Pope Francis suggested the faithful stop for a moment of the day despite the “strenuous” work rhythms, open the Gospel, and read a small passage each day to “get listening to Jesus”. The Holy Father was speaking to his audience after Angelus on Sunday.
“Let us listen to Jesus. Today it is increasingly difficult to find free moments to meditate. For many people, the rhythms of work are frenetic and exhausting. The summer period can also be valuable to open the Gospel and read it slowly, without haste, one passage each day ”, Pope Francis said this July 17 during his commentary on the Gospel.
The Gospel according to Saint Luke proposed by the liturgy of the day presents a domestic scene with the sisters Martha and Mary offering hospitality to Jesus in their home.
According to the Pope, we Catholics need to allow ourselves to be “challenged” by the pages of the Gospel, “asking ourselves how our life is going, my life, if it is in line with what Jesus says or not much ”.
“In particular, let us ask ourselves: when I start the day, do I jump headlong into the things I have to do, or do I first look to God’s Word for inspiration? Sometimes we start the days automatically (…) No. We must start the days in the first place by looking at the Lord, taking his Word, briefly, but let this be the inspiration of the day”, he explained.
Pope Francis, following the Gospel passage of the day, said that Jesus “ must be given first place ” as the Virgin Mary did and that “everything else comes later, like a stream of water that flows from a fountain.”.
He also stressed that the “word of Jesus is not abstract”, but ” is a teaching that touches and molds life, changes it, frees it from the opacity of evil, satisfies and instills a joy that does not pass away”.
Maria “gives him first place: she stops and listens. The rest will come later, ”she assured.
Pope Francis also clarified that listening “does not take anything away from the value of practical commitment”, but that it “springs from listening to the word of Jesus, animated by his Spirit”.
“Otherwise it comes down to getting fatigued and agitated about a lot of things, it comes down to sterile activism.”
Finally, Pope Francis reiterated that “if we leave home in the morning with a word from Jesus in mind, surely the day will take on a tone marked by that word, which has the power to guide our actions according to what the Lord wants”.