VATICAN CITY — When faced with uncertainties, adversities or
trials, those who place their trust in Christ will not be left alone to fend
for themselves, Pope Francis said.
Just as the disciples left Jerusalem after Christ's death
and headed to Emmaus with only their sadness and fear, people may often find
themselves discouraged when solely focused on their own hopelessness, the pope
said April 27 before reciting the "Regina Coeli" prayer.
Nevertheless, Christians are called to hope in God and not
focus on doubt or fear, he said in the address, which was livestreamed from the
library of the Apostolic Palace.
When one chooses to follow God, "we will discover that
there is nothing unexpected, there is no uphill climb, there is no night that
cannot be confronted with Jesus," the pope said.
Reflecting on the day's Gospel reading from St. Luke, the
pope said the disciples on the way to Emmaus made two trips. While their escape
from Jerusalem was a sad and easy "downhill" journey, the pope said
their return after encountering Christ was full of joy even though they were
tired from the uphill travel.
"In the first, there is the Lord walking beside them,
but they don't recognize him; in the second, they don't see him anymore, but
they feel him near them," he said. "In the first, they are
discouraged and hopeless; in the second, they run to bring the good news of the
encounter with the risen Jesus to the others."
By opening their hearts to Christ, listening him explain
Scripture and inviting Jesus to their home, he added, the disciples' encounter
with him is the same that all Christians must follow to experience joy.
"These are the three steps that we can also take in our
homes: First, to open our hearts to Jesus, to entrust him with our burdens,
hardships, disappointments in life," the pope said.
"Second, to listen to Jesus, to take the Gospel, read
this passage from chapter 24 of Luke's Gospel; and third, pray to Jesus with
the same words of those disciples, 'Lord, stay with us.' Lord, stay with me;
Lord, stay with all of us because we need you so we can find the way," he
said.
Earlier in the day, Pope Francis celebrated his daily
morning Mass in the chapel of residence, the Domus Sanctae Marthae.
At the start of each of his livestreamed Masses, the pope
has offered prayers for groups that have suffered or who are on the front lines
of the deadly coronavirus pandemic.
During the Mass April 26, the pope prayed for those who are
sad and worried about the future.
“Today in this Mass, we pray for all those who are suffering
from sadness, because they are alone or because they do not know what to expect
in the future or because they cannot support their families because they do not
have money, they do not have work. There are so many people who suffer from
sadness," he said.
During his April 25 Mass, the pope offered prayers for
funeral service workers who at times are overwhelmed by the increased death
tolls due to the pandemic.
"What they do is so painful, so sad and they feel the
pain of this pandemic so closely," he said. "Let us pray for
them."
The pope has also prayed for those who continue to work to
lift spirits, even in the midst of suffering and fear. At the start of his
morning Mass April 27, the pope offered prayers for artists who, "through
the path of beauty, show us what path to follow."
"May the Lord grant all of us the grace of creativity
in this time," he said.
In his homily, the pope also reflected on the day's Gospel
reading from St. John in which Jesus reproaches the crowd after the
multiplication of the loaves for following him "not because you saw signs
but because you ate the loaves and were filled."
Pope Francis said that at times, Christians can do the same
and focus on temporal things and lose "the enthusiasm that Jesus' words
had grown in their hearts."
"The Lord always makes us return to that first
encounter, that first moment in which he looked at us, spoke to us and made us
want to follow him," the pope said.
"This is a grace we should ask from the Lord because in
life, we always have this temptation to distance ourselves when we see
something else," he said.