By Junno Arocho Esteves
VATICAN
CITY (CNS) — Hope cannot remain hidden within but must break free to overcome vengeful, mafia-like mentalities
with mercy and humility, Pope Francis said.
Christians
must give witness to hope through their lives as Jesus did and make room for
him in their hearts to fight evil by doing good to others, even their enemies,
the pope said at
his weekly general audience April 5.
“The
mafiosi think that evil can be overcome by evil. They take revenge; they do so many things
that we all know. But they do not know what humility, mercy and meekness are.
And why? Because the mafiosi have no hope,” he said.
Arriving in St. Peter’s Square, Pope
Francis made his way through the crowd of 15,000 people, greeting individuals and even making a quick
stop to sip some mate tea offered by a group of pilgrims from his native
Argentina.
Arriving
at the stage, the pope spotted a familiar face among the Argentine pilgrims, and
warmly embraced an elderly
woman and spoke to her while other people in the group reached out to
touch him.
Continuing
his series of talks on Christian hope, the pope reflected on a verse from the First Letter of St. Peter, in
which the apostle calls on Christians to “always be ready
to give an explanation to anyone who asks you for a reason for your hope.”
The
“secret” to understanding this hope, the pope said, is that it is
rooted in the paschal mystery of Christ’s victory over death.
“Our
hope is not a concept nor a sentiment; it is not phone call or a pile of
riches,” he said. “No, our hope is a person, it is the Lord Jesus who
we recognize alive and present in us and in our brothers and sisters.”
A
person who lacks hope, the pope added, is incapable of giving or receiving the
“consolation of forgiveness” and unable to make room for Christ in their
hearts.
St.
Peter’s assertion that “it is better to suffer for doing good” than
doing evil, he continued, doesn’t mean that it is good to suffer, but that
suffering for the sake of good means “that we are in communion with the
Lord.”
Christians
who wish to follow Jesus’ example are called to love and do good, even to
“those who do not wish us well or even harm us,” Pope Francis said.
“It
is the proclamation of God’s love, an immeasurable love that is unending, that
is never lacking and constitutes the very foundation of our hope,” he
said.
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