CNA\/EWTN News<\/a>).- On Sunday Pope Francis said Lent is a key time to open ourselves to the light of Christ and let go of all the \u201cfalse lights\u201d that lead us away from him, taking us instead down a path of darkness marked by our own selfishness.<\/p>\n\u201cIf now I were to ask you, do you believe that Jesus is the Son of God? Do you believe that he can change your heart? Do you think you can see reality as he sees it, not as we do? Do you believe that he is light, that he gives us the true light?\u201d the Pope asked March 26, telling pilgrims to respond in silence.<\/p>\n
The walk in the light of Christ means to convert, he said, explaining that this transformation means above all \u201cabandoning false lights.\u201d<\/p>\n
One of these false lights, he said, is the \u201ccold and fatuous light of prejudice against others, because prejudice distorts reality and builds hate against those who we judge without mercy and condemn without an appeal.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gossip is an example of this, he said, noting that to speak badly of others leads away from light, and down the path of darkness.<\/p>\n
Another false light that is particularly \u201cseductive and ambiguous,\u201d he said, \u201cis personal interest.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIf we evaluate men and things based on the criteria of our profit, our pleasure, our prestige, we will not live the truth in relationships and in situations,\u201d the Pope said. \u201cIf we go down this path of seeking only personal interests, we will walk in darkness.\u201d<\/p>\n
Pope Francis spoke to pilgrims gathered in St. Peter\u2019s Square for his Sunday Angelus address, focusing on the day\u2019s Gospel reading from John which recounts the healing of man blind from birth who, after receiving his sight, recognizes and worships Jesus as the Son of God.<\/p>\n
\u201cWith this miracle Jesus manifests himself as the light of the world,\u201d Francis said, explaining that the blind man represents each of us, who, blinded by sin, \u201cneed a new light, that of the faith, which Jesus has given us.\u201d<\/p>\n
Referring to the Gospel passage, Francis noted that it was precisely by \u201copening to the mystery of Christ\u201d that the man gained his sight. \u00a0<\/p>\n
Francis pointed to the line in the passage where Jesus asks the man \u201cdo you believe in the Son of Man?\u201d and tells him that \u201cyou have seen him, it is he who is speaking with you.\u201d<\/p>\n
The man then prostrated himself and worshipped Jesus, the Pope observed, saying the episode serves as an invitation to reflect on our own faith in Christ, and to remember the moment we received it in our Baptism.<\/p>\n
Baptism \u201cis the first sacrament of the faith: the sacrament which make us \u2018come to the light,\u2019 through rebirth in water and in the Holy Spirit,\u201d he said, noting how the blind man\u2019s eyes were opened after bathing in the Pool of Siloam, upon Jesus\u2019 request.<\/p>\n
The man\u2019s need for healing and rebirth is a sign of the times when we fail to recognize \u201cthat Jesus is the light of the world, when we look elsewhere, when we prefer to rely on small lights, when we fumble in the darkness.\u201d<\/p>\n
The fact that that blind man didn\u2019t have a name, Pope Francis said, \u201chelps us to see ourselves with our face and our name in his story.\u201d<\/p>\n
We have also been \u201cilluminated\u201d by Christ through our Baptism, he said, explaining that because of this, we, like the blind man, \u201care called to act like sons of light.\u201d<\/p>\n
But to do this \u201crequires a radical change of mentality, a capacity to judge men and things according to a new scale of values, which comes from God,\u201d the Pope said, adding that Baptism itself requires \u201ca firm and decisive choice\u201d to let go of the false lights, and live as children of the true light of Christ.<\/p>\n
Francis concluded his address by praying that Mary, welcomed Jesus as the \u201clight of the world,\u201d would intercede for us in obtaining the grace needed to really welcome \u201cthe light of faith\u201d into our lives during Lent.<\/p>\n
\u201cMay this new illumination transform us in attitude and action, so that also we, starting from our poverty, may be bearers of a ray of the light of Christ.\u201d<\/p>\n
After leading pilgrims in the traditional Marian prayer, Pope Francis offered special thanks to the diocese of Milan for his March 25 pastoral visit.<\/p>\n
He also gave a shout-out to Blessed Jos\u00e9 \u00e1lvarez-Benavides y de la Torre and his 114 martyr companions, who were beatified yesterday in Spain.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese priests, religious and laity were heroic witnesses of Christ and his Gospel of fraternal peace and reconciliation,\u201d he said, and prayed that their example and intercession would \u201csustain the commitment of the Church in building the civilization of love.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Vatican City, Mar 26, 2017 \/ 04:52 am (CNA\/EWTN News).- On Sunday Pope Francis said Lent is a key time to open ourselves to the light of Christ and let go of all the “false lights” that lead us away from him, taking us instead down a path o…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1031,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-18922","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-vatican"],"yoast_head":"\n
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