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In this year of faith, there have been various innovative initiatives by the Church to rediscover the core of our Christian life- of course our Christian Faith. In our world today, there is an emerging need for protecting and promoting faith in a more creative way not through mere words but through the deeds of the Gospel, which of course is not an easy task. If we really want to preach the Christian faith through our life, we should be ready to die to ourselves every moment of our life. For, following the footsteps of Christ is not a path of roses but rather it requires a lot of sacrifices, which is very much lacking among the Christians today. Christ offered Himself on the cross for all people so that everyone would know His Father’s glory. In this year of faith, as followers of Christ we need to offer ourselves in this world of many differences so that all people might come to know Christ through our lives. This is what precisely the Humble Servant of Christ is doing at the Vatican City. Yes, Pope Francis is preaching the Gospel through his life to all people. Surprised I was to hear from an atheist friend of mine that he likes the deeds of the present Pope to a great extent that he has been closely following the activities of the Pope. Obviously in this year of faith, the concrete example of Pope Francis is putting forth a big challenge to all those who dare to follow Christ. He is indeed a prophet to the modern world voicing for a real change. Ever since his election as the Head of the Catholic Church, he has been sharing his invaluable thoughts that inspire even an atheist. In his recent discourse to the Seminarians and Novices, Pope Francis has emphasized the importance of being joyful, authentic and transparent in order to become fruitful in our Christian life. He has rightly reiterated the various evils that are corrupting the minds of the consecrated people and has called for an encounter that would enable one to practice his/ her faith more meaningfully in this challenging world. The Pope`s discourse to the Seminarians and Novices in this year of faith is truly a blessing for the Church. For, the present Seminarians and Novices are the future leaders of the Church and so they need to be the pillars of faith. Being a pillar of faith is not an easy task in this glamorous world but it is a possible task. The discourse of the Pope is not only to the Seminarians and Novices but rather it is an invitation for all Christians who want to follow Christ to become more joyful, more authentic and more transparent in life. When we become joyful, authentic and transparent, certainly our Christian life will become more fruitful and all of us could become the pillars of faith. As our Holy Father has rightly said true joy, authenticity and transparency don’t come from things that we possess but rather they are born from the “encounter.” It is truly right that we ask ourselves in this year of faith, “Where do we have our encounter?” Is it with things that are going to perish or with Christ, the imperishable master, who could lead us in Faith and make us pillars of faith? If we encounter Christ at every moment of our life, we could very well radiate joy, authenticity and transparency in life and make our Christian life more fruitful. When that happens we could certainly become the strong pillars of faith on whom our Mother Church could count on!
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