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Pope Francis offers special tip on how to become a saint and shares 'antidote for hatred'

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Prayer is an antidote for hatred, for wars, these wars that begin at home, in families.'

During Mass at St. Mary Josefa on the eastern portion of the Diocese of Rome, Pope Francis revealed the truth behind sainthood.

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Pope Francis shares how to be a saint.

Pope Francis shares how to be a saint.

Highlights

By Kenya Sinclair (CALIFORNIA NETWORK)
Catholic Online (https://www.catholic.org)
2/21/2017 (7 years ago)

Published in Living Faith

Keywords: Pope Francis, saint, pray, Mass

LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - During his homily, Pope Francis shared an important message and offered tips on what it truly takes to become a Saint.

"Be holy, for I, the Lord, your God, am holy," he read from the Bible. He explained Jesus tells us, "Be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect."


The Pope dug deeper, adding: "You might as me, 'But, father, what is the path to holiness? What is the journey needed to become holy?' Jesus explains it well in the Gospel. He explains it with concrete examples."

The first example is "not taking revenge. If I have some rancor in my heart for something someone has done, I want vengeance, but this moves me off the path of holiness. No revenge. 'But he did this and he will pay.' Is this Christian? No. 'He will pay' is not in the Christian's vocabulary. No revenge."

His Holiness continued, stating people often fight with their neighbors or family members and these arguments seem inconsequential - or even normal - but they aren't.

"These big wars we read about in the papers and see on the news, these massacres of people, of children, how much hatred! It's the same hatred you have in your heart for this person, that person, that relative, your mother-in-law. It's bigger, but it's the same hatred."

The only path toward holiness is through peace, he explained. "If everyone in the world learned this, there would be no wars. [Wars begin] with bitterness, rancor, the desire for vengeance, to make them pay."

It is an attitude built to destroy and destroy it does, whether it is between friendships, family members or even national relations.

Pope Francis revealed how to become a saint.

Pope Francis revealed how to become a saint.


"I'm not telling you what to do," Pope Francis said. "Jesus is: Love your enemies. 'You mean I have to love that person?' Yes.

"'I have to pray for someone who has harmed me?' Yes, that he will change his life, that the Lord will forgive him. This is the magnanimity of God, of God who has a big heart, who forgives all.

"Prayer is an antidote for hatred, for wars, these wars that begin at home, in families. Think of how many wars there have been in families because of an inheritance. Prayer is powerful. Prayer defeats evil. Prayer brings peace.

"Are you merciful toward the people who have harmed you or don't like you?" the Pontiff asked the congregation.

"If God is merciful, if he is holy, if he is perfect, then we must be merciful, holy and perfect as he is. This is holiness. A man or woman who does this deserves to be canonized [though] I suggest you start small.

"We all have enemies. We all know that so-and-so speaks ill of us. We all know. And we all know that this person or that person hates us."


When we find ourselves in that situation, His Holiness stated: "I suggest you take a minute, look at God (and say), 'This person is your son or your daughter, change his or her heart, bless him or her.'

"This is praying for those who don't like us, for our enemies. Perhaps the rancor will remain in us, but we are making an effort to follow the path of this God who is so good, merciful, holy, perfect, who makes the sun rise on the evil and the good."

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