On Monday morning, the Holy Father, Pope Francis returned to Caserta, following the pastoral visit which he paid on Saturday (July 26), in order to meet privately with the evangelical pastor Giovanni Traettino, with whom His Holiness has shared a friendship since the time when he served as Archbishop of Buenos Aires.
The Pope travelled to Caserta by helicopter, departing the Vatican at approximately 10:15am local time and after a moment of private meeting at the home of Pastor Giovanni Traettino, His Holiness met the community of the Evangelical Protestant Church on the premises (which are still under construction) of the future Pentecostal Church of Reconciliation.
The meeting, introduced by Pastor Traettino, began with the singing of a few songs which were interspersed with three testimonials; then, following a word of introduction offered by Pastor Traettino, the Holy Father, Pope Francis shared a speech with those who were present.
It is good to stand before the Lord, true? (all respond: yes!) There is no better place in the world than to be in the presence of God, and yet there is one place that is even better, to live in the presence of God! There, we will know the fullness of joy, the truest joy; and there, lives will be transformed and we will become even more like Him.
I want to share with you a few reflections and, in particular, dearest Pope Francis, my beloved brother, our joy is increased by your visit, my own personal joy, the joy of my family and the joy of our community, our spiritual family, all are increased by the presence of our guests and of our friends. This is a great and unexpected gift, unthinkable only a short time ago. I can read this joy in the eyes of the children and of the elderly, of the young and of the families. We love you! There is one thing that you should know: for you personally, even among us evangelicals, there is such affection and many of us pray for you every day: every day, we pray for you. It is so easy to love you. Many of us even believe that your election as Bishop of Rome was the work of the Holy Spirit. A special blessing for the world and for the whole of Christianity: this is what I personally believe. With this gesture of yours, completely unexpected and surprising as it is, you lend visibility and concreteness to that which seems above all to be the driving force of your existence and of your ministry, for life always precedes ministry. Overcoming the complications of protocol, you know how to go directly to the heart of life and human relationships and in particular to relationships with those who see you as a brother: to meet a brother, to meet him where he is, to meet him as he is. In our case, in order to visit with us, you endured two days of fatigue, and for this we are most grateful!
For you, it is not enough to entrust your heart to a document, or to a messenger ... It seems as though you have reflected a lot on the Incarnation of Jesus Christ: he wanted to touch us, he wanted to come in person, to embrace us personally. He showed great courage. Freedom and courage! He resigned himself to the simplicity and weakness of our diversity, but also to our embrace. With men such as you, dear Pope Francis, there is hope for us Christians. All of us! With just one gesture you have opened the door, you have contributed to the realization of the dream of God. This has become part of the answer to the prayer of Jesus: that they may all be one. And you have done this with the glory of which John speaks in chapter 17 of his gospel: with the glory without which it would be impossible to build up unity. I am speaking about the glory of unity. As someone once said, humility is at the heart of glory. And I would add: it takes just a bit of power to be able to do things; but it takes a lot of power to be able to stay in the shadows. God is infinitely ability to back away from self-interest, of hiding himself. Even in this, perhaps because of it, we can see ourselves as disciples of Christ.
Truth is an encounter: it is the title of one of the latest collections of your lovely morning meditations at the Casa Santa Marta. Truth is an encounter, but it is also a central truth for every Christian, for everyone who has converted to Christ and had a personal encounter with Him. How many times in your teachings you return to the invitation to conversion and to the personal encounter with Christ. It is obvious that this truth is at the centre of your life, the living matter of your spiritual experience, an inspirational motive for your existence. For me, who observe you, it cannot be otherwise. It fills me with joy, because Christ is also the precious pearl, excuse me, He is the precious pearl of all Christians, also of us Evangelicals. I saw that day before yesterday you spoke of Him at Caserta. He is the centre and the heart of our life, the very reason for our existence. We would be lost without Jesus! Our sole reason to live and exist is Jesus! However, it is in fact the passion that we bear for the centrality of Christ that makes us Evangelicals, with solid and serene conviction. Therefore, we also live and experience in a new way our being Evangelicals, which is no longer nourished by anti-Catholicism – as it was for some time – but which, recognizes our own origins and roots in the historical tree of Christianity, Catholicism and the Reformation included. You have learned to relate in a constructive and redemptive way with those whom you recognize as your fathers and brothers, and to take out from your treasure – as the Gospel writes – things new and things old. You have learned – we are always learning more – that the whole field must be bought, as Jesus says in another part of the Gospel, in order to take possession of the whole treasure. One must have the whole field to discover the treasure, without giving up on the work of discernment made with the Word of God, but examining everything and keeping the good. In this way we are less exposed to the risk of disdaining the contribution of brothers, of extinguishing the Spirit or even of attributing to other sources what instead is of the Lord, as Paul exhorts us in the Letter to the Thessalonians: Do not extinguish the Spirit, do not scorn the prophecies, but examine everything and keep the good. And again, each one must abstain from every sort of evil.
