‘It is better to go forward limping, and even at times to fall, while always trusting in the mercy of God, than to be “museum Christians” who are afraid of change.’
Pope Francis stressed this to participants of the 75th Congress of ‘Serra International’ today, Friday, June 23, 2017 in the Vatican. The June 22-25 congress in Rome has as its theme: “Siempre adelante. The Courage of Vocation.”
The Jesuit Pontiff recalled that they were gathered to discover anew the meaning of every Christian vocation: to offer our lives as a gift, and that this made him wish to reflect on something “which is central” to the experience of faith: to be friends.
“Today, the word ‘friend’ has become a bit overused,” the Pontiff said. “In our daily lives, we run into various people whom we call “friends”, but that is just a word we say,” he noted, especially in virtual communications.
“When Jesus speaks of his “friends,” Francis highlighted, “he points to a hard truth: true friendship involves an encounter that draws me so near to the other person that I give something of my very self.”
“We become friends, then, only if our encounter is more than something outward or formal, and becomes instead a way of sharing in the life of another person, an experience of compassion, a relationship that involves giving ourselves for others.”
It is good, the Pontiff noted, for us to reflect on what friends do.
“They stand at our side, gently and tenderly, along our journey; they listen to us closely, and can see beyond mere words; they are merciful when faced with our faults; they are non-judgmental. They are able to walk with us, helping us to feel joy in knowing that we are not alone. They do not always indulge us but, precisely because they love us, they honestly tell us when they disagree. They are there to pick us up whenever we fall.”
He also noted there is a kind of friendship that you seek to offer to priests.
“The Serra Club helps foster this beautiful vocation of being laity who are friends to priests. Friends who know how to accompany and sustain them in faith, in fidelity to prayer and apostolic commitment. Friends who share the wonder of a vocation, the courage of a definitive decision, the joy and fatigue of ministry.
In this way, the way in which Serra often possesses sincere friendship with priests, he noted, is similar to the home of Bethany, where Jesus entrusted his weariness to Martha and Mary, and, thanks to their care, was able to find rest and refreshment.
The Holy Father noted there is another phrase that describes you, namely that  which they chose for the theme of their convention: “Siempre adelante! Keep moving forward!”
Like them, the Pontiff noted, I believe that this is a synonym for the Christian vocation.
“For the life of every missionary disciple bears the impress of his or her vocation. Vocation is an invitation to go forth from ourselves, to rejoice in our relationship with the Lord, and to journey along the ways that he opens up before us.”
Of course, he said, we cannot make progress unless we take a risk.
“We do not advance toward the goal if, as the Gospel says, we are afraid to lose our lives (cf. Mt 16:25-26). No ship would ever set out into the deep if it feared leaving the safety of the harbor. So too, Christians cannot enter into the transforming experience of God’s love unless they are open to new possibilities, and not tied to their own plans and cherished ways of doing things.”
On the other hand, he pointed out, when Christians go about their daily lives without fear, they can discover God’s constant surprises.
“A vocation is a calling received from another. It entails letting go of ourselves, setting out and placing ourselves at the service of a greater cause.”
Pope Francis concluded, saying, “with courage, creativity and boldness, do not be afraid to renew your structures. Do not rest on your laurels, but be ever ready to try new things.”

The Sacred Heart of Christ is not a ‘holy card’ for the devout, but is “the heart of revelation, the heart of our faith, because He made Himself small,” choosing this way “of humbling Himself, of emptying Himself even to death on the Cross.”
According to Vatican Radio, Pope Francis stressed this during his daily morning Mass at Casa Santa Marta, as the Church celebrates the Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus.
Drawing inspiration from today’s first Reading, from the book of Deuteronomy, where Moses says that God has chosen us “from all the nations on the face of the earth to be a people peculiarly His own.”
For this, God is praised, Pope Francis explained. because “in the Heart of Jesus, He gave us the grace to celebrate with joy the great mystery of our salvation, of His love for us,” that is to say, in celebrating our faith.
The Holy Father dwelled on two words in the reading: “choosing,” and “smallness.”
Choosing
On choosing, the Holy Father said, it is not that we have chosen God, but rather, that God has made Himself “our prisoner.”
“He has attached Himself to our life; He cannot detach Himself. He is strongly yoked! And He remains faithful in this attitude. We were chosen for love and this is our identity.”
“‘I have chosen this religion, I have chosen…’ [we might say]. No,” Francis stressed, “you have not chosen. It is He Who has chosen you, has called you, and has joined Himself to you. And this is our faith. If we do not believe this, we don’t understand the message of Christ, we don’t understand the Gospel.”
Smallness
Turning to ‘smallness,’ the Jesuit Pope recalled that the Lord, Moses did say, chose the people of Israel because it was “the smallest of all nations.”
“He was enamored of our smallness, and for this reason He has chosen us. And He chooses the small: not the great, the small. And He is revealed to the small: ‘you have hidden these things from the wise and the learned you have revealed them to little ones.’
“And He not only chooses and reveals Himself to the little ones; He calls the little ones: ‘Come to me, all you who labour and are burdened, and I will give you rest.’”
“But the great, does He not call them?” Francis asked.
“His heart is open, but the great do not recognize His voice because they are not able to hear it because they are full of themselves. To hear the voice of the Lord, you must make yourself little.”
The mystery of the Heart of Christ
Coming to the mystery of the Heart of Christ, the Pope said, it is not a “holy card” for the devout.
Rather, the transfixed Heart of Christ is “the heart of revelation, the heart of our faith, because He made Himself small, He has chosen this way”: that of humbling Himself, of emptying Himself “even to death on the Cross.”
It is, the Pope said, “a choice for smallness, so that the glory of God might be manifest.”
Today’s celebration, he reminded, is “of a Heart that loves, that chooses, that is faithful,” and that “is joined to us, is revealed to the little ones, calls the little ones, makes itself little.”
“We believe in God, yes; yes in Jesus too, yes… ‘Is Jesus God?’ [someone asks.] ‘Yes,’ [we respond]. This is the manifestation, this is the glory of God. Fidelity in choosing, in joining Himself and making Himself little, even for Himself: to become small, to empty Himself.”
“The problem of the faith is the core of our life: we can be so much, so virtuous, but with little or no faith; we must start from here, from the mystery of Jesus Christ, Who has saved us with His faithfulness.”
Pope Francis concluded his homily with the prayer that the Lord might grant us the grace to celebrate “the great acts and works of salvation and redemption”  in the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus.