At 11:55am this morning (5:55am EDT), in the Paul VI Hall at the Vatican, the Holy Father, Pope Francis received in audience those who are participating in a Meeting that was organized by the Precious Blood Family.
Dear brothers and sisters,
On the eve of the month of July, in which Christian piety turns its attention especially to the Blood of Christ, I am pleased to meet the Society of Apostolic Life and the Religious Institutes of men and women, along with your respective lay associates, who are inspired by the spirituality of the Blood of Jesus. I greet all of you with affection and thank Father Terenzio Pastore and Sister Nicla Spezzati for the words through which they have introduced this encounter which was organized by the Precious Blood Union.
From the very beginnings of Christianity, the mystery of the love of Christ's blood has fascinated many people. Your Holy Founders also cultivated this devotion, taking it as the basis of your Constitutions, for they understood in the light of faith that Christ's blood is a source of salvation for everyone. God chose the sign of blood, because no other sign expresses more eloquently the supreme love of a life given to others. This self-giving is repeated in every Eucharistic celebration, in which he makes present, together with the Body of Christ, also his precious Blood, the Blood of the new and eternal covenant, poured out for all in remission for sins (cf Mt 26:27).
Meditating on the sacrifice of Christ helps us to perform works of mercy giving our lives freely for God and our brothers and sisters. Meditation on the mystery of the Blood of Christ poured out on the cross for our redemption urges us, in particular, towards those who might be cured of their moral and physical suffering instead of being left to languish on the margins of a society of consumption and indifference. It is in this perspective that your service to the Church and society is highlighted in all its importance. For my part, I suggest three aspects that can help you in your activity and in your testimony: the courage of truth; attention to everyone, especially to those who are distant; and the ability to fascinate and communicate.
The courage of truth. It is important that you be brave people, that you build courageous communities that are not afraid to stand up to affirming the values of the Gospel and the truth about the world and about mankind. It is a matter of speaking plainly and not turning away from the other side in the face of attacks on the value of human life from conception to its natural conclusion, facing the dignity of the human person, facing social ills, even facing various forms of poverty. The testimony of the disciples of Jesus is called to touch the lives of parishes and neighbourhoods, not leaving others indifferent but affecting and transforming the hearts and lives of people.
The second aspect is attention to everyone, especially to those who are distant. In your mission you are called to reach out to everyone, to make yourselves understood by everyone, to be judged popular because you use a language that makes it possible for everyone to understand the message of the Gospel. The recipients of the love and goodness of Jesus are all neighbours, but above all must be reserved for those who are most distant. Therefore, we need to identify the most suitable forms in order to be able to bring together a multiplicity of people in homes, in social environments and in the streets. To do this, always keep before you the example of Jesus and of the disciples who walked the streets of Palestine proclaiming the Kingdom of God with many signs of healing that confirmed the Word. Strive to be an image of a Church that walks the streets, among the people, even risking in the first person, sharing the joys and hardships of those you meet.
The third aspect that I suggest for your testimony is the ability to fascinate and communicate. It is aimed especially at preaching, catechesis, and the itineraries for deepening the Word of God. It is a matter of arousing greater and greater involvement in offering and making the contents of the Christian faith savour, urging us to a new life in Christ. The Gospel and the Holy Spirit evoke words and gestures that make hearts burn and help them to open themselves to God and to others. For this ministry of the Word, we can draw inspiration from the attitude with which Jesus spoke with people to reveal his mystery to everyone, to fascinate ordinary people with high and demanding teachings. The strength of this attitude is hidden in the gaze of Jesus toward others, beyond their weaknesses and failings: Do not be afraid, little flock, because your Father is pleased to give you the Kingdom (Lk 12.32) (cf Evangelii Gaudium, 141). Imitating the style with which Jesus preached helps us to approach others by allowing them to perceive the tenderness of God. I believe that we are living in a time in which it is necessary to carry forward a revolution of tenderness.
These are three characteristics that can be useful for your journey of faith and your apostolate. But let us not forget that the true strength of Christian witness comes from the Gospel itself. And this is where the centrality of the Blood of Christ and its spirituality emerges. It is a matter of relying above all on the superabundance of love expressed in the Blood of the Lord, which brought to light the Church Fathers and the great saints and mystics of Christian history, from Saint Bonaventure to Saint Catherine of Siena and a Saint especially dear to you: Saint Gaspar del Bufalo. This Roman priest, the founder of the Missionaries of the Most Precious Blood, endeavoured to keep the ardor of faith in the Christian people alive by traveling through the regions of central Italy. With the example of his love for God, his humility, his charity, he was able to bring reconciliation and peace everywhere, meeting the spiritual and material needs of the most fragile people who lived on the margins of society.
Dear brothers and sisters, it is in Christ that we find the sure principle of our existence: He is our fundamental and definitive hope. In the journey of your communities, priority goes to prayer, to listening to the Word of God, to contemplation, and to docile obedience to the voice of the Holy Spirit. Communion and collaboration grow among you, indispensable conditions for the apostolic mandate received from the Lord to bear abundant spiritual fruits for the benefit of the whole people of God.
I accompany these wishes with my prayerful remembrance for you and for your mission and, as I ask you to pray for me, I cordially impart my Apostolic Blessing to you.
