Pope at Angelus: Conflicts could be avoided by listening to others

By Linda Bordoni

Pope Francis’ catechesis during the Sunday Angelus focused on the reading from the Gospel of Matthew in which Jesus says, “The one who receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward” (Mt 10:41).

Speaking to the pilgrims gathered in St. Peter’s Square, the Pope reflected on the need to welcome the prophets of today.

“Each one of us, brothers and sisters, is a prophet,” he said, noting that with Baptism, all of us received the gift of the prophetic mission.

We are all prophets

The Holy Father went on to explain that a prophet is the one who helps others read the present under the action of the Holy Spirit, helping them “to understand God’s plans and correspond to them.”

“We are all prophets,” he continued, witnesses of Jesus, loving signs who point God out to others, a reflection of Christ’s light on the path of the brothers and sisters.”

He invited believers to ask themselves whether they live as witnesses of Jesus, bringing a little bit of His light into the life of another person.

“Do I evaluate myself on this? I ask myself: What is my bearing witness like, my prophecy?” he said.

Listen to everybody

The Holy Father went on to note that in the Gospel, the Lord asks to welcome the prophets.

“It is important to welcome each other as such, as bearers of God’s message, each one according to his state and vocation,” he said.

This is something to be done where we live, he explained, in the family, in the parish, in the religious community, in other places in the Church and in society.

And observing that the Spirit “has distributed gifts of prophecy in the holy People of God.” the Pope said, “This is why it is good to listen to everyone.”

“For example, when an important decision needs to be made, it is good to pray first of all, call on the Spirit, but then listen and dialogue trusting that each person, even the littlest, has something important to say, a prophetic gift to share,” he said.

He concluded inviting Christians to make people feel welcome, “not because they say what pleases us, but so they feel accepted and valued as the gifts they are.”