At 11:35am this morning (5:35am EDT), in the Clementine Hall at the Vatican Apostolic Palace, the Holy Father, Pope Francis received in audience the members of the Emmanuel Community, on the occasion of their annual meeting which is taking place this year in Rome.
Dear friends,
I am very happy to welcome you on the occasion of your annual meeting, which is taking place this year in Rome. This pilgrimage is a sign of the full participation of the Emmanuel Community in the communion of the entire Catholic Church. This is also an occasion for me to thank you for your faithfulness and your attachment to the Successor of Peter, to express the appreciation with which I look to your missionary commitment which is now present on all the continents, and to encourage you to persevere in the future.
This future is marked by the recent recognition of the clerical Association of the Emmanuel Community, which took place on 15 August of last year, a reality that was made possible because of the many priestly vocations that the charism of your Community has borne, as well as the greater fruitfulness of evangelization. Far from isolating your priests from the other members of your community, both lay members and consecrated members, I hope that on the contrary, this recognition will enliven the beautiful communion that exists between the various states of life that you have experienced for more than 40 years, in the complementarity of your different vocations. I also invite your community to maintain a close connection with the rich reality of the parishes in the places where you live, and to willingly involve yourselves in the pastoral work of your particular Churches (cf Evangelii gaudium, 29).
The charism of the Emmanuel Community is inscribed in your name: Emmanuel, God with us. It is essentially in the contemplation of the mystery of the incarnation, especially in Eucharistic adoration, that you discover the missionary dynamism to proclaim the Good News to all those to whom Jesus offers his friendship. I encourage you to help men and women of our time, wherever the Spirit may send you, to discover the Mercy of God who has loved us to the point of living among us. The Lord's Mercy is always precent and close to his people, and we in turn must propose mercy with renewed enthusiasm through renewed pastoral activity, in order to touch people's hearts and encourage them to renew their lives by returning to the Father (cf Misericordiae Vultus, 15). Wherever your Community is present, may the Father's Mercy be made present, especially toward the poor - in spirit and in body - through efforts aimed at caring for their wounds with the consolation of the gospel, with solidarity and with particular attention (MV, 15).
Dear friends, from its very beginning, the Emmanuel Community has expressed a real commitment to proclaiming the Good News in living and joyous ways. I encourage you to remain rooted in Christ through a solid interior life and by sharing in the Holy Spirit who comes to help us overcome our weaknesses and to heal us from everything that weakens our missionary commitment; may you always cherish in your hearts this ardent desire to share the joy of the gospel with those who have not yet discovered it and with those who have lost it; may you be promotors of a Church that goes out - that is first among my hopes. The Church is counting on you, on your faithfulness to the Word, on your willingness to serve and to the witness of lives which have been transformed by the Holy Spirit! (Speech during the Vigil of Pentecost, 3 June 2017).
Together with you, I give thanks for the paths you have travelled under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, whose desire is that we should always be on the journey; and I invite you to always listen to Him, for there is no greater freedom than to allow ourselves to be led by the Spirit and to allow the Spirit to illuminate our paths and to lead us where He needs us to be.
I entrust all of you to the intercession of the Virgin Mary, asking her to guide your steps and to support your efforts. I bless you all, and please, don't forget to pray for me. Thank you.
Speech of the Holy Father, Pope Francis
for the meeting with members of the
Emmanuel Community
Dear friends,
I am very happy to welcome you on the occasion of your annual meeting, which is taking place this year in Rome. This pilgrimage is a sign of the full participation of the Emmanuel Community in the communion of the entire Catholic Church. This is also an occasion for me to thank you for your faithfulness and your attachment to the Successor of Peter, to express the appreciation with which I look to your missionary commitment which is now present on all the continents, and to encourage you to persevere in the future.
This future is marked by the recent recognition of the clerical Association of the Emmanuel Community, which took place on 15 August of last year, a reality that was made possible because of the many priestly vocations that the charism of your Community has borne, as well as the greater fruitfulness of evangelization. Far from isolating your priests from the other members of your community, both lay members and consecrated members, I hope that on the contrary, this recognition will enliven the beautiful communion that exists between the various states of life that you have experienced for more than 40 years, in the complementarity of your different vocations. I also invite your community to maintain a close connection with the rich reality of the parishes in the places where you live, and to willingly involve yourselves in the pastoral work of your particular Churches (cf Evangelii gaudium, 29).
The charism of the Emmanuel Community is inscribed in your name: Emmanuel, God with us. It is essentially in the contemplation of the mystery of the incarnation, especially in Eucharistic adoration, that you discover the missionary dynamism to proclaim the Good News to all those to whom Jesus offers his friendship. I encourage you to help men and women of our time, wherever the Spirit may send you, to discover the Mercy of God who has loved us to the point of living among us. The Lord's Mercy is always precent and close to his people, and we in turn must propose mercy with renewed enthusiasm through renewed pastoral activity, in order to touch people's hearts and encourage them to renew their lives by returning to the Father (cf Misericordiae Vultus, 15). Wherever your Community is present, may the Father's Mercy be made present, especially toward the poor - in spirit and in body - through efforts aimed at caring for their wounds with the consolation of the gospel, with solidarity and with particular attention (MV, 15).
Dear friends, from its very beginning, the Emmanuel Community has expressed a real commitment to proclaiming the Good News in living and joyous ways. I encourage you to remain rooted in Christ through a solid interior life and by sharing in the Holy Spirit who comes to help us overcome our weaknesses and to heal us from everything that weakens our missionary commitment; may you always cherish in your hearts this ardent desire to share the joy of the gospel with those who have not yet discovered it and with those who have lost it; may you be promotors of a Church that goes out - that is first among my hopes. The Church is counting on you, on your faithfulness to the Word, on your willingness to serve and to the witness of lives which have been transformed by the Holy Spirit! (Speech during the Vigil of Pentecost, 3 June 2017).
Together with you, I give thanks for the paths you have travelled under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, whose desire is that we should always be on the journey; and I invite you to always listen to Him, for there is no greater freedom than to allow ourselves to be led by the Spirit and to allow the Spirit to illuminate our paths and to lead us where He needs us to be.
I entrust all of you to the intercession of the Virgin Mary, asking her to guide your steps and to support your efforts. I bless you all, and please, don't forget to pray for me. Thank you.
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