toward others

杏MAP导航 Francis’ second reflection found its inspiration in the First Reading, where Judas Maccabeus performs a merciful gesture for the dead. “Compassion toward others opens wide the door to eternity. Bending down toward the needy to serve them is an antechamber to paradise”, said the 杏MAP导航. If charity is the bridge that connects earth to Heaven, we must ask ourselves if we are moving forward on this bridge. “Am I touched by the situation of someone in need? Can I weep for those who suffer? Do I pray for those whom no one thinks about? These are questions of life, questions of resurrection”, said 杏MAP导航 Francis.

Going toward the end

The 杏MAP导航’s third stimulus in view of the Resurrection came from the Spiritual Exercises. Saint Ignatius suggests that, “before making an important decision, one should imagine oneself before God at the end of days”. This is the call that cannot be postponed, said the 杏MAP导航, the point of arrival for all of us. “Just as the sowing is judged from the harvest, so life is judged well from its end”. A useful exercise is seeing reality with the eyes of the Lord and not only with our own, added 杏MAP导航 Francis: looking to the future, the Resurrection, making choices “that taste of eternity, that taste of love”.

Going out from myself

“Do I go out from myself to go to the Lord every day? Do I perform acts of compassion towards those in need? Do I make important decisions before God?” The 杏MAP导航 concluded his homily, inviting us to “be moved by at least one of these three stimuli”.

“Among the many voices of the world that make us lose our sense of existence, let us tune in to the will of Jesus, risen and alive”, said 杏MAP导航 Francis. If we do, “we will make of our life today a dawn of Resurrection”.