Avoid temptations toward triumphalism, Pope urges
May 29, 2013
Pope Francis cautioned against triumphalism in his homily at daily Mass on May 29.
Commenting on the reaction of St. Peter when Jesus predicts his suffering and death, the Pope said that St. Peter’s negative response betrays an attitude that is all too common among Christians. “It is the temptation of a Christianity without the Cross, a half-way Christianity,” he said. He continued that it “is the temptation of triumphalism. We want the triumph now, without going to the Cross: a worldly triumph.”
Triumphalism, the Pope continued, can be seen in “a Church that is content with what it is or has--well sorted, well organized, with all its offices, everything in order, everything perfect, efficient.” But this, he said, is “a Church that denies its martyrs, because it does not know that martyrs are needed.” A healthy Church, on the other hand, recognizes “triumph through failure—human failure—the failure of the Cross,” he said.
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