At noon today, in the Paul VI Hall, the Holy Father, Pope Francis received in audience those who are participating in a Meeting which was organized by the Food Bank Network.
Dear brothers and sisters, good morning!
I am pleased to meet with you, all of you, associations and individuals who collaborate in this significant network of charity called the Food Bank Network. I also greet those who are following this encounter in Saint Peter's Square. For 25 years, you have been committed every day, as volunteers, on the front lines of poverty. In particular, your concern is to fight against food waste, to collect it and to distribute it to families who are in difficulty and to people who are in need. Thank you for all that you do; I encourage you to continue your work.
Today, hunger has assumed the dimension of a true scandal which is threatening lives and the dignity of many people - men, women, children and the elderly. Every day, we must deal with this injustice, I dare say that is is more, with this sin, in a world that is rich with food resources, thank also to enormous technological advances. There are too many who do not have enough to survive; and this is not only the case in poor countries, but even more in rich and in developing societies. The situation is made even worse by the influx of migrants, in Europe alone there are thousands of refugees, fleeing their own countries and in need of everything. Faced with such a huge problem, the words of Jesus ring out: I was hungry and you gave me something to eat (Mt 25:35). We see in the gospel that the Lord, when he realized that the crowds who had come to hear him speak were hungry, did not ignore the problem, nor did he speak eloquently about poverty, but he undertakes a gesture that leaves everyone amazed: he takes the little that the disciples had brought with them, blesses it, multiplies the loaves and the fish, so much so that in the end they collected twelve baskets full of the pieces that were left over (Mt 14:20-21).
We cannot accomplish miracles like Jesus did; however we can do something, faced with the emergency of hunger, something humble, something that has the strength of a miracle. First of all, we can educate people, teach them to recognize the humanity present in every person, the neediness in everyone. Perhaps we can remember Danilo Fossati, an entrepreneur and founder of the Food Bank, when he confided in Father Giussani his unease about the destruction of products that we still edible, especially considering the number of people in Italy who suffer from hunger. Father Giussani was impressed and said: Few are the times when I have met someone who chose to give without asking anything in return and never have I known a man who gave without wanting to be known ... The Bank was his work. It was never publicized, always on tiptoe, it has continued in that way since its inception.
Your initiative, which is celebrating its 25th anniversary, has its roots in the heart of these two men, who did not remain indifferent to the cry of the poor. They understood that something had to change in people's mentality, that the walls of individualism and egotism had to be demolished. Continue this work with trust, implementing the culture of encounter and of sharing. Certainly, your contribution seem to be a drop in the ocean of need, but in reality, it is precious! Together with you, others are also at work, and this enlarges the river that feeds the hope of millions of people.
It is Jesus himself who invites you to make some space in your hearts for the urgency of feeding the hungry, and the Church has made it one of the corporal works of mercy. To share what we have with those who do not have the means to respond to such a basic need teaches us that charity is a gift overflowing with a passion for the life of the poor who Jesus leads us to encounter.
Sharing the need for daily bread, every day you meet hundreds of people. Do not forget that they are people, not numbers, each one with his own burden of pain which sometimes seems impossible to bear. Keeping this in mind, you know how to look them in the face, to look them in the eyes, to take them by the hand, to see in them the flesh of Christ and to help them to regain their dignity and to get back on their own two feet. I encourage you to be brothers and friends to the poor; to help them to know that they are important in the eyes of God. May the difficulty that you will most certainly encounter not discourage you; rather, may it lead you to support them more and more and to help them to support one another, striving to outdo one another in charitable work.
May Our Lady, the Mother of Charity protect you. I accompany you with my blessing, and I ask you also, please to pray for me. Thank you!
All together, let us pray to Our Lady. May I suggest one thing: as you pray to Our Lady, and as you receive the blessing, think about one person, or two or three, who we know, who are hungry and how are in need of bread every day. Let us not think about ourselves, and let us ask Our Lady to care for them. May the Lord bless them all.
