During his homily at Mass this morning in the Chapel of Domus Sanctae Marthae, Pope Francis stressed the calling of all Christians to announce Jesus Christ without fear, shame and especially without triumphalism.
The Holy Father also warned of one becoming a Christian without the experience of the Resurrection in their lives while emphasizing that Christ must always be at the center of one’s hope and life.
“There are so many Christians without Resurrection, Christians without the Risen Christ: they accompany Jesus to the tomb, they weep, they wish him well, but it ends there,” the Pope said.
“Thinking of this attitude of Christians without the Risen Christ, I have found three types, but there are so many: the fearful, fearful Christians; the ashamed, those who are ashamed; and the triumphalistic. These three have not met with the Risen Christ! The fearful: those who on the morning of the Resurrection, those of Emmaus, who leave, who are afraid.”
The Holy Father recalled the Apostles who closed themselves in the Cenacle for fear of the Jews. “The fearful are like this: they fear to think of the Resurrection.”
Then there are the Christians who are ashamed to “confess that Christ is risen.”
“To confess that Christ is risen, is a bit embarrassing in this world that goes forward in science. These Christians are embarrassed to say that Christ, with his flesh, with his wounds, is risen.”
Finally, there are those Christians who deep inside do not believe in the Risen One and wish to make a more majestic resurrection than the true one. These are the triumphalistic Christians. ” They do not know the meaning of the word ‘ triumph ‘so they just say “triumphalism”, because they have such an inferiority complex and want to do this …” the Pope said.
When we see these Christians, with so many triumphailistic attitudes, in their lives, in their speaking and in their pastoral, in the Liturgy, so many things like that, it is because deeply they don’t profoundly in the Risen One. And He is the Winner, the Risen One. He won.”
“This, the Holy Father concluded, is the message that Paul gives to us ” Christ “is everything,” he is totality and hope, “because he is the Bridegroom , the Winner”.
