At noon today, in the Clementine Hall at the Vatican Apostolic Palace, the Holy Father, Pope Francis received in audience those who are participating in a meeting organized by the Italian Donation Institute, on the occasion of Donation Day 2017.
Dear brothers and sisters,
I am happy to welcome you on the occasion of Donation Day and I greet all of you with great affection, beginning with the President of the Italian Donation Institute, the organizer of this event, who I thank for his words.
The greatest gift that God has given to each of us is life; and life is part of another divine gift which is the creator. Everyone should feel a great responsibility to care adequately for creation, to protect it from various forms of degradation. We have the task of preserving and delivering the planet to future generations, for we ourselves have received it as a free gift from the goodness of God. Faced with the ecological crisis which we are experiencing, the prospect of the gift received and which must be delivered to those who will come after us is a motive for our commitment and our hope.
The gift of life and the gift of creation come from the love of God for all humanity; indeed, through these gifts, God offers us his love. And in the measure to which we are open and able to welcome him, we can become in our turn, gifts of love for our brothers and sisters. Jesus spoke of this love during the Last Supper, when he left his disciples the new commandment of love. Knowing that his hour was coming to pass from this world to the Father, the hour of his Passover from death to resurrection, He bid farewell to his disciples by entrusting them with love, as though it was his last will and testament. He told them: I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. As I have loved you, so you too should love one another (Jn 13:34).
In what sense can Jesus define his commandment as new? The novelty of his delivery lies in the fact that it was not just any love, but the love of Jesus who gave his life for us. His love translates into service of others: in fact, just before Jesus had washed the feet of his disciples. His is a love that abases itself, that rejects every form of violence, respects freedom, promotes dignity, rejects every kind of discrimination. A disarming love, that is revealed most strongly in hatred. This is the rule of love for those who want to follow Jesus: let yourselves be affirmed by Jesus, loved by Him, to model our actions on His infinite generosity.
The gift that is celebrated in Italy on October 4, is not an abstract concept, a generic appeal to the gift - many gifts can be interesting, while not being free - but an attitude and an action that have their own roots in the message of the gospel. Everyone, especially children and youth are called to experience a great encounter with this gift. It is a matter of a teaching experience, that helps us to grow both humanly and spiritually, opening our minds and the hearts wide to the capability of fraternity and sharing. In this way, we build a civilization of love!
For these reasons, Donation Day is an ideal opportunity first of all for youth: they can discover the truth that this gift is a part of us that is given freely to another person, not to lose that gift but rather to increase its value. Giving makes us feel happier and it makes others feel happy; giving helps us to create ties and relations that strengthen hope for a better world.
I encourage you to joyfully continue your journey. Be men and women, young men and young women who are defenders of life, caring for creation, witnesses of love that is given and that bears the fruit of goodness for everyone.
I accompany you with my prayers. And you too, please, pray for me. With all my heart, I willingly bless you.
Speech of the Holy Father, Pope Francis
shared with members of the
Italian Donation Institute
Dear brothers and sisters,
I am happy to welcome you on the occasion of Donation Day and I greet all of you with great affection, beginning with the President of the Italian Donation Institute, the organizer of this event, who I thank for his words.
The greatest gift that God has given to each of us is life; and life is part of another divine gift which is the creator. Everyone should feel a great responsibility to care adequately for creation, to protect it from various forms of degradation. We have the task of preserving and delivering the planet to future generations, for we ourselves have received it as a free gift from the goodness of God. Faced with the ecological crisis which we are experiencing, the prospect of the gift received and which must be delivered to those who will come after us is a motive for our commitment and our hope.
The gift of life and the gift of creation come from the love of God for all humanity; indeed, through these gifts, God offers us his love. And in the measure to which we are open and able to welcome him, we can become in our turn, gifts of love for our brothers and sisters. Jesus spoke of this love during the Last Supper, when he left his disciples the new commandment of love. Knowing that his hour was coming to pass from this world to the Father, the hour of his Passover from death to resurrection, He bid farewell to his disciples by entrusting them with love, as though it was his last will and testament. He told them: I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. As I have loved you, so you too should love one another (Jn 13:34).
In what sense can Jesus define his commandment as new? The novelty of his delivery lies in the fact that it was not just any love, but the love of Jesus who gave his life for us. His love translates into service of others: in fact, just before Jesus had washed the feet of his disciples. His is a love that abases itself, that rejects every form of violence, respects freedom, promotes dignity, rejects every kind of discrimination. A disarming love, that is revealed most strongly in hatred. This is the rule of love for those who want to follow Jesus: let yourselves be affirmed by Jesus, loved by Him, to model our actions on His infinite generosity.
The gift that is celebrated in Italy on October 4, is not an abstract concept, a generic appeal to the gift - many gifts can be interesting, while not being free - but an attitude and an action that have their own roots in the message of the gospel. Everyone, especially children and youth are called to experience a great encounter with this gift. It is a matter of a teaching experience, that helps us to grow both humanly and spiritually, opening our minds and the hearts wide to the capability of fraternity and sharing. In this way, we build a civilization of love!
For these reasons, Donation Day is an ideal opportunity first of all for youth: they can discover the truth that this gift is a part of us that is given freely to another person, not to lose that gift but rather to increase its value. Giving makes us feel happier and it makes others feel happy; giving helps us to create ties and relations that strengthen hope for a better world.
I encourage you to joyfully continue your journey. Be men and women, young men and young women who are defenders of life, caring for creation, witnesses of love that is given and that bears the fruit of goodness for everyone.
I accompany you with my prayers. And you too, please, pray for me. With all my heart, I willingly bless you.
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