Greta Haussmann: Pope Urges Faithful to Pray and to Live Courageously

On the solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul last month, Francis gave a homily in St. Peter’s Basilica for the occasion of the blessing of the sacred palliums for the new metropolitan archbishops. In his homily, Pope Francis addressed the bishops as well as the entire Church. Pope Francis reminds us that we are called to look to early Christian life as an example rather than a mere historical event. We are called to be like the first Christians — courageous individuals who practiced lives of faith and prayer. Many people have fallen into the mentality that the voice of the Church is irrelevant. In the midst of this attitude of irrelevance, the Pope is emphasizing the importance of courage.

Greta Haussmann

The homily went on to express the intrinsic relationship between having a prayer life and living courageously. Pope Francis said, “The Church at prayer is a Church on her feet, strong, moving forward.” Pope Francis reminds us that we are given prayer not only for ourselves, but for the sake of the Church — without prayer, we as a Church have nothing. We are given prayer for protection, sustenance, company, and courage.

Pope Francis recounted Paul’s second letter to Timothy in which Paul exclaims, “But the Lord stood by me and gave me strength to proclaim the word fully” (2 Tm 4:17). In his homily, Pope Francis enhanced Paul’s exclamation by explaining that we receive strength from the Lord in prayer, and we are called to use this strength to partake in lives of faith and witness.

Furthermore, Pope Francis reminds us that the Church does not take people out of the world by calling them to lives of faith and witness. Rather, the Church gives its followers the necessary tools to prevail in this radical and over-opinionated world we live in. Encouraging us not to give into popular culture, he asks us to use these tools to live a countercultural lifestyle. Pope Francis tells us that because the Church has given us these tools we are then called to use them to give an authentic witness. Not only are we to use this authentic witness to draw others nearer to Christ, but we are called to use this witness to engage in meaningful conversation.

There is no doubt that it is often easier to leave the Church out of conversation. However, through his pontificate Pope Francis has demonstrated the importance of representing the Church adequately in matters of the world. By serving as such a phenomenal witness, Pope Francis is calling all people to have courage and to serve as witnesses of the Church.

The excitement surrounding the upcoming papal visit to the United States is the perfect opportunity for all Catholics to foster strong prayer lives in order to boldly proclaim the mission of the Church. Catholics should rely on prayer and faith to feel empowered to share their love of the Church with those they encounter. Let us use our excitement about the papal visit to bring people back to the Church through our courageous and authentic witness of the faith.

— Greta Haussmann is a junior at The Catholic University of America majoring in theology and religious studies, and media studies.