On the occasion of the 35th Meeting for Friendship Among the Peoples, which begins today in Rimini and which will focus on the theme Toward the periphery of the world and of existence. Destiny does not leave man alone, the Cardinal Secretary of State, Pietro Parolin sent a message to His Excellency, Francesco Lambiasi, Bishop of Rimini on behalf of the Holy Father.
Destiny does not leave man alone is the second part of the theme of this Meeting: and expression used by the Servant of God, Father Luigi Giussani who would recall that the Lord has never abandoned us, he never forgets us. In ancient times, a man was chosen, Abram, and God sent him on a journey toward the land that he had promised. In the fullness of time, he chose a young woman, the Virgin Mary, in order that his word might become flesh and come to live among us. Nazareth was truly an insignificant village, a periphery according to political and religious customs; but even there, God was looking for a way to bring to fruition his plan for mercy and faithfulness.
A Christian is never afraid to look outward, to go toward the periphery, because he or she is centred on Jesus Christ. He sets us free from our fears; with him by our side we can go forward, confident in every place, even in the dark moments of life, knowing that, wherever we go, the Lord will always go before us with his grace, and our joy is found in sharing with others the good news that He is with us. After having accomplished their mission, Jesus' disciples returned enthusiastic about the success they had experienced. But Jesus said to them: Do not rejoice because the spirits submit to you; rejoice rather because your names are written in heaven (Lk 10:20-21). It's not up to us to save the world, only God can save it.
Men and women of our time are running a great risk of experiencing individual sadness, isolated from one another even though they may find themselves surrounded by many consumer goods, from which many are excluded. Often, there are prevailing lifestyles that put their hopes in economic securities or successes, or entirely worldly successes. Even Christians run this risk. It is evident - the Holy Father affirms - that in some places there is a spiritual desertification taking place, the fruit of society's attempts to build without God (Apostolic Exhortation, Evangelii gaudium, 86). But this should not discourage us, as Pope Benedict XVI reminded us at the beginning of the Year of Faith: In the desert, we begin to understand the value of what is essential to life; so in the contemporary world there are innumerable signs, often manifested in implicit or negative signs, the thirst for God, the ultimate sense of life. And in the desert, we need above all, persons of faith who, with their own lives, point the way toward the promised land and therefore keep hope alive (Homily at the Mass commemorating the opening of the Year of Faith, October 11, 2012).
Pope Francis invites us to collaborate, even with the Meeting for Friendship Among Peoples, with this return to the essentials, which are found in the gospel of Jesus Christ. Christians have a duty to proclaim this truth without excluding anyone, not as someone who is imposing a new obligation, but rather as people who share a joy, pointing out a beautiful horizon offering a desirable banquet. The Church does not grow through proselytizing but through attraction (Evangelii gaudium, 14). that is through personal witness, a story, a gesture or the form that the same Holy Spirit can inspire in a practical circumstance (Evangelii gaudium, 128).
The Holy Father points out to those responsible for this gathering, and to all those who participate in this Meeting two particular points of attention.
First, he invites you to never lose contact with reality; on the contrary, to be lovers of reality. This too is part of Christian witness: before a dominant culture which puts prime importance on appearance, which is superficial and provisional, the challenge is to choose and to love reality. Father Giussani has left you a plan for life as your inheritance. He used to say: The only thing necessary in order to always truly be religious is to always intensively live reality. The best way to be real is to live in reality, no holds barred, without denying or forgetting anything. In fact, it would not be human, that is to say reasonable, to limit our consideration of experience to a superficial examination, as though it were merely the crest of a wave, without delving to the depth of its motivation (The religious sense, p. 150).
In addition, he calls upon you to keep your eyes fixed on the essentials. The most important problem appears in fact when the Christian message is identified with secondary aspects which do not express the heart of the message. In a world such as this, after two thousand years, Jesus has become a stranger in too many countries of the West. We need to be realistic and not assume that our audience understands the full background to what we are saying, or is capable of relating what we say to the very heart of the Gospel which gives it meaning, beauty and attractiveness (Evangelii gaudium, 34).
