By Cindy Wooden
MORELIA, Mexico (CNS) — The devil loves Christians — especially
priests and nuns — who are resigned to the violence and corruption around
them, Pope Francis said.
Celebrating Mass Feb. 16 at a stadium in Morelia, Pope
Francis repeated his frequent call to priests, religious and seminarians to get
out of their churches and convents and take God’s mercy and offer of salvation
to the world.
But in Morelia, the geographic center of Mexico and capital
of Michoacan state — a stronghold of the Knights Templar drug cartel — the
pope was not talking just about traditional evangelization.
The pope’s message was an encouragement to those priests and
religious who literally risk their lives standing up to the drug lords and
urging their faithful to do the same.
Mexico’s Catholic Multimedia Center reported in early
February that 40 priests in Mexico have been murdered or simply disappeared in
the past 10 years. Many of the cases are clearly linked to the priests’
denunciation of the drug trade.
Pope Francis told an estimated 20,000 church workers
gathered in the stadium that the Christian faith is not a matter for the
intellect alone or something that occupies a few hours each day or each week.
It is about one’s life.
Jesus, he said, did not simply teach his disciples, he
brought them into his life, showing them who he was and how they were to live
by keeping them with him as he ate, slept, cured, preached and prayed.
“He invited them to share his life,” the pope
said, and when he prayed and referred to God as “father,” it was not
simply a word, but contained “a sense of life, of experience, of
authenticity.”
All Christians, but especially those charged with the
pastoral care of others, also must share Jesus’ life with them.
“Woe to us
if we are not witnesses to what we have seen and heard. Woe to us,” he
said.
“We are not and do not want to be ‘administrators of
the divine,'” he said. “We are not and do not want to be God’s
employees, for we are invited to share in his life.”
In his Lenten reflection, Pope Francis asked the priests and
religious to think about the temptations they face in their lives.
“What temptation can come to us from places often
dominated by violence, corruption, drug trafficking, disregard for human
dignity and indifference in the face of suffering and vulnerability?” he
asked.
The big temptation, he said, is resignation.
In the face of overwhelming violence and death, the pope
said, “the devil can overcome us with one of his favorite weapons:
resignation. A resignation that paralyzes us and prevents us not only from
walking, but also from making the journey.”
The devil wants to sow a resignation “which not only
terrifies us, but which also entrenches us in our ‘sacristies’ and false
securities,” he said. Such an attitude “not only hinders our looking
to the future, but also thwarts our desire to take risks and to change.”
Some of the prayers at the Mass were offered in Purepecha,
and Pope Francis called for special care of the Purepecha indigenous people.
As a model of one who resisted the temptation of resignation, he offered Bishop
Vasco Vazquez de Quiroga, the first bishop of Michoacan. Ministering in the
mid-1500s, the Spaniard was shocked by how the Purepecha were treated, enslaved
and impoverished.
Bishop Vazquez did not fall prey to resignation, but was
inspired to act “in the midst of so much paralyzing injustice. The pain
and suffering of his brothers and sisters became his prayer, and his prayer led
to his response.”
The Purepechas referred to him as “Tata Vasco,”
which means “father, dad, daddy,” the pope said. It is the same kind
of language Jesus used when referring to God.
Pope Francis ended his homily with a prayer: “Father,
dad, daddy, lead us not into the temptation of resignation ….” He also told the priests and religious that the pastoral staff and chalice he was using at the Mass belonged to Bishop Vazquez.
The pope’s somber homily was a contrast with the atmosphere
of fiesta that preceded his arrival. Filling the stands and the field of the
sports stadium, the priests and religious sang with gusto and chanted papal cheers
while jumping up and down or doing the wave.
Pope Francis was welcomed to Morelia with the largest crowds of his Mexico trip, which began Feb. 12. Thousands of people — standing five and six deep — lined miles of roadway leading to the stadium.
– – –
Contributing to this story was Junno Arocho Esteves.
– – –
Follow Wooden on Twitter: @Cindy_Wooden
– – –
Copyright © 2016 Catholic News Service/U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. www.catholicnews.com. All rights reserved. Republishing or redistributing of CNS content, including by framing or similar means without prior permission, is prohibited. You may link to stories on our public site. This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. To request permission for republishing or redistributing of CNS content, please contact permissions at cns@catholicnews.com.
