This afternoon, before leaving the Archbishop's residence, the Pope greeted the Auxiliary Bishops of Naples and the Members of the Secretariat of the Organizing committee for the Papal Visit.
He then travelled to the Cathedral for a meeting with the priests, religious, permanent deacons and seminarians.
In the Chapel of Holy Restitution, the Pope lit a votive candle before Our Lady of the Principle, and in the Cathedral, he venerated the relic of Saint Januarius.
During the meeting, which included the cloistered religious of the diocese, following the questions proposed by the Episcopal Vicar for Clergy and by the Episcopal Vicar for Consecrated Life, Pope Francis spoke unscripted with those who were present, and furnished copies of the printed speech for each of the participants to read privately.
Dear brothers and sisters, good afternoon!
I thank you for your welcome in this place, a symbol of faith and of the history of Naples: the Cathedral. Thank you, Cardinal, for having introduced our gathering; and thank you to the two brothers who asked the questions in the name of all those who are here.
I want to begin with something that was said by the Vicar for Clergy: It is a beautiful thing to be a priest. Yes, it is good to be priests, and also to be consecrated. I want to speak first with the priests, and then with those who are consecrated.
I share with you the surprise, always new, of being called by the Lord to follow him, to stay with Him, to go out toward other people, taking his word with us, his forgiveness ... Truly, it is a great thing that has happened to us, a grace from the Lord that is renewed every day. I imagine that in a situation as challenging as Naples, with old and new challenges, you must face such challenges headlong in order to meet the requests of so many brothers and sisters, at the risk of becoming totally absorbed. You need to always find time to spend before the Tabernacle, to stop there in silence, to sense the gaze of Jesus which renews us and reinvigorates us. If the prospect of being placed before Jesus troubles us a little, this is a good sign, it is good for us! Prayer will always show us whether we are walking on the road of life or on the path of lies, as the Psalm says (cf Psalm 138:24), whether we work as good workers or whether we have become employees; whether we are open channels, through which the love and grace of the Lord can flow, or whether instead, we place ourselves at the centre of our own attention, effectively becoming screens which do not favour an encounter with the Lord.
And then there is the beauty of fraternity, of being priests together, of not having to follow the Lord alone, not on our own but together, with the great variety of gifts and of personalities, all lived in communion and fraternity. This too is not easy, not immediate, not apparent, for we priests too live immersed in today's suggestive culture which exalts the I to the point of idolatry. Then there is also a certain pastoral individualism which leads to the temptation to go on alone or with a small group of those who think like I do ... However, we know that we are all called to live in communion with Christ in the presbyterate, together with the Bishop. We can and should always seek concrete ways adapted to the current times and to the realities of place, but this pastoral and missionary research should always be done in a spirit of communion, with humility and fraternity.
And don't forget the beauty of journeying with your people. I know that for some time, your diocesan community has embarked on a challenging path of rediscovery of faith, together with citizens who also want to rediscover this faith and who need everyone else to work together. I encourage you therefore to go out to meet others, to open the doors and to meet families, the sick, the young, the old, where they live, seeking them, supporting them, sustaining them and celebrating with them the liturgy of life. In particular, it would be beautiful to accompany families in the challenge of producing and educating their children. Children are a diagnostic sign, a way of testing the health of a society. Children don't want to be spoiled; they want to be loved! We priests are called to accompany families so that children can be educated in the Christian life.
The second speaker referred to consecrated life, and mentioned light and shadow. There is always a temptation to pay more attention to shadows and less to the light. But this leads us to turn in on ourselves, to complain all the time, to always accuse others. Especially during this Year of Consecrated Life, let us allow the beauty of our vocation to grow within us and in our communities, so that it might be ever more true that where there are religious, there is joy. In this spirit, I wrote the Letter to consecrated persons, and I hope that it will be received along your personal and communal journey I want us to ask ourselves: what is the climate in our community? Is there a sense of gratitude, is there a sense of the joy of God in our hearts? If there is, then my wish will come true: that there will never be sad faces among us, unhappy and unsatisfied people, because a sad follower is a sad disciple (ivi, II, 1).
Dear consecrated brothers and sisters, my wish is that you will bear witness, with humility and simplicity, to the fact that consecrated life is a precious gift for the Church and for the world. A gift which we do not hold for our own selves, but in order to share it, taking Christ to every corner of this city. May your daily gratitude to God find expression in a desire to attract hearts to Him, and to accompany them on the road. Whether in contemplative life, in apostolic life, you can feel strong love for the Church within you, and contribute to this strength by drawing on your particular charisms, on the mission of the Church to announce the Gospel and to edify the people of God in unity, holiness and love.
Dear brothers and sisters, I want to thank you. Go on your way, motivated by common love for the Lord and for holy Mother, the Church. With all my heart, I willingly bless you. Please, don't forget to pray for me.
At the conclusion of the meeting, the Holy Father left the cathedral and travelled by car to the Gesu Nuovo Basilica to meet there with the sick.
