At 12:00 noon today in Rome, the Holy Father, Pope Francis appeared at the window of his apartment in the Vatican Apostolic Palace to recite the Angelus with the faithful and with pilgrims who had gathered in Saint Peter's Square.
Dear brothers and sisters, good morning!
In today's second reading, Saint Paul affirms: Let no one boast about human beings: everything belongs to you, whether it is Paul, Apollos or Cephas (who is Peter), the world, life or death, the present or the future, everything is yours! But you belong to Christ and Christ belongs to God (1 Cor 3:23). Why does the Apostle say this? Because the problem that he was facing was division within the Christian community at Corinth, where groups of the faithful had been formed. These groups had heard the news proclaimed to them by various preachers, and they considered the preachers themselves to be their leaders. They were saying: I belong to Paul, I belong to Apollo, I belong to Cephas (1:12). Saint Paul explained that this way of thinking is wrong because the community doesn't belong to the Apostles, but they - the Apostles - belong to the community, and the community, in its entirety, belongs to Christ!
This belonging to Christ means that in the Christian communities – dioceses, parishes, associations, movements – the differences cannot contradict the fact that, through Baptism, we have the same dignity: all of us, in Jesus Christ, are children of God. And this is our dignity: in Jesus Christ we are children of God! Those who have received the office of leadership, of preaching, of administering the Sacraments, must not think of themselves as owners of special powers, as if they were masters, but they must put themselves at the service of the community, helping it to travel the path of holiness with joy.
Today the Church entrusts this way of pastoral life to the new Cardinals, with whom I celebrated Mass this morning. We can congratulate all the new Cardinals with applause. Let us all congratulate them! Yesterday’s Consistory and today’s Eucharistic celebration offered us a precious occasion to experience the catholicity, the universality of the Church, well-represented by the various origins of the members of the College of Cardinals, gathered in close communion around the Successor of Peter. May the Lord give us the grace to work for the unity of the Church, to build this unity, because unity is more important than conflicts! The unity of the Church is a gift that comes from Christ; conflicts are problems that are not always from Christ.
The liturgical moments of celebration that we have had the opportunity to experience during the course of the last couple days reinforce the faith in all of us and our love for Christ and for his Church! I invite you to support these shepherds and to assist them with prayer, so that they may always lead the people entrusted to them with zeal, showing everyone the tenderness and love of the Lord. But a bishop, a cardinal, and even a pope have such a great need of prayer to help the people of God to go forward! I say help, that is, serve the people of God, because the vocation of a bishop, a cardinal and a pope is precisely this: to be servants, to serve in the name of Christ. Pray for us to be good servants: good servants, not good bosses! All of us together, bishops, priests, consecrated persons and lay faithful must offer the witness of a Church faithful to Christ, animated by the desire to serve our brothers and sisters, and ready to meet the spiritual expectations and needs of the men and women of our time with prophetic courage. May Our Lady accompany us and protect us on this journey.
Following the recitation of the Angelus, the Holy Father made the following remarks to those gathered in Saint Peter’s Square:
I greet all of the pilgrims present, especially those who have come for the Consistory, to accompany the new Cardinals; and I heartily thank the countries who have wished to be present at this event with official delegations.
I greet the students of Toulouse and the community of Venezuelans who live in Italy.
I greet the faithful from Caltanissetta, Reggio Calabria, Sortino, Altamura, Ruvo and Lido degli Estensi; the young people from Reggio Emilia and those from the Diocese of Lodi; the Bicyclist Association of Agrigento and the volunteers of the Civil Protection from Bassa Padovana.
I wish everyone a good Sunday and a good lunch! Goodbye!
Greetings of the Holy Father, Pope Francis
to introduce the recitation of the Angelus
Dear brothers and sisters, good morning!
In today's second reading, Saint Paul affirms: Let no one boast about human beings: everything belongs to you, whether it is Paul, Apollos or Cephas (who is Peter), the world, life or death, the present or the future, everything is yours! But you belong to Christ and Christ belongs to God (1 Cor 3:23). Why does the Apostle say this? Because the problem that he was facing was division within the Christian community at Corinth, where groups of the faithful had been formed. These groups had heard the news proclaimed to them by various preachers, and they considered the preachers themselves to be their leaders. They were saying: I belong to Paul, I belong to Apollo, I belong to Cephas (1:12). Saint Paul explained that this way of thinking is wrong because the community doesn't belong to the Apostles, but they - the Apostles - belong to the community, and the community, in its entirety, belongs to Christ!
This belonging to Christ means that in the Christian communities – dioceses, parishes, associations, movements – the differences cannot contradict the fact that, through Baptism, we have the same dignity: all of us, in Jesus Christ, are children of God. And this is our dignity: in Jesus Christ we are children of God! Those who have received the office of leadership, of preaching, of administering the Sacraments, must not think of themselves as owners of special powers, as if they were masters, but they must put themselves at the service of the community, helping it to travel the path of holiness with joy.
Today the Church entrusts this way of pastoral life to the new Cardinals, with whom I celebrated Mass this morning. We can congratulate all the new Cardinals with applause. Let us all congratulate them! Yesterday’s Consistory and today’s Eucharistic celebration offered us a precious occasion to experience the catholicity, the universality of the Church, well-represented by the various origins of the members of the College of Cardinals, gathered in close communion around the Successor of Peter. May the Lord give us the grace to work for the unity of the Church, to build this unity, because unity is more important than conflicts! The unity of the Church is a gift that comes from Christ; conflicts are problems that are not always from Christ.
The liturgical moments of celebration that we have had the opportunity to experience during the course of the last couple days reinforce the faith in all of us and our love for Christ and for his Church! I invite you to support these shepherds and to assist them with prayer, so that they may always lead the people entrusted to them with zeal, showing everyone the tenderness and love of the Lord. But a bishop, a cardinal, and even a pope have such a great need of prayer to help the people of God to go forward! I say help, that is, serve the people of God, because the vocation of a bishop, a cardinal and a pope is precisely this: to be servants, to serve in the name of Christ. Pray for us to be good servants: good servants, not good bosses! All of us together, bishops, priests, consecrated persons and lay faithful must offer the witness of a Church faithful to Christ, animated by the desire to serve our brothers and sisters, and ready to meet the spiritual expectations and needs of the men and women of our time with prophetic courage. May Our Lady accompany us and protect us on this journey.
Following the recitation of the Angelus, the Holy Father made the following remarks to those gathered in Saint Peter’s Square:
I greet all of the pilgrims present, especially those who have come for the Consistory, to accompany the new Cardinals; and I heartily thank the countries who have wished to be present at this event with official delegations.
I greet the students of Toulouse and the community of Venezuelans who live in Italy.
I greet the faithful from Caltanissetta, Reggio Calabria, Sortino, Altamura, Ruvo and Lido degli Estensi; the young people from Reggio Emilia and those from the Diocese of Lodi; the Bicyclist Association of Agrigento and the volunteers of the Civil Protection from Bassa Padovana.
I wish everyone a good Sunday and a good lunch! Goodbye!
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