“We are afraid of conversion because conversion means allowing the Lord to lead us.” Pope Francis said these words during his homily at Casa Santa Marta this morning.
Today’s Gospel from St. Luke recalled Jesus weeping as he was overlooking the city of Jerusalem because they did not recognize the bringer of peace. “If this day you only knew what makes for peace– but now it is hidden from your eyes,” Jesus says in the Gospel.
According to Vatican Radio, the Pope said that the people of Jerusalem did not welcome Christ because they “were content with what they had.”
“The city was afraid to be visited by the Lord; afraid of the gratuity of the Lord’s visit,” he said. “The city felt safe in the knowledge of what it could handle. We all feel safe in the things that we can handle. But the visit of the Lord, its surprises, those we cannot handle.”
The Holy Father went on to say that many times, Christians fear the “surprises of the Lord. Although God brings joy and leads all to conversion, the Pope explained, “we all fear happiness – that joy that the Lord brings, because we cannot control it.”
“We are afraid of conversion because conversion means allowing the Lord to lead us,” he said.
Concluding his homily, the Pope called on the faithful to reflect on whether they truly believe they need God’s visits or if they are content with themselves.
The Lord, he said, “continues to knock on the door of each one of us and of His Church, the pastors of the Church. Yes, the door of our hearts, of the heart of the Church, of her pastors will not open: and the Lord weeps, even today.”
