Pope Francis: "Let's not reduce the cross to a political symbol"

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September 14, 2021 "Let us not reduce the cross to an object of devotion, much less to a political symbol, to a sign of religious and social importance". Thus Pope Francis in the homily of the Byzantine rite mass which he celebrated in Presov. Bergoglio is in Slovakia for a four-day trip that began in Budapest, Hungary, and in the third Slovak city as well as the Byzantine metropolis of the country, he presides over the divine liturgy (i.e. the Eucharistic celebration) of St. John Chrysostom on the occasion of today's anniversary of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross.

"How can we learn to see the glory on the cross?" Francis asked himself. "Some saints have taught that the cross is like a book that, in order to know it, one must open and read. It is not enough to buy a book, have a look at it and put it on display at home. The same goes for the cross: it is painted or carved in every corner of our churches. The crucifixes are countless: around the neck, at home, in the car, in your pocket. his wounds open for us, if the heart does not swell with emotion and we do not cry before God wounded by love for us. If we do not do this, the cross remains an unread book, whose title and author, but that does not affect life.Let us not reduce the cross - the pope said - to an object of devotion, much less to a political symbol, to a sign of religious and social importance ".

"How many generous people have suffered and died here in Slovakia because of the name of Jesus! A witness accomplished for love of Him whom they had long contemplated. So much so that they resembled him, even in death", the Pope said. "From contemplating the Crucifix comes" testimony, the Pontiff underlined. "If you immerse your gaze in Jesus, his face begins to reflect on ours: his features become ours, the love of Christ conquers and transforms us. I think of the martyrs, who witnessed the love of Christ in very difficult times, when everything advised us to be silent, to take shelter, not to profess the faith. But they could not fail to testify ".

"Witnesses generate other witnesses, because they are givers of life. This is how faith spreads: not with the power of the world, but with the wisdom of the cross; not with structures, but with witness", the Pope emphasized. in the homily delivered during the Byzantine Mass presided over in Slovakia. "And today the Lord, from the vibrant silence of the cross, also asks you: 'Do you want to be my witness?'. With John, on Calvary, there was the Holy Mother of God. No one like her has seen the book of the cross opened. and he testified to it through humble love. Through his intercession, let us ask for the grace to convert the gaze of the heart to the Crucifix. Then - said the Pope - our faith will be able to flourish in fullness, then the fruits of our witness will ripen ". .