The Catechesis in Action

by Daniel Villar, MA

Pope Francis’ visit to Mexico last month gave us many moments of reflection. During the tour of his Holiness in the city of Morelia, amidst a hard pull that almost injured a handicapped child, the Pope opened his eyes wide and with a reddened face yelled: “Don’t be selfish!” At that moment the reporters immediately ran to publish this incident in a scandalous way using words and phrases like “punish” and “losing his cool.” At that moment, Pope Francis’ exhortation done on behalf of migrants, the marginalized and prisoners became gossip for social media.

Nevertheless the faithful, observing through different lines of media, got the chance to witness something very transparent and honest about Pope Francis: his humanity. The clearest identification of his time as Pope has manifested itself completely at that minute in both word and action. While the reporters focused on ratings, the faithful caught a glimpse of the Pope’s love and attention for the welfare of a handicapped child. With a simple gesture and a concerned gaze, he checked to see if the child was fine. As a result of this action, the Pope attracted the focus of God’s love and attention, breaking all barriers.

In our current society, we are always running to the laity and the ordained to guide us in the knowledge of the Word via the tradition of the Church. That day in Morelia, the Pope — the supreme leader of all our laity and ordained — gave us a catechesis in action that we will never forget.

How many times do we ask God to fulfill a necessity and then feel deceived because God did not fulfill it in the way we wanted? How many times do we beg and implore God for a hand in our lives but out of desperation foolishly grab His entire arm? How many times do we hold that arm without noticing the person with more need living next to us who gets by with a content smile, confident in the presence of God in their lives?

During Holy Week, let us remember that the necessity of God comes from the spiritual need of being filled with Him, and not the yearning to want more than has already been given to us. Pope Francis, in his catechesis in action, helps us understand that the ego will make us steal something from God that does not belong to us. Thou shall not steal does not only apply to us and our communities, but also between us and the Holy Spirit. This causes us to have a blind and selfish heart, unable to share what the Lord intended we as believers pass along to others. It is the imprisonment of Jesus in our own emptiness instead of freely submitting ourselves to His and our own fulfillment. He will always give us what we need at the moment we need it most, but God’s timeframe is not our own.

Keeping in mind that the Lord will never abandon us, there is no need to be selfish. Through our Lord our heads will always be anointed with oil and our hearts will overflow with His love.

Horario de misas en español
Ciudad	Parroquia	Teléfono	Hora
Bristol	St. Anne	276.669.8200	domingo 2:00 pm
Charlottesville	Church of the Incarnation	434.973.4381	domingo 1:30 pm
Christiansburg	Holy Spirit	540.921.3547	domingo 1:00 pm
Clarksville	St. Catherine of Siena	434.374.8408	domingo 1:00 pm
Danville	Sacred Heart	434.792.9456	domingo 11:30 am
Hampton	St. Joseph	757.851.8800	domingo 2:00 pm
Harrisonburg	Blessed Sacrament	540.434.4341	domingo 1:00 pm y jueves 7:00 pm
Lovingston	St. Mary	434.263.8509	domingo 11:30 am
Lynchburg	Holy Cross	434.846.5245	domingo 2:00 pm
Marion	St. John	273.783.7282	domingo 1:30 pm
Martinsville	St. Joseph	276.638.4779	domingo 11:45 pm
Newport News	Our Lady of Mount Carmel	757.595.0385	domingo 2:00 y jueves 6:30 pm
Norfolk	Holy Trinity	757.480.3433	domingo 1:00 pm
Onley	St. Peter the Apostle	757.787.4592	domingo 12:30 pm
Prince George	Church of the Sacred Heart	804.732.3685	domingo 1:00 pm
Portsmouth	Holy Angels	757.485.2142	domingo 1:30 pm
Richmond Area	Sacred Heart St. Augustine Our Lady of Lourdes St. John (Highland Springs)	804.232.8964 804.275.7962 804.262.7315 804.737.8028	domingo 11:00 am, 1:00 pm y 5:00 pm domingo 1:00 pm y 6:00 pm domingo 1:00 pm domingo 12:15 pm
Roanoke	St. Gerard	540.343.7744	domingo 12:15 pm
South Hill	Good Shepherd	434.447.3622	sábado 7:15 pm
Tappahannock	St. Timothy	804.443.2760	domingo 12:00 pm
Virginia Beach	St. Gergory St. Luke	757.497.8330 757.427.5776	sábado 7:30 pm domingo 12:00 pm
Wiliamsburg	St. Bede	276.229.3631	domingo 2:00 pm
Woodlawn	St Joseph	276.236.7814	domingo 2:30 pm, no hay misa en español el primer domingo del mes.

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