In his meditation on the Gospel delivered prior to the recitation of the AngelusPope Francis highlighted the reaction of the Jews to Christ's statement: "I have come down from Heaven". His contemporaries, said the Holy Father, "are convinced that Jesus cannot come from Heaven, because he is the son of a carpenter and because his mother and brothers are common people".
This reaction, Francis continued, shows that "they are blocked in their faith by their preconceived idea about their humble origins and by the presumption, therefore, that they have nothing to learn from Him." Their prejudices, the Pontiff pointed out, show a closed heart and mind.
However, "they are people who keep the law, give alms, respect fasting and prayer times". Moreover, by the time of the Gospel in which this passage is placed, "Christ has already performed several miracles". Therefore, "how is it that this does not help them to recognize in Him the Messiah?" the Pope asked.
Pope warns against prejudice
"Because they carry out their religious practices not so much to listen to the Lord, but rather to find in these practices a confirmation of what they already think," was Francis' forceful response. And he pointed out that the Jews "they do not even bother to ask Jesus for an explanation: they limit themselves to murmuring among themselves against Him".
The Pope therefore asked us to "pay attention to all this, because sometimes the same thing can happen to us too". He stressed that "true faith and prayer open the mind and heart, they do not close them".
The Holy Father posed some final questions for personal reflection: "In my life of faith, am I capable of really keeping quiet within myself and listening to God? Am I ready to accept his voice beyond my schemes and also overcome my fears with his help?"
In conclusion, Pope Francis turned to the intercession of the Virgin Mary, so that "she may help us to listen in faith to the voice of the Lord and to courageously carry out his will."
