Pope at Canonization Mass: 'Service is the Christian way of life'
By Linda Bordoni
Father Manuel Ruiz López and his seven companions, the brothers Francis, Mooti, and Raphael Massabki, Father Joseph Allamano, Sister Marie Leonie Paradis, and Sister Elena Guerra, canonized by Pope Francis on Sunday, each exemplified heroic virtue and bore witness to holiness within their unique vocations.
As the Pope noted in his homily at the Canonization Mass in St. Peter’s Square on World Mission Sunday, “These new saints lived Jesus’ way: service.”
“The faith and the apostolate they carried out did not feed their worldly desires and hunger for power but, on the contrary, they made themselves servants of their brothers and sisters, creative in doing the good, steadfast in difficulties and generous to the end,” he said.
The Pope noted that their witness invites Christians to heed Jesus’ invitation to serve, not to seek glory.
‘Are you able to drink the cup that I drink?’
Taking his cue from the Gospel passage from Mark, he invited Christians to contemplate the profound questions Jesus asked His disciples, James and John: "What is it you want me to do for you?" and "Are you able to drink the cup that I drink?" These questions, noted Pope Francis, shine light on our hidden desires and cast away any illusions of self-interest.
The Holy Father explained that through these questions, Jesus calls us to a deeper relationship with Him.
He said that James and John, though faithful disciples, approached Jesus with expectations rooted in worldly glory, seeking honour and positions of power.
They longed for a place at His right and left in His glory, imagining a victorious Messiah who would reign with might. But, the Pope continued, their understanding was flawed.
“Jesus doesn’t stop at their request,” the Pope said, “He delves deeper, revealing the desires behind their words. He challenges them, as He challenges us, to see beyond human ambition.”
A King who came to serve
The true Messiah, Pope Francis recalled, is not a king of power and dominance but a Servant-King who came not to be served, but to serve, even to the point of offering His life on the cross.
He added that the image Jesus presents to His disciples is a radical departure from worldly notions of power.
"On His right and left, there would be no thrones, but two thieves, crucified alongside Him, suffering and dying with Him in ignominy."
This death, said the Pope, is the cup Jesus speaks of—a life of love, a baptism of suffering and service.
Pope Francis pointed out that the true path of discipleship is not one of seeking to dominate but of learning to serve.
“Those who follow Christ, if they wish to be great, must serve,” he said.
The example of the saints
Pope Francis concluded by upholding the examples of the 14 Saints canonized on Sunday, saying they were men and women who did not live for their own glory but for the glory of God, making themselves servants to their brothers and sisters.
He invited Christians to pray through their intercession, “so that we too can follow Christ, follow him in service, and become witnesses of hope for the world.”
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