Hence truth is an encounter and the encounter with Christ is the encounter of life: it is what gives truth and foundation to every other encounter. This is my experience. My encounters and my relations with my neighbor are profoundly marked by my encounter with Jesus. This is the central message, the nucleus, the DNA of the Gospel. This is the heart of evangelical preaching; this is the terrain on which we must build every possible dialogue between us and the path of unity between the Churches. As it is written: No one can lay another foundation other than that already laid, namely Christ Jesus. And again: Each one must be careful of how he builds upon it.
Speaking of Evangelicals, some time ago, Father Raniero Cantalamessa described them as Christians with the charism of the essential. This is a description that I like very much. I share it. And some years ago, Cardinal Piovanelli of Florence, proclaimed to anyone who asked him a forecast for the third millennium: It will be an age in which there will be a return to the fundamental principles of Christianity. I also believe this. It is necessary, it is indispensable that we return to the fundamental principles. Cardinal Kasper, indeed, who I know is your friend, has spoken of a fundamental ecumenism and a spiritual ecumenism: here too we are in line. He says: Christians are not united among themselves, they are, first of all, one in Christ. And only that union and communion with Christ makes true communion possible between men and Him. The Lord is the centre of this unity. And the strength that works and orders this unity is the Holy Spirit. Perhaps it is in fact from this understanding that Christianity must start again. This is the fundamental perimeter of our communion and it is here that I believe I can say the greatest contribution lies – also historically and theologically – of the prophecy of the first Reformation and then of the evangelical world after. I believe this is the fundamental prophecy for the benefit of the whole Body of Christ and of the Church, if the history of Christianity has some meaning …
The Apostle Paul says: Because no one can lay another foundation other than that already laid – namely Christ Jesus. Therefore Christ -- to put Christ at the foundation; to build on Christ; to be pressed tightly around Christ; to grow towards Christ. He is the foundation of the life of the believer: conversion to Christ, a personal relationship with Christ, the imitation of Christ, which is not possible without the presence of the life of Christ. From Christ’s life we receive the strength for the imitation of Christ, to become saints. The formation of Christ is rendered possible by Christ’s life in us. He is the foundation on which we grow: we are born again, but then we grow. And this is the foundation on which the existence of the Church is built, again Christ: the Incarnation of Christ, as the proper method, as a style of life; identification with the poor, with the needy, with those in difficulty -- the life of Christ, the style with which He lived. And so often the Christianity of our time is in need of reformation and revision of life, because models are proposed which are very far from the Gospel. The life of Christ, the death of Christ: to be able to live like Christ, we too must die to ourselves, so that the life of the Spirit can exist in us and, therefore, the Resurrection and the Ascension, crowned by the descent of the Holy Spirit, is indispensable for us to be able to live the Christian life.
I also believe that, in the development of avenues of communion between the different communities, we must speak again of Christ, of the return to the essentials of the Gospel and there we discover that this space is again Christ, the proclamation of Christ – the kerigma, the teaching of Christ – the didake – the formation of Christ in us. Like you, I quote a most beautiful and ancient prayer, which I imagine you recite every day: In Christ, with Christ, by Christ, to you God Almighty Father, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, all honor and glory for ever and ever. I think this makes a good synthesis of what the thought is, which I wish to stress.
One last word. We are, we live between the now and the not yet – as someone has said – and our experience is an experience of suffering, of pain, of toil in advancing in the dialogue between Christians, in experiencing communion. It is the plane of faith: you are only one body, of which dear Jorge Himitian spoke yesterday, may they be one, we are on the plane of faith, the Tabernacle of God among men, of which Revelation 21 speaks. This is the plane of faith, but then there is the plane of history. The plane of history is that of our experience, where we experience the shame of division, of wars between Christians, of hostilities, of persecutions, also in Italy: unfortunately for many years we experienced persecutions, the Pentecostals particularly, in the years from 1935 to 1955 were notorious… In the middle was the time of reconciliation, the time of ethics, if you wish, the time of love, the time of responsibility, which must be filled by men and women of reconciliation. You, with your visit here, which has demonstrated that you take reconciliation seriously, show that you are a man of reconciliation, I would say a prophet of reconciliation.
