At mass the Pope prays for unity, fidelity in difficult times

Faithfulness and unity can be difficult to maintain in times of trial, Pope Francis said, he prayed to God to give Christians the grace to remain united and faithful.

"May the difficulties of this time make us discover the communion between us, access which is always superior to any division," the Pope prayed on April 14 at the beginning of his morning Mass at the Domus Sanctae Marthae.

In his homily, the pope reflected in the first reading of the day from the Acts of the Apostles, in which St. Peter preaches to people during Pentecost and invites them to "repent and be baptized".

Conversion, explained the pope, implies a return to fidelity, which is a "human attitude that is not so common in people's lives, in our lives".

"There are always illusions that attract attention and many times we want to follow these illusions," he said. However, Christians must stick to fidelity "in good and bad times."

The pope recalled a reading from the Second Book of Chronicles, which states that after King Roboam was affirmed and the kingdom of Israel was assured, he and the people "abandoned the law of the Lord."

Too often, he said, feeling confident and making big plans for the future is the way to forget God and fall into idolatry.

“It is so difficult to keep the faith. The whole history of Israel, and therefore the whole history of the church, is full of infidelity, "said the pope. "He is full of selfishness, full of his own certainties that make God's people move away from the Lord and lose that fidelity, the grace of faithfulness".

Pope Francis encouraged Christians to learn from the example of Saint Mary Magdalene, who "never forgot all that the Lord had done for her" and remained faithful "in the face of the impossible, in the face of tragedy".

"Today, we ask the Lord for the grace of faithfulness, to thank him when he gives us security, but never to think that they are" my "titles," said the pope. Ask for “the grace to be faithful even in front of the grave, in the face of the collapse of many illusions