At 12:00 noon today in the Clementine Hall of the Vatican Apostolic Palace, the Holy Father, Pope Francis received in audience the newly appointed bishops participating in the annual Conference organized by the Congregation for Bishops and the Congregation for the Oriental Churches.
The Psalmist tells us: Behold, how good and how pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity (Ps 132,1).
I believe that you have experienced the truth of these words in the past days here in Rome, experienced a fraternity, a fraternity which is favoured by friendship, by knowing each other and by spending some time together, but a fraternity which is particularly evident through the sacramental bonds of communion in the episcopal college and with the Bishop of Rome. This bond forms a unified body which orients you in your daily work and inspires you to ask yourself: how do I live the spirit of collegiality and collaboration in the Episcopate? How can I be a builder of communion and unity in the Church which the Lord has entrusted to me? The Bishop is a man of communion, he is a man of unity, the visible principle and foundation of unity! (Council II, Lumen Gentium, 23).
Dear brother bishops, I greet you one by one, the Bishops of the Latin and Eastern Church: you demonstrate the great variety and wealth of the Church! I thank Cardinal Marc Ouellet, Prefect of the Congregation for Bishops, for the greeting he addressed to me on your behalf and for having organized these days, during which you are pilgrims at the tomb of Peter to strengthen your bonds of fellowship and to pray and reflect on your ministry. Along with him I greet Cardinal Leonardo Sandri, Prefect of the Congregation for the Oriental Churches, and Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, Archbishop of Manila, as well as Monsignor Lorenzo Baldisseri, a tireless worker for these gatherings.
Tend the flock of God that is your charge, not by constraint but willingly, according to God, not for shameful gain but eagerly, not as domineering over those in your charge but being examples to the flock (1 Peter 5, 2).These words of Saint Peter are carved in my heart! We are called and constituted pastors, pastors not of our own choosing, but called to be such by the Lord and not to serve ourselves, but the flock that was entrusted to us, to serve him to give our lives as Christ, the Good Shepherd gave his (cf. Jn 10:11).
What does it mean to feed, to have habitual and daily care of the flock (Vatican Council II, Dogmatic Constitution, Lumen Gentium, 27)? Three quick thoughts. To feed means: to accept with magnanimity, to walk with the herd, to stay with the flock. Welcome, walk, stay.
Welcoming with magnanimity. May your hearts be so great as to be able to accommodate all the men and women you meet along your way and who you are going to look for when you put out on the road in your parishes and in every community. For now, ask yourself: those who knock on the door of my house, what will they find? Will they find it open through your goodness, your availability, will they experience the fatherhood of God and understand how the Church is a good mother who always accepts and loves?
Walk with the flock. Accept with magnanimity, the invitation to walk. Welcome all people and encourage them to walk with others. The Bishop is on a journey with and in his flock. This means that he must journey with his own faithful and with all those who will look to him, sharing in their joys and hopes, difficulties and sufferings, as brothers and friends, but even more as fathers, who are able to listen, understand, help and orient. Walking together requires love, and ours is a service of love, amoris officium said Saint Augustine ( In Io. Ev. tract. 123, 5: PL 35, 1967).
Dear brothers, back in your dioceses bring my greetings to all, especially to the priests, the consecrated men and women, the seminarians, to all the faithful, and those who are most in need of the nearness of the Lord. As Cardinal Ouellet said at the beginning, the presence of two Syrian Bishops here today inspires us once again to join our voices in asking God for the gift of peace. Peace for Syria, peace for the Middle East, peace in the world! Please remember to pray for me, I too pray for you. To each of you and to your communities, I give my heartfelt blessing. Thank you.
Address of the Holy Father, Pope Francis
to newly-appointed bishops
The Psalmist tells us: Behold, how good and how pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity (Ps 132,1).
