On the occasion of the 38th Meeting for friendship among peoples, which began today in Rimini focused on the theme: What you inherit from your fathers, hold on to it, possess it, the Holy Father, Pope Francis has sent a Message to the Bishop of that city, His Excellency, Francesco Lambiasi, signed by the Cardinal Secretary of State, Pietro Parolin.
To His Excellency, the Most Reverend
Francesco Lambiasi
Bishop of Rimini
Your Excellency,
In the name of the Holy Father, Pope Francis, and in my own name, I extend cordial greetings to You, to the organizers and to those who are participating in the XXXVIII Meeting for friendship among peoples.
Each year, the focus of these meetings invite us to reflect on various aspects of life which the quickening pace of life too often places within parentheses. Everything seems to lean on us, and we are filled with such anxiety at the thought of having to turn the pages of life at such a hurried pace. Life is fragmented and is at risk of becoming brittle. For this reason, each time we are able to stop and consider the great questions that define our human existence, questions which are difficult to ignore, it is a precious occasion.
In this sense, we can also read the theme of the 2017 Meeting: That which you inherit from your fathers, examine it carefully and possess it (Goethe, Faust). This is an invitation to re-examine ourselves from our points of origin, from within our own personal histories. For too long, we have believed that the inheritance passed on to us by our fathers would remain with us like a treasure, and all that we would have to do is keep it, keep the fire burning. This is not the case: the fire that burned in the hearts of those who once preceded us has now faded away.
One of the limits of modern-day society is that there is little regard for memory, and a willingness to liquidate, as though everything that has preceded us is a heavy and useless burden, but this has serious consequences. Think for instance about the world of education: how can we hope to help new generations to grow without memory? And how can we think of edifying the future without taking positions with regard to history which has given birth to our present day? As Christians we do not cultivate any nostalgic repetition about the past which no longer exists. Rather, we look to the future with trust. We have no space to defend because the love of God knows no bounds. We live in a favourable time for a Church that is outward looking, but a Church that is rich in memory, being thrust forward by the Spirit's breath in order to go out to encounter mankind who is seeking a reason to live. There are innumerable traces of the presence of God throughout the history of the world; in fact, everything - beginning with creation - speaks of Him. The real and living God wished to share in our history: The Word became man and came to live among us (Jn 1:14). God is not a memory, but a presence, to be welcomed again and again, as the beloved is welcomed by the one he loves.
There is a disease that can strike those who are Baptized; the Holy Father calls it spiritual alzheimers: it consists in forgetting the history of our personal relationship with God, the first Love that has overcome us and made us his own. If we become forgotten in our encounter with the Lord, we can no longer be sure of anything; therefore, we become afraid and fear blocks every one of our movements. If we abandon the safe harbour of our ties with the Father, we become prey to the whims and desires of the moment, slaves to false infinites that promise the moon but which leave us disillusioned and sad, seeking something else to fill the emptiness of our hearts. How can we avoid this spiritual alzheimers? There is only one way: make the beginnings come alive, our first Love, which is not an abstract discourse or thought, but rather a Person. The grateful memory of this beginning provides the strength for us to face new challenges that require equally new responses, while always remaining open to the surprises of the Spirit that blows where it wills.
How does the great tradition of faith get handed on to us? How does the love of Jesus reach us? Through the life of the Church, through a multitude of witnesses which for two thousand years have been renewing the proclamation of the coming of God-among-us which allows us to relive the experience of the beginning, as it was for the first human beings that Christ encountered. For us too, Galilee is the place of our first call, where everything began! ... and for this reason, we must return there, to that luminous point where the Grace of God touched me at the beginning of my journey ... when Jesus passed by along my path, looked at me with mercy, asked me to follow him; ... in order to remember the moment when his eyes encountered mine (Pope Francis, Homily for the Pascal Vigil, 19 April 2014).
