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Pope Francis’s Holy Masses in Santa Marta (where he lived as Pope) we attended by small groups of holy people who attended daily mass.
The following are the words of Pope Francis to them on April 26, 2013
1st Reading: Acts of the Apostles 4: 13-21, Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated, common men, they wondered; and they recognized that they had been with Jesus.
But seeing the man that had been healed standing beside them, they had nothing to say in opposition.
But when they had commanded them to go aside out of the council, they conferred with one another, saying, “What shall we do with these men? For that a notable sign has been performed through them is manifest to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and we cannot deny it. But in order that it may spread no further among the people, let us warn them to speak no more to anyone in this name.”So they called them and charged them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John answered them, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge; for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard.” And when they had further threatened them, they let them go, finding no way to punish them, because of the people; for all men praised God for what had happened.
Pope Francis’ private homily to faithful daily mass goers:
Faith is ‘a grace’ and ‘a gift of the Lord’, which should not be overlooked — as the Collect of Mass says, it is extended ‘to the people who believe in you’, because ‘we are not attached to a fantasy, but to a reality we have seen and heard’.
In response to the order given by the chief priests and Pharisees not to speak about Jesus, Peter and John “stood firm in this faith”, saying: “We cannot stop talking about what we have seen and heard.”
Their testimony reminds me of our own faith. So, what is our faith like? Is it strong?
Or is it, at times, somewhat diluted, like rosewater?
When problems arise, are we as brave as Peter, or do we become lukewarm?
Peter teaches us that ‘faith is not negotiable’. Among the People of God, the temptation to downsize faith has always existed, albeit slightly.
However, as we say in the Creed, ‘faith’ is like this, so we must resist the temptation to behave ‘more or less like everyone else’ and not be too rigid, because ‘it is from this that a path which ends in apostasy unfolds’.
Indeed, ‘when we begin to cut faith down, to negotiate it and sell it to the highest bidder, we are setting out on the road to apostasy and disloyalty to the Lord’.
Yet the example of Peter and John, as well as that of the martyrs throughout the history of the Church, helps us and gives us strength.
They say, like Peter and John, ‘We cannot but speak’.
This gives strength to us, whose faith is sometimes weak.
It gives us the strength to continue living with the faith we have received — the gift that the Lord gives to all peoples.
Lord, thank you so much for my faith.
Preserve it and increase it.
May it be strong and courageous.
Help me, Lord, in the moments when, like Peter and John, I must make it public.
