Pope Francis: Approach mystery of the Cross with prayer and tears

(Vatican Radio) At the Mass for the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, Pope Francis said the mystery of the Cross is a great mystery for mankind, a mystery that can only be approached in prayer and in tears. 

In his homily, the Pope said that it is in the mystery of the Cross that we find the story of mankind and the story of God, synthesized by the Fathers of the Church in the comparison between the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, in Paradise, and the tree of the Cross: 

“The one tree has wrought so much evil, the other tree has brought us to salvation, to health. This is the course of the humanity’s story: a journey to find Jesus Christ the Redeemer, who gives His life for love. God, in fact, has not sent the Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. This tree of the Cross save us, all of us, from the consequences of that other tree, where self-sufficiency, arrogance, the pride of us wanting to know all things according to our own mentality, according to our own criteria, and also according to that presumption of being and becoming the only judges of the world. This is the story of mankind: from one tree to the other.”

In the Cross there is the “story of God,” the Pope continued, because we can say that God has a story.” In fact, “He has chosen to take up our story and to journey with us,” becoming man, assuming the condition of a slave and making Himself obedient even to death on a Cross: 

“God takes this course for love! There’s no other explanation: love alone does this. Today we look upon the Cross, the story of mankind and the story of God. We look upon this Cross, where you can try that honey of aloe, that bitter honey, that bitter sweetness of the sacrifice of Jesus. But this mystery is so great, and we cannot by ourselves look well upon this mystery, not so much to understand – yes, to understand – but to feel deeply the salvation of this mystery. First of all the mystery of the Cross. It can only be understood, a little bit, by kneeling, in prayer, but also through tears: they are the tears that bring us close to this mystery.”
“Without weeping, heartfelt weeping,” Pope Francis emphasized, we can never understand this mystery. It is “the cry of the penitent, the cry of the brother and the sister who are looking upon so much human misery” and looking on Jesus, but “kneeling and weeping” and “never alone, never alone!”

“In order to enter into this mystery, which is not a labyrinth but resembles one a little bit, we need the Mother, the mother’s hand. That she, Mary, will make us understand how great and humble this mystery is; how sweet as honey and how bitter as aloe. That she will be the one who accompanies us on this journey, which no one can take if not ourselves. Each one of us must take it! With the mother, weeping and on our knees.”

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Pope calls on all to participate in new evangelization

Castel Gandolfo, Italy, September 18 (CNA/EWTN News) .-

Pope Benedict XVI called upon all Catholics Sept. 18 to participate in a new evangelization of the world.

"Today's liturgy reminds us that we are all called to work in the vineyard of the Lord," he told pilgrims gathered to pray the midday Angelus at his summer residence of Castel Gandolfo, south of Rome.

"He has given us diverse gifts, has assigned diverse tasks and determined diverse times for their performance. However, if we assume the work of our life with full dedication, we can expect the same pay: the joy of eternal participation the goodness of the Lord," he said.

The Pope based his comments on today's gospel reading in which Jesus recounts the parable of the vineyard owner who paid each of his workers the same wage regardless of how long they worked.

He also drew upon St. Paul's letter to the Philippians, written while the apostle was imprisoned and awaiting his death, in which he states that "for to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain."

This "new sense of life" comes from communion with Jesus Christ who, said the Pope, is "not just a historical figure, a master of wisdom, a religious leader," but is "a man in whom God dwells personally."

"His death and resurrection is the good news that, starting from Jerusalem, is intended to reach all individuals and peoples," said Pope Benedict. Thus all cultures are changed by being open to the truth that "God is love, he became man in Jesus and his sacrifice has redeemed humanity from the slavery of evil, making it a trustworthy hope."

"Today we live in an era of new evangelization," Pope Benedict said, drawing a parallel between the era of St. Paul and today. New evangelization is also a favored theme of his pontificate – the call to re-evangelize traditionally Christian parts of the world or, as the Pope put it today, the need for "regions of ancient Christian tradition" to "rediscover the beauty of faith."

"The protagonists of this mission are men and women who, like St. Paul can say: 'For me to live is Christ.' People, families and communities that agree to work in the vineyard of the Lord."

These are people who are "humble and generous" and who do not "ask for any reward other than to participate in the mission of Jesus and the Church."

"Dear friends," concluded the Pope, "the Gospel has transformed the world, and still is turning, like a river that irrigates a huge field."

After the Angelus, Pope Benedict addressed various language groups, including German pilgrims. He said he looked forward to his four-day visit to Germany later this week and hoped the people of his native land will "respond generously to the offer of the boundless love of God and work for the good that is in the world."