Through Christ, God has reconciled us with Himself – says the Apostle Paul (Second Letter to the Corinthians) , and He has entrusted to us the ministry of reconciliation. Our spiritual family has chosen this theme for its existence: Church of reconciliation. However, He has entrusted to all Christians the ministry of reconciliation, from the experience they have within this ministry. He has sown, implanted within us – says the Apostle Paul – the word of reconciliation (2 Corinthians 5:19). It is from this word of reconciliation, which is Jesus himself; He is the word of reconciliation within us, nourishing us with Himself, with his spirit, with his sensibility, with his death, so that we can be accustomed to being men and women of reconciliation. What does it mean, at times, to travel on the road of Calvary. It means, at times, to pass through the Cross; it means misunderstanding, misinterpretation; it means incomprehension, because there are so many Christians that are so self-defining that they don’t succeed in making space for love, they don’t succeed in living love. And we want to come out of this prison; we want to be men and women of reconciliation.
I am happy to conclude these reflections with a thought from Francis of Assisi, whom I’m sure you love very much, evidently, because you chose the name Francis. But I want to tell you that Evangelicals also love Francis very much, even from the historical point of view. If I think of the Waldensians, for instance: who have a sensibility which is – let’s say – profoundly Franciscan. They have the same type of cut, of sensibility, of spirituality and we are connected to that history; we are connected to that sensibility … Some modern sensibilities don’t please us in the life of a Christian. Francis says: Begin to do the necessary, then do what is possible and suddenly you will discover you are able to do the impossible. This seemed an impossible thing! God bless you!
Now we introduce Pope Francis, who would like to share some thoughts with us, what he has in his heart …. There is nothing organized. This is a Pentecostal meeting, so we appeal to the Holy Spirit to guide Pope Francis. Please.
Good morning, Brothers and Sisters,
My brother, Pastor Giovanni, began by speaking of the centre of our life: to be in the presence of Jesus. And then he said to walk in the presence of Jesus. And this was the First Commandment God gave to His people, to our Father Abraham: Go, walk in my presence and be irreproachable. And then the people walked: sometimes in the presence of the Lord, many times not in the Lord’s presence. They chose idols, gods … But the Lord has patience; He has patience with the people that walk. I don’t understand a Christian who is still! A Christian who doesn’t walk, I cannot understand that! A Christian must walk! There are Christians that walk, but not in the presence of Jesus. We must pray for these brothers. Also for us, when at certain moments we don’t walk in Jesus’ presence, because we are all also sinners, all of us! If one of you isn’t a sinner, raise your hand … To walk in the presence of Jesus.
Christians who are still – this is harmful, because that which is still, which doesn’t walk, is corrupted. Like still water, which is the first water to be corrupted, water that doesn’t run … There are Christians who confuse walking with turning. They are not walkers, they are errant and turn here and there in life. They are in a labyrinth, and wander, wander there … They are lacking the parrhesia, the audacity to go forward; they are lacking hope. Christians without hope turn in life; they are not capable of going forward. We are secure only when we walk in the presence of the Lord Jesus. He illumines us; He gives us his Spirit to walk well.
I think of Abraham’s grandson Jacob. He was tranquil, there, with his children. However, at a certain point famine arrived, and he said to his children, to his eleven children, ten of whom were guilty of betrayal, for having sold their brother: Go to Egypt , go there and buy food, because we have money but we don’t have food. Take the money and buy there, where it is said there is food. And they began their journey, but instead of finding food, they found their brother! And this is very beautiful!
When one walks in God’s presence, there is this fraternity. When, instead, we are still, when we look too much to one another, there is another way … which is bad, bad! -- the way of gossip. And we begin to say, but you, don’t you know? No, no, I’m not for you. I’m for this and that … I am for Paul, I am for Appollos, I am for Peter. And so we begin, and so from the first moment division began in the Church. And it isn’t the Holy Spirit who creates division! He does something that is quite similar to it, but not division. It’s not the Lord Jesus who creates division! He who creates division is in fact the Envious One, the king of envy, the father of envy: the sower of darnel, Satan. He interferes in communities and creates divisions, always! From the first moment, from the first moment of Christianity, this temptation was in the Christian community. I belong to this one, I belong to that one. No! I am the Church, you are a sect. And so the one who wins over us is him, the father of division – not the Lord Jesus who prayed for unity (John 17(), he prayed!
What does the Holy Spirit do? I said he does something else, which perhaps one might think is division, but it isn’t. The Holy Spirit creates diversity in the Church. Read the First Letter to the Corinthians, chapter 12. He creates diversity! And this diversity is truly very rich, very beautiful. But then, the Holy Spirit himself creates unity, and so the Church is one in diversity. And, to use the word of an Evangelical whom I love very much, a reconciled diversity by the Holy Spirit. He creates both things: He creates the diversity of charisms and then He creates the harmony of charisms. Therefore, the early theologians of the Church, the early Fathers – I am speaking of the 3rd or 4th century – said: The Holy Spirit is harmony, because He creates this harmonious unity in diversity.
