(ZENIT News / Vatican City, 09.22.2024).
- At midday on Sunday, September 22, Pope Francis appeared from the window of the Apostolic Palace overlooking St. Peter’s Square to pray the Angelus with around 20,000 people. Before doing so, the Pontiff delivered the Sunday address, which we now offer in English.
*** Today the Gospel of the liturgy ( Mk 9:30-37) tells us about Jesus who announces what will happen at the culmination of His life: “The Son of man”, says Jesus, “will be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill Him; and when He is killed, after three days He will rise” (v. 31). The disciples, however, while they are following the Master, have other things in their mind and also on their lips.
When Jesus asks them what they were talking about, they do not answer. Let us pay attention to this silence: the disciples are silent because they were discussing who was the greatest (cf. v.
34). They fall silent out of shame. What a contrast with the words of the Lord! While Jesus confided in them the meaning of His very life, they were talking about power.
And so now shame closes their mouth, just as pride had closed their heart earlier. And yet Jesus responds openly to the conversations whispered along the way: “If any one would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all” (cf. v.
35). Do you want to be great? Make yourself small, put yourself at the service of all. With a word as simple as it is decisive, Jesus renews our way of living.
He teache.