Pope Francis on December 07 encouraged the group of twenty-one new cardinals from across the globe to “walk in the way of Jesus: together, with humility, wonder and joy.” Presiding at Holy Mass for the Ordinary Public Consistory for the Creation of New Cardinals in St. Peter’s Basilica, the Pope reminded the prelates receiving the red hat, that just as Jesus’ ascent to Jerusalem was not an ascent to worldly glory but to the glory of God, they too must put the Lord at the centre and be builders of communion and unity.
Recalling the Gospel of Mark, the Pope said that in Jerusalem, Jesus would die on the cross to restore us to life. He took a “difficult uphill path that would lead him to Calvary,” he explained, while the disciples were thinking of a “smooth downhill path for the triumphant Messiah.” The Pope noted that the same thing can happen to us: “Our hearts can go astray, allowing us to be dazzled by the allure of prestige, the seduction of power, by an overly human zeal for the Lord.” “That is why,” he continued, “we need to look within, to stand before God in humility (…) and ask: Where is my heart going? Where is it directed? Have I perhaps taken the wrong road?”
The Holy Father focused the rest of his homily on how the new Cardinals are called to make every effort to walk in the path of Jesus. “To walk in the path of Jesus means above all to return to him and to put him back at the centre of everything,” he said, warning them to look out for secondary things and external appearances that can overshadow what truly counts.
The very word “Cardinal”, he explained, refers to a hinge inserted into a door to secure, support and reinforce it.