At noon today in Rome (6:00am EDT), the Holy Father, Pope Francis appeared at the window of his study in the Vatican Apostolic Palace to lead the recitation of the Angelus along with pilgrims and the faithful who were gathered in Saint Peter's Square.
Dear brothers and sisters, good morning!
Today's Gospel passage (cf Lk 10:1-12.17-20) presents Jesus who sends seventy-two disciples on a mission, in addition to the twelve apostles. The number seventy two probably indicates all nations. In fact in the book of Genesis seventy-two different nations are mentioned (cf Gn 10,1-32). Thus this sending prefigures the mission of the Church to proclaim the Gospel to all peoples. Jesus said to those disciples: The harvest is abundant, but the workers are few! Pray therefore the Lord of the harvest to send out labourers into his harvest (Lk 10:2).
This request made by Jesus is always valid. We must always pray to the Lord of the harvest, that is God the Father, so that he sends workers to work in his field which is the world. And each of us must do it with an open heart, with a missionary attitude; our prayer should not be limited only to our needs, our own needs: a prayer is truly Christian if it also has a universal dimension.
In sending the seventy-two disciples, Jesus gives them precise instructions, which express the characteristics of the mission. The first - we have already seen -: pray; the second: go; and then: do not carry a bag ...; say, Peace to this house ... stay in that house ... Don't go from one house to another; heal the sick and tell them: the Kingdom of God is near you; and, if they do not welcome you, go out into the squares and take your leave (cf Lk 10:2-10). These imperatives show that the mission is based on prayer; that it is itinerant: it is not standing still, it is itinerant; which requires detachment and poverty; which brings peace and healing, signs of the nearness of the Kingdom of God that it is not proselytism but announcement and testimony; and which also requires frankness and evangelical freedom to leave, highlighting the responsibility of having rejected the message of salvation, but without condemnations and curses.
If it is experienced in these terms, the mission of the Church will be characterized by joy. And how does this step end? The seventy-two returned full of joy (Lk 10:17). This is not an ephemeral joy that comes from the success of the mission; on the contrary, it is a joy rooted in the promise that Jesus speaks: your names are written in heaven (Lk 10:20). With this expression he is referring to inner joy, the indestructible joy that comes from the awareness of being called by God to follow his Son. That is the joy of being his disciples. Today, for example, each of us, here in the Piazza, can think of the name we received on the day of Baptism: that name is written in heaven, in the heart of God the Father. And it is the joy of this gift that makes every disciple a missionary, one who walks in the company of the Lord Jesus, who learns from him to give of himself without reserve for others, one who is free from himself and from his own possessions.
Together, let us invoke the maternal protection of Holy Mary, that in every place, she may support the mission of Christ's disciples; the mission of proclaiming to all people that God loves us, that he wants us to be saved, that he is calling us to be part of his Kingdom.
Following the recitation of the Angelus, the Holy Father continued:
Dear brothers and sisters,
Even if a few days have already passed, I invite you to pray for the poor defenceless people killed or injured as a result of the air attack that hit a migrant detention centre in Libya. The international community cannot tolerate such serious facts. I am praying for the victims: may the God of peace welcome the dead to himself and support the wounded. I hope that the humanitarian corridors for the most needy migrants will be organized in an extended and concerted way. I also remember all the victims of the massacres that recently took place in Afghanistan, Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger. Let's pray together.
A moment of silence
I offer a cordial welcome to all of you, Romans and pilgrims! I greet the students from the Scuola Sant-Ignazio in Cleveland (USA), the young people from Basiasco and Mairago, and the priests who are participating in a course for formators, organized by the Sacerdos Institute in Rome. I greet the Eritrean community resident here in Rome: dear brothers and sisters, I am praying for your people! And I greet all the Poles who are here with us!
I wish you all a good Sunday. Please, don't forget to pray for me. Enjoy your lunch and good bye!
Testo originale nella lingua italiana
Greetings of the Holy Father, Pope Francis
prior to the recitation of the Angelus
Dear brothers and sisters, good morning!
Today's Gospel passage (cf Lk 10:1-12.17-20) presents Jesus who sends seventy-two disciples on a mission, in addition to the twelve apostles. The number seventy two probably indicates all nations. In fact in the book of Genesis seventy-two different nations are mentioned (cf Gn 10,1-32). Thus this sending prefigures the mission of the Church to proclaim the Gospel to all peoples. Jesus said to those disciples: The harvest is abundant, but the workers are few! Pray therefore the Lord of the harvest to send out labourers into his harvest (Lk 10:2).
This request made by Jesus is always valid. We must always pray to the Lord of the harvest, that is God the Father, so that he sends workers to work in his field which is the world. And each of us must do it with an open heart, with a missionary attitude; our prayer should not be limited only to our needs, our own needs: a prayer is truly Christian if it also has a universal dimension.
In sending the seventy-two disciples, Jesus gives them precise instructions, which express the characteristics of the mission. The first - we have already seen -: pray; the second: go; and then: do not carry a bag ...; say, Peace to this house ... stay in that house ... Don't go from one house to another; heal the sick and tell them: the Kingdom of God is near you; and, if they do not welcome you, go out into the squares and take your leave (cf Lk 10:2-10). These imperatives show that the mission is based on prayer; that it is itinerant: it is not standing still, it is itinerant; which requires detachment and poverty; which brings peace and healing, signs of the nearness of the Kingdom of God that it is not proselytism but announcement and testimony; and which also requires frankness and evangelical freedom to leave, highlighting the responsibility of having rejected the message of salvation, but without condemnations and curses.
If it is experienced in these terms, the mission of the Church will be characterized by joy. And how does this step end? The seventy-two returned full of joy (Lk 10:17). This is not an ephemeral joy that comes from the success of the mission; on the contrary, it is a joy rooted in the promise that Jesus speaks: your names are written in heaven (Lk 10:20). With this expression he is referring to inner joy, the indestructible joy that comes from the awareness of being called by God to follow his Son. That is the joy of being his disciples. Today, for example, each of us, here in the Piazza, can think of the name we received on the day of Baptism: that name is written in heaven, in the heart of God the Father. And it is the joy of this gift that makes every disciple a missionary, one who walks in the company of the Lord Jesus, who learns from him to give of himself without reserve for others, one who is free from himself and from his own possessions.
Together, let us invoke the maternal protection of Holy Mary, that in every place, she may support the mission of Christ's disciples; the mission of proclaiming to all people that God loves us, that he wants us to be saved, that he is calling us to be part of his Kingdom.
Following the recitation of the Angelus, the Holy Father continued:
Dear brothers and sisters,
Even if a few days have already passed, I invite you to pray for the poor defenceless people killed or injured as a result of the air attack that hit a migrant detention centre in Libya. The international community cannot tolerate such serious facts. I am praying for the victims: may the God of peace welcome the dead to himself and support the wounded. I hope that the humanitarian corridors for the most needy migrants will be organized in an extended and concerted way. I also remember all the victims of the massacres that recently took place in Afghanistan, Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger. Let's pray together.
A moment of silence
I offer a cordial welcome to all of you, Romans and pilgrims! I greet the students from the Scuola Sant-Ignazio in Cleveland (USA), the young people from Basiasco and Mairago, and the priests who are participating in a course for formators, organized by the Sacerdos Institute in Rome. I greet the Eritrean community resident here in Rome: dear brothers and sisters, I am praying for your people! And I greet all the Poles who are here with us!
I wish you all a good Sunday. Please, don't forget to pray for me. Enjoy your lunch and good bye!
Testo originale nella lingua italiana
No comments:
Post a Comment