At the conclusion of his visit to the prison at Castrovillari, the Pope travelled by helicopter to Cassano all'Jonio. The Holy Father landed in the Pietro Toscano sports field where Doctor Gianfranco Tomao, the Prefect of Cosenza and Doctor Giovanni Papasso, the Mayor of Cassano all Joino were waiting for him. His Holiness then went to the nearby San Giuseppe Moscati Hospice to visit with the sick and with convalescing patients.
When he had completed his visit with the patients, the Holy Father travelled by car to the Cathedral, where he met with priests of the Diocese of Cassano all'Jonio.
Dear priests,
I thank you for your welcome! I have been looking forward to this meeting with you who bear the daily weight of parish work.
First of all, I want to share with you the joy of being a priest - rather the constantly renewed joy of having been called by the Lord Jesus. Called to follow him, to stay with Him, so that we can go out to others and share Him with them, share his word, share his forgiveness ... There is nothing more beautiful for any person than this, am I right? When we priests are before the tabernacle, and if we stop for a moment there, in silence, we can feel Jesus gazing anew upon us and this gaze renews us, it re-energizes us.
Surely, at times it's not easy to stay in front of the Lord; it's not easy because we are preoccupied with so many things, by so many people ...; but sometimes it's not easy because we feel a little uneasiness, the gaze of Jesus makes us a bit uncomfortable; it even places us in situations of crisis ... but this is good for us! in the silence of prayer, Jesus allows us to see whether we are doing his work, and doing it well, or whether we have become more like his employees; whether we are open channels, generously allowing his love, his grace to flow through us, or whether we place ourselves at the centre of our lives, and therefore instead of being channels, we become screens which do not help to promote the human encounter with God, with the light and the strength of the gospel.
The second thing I want to share with you is the beauty of fraternity: of being priests together, of not being alone as we follow the Lord, we don't follow him one by one, but together and we bring with us a great variety of gifts and personalities; indeed, it is precisely this variety of gifts that enriches the priesthood, this variety of providence, of ages, of talents ... All of this we share in common, in fraternity.
This also is not easy, it is not immediate and taken for granted. First of all because we priests are also immersed in today’s subjectivist culture, this culture that exalts the I to the point of idolizing it. And then because of a certain pastoral individualism that, unfortunately, is spread throughout our dioceses. Therefore, we must react to this with the choice of fraternity. I speak of choice intentionally. It cannot be something left to chance, to favorable circumstances … No, it is a choice, which corresponds to the reality that constitutes us, to the gift we received but which must always be gathered and cultivated: communion in Christ in the presbyterate, around the Bishop. This communion calls for being lived, seeking concrete ways appropriate to the times and to the reality of the territory, but always in an apostolic perspective, with a missionary style, with fraternity and simplicity of life. When Jesus says: By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another (John 13:35), he says it, certainly, for all, but first of all for the Twelve, for those He has called to follow him more closely.
The joy of being priests and the beauty of fraternity: these are the two things that I felt most important to share with you, especially as I was thinking of you. I mention only one last thing: I encourage you in your work with families and for the family. It is a work that the Lord asks us to do in a particular way at this time, which is a difficult time, both for the family as institutions and for families because of the crisis. But precisely when the time is difficult, God makes His closeness felt, His grace, the prophetic force of His Word. And we are called to be witnesses, mediators of this closeness to families and of this prophetic force for the family.
Dear brothers, I thank you. And let us go forward, motivated by our common love for the Lord and Holy Mother Church. May Our Lady protect and accompany you. We remain united in prayer. Thank you!
At the conclusion of the meeting with diocesan priests, after a short break in the Episcopal residence, the Holy Father had lunch at the Seminary, accompanied by the poor who are cared for by the diocesan Caritas office and by young people who are resident at the Saman Mauro Rostagno Rehabilitation Centre.
His Holiness then travelled by car to Casa Serena, where he met with the elderly who are resident there. In the early part of the afternoon, having concluded his visit, the Pope then travelled by car to the Plain of Sybaris.
When he had completed his visit with the patients, the Holy Father travelled by car to the Cathedral, where he met with priests of the Diocese of Cassano all'Jonio.
Speech of the Holy Father, Pope Francis
for the meeting with priests of the
Diocese of Cassano all'Jonio
Dear priests,
I thank you for your welcome! I have been looking forward to this meeting with you who bear the daily weight of parish work.
First of all, I want to share with you the joy of being a priest - rather the constantly renewed joy of having been called by the Lord Jesus. Called to follow him, to stay with Him, so that we can go out to others and share Him with them, share his word, share his forgiveness ... There is nothing more beautiful for any person than this, am I right? When we priests are before the tabernacle, and if we stop for a moment there, in silence, we can feel Jesus gazing anew upon us and this gaze renews us, it re-energizes us.
Surely, at times it's not easy to stay in front of the Lord; it's not easy because we are preoccupied with so many things, by so many people ...; but sometimes it's not easy because we feel a little uneasiness, the gaze of Jesus makes us a bit uncomfortable; it even places us in situations of crisis ... but this is good for us! in the silence of prayer, Jesus allows us to see whether we are doing his work, and doing it well, or whether we have become more like his employees; whether we are open channels, generously allowing his love, his grace to flow through us, or whether we place ourselves at the centre of our lives, and therefore instead of being channels, we become screens which do not help to promote the human encounter with God, with the light and the strength of the gospel.
The second thing I want to share with you is the beauty of fraternity: of being priests together, of not being alone as we follow the Lord, we don't follow him one by one, but together and we bring with us a great variety of gifts and personalities; indeed, it is precisely this variety of gifts that enriches the priesthood, this variety of providence, of ages, of talents ... All of this we share in common, in fraternity.
This also is not easy, it is not immediate and taken for granted. First of all because we priests are also immersed in today’s subjectivist culture, this culture that exalts the I to the point of idolizing it. And then because of a certain pastoral individualism that, unfortunately, is spread throughout our dioceses. Therefore, we must react to this with the choice of fraternity. I speak of choice intentionally. It cannot be something left to chance, to favorable circumstances … No, it is a choice, which corresponds to the reality that constitutes us, to the gift we received but which must always be gathered and cultivated: communion in Christ in the presbyterate, around the Bishop. This communion calls for being lived, seeking concrete ways appropriate to the times and to the reality of the territory, but always in an apostolic perspective, with a missionary style, with fraternity and simplicity of life. When Jesus says: By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another (John 13:35), he says it, certainly, for all, but first of all for the Twelve, for those He has called to follow him more closely.
The joy of being priests and the beauty of fraternity: these are the two things that I felt most important to share with you, especially as I was thinking of you. I mention only one last thing: I encourage you in your work with families and for the family. It is a work that the Lord asks us to do in a particular way at this time, which is a difficult time, both for the family as institutions and for families because of the crisis. But precisely when the time is difficult, God makes His closeness felt, His grace, the prophetic force of His Word. And we are called to be witnesses, mediators of this closeness to families and of this prophetic force for the family.
Dear brothers, I thank you. And let us go forward, motivated by our common love for the Lord and Holy Mother Church. May Our Lady protect and accompany you. We remain united in prayer. Thank you!
At the conclusion of the meeting with diocesan priests, after a short break in the Episcopal residence, the Holy Father had lunch at the Seminary, accompanied by the poor who are cared for by the diocesan Caritas office and by young people who are resident at the Saman Mauro Rostagno Rehabilitation Centre.
His Holiness then travelled by car to Casa Serena, where he met with the elderly who are resident there. In the early part of the afternoon, having concluded his visit, the Pope then travelled by car to the Plain of Sybaris.
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