March 16 - 31, 2019
PHILIPPINE ASIAN NEWS TODAY
RELIGIOUS
Good can overcome evil-
Pope Francis says
To pray is to believe in God’s
power to replace the evil in the
world with goodness, Pope Fran-
cis said at the general audience
Wednesday.
“If we pray it is because we
believe that God can and wants
to transform reality by overcom-
ing evil with good,” he said March
20. This is why it makes sense to
“obey and abandon one’s self” to
the will of God, even in moments
of difficulty and trial.
“The Christian does not be-
lieve in an unavoidable ‘fate,’” he
stated. “There is nothing haphaz-
ard in the faith of Christians: there
is instead a salvation that waits to
manifest itself in the life of every
man and woman and to be ful-
filled in eternity.”
Pope Francis pointed to the
‘Our Father’ as one prayer that
demonstrates a belief that God’s
will desires the good of the world.
The Lord’s Prayer, he said, “ig-
nites in us the same love of Jesus
for the will of the Father, a flame
that drives us to transform the
world with love.”
Continuing his catechesis on
the ‘Our Father,’ the pope reflect-
ed on the line, “Thy will be done,”
using the example of Jesus’
prayer in the Garden of Gethse-
mane. Jesus, he said, prayed for
the Father to take away his suf-
fering, but also said, “still, not my
will but yours be done.”
In that moment, “Jesus is
crushed by the evil of the world,
but trustingly abandons himself
to the ocean of the love of the
Father’s will,” Pope Francis said.
And the will of God, he em-
phasized, is what brings real free-
dom. Therefore, praying, “thy will
be done,” is not a “slavish” act;
obeying the Lord is not like obey-
ing a slave master, or bending the
will to an unchangeable destiny.
“On the contrary, it is a prayer full
of ardent trust in God who wants
good for us, life, salvation,” he
said.
God wants his children to be
free and it is his love that gives
that freedom, he noted, adding
that: “In fact, the ‘Our Father’ is
the prayer of children, not slaves;
but of children who know the
heart of their father and are cer-
tain of his design of love.”
He pointed to the story of
Zacchaeus, stating that the love
of God is like that experienced
by the tax collector and sinner.
Zacchaeus climbed a tree to see
Jesus but did not know that the
Lord was, in fact, searching for
him long before he knew.
“God with his love knocks on
the door of our hearts. Why? To
attract us; to attract us to Him
and carry us forward on the path
to salvation. God is close to each
of us with his love, to take us by
hand to salvation. How much
love is behind this!” Pope Francis
said.
In the world, there are many
things not in conformance with
the will of God, he said, and en-
couraged people, in the face of
evils like war, abuse of power,
and exploitation, to pray with the
awareness of the Lord’s will of
good for his people and world,
and to beg of him: “your will be
done!”
“Thus is the Lord, thus he loves
us…” the pope concluded.(H.
Brockhaus, CNA)
Not to abolish but to fulfill
Jesus is accused of not keeping the Law or the Prophets, especially when he seems to break the Sabbath law.
But Jesus makes it clear that he has come not to abolish but to fulfill. He wants people to understand and keep the
genuine spirit of the Law. The Law and the Prophets intend to teach genuine righteousness, one that is anchored
on love, on promoting the good of the person, and mirrors the holiness of the heavenly Father. It is a righteousness
higher than that of the scribes and Pharisees.
How do you see Jesus’ actions in the Gospel? Has he no respect for God’s commandments or does he teach the
right way to live them out?
Gospel • MATTHEW 5:17-19
Jesus said to his disciples: “Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets. I have come not
to abolish but to fulfill. Amen, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or the smallest
part of a letter will pass from the law, until all things have taken place. Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least
of these commandments and teaches others to do so will be called least in the Kingdom of heaven. But whoever
obeys and teaches these commandments will be called greatest in the Kingdom of heaven.”
SOURCE: “365 Days with the Lord 2019: http://www.stpauls.ph.
WWW.PHILIPPINEASIANNEWSTODAY.COM
25