At 12:30pm today, in the Sala Clementina, the Holy Father, Pope Francis received in audience the Bishops from the Episcopal Conference of Portugal, who are in Rome for their visit ad Limina Apostolorum.
Venerable Cardinal Patriarch,
Beloved brothers in the Episcopacy!
With fraternal joy, I greet you and welcome you to this collegial encounter with the Successor of Peter, and I ask you to convey to all the members of your various ecclesiastical circumscriptions my most cordial greetings along with my wishes for great serenity and trust in the Lord. When difficulties seem to overshadow the prospects of a better future, when we experience the deception and emptiness around us, we recognize the moment of Christian hope, founded on the risen Lord and accompanied by a renewed effort toward charity in favour of those who are most in need.
I am very glad to see that the Church in Portugal is caring and solicitous for the state of her people, as your President, Cardinal Manuel Clemente just mentioned along with the kind words he has addressed to me, for which I thank him; in my turn, I invite you continue together along the path of proclaiming the saving work of Jesus Christ.
I see a hopeful sign in the growth of synodality and the choice for a pastoral lifestyle within your particular Churches, which seek to involve as many of her members as possible in the unceasing work of evangelization and sanctification of men. I wish to express my great appreciation for the pastoral zeal and the many initiatives which have been undertaken, individually and cooperatively by your Conference during the years that have elapsed since your ad Limina visit of 2007, which was highlighted by the special welcome you prepared for Pope Benedict XVI in May 2010. Another great help for us today is the successive general consultation regarding faith and beliefs of your people which saw an initial general response to the Pastoral Note promoting the Church's Pastoral Renewal in Portugal (April 2013), along with the paths - written by you - on how we propose to go out and to know better how to bring Christ to our brothers and our brothers in Christ.
I have deduced from your quinquennial reports, with great satisfaction, that the lights have outshone the shadows in the Church that lives in Portugal: a peaceful Church guided by common sense, listened to by most of the people and the national institutions, although they have not always followed your voice; the Portuguese people are good, hospitable, generous and religious; they love peace and desire justice; they enjoy a united and fraternal episcopate; the priests, spiritually and culturally prepared, seek to provide a testimony which is increasingly coherent with an inner life which is lived in a gospel fashion, rooted in prayer and charity; there are consecrated men and women who, faithful to the charism of their founders, demonstrate in contemporary society the perennial value of their total surrender to God through the evangelical counsels of poverty, chastity and obedience and collaborate in joint pastoral initiatives proposed by their particular Churches according to the guidelines set forth in the document Mutuae relationes; there are lay people who express through their life in the world, the effective presence of the Church for the authentic human and social development of the nation, recalling the directives of the Second Vatican Council: The apostolate in the social milieu, that is, the effort to infuse a Christian spirit into the mentality, customs, laws, and structures of the community in which one lives, is so much the duty and responsibility of the laity that it can never be performed properly by others. In this area the laity can exercise the apostolate of like toward like. It is here that they complement the testimony of life with the testimony of the word. It is here where they work or practice their profession or study or reside or spend their leisure time or have their companionship that they are more capable of helping their brethren (Apostolicam actuositatem, 13). Along this line of attempts to live communion in the Church and to contribute to her presence in the world, there are also a multitude of other places for appropriate initiatives, in particular for those wishing to live the experience of volunteering in the fields of catechesis, culture, and in loving care for the poor and marginalized brothers, the disabled and the elderly.
Rejoicing greatly for all of this, I urge you to persevere in your commitment to constant and methodical evangelization, and to be evermore convinced that a truly Christian formation of conscience is of extreme and indispensable help to the social maturity and the true and balanced well-being of your country. With deep trust in God, I urge you not to lose heart in situations which may perplex you and cause bitterness, such as parishes which become stagnant and need to revive baptismal faith in order to instil a real sense of mission in individuals and in the community; moreover, parishes which are sometimes closed in upon themselves, focusing on their parish priest even when there is a shortage of priests require openness to a more dynamic logic based on ecclesial communion; some priests, tempted by pastoral activism, do not cultivate a spirit of prayer and spiritual depth which is essential for evangelization; a large number of young people who fall away from Christian practice after having celebrated the Sacrament of Confirmation; a void within parishes toward offering post-Confirmation Christian formation for youth - even that much could prevent future irregular family situations; and finally, the need for personal conversion and personal relationships between pastors and the faithful to the point where everyone will be able to say with truth and joy: the Church is our home.