Greetings of the Holy Father, Pope Francis
addressed to the members of the
Precious Blood Family
Dear brothers and sisters,
On the eve of the month of July, in which Christian piety turns its attention especially to the Blood of Christ, I am pleased to meet the Society of Apostolic Life and the Religious Institutes of men and women, along with your respective lay associates, who are inspired by the spirituality of the Blood of Jesus. I greet all of you with affection and thank Father Terenzio Pastore and Sister Nicla Spezzati for the words through which they have introduced this encounter which was organized by the Precious Blood Union.
From the very beginnings of Christianity, the mystery of the love of Christ's blood has fascinated many people. Your Holy Founders also cultivated this devotion, taking it as the basis of your Constitutions, for they understood in the light of faith that Christ's blood is a source of salvation for everyone. God chose the sign of blood, because no other sign expresses more eloquently the supreme love of a life given to others. This self-giving is repeated in every Eucharistic celebration, in which he makes present, together with the Body of Christ, also his precious Blood, the Blood of the new and eternal covenant, poured out for all in remission for sins (cf Mt 26:27).
Meditating on the sacrifice of Christ helps us to perform works of mercy giving our lives freely for God and our brothers and sisters. Meditation on the mystery of the Blood of Christ poured out on the cross for our redemption urges us, in particular, towards those who might be cured of their moral and physical suffering instead of being left to languish on the margins of a society of consumption and indifference. It is in this perspective that your service to the Church and society is highlighted in all its importance. For my part, I suggest three aspects that can help you in your activity and in your testimony: the courage of truth; attention to everyone, especially to those who are distant; and the ability to fascinate and communicate.
The courage of truth. It is important that you be brave people, that you build courageous communities that are not afraid to stand up to affirming the values of the Gospel and the truth about the world and about mankind. It is a matter of speaking plainly and not turning away from the other side in the face of attacks on the value of human life from conception to its natural conclusion, facing the dignity of the human person, facing social ills, even facing various forms of poverty. The testimony of the disciples of Jesus is called to touch the lives of parishes and neighbourhoods, not leaving others indifferent but affecting and transforming the hearts and lives of people.
The second aspect is attention to everyone, especially to those who are distant. In your mission you are called to reach out to everyone, to make yourselves understood by everyone, to be judged popular because you use a language that makes it possible for everyone to understand the message of the Gospel. The recipients of the love and goodness of Jesus are all neighbours, but above all must be reserved for those who are most distant. Therefore, we need to identify the most suitable forms in order to be able to bring together a multiplicity of people in homes, in social environments and in the streets. To do this, always keep before you the example of Jesus and of the disciples who walked the streets of Palestine proclaiming the Kingdom of God with many signs of healing that confirmed the Word. Strive to be an image of a Church that walks the streets, among the people, even risking in the first person, sharing the joys and hardships of those you meet.
The third aspect that I suggest for your testimony is the ability to fascinate and communicate. It is aimed especially at preaching, catechesis, and the itineraries for deepening the Word of God. It is a matter of arousing greater and greater involvement in offering and making the contents of the Christian faith savour, urging us to a new life in Christ. The Gospel and the Holy Spirit evoke words and gestures that make hearts burn and help them to open themselves to God and to others. For this ministry of the Word, we can draw inspiration from the attitude with which Jesus spoke with people to reveal his mystery to everyone, to fascinate ordinary people with high and demanding teachings. The strength of this attitude is hidden in the gaze of Jesus toward others, beyond their weaknesses and failings: Do not be afraid, little flock, because your Father is pleased to give you the Kingdom (Lk 12.32) (cf Evangelii Gaudium, 141). Imitating the style with which Jesus preached helps us to approach others by allowing them to perceive the tenderness of God. I believe that we are living in a time in which it is necessary to carry forward a revolution of tenderness.
These are three characteristics that can be useful for your journey of faith and your apostolate. But let us not forget that the true strength of Christian witness comes from the Gospel itself. And this is where the centrality of the Blood of Christ and its spirituality emerges. It is a matter of relying above all on the superabundance of love expressed in the Blood of the Lord, which brought to light the Church Fathers and the great saints and mystics of Christian history, from Saint Bonaventure to Saint Catherine of Siena and a Saint especially dear to you: Saint Gaspar del Bufalo. This Roman priest, the founder of the Missionaries of the Most Precious Blood, endeavoured to keep the ardor of faith in the Christian people alive by traveling through the regions of central Italy. With the example of his love for God, his humility, his charity, he was able to bring reconciliation and peace everywhere, meeting the spiritual and material needs of the most fragile people who lived on the margins of society.
Dear brothers and sisters, it is in Christ that we find the sure principle of our existence: He is our fundamental and definitive hope. In the journey of your communities, priority goes to prayer, to listening to the Word of God, to contemplation, and to docile obedience to the voice of the Holy Spirit. Communion and collaboration grow among you, indispensable conditions for the apostolic mandate received from the Lord to bear abundant spiritual fruits for the benefit of the whole people of God.
I accompany these wishes with my prayerful remembrance for you and for your mission and, as I ask you to pray for me, I cordially impart my Apostolic Blessing to you.
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