Vatican City, 21 August, 2022 / 8:30 pm (ACI Africa).
Christians are measured by how well they follow Jesus Christ and the Gospel, not by their own ideas and self-sufficiency, Pope Francis said on Sunday.
In his Angelus message Aug. 21, the pope reflected on Jesus’ words as recounted in the Gospel of Luke, chapter 13: “Strive to enter through the narrow gate, for many, I tell you, will attempt to enter but will not be strong enough.”
“The Christian gate is a life whose ‘measure is Christ,’ founded and modeled on him,” Francis said. “This means that the rule of measure is Jesus and his Gospel — not what we think, but what he says to us.”
In his address before the Angelus, a traditional Marian prayer, Pope Francis also pointed to Jesus’ teaching in John 10:9: “I am the gate. Whoever enters through me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture.”
Jesus, the pope said, “wants to tell us that to enter into God’s life, into salvation, we need to pass through him, not through another one, through him; to welcome him and his Word.”