‘It was a moment of deep, intimate and peaceful emotion,’ Maria Voce said in describing the atmosphere this morning at the mass celebrated by Pope Francis in the chapel of Casa Santa Marta, where she had been invited with Giancarlo Faletti, the Focolare’s Co-President. The words of the Pope’s homily were particularly significant. They were based on the Gospel for the day (Mk 9:30-37) where it is clear that Christian progress means to become more humble and that power in the Church is service: ‘Real power is service. As He did, He who came not to be served but to serve, and His service was the service of the Cross. He humbled Himself unto death, even death on a cross for us, to serve us, to save us. And there is no other way in the Church to move forward. For the Christian, going ahead, progress, means humbling oneself. If we do not learn this Christian rule, we will never, ever be able to understand Jesus’ true message on power.’ Greeting him the end of mass, Maria Voce told the Holy Father of the prayers and the gratitude of the whole Focolare Movement: ‘We all committed to living what you say to the letter, in particular to go out and meet other people because in others we meet Christ.’ ‘That’s just what’s needed,’ the Pope relied, ‘a culture of encounter!’

CCTV service – Pope Francis:  True power, even in the Church, is in serving others (21.5.2013) http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=HquzYPDPGq0