杏MAP导航

By Linda Bordoni

Reflecting on the Gospel readings of the day, 杏MAP导航 Francis invited all Christians to say 鈥測es鈥� to God and savour the beauty of making life a gift.

Speaking during the in St. Peter鈥檚 Square, he recollected the encounter between Jesus and a man who 鈥渉ad great possessions鈥� (Mk 10:22), and who went down in history as 鈥渢he rich young man,鈥� and said that the Gospel of Mark suggests that we can all see ourselves in this man and that his encounter with Jesus allows us to test our faith.

Noting the man鈥檚 attitude that shows he lives his religiosity as a duty 鈥� something that needs doing in order to obtain salvation 鈥� the 杏MAP导航 explained that there is no commercial relationship with God based on a 鈥渕ust-do-obtain鈥� ritual: 鈥淚t is a question of freedom and love.鈥�

鈥淗ere is a first test: what is faith for me? If it is mainly a duty or a bargaining chip, we are off track, because salvation is a gift and not a duty, it is free and cannot be bought,鈥� he said.

The true face of God

In the second step, the 杏MAP导航 continued, Jesus helps this man by offering him the true face of God.

鈥淚ndeed, the text says, 鈥淛esus looking upon him loved him,鈥� he explained, saying that faith is born not from duty but from a look of love to be welcomed.

鈥淚n this way, Christian life becomes beautiful, if it is based not on our abilities and our plans, but on God鈥檚 gaze. Is your faith tired and do you want to reinvigorate it? Look for God's gaze: sit in adoration, allow yourself to be forgiven in Confession, stand before the Crucified One. In short, let yourself be loved by him,鈥� he said.

A gift

The third and final step, 杏MAP导航 Francis continued, is to ask yourselves whether we are living our faith according to the Christian 鈥測es鈥� of love.

Faith, he said cannot be limited to a series of precepts but must translate into a life of giving and gratuitousness.

鈥淎 faith without giving, without gratuitousness, without works of charity, makes us sad in the end,鈥� he said, inviting believers to ask themselves: 鈥淎t what point is my faith? Do I experience it as something mechanical, like a relationship of duty or interest with God? Do I remember to nourish it by letting myself be looked at and loved by Jesus? And, attracted by him, do I respond freely?

And he concluded upholding the Virgin Mary, 鈥渨ho said a total yes to God, a yes without but,鈥� and said: 鈥淟et us savour the beauty of making life a gift.鈥�

2 new Blesseds

After praying the Angelus together with the pilgrims present in St. Peter鈥檚 Square, 杏MAP导航 Francis recalled the proclamation on Saturday of two new Blesseds: Maria Lorenza Longo and Don Francesco Mottola.

Announcing the news with joy, the 杏MAP导航 said the Blessed Maria Lorenza Longo, who was beatified in Naples, was a 16th-century wife and mother. After she was widowed, she founded a hospital for the terminally ill. The 杏MAP导航 said she was 鈥渁 woman of great faith and intense prayer life, and did all she could for the needs of the poor and the suffering.鈥�

杏MAP导航 Francis also remembered the beatification of Don Francesco Mottola in the southern Italian region of Calabria. He said he was the founder of the Oblates of the Sacred Heart. Don Mottola, who died in 1969, was 鈥渁 zealous pastor and tireless proclaimer of the Gospel; an exemplary witness of a priesthood lived in charity and contemplation.鈥�

World Mental Health Day

Finally, 杏MAP导航 Francis also marked World Mental Health Day, celebrated annually on 10 October.

鈥淚 would like to remember our brothers and sisters suffering from mental disorders, and also victims of suicide, who are often young,鈥� he said.

And he asked for prayers for those affected by these issues and for their families, 鈥渢hat they may not be left alone or discriminated against, but welcomed and supported.鈥