Pope Francis asks to take care of faith, unity and truth

By celebrating Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica this May 16, the Seventh Sunday of Easter and the Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord, Pope Francis encouraged us to take care of faith, unity and truth and not to fall into the division that comes from the devil, but to be witnesses of the Gospel even when it is necessary to go against the tide.

The Holy Father presided over the Eucharist with some of the Myanmar faithful living in Italy to pray for the difficult social situation the country is going through after the coup d’état of February 1. More than half of the attendees at this Mass were religious, some wearing headscarves and traditional costumes.

In his homily, the Holy Father reflected on Jesus’ prayer in the last hours of his life before his ascension to heaven and urged to take care of the faith, to take care of the unity and to take care of the truth.

“In the last hours of his life, Jesus prays. In the painful moment of saying goodbye to his disciples and to this world, Jesus prays for his friends. While in his heart and in his flesh he bears all the sins of the world, Jesus continues to love us and prays for us. Taking the prayer of Jesus as a model, let us also learn to go through the dramatic and painful moments of life ”, invited the Pope.

First of all, the Holy Father recalled that “to keep the faith is to keep your eyes open, towards heaven, while on earth, he is fought and innocent blood is shed. It is not a question of giving in to the logic of hatred and vengeance, but of staying with our eyes fixed on this God of love who calls us to be brothers among ourselves ”.

“Prayer opens us to trust in God even in difficult times, it helps us to hope against all the evidence, it supports us in the daily battle. It is not an escape, a way to escape problems. On the contrary, it is the only weapon we have to protect love and hope in the midst of so many death-sowing weapons, ”he said.

However, the Pope acknowledged that “it’s not easy to look up when you’re in painBut faith helps us overcome the temptation to withdraw into ourselves. Perhaps we wanted to protest, to cry out, even to God, our suffering. We must not be afraid, for that too is prayer. An old woman told her grandchildren, even getting angry with God can be a prayer ”.

Then the Holy Father pointed out that Jesus had asked to take care of the unity because the division “is a fatal disease” and regretted that we experienced the division “in our hearts, because we are often divided within ourselves. We experience division in families, in communities, between peoples, even in the Church ”.

In this sense, the Pope enumerated some of the “sins against unity “ which are “envy, jealousy, the pursuit of personal interests instead of the good of all, judgments against others”.

“The last recommendation Jesus makes before his Passover is unity. Because division comes from the devil who is the one who divides, the great liar who always divides. We are called to take care of unity, to take seriously this urgent call from Jesus to the Father: may they be one, may they form a family, may they have the courage to live in bonds of friendship, of love, of brotherhood, ”declared the Pope.

In view of this, the Pontiff asked the Church to also promote “dialogue, respect for others, care for the brother, communion and let’s not let party logic enter the Church, the logic that divides, the logic that places each of us at the center, by setting aside the others, it destroys: it destroys the family, it destroys the Church, it destroys society, it destroys us ”.

Finally, the Holy Father asked to take care of the truth which means “to be prophets in all situations of life, that is to say to be consecrated to the Gospel and be witnesses even when we have to pay the price of going against the tideAnd he warned that keeping the truth “does not mean defending ideas, becoming the custodians of a system of doctrines and dogmas, but rather staying united with Christ and being consecrated to his Gospel.”

“The Gospel asks us to be in the truth and for the truth, giving our lives for others. And where there is war, violence and hatred, be faithful to the gospel and builders of peace it means getting involved, also through social and political decisions, at the risk of one’s life. This is the only way things can change, ”the Pope explained.

In this way, the Holy Father recalled that “the lord don’t need lukewarm people, wants us to be consecrated to the truth and to the beauty of the Gospel, so that we can witness to the joy of the Kingdom of God even in the dark night of pain and when evil seems the strongest ”.

For this reason, the Pope prayed that “Jesus’ prayer helps us to take care of our faith even in difficult times, to be builders of unity, to risk our lives for the truth of the gospel.“.

“Dear brothers and sisters, today I want to bring the suffering of your people to the altar of the Lord and pray with you that God will convert everyone’s heart to peace … Please do not lose hope Jesus still prays to the Father today, shows us in his prayer the wounds with which he paid for our salvation, with this prayer. Jesus prays and intercedes for all of us, to take care of us from evil and free us from the power of evil», The Pope concluded in his homily.

Before concluding the Mass, a priest from Myanmar thanked the Pope for his closeness, for the various occasions on which he prayed publicly for Myanmar and for the celebration of this Mass; Some nuns gave him a painting and a devotee gave him a book with photographs.

After the blessing, the devotees sang a traditional song in their native language.