There has been great inspiration for faith in Panama over the last week with several hundred thousand young people gathering with Pope Francis for the World Youth Days.

In his homily at yesterday’s concluding Mass the pope reflected on how we often keep God at a distance, creating a “domesticated” God who we can control. Pope Francis gives the example of distant neighbours:

“Often we too behave like the neighbours in Nazareth: we prefer a distant God: nice, good, generous, well depicted, yet far-off, and above all a God who does not inconvenience us, a “domesticated” God. Because a close and everyday God, a God who is friend and brother, demands that we be concerned with our surroundings, everyday affairs and above all fraternity.

“God chose not to reveal himself as an angel or in some spectacular way, but to give us a face that is fraternal and friendly, concrete and familiar. God is real because love is real; God is concrete because love is concrete. Indeed, this “concrete manifestation of love is one of the essential elements in the life of Christians” (Benedict XVI, Homily, 1 March 2006).”