We are in the age of globalization, and we wonder what globalization is and what the unity of the Church should be: perhaps a sphere, where all points are equidistant from the centre, where all are equal? No! This is uniformity. And the Holy Spirit does not create uniformity! What figure can we find? We think of the polyhedron: the polyhedron is a unity, but with all different parts; each one has its peculiarity, its charism. This is unity in diversity. It is on this path that we, Christians, do what we refer to with the theological name of ecumenism. We try to have this diversity become more harmonized by the Holy Spirit and become unity. We seek to walk in the presence of God to be irreproachable. We seek to find the nourishment of which we are in need to find our brother. This is our way, this is our Christian beauty! I refer to what my beloved brother said at the beginning.
Then he spoke of something else, of the Lord’s Incarnation. The Apostle John is clear: He who says that the Word did not become flesh, is not of God! He is of the devil. He is not ours, he is an enemy! Because there was the first heresy – let’s say the word between us – and it was this, which the Apostle condemns: that the Word did not come in the flesh. No! The Incarnation of the Word is at the base: it is Jesus Christ! God and man, Son of God and Son of man, true God and true man. And this is how the first Christians understood him, and they had to struggle so much, so much to keep this truth: the Lord is God and man. The Lord Jesus is God made flesh. It is the mystery of the flesh of Christ: one does not understand love for one’s neighbor; one does not understand love for one’s brother, if one does not understand this mystery of the Incarnation. I love my brother because he too is Christ; he is the flesh of Christ. I love the poor, the widow, the slave, one who is in prison … Let us think about the protocol on which we will be judged: Matthew 25. I love all of them, because these persons who suffer are Christ’s flesh, and for us who are on this path of unity, it will do us good to touch the flesh of Christ. To go to the fringes where, in fact, there are so many needy, or – let us say it better – there are so many needy, so many needy … including those who are needy for God, who are hungry – but not for bread, they have so much bread – but for God! And to go there, to express this truth: Jesus Christ is the Lord and He saves you. But go always to touch the flesh of Christ! A purely intellectual Gospel cannot be preached: the Gospel is truth but also love and it is also beauty! And this is the joy of the Gospel! This is in fact the joy of the Gospel.
On this path we have very often done the same thing as Joseph’s brothers, when jealousy and envy have divided us. Those who arrived first wanted to kill their brother – Ruben succeeded in saving him – and then sold him. Our brother Giovanni also spoke of this sad story. That sad story in which the Gospel was lived by some as a truth who did not realize that behind this attitude there were ugly things, things that were not of the Lord, a terrible temptation of division. That sad story, in which the same thing was done that Joseph’s brothers did: denunciation, the laws of these people: it goes against the purity of the race … And these laws were sanctioned by the baptized! Some of those who made these laws and some of those who persecuted, denounced their Pentecostal brothers because they were enthusiasts, almost madmen who ruined the race, some were Catholics … I am the Pastor of Catholics: I ask forgiveness for this! I ask forgiveness for those Catholic brothers and sisters who did not understand and who were tempted by the devil and did the same thing that Joseph’s brothers did. I ask the Lord to give us the grace to admit and forgive … Thank you!
Then brother Giovanni said something which I share totally: truth is an encounter, an encounter between persons. Truth is not made in a laboratory; it is made in life, seeking Jesus in order to find Him. However, the most beautiful, the greatest mystery is that when we find Jesus we realize that He was seeking us first, that He found us first, because He arrives before us! In Spanish I like to say that the Lord firsts us {primerea). It’s a Spanish word: He precedes us, and He always waits for us. He is the first among us. And I believe that Isaiah or Jeremiah -- I have a doubt – says that the Lord is like the flower of the almond tree, which is the first to flower in spring. And the Lord waits for us! Is it Jeremiah? Yes! It is the first one that flowers in spring, it is always the first.
This encounter is beautiful. This encounter fills us with joy, with enthusiasm. We think of the encounter of the first disciples, Andrew and John. When the Baptist said: Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world. And they followed Jesus, stayed with Him the whole afternoon. Then, when they left, when they went home, did they say: We heard a Rabbi … No! We have found the Messiah! That encounter which transforms; everything comes from that encounter. This is the path of Christian holiness: to seek Jesus every day to find Him and every day to allow oneself to be sought by Jesus and to allow oneself to be encountered by Jesus.
We are on this path toward unity between brothers. Some might be astonished: But the Pope went to the Evangelicals. He went to find brothers! Yes! Because – and what I will say is truth – because they were the ones who came first, in Buenos Aires, to find me. And there is a witness here: Jorge Himitian can tell the story about when they came, they approached us … And so this friendship began, this closeness between Pastors of Buenos Aires, and today we are here. Thank you so much. I ask you to pray for me, I am in need of it so that at least I won’t be so bad. Thank you!
At the conclusion of this encounter, the Holy Father was invited to share lunch with the Community of the Evangelical Pentecostal Church. After the fraternal gathering was completed, the Holy Father returned to the Vatican.
