Vatican City, Sep 14, 2016 / 09:30 am
Rather than trusting in ultimately unimportant things, place your hope in Jesus and you will not grow weary on the path of discipleship, Pope Francis said Wednesday.
"Sometimes our fatigue is caused by having placed trust in things that are not essential, because we have moved away from what really counts in life," the Pope told pilgrims at his general audience in St. Peter's square.
"The Lord teaches us not to be afraid to follow him, because the hope that we place in him will not be disappointed."
In the Sept. 14 gathering, Pope Francis reflected on the passage in the Gospel of Matthew in which Jesus says, "Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for yourselves. For my yoke is easy, and my burden light."
"The invitation is in the imperative form: 'come to me,' 'take my yoke,' 'learn from me,'" Francis said.
"Dear brothers and sisters, for us there are moments of fatigue and disappointment. Then let us remember these words of the Lord, who gives us so much consolation and helps us to understand if we are putting our powers at the service of good," he said.
By accepting the "yoke of Jesus," disciples enter into communion with him and participate in the mysteries of the cross and salvation, the Pope said.
Speaking of the many Holy Doors designated around the world for this year's Jubilee of Mercy, Pope Francis asked why it is that so many pilgrims cross over the threshold of these "Doors of Mercy." The reason is "to find Jesus, to find the friendship of Jesus, only to find the rest that Jesus gives," he said.
We are called to learn from Jesus "what it means to live in mercy, to be instruments of mercy," the Pope explained. "A life of mercy is to feel in need of the mercy of Jesus, and when we feel in need of forgiveness, of consolation, we learn to be merciful to others."
We do not have a God who does not understand us, the Pope said. Jesus has carried all of our sorrows, all of our sins on his shoulders, giving us a chance at eternal life.
"He addresses the humble, the small, the poor, the needy because he himself has become small and humble. It includes the poor and the suffering because he himself is poor and tried by pain. Jesus to save humanity has not walked an easy road; on the contrary, his path was painful and difficult," Pope Francis noted.
"This path expresses the conversion of every disciple who endeavors to follow Jesus. And the conversion is always to discover God's mercy. It is infinite and inexhaustible: great is the mercy of the Lord!" the Pope exclaimed.
When we keep our eyes fixed on the Son of God, as we should, it helps us to understand just how much further on the path we need to go, "but at the same time it gives us the joy of knowing that we are walking with him and we are never alone," Francis said.
"Courage, then, courage! Let us not take away the joy of being disciples of the Lord."
