Cling firmly to the rope!

It is clear to me, at least, that our Holy Father, Pope Francis knows the heart of God.  He speaks about the Father’s love for us very clearly, very simply.  In his homilies and in his audiences, the Holy Father allows God’s love to touch our hearts through his words.  Here are some examples from his recent audiences:

(The Father) always forgives us, He is our advocate, He always defends us. We must never forget this. The Ascension of Jesus into heaven then reveals to us this reality that is so comforting for our journey: in Christ, true God and true man, our humanity was brought to God; He has opened the passage up for us, He is like a leader at the head of the rope when you scale a mountain, who has reached the summit and draws us up to him leading us to God. If we entrust our lives to Him, if we let ourselves be guided by Him we are sure to be in safe hands, in the hands of our Savior, our advocate.

We have One who always defends us. He defends us from the insidiousness of the Devil, He defends us from ourselves, from our sins. But, dear brothers and sisters, we have this advocate. We must not be afraid to turn to Him, to turn to him with our fears, to ask for his blessing and mercy.

Dear brothers and sisters, we must be the first to have this steadfast hope and we must be a visible, clear and radiant sign of it for everyone. The Risen Lord is the hope that never fails, that never disappoints (cf. Rom 5:5). Hope does not let us down — the hope of the Lord! How often in our life do hopes vanish, how often do the expectations we have in our heart come to nothing! Our hope as Christians is strong, safe and sound on this earth, where God has called us to walk, and it is open to eternity because it is founded on God who is always faithful. We must not forget: God is always faithful to us.

Moreover God treats us as children, he understands us, he forgives us, he embraces us, he loves us even when we err.

.. let us point out the Risen Christ to those who ask us to account for the hope that is in us (cf. 1 Pet 3:15). Let us point him out with the proclamation of the word, but above all with our lives as people who have been raised. Let us show the joy of being children of God, the freedom that living in Christ gives us which is true freedom, the freedom that saves us from the slavery of evil, of sin and of death!

I encourage you to follow our Holy Father's lead as he speaks to us about God.  You can do so through http://www.vatican.va, www.catholiconline.com, www.ncregister.com,  Let us pray for him as he continues to lead the Church through these stormy times.