The Pope travelled to Caserta by helicopter, departing the Vatican at approximately 10:15am local time and after a moment of private meeting at the home of Pastor Giovanni Traettino, His Holiness met the community of the Evangelical Protestant Church on the premises (which are still under construction) of the future Pentecostal Church of Reconciliation.
The meeting, introduced by Pastor Traettino, began with the singing of a few songs which were interspersed with three testimonials; then, following a word of introduction offered by Pastor Traettino, the Holy Father, Pope Francis shared a speech with those who were present.
Introductory Remarks for the meeting with the Holy Father
at Caserta
prepared by Pastor Giovanni Traettino
It is good to stand before the Lord, true? (all respond: yes!) There is no better place in the world than to be in the presence of God, and yet there is one place that is even better, to live in the presence of God! There, we will know the fullness of joy, the truest joy; and there, lives will be transformed and we will become even more like Him.
I want to share with you a few reflections and, in particular, dearest Pope Francis, my beloved brother, our joy is increased by your visit, my own personal joy, the joy of my family and the joy of our community, our spiritual family, all are increased by the presence of our guests and of our friends. This is a great and unexpected gift, unthinkable only a short time ago. I can read this joy in the eyes of the children and of the elderly, of the young and of the families. We love you! There is one thing that you should know: for you personally, even among us evangelicals, there is such affection and many of us pray for you every day: every day, we pray for you. It is so easy to love you. Many of us even believe that your election as Bishop of Rome was the work of the Holy Spirit. A special blessing for the world and for the whole of Christianity: this is what I personally believe. With this gesture of yours, completely unexpected and surprising as it is, you lend visibility and concreteness to that which seems above all to be the driving force of your existence and of your ministry, for life always precedes ministry. Overcoming the complications of protocol, you know how to go directly to the heart of life and human relationships and in particular to relationships with those who see you as a brother: to meet a brother, to meet him where he is, to meet him as he is. In our case, in order to visit with us, you endured two days of fatigue, and for this we are most grateful!
For you, it is not enough to entrust your heart to a document, or to a messenger ... It seems as though you have reflected a lot on the Incarnation of Jesus Christ: he wanted to touch us, he wanted to come in person, to embrace us personally. He showed great courage. Freedom and courage! He resigned himself to the simplicity and weakness of our diversity, but also to our embrace. With men such as you, dear Pope Francis, there is hope for us Christians. All of us! With just one gesture you have opened the door, you have contributed to the realization of the dream of God. This has become part of the answer to the prayer of Jesus: that they may all be one. And you have done this with the glory of which John speaks in chapter 17 of his gospel: with the glory without which it would be impossible to build up unity. I am speaking about the glory of unity. As someone once said, humility is at the heart of glory. And I would add: it takes just a bit of power to be able to do things; but it takes a lot of power to be able to stay in the shadows. God is infinitely ability to back away from self-interest, of hiding himself. Even in this, perhaps because of it, we can see ourselves as disciples of Christ.
Truth is an encounter: it is the title of one of the latest collections of your lovely morning meditations at the Casa Santa Marta. Truth is an encounter, but it is also a central truth for every Christian, for everyone who has converted to Christ and had a personal encounter with Him. How many times in your teachings you return to the invitation to conversion and to the personal encounter with Christ. It is obvious that this truth is at the centre of your life, the living matter of your spiritual experience, an inspirational motive for your existence. For me, who observe you, it cannot be otherwise. It fills me with joy, because Christ is also the precious pearl, excuse me, He is the precious pearl of all Christians, also of us Evangelicals. I saw that day before yesterday you spoke of Him at Caserta. He is the centre and the heart of our life, the very reason for our existence. We would be lost without Jesus! Our sole reason to live and exist is Jesus! However, it is in fact the passion that we bear for the centrality of Christ that makes us Evangelicals, with solid and serene conviction. Therefore, we also live and experience in a new way our being Evangelicals, which is no longer nourished by anti-Catholicism – as it was for some time – but which, recognizes our own origins and roots in the historical tree of Christianity, Catholicism and the Reformation included. You have learned to relate in a constructive and redemptive way with those whom you recognize as your fathers and brothers, and to take out from your treasure – as the Gospel writes – things new and things old. You have learned – we are always learning more – that the whole field must be bought, as Jesus says in another part of the Gospel, in order to take possession of the whole treasure. One must have the whole field to discover the treasure, without giving up on the work of discernment made with the Word of God, but examining everything and keeping the good. In this way we are less exposed to the risk of disdaining the contribution of brothers, of extinguishing the Spirit or even of attributing to other sources what instead is of the Lord, as Paul exhorts us in the Letter to the Thessalonians: Do not extinguish the Spirit, do not scorn the prophecies, but examine everything and keep the good. And again, each one must abstain from every sort of evil.