Hail Mary ...
Speech of the Holy Father, Pope Francis
to members of the Food Bank Network
Dear brothers and sisters, good morning!
I am pleased to meet with you, all of you, associations and individuals who collaborate in this significant network of charity called the Food Bank Network. I also greet those who are following this encounter in Saint Peter's Square. For 25 years, you have been committed every day, as volunteers, on the front lines of poverty. In particular, your concern is to fight against food waste, to collect it and to distribute it to families who are in difficulty and to people who are in need. Thank you for all that you do; I encourage you to continue your work.
Today, hunger has assumed the dimension of a true scandal which is threatening lives and the dignity of many people - men, women, children and the elderly. Every day, we must deal with this injustice, I dare say that is is more, with this sin, in a world that is rich with food resources, thank also to enormous technological advances. There are too many who do not have enough to survive; and this is not only the case in poor countries, but even more in rich and in developing societies. The situation is made even worse by the influx of migrants, in Europe alone there are thousands of refugees, fleeing their own countries and in need of everything. Faced with such a huge problem, the words of Jesus ring out: I was hungry and you gave me something to eat (Mt 25:35). We see in the gospel that the Lord, when he realized that the crowds who had come to hear him speak were hungry, did not ignore the problem, nor did he speak eloquently about poverty, but he undertakes a gesture that leaves everyone amazed: he takes the little that the disciples had brought with them, blesses it, multiplies the loaves and the fish, so much so that in the end they collected twelve baskets full of the pieces that were left over (Mt 14:20-21).
We cannot accomplish miracles like Jesus did; however we can do something, faced with the emergency of hunger, something humble, something that has the strength of a miracle. First of all, we can educate people, teach them to recognize the humanity present in every person, the neediness in everyone. Perhaps we can remember Danilo Fossati, an entrepreneur and founder of the Food Bank, when he confided in Father Giussani his unease about the destruction of products that we still edible, especially considering the number of people in Italy who suffer from hunger. Father Giussani was impressed and said: Few are the times when I have met someone who chose to give without asking anything in return and never have I known a man who gave without wanting to be known ... The Bank was his work. It was never publicized, always on tiptoe, it has continued in that way since its inception.
Your initiative, which is celebrating its 25th anniversary, has its roots in the heart of these two men, who did not remain indifferent to the cry of the poor. They understood that something had to change in people's mentality, that the walls of individualism and egotism had to be demolished. Continue this work with trust, implementing the culture of encounter and of sharing. Certainly, your contribution seem to be a drop in the ocean of need, but in reality, it is precious! Together with you, others are also at work, and this enlarges the river that feeds the hope of millions of people.
It is Jesus himself who invites you to make some space in your hearts for the urgency of feeding the hungry, and the Church has made it one of the corporal works of mercy. To share what we have with those who do not have the means to respond to such a basic need teaches us that charity is a gift overflowing with a passion for the life of the poor who Jesus leads us to encounter.
Sharing the need for daily bread, every day you meet hundreds of people. Do not forget that they are people, not numbers, each one with his own burden of pain which sometimes seems impossible to bear. Keeping this in mind, you know how to look them in the face, to look them in the eyes, to take them by the hand, to see in them the flesh of Christ and to help them to regain their dignity and to get back on their own two feet. I encourage you to be brothers and friends to the poor; to help them to know that they are important in the eyes of God. May the difficulty that you will most certainly encounter not discourage you; rather, may it lead you to support them more and more and to help them to support one another, striving to outdo one another in charitable work.
May Our Lady, the Mother of Charity protect you. I accompany you with my blessing, and I ask you also, please to pray for me. Thank you!
All together, let us pray to Our Lady. May I suggest one thing: as you pray to Our Lady, and as you receive the blessing, think about one person, or two or three, who we know, who are hungry and how are in need of bread every day. Let us not think about ourselves, and let us ask Our Lady to care for them. May the Lord bless them all.
Hail Mary ...
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