My beloved brothers, we cannot but be preoccupied with the diminishing number of involved youth, which is taking place precisely at the time when they should be taking the reigns of life into their own hands. Let us ask ourselves: Do youth leave because they decide to leave? If they decide to leave, why are they no longer interested in the offer they have received? Are they not interested in the offer because it doesn't address the issues and questions that preoccupy them? Is it simply because they have stopped wearing the clothes they received at First Communion, taken them off? Is it because the Christian community insists on them wearing the same garments? Our friend Jesus also grew up, took his life into his own hands, even in the midst of misunderstanding on the part of his parents (cf Lk 2:48-52) and embraced the plan that heaven had in mind for him, even leading him to comply with complete abandonment to the hands of the Father (cf Lk 23:46). I remember that in a time of crisis and hesitation which involved many of his friends and followers, ending up with many of them deserting Jesus, he asked the twelve apostles: Do you also wish to go away? Simon Peter said to him: Lord, to whom shall we go? You alone are the Holy One of God (Jn 6:67-69). The proposal presented by Jesus convinced them; today, our proposal of Jesus doesn't convince. I think that in the scripts we prepare for the coming years of catechesis, we should concentrate on presenting the figure of Jesus well; otherwise, it may become more and more difficult to find him in the life of the catechist and of the community that sends and supports, based on the words of Jesus: I am with you always, until the end of time (Mt 28:20). He is, there is no doubt; but there are times when he seems hidden? For, if the proposal of Jesus Christ crucified and risen is seen in the life of the catechist, this Jesus will travel the path along with the youth and speak to their hearts, this is our sure hope (cf Lk 22:15, 32).
Jesus walks with the youth ... unfortunately, the current dominant thinking which sees the human being as an apprentice creator of himself and totally inebriated with freedom, finds it difficult to accept the concept of a vocation, in the highest sense of a call that comes to a person from the Creator of his own being and life. The truth, however, is that God, by creating us, and certainly in our free existence, has predisposed our essence in such a way as to think of us and provide us with the skills required for a specific mission in service to humanity which he loves. He loves us too much on our own and lacking any good. Thus, our happiness depends absolutely on each of us following him and hearing his call to mission. We are predisposed to this freedom, from the very depths of our being, an established calling; the world defines it as a contradiction and to be honest, it is a calculation of possibilities, with no possibility of ever ceasing at any precise position that an infinite Being may have provided for us, but the world is mistaken, for the Lord sets his eyes on the humble and upon the wonders that are accomplished by such tiny creatures. These words express the certainty of blessed youth, one who also saw the mercy that God, in her, has extended from one generation to the next toward those who fear him (cf Lk 1:48-50).
And there is no reason for a person, no matter who she is, to extend herself from the tender gaze with which God looks upon his creatures. Can a woman forget her baby, or not have compassion on the son of her womb? Even though she may forget, I will never forget you (Is 49:15). Jesus walks with the young ... Catechists and the entire community are asked to move from a school-based to a catechumenal model: providing the brain not only with knowledge but with a personal encounter with Jesus Christ, lived in vocational dynamics according to which God calls and we respond. While I was still in the womb, the Lord called me ... to be his servant, to bring Jacob to Him and to gather Israel to Him. So I honoured the Lord. My God became my strength (Is 49:1, 5). The Church in Portugal needs young people capable of responding to God who is calling them, to build stable and fruitful families, to be consecrated men and women who are ready to give everything in exchange for the Kingdom of God, to be priests offered as victims with Christ for their brothers and sisters. There are so many unemployed youth, and the Kingdom of Heaven needs workers and servants ... God does not want this. So what will happen now? It is just that no one has hired us (Mt 20:7). We need to include a vocational dimension in the global catechetical journey that includes the various ages of men, so that all of them may respond to the good God who calls: while they are still in their mothers' wombs; calls us into life and brings us to life; and at the end of our earthly journey, prepared to respond with our whole being to his call: Good and faithful servant, enter into the joy of the Lord (Mt 25:21).
Do not falter, dear brothers, in your apostolic zeal or the spirit of initiative for acquiring this objective, through the use of human endeavour linked with the efficacy of divine assistance. Jesus said: Whoever believes in me will also do the work that I am doing (Jn 14:12); despite our total unworthiness and our human weakness. The apostles too were weak men. Even Peter was a weak man. Ours is therefore a collaborative effort, that is on the part of the whole Church, for it was to the Church that the Lord assured his constant presence and unfailing assistance. Following this ad limina visit, return with renewed commitment and share with all people the assurance of my fraternal solidarity and closeness. Share with them your dreams and your hopes, your concerns and your joys; I invoke upon you and on those you serve, the prayers of the Blessed Virgin, that she may never cease to fill your hearts with filial love. And do not forget to pray for me. I affirm you with my fraternal affection and I gladly grant you the Apostolic Blessing, which I also extend as an embrace for the faithful entrusted to your pastoral care.