Hence truth is an encounter and the encounter with Christ is the encounter of life: it is what gives truth and foundation to every other encounter. This is my experience. My encounters and my relations with my neighbor are profoundly marked by my encounter with Jesus. This is the central message, the nucleus, the DNA of the Gospel. This is the heart of evangelical preaching; this is the terrain on which we must build every possible dialogue between us and the path of unity between the Churches. As it is written: No one can lay another foundation other than that already laid, namely Christ Jesus. And again: Each one must be careful of how he builds upon it.
Speaking of Evangelicals, some time ago, Father Raniero Cantalamessa described them as Christians with the charism of the essential. This is a description that I like very much. I share it. And some years ago, Cardinal Piovanelli of Florence, proclaimed to anyone who asked him a forecast for the third millennium: It will be an age in which there will be a return to the fundamental principles of Christianity. I also believe this. It is necessary, it is indispensable that we return to the fundamental principles. Cardinal Kasper, indeed, who I know is your friend, has spoken of a fundamental ecumenism and a spiritual ecumenism: here too we are in line. He says: Christians are not united among themselves, they are, first of all, one in Christ. And only that union and communion with Christ makes true communion possible between men and Him. The Lord is the centre of this unity. And the strength that works and orders this unity is the Holy Spirit. Perhaps it is in fact from this understanding that Christianity must start again. This is the fundamental perimeter of our communion and it is here that I believe I can say the greatest contribution lies – also historically and theologically – of the prophecy of the first Reformation and then of the evangelical world after. I believe this is the fundamental prophecy for the benefit of the whole Body of Christ and of the Church, if the history of Christianity has some meaning …
The Apostle Paul says: Because no one can lay another foundation other than that already laid – namely Christ Jesus. Therefore Christ -- to put Christ at the foundation; to build on Christ; to be pressed tightly around Christ; to grow towards Christ. He is the foundation of the life of the believer: conversion to Christ, a personal relationship with Christ, the imitation of Christ, which is not possible without the presence of the life of Christ. From Christ’s life we receive the strength for the imitation of Christ, to become saints. The formation of Christ is rendered possible by Christ’s life in us. He is the foundation on which we grow: we are born again, but then we grow. And this is the foundation on which the existence of the Church is built, again Christ: the Incarnation of Christ, as the proper method, as a style of life; identification with the poor, with the needy, with those in difficulty -- the life of Christ, the style with which He lived. And so often the Christianity of our time is in need of reformation and revision of life, because models are proposed which are very far from the Gospel. The life of Christ, the death of Christ: to be able to live like Christ, we too must die to ourselves, so that the life of the Spirit can exist in us and, therefore, the Resurrection and the Ascension, crowned by the descent of the Holy Spirit, is indispensable for us to be able to live the Christian life.
I also believe that, in the development of avenues of communion between the different communities, we must speak again of Christ, of the return to the essentials of the Gospel and there we discover that this space is again Christ, the proclamation of Christ – the kerigma, the teaching of Christ – the didake – the formation of Christ in us. Like you, I quote a most beautiful and ancient prayer, which I imagine you recite every day: In Christ, with Christ, by Christ, to you God Almighty Father, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, all honor and glory for ever and ever. I think this makes a good synthesis of what the thought is, which I wish to stress.
One last word. We are, we live between the now and the not yet – as someone has said – and our experience is an experience of suffering, of pain, of toil in advancing in the dialogue between Christians, in experiencing communion. It is the plane of faith: you are only one body, of which dear Jorge Himitian spoke yesterday, may they be one, we are on the plane of faith, the Tabernacle of God among men, of which Revelation 21 speaks. This is the plane of faith, but then there is the plane of history. The plane of history is that of our experience, where we experience the shame of division, of wars between Christians, of hostilities, of persecutions, also in Italy: unfortunately for many years we experienced persecutions, the Pentecostals particularly, in the years from 1935 to 1955 were notorious… In the middle was the time of reconciliation, the time of ethics, if you wish, the time of love, the time of responsibility, which must be filled by men and women of reconciliation. You, with your visit here, which has demonstrated that you take reconciliation seriously, show that you are a man of reconciliation, I would say a prophet of reconciliation.
Through Christ, God has reconciled us with Himself – says the Apostle Paul (Second Letter to the Corinthians) , and He has entrusted to us the ministry of reconciliation. Our spiritual family has chosen this theme for its existence: Church of reconciliation. However, He has entrusted to all Christians the ministry of reconciliation, from the experience they have within this ministry. He has sown, implanted within us – says the Apostle Paul – the word of reconciliation (2 Corinthians 5:19). It is from this word of reconciliation, which is Jesus himself; He is the word of reconciliation within us, nourishing us with Himself, with his spirit, with his sensibility, with his death, so that we can be accustomed to being men and women of reconciliation. What does it mean, at times, to travel on the road of Calvary. It means, at times, to pass through the Cross; it means misunderstanding, misinterpretation; it means incomprehension, because there are so many Christians that are so self-defining that they don’t succeed in making space for love, they don’t succeed in living love. And we want to come out of this prison; we want to be men and women of reconciliation.
