Being Truly Present with One Another

Pope Francis urges us not to be distracted by TV, mobile phones and indifference which cause us to miss opportunities of true encounter with others.

Pope Francis during morning mass at Casa Santa Marta. Photo courtesy of VA-Osservatore Romano.

Pope Francis used the Gospel reading from last Monday (September 13) in which Jesus 'was moved with pity' to reflect on the barriers to encounter in our world. During the morning mass at Casa Santa Marta, the Pontiff spoke about the culture of indifference with prevails in our world:  “...if we see something sad, we say ‘what a shame!’ Jesus doesn’t pass by, he is moved with pity. He goes up to the woman for a real encounter and then performs the miracle....when we see the disasters of this world or small things: (we say) ‘What a shame, poor people, look how they are suffering,’ and then we carry on. An encounter.  And if I don’t look, it’s not enough to see, no, (we must) look – if I don’t stop, if I don’t look, if I don’t touch, if I don’t speak, I cannot have an encounter and I cannot help to build a culture of encounter.”

He also made reference to the great number of distractions in the home and dinner table when a family sits down to eat:

“In our families, at the dinner table, how many times while eating, do people watch the TV or write messages on their cell phones. Each one is indifferent to that encounter. Even within the heart of society, which is the family, there is no encounter. May this help us to strive for this culture of encounter, just as simply as Jesus did so.”

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