I believe that you have experienced the truth of these words in the past days here in Rome, experienced a fraternity, a fraternity which is favoured by friendship, by knowing each other and by spending some time together, but a fraternity which is particularly evident through the sacramental bonds of communion in the episcopal college and with the Bishop of Rome. This bond forms a unified body which orients you in your daily work and inspires you to ask yourself: how do I live the spirit of collegiality and collaboration in the Episcopate? How can I be a builder of communion and unity in the Church which the Lord has entrusted to me? The Bishop is a man of communion, he is a man of unity, the visible principle and foundation of unity! (Council II, Lumen Gentium, 23).
Dear brother bishops, I greet you one by one, the Bishops of the Latin and Eastern Church: you demonstrate the great variety and wealth of the Church! I thank Cardinal Marc Ouellet, Prefect of the Congregation for Bishops, for the greeting he addressed to me on your behalf and for having organized these days, during which you are pilgrims at the tomb of Peter to strengthen your bonds of fellowship and to pray and reflect on your ministry. Along with him I greet Cardinal Leonardo Sandri, Prefect of the Congregation for the Oriental Churches, and Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, Archbishop of Manila, as well as Monsignor Lorenzo Baldisseri, a tireless worker for these gatherings.
Tend the flock of God that is your charge, not by constraint but willingly, according to God, not for shameful gain but eagerly, not as domineering over those in your charge but being examples to the flock (1 Peter 5, 2).These words of Saint Peter are carved in my heart! We are called and constituted pastors, pastors not of our own choosing, but called to be such by the Lord and not to serve ourselves, but the flock that was entrusted to us, to serve him to give our lives as Christ, the Good Shepherd gave his (cf. Jn 10:11).
What does it mean to feed, to have habitual and daily care of the flock (Vatican Council II, Dogmatic Constitution, Lumen Gentium, 27)? Three quick thoughts. To feed means: to accept with magnanimity, to walk with the herd, to stay with the flock. Welcome, walk, stay.
Welcoming with magnanimity. May your hearts be so great as to be able to accommodate all the men and women you meet along your way and who you are going to look for when you put out on the road in your parishes and in every community. For now, ask yourself: those who knock on the door of my house, what will they find? Will they find it open through your goodness, your availability, will they experience the fatherhood of God and understand how the Church is a good mother who always accepts and loves?
Walk with the flock. Accept with magnanimity, the invitation to walk. Welcome all people and encourage them to walk with others. The Bishop is on a journey with and in his flock. This means that he must journey with his own faithful and with all those who will look to him, sharing in their joys and hopes, difficulties and sufferings, as brothers and friends, but even more as fathers, who are able to listen, understand, help and orient. Walking together requires love, and ours is a service of love, amoris officium said Saint Augustine ( In Io. Ev. tract. 123, 5: PL 35, 1967).
a. And by walking I wish to point out affection towards your priests . Your priests are your closest collaborators, the priest is the closest neighbour with the Bishop - love your neighbours, but the closest collaborators - are essential contributors and resources from whom you may search for advice and help, to care for God's people as fathers, brothers and friends. Among the first tasks that you have is the spiritual care of the presbyterate, but do not forget the human needs of each priest, especially in the most delicate and important moments of their ministry and their lives. Time spent with priests is never wasted! Greet them when they call, never refuse to answer a phone call from priests. I have heard - I do not know if it is true, but I've heard so many times in my life - from priests, when I gave retreats to priests: Well! I called the bishop and the secretary told me that does not have time to see me. And experiences like this can continue for months and months and months. I do not know if it's true, but if a priest calls the Bishop, then the same day, or at least the next day, he should receive a phone call: I'm listening, how can I help? I cannot receive you now, but let's look together for a date and time when I can. They should always feel that their father answers, please. On the contrary, the priest may be thinking, But that does not matter, the bishop is not a father, he is the head of an office. Think about this.This would be a nice way: faced with a call from a priest, if I can not respond today, at least I can answer on the following day. And then see if you can meet him. Be in constant proximity, in constant contact with them.
