Before the crowd of faithful gathered in St. Peter’s Square in the Vatican this Sunday, August 25, Pope Francis pointed out that although “it is not easy” to follow Jesus, “only He has ‘words of eternal life’.”
The Holy Father referred to today’s Gospel, which “tells us the famous response of Saint Peter, who says to Jesus: ‘Lord, to whom shall we turn? You have words of eternal life’”, and he highlighted that it is “a very beautiful expression, which testifies to the friendship and trust that unites him to Christ, along with the other disciples”.
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The Pope recalled that “disciples do not always understand what the Master says and does; Sometimes it is difficult for them to accept the paradoxes of his love, the extreme demands of his mercy, the radicality of his way of giving himself to everyone.
“It’s not easy for them to understand, but they are loyal. Jesus’ choices often go beyond the common mentality, beyond the very canons of institutional religion and traditions, to the point of creating provocative and embarrassing situations. It is not easy to follow him,” he expressed.
However, he continued, “among the many teachers of that time, Peter and the other apostles found in Him alone the answer to the thirst for life, the thirst for joy, the thirst for love that animates them; Only thanks to Him do they experience the fullness of life they seek, beyond the limits of sin and even death.”
“That is why they do not leave, on the contrary, all, except one, even among many falls and regrets, remain with Him until the end.”
The Holy Father then specified that “this also concerns us: it is not easy for us to follow the Lord, to understand his way of acting, to make his criteria and his examples our own.”
“But the closer we come to Him—the more we adhere to His Gospel, receive His grace in the Sacraments, be in His company in prayer, imitate Him in humility and charity—the more we experience the beauty of having Him.” as a Friend, and we realize that only He has ‘words of eternal life.'”
Pope Francis then encouraged the faithful to ask themselves: “To what extent is Jesus present in my life? To what extent did he let me be touched and provoked by his words? Can I say that they are also “words of eternal life” for me? To you, brother, sister, I ask: Are the words of Jesus for you—also for me—words of eternal life?”
“May Mary, who welcomed Jesus, the Word of God, in her flesh, help us to listen to him and never leave him,” he concluded.
Full text of Pope Francis’ words at the Angelus, this Sunday, August 25, 2024
Dear brothers and sisters, happy Sunday!
Today the Gospel of the liturgy (Jn 6:60-69) tells us the famous response of Saint Peter, who says to Jesus: «Lord, to whom shall we turn? You have words of eternal life” (Jn 6:68). Beautiful answer! It is a very beautiful expression, which testifies to the friendship and trust that unites him to Christ, along with his other disciples. “Lord, who are we going to go to? You have words of eternal life.” Beautiful!
Peter pronounces it at a critical moment, because Jesus has just finished a speech in which he said that he is “the bread that came down from heaven” (cf. Jn 6:41): this is a language that is difficult for people to understand, and Many, including the disciples who followed him, abandoned him because they did not understand.
The Twelve, however, did not: they stayed, because in Him they found “words of eternal life.” They have heard Him preach, they have seen the miracles He performed and they continue to share with Him the public moments and intimacy of daily life (cf. Mc 3:7-19).
The disciples do not always understand what the Master says and does; Sometimes it is difficult for them to accept the paradoxes of his love (cf. Mt 5:38-48), the extreme demands of his mercy (cf. Mt 18:21-22), the radical nature of his way of giving himself to all. It’s not easy for them to understand, but they are loyal. Jesus’ choices often go beyond the common mentality, beyond the very canons of institutional religion and traditions, to the point of creating provocative and embarrassing situations (cf. Mt 15:12). It’s not easy to follow.
And yet, among the many teachers of that time, Peter and the other apostles found in Him alone the answer to the thirst for life, the thirst for joy, the thirst for love that animates them; Only thanks to Him do they experience the fullness of life they seek, beyond the limits of sin and even death. That is why they do not leave, on the contrary, all, except one, even among many falls and repentance, remain with Him until the end (cf. Jn 17:12).
And, brothers and sisters, this also concerns us: it is not easy for us to follow the Lord, to understand his way of acting, to make his criteria and his examples our own. It’s not easy for us either. But the closer we come to Him—the more we adhere to His Gospel, receive His grace in the Sacraments, be in His company in prayer, imitate Him in humility and charity—the more we experience the beauty of having Him as Friend, and we realize that only He has “words of eternal life.”
So, let’s ask ourselves: To what extent is Jesus present in my life? To what extent did he let me be touched and provoked by his words? Can I say that they are also “words of eternal life” for me? To you, brother, sister, I ask: Are the words of Jesus for you—also for me—words of eternal life?
May Mary, who welcomed Jesus, the Word of God, in her flesh, help us to listen to him and never leave him.
Words after the Angelus
Dear brothers and sisters:
I wish to express my solidarity with the thousands of people affected by monkeypox, which is now a global health emergency. I pray for all the infected people, especially for the population of the Democratic Republic of the Congo so tested. I express my closeness to the local Churches of the countries most affected by this disease and I encourage governments and private industries to share the technology and treatments available, so that no one lacks adequate medical assistance.
To the beloved people of Nicaragua: I encourage you to renew your hope in Jesus. Remember that the Holy Spirit always guides history towards higher projects. May the Immaculate Virgin protect you in moments of trial and make you feel her maternal tenderness. May the Virgin accompany the beloved people of Nicaragua.
I continue to follow with pain the combats in Ukraine and the Russian Federation, and thinking about the laws recently adopted in Ukraine, I am struck by fear for the freedom of those who pray, because those who truly pray always pray for everyone. There is no harm in praying. If anyone does wrong to his people, he will be guilty of this, but he cannot have done wrong because he prayed. And then let those who want to pray in what they consider to be their Church be allowed to pray. Please let no Christian Church be abolished, directly or indirectly. Churches are not touched!
And let us continue to pray for an end to wars, in Palestine, in Israel, in Myanmar and in any other region. The people ask for peace! Let us pray that the Lord gives us all peace.
I greet all of you, Romans and pilgrims from Italy and from so many countries. In particular, I greet the new seminarians of the North American College and wish them a good formative path; and I also wish you to live your priesthood with joy, because true prayer gives us joy. I salute the boys with motor and cognitive disabilities, who participate in the “inclusion relay” to affirm that barriers can be overcome. Greetings to the friends, to the boys of the Immaculate Conception.
And I wish everyone a happy Sunday. Please don’t forget to pray for me. Have a nice lunch and see you soon!
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.