date: 26.10.2021.
The Archbishop of Paris, Msgr. Michel Aupetit tonight (October 26) celebrated Holy Mass in Medjugorje. It was concelebrated by 39 priests. The Archdiocese of Paris organised a pilgrimage to Medjugorje, and in addition to Archbishop Aupetit, there were four other priests and 54 pilgrims.
Referring to today's Gospel (Luke 13: 18-21), Msgr. Aupetit spoke of the Kingdom of God.
''The Lord is telling us about the kingdom of God. But where does He reign? For us, the kingdom always arranges some territory. The Jews have the promised land. Muslims, when in the majority somewhere, they speak of an ‘Islamic country’. Where is the territory where Jesus reigns? There are two billion of us Christians, and we do not know where the Kingdom of Christ is? Because the Kingdom of Christ is not some territory. The Kingdom of Christ is your heart and if there is only a little love in it, be certain that God is coming to fill it with your love and then that grain of love will grow, like a mustard seed that becomes the biggest tree in the garden. Our Lady's message in Medjugorje says 'peace, peace, peace', no violence, no conquest, no blood'', said Msgr. Aupetit.
"If we allow Jesus into our hearts, it can change our whole life, as Our Lady says when she calls us to conversion. When Jesus enters a heart, he changes our view of God and others. Instead of looking at everything that is wrong with our brothers and sisters, let us look at them as Jesus sees them and know how to admire what is beautiful about them. Even our work then becomes transformed. When you sweep the house, if you look in a broom or in the dust, you will despair before you even start, but if you think of the people who will come to your house, who will be happy to be received with dignity, the job will be easy for you”, said Archbishop Aupetit, adding that the Kingdom of God is in your heart, and that the door of our heart is love.
Archbishop Michel Aupetit eventually called everyone to love.
"We know that we are able to love, we love our spouse, our friends, our children, our parents... But that love is always limited, because Jesus tells us that if you love those who love you, there is nothing special about it. Our love, when it encounters some resistance, is quickly exhausted. But on the contrary, when we receive Divine love, as Jesus asks of us when he says, "Love one another as I have loved you", such love, even if it is a small grain, grows infinitely according to God's measure", this is how the Archbishop of Paris Msgr. Michel Aupetit ended his homily at the White Domeof the church of St. James in Medjugorje.
''It is a great joy that Archbishop Aupetit is with us with his pilgrims. Thank you for your arrival and for your words that you extended to us”, the parish priest of Medjugorje, Fr. Marinko Šakota, thanked him at the end of the Holy Mass.
