While visiting the remains of Blessed John XXIII, Pope Francis gave sound advice to the faithful when he encouraged them to imitate Pope John’s daily abandonment to God that enabled him “to completely break away from himself and to adhere to Christ.”
The Vatican Information Service reports that the pope made his comments after praying before the urn containing the remains of Blessed John XXIII to commemorate the 50th anniversary of his death on June 3, 1963. Being a man who exuded a “natural, serene and friendly peace,” the entire world had come to see him as a pastor and a father, thus uniting people of all faiths and nationalities.
Blessed John’s instrument for achieving that peace was in his total obedience to the will of God.
“In the faith he continuously recognized that, through that life’s journey that was seemingly guided by others, not led by his own tastes or on the basis of his own spiritual sensitivity, God was carrying out His plan,” the Pope said.
“Even more profoundly, through this daily abandonment to God’s will, the future Pope John lived a purification that allowed him to completely break away from himself and to adhere to Christ, letting that holiness that the Church has officially recognized emerge. ‘Whosoever loses their life for my sake will save it’, Jesus tells us. Herein lies the true source of Pope John’s goodness, of the peace that he spread in the world, herein we find the root of his holiness: in his evangelical obedience.”
He continued: “This is a lesson for all of us, but also for today’s Church: if we know how to let ourselves be led by the Holy Spirit, if we know how to mortify our selfishness to make room for the Lord’s love and his will, then we will find peace, then we will know how to be builders of peace and we will spread peace around us.”
In conclusion, the Pope addressed the faithful present, urging them to “imitate his holiness. Let yourself be guided by the Holy Spirit. Don’t be afraid of the risks just as he was unafraid. Docility to the Spirit, love for the Church, and forward … the Lord will do the rest.”
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