Homily by Pope Francis ~ Nov. 28, 2016

The Christian faith is not a theory or a philosophy—it is the encounter with Jesus. In order to truly encounter Jesus we undertake the journey with three attitudes: vigilant in prayer, industrious in charity, exultant in praise.
 
Encountering Jesus: this is the grace that we desire in Advent. In this period of the year, the Liturgy shows us many encounters with Jesus: with His Mother in the womb, with Saint John the Baptist, with the Shepherds, with the Magi. All this shows us that Advent is a time for journeying and going forth to meet the Lord, that is, a time to not stand still.
 
Prayer, charity, and praise: how we encounter the Lord. And so we must ask ourselves how we can go forth to meet Jesus. What are the attitudes that I must have in order to encounter the Lord?” How must I prepare my heart for the encounter with the Lord?
 
In the prayer at the beginning of the Mass, the Liturgy points out three attitudes: vigilance in prayer, industriousness in charity, and exultant in praise. That is, I must pray, with vigilance. I must be hardworking in charity— fraternal charity, not only giving alms, no; but being tolerant of the people who annoy me, being tolerant at home of the children when they make too much noise; or of the husband or wife when they are difficult; or the mother-in-law. And also the joy of praising the Lord: Exulting in joy. That is how we must live this journey, this desire to encounter the Lord. To encounter Him in a good way. Not standing still. And we will encounter the Lord.
 
However, there will be a surprise, because He is the Lord of surprises. The Lord, too, does not stand still. I am on a journey to encounter Him, and He is on a journey to encounter me, and when we meet one another we see that the great surprise is that He was seeking me before I began to seek Him. This is the great surprise of the encounter with the Lord: He sought us first. He is always first. He makes His journey in order to find us. That is what happened with the Centurion: the Lord always goes beyond, goes first. We take one step and He takes ten. Always. The abundance of grace, of His love, of His tenderness that never tires of seeking us. Even, at times, with small things: We think that encountering the Lord would be something magnificent, like that man of Syria, Naaman, who was a leper. He too had a great surprise at God’s way of acting. And our God is the God of surprises, the God that is seeking us, is awaiting us, and asks of us only the little step of good will.
 
We must have the desire to encounter Him, and then He helps us. The Lord will accompany us during our life. Although many times, perhaps, we seem to be far from Him, He waits for us like the father of the prodigal son.
Often times, He sees that we want to draw close, and He comes out to meet us. It is the encounter with the Lord: This is the important thing! The encounter. Pope Benedict said, “that the faith is not a theory, a philosophy, an idea; it is an encounter. An encounter with Jesus.” If, on the other hand, one has not encountered His mercy,” it would be possible even recite the Creed from memory” without necessarily having faith.
 
This is the grace that we ask for today: O God, our Father, raise up in us the desire to meet your Christ, with good works. To meet Jesus. And for this we remember the grace that we have asked in prayer, with vigilance in prayer, industriousness in charity, and exulting in praise. And so we will encounter the Lord and we will have a very beautiful surprise.