Pope Francis Talks about Our and God's Faithfulness 15.04.20

Let us pray today for the elderly, especially for those who are isolated or in nursing homes. They're afraid, they're afraid to die alone. They feel this pandemic as an aggressive thing for them. They are our roots, our history. They gave us faith, tradition, a sense of belonging to a homeland. Let us pray for them that the Lord may be close to them at this time.

Yesterday we reflected on Mary of Magdalene as the icon of fidelity: fidelity to God. But what is this fidelity to God? To what God? It is to the faithful God.

Our faithfulness is nothing more than a response to God's faithfulness. God who is faithful to his word, who is faithful to his promise, who walks with his people bringing the promise close to his people. True to the promise: God, who continually reveals himself as a Saviour of the people because he is faithful to his promise. God, who is capable of re-doing things, of re-creating, as he did with this crippled man from birth who re-created his feet, and healed him, the God who heals, the God who always brings consolation to his people. The God who re-creates. A new re-creation: this is his faithfulness to us. A re-creation that is more wonderful than creation.

A God who goes forward and who never tires of working – we say "work", "ad instar laborantis", as theologians say – to bring his people forward, and is not afraid to "get tired", let's say put it that way. Like that shepherd who when he comes home realizes that he misses a sheep and goes back to look for the sheep that has been lost there. The pastor who does overtime, but out of love, for fidelity ... And our God is a God who does overtime, but not for a fee: for free. It is the faithfulness of gratuitousness, of abundance. And it's the faithfulness of a father who is able to go up so many times to the terrace to see if his son returns and does not tire of going up there: he waits for him to celebrate.

God's fidelity is a feast, it is joy, it is such a joy that makes us do what this crippled did: he entered the temple walking, jumping, praising God. God's faithfulness is a celebration, it's a free celebration. And a celebration for all of us.

God's faithfulness is a patient faithfulness: he has patience with his people, he listens to them, guides them, slowly explains and rekindles their hearts, as he did with these two disciples who went far from Jerusalem: he warms their hearts to return home. God's faithfulness is that we do not know what happened in that dialogue, but he is a generous God who sought after Peter who had denied him, who had renounced him. We only know that the Lord has risen and appeared to Simon: we do not know what happened in that dialogue . But yes, we know that it was God's faithfulness that sought Peter. God's fidelity always precedes us, and our fidelity is always a response to that fidelity that precedes us. It is God who always precedes us. And the almond blossom, in the spring: it blooms first.

To be faithful is to praise this fidelity, to be faithful to this fidelity. It's a response to this faithfulness.