教宗方濟各：向生命說「是」
Photo courtesy of Vatican Radio
在講道中，教宗指出聖經不斷告訴我們天主才是賜予生命的那一位。但「很多時，人們不選擇生命，他們不接受『生命的福音』，而甘願受一些不尊重生命的意識形態所主導，他們被自私、利潤、權力和享樂主導，而不是被愛或對他人的關心所主導。」
教宗說人們夢想建造一所新的「巴貝耳塔」，一個沒有天主的城。他們相信拒絕「天主、基督的訊息、生命的福音，會帶來自由和完全的滿足。」
「因此，天主被一些暫時的偶像所取代，它們帶來短暫的自由，但最終造成另一種形式的奴役和死亡。」
教宗總結講道說：「向天主，那位是愛、生命和自由的天主說『是』。祂永不會令我們失望。」
在彌撒之後的三鐘經，教宗舉出了一個跟隨生命的福音的完美榜樣。他提到剛於週六被宣為真福的Blessed Oduardo Focherini。他是七名孩子的父親。他曾在納綷政權手中救過無數人的生命，在1944年在集中營為信仰作見證而死。
“Let us say ‘Yes' to life and not death.” These were the words of Pope Francis during his homily on Sunday morning for Evangelium Vitae Day, a day celebrating the Gospel of Life.
An estimated 200,000 people were in Saint Peter's Square for Holy Mass and the Angelus that followed with Pope Francis to mark the Year of Faith event dedicated to the Gospel of Life.
In his homily, the Pope noted how the Scriptures continuously tell us how God is the Living One who bestows life.
However, he said that “all too often, people do not choose life, they do not accept the ‘Gospel of Life' but let themselves be led by ideologies and ways of thinking that block life, that do not respect life, because they are dictated by selfishness, self-interest, profit, power and pleasure, and not by love, by concern for the good of others.”
The Holy Father went on to say that people dream of building a new “Tower of Babel”, a city of man that is without God. They believe that the rejection of “God, the message of Christ, the Gospel of Life, will somehow lead to freedom, to complete human fulfillment.”
As a result,” the Pope continued, “the Living God is replaced by fleeting human idols which offer the intoxication of a flash of freedom, but in the end bring new forms of slavery and death.”
Concluding his homily, Pope Francis called on the faithful to “say ‘Yes' to the God who is love, life and freedom, and who never disappoints.”
In his Angelus address following Mass, Pope Francis pointed to a perfect example of one who followed the Gospel of Life. He called attention to Saturday's beatification of a husband and father of seven from Capri Italy who was killed in a concentration in 1944 for witnessing to his faith. Blessed Oduardo Focherini had saved countless lives from Nazi persecution before losing his own.
資料來源 Source:
Pope Francis: Say yes to life, not death