Pope Francis reflected today before praying the Sunday Angelus in St. Peter’s Square in the Vatican about the relationship we have with material goods, and assured that “material things do not fill life, they help us move forward and are important, but they do not fill life: only love can do that.”
When reflecting on today’s Gospel, taken from John 6, 24-35, the Holy Father noted that “it tells us about Jesus who, after the miracle of the loaves and fishes, invites the multitude, who seek him, to reflect on what has happened, to understand its meaning.”
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“They had eaten that shared food and had been able to see how, even with few resources, with the generosity and courage of a child, who had made what he had available to others, everyone had fed themselves until they were satisfied,” he recalled.
The Pope assured that “the signal was clear: if each person gives to others what they have, with the help of God, even if it is with little, each one will be able to have something. Do not forget this: if one gives to others what he has, with the help of God, even with little everyone can have something. “Don’t forget this.”
“And they did not understand: they confused Jesus with some kind of magician, and they went back to look for him, hoping that he would repeat the miracle as if it were magic,” he lamented.
“His attention was focused only on the loaves and fishes, on material food, which he immediately ended. They did not realize that this was just an instrument through which the Father, while satisfying his hunger, revealed something much more important to them,” he said.
“And what did the Father reveal? The way of life that lasts forever and the taste of bread that satisfies beyond measure. The true bread, in short, was and is Jesus, his beloved Son made man, who came to share our poverty to guide us, through it, to the joy of full communion with God and with our brothers,” he explained.
Pope Francis stressed that “the way forward is that of charity, which keeps nothing for itself, but shares everything.”
He then recalled how this happens within families. “Let’s think about those parents who fight all their lives to raise their children well and leave them something for the future. How beautiful when this message is understood and the children are grateful and in turn support each other like brothers!”
“It’s sad, however, when they fight over inheritance—I’ve seen many cases, it’s sad—and they’re fighting against each other, and maybe they don’t talk to each other about money, they don’t talk to each other for years! The message of the father and mother, their most precious legacy, is not money: it is love, it is the love with which they give their children everything they have, just as God does with us, and this is how they teach us to love”.
At the end of his message, Pope Francis encouraged the faithful to ask themselves: “What relationship do I have with material things? Am I a slave to them or do I use them freely, as tools to give and receive love? Do I know how to say ‘thank you’, ‘thank you’, to God and my brothers for the gifts received, and do I know how to share with others?”
“May Mary, who gave her entire life to Jesus, teach us to make everything an instrument of love,” he concluded.
David Ramos
Graduated in Communication Sciences from the Universidad Privada del Norte in Trujillo, Peru. With more than 12 years of experience in Catholic journalism working at ACI Prensa, I have been based in Mexico since 2018. I have covered Pope Francis’ trips to Ecuador, Paraguay, Mexico, Colombia, Chile, Peru and Panama.