• Home
  • Diocese
  • Bishop Burns
  • Synod
  • Columnists
  • Revista Catolica
  • Vatican
  • Subscribe
The Texas Catholic
The Texas Catholic

Dallas, Texas

Today is Monday, March 27, 2023
  • Home
  • Diocese
  • Bishop Burns
  • Synod
  • Columnists
  • Revista Catolica
  • Vatican
  • Subscribe
  • Follow
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Linkedin
    • Instagram
Home
Pope Francis

Service is a calling for all, not a select few, pope says

Monday, August 22, 2022

Pope Francis leads the Angelus from the window of his studio overlooking St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican Aug. 22, 2022. (CNS photo/Vatican Media)

By Junno Arocho Esteves
Catholic News Service

VATICAN CITY — Following Christ’s example of love and service to those in need is not a task reserved to a select few but a calling for all Christians,” Pope Francis said.

Jesus’ image of entering the kingdom of heaven through a “narrow gate” does not mean that “only a few are destined to go through it” but instead means living “one’s life in love, in service, and in giving oneself as he did,” the pope said Aug. 21 during his Sunday Angelus address.

“To enter the plan God proposes for our life requires that we restrict the space of selfishness, reduce the presumption of self-sufficiency, lower the heights of pride and arrogance, and that we overcome laziness, in order to traverse the risk of love, even when it involves the cross,” he said.

After praying the Angelus prayer, Pope Francis said he was following news of the continued repression against the Catholic Church in Nicaragua “with concern and sorrow.”

On Aug. 19, Nicaraguan police burst into Matagalpa diocesan headquarters and removed Bishop Rolando Álvarez and nearly a dozen others who had been under house arrest for more than two weeks.

Although the pope did not specifically mention Bishop Álvarez’s arrest, he prayed for peace in the country through Mary’s intercession.

“I would like to express my conviction and my hope that, through an open and sincere dialogue, the basis for a respectful and peaceful co-existence might still be found. Let us ask the Lord, through the intercession of the ‘Purísima’ (‘Mary Most Pure’), to inspire everyone’s heart with this concrete will,” he said.

As he has nearly every week, he also prayed for the people of Ukraine.

Addressing an estimated 12,000 pilgrims gathered in St. Peter’s Square, the pope reflected on St. Luke’s Gospel, in which Jesus responds to a question about those who will be saved by calling on his followers to “strive to enter through the narrow gate.”

The image of a narrow gate, the pope said, “could scare us, as if salvation is destined for only a few elect, or perfect people.”

However, he added, the belief that only a chosen few people would “contradict” Jesus’ teaching that all are welcome “at the table in the kingdom of God.”

“This door is narrow, but is open to everyone,” he said. “Do not forget this. The door is open to everyone.”

Nevertheless, Jesus’ use of the image of the narrow gate was his way of telling Christians that “to enter into God’s life, into salvation, we need to pass through him, not through another one, through him; to welcome him and his word.”

He also called on Christians to reflect on “those daily acts of love that we struggle to carry on with” and to reflect on those who dedicate their lives and sacrifice themselves to help those in need, including parents, as well as those who serve the elderly and the poor.”

“Let’s think of those who keep on working committedly, putting up with discomfort and, perhaps, with misunderstanding; let’s think of those who suffer because of their faith, but who continue to pray and love; let’s think of those who, rather than following their own instincts, respond to evil with good, finding the strength to forgive and the courage to begin again,” he said.

Pope Francis encouraged Christians to follow the example of those who choose “the narrow door of Jesus” and not “the wide door of their own convenience.”

“Brothers and sisters, which side do we want to be on?” the pope asked. “Do we prefer the easy way of thinking only about ourselves, or do we choose the narrow door of the Gospel that puts our selfishness into crisis, but which makes us able to welcome the true life that comes from God and makes us happy? Which side are we on?”

 

  • Tags
  • Pope Francis
  • Vatican
Facebook Twitter Google+ LinkedIn Pinterest
Next article Father Gollob: Musings on rain and welcoming the stranger
Previous article Survivors of Uvalde mass shooting get tuition aid to attend Catholic school

Related Posts

Confession is 'encounter of love' that fights evil, pope tells priests Pope Francis
Friday, March 24, 2023

Confession is 'encounter of love' that fights evil, pope tells priests

Pope asks Catholics to renew consecration of world to Mary every March 25 Pope Francis
Wednesday, March 22, 2023

Pope asks Catholics to renew consecration of world to Mary every March 25

To be an apostle is to serve, not move up church's hierarchy, pope says Pope Francis
Wednesday, March 15, 2023

To be an apostle is to serve, not move up church's hierarchy, pope says

Texas Catholic Classics

A look at the five Dallas law enforcement officers who gave their lives while protecting citizens during a mass shooting in downtown Dallas in July 2016.

 

How a child with special needs inspired a high school volleyball team, community and a family who heeded God’s call to protect life.

 

After a young runner collapsed at a Dallas marathon, grace and providence unfolded for those involved in the valiant effort to help her.

   

In the summer of 2016, 50 students and 25 chaperones from Dallas Catholic high schools traveled to Nicaragua for a 10-day mission trip.

 

Early on a November morning, Kenndrick Mendieta bounded from the gym at Cristo Rey Dallas College Prep toward the campus’ athletic fields as clouds lifted on a fresh new day.

 

Subscribe

Get the award-winning Texas Catholic delivered to your door. Use the menu below to subscribe now.


Subscription length




 

Photo Gallery

Click here to find your favorite Texas Catholic photographs.

The Texas Catholic Newspaper

Catholic Diocese of Dallas
Michael Gresham, Editor

3725 Blackburn Street
Dallas, Texas 75219
(214) 379-2800

Our Affiliated Sites

Texas Catholic Youth

Revista Católica

Legal and Other

Contact us

Terms of service

Privacy policy

Site map

Site powered by TexasCatholicMedia

© 2013-2019 The Texas Catholic Publishing Company. All rights reserved.