I am happy to conclude these reflections with a thought from Francis of Assisi, whom I’m sure you love very much, evidently, because you chose the name Francis. But I want to tell you that Evangelicals also love Francis very much, even from the historical point of view. If I think of the Waldensians, for instance: who have a sensibility which is – let’s say – profoundly Franciscan. They have the same type of cut, of sensibility, of spirituality and we are connected to that history; we are connected to that sensibility … Some modern sensibilities don’t please us in the life of a Christian. Francis says: Begin to do the necessary, then do what is possible and suddenly you will discover you are able to do the impossible. This seemed an impossible thing! God bless you!
Now we introduce Pope Francis, who would like to share some thoughts with us, what he has in his heart …. There is nothing organized. This is a Pentecostal meeting, so we appeal to the Holy Spirit to guide Pope Francis. Please.
Greetings of the Holy Father, Pope Francis
for the meeting with the community of the
Evangelical Protestant Church
Good morning, Brothers and Sisters,
My brother, Pastor Giovanni, began by speaking of the centre of our life: to be in the presence of Jesus. And then he said to walk in the presence of Jesus. And this was the First Commandment God gave to His people, to our Father Abraham: Go, walk in my presence and be irreproachable. And then the people walked: sometimes in the presence of the Lord, many times not in the Lord’s presence. They chose idols, gods … But the Lord has patience; He has patience with the people that walk. I don’t understand a Christian who is still! A Christian who doesn’t walk, I cannot understand that! A Christian must walk! There are Christians that walk, but not in the presence of Jesus. We must pray for these brothers. Also for us, when at certain moments we don’t walk in Jesus’ presence, because we are all also sinners, all of us! If one of you isn’t a sinner, raise your hand … To walk in the presence of Jesus.
Christians who are still – this is harmful, because that which is still, which doesn’t walk, is corrupted. Like still water, which is the first water to be corrupted, water that doesn’t run … There are Christians who confuse walking with turning. They are not walkers, they are errant and turn here and there in life. They are in a labyrinth, and wander, wander there … They are lacking the parrhesia, the audacity to go forward; they are lacking hope. Christians without hope turn in life; they are not capable of going forward. We are secure only when we walk in the presence of the Lord Jesus. He illumines us; He gives us his Spirit to walk well.
I think of Abraham’s grandson Jacob. He was tranquil, there, with his children. However, at a certain point famine arrived, and he said to his children, to his eleven children, ten of whom were guilty of betrayal, for having sold their brother: Go to Egypt , go there and buy food, because we have money but we don’t have food. Take the money and buy there, where it is said there is food. And they began their journey, but instead of finding food, they found their brother! And this is very beautiful!
When one walks in God’s presence, there is this fraternity. When, instead, we are still, when we look too much to one another, there is another way … which is bad, bad! -- the way of gossip. And we begin to say, but you, don’t you know? No, no, I’m not for you. I’m for this and that … I am for Paul, I am for Appollos, I am for Peter. And so we begin, and so from the first moment division began in the Church. And it isn’t the Holy Spirit who creates division! He does something that is quite similar to it, but not division. It’s not the Lord Jesus who creates division! He who creates division is in fact the Envious One, the king of envy, the father of envy: the sower of darnel, Satan. He interferes in communities and creates divisions, always! From the first moment, from the first moment of Christianity, this temptation was in the Christian community. I belong to this one, I belong to that one. No! I am the Church, you are a sect. And so the one who wins over us is him, the father of division – not the Lord Jesus who prayed for unity (John 17(), he prayed!
What does the Holy Spirit do? I said he does something else, which perhaps one might think is division, but it isn’t. The Holy Spirit creates diversity in the Church. Read the First Letter to the Corinthians, chapter 12. He creates diversity! And this diversity is truly very rich, very beautiful. But then, the Holy Spirit himself creates unity, and so the Church is one in diversity. And, to use the word of an Evangelical whom I love very much, a reconciled diversity by the Holy Spirit. He creates both things: He creates the diversity of charisms and then He creates the harmony of charisms. Therefore, the early theologians of the Church, the early Fathers – I am speaking of the 3rd or 4th century – said: The Holy Spirit is harmony, because He creates this harmonious unity in diversity.