b. Then your presence in the diocese. In the homily at the Chrism Mass this year I said that pastors must have the smell of sheep." Be Pastors with the smell of the sheep, present in the midst of your people as Jesus the Good Shepherd was present. Your presence is not secondary, it is essential. The presence! Ask the people themselves: who wants to see his own bishop walk with him, to be near him. The bishop needs to live and breathe! Do not close yourself off! Go out in the midst of your faithful, even to the suburbs of your dioceses and to all those existential suburbs where there is suffering, loneliness, human degradation. Pastoral presence means walking with the People of God: walking in front of them, pointing the way, pointing the way, walking in the middle to strengthen them in their unity, walking behind them, or making sure that no one is left behind, but, above all, follow the instinct of God's people to find new roads. A Bishop who lives in the midst of his faithful has open ears to hear what the Spirit says to the churches ( Rev 2:7) and the voice of the sheep, through those diocesan bodies whose task is to advise the Bishop, promoting a fair and constructive dialogue. You cannot be a Bishop who does not have these diocesan bodies: the Council of Priests, the Consultors, the pastoral council, the council of Economic Affairs. This is how you remain connected to the people. Your pastoral presence will allow you to get to know the culture and customs of your flock, the customs of the land, the richness of holiness that is present there. Immerse yourself in your own flock!
c. And here I would add: the style of service to the flock is one of humility, austerity and I would say that this is essential. Please, we pastors are not men with psychology principles - please - there are ambitious men who are married to the Church, waiting for another more beautiful or richer position. But this is an outrage! If a penitent says, I am married, I live with my wife, but continually look at women who are prettier than my wife: is this a sin, Father? The Gospel says, it is the sin of adultery. Is there a spiritual adultery? I do not know, do you think so? Do not be waiting for another more beautiful, more important, more rich position, but take heed lest you fall into the spirit of careerism! That is a cancer! It is not just with words, but also with concrete proof of life that we are teachers and educators of our people. The proclamation of the faith asks us to conform our lives to what is taught. Mission and life are inseparable (cf. John Paul II, Pastores Gregis, 31). This is a question that we should ask ourselves every day: does the way that I live match what I teach?3. Welcome, walk. And the third and final element: stay with the flock. I am referring to stability , which has two specific aspects: remain in the diocese, and stay in this diocese, as I said, without looking for changes or promotions. You cannot really know how to shepherd the Lord's flock, to walk in front of it, between and behind it, to care for it by teaching, administering the sacraments and modelling the testimony of life, if you do not remain in the diocese. In this, Trento is most apt: residence. Ours is a time when you can travel, move from one point to another with ease, a time when life is fast, the era of the internet, but the ancient law of residence has not gone out of fashion! It is 'necessary for good government and ministry (Directory Successores Apostolorum, 161). Of course we should all have due concern for the other Churches and the universal Church, a concern that can necessitate us being absent from the diocese, but this should be only for the time that is necessary and not a routine occurrence. You see, residence is not only required for good organization, it is not a functional element, it has a theological root! Are you married to your community, deeply linked to it? I ask you, please, stay in the midst of your people. Stay, stay ... Do not be the cause of scandal due to Airport bishops! Be comfortable Pastors, walking with your people, with love, with compassion, with gentleness and with fatherly firmness when necessary, with humility and discretion, able to know your limits and also to possess a good dose of humour. This is a grace that we ask, we Bishops. All we have to ask is this grace: Lord, give me a sense of humour. Find your way to laugh at yourselves first, and to laugh a bit now and then at life ... and stay with your flock!
Dear brothers, back in your dioceses bring my greetings to all, especially to the priests, the consecrated men and women, the seminarians, to all the faithful, and those who are most in need of the nearness of the Lord. As Cardinal Ouellet said at the beginning, the presence of two Syrian Bishops here today inspires us once again to join our voices in asking God for the gift of peace. Peace for Syria, peace for the Middle East, peace in the world! Please remember to pray for me, I too pray for you. To each of you and to your communities, I give my heartfelt blessing. Thank you.
No comments:
Post a Comment