Just one day after two of the Vatican Congregations issued a joint declaration concerning the work that's currently taking place with respect to the theological vision of Religious Life in the Church, the Holy Father met this morning at 9:30am local time in Rome with participants who are present in Rome for the General Assembly of the International Union of Superiors General (the folks who are the people in charge of each of the Orders of Religious Priests and Nuns who are at work in the vineyard of the Lord).
The meeting took place in the Paul VI Hall, so that there would be enough room to accommodate all those who would attend. During the meeting this morning, the Holy Father spoke to the Superiors. Here is a translation of the Pope's remarks:
Your Eminence,
Venerable and dear brothers in the Episcopate,
Dear Sisters!
I am happy to meet with you today and I wish to greet each of you, so that I may thank you for all that you do in order that the consecrated life remains always a light on the Church's path. Dear sisters, first of all I thank my dear brother Cardinal João Braz de Aviz, for the words he addressed to me, also I am pleased to acknowledge the presence of the Secretary of the Congregation. The theme of your conference: The Service of Authority according to the Gospel, seems to me particularly important for the task that has been entrusted to you:. In light of this expression I would like to propose three simple thoughts, which I leave to your personal and community study.
1. At the Last Supper, Jesus addressed the Apostles with these words: You have not chosen me, but I chose you ( Jn 15:16), reminding everyone, not just us priests, that a vocation is always an initiative of God. It is Christ who has called you to follow him in the consecrated life and this means you must continually make an exodus from yourselves, in order to center your life on Christ and on his Gospel , on the will of God, leaving behind your personal ambitions in order to be able to say with St. Paul: It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me ( Gal 2:20). This exodus from ourselves permits us to set out on a journey of worship and service. It is an exodus that leads us to a path of worship of the Lord and service to Him in our brothers and sisters. Worship and serve: two attitudes which cannot be separated, but must always go hand in hand. Worship the Lord and serve others, not taking anything for yourself: this is the stripping of those who exercise authority. Live and always recall the centrality of Christ in the evangelical identity of the consecrated life. Help your communities to live an exodus from themselves on a path of worship and service, primarily through the three cornerstones of your existence.
Obedience, expressed through our listening to the will of God, in the inner movements of the Holy Spirit, authenticated by the Church, is capable of accepting the fact that obedience can even be made known to us through human mediation. Remember that the relationship between authority and obedience should always be considered in the broader context of the mystery of the Church and not as a particular implementation of its function as mediator (cf. Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, The Service of Authority and Obedience , 12).
Poverty: the overcoming of selfishness in the logic of the Gospel which teaches us to trust in God's Providence. Poverty as an indication to the whole Church that we are not to build the Kingdom of God, no human means will make it grow, but it is primarily the power, the grace of the Lord, which works through our weakness. My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness, says the Apostle to the Gentiles (2 Cor 12, 9) . Poverty which teaches solidarity, sharing and charity, and which is expressed in the simplicity and joy of the essential, keeps us always alert to the idolatry of materialism that can obscure the true meaning of life. Poverty we learn through the humble, the poor, the sick and all those who are in the suburbs of existential life. But theoretical poverty is not what is needed. Poverty is learned by touching the flesh of the poor Christ in the humble, the poor, the sick, the children.
And then chastity as a valuable charisma, which enlarges the freedom of the gift to God and to others, with the tenderness, mercy of Christ's closeness. Chastity for the Kingdom of Heaven shows how affectivity has its place in the mature freedom and becomes a sign of the future world, allowing the primacy of God to shine forever. But please, chastity that is fruitful, a chastity that generates spiritual children in the Church. The consecrated is a mother, she must be a mother and not a spinster! Excuse me if I speak like this, but the maternity of the consecrated life is very important; it's fruitfulness is necessary! This joy of the spiritual fruitfulness animates your existence; be mothers, like figures of Mother Mary and Mother Church. You can not understand Mary apart from her motherhood, you can not understand the Church apart from her motherhood and you are icons of Mary and of the Church.
2. A second point I would like to emphasize in the exercise of authority is service : we must never forget that the real power, at whatever level, is service, which reaches its luminous summit on the Cross. Benedict XVI, with great wisdom, has called several times upon the Church to remember that for mankind authority is often synonymous with possession, with dominance, with success, but for God, authority is always synonymous with service, with humility, with love; which means that we disciples must always aim at getting in the mind of Jesus who stoops to wash the feet of the Apostles (cf. Angelus , 29 January 2012), and says to his disciples: You know that the rulers of the nations have dominion over them ... not so among you; - this is really the motto of your assembly, right? It will not be so among you' - but whoever wants to be great among you must be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you must be your slave ( Mt 20:25-27). Think of the damage done to the People of God by men and women of the Church who are careerists, climbers, who use people, the Church, our brothers and sisters - those who they should serve - as a springboard for their own interests and personal ambitions. But these do a great harm to the Church.
