At the Sunday Angelus, May 14, His Holiness Pope Francis says that the Holy Bible provokes change and invites us to conversion, like a fire that warms us with God's love, burning away our selfishness and moving us to share His love with others.
It is definitely the love for Lord Jesus that rekindles the flames of faith by eliminating the bleak past so that days to come would by filled with divine blessing and glory.
In this regard, the Holy Bible says, “That is why I would remind you to stir up (rekindle the embers of, fan the flame of, and keep burning) the [gracious] gift of God, [the inner fire] that is in you by means of the laying on of my hands with those of the elders at your ordination].” (2 Timothy 1:6)
Pope Francis explains how the Holy Bible serves as a fire that burns the corrupt way of life, which keeps people all the time off track, towards a new effulgent life whose brightness emerges from Lord Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace.
The Pope says, "Jesus brought the Gospel, the good news of God's love for each one of us, and that is why the Lord says the Gospel is like a fire, because it is a message when it 'erupts into history' overturns the old ways of life, helping us overcome selfishness and break our dependence on sin leading to new life in the Risen One. Things are never the same when the Gospel comes alive in one's heart as it provokes change, conversion, and sparks a restlessness that sets us in motion, and drives us to open up to God and to our brothers and sisters."
The words of Pope Francis are like an electric shock that awakens dormant minds. They elucidate a fact indicating that the Holy Bible is the most precious treasure on Earth as it maps out people's life and leads them towards the shores of safety, and consequently in the direction of eternal life.
Actually, “the Gospel is just like fire: while it warms us with God’s love, it wants to burn our selfishness, to enlighten the dark sides of life, to consume the false idols that enslave us.”
The Holy Father calls on the faithful saying, "Let us examine ourselves on this, so that we too can say, like Jesus: we are inflamed with the fire of God’s love, and we want to spread it around the world, to take it to everyone, so that each person may discover the tenderness of the Father and experience the joy of Jesus, which enlarges the heart and makes life beautiful.”
Lord Jesus Christ is the word of life that has been conveyed to people and whose existential role elaborated in the Holy Bible. This is revealed in (1 John 1) as it says " What existed from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we observed and touched with our own hands--this is the Word of life!"
It is important in this respect to heed the words of Pope Francis and to embark on reading verses from the Holy Bible on daily bases so as to be filled with the Holy Spirit and to find the right path in life.
