Pope Francis Reflects on Three Verbs: Listen, Discern, and Walk
As Christmas is approaching, Pope Francis, as in previous years, exchanged festive greetings with the heads of various departments of the Holy See on the morning of December 21. In his congratulatory message on this occasion, he mentioned three verbs: listen, discern, and walk. He also proposed a new word “walking into the labyrinth,” calling it a pointer to test whether it serves the great cause of the gospel. The Pope said that following the crowd, fear, and all kinds of laziness lead people into a labyrinth and reduce the mission of the universal Church to a bureaucratic office job.
The Pope used three groups of figures in the history of salvation to explain these three verbs, mentioning that the cradle of Jesus’ birth this year is surrounded by the “dangers of the times” of violence and war, climate change, poverty, pain, and hunger. The pope said it is important to listen in such situations, and that the Virgin Mary is the model for listening. Hearing “always the beginning of a walk”, like the Mother of Jesus, listens “attentively” to the angel’s announcement, receptive to God’s plan. She listened “on her knees.”
The example of the second verb “discern” is John the Baptist, another figure in the history of salvation. The Pope said that when Jesus began his mission, his precursor was in the “tragedy of a crisis of faith” because the expected Messiah was not the powerful God and ruler he had imagined. So, John sent someone in prison to ask Jesus if He was the Savior. In other words, John tried to understand and discern.
The wise men who worshiped Jesus are examples of the third verb, “to walk.” “If we truly embrace the joy of the Gospel,” the Pope said, “it will inspire within us an action to follow, a real departure of our own accord.” However, there is also danger at this time, the temptation to “go into the labyrinth”, that feeling of “turning around within our walls and fears” and being unable to escape, so that “we are called to the service of the Church and the world.” “Paralyzed.
“To be able to walk and go further,” the Pope concluded, “you need courage.” This is a question of love. “Sixty years after Vatican II, the division between ‘progressives’ and ‘conservatives’ is still being debated, and the important distinction is between ‘out of love’ and ‘conformity’. This is The difference. Only those who know how to love can walk.”
It is clear that Pope Francis is urging for a deeper understanding of the true meaning of Christmas and the gospel, calling for a return to a spirit of love, discernment, and action. For the full transcript of the Pope’s message, visit www.vaticannews.cn.