At 4:30pm local time last Saturday in Rome, the Holy Father presided over the Rite of Admission to the Catechumenate (the stage of instruction for adults who wish to be baptized), one of the celebrations organized for the final days of the Year of Faith. There were about 500 catechumens present, coming from 47 different countries, and from all five continents, along with their catechists.
The liturgy began with the Rites of Introduction which took place in the atrium of Saint Peter's Basilica, where the Pope welcomed a representative number of the catechumens and their sponsors, inviting them to enter into the church. During the Liturgy of the Word, before confiding the text of the Gospel to a few of the catechumens, Pope Francis shared a few words of wisdom with the catechumens and their sponsors.
Dear catechumens,
This final moment of the Year of Faith sees you gathered here, along with your catechists and family members, representing also the many other men and women who are following, in other parts of the world, the same path of faith as you. Spiritually, we are all colleagues, in this particular moment. You come from many different countries, from various cultural traditions and experiences. Tonight, we also have many things in common. Above all, perhaps the first among our similarities is a desire for God. This desire is evoked by the words of the Psalmist: Like the deer that yearns for running streams, so my soul is thirsting for you, my God. My soul is thirsting for God, the living God; when will I see and behold the face of God (Psalm 42:2-3). It is extremely important that you maintain this desire, this yearning to meet the Lord and to encounter him, to experience his love, to experience his mercy! If you lose your thirst for the living God, your faith will be at risk of becoming a habit, will be at risk of dying like a fire that cannot be relit. It will be at risk of becoming stale and not making sense.
The Gospel story (see John 1:35-42) shows us John the Baptist who points out Jesus, the Lamb of God, to his own disciples. Two of them follow after the Master, and then, in turn, they themselves become mediators who bring others to meet the Lord, to know him and to follow him. There are three moments in this gospel story that evoke the experience of the catechumenate. First of all, there is the moment of listening. The two disciples listened to the testimony of the Baptist. You too, dear catechumens, have listened to those who have spoken to you about Jesus and you have decided to follow him, to become his disciples through Baptism. Amidst the tumult of so many voices that resonate around us and inside us, you have heard and are responding to the voice that points to Jesus, the only one who can give full meaning to our lives.
The second moment is the encounter. The two disciples meet the Master and remain with him. After having met him, they were immediately aware of something new in their hearts: the need to share their joy with others so that they in turn could experience such an encounter. In fact, Andrew found his brother Simon and brought him to Jesus. How good it is to contemplate this scene! It reminds us that God did not create us to be alone, closed in on ourselves, but in order to encounter him and to open ourselves to encountering others. First of all, God comes to each of us, and this is marvellous! He comes to meet us! In the Bible, God is always the one who takes the initiative of the encounter with man: it is he who seeks man, most especially he seeks man at times when man experiences the bitterness and tragedy of betraying God and tries to hide from Him. Instead of waiting, God seeks man out, immediately. Our Father is a patient seeker! He always precedes us and waits for us! He never stops waiting for us, he never distances himself from us; he has great patience and waits for the favourable moment of encounter with each one of us. And when the encounter occurs, it is never a hurried meeting because God wants to stay with us, to sustain us, to console us, to give us his joy. God is in a hurry to meet us, but he is never in a hurry to leave. Stay with us. How we yearn for him, and desire this encounter; in the same way he longs to be with us, because we belong to Him, we are His, we are His creatures. We can also say that he thirsts for us, to encounter us. Our God is thirsty for us. This is the heart of God, and it is good for us to hear.
The last part of the story involves walking. The two disciples walk toward Jesus, and then walk a part of the road with him. This is an important lesson for all of us. Faith is a journey with Jesus. Never forget this: faith is a journey with Jesus; it is a journey that lasts a lifetime. At the end of this earthly life, there will be a definitive encounter. Sure, at certain moments along this journey, we feel tired and confused. But faith gives us the certainty of the constant presence of Jesus in every situation, even the most painful situations or the moments that are the most difficult to understand. We are invited to this journey in order to enter always more deeply into the mystery of God's love which guides us and allows us to live with serenity and hope.
Dear catechumens, today you begin the journey of the catechumenate. I encourage you to undertake this journey with joy, assured of the support of the whole Church which looks to you with great trust. May Mary, the perfect disciple, accompany you: it's good to hear that she is our mother in faith! I invite you to maintain the enthusiasm of the first moments when you opened your eyes to the light of faith; to remember, like the beloved disciple, the day, the hour when you first spent time with Jesus, when you were aware of his gaze being fixed upon you ... on you ... on you. Never forget this gaze! It is a loving gaze! This gaze will always assure you of the faithful love of the Lord. He is faithful. You can be sure of this: he will never let you down!
