At 10:00am today, in the former Roman Stadium in Campobasso, the Holy Father, Pope Francis presided over the concelebration of a Mass with the faithful of the Archdiocese of Campobasso-Boiano. At the conclusion of the Mass, the Archbishop of that Archdiocese, His Excellency, Giancarlo Maria Bregantini addressed a few words of greeting to the Holy Father.
Wisdom delivered from tribulations, those who served her (Wis 10:9).
The first Reading reminds us of the characteristics of divine wisdom, which frees those who place themselves at the service of the Lord from evil and oppression. In fact, the Lord is not neutral, but with his wisdom, he is always on the side of those who are fragile, those who are discriminated against and oppressed, those who abandon themselves to his trusting care. The experience of Jacob and Joseph, recounted in the Old Testament, raises two essential aspects of the life of the Church: the Church is a people who serve God; and the Church is a people who live in freedom which is a gift from Him.
First of all, we are a people who serve God. Service to God is demonstrated in various ways, in particular through prayer and adoration, through the proclamation of the gospel and through witnessing to charity. And as always, the icon of the Church is the Virgin Mary, the servant of the Lord (Lk 1:38; 1:48). Immediately after having heard the Angel's greeting and having conceived Jesus, Mary left in haste to go and to help her elder relative Elizabeth. In this way, she showed us that the preferred way to serve God is to serve our brothers and sisters who are in need.
At the school of the Mother, the Church learns every day how to become a servant of the Lord, to be ready to go and to meet those who are in situations of most need, and to be primarily concerned with the little ones and those who are excluded. But service in charity must always be lived in the ordinary realities of life, that is, in the family, in the parish, in our places of work, with those who are close to us ... And charity is needed every day, ordinary charity.
The witness of charity is the best way to evangelize. In this respect, the Church has always been first in line, as the maternal and fraternal presence of sharing people's difficulties and the fragility, In this way, the Christian community seeks to instil in society a supplemental soul which allows her to watch out for others and to hope.
This is what you too, dear brothers and sisters of this Diocese, are doing with great generosity, supported by the pastoral zeal of your Bishop. I encourage you all, priests, consecrated persons, faithful laity, to persevere on this path, serving God by serving your brothers and sisters, and spreading the culture of solidarity everywhere. We need your commitment so much, especially in the face of situations material and spiritual precariousness, especially in the face of unemployment, a wound that requires all our strength and so much courage on the part of everyone. Employment is particularly a challenge for those who are responsible for institutions, in the world of business and in the financial sectors. Also necessary is the dignity of the human person which should be at the centre of every initiative and every action. Other interests, even if they are legitimate, are secondary. At the centre is the dignity of the human person! Why? Because the human person is the image of God, we were created in the image of God and we are all images of God!
Therefore, the Church is the people who serve the Lord. For this reason, we are the people who experience his freedom and live according to the freedom that He grants. True freedom is always provided by God. First of all, freedom from sin, from egotism in all its forms, freedom to give of ourselves and to do so with joy, like the Virgin of Nazareth who is free of herself, does not focus on her own condition - and she had every reason to do so! - but who thinks rather of those who in that moment need her help. She is freed by the freedom of God, which is demonstrated in love. And this is the freedom that God has given, and we should never lose it: the freedom to adore God, to serve God and to serve also our brothers and sisters.
This is the liberty that, with the grace of God, we experience in the Christian community, when we place ourselves at the service of one another. Without jealousy, without partisanship, without idle chatter ... Serve one another, serve! In this way, the Lord frees us from ambitions and rivalries that undermine unity within the community. he frees us from challenges and from sadness - the sadness that is so dangerous, because it casts us down, it is dangerous, be careful! He frees us from fear, from inner emptiness, from isolation, from regret and from the temptation to complain. Even in our communities in fact, there is no shortage of negative attitudes, which render people self-referential, preoccupied more with defending than with giving. But Christ frees us from this existential grey, as we heard in the Responsorial Psalm: You are my help and my liberation. For this reason, the disciples, we, the disciples of the Lord, though we are all weak sinners - and we all are! - even while we remain weak and sinful, we are called to live our faith with joy and courage, to live in communion with God and with our brothers and sisters, to adore God and to face with fortitude the hardships and trials of life.
Dear brothers and sisters, may the Holy Virgin, who you venerate particularly under the title of the Madonna of Liberation, attain for you the joy of serving the Lord and of walking in the freedom that He provides: the freedom of adoration, the freedom of prayer and the freedom of serving one another. Mary will help you to be a maternal Church, a Church which is welcoming and caring toward all peoples. She is always close to you, close to your sick, close to your elderly, who are the wisdom of the people, close to your young people. For all your people, she is a sign of consolation and of sure hope. May the Madonna of Liberation accompany you, help you, console you and give you peace ... and give you joy!
At the conclusion of the Mass, Pope Francis travelled by car to the Cathedral of Campobasso where, after a moment of silent adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, and a moment of prayer at the tombs of Bishops Alberto Romita (died in 1939) and Secondo Bolgna (Archbishop of Campobasso from 1940 to 1943, who died as a result of the bombarding of the city on October 10, 1943), he greeted a group of sick persons.
When the meeting with the sick at the Cathedral was concluded, the Holy Father travelled by car to the Casa degli Angeli in Campobasso where he had lunch with a group of the poor who are assisted by the diocesan Caritas organization and therefore inaugurated a new building which will henceforth be operated by the diocesan Caritas outreach workers under the name of Pope Francis' House of Angels.