We are in the age of globalization, and we wonder what globalization is and what the unity of the Church should be: perhaps a sphere, where all points are equidistant from the centre, where all are equal? No! This is uniformity. And the Holy Spirit does not create uniformity! What figure can we find? We think of the polyhedron: the polyhedron is a unity, but with all different parts; each one has its peculiarity, its charism. This is unity in diversity. It is on this path that we, Christians, do what we refer to with the theological name of ecumenism. We try to have this diversity become more harmonized by the Holy Spirit and become unity. We seek to walk in the presence of God to be irreproachable. We seek to find the nourishment of which we are in need to find our brother. This is our way, this is our Christian beauty! I refer to what my beloved brother said at the beginning.
Then he spoke of something else, of the Lord’s Incarnation. The Apostle John is clear: He who says that the Word did not become flesh, is not of God! He is of the devil. He is not ours, he is an enemy! Because there was the first heresy – let’s say the word between us – and it was this, which the Apostle condemns: that the Word did not come in the flesh. No! The Incarnation of the Word is at the base: it is Jesus Christ! God and man, Son of God and Son of man, true God and true man. And this is how the first Christians understood him, and they had to struggle so much, so much to keep this truth: the Lord is God and man. The Lord Jesus is God made flesh. It is the mystery of the flesh of Christ: one does not understand love for one’s neighbor; one does not understand love for one’s brother, if one does not understand this mystery of the Incarnation. I love my brother because he too is Christ; he is the flesh of Christ. I love the poor, the widow, the slave, one who is in prison … Let us think about the protocol on which we will be judged: Matthew 25. I love all of them, because these persons who suffer are Christ’s flesh, and for us who are on this path of unity, it will do us good to touch the flesh of Christ. To go to the fringes where, in fact, there are so many needy, or – let us say it better – there are so many needy, so many needy … including those who are needy for God, who are hungry – but not for bread, they have so much bread – but for God! And to go there, to express this truth: Jesus Christ is the Lord and He saves you. But go always to touch the flesh of Christ! A purely intellectual Gospel cannot be preached: the Gospel is truth but also love and it is also beauty! And this is the joy of the Gospel! This is in fact the joy of the Gospel.
On this path we have very often done the same thing as Joseph’s brothers, when jealousy and envy have divided us. Those who arrived first wanted to kill their brother – Ruben succeeded in saving him – and then sold him. Our brother Giovanni also spoke of this sad story. That sad story in which the Gospel was lived by some as a truth who did not realize that behind this attitude there were ugly things, things that were not of the Lord, a terrible temptation of division. That sad story, in which the same thing was done that Joseph’s brothers did: denunciation, the laws of these people: it goes against the purity of the race … And these laws were sanctioned by the baptized! Some of those who made these laws and some of those who persecuted, denounced their Pentecostal brothers because they were enthusiasts, almost madmen who ruined the race, some were Catholics … I am the Pastor of Catholics: I ask forgiveness for this! I ask forgiveness for those Catholic brothers and sisters who did not understand and who were tempted by the devil and did the same thing that Joseph’s brothers did. I ask the Lord to give us the grace to admit and forgive … Thank you!
Then brother Giovanni said something which I share totally: truth is an encounter, an encounter between persons. Truth is not made in a laboratory; it is made in life, seeking Jesus in order to find Him. However, the most beautiful, the greatest mystery is that when we find Jesus we realize that He was seeking us first, that He found us first, because He arrives before us! In Spanish I like to say that the Lord firsts us {primerea). It’s a Spanish word: He precedes us, and He always waits for us. He is the first among us. And I believe that Isaiah or Jeremiah -- I have a doubt – says that the Lord is like the flower of the almond tree, which is the first to flower in spring. And the Lord waits for us! Is it Jeremiah? Yes! It is the first one that flowers in spring, it is always the first.
This encounter is beautiful. This encounter fills us with joy, with enthusiasm. We think of the encounter of the first disciples, Andrew and John. When the Baptist said: Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world. And they followed Jesus, stayed with Him the whole afternoon. Then, when they left, when they went home, did they say: We heard a Rabbi … No! We have found the Messiah! That encounter which transforms; everything comes from that encounter. This is the path of Christian holiness: to seek Jesus every day to find Him and every day to allow oneself to be sought by Jesus and to allow oneself to be encountered by Jesus.
We are on this path toward unity between brothers. Some might be astonished: But the Pope went to the Evangelicals. He went to find brothers! Yes! Because – and what I will say is truth – because they were the ones who came first, in Buenos Aires, to find me. And there is a witness here: Jorge Himitian can tell the story about when they came, they approached us … And so this friendship began, this closeness between Pastors of Buenos Aires, and today we are here. Thank you so much. I ask you to pray for me, I am in need of it so that at least I won’t be so bad. Thank you!
At the conclusion of this encounter, the Holy Father was invited to share lunch with the Community of the Evangelical Pentecostal Church. After the fraternal gathering was completed, the Holy Father returned to the Vatican.
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