At noon today (6:00am EDT), in the Clementine Hall at the Vatican Apostolic Palace, the Holy Father, Pope Francis received in audience the members of the Emmanuel Community from Lecce.
Dear brothers and sisters, good morning!
I greet all of you, and I thank Father Mario Marafioti. Is it true that they call you the mute one, because you cannot speak? (He answers: It is true!)
I would like to extend my greeting to all the people connected to your community, to those who have attended it in these decades, and including a prayer for those who have left for Heaven.
I thank you for all that you have done over the past almost 40 years, for the welcome, the accompaniment, the work ... And I thank you for how you did it, that is always feeding your doing with your being that comes from the sap of the Word of God, moments of retreat and fraternity. This is important, otherwise you become a welfare agency or a company.
Your community was born on Christmas day, and expresses a faith embodied in service. You started with a welcoming gesture. This is always the case in all the Church's works of charity: the Lord knocks on the door with the face of frail people, brothers and sisters who live in poverty, abandonment, slavery ... And you have opened the door, you have answered their call and you have continued to answer - yes, because the most difficult thing is to persevere, to move forward ... From this openness, the various sectors of the community have developed, all of which are places and moments of welcome.
I thank God with you for this journey. It is He, with his Spirit, who inspires the choices and gives the strength to carry them out; it is He who gives us love which helps us to serve our brothers and sisters with compassion, closeness, gratitude ... You can testify - through your lived experience - that everything comes from Him, is his gift. And this makes you remain in gratitude, praise and joyful awareness that the work is not yours but God's.
Dear brothers and sisters, to prepare yourselves for the fortieth year of your community's life, you wanted this meeting with the Pope. Father Mario was the interpreter of the questions that are in your hearts, especially those who are older in the community, and who see better the road that has been travelled, the fruits that have ripened and also the dangers and temptations that lie ahead.
I would like to confirm you in the main road, which is that of a twofold purpose: being with Christ and being with your brothers and sisters who are in difficulty. This is the key: the double being.
It is a road that is indicated by the very name of your community: Emmanuel. God shows us this way: He, who is Love, is God-with-us. And not as an idea, or worse an ideology, but as a life, the life of Jesus. He is Emmanuel, God-with-us, who witnessed the love of the Father by sharing our human condition to the end.
From this font flows the living water that allows you to keep going:
I have heard that during the next year you want to read the Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Gaudium in depth. Thank you, it's a good choice, it will surely do you good. I offer you some advice: in this reading, do not be self-referential, that is, do not read the Exhortation thinking only of your community, but always read it feeling yourselves to be part of the Church, which in turn is a pilgrim and sent to the world.
Thank you for your visit. For me, it is always a gift and a consolation to meet communities who are seeking to live the joy of the gospel. Thank you and I wish you good journeys! May the Lord, God-with-us, bless you, and may Our Lady protect you. And don't forget to pray for me. Thank you.
Testo originale nella lingua italiana
Greetings of the Holy Father, Pope Francis
for members of the Emmanuel Community
Dear brothers and sisters, good morning!
I greet all of you, and I thank Father Mario Marafioti. Is it true that they call you the mute one, because you cannot speak? (He answers: It is true!)
I would like to extend my greeting to all the people connected to your community, to those who have attended it in these decades, and including a prayer for those who have left for Heaven.
I thank you for all that you have done over the past almost 40 years, for the welcome, the accompaniment, the work ... And I thank you for how you did it, that is always feeding your doing with your being that comes from the sap of the Word of God, moments of retreat and fraternity. This is important, otherwise you become a welfare agency or a company.
Your community was born on Christmas day, and expresses a faith embodied in service. You started with a welcoming gesture. This is always the case in all the Church's works of charity: the Lord knocks on the door with the face of frail people, brothers and sisters who live in poverty, abandonment, slavery ... And you have opened the door, you have answered their call and you have continued to answer - yes, because the most difficult thing is to persevere, to move forward ... From this openness, the various sectors of the community have developed, all of which are places and moments of welcome.
I thank God with you for this journey. It is He, with his Spirit, who inspires the choices and gives the strength to carry them out; it is He who gives us love which helps us to serve our brothers and sisters with compassion, closeness, gratitude ... You can testify - through your lived experience - that everything comes from Him, is his gift. And this makes you remain in gratitude, praise and joyful awareness that the work is not yours but God's.
Dear brothers and sisters, to prepare yourselves for the fortieth year of your community's life, you wanted this meeting with the Pope. Father Mario was the interpreter of the questions that are in your hearts, especially those who are older in the community, and who see better the road that has been travelled, the fruits that have ripened and also the dangers and temptations that lie ahead.
I would like to confirm you in the main road, which is that of a twofold purpose: being with Christ and being with your brothers and sisters who are in difficulty. This is the key: the double being.
It is a road that is indicated by the very name of your community: Emmanuel. God shows us this way: He, who is Love, is God-with-us. And not as an idea, or worse an ideology, but as a life, the life of Jesus. He is Emmanuel, God-with-us, who witnessed the love of the Father by sharing our human condition to the end.
From this font flows the living water that allows you to keep going:
- to not allow your joy, your hope and your courage be stolen;
- to stay together without getting hurt;
- to throw the nets again, after having encountered disappointments and failures;
- to continue working with joy even if you struggle and feel tired;
- to remain faithful to the original spirit of your vocation and mission.
I have heard that during the next year you want to read the Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Gaudium in depth. Thank you, it's a good choice, it will surely do you good. I offer you some advice: in this reading, do not be self-referential, that is, do not read the Exhortation thinking only of your community, but always read it feeling yourselves to be part of the Church, which in turn is a pilgrim and sent to the world.
Thank you for your visit. For me, it is always a gift and a consolation to meet communities who are seeking to live the joy of the gospel. Thank you and I wish you good journeys! May the Lord, God-with-us, bless you, and may Our Lady protect you. And don't forget to pray for me. Thank you.
Testo originale nella lingua italiana
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