Speech of the Holy Father, Pope Francis
for the meeting with Bishops from the
Portuguese Episcopal Conference
Venerable Cardinal Patriarch,
Beloved brothers in the Episcopacy!
With fraternal joy, I greet you and welcome you to this collegial encounter with the Successor of Peter, and I ask you to convey to all the members of your various ecclesiastical circumscriptions my most cordial greetings along with my wishes for great serenity and trust in the Lord. When difficulties seem to overshadow the prospects of a better future, when we experience the deception and emptiness around us, we recognize the moment of Christian hope, founded on the risen Lord and accompanied by a renewed effort toward charity in favour of those who are most in need.
I am very glad to see that the Church in Portugal is caring and solicitous for the state of her people, as your President, Cardinal Manuel Clemente just mentioned along with the kind words he has addressed to me, for which I thank him; in my turn, I invite you continue together along the path of proclaiming the saving work of Jesus Christ.
I see a hopeful sign in the growth of synodality and the choice for a pastoral lifestyle within your particular Churches, which seek to involve as many of her members as possible in the unceasing work of evangelization and sanctification of men. I wish to express my great appreciation for the pastoral zeal and the many initiatives which have been undertaken, individually and cooperatively by your Conference during the years that have elapsed since your ad Limina visit of 2007, which was highlighted by the special welcome you prepared for Pope Benedict XVI in May 2010. Another great help for us today is the successive general consultation regarding faith and beliefs of your people which saw an initial general response to the Pastoral Note promoting the Church's Pastoral Renewal in Portugal (April 2013), along with the paths - written by you - on how we propose to go out and to know better how to bring Christ to our brothers and our brothers in Christ.
I have deduced from your quinquennial reports, with great satisfaction, that the lights have outshone the shadows in the Church that lives in Portugal: a peaceful Church guided by common sense, listened to by most of the people and the national institutions, although they have not always followed your voice; the Portuguese people are good, hospitable, generous and religious; they love peace and desire justice; they enjoy a united and fraternal episcopate; the priests, spiritually and culturally prepared, seek to provide a testimony which is increasingly coherent with an inner life which is lived in a gospel fashion, rooted in prayer and charity; there are consecrated men and women who, faithful to the charism of their founders, demonstrate in contemporary society the perennial value of their total surrender to God through the evangelical counsels of poverty, chastity and obedience and collaborate in joint pastoral initiatives proposed by their particular Churches according to the guidelines set forth in the document Mutuae relationes; there are lay people who express through their life in the world, the effective presence of the Church for the authentic human and social development of the nation, recalling the directives of the Second Vatican Council: The apostolate in the social milieu, that is, the effort to infuse a Christian spirit into the mentality, customs, laws, and structures of the community in which one lives, is so much the duty and responsibility of the laity that it can never be performed properly by others. In this area the laity can exercise the apostolate of like toward like. It is here that they complement the testimony of life with the testimony of the word. It is here where they work or practice their profession or study or reside or spend their leisure time or have their companionship that they are more capable of helping their brethren (Apostolicam actuositatem, 13). Along this line of attempts to live communion in the Church and to contribute to her presence in the world, there are also a multitude of other places for appropriate initiatives, in particular for those wishing to live the experience of volunteering in the fields of catechesis, culture, and in loving care for the poor and marginalized brothers, the disabled and the elderly.
Rejoicing greatly for all of this, I urge you to persevere in your commitment to constant and methodical evangelization, and to be evermore convinced that a truly Christian formation of conscience is of extreme and indispensable help to the social maturity and the true and balanced well-being of your country. With deep trust in God, I urge you not to lose heart in situations which may perplex you and cause bitterness, such as parishes which become stagnant and need to revive baptismal faith in order to instil a real sense of mission in individuals and in the community; moreover, parishes which are sometimes closed in upon themselves, focusing on their parish priest even when there is a shortage of priests require openness to a more dynamic logic based on ecclesial communion; some priests, tempted by pastoral activism, do not cultivate a spirit of prayer and spiritual depth which is essential for evangelization; a large number of young people who fall away from Christian practice after having celebrated the Sacrament of Confirmation; a void within parishes toward offering post-Confirmation Christian formation for youth - even that much could prevent future irregular family situations; and finally, the need for personal conversion and personal relationships between pastors and the faithful to the point where everyone will be able to say with truth and joy: the Church is our home.
