At 6:00pm on Wednesday evening, in the Domus Sanctae Marthae at the Vatican, the Holy Father, Pope Francis met with members of a group from the Works for Nazareth Association, who were accompanied by His Eminence, Jean-Louis Cardinal Tauran, President of the Pontifical Council for Inter-religious Dialogue.
Dear friends,
Thank you for coming. I thank Cardinal Tauran for having accompanied you and I also thank Madam President for her presentation.
I simply want to highlight a few aspects of your history which I found interesting and which are important.
First: The discovery of Jesus as man's Way. Not just one of the ways, but the Way. He himself said: I am the way (Jn 14:6). The way that leads where? Toward the Father. Jesus is the way that opens before every person in order to encounter God, in order to enter into a relationship and into communion with Him, and thus to truly find him- or herself! We find the fullness of ourselves when we fully become sons and daughters of our Father, and this is possible thanks to Jesus: this is the reason for which he died on the cross.
The second aspect comes with consequences, and this is joy: when someone discovers Jesus as the way, joy enters into his or her life. It enters in for good, and it is a radical joy within us which no one can take away from us, as the Lord himself has promised (cf. Jn 16:22)
This joy of being a disciple of Jesus makes us witnesses, apostolic and missionary. You do this with a discreet, humble and simple presence - the spirit of Nazareth - in the environments where you live and work, especially in university settings. I encourage you to continue this work, and I thank you for the good that you have already done, through the grace of God.
I am glad to know that you always try to be in communion with the local Church: keep doing this. And I join you in thanking God for the journey that your community has experienced so far, including the recent ordinations ...
May the Lord bless you and may Our Lady protect you.
Greetings of His Holiness, Pope Francis
for the meeting with members of the
Works for Nazareth Association
Dear friends,
Thank you for coming. I thank Cardinal Tauran for having accompanied you and I also thank Madam President for her presentation.
I simply want to highlight a few aspects of your history which I found interesting and which are important.
First: The discovery of Jesus as man's Way. Not just one of the ways, but the Way. He himself said: I am the way (Jn 14:6). The way that leads where? Toward the Father. Jesus is the way that opens before every person in order to encounter God, in order to enter into a relationship and into communion with Him, and thus to truly find him- or herself! We find the fullness of ourselves when we fully become sons and daughters of our Father, and this is possible thanks to Jesus: this is the reason for which he died on the cross.
The second aspect comes with consequences, and this is joy: when someone discovers Jesus as the way, joy enters into his or her life. It enters in for good, and it is a radical joy within us which no one can take away from us, as the Lord himself has promised (cf. Jn 16:22)
This joy of being a disciple of Jesus makes us witnesses, apostolic and missionary. You do this with a discreet, humble and simple presence - the spirit of Nazareth - in the environments where you live and work, especially in university settings. I encourage you to continue this work, and I thank you for the good that you have already done, through the grace of God.
I am glad to know that you always try to be in communion with the local Church: keep doing this. And I join you in thanking God for the journey that your community has experienced so far, including the recent ordinations ...
May the Lord bless you and may Our Lady protect you.
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