That regard always precedes us, as Saint Augustine recalled while speaking of Zacchaeus: He was looked upon, and then he saw (Discourse 174, 4.4). We should never forget this beginning. This is what we have inherited, the precious treasure that we must rediscover every day, if we want it to be our own. Don Giussani left an effective image of this commitment that we cannot forget: By nature, the one who loves his child puts into his sack, on his shoulders, all the best that has been lived in life ... But, at a certain point, nature gives to the child, to those who were children, the instinct to take the sack and to place it before his eyes ... So that what we say may become a problem! If it does not become a problem, it will never mature ... Carrying the sack before our eyes, ... it is a paradigm of that which we see within, that is to say, all that we have counted as part of our traditons, with the desires of our hearts: ... the need for truth, beauty, goodness ... In doing this, he takes on his human physionomy (Educational risk, Milan, 2005, 17-19).
Regarding your own legacy is a commitment to which Mother Church calls every generation; and the Holy Father invites us not to be afraid of labour and sufferings, which are part of the journey. We are not allowed to look at reality from the balcony, neither can we remain comfortably seated on our couches and looking at the world as it passes by before us on television. Only by regaining the truth, beauty and goodness that our forefathers have entrusted to us, can we live life as an opportunity to change the era in which we are immersed, seeing it as an opportunity to communicate the joy of the Gospel in convincing ways to the men and women of our time.
For this reason, Pope Francis invites the organizers and participants present at the Meeting to examine your points of view in order to identify the many signs - more or less explicit - of the need for God as the ultimate meaning of existence, so that you can offer people a living response to the great questions of the human heart. Also this year, visitors can see in you trustworthy witnesses of hope that does not disappoint. Speak with them about various meetings, exhibitions, shows and most of all, speak to them about your own lives.
While remembering your ministry in his prayer, the Holy Father sends you, Your Excellency, and all the participants present for this Meeting, the desired Apostolic Blessing.
I unite my personal wishes and, looking forward to being present with you for the final day of the Meeting, I reaffirm my esteemed respect for Your Excellency.
Pietro Cardinal Parolin
Secretary of State
Message of the Holy Father, Pope Francis
for the 38th Meeting for Friendship Among Peoples
To His Excellency, the Most Reverend
Francesco Lambiasi
Bishop of Rimini
Your Excellency,
In the name of the Holy Father, Pope Francis, and in my own name, I extend cordial greetings to You, to the organizers and to those who are participating in the XXXVIII Meeting for friendship among peoples.
Each year, the focus of these meetings invite us to reflect on various aspects of life which the quickening pace of life too often places within parentheses. Everything seems to lean on us, and we are filled with such anxiety at the thought of having to turn the pages of life at such a hurried pace. Life is fragmented and is at risk of becoming brittle. For this reason, each time we are able to stop and consider the great questions that define our human existence, questions which are difficult to ignore, it is a precious occasion.
In this sense, we can also read the theme of the 2017 Meeting: That which you inherit from your fathers, examine it carefully and possess it (Goethe, Faust). This is an invitation to re-examine ourselves from our points of origin, from within our own personal histories. For too long, we have believed that the inheritance passed on to us by our fathers would remain with us like a treasure, and all that we would have to do is keep it, keep the fire burning. This is not the case: the fire that burned in the hearts of those who once preceded us has now faded away.
One of the limits of modern-day society is that there is little regard for memory, and a willingness to liquidate, as though everything that has preceded us is a heavy and useless burden, but this has serious consequences. Think for instance about the world of education: how can we hope to help new generations to grow without memory? And how can we think of edifying the future without taking positions with regard to history which has given birth to our present day? As Christians we do not cultivate any nostalgic repetition about the past which no longer exists. Rather, we look to the future with trust. We have no space to defend because the love of God knows no bounds. We live in a favourable time for a Church that is outward looking, but a Church that is rich in memory, being thrust forward by the Spirit's breath in order to go out to encounter mankind who is seeking a reason to live. There are innumerable traces of the presence of God throughout the history of the world; in fact, everything - beginning with creation - speaks of Him. The real and living God wished to share in our history: The Word became man and came to live among us (Jn 1:14). God is not a memory, but a presence, to be welcomed again and again, as the beloved is welcomed by the one he loves.