The liturgy began with the Rites of Introduction which took place in the atrium of Saint Peter's Basilica, where the Pope welcomed a representative number of the catechumens and their sponsors, inviting them to enter into the church. During the Liturgy of the Word, before confiding the text of the Gospel to a few of the catechumens, Pope Francis shared a few words of wisdom with the catechumens and their sponsors.
Homily of the Holy Father, Pope Francis
for the gathering with catechumens
in Saint Peter's Basilica
Dear catechumens,
This final moment of the Year of Faith sees you gathered here, along with your catechists and family members, representing also the many other men and women who are following, in other parts of the world, the same path of faith as you. Spiritually, we are all colleagues, in this particular moment. You come from many different countries, from various cultural traditions and experiences. Tonight, we also have many things in common. Above all, perhaps the first among our similarities is a desire for God. This desire is evoked by the words of the Psalmist: Like the deer that yearns for running streams, so my soul is thirsting for you, my God. My soul is thirsting for God, the living God; when will I see and behold the face of God (Psalm 42:2-3). It is extremely important that you maintain this desire, this yearning to meet the Lord and to encounter him, to experience his love, to experience his mercy! If you lose your thirst for the living God, your faith will be at risk of becoming a habit, will be at risk of dying like a fire that cannot be relit. It will be at risk of becoming stale and not making sense.
The Gospel story (see John 1:35-42) shows us John the Baptist who points out Jesus, the Lamb of God, to his own disciples. Two of them follow after the Master, and then, in turn, they themselves become mediators who bring others to meet the Lord, to know him and to follow him. There are three moments in this gospel story that evoke the experience of the catechumenate. First of all, there is the moment of listening. The two disciples listened to the testimony of the Baptist. You too, dear catechumens, have listened to those who have spoken to you about Jesus and you have decided to follow him, to become his disciples through Baptism. Amidst the tumult of so many voices that resonate around us and inside us, you have heard and are responding to the voice that points to Jesus, the only one who can give full meaning to our lives.
The second moment is the encounter. The two disciples meet the Master and remain with him. After having met him, they were immediately aware of something new in their hearts: the need to share their joy with others so that they in turn could experience such an encounter. In fact, Andrew found his brother Simon and brought him to Jesus. How good it is to contemplate this scene! It reminds us that God did not create us to be alone, closed in on ourselves, but in order to encounter him and to open ourselves to encountering others. First of all, God comes to each of us, and this is marvellous! He comes to meet us! In the Bible, God is always the one who takes the initiative of the encounter with man: it is he who seeks man, most especially he seeks man at times when man experiences the bitterness and tragedy of betraying God and tries to hide from Him. Instead of waiting, God seeks man out, immediately. Our Father is a patient seeker! He always precedes us and waits for us! He never stops waiting for us, he never distances himself from us; he has great patience and waits for the favourable moment of encounter with each one of us. And when the encounter occurs, it is never a hurried meeting because God wants to stay with us, to sustain us, to console us, to give us his joy. God is in a hurry to meet us, but he is never in a hurry to leave. Stay with us. How we yearn for him, and desire this encounter; in the same way he longs to be with us, because we belong to Him, we are His, we are His creatures. We can also say that he thirsts for us, to encounter us. Our God is thirsty for us. This is the heart of God, and it is good for us to hear.
The last part of the story involves walking. The two disciples walk toward Jesus, and then walk a part of the road with him. This is an important lesson for all of us. Faith is a journey with Jesus. Never forget this: faith is a journey with Jesus; it is a journey that lasts a lifetime. At the end of this earthly life, there will be a definitive encounter. Sure, at certain moments along this journey, we feel tired and confused. But faith gives us the certainty of the constant presence of Jesus in every situation, even the most painful situations or the moments that are the most difficult to understand. We are invited to this journey in order to enter always more deeply into the mystery of God's love which guides us and allows us to live with serenity and hope.
Dear catechumens, today you begin the journey of the catechumenate. I encourage you to undertake this journey with joy, assured of the support of the whole Church which looks to you with great trust. May Mary, the perfect disciple, accompany you: it's good to hear that she is our mother in faith! I invite you to maintain the enthusiasm of the first moments when you opened your eyes to the light of faith; to remember, like the beloved disciple, the day, the hour when you first spent time with Jesus, when you were aware of his gaze being fixed upon you ... on you ... on you. Never forget this gaze! It is a loving gaze! This gaze will always assure you of the faithful love of the Lord. He is faithful. You can be sure of this: he will never let you down!
No comments:
Post a Comment