Pope Francis encouraged that, in families, dad and mom can share time with their children to make love grow; and he warned of the danger of activism, of the possibility of falling into “the dictatorship of doing.”
This was indicated by the Holy Father in his reflection before praying the Angelus this Sunday, July 21, under the radiant Roman sun and before thousands of faithful present in St. Peter’s Square, with whom he reflected on today’s Gospel (Mk 6, 30-34) in which Jesus has compassion for the disciples and invites them to rest.
Receive the main news from ACI Prensa by WhatsApp and Telegram
It is increasingly difficult to see Catholic news on social media. Subscribe to our free channels today:
Pope Francis warned that, in daily life, “the enthusiasm to carry out the mission or the work, as well as the role and tasks entrusted to us make us victims of activism, and this is an ugly thing: so concerned about the things to do and for the results.”
“It is an important warning for our lives, for our society often imprisoned by haste, but also for the Church and for pastoral service: brothers, sisters, let us be attentive to the dictatorship of doing!”, he continued.
Pope Francis said that “this can happen out of necessity, also in families, when for example the father, to earn his bread, is forced to be absent for work, thus having to sacrifice the time he dedicates to the family. He often leaves quickly in the morning, when the children are still sleeping, and returns late at night, when they are already in bed.”
“And this is a social injustice: in families, dad and mom should have the time to share with their children, to make this family love grow and not fall into the dictatorship of doing,” he lamented.
“Let’s think about what we can do to prevent people from being forced to live like this,” encouraged the Holy Father.
Pope Francis also stressed that “the rest proposed by Jesus is not an escape from the world” and stressed that “only if we learn to rest can we have compassion.”
“In fact, it is possible to have a look of compassion, which knows how to recognize the needs of our neighbor, only if our heart is not consumed by the desire to do, if we know how to stop and, in the silence of adoration, receive the grace of God ”.
Pope Francis’ questions for you this Sunday, July 21
Therefore, the Holy Father continued, “we can ask ourselves: can I stop during my journeys? Do I take a moment to be with myself and with the Lord, or am I always immersed in the rush of things to do?”
“Do we know how to find a bit of interior ‘desert’ amidst the noise and activities of every day?” he questioned.
To conclude, Pope Francis prayed that “the Holy Virgin helps us to ‘rest in the Spirit’ also in the midst of all daily activities, and to be available and compassionate towards others.”
Walter Sanchez Silva
I have been a husband since 2008. My wife and I have three children here and one who went to heaven in 2023, before he was born. Since I joined ACI Prensa in 2005, I have had the opportunity to cover various events of the Catholic Church. Among them, the World Youth Days in Cologne, Madrid and Rio de Janeiro and the apostolic trips of Pope Benedict XVI to Mexico and of Pope Francis to South Korea. I have been sent to the Vatican to cover the Family synods, in 2015; of the Amazon, in 2019 and that of Synodality, in 2023. I closely follow the situation of the Catholic Church in Nicaragua, which suffers persecution from the dictatorship of Daniel Ortega, as well as current ecclesiastical events in the region.