May you always exercise your authority by accompanying, understanding, helping, loving, embracing everybody, especially the people who feel alone, excluded, dry, on the existential outskirts of the human heart. We must keep our eyes fixed on the Cross: there lies all the authority in the Church, where the One who is the Lord became a servant even to the point of offering the total gift of himself.
3. Finally, we consider the 'ecclesial nature as one of the constitutive dimensions of consecrated life, a dimension that must be constantly renewed and deepened in our lives. Your vocation is a fundamental charism for the Church's journey, and it is not possible that a consecrated man or woman not feel with the Church. A feeling of being part of the Church, that we knew on the day of our Baptism, a feeling of being part of the Church, which finds its expression in filial fidelity to the Magisterium, in communion with the Bishops and the Successor of Peter, the Bishop of Rome, the visible sign of unity. The proclamation and witness to the Gospel, for every Christian, are never an isolated act. This is important, proclamation and witness to the Gospel for every Christian is never an isolated act, and no evangelist accomplishes his task by acting, as Paul VI remembered very well, by virtue of a personal inspiration, but in union with the mission of the Church and in the name of it (Apostolic Exhortation, Evangelii muntiandi, 80). And Paul VI continued: It is an absurd dichotomy to think of living with Jesus without the Church, to follow Jesus outside of the Church, to love Jesus without loving the Church (cf. ibid. , 16). Feel the responsibilities that are yours: for the formation of your Institutes in the sound doctrine of the Church, in the love of the Church and in the spirit of the Church.
In short, the centrality of Christ and his Gospel, authority as a service of love, a sense of being in and with Mother Church: three suggestions that I wish to leave you, to which I unite once again my gratitude for your work which is not always easy. What would the Church be without you? She would lack motherhood, affection, tenderness! A mother's intuition.
Dear sisters, be certain that you follow with affection. I pray for you, but you must also pray for me. Greet your communities on my part, especially the sick and the young sisters. To all of them I extend my encouragement to follow with frankness and with joy the Gospel of Christ. Be joyful, because it's nice to follow Jesus, it's nice to become a living icon of the Virgin and of our Holy Mother the Church. Thank you.
The meeting took place in the Paul VI Hall, so that there would be enough room to accommodate all those who would attend. During the meeting this morning, the Holy Father spoke to the Superiors. Here is a translation of the Pope's remarks:
Discourse of the Holy Father, Pope Francis
Addressed to the International Union of Superiors General
Your Eminence,
Venerable and dear brothers in the Episcopate,
Dear Sisters!
I am happy to meet with you today and I wish to greet each of you, so that I may thank you for all that you do in order that the consecrated life remains always a light on the Church's path. Dear sisters, first of all I thank my dear brother Cardinal João Braz de Aviz, for the words he addressed to me, also I am pleased to acknowledge the presence of the Secretary of the Congregation. The theme of your conference: The Service of Authority according to the Gospel, seems to me particularly important for the task that has been entrusted to you:. In light of this expression I would like to propose three simple thoughts, which I leave to your personal and community study.
1. At the Last Supper, Jesus addressed the Apostles with these words: You have not chosen me, but I chose you ( Jn 15:16), reminding everyone, not just us priests, that a vocation is always an initiative of God. It is Christ who has called you to follow him in the consecrated life and this means you must continually make an exodus from yourselves, in order to center your life on Christ and on his Gospel , on the will of God, leaving behind your personal ambitions in order to be able to say with St. Paul: It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me ( Gal 2:20). This exodus from ourselves permits us to set out on a journey of worship and service. It is an exodus that leads us to a path of worship of the Lord and service to Him in our brothers and sisters. Worship and serve: two attitudes which cannot be separated, but must always go hand in hand. Worship the Lord and serve others, not taking anything for yourself: this is the stripping of those who exercise authority. Live and always recall the centrality of Christ in the evangelical identity of the consecrated life. Help your communities to live an exodus from themselves on a path of worship and service, primarily through the three cornerstones of your existence.
Obedience, expressed through our listening to the will of God, in the inner movements of the Holy Spirit, authenticated by the Church, is capable of accepting the fact that obedience can even be made known to us through human mediation. Remember that the relationship between authority and obedience should always be considered in the broader context of the mystery of the Church and not as a particular implementation of its function as mediator (cf. Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, The Service of Authority and Obedience , 12).
