I would like to provide to you, my readers, my translation of the Holy Father’s catechesis at his weekly Angelus audience to the people gathered there.
Dear brothers and sisters, good morning!
At the center of today’s Sunday liturgy we find a most comforting truth: Divine Providence. The prophet Isaiah presents this to us in the image of a mother’s love full of tenderness; thus he says, “Can a mother forget her baby, not be moved by the child of her womb? Even they forget, I will not forget you!” (Isaiah 49: 15). This is beautiful! God does not forget us, not one of us. What a beautiful thought… This invitation to faith in God finds a parallel in the Gospel of Matthew: “Look at the birds of the air,” Jesus says, “They do not sow nor do they reap, nor do they gather into granaries, yet our Father in heaven feeds them… Observe the lilies of the field. They don’t work or sew, yet I tell you not even Solomon, with all his glory was dressed like one of them” (Matthew 6: 26, 28-29).
But thinking of so many people who live in precarious conditions, or even in misery which offends their dignity, these words of Jesus would seem abstract, if not illusory. But in reality they are more than applicable! They remind us that one cannot serve two masters: God and riches. To the extent that one seeks to accumulate for himself, there will be no justice. We must hear well, this! To the extent one accumulates riches for himself, there will never be justice. If, however, trusting in God’s providence, we together seek his Kingdom, then no one will lack what is necessary to live with dignity…..
For this, Jesus many times warned the rich, because for them there is a strong risk of placing their own security in the things of this world, and security, definitive security, is in God. In a heart possessed by riches there is no more room for faith. It is all occupied by riches, there is no more room for faith. If, however, one gives God the place he expects to have, that is the first place, then his love leads us to share even our riches, to put them at the service of projects of solidarity and development, as shown is so many examples even recently, in the history of the Church. Thus, Divine Providence works through our service to others, our sharing with others. If we do not accumulate riches for ourselves but put them at the service of others, then God’s providence is made visible in this gesture of solidariety. If, however, someone accumulates only for himself, what will happen when he is called by God? He cannot take his riches with him, because — you know — “the burial shroud doesn’t have pockets”! It is better to share because we take to heaven only that which we have shared with others….He says, “Is not life worth more than food and the body more than clothes?” (Mt 6: 25). So that no one is lacking of food, clothing, shelter, work, health, requires that we recognize one another as children of the Father who is in heaven, and therefore brothers among us, and we act thusly. I was thinking of this in my Message of Peace on January 1st: the way to peace is fraternity; for this we go together, share things together.
In the light of this Word of God this Sunday, we invoke the Virgin Mary as Mother of DIvine Providence. We entrust our existence to her, the journey of the Church and of humanity. In particular, we invoke her intercession so that we fully live a life of simplicity and sobriety, with our attentive gaze directed toward the needs of our brothers most in need.