There is a disease that can strike those who are Baptized; the Holy Father calls it spiritual alzheimers: it consists in forgetting the history of our personal relationship with God, the first Love that has overcome us and made us his own. If we become forgotten in our encounter with the Lord, we can no longer be sure of anything; therefore, we become afraid and fear blocks every one of our movements. If we abandon the safe harbour of our ties with the Father, we become prey to the whims and desires of the moment, slaves to false infinites that promise the moon but which leave us disillusioned and sad, seeking something else to fill the emptiness of our hearts. How can we avoid this spiritual alzheimers? There is only one way: make the beginnings come alive, our first Love, which is not an abstract discourse or thought, but rather a Person. The grateful memory of this beginning provides the strength for us to face new challenges that require equally new responses, while always remaining open to the surprises of the Spirit that blows where it wills.
How does the great tradition of faith get handed on to us? How does the love of Jesus reach us? Through the life of the Church, through a multitude of witnesses which for two thousand years have been renewing the proclamation of the coming of God-among-us which allows us to relive the experience of the beginning, as it was for the first human beings that Christ encountered. For us too, Galilee is the place of our first call, where everything began! ... and for this reason, we must return there, to that luminous point where the Grace of God touched me at the beginning of my journey ... when Jesus passed by along my path, looked at me with mercy, asked me to follow him; ... in order to remember the moment when his eyes encountered mine (Pope Francis, Homily for the Pascal Vigil, 19 April 2014).
That regard always precedes us, as Saint Augustine recalled while speaking of Zacchaeus: He was looked upon, and then he saw (Discourse 174, 4.4). We should never forget this beginning. This is what we have inherited, the precious treasure that we must rediscover every day, if we want it to be our own. Don Giussani left an effective image of this commitment that we cannot forget: By nature, the one who loves his child puts into his sack, on his shoulders, all the best that has been lived in life ... But, at a certain point, nature gives to the child, to those who were children, the instinct to take the sack and to place it before his eyes ... So that what we say may become a problem! If it does not become a problem, it will never mature ... Carrying the sack before our eyes, ... it is a paradigm of that which we see within, that is to say, all that we have counted as part of our traditons, with the desires of our hearts: ... the need for truth, beauty, goodness ... In doing this, he takes on his human physionomy (Educational risk, Milan, 2005, 17-19).
Regarding your own legacy is a commitment to which Mother Church calls every generation; and the Holy Father invites us not to be afraid of labour and sufferings, which are part of the journey. We are not allowed to look at reality from the balcony, neither can we remain comfortably seated on our couches and looking at the world as it passes by before us on television. Only by regaining the truth, beauty and goodness that our forefathers have entrusted to us, can we live life as an opportunity to change the era in which we are immersed, seeing it as an opportunity to communicate the joy of the Gospel in convincing ways to the men and women of our time.
For this reason, Pope Francis invites the organizers and participants present at the Meeting to examine your points of view in order to identify the many signs - more or less explicit - of the need for God as the ultimate meaning of existence, so that you can offer people a living response to the great questions of the human heart. Also this year, visitors can see in you trustworthy witnesses of hope that does not disappoint. Speak with them about various meetings, exhibitions, shows and most of all, speak to them about your own lives.
While remembering your ministry in his prayer, the Holy Father sends you, Your Excellency, and all the participants present for this Meeting, the desired Apostolic Blessing.
I unite my personal wishes and, looking forward to being present with you for the final day of the Meeting, I reaffirm my esteemed respect for Your Excellency.
Pietro Cardinal Parolin
Secretary of State
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