He then travelled to the Cathedral for a meeting with the priests, religious, permanent deacons and seminarians.
In the Chapel of Holy Restitution, the Pope lit a votive candle before Our Lady of the Principle, and in the Cathedral, he venerated the relic of Saint Januarius.
During the meeting, which included the cloistered religious of the diocese, following the questions proposed by the Episcopal Vicar for Clergy and by the Episcopal Vicar for Consecrated Life, Pope Francis spoke unscripted with those who were present, and furnished copies of the printed speech for each of the participants to read privately.
Text prepared by His Holiness, Pope Francis
for the meeting with priests, religious, permanent deacons and seminarians
Dear brothers and sisters, good afternoon!
I thank you for your welcome in this place, a symbol of faith and of the history of Naples: the Cathedral. Thank you, Cardinal, for having introduced our gathering; and thank you to the two brothers who asked the questions in the name of all those who are here.
I want to begin with something that was said by the Vicar for Clergy: It is a beautiful thing to be a priest. Yes, it is good to be priests, and also to be consecrated. I want to speak first with the priests, and then with those who are consecrated.
I share with you the surprise, always new, of being called by the Lord to follow him, to stay with Him, to go out toward other people, taking his word with us, his forgiveness ... Truly, it is a great thing that has happened to us, a grace from the Lord that is renewed every day. I imagine that in a situation as challenging as Naples, with old and new challenges, you must face such challenges headlong in order to meet the requests of so many brothers and sisters, at the risk of becoming totally absorbed. You need to always find time to spend before the Tabernacle, to stop there in silence, to sense the gaze of Jesus which renews us and reinvigorates us. If the prospect of being placed before Jesus troubles us a little, this is a good sign, it is good for us! Prayer will always show us whether we are walking on the road of life or on the path of lies, as the Psalm says (cf Psalm 138:24), whether we work as good workers or whether we have become employees; whether we are open channels, through which the love and grace of the Lord can flow, or whether instead, we place ourselves at the centre of our own attention, effectively becoming screens which do not favour an encounter with the Lord.
And then there is the beauty of fraternity, of being priests together, of not having to follow the Lord alone, not on our own but together, with the great variety of gifts and of personalities, all lived in communion and fraternity. This too is not easy, not immediate, not apparent, for we priests too live immersed in today's suggestive culture which exalts the I to the point of idolatry. Then there is also a certain pastoral individualism which leads to the temptation to go on alone or with a small group of those who think like I do ... However, we know that we are all called to live in communion with Christ in the presbyterate, together with the Bishop. We can and should always seek concrete ways adapted to the current times and to the realities of place, but this pastoral and missionary research should always be done in a spirit of communion, with humility and fraternity.
And don't forget the beauty of journeying with your people. I know that for some time, your diocesan community has embarked on a challenging path of rediscovery of faith, together with citizens who also want to rediscover this faith and who need everyone else to work together. I encourage you therefore to go out to meet others, to open the doors and to meet families, the sick, the young, the old, where they live, seeking them, supporting them, sustaining them and celebrating with them the liturgy of life. In particular, it would be beautiful to accompany families in the challenge of producing and educating their children. Children are a diagnostic sign, a way of testing the health of a society. Children don't want to be spoiled; they want to be loved! We priests are called to accompany families so that children can be educated in the Christian life.
The second speaker referred to consecrated life, and mentioned light and shadow. There is always a temptation to pay more attention to shadows and less to the light. But this leads us to turn in on ourselves, to complain all the time, to always accuse others. Especially during this Year of Consecrated Life, let us allow the beauty of our vocation to grow within us and in our communities, so that it might be ever more true that where there are religious, there is joy. In this spirit, I wrote the Letter to consecrated persons, and I hope that it will be received along your personal and communal journey I want us to ask ourselves: what is the climate in our community? Is there a sense of gratitude, is there a sense of the joy of God in our hearts? If there is, then my wish will come true: that there will never be sad faces among us, unhappy and unsatisfied people, because a sad follower is a sad disciple (ivi, II, 1).
Dear consecrated brothers and sisters, my wish is that you will bear witness, with humility and simplicity, to the fact that consecrated life is a precious gift for the Church and for the world. A gift which we do not hold for our own selves, but in order to share it, taking Christ to every corner of this city. May your daily gratitude to God find expression in a desire to attract hearts to Him, and to accompany them on the road. Whether in contemplative life, in apostolic life, you can feel strong love for the Church within you, and contribute to this strength by drawing on your particular charisms, on the mission of the Church to announce the Gospel and to edify the people of God in unity, holiness and love.
Dear brothers and sisters, I want to thank you. Go on your way, motivated by common love for the Lord and for holy Mother, the Church. With all my heart, I willingly bless you. Please, don't forget to pray for me.
At the conclusion of the meeting, the Holy Father left the cathedral and travelled by car to the Gesu Nuovo Basilica to meet there with the sick.
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