Following the lunch shared with the poor, the Pope travelled by helicopter to the University of Molise where, around 2:45pm local time, he left once again for the Shrine of Castelpetroso.
Homily of the Holy Father, Pope Francis
for the Mass celebrated in the former Roman Stadium
Campobasso
Wisdom delivered from tribulations, those who served her (Wis 10:9).
The first Reading reminds us of the characteristics of divine wisdom, which frees those who place themselves at the service of the Lord from evil and oppression. In fact, the Lord is not neutral, but with his wisdom, he is always on the side of those who are fragile, those who are discriminated against and oppressed, those who abandon themselves to his trusting care. The experience of Jacob and Joseph, recounted in the Old Testament, raises two essential aspects of the life of the Church: the Church is a people who serve God; and the Church is a people who live in freedom which is a gift from Him.
First of all, we are a people who serve God. Service to God is demonstrated in various ways, in particular through prayer and adoration, through the proclamation of the gospel and through witnessing to charity. And as always, the icon of the Church is the Virgin Mary, the servant of the Lord (Lk 1:38; 1:48). Immediately after having heard the Angel's greeting and having conceived Jesus, Mary left in haste to go and to help her elder relative Elizabeth. In this way, she showed us that the preferred way to serve God is to serve our brothers and sisters who are in need.
At the school of the Mother, the Church learns every day how to become a servant of the Lord, to be ready to go and to meet those who are in situations of most need, and to be primarily concerned with the little ones and those who are excluded. But service in charity must always be lived in the ordinary realities of life, that is, in the family, in the parish, in our places of work, with those who are close to us ... And charity is needed every day, ordinary charity.
The witness of charity is the best way to evangelize. In this respect, the Church has always been first in line, as the maternal and fraternal presence of sharing people's difficulties and the fragility, In this way, the Christian community seeks to instil in society a supplemental soul which allows her to watch out for others and to hope.
This is what you too, dear brothers and sisters of this Diocese, are doing with great generosity, supported by the pastoral zeal of your Bishop. I encourage you all, priests, consecrated persons, faithful laity, to persevere on this path, serving God by serving your brothers and sisters, and spreading the culture of solidarity everywhere. We need your commitment so much, especially in the face of situations material and spiritual precariousness, especially in the face of unemployment, a wound that requires all our strength and so much courage on the part of everyone. Employment is particularly a challenge for those who are responsible for institutions, in the world of business and in the financial sectors. Also necessary is the dignity of the human person which should be at the centre of every initiative and every action. Other interests, even if they are legitimate, are secondary. At the centre is the dignity of the human person! Why? Because the human person is the image of God, we were created in the image of God and we are all images of God!
Therefore, the Church is the people who serve the Lord. For this reason, we are the people who experience his freedom and live according to the freedom that He grants. True freedom is always provided by God. First of all, freedom from sin, from egotism in all its forms, freedom to give of ourselves and to do so with joy, like the Virgin of Nazareth who is free of herself, does not focus on her own condition - and she had every reason to do so! - but who thinks rather of those who in that moment need her help. She is freed by the freedom of God, which is demonstrated in love. And this is the freedom that God has given, and we should never lose it: the freedom to adore God, to serve God and to serve also our brothers and sisters.
This is the liberty that, with the grace of God, we experience in the Christian community, when we place ourselves at the service of one another. Without jealousy, without partisanship, without idle chatter ... Serve one another, serve! In this way, the Lord frees us from ambitions and rivalries that undermine unity within the community. he frees us from challenges and from sadness - the sadness that is so dangerous, because it casts us down, it is dangerous, be careful! He frees us from fear, from inner emptiness, from isolation, from regret and from the temptation to complain. Even in our communities in fact, there is no shortage of negative attitudes, which render people self-referential, preoccupied more with defending than with giving. But Christ frees us from this existential grey, as we heard in the Responsorial Psalm: You are my help and my liberation. For this reason, the disciples, we, the disciples of the Lord, though we are all weak sinners - and we all are! - even while we remain weak and sinful, we are called to live our faith with joy and courage, to live in communion with God and with our brothers and sisters, to adore God and to face with fortitude the hardships and trials of life.
Dear brothers and sisters, may the Holy Virgin, who you venerate particularly under the title of the Madonna of Liberation, attain for you the joy of serving the Lord and of walking in the freedom that He provides: the freedom of adoration, the freedom of prayer and the freedom of serving one another. Mary will help you to be a maternal Church, a Church which is welcoming and caring toward all peoples. She is always close to you, close to your sick, close to your elderly, who are the wisdom of the people, close to your young people. For all your people, she is a sign of consolation and of sure hope. May the Madonna of Liberation accompany you, help you, console you and give you peace ... and give you joy!
At the conclusion of the Mass, Pope Francis travelled by car to the Cathedral of Campobasso where, after a moment of silent adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, and a moment of prayer at the tombs of Bishops Alberto Romita (died in 1939) and Secondo Bolgna (Archbishop of Campobasso from 1940 to 1943, who died as a result of the bombarding of the city on October 10, 1943), he greeted a group of sick persons.
When the meeting with the sick at the Cathedral was concluded, the Holy Father travelled by car to the Casa degli Angeli in Campobasso where he had lunch with a group of the poor who are assisted by the diocesan Caritas organization and therefore inaugurated a new building which will henceforth be operated by the diocesan Caritas outreach workers under the name of Pope Francis' House of Angels.
Following the lunch shared with the poor, the Pope travelled by helicopter to the University of Molise where, around 2:45pm local time, he left once again for the Shrine of Castelpetroso.
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