Bad Times


Pope Francis

01.02.19 Holy Mass, Santa Marta

Hebrews 10: 32-39

It is when desolation and dark moments make one lose the meaning of things that Christians must persevere in order to reach the promise of the Lord without falling down or retreating.

Christian life is not a carnival or a continuous feast and joy. It has good times as well as ugly ones, moments of warmth and of detachment, where not everything has meaning... moments of desolation.

It is during a moment of internal persecution and inner state of the soul that the author of the Letter to the Hebrews urges Christians to perseverance. You need endurance to do the will of God and receive what he has promised. One needs perseverance to reach the promise.

Like the apostle, one must first of all recall the beautiful moments, the happy days of our encounter with the Lord, the time of love. And, secondly, we must have hope for what has been promised us. With life consisting of good and bad times, it is important not to allow oneself to fall and go back in moments of difficulty.

Christians should not give in to bad times, but should endure in memory and hope - an endurance of the heart which recalls good times and breathes when looking up to hope. Finding the consolation of the promise of the Lord is what we must do in moments of desolation.

In my apostolic visit to Lithuania, in September 2018, I was moved by the courage of so many Christians and martyrs who persevered in faith.

Even today, many men and women suffer for their faith but remember the first encounter with Jesus and gain hope and go ahead. Perseverance is the advice of the author of the Letter to the Hebrews to Christians in times of persecution and attacks.

May Christians always look to the Lord when the devil attacks us with temptations. With our miseries we must always look to the Lord, have the perseverance of the Cross recalling the first beautiful moments of love, of our encounter with the Lord and the hope that awaits us.

01.02.19