Pope Francis: carry a pocket-sized edition of the Gospel, read it daily

March 17, 2014

Pope Francis devoted his Sunday Angelus address to the Christ’s transfiguration and emphasized three words: “listen,” “ascent,” and “descent.”

Reflecting on God the Father’s words about Christ-- “listen to him” (Mt. 17:5)-- Pope Francis said that “this word is important! … We, the disciples of Jesus, are called to be people who hear his voice and take his words seriously. To listen to Jesus, you have to be close to him, follow him, as did the crowds in the Gospel.”

After asking those in attendance whether they read a passage of the Gospel daily, Pope Francis recommended that the faithful carry with them a pocket-sized edition of at least one of the four Gospels, so that short passages can easily be read during the day.

Turing to “ascent” and “descent,” the Pope spoke of prayer and charity. “We need … to climb the mountain [and go to] a place of silence, to find ourselves and better perceive the voice of the Lord,” he said.

At the same time, “the encounter with God in prayer again pushes us to ‘come down from the mountain’ and back down into the plain, where we meet many brothers and sisters weighed down by fatigue, injustice, material and spiritual poverty,” he added. “To these, our brothers who are in trouble, we are called to bring the fruits of the experience that we had with God, sharing the grace received.”

 

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Further information:

• Angelus, 16 March 2014 (Vatican.va)
• Pope Francis: Sunday Angelus focuses on prayer and action (Vatican Radio)