Poverty: the overcoming of selfishness in the logic of the Gospel which teaches us to trust in God's Providence. Poverty as an indication to the whole Church that we are not to build the Kingdom of God, no human means will make it grow, but it is primarily the power, the grace of the Lord, which works through our weakness. My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness, says the Apostle to the Gentiles (2 Cor 12, 9) . Poverty which teaches solidarity, sharing and charity, and which is expressed in the simplicity and joy of the essential, keeps us always alert to the idolatry of materialism that can obscure the true meaning of life. Poverty we learn through the humble, the poor, the sick and all those who are in the suburbs of existential life. But theoretical poverty is not what is needed. Poverty is learned by touching the flesh of the poor Christ in the humble, the poor, the sick, the children.
And then chastity as a valuable charisma, which enlarges the freedom of the gift to God and to others, with the tenderness, mercy of Christ's closeness. Chastity for the Kingdom of Heaven shows how affectivity has its place in the mature freedom and becomes a sign of the future world, allowing the primacy of God to shine forever. But please, chastity that is fruitful, a chastity that generates spiritual children in the Church. The consecrated is a mother, she must be a mother and not a spinster! Excuse me if I speak like this, but the maternity of the consecrated life is very important; it's fruitfulness is necessary! This joy of the spiritual fruitfulness animates your existence; be mothers, like figures of Mother Mary and Mother Church. You can not understand Mary apart from her motherhood, you can not understand the Church apart from her motherhood and you are icons of Mary and of the Church.
2. A second point I would like to emphasize in the exercise of authority is service : we must never forget that the real power, at whatever level, is service, which reaches its luminous summit on the Cross. Benedict XVI, with great wisdom, has called several times upon the Church to remember that for mankind authority is often synonymous with possession, with dominance, with success, but for God, authority is always synonymous with service, with humility, with love; which means that we disciples must always aim at getting in the mind of Jesus who stoops to wash the feet of the Apostles (cf. Angelus , 29 January 2012), and says to his disciples: You know that the rulers of the nations have dominion over them ... not so among you; - this is really the motto of your assembly, right? It will not be so among you' - but whoever wants to be great among you must be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you must be your slave ( Mt 20:25-27). Think of the damage done to the People of God by men and women of the Church who are careerists, climbers, who use people, the Church, our brothers and sisters - those who they should serve - as a springboard for their own interests and personal ambitions. But these do a great harm to the Church.
May you always exercise your authority by accompanying, understanding, helping, loving, embracing everybody, especially the people who feel alone, excluded, dry, on the existential outskirts of the human heart. We must keep our eyes fixed on the Cross: there lies all the authority in the Church, where the One who is the Lord became a servant even to the point of offering the total gift of himself.
3. Finally, we consider the 'ecclesial nature as one of the constitutive dimensions of consecrated life, a dimension that must be constantly renewed and deepened in our lives. Your vocation is a fundamental charism for the Church's journey, and it is not possible that a consecrated man or woman not feel with the Church. A feeling of being part of the Church, that we knew on the day of our Baptism, a feeling of being part of the Church, which finds its expression in filial fidelity to the Magisterium, in communion with the Bishops and the Successor of Peter, the Bishop of Rome, the visible sign of unity. The proclamation and witness to the Gospel, for every Christian, are never an isolated act. This is important, proclamation and witness to the Gospel for every Christian is never an isolated act, and no evangelist accomplishes his task by acting, as Paul VI remembered very well, by virtue of a personal inspiration, but in union with the mission of the Church and in the name of it (Apostolic Exhortation, Evangelii muntiandi, 80). And Paul VI continued: It is an absurd dichotomy to think of living with Jesus without the Church, to follow Jesus outside of the Church, to love Jesus without loving the Church (cf. ibid. , 16). Feel the responsibilities that are yours: for the formation of your Institutes in the sound doctrine of the Church, in the love of the Church and in the spirit of the Church.
In short, the centrality of Christ and his Gospel, authority as a service of love, a sense of being in and with Mother Church: three suggestions that I wish to leave you, to which I unite once again my gratitude for your work which is not always easy. What would the Church be without you? She would lack motherhood, affection, tenderness! A mother's intuition.
Dear sisters, be certain that you follow with affection. I pray for you, but you must also pray for me. Greet your communities on my part, especially the sick and the young sisters. To all of them I extend my encouragement to follow with frankness and with joy the Gospel of Christ. Be joyful, because it's nice to follow Jesus, it's nice to become a living icon of the Virgin and of our Holy Mother the Church. Thank you.
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