At 12:20pm today, in the Sala Clementina at the Apostolic Palace, the Holy Father, Pope Francis received in audience those who are participating in the General Chapter of the Sons of Divine Providence (the Congregation of Saint Luigi Orione, otherwise known as the Orionines).
Dear brothers and sisters,
I am pleased to meet with you on the occasion of your General Chapter. I cordially greet you, at the beginning of the service which will be rendered by your new Superior General, who I thank for his words and to whom I present my wishes a good term, along with that of your Councillors.
We are all journeying in the footsteps of Jesus. The entire Church is called to walk with Jesus along the roads of this world, in order to encounter today's humanity who are in need - as Don Orione wrote - the bread which is His body and the divine balm of faith (Letter II, 463). To embody in our time, these words of your Founder and to live the essence of his teaching, you have placed your very identity at the centre of the reflections during your General Chapter, summed up by Don Orione in the phrase: servants of Christ and of the poor. The path you follow must always seek to unite these two dimensions of your personal and apostolic life. You have been called and consecrated to God in order to remain with Jesus (cf Mk 3:14) and to serve Him in the poor and in those who are excluded from society. In them, you touch and serve Christ's flesh, and you grow in union with Him, always careful that the faith does not become idolatry and that charity is not reduced to philanthropy, and that the Church does not end up being a non-profit organization.
Being servants of Christ qualifies all that you are and all that you do, ensuring your apostolic effectiveness, making your service fruitful. Don Orione would urge you to seek out and to tend to the wounds of the people, caring for their infirmities, meeting him in the moral and the material: in this way, your actions will not only be effective, but profoundly Christian and salvific (Writings 61, 114). I encourage you to follow these guidelines; they are needed now more than ever before! In fact, in doing so, you will not only imitate Jesus, the Good Samaritan, but you will also offer people the joy of encountering Jesus and the salvation that He offers to all people. Truly, those who allow themselves to be saved by him are freed from sin, from sadness, from inner emptiness, from isolation. With Jesus Christ, joy is constantly born and reborn (Evangelii gaudium, 1).
The proclamation of the gospel, especially in our time, requires the love of the Lord, united with a particular effort. I knew that, when your Founder was alive, in certain places they would call him the running priest, because they would always see him moving, among the people, with rapid footsteps toward those he cared for. Amor est in via, Saint Bernard recalled, love is always on the street, love is always moving. With Don Orione, even I exhort you to not remain closed in upon your own ambitions, but to go out. We are in such need of priests and religious who are not closed in upon themselves, remaining in health care institutions - even though this is necessary - but who know how to go beyond the confines of themselves, to spread to every place, even the most remote, the perfume of Christ's charity. Never loose sight of either the Church or your religious community; indeed, your heart must always be there, in your upper room, but then you have to go out to bring God's mercy to all people, with no exceptions.
Your service to the Church will be more effective, the more you strive to care for your personal closeness to Christ and your personal formation. Bearing witness to the beauty of consecration, living well the life of religious servants of Christ and of the poor, you will be examples for the youth. Life generates life; a religious who is holy and happy inspires new vocations.
I entrust your Congregation to the maternal protection of the Virgin Mary, who you venerate as your Mother of Divine Providence. I ask you please, to pray for me and for my service to the Church, because I too am on a journey. I impart the Apostolic Blessing to you, to all of your confreres, especially those who are elderly and those who are sick, and to all those who share the charism of your Institute.
Speech of the Holy Father, Pope Francis
to members of the Congregation of Saint Luigi Orione
Dear brothers and sisters,
I am pleased to meet with you on the occasion of your General Chapter. I cordially greet you, at the beginning of the service which will be rendered by your new Superior General, who I thank for his words and to whom I present my wishes a good term, along with that of your Councillors.
We are all journeying in the footsteps of Jesus. The entire Church is called to walk with Jesus along the roads of this world, in order to encounter today's humanity who are in need - as Don Orione wrote - the bread which is His body and the divine balm of faith (Letter II, 463). To embody in our time, these words of your Founder and to live the essence of his teaching, you have placed your very identity at the centre of the reflections during your General Chapter, summed up by Don Orione in the phrase: servants of Christ and of the poor. The path you follow must always seek to unite these two dimensions of your personal and apostolic life. You have been called and consecrated to God in order to remain with Jesus (cf Mk 3:14) and to serve Him in the poor and in those who are excluded from society. In them, you touch and serve Christ's flesh, and you grow in union with Him, always careful that the faith does not become idolatry and that charity is not reduced to philanthropy, and that the Church does not end up being a non-profit organization.
Being servants of Christ qualifies all that you are and all that you do, ensuring your apostolic effectiveness, making your service fruitful. Don Orione would urge you to seek out and to tend to the wounds of the people, caring for their infirmities, meeting him in the moral and the material: in this way, your actions will not only be effective, but profoundly Christian and salvific (Writings 61, 114). I encourage you to follow these guidelines; they are needed now more than ever before! In fact, in doing so, you will not only imitate Jesus, the Good Samaritan, but you will also offer people the joy of encountering Jesus and the salvation that He offers to all people. Truly, those who allow themselves to be saved by him are freed from sin, from sadness, from inner emptiness, from isolation. With Jesus Christ, joy is constantly born and reborn (Evangelii gaudium, 1).
The proclamation of the gospel, especially in our time, requires the love of the Lord, united with a particular effort. I knew that, when your Founder was alive, in certain places they would call him the running priest, because they would always see him moving, among the people, with rapid footsteps toward those he cared for. Amor est in via, Saint Bernard recalled, love is always on the street, love is always moving. With Don Orione, even I exhort you to not remain closed in upon your own ambitions, but to go out. We are in such need of priests and religious who are not closed in upon themselves, remaining in health care institutions - even though this is necessary - but who know how to go beyond the confines of themselves, to spread to every place, even the most remote, the perfume of Christ's charity. Never loose sight of either the Church or your religious community; indeed, your heart must always be there, in your upper room, but then you have to go out to bring God's mercy to all people, with no exceptions.
Your service to the Church will be more effective, the more you strive to care for your personal closeness to Christ and your personal formation. Bearing witness to the beauty of consecration, living well the life of religious servants of Christ and of the poor, you will be examples for the youth. Life generates life; a religious who is holy and happy inspires new vocations.
I entrust your Congregation to the maternal protection of the Virgin Mary, who you venerate as your Mother of Divine Providence. I ask you please, to pray for me and for my service to the Church, because I too am on a journey. I impart the Apostolic Blessing to you, to all of your confreres, especially those who are elderly and those who are sick, and to all those who share the charism of your Institute.
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