My beloved brothers, we cannot but be preoccupied with the diminishing number of involved youth, which is taking place precisely at the time when they should be taking the reigns of life into their own hands. Let us ask ourselves: Do youth leave because they decide to leave? If they decide to leave, why are they no longer interested in the offer they have received? Are they not interested in the offer because it doesn't address the issues and questions that preoccupy them? Is it simply because they have stopped wearing the clothes they received at First Communion, taken them off? Is it because the Christian community insists on them wearing the same garments? Our friend Jesus also grew up, took his life into his own hands, even in the midst of misunderstanding on the part of his parents (cf Lk 2:48-52) and embraced the plan that heaven had in mind for him, even leading him to comply with complete abandonment to the hands of the Father (cf Lk 23:46). I remember that in a time of crisis and hesitation which involved many of his friends and followers, ending up with many of them deserting Jesus, he asked the twelve apostles: Do you also wish to go away? Simon Peter said to him: Lord, to whom shall we go? You alone are the Holy One of God (Jn 6:67-69). The proposal presented by Jesus convinced them; today, our proposal of Jesus doesn't convince. I think that in the scripts we prepare for the coming years of catechesis, we should concentrate on presenting the figure of Jesus well; otherwise, it may become more and more difficult to find him in the life of the catechist and of the community that sends and supports, based on the words of Jesus: I am with you always, until the end of time (Mt 28:20). He is, there is no doubt; but there are times when he seems hidden? For, if the proposal of Jesus Christ crucified and risen is seen in the life of the catechist, this Jesus will travel the path along with the youth and speak to their hearts, this is our sure hope (cf Lk 22:15, 32).
Jesus walks with the youth ... unfortunately, the current dominant thinking which sees the human being as an apprentice creator of himself and totally inebriated with freedom, finds it difficult to accept the concept of a vocation, in the highest sense of a call that comes to a person from the Creator of his own being and life. The truth, however, is that God, by creating us, and certainly in our free existence, has predisposed our essence in such a way as to think of us and provide us with the skills required for a specific mission in service to humanity which he loves. He loves us too much on our own and lacking any good. Thus, our happiness depends absolutely on each of us following him and hearing his call to mission. We are predisposed to this freedom, from the very depths of our being, an established calling; the world defines it as a contradiction and to be honest, it is a calculation of possibilities, with no possibility of ever ceasing at any precise position that an infinite Being may have provided for us, but the world is mistaken, for the Lord sets his eyes on the humble and upon the wonders that are accomplished by such tiny creatures. These words express the certainty of blessed youth, one who also saw the mercy that God, in her, has extended from one generation to the next toward those who fear him (cf Lk 1:48-50).
And there is no reason for a person, no matter who she is, to extend herself from the tender gaze with which God looks upon his creatures. Can a woman forget her baby, or not have compassion on the son of her womb? Even though she may forget, I will never forget you (Is 49:15). Jesus walks with the young ... Catechists and the entire community are asked to move from a school-based to a catechumenal model: providing the brain not only with knowledge but with a personal encounter with Jesus Christ, lived in vocational dynamics according to which God calls and we respond. While I was still in the womb, the Lord called me ... to be his servant, to bring Jacob to Him and to gather Israel to Him. So I honoured the Lord. My God became my strength (Is 49:1, 5). The Church in Portugal needs young people capable of responding to God who is calling them, to build stable and fruitful families, to be consecrated men and women who are ready to give everything in exchange for the Kingdom of God, to be priests offered as victims with Christ for their brothers and sisters. There are so many unemployed youth, and the Kingdom of Heaven needs workers and servants ... God does not want this. So what will happen now? It is just that no one has hired us (Mt 20:7). We need to include a vocational dimension in the global catechetical journey that includes the various ages of men, so that all of them may respond to the good God who calls: while they are still in their mothers' wombs; calls us into life and brings us to life; and at the end of our earthly journey, prepared to respond with our whole being to his call: Good and faithful servant, enter into the joy of the Lord (Mt 25:21).
Do not falter, dear brothers, in your apostolic zeal or the spirit of initiative for acquiring this objective, through the use of human endeavour linked with the efficacy of divine assistance. Jesus said: Whoever believes in me will also do the work that I am doing (Jn 14:12); despite our total unworthiness and our human weakness. The apostles too were weak men. Even Peter was a weak man. Ours is therefore a collaborative effort, that is on the part of the whole Church, for it was to the Church that the Lord assured his constant presence and unfailing assistance. Following this ad limina visit, return with renewed commitment and share with all people the assurance of my fraternal solidarity and closeness. Share with them your dreams and your hopes, your concerns and your joys; I invoke upon you and on those you serve, the prayers of the Blessed Virgin, that she may never cease to fill your hearts with filial love. And do not forget to pray for me. I affirm you with my fraternal affection and I gladly grant you the Apostolic Blessing, which I also extend as an embrace for the faithful entrusted to your pastoral care.
No comments:
Post a Comment