Pope Francis has called on the faithful to let go of all that is getting in the way of welcoming God’s incredible love for them. Source: Vatican News.
The Pope asked the Holy See Press Office to publish the text prepared for the Wednesday General Audience.
In his catechesis, focusing on encounters in Jesus’ life, the Pope reflected on the biblical episode of the rich man recounted in the Gospel of St Mark.
In Mark 10:17–22, a man runs up to Jesus and asks, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus reminds him of the commandments and tells him to sell everything he has, give it to the poor, and then follow him. The man, overwhelmed and unable to do so, goes away saddened.
The Pope reminds the faithful how Jesus’ love offered the man the possibility to start over, and renew his life.
Jesus “loved him”, the Pope underscored, noting, “Jesus loves this man even before inviting him to follow.”
“He loves him just as he is,” he stressed, marvelling that “Jesus’ love is freely given – the exact opposite of the logic of merit that worries this man.”
“We are truly happy,” Francis continued, “when we realise we are loved this way: freely, by grace.”
To fill that lacking or emptiness inside of us, the Pope went on to stress, “we must not try to ‘buy’ recognition, affection, or esteem; rather, we must ‘sell’ everything that weighs us down in order to free our hearts”.
The Pope lamented that the rich man ends up alone because “the weights in his life keep him anchored in port.”
“Sometimes we think things are treasures, but they are only burdens holding us back.”
Pope Francis concluded by calling on all faithful to entrust to the heart of Jesus all “those who are sad and undecided”, so “they may feel the loving gaze of the Lord, who is moved with tenderness when he looks into our hearts”.
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Pope Francis: We must release all burdens holding us back from God (By Deborah Castellano Lubov, Vatican News)
