Pope Francis: 3 fundamental gestures to live the Holy Mass fully

This Sunday, Pope Francis offered a profound reflection during the Angelus in St. Peter’s Square, focused on three essential gestures that every Catholic should have during Mass: offering, giving thanks and sharing.

Based on the Gospel of the day, which narrates the miracle of the loaves and fishes (cf. Jn 6:1-15), the Holy Father highlighted how these gestures are fundamental for Christian life.

1. Offer

The Pope began his reflection by talking about the first gesture: offering. Recalling the boy who offered his five loaves and two fish, he noted: “It is the gesture with which we recognize that we have something good to give, and we say our ‘yes’ even if what we have is too little compared to what is needed. ”. During the Mass, this gesture is observed when the priest offers the bread and wine on the altar, and each faithful offers himself and his own life.

The Holy Father emphasized that, although our gifts may “seem like a small thing,” in the hands of God they can become the “material for the greatest miracle”: “The one in which He Himself, Himself!, becomes present among us.” us, for the salvation of the world.”

2. Give Thanks

The second gesture is to give thanks. In the Gospel, Jesus takes the loaves and gives thanks before sharing them. The Pope explained that giving thanks is recognizing that everything we have is a gift from God: “Everything I have is your gift, Lord, and to thank you I can only return to you what you have given me first, together with your Son Jesus Christ, adding what I can.”

Furthermore, he stressed that each of us can give something, even if it is small: “Whoever is small, what can he give? His poor love. He can say, ‘Lord, I love you.’ We are poor, our love is so small! But we can give it to the Lord, and He accepts it.”

3. Share

The third gesture is sharing, which is fully manifested in Communion during Mass. “In the Mass it is Communion, when together we approach the altar to receive the Body and Blood of Christ: the fruit of everyone’s gift transformed by the Lord into food for all,” the Pope explained. This moment, he added, “teaches us to live every gesture of love as a gift of grace, both for those who give and for those who receive.”

Pope Francis concluded his reflection by inviting everyone to ask themselves about their own willingness to offer, give thanks and share: ‘Do I truly believe, by the grace of God, that I have something unique to donate to my brothers, or do I feel anonymous,’ one among many’? Do I have property that I can donate? Do I thank the Lord for the gifts with which he continually shows me his love? Do I live sharing with others as a moment of encounter and reciprocal enrichment?”

Finally, he asked for the intercession of the Virgin Mary to live each Eucharist with faith and recognize the “miracles” of God’s grace in our daily lives.