For this reason, a world in such rapid transformation needs Christians to be willing to seek forms and ways of communicating in understandable language the perennial freshness of Christianity. Here too, we must be realistic. Often it is better simply to slow down, to put aside our eagerness in order to see and listen to others, to stop rushing from one thing to another and to remain with someone who has faltered along the way (Evangelii gaudium, 46).
His Holiness offers these reflections as a contribution to the week of your Meeting, to all those who will participate, in particular to those who are leading your deliberations, to the organizers and to presenters who have come from various corners of the world and of existence to bear witness that God our Father never leaves his children alone. The Pope hopes that many of you will relive the experience of the first disciples of Jesus, who, encountering him on the banks of the Jordan, heard him ask: What are you looking for? May this question posed by Jesus always be part of the journey of those who take part in the Meeting for the Friendship Among the Peoples.
While asking you to pray for him and for his ministry, Pope Francis invokes the maternal protection of the Virgin Mother and willingly imparts his Apostolic Blessing upon Your Excellency and to all those participating in this Meeting.
Assuring Your Excellency also of my personal best wishes, I take this opportunity to confirm my highest esteem
Pietro Cardinal Parolin
Secretary of State
Message sent on behalf of the Holy Father, Pope Francis
for the Meeting for Friendship Among the Peoples
His Excellency, the Most Reverend
Francesco Lambiasi
Bishop of Rimini
Your Excellency,
On the occasion of the 35th Meeting for Friendship Among the Peoples, I am delighted to send to Your Excellency, to the organizers, the volunteers and to all those who will participate, the cordial greetings and blessing of His Holiness, Pope Francis, along with my personal good wishes for this important initiative.
The theme chosen for this year - Toward the periphery of the world and of existence - responds to the constant call of the Holy Father. During his episcopate in Buenos Aires, His Holiness realized that the peripheries are not only places, but also and above all persons, as he explained during his address to the General Congregations before the beginning of the Conclave: the Church is called to go outside of herself and to go out toward the peripheries, not only geographic boundaries, but also existential ones: such as the mystery of sin, of suffering, of injustice, of ignorance of and ascent of faith, of thought, of every form of misery (March 9, 2013).
Therefore, Pope Francis is grateful to the organizers of this Meeting for having heard and spread his invitation to develop this prospect. A Church which goes out is the only possibility according to the gospel; it demonstrates the life of Jesus, who went from village to village announcing the Kingdom of God and who sent his disciples ahead of him. This is the reason why the Father sent him into the world.
Destiny does not leave man alone is the second part of the theme of this Meeting: and expression used by the Servant of God, Father Luigi Giussani who would recall that the Lord has never abandoned us, he never forgets us. In ancient times, a man was chosen, Abram, and God sent him on a journey toward the land that he had promised. In the fullness of time, he chose a young woman, the Virgin Mary, in order that his word might become flesh and come to live among us. Nazareth was truly an insignificant village, a periphery according to political and religious customs; but even there, God was looking for a way to bring to fruition his plan for mercy and faithfulness.
A Christian is never afraid to look outward, to go toward the periphery, because he or she is centred on Jesus Christ. He sets us free from our fears; with him by our side we can go forward, confident in every place, even in the dark moments of life, knowing that, wherever we go, the Lord will always go before us with his grace, and our joy is found in sharing with others the good news that He is with us. After having accomplished their mission, Jesus' disciples returned enthusiastic about the success they had experienced. But Jesus said to them: Do not rejoice because the spirits submit to you; rejoice rather because your names are written in heaven (Lk 10:20-21). It's not up to us to save the world, only God can save it.
Men and women of our time are running a great risk of experiencing individual sadness, isolated from one another even though they may find themselves surrounded by many consumer goods, from which many are excluded. Often, there are prevailing lifestyles that put their hopes in economic securities or successes, or entirely worldly successes. Even Christians run this risk. It is evident - the Holy Father affirms - that in some places there is a spiritual desertification taking place, the fruit of society's attempts to build without God (Apostolic Exhortation, Evangelii gaudium, 86). But this should not discourage us, as Pope Benedict XVI reminded us at the beginning of the Year of Faith: In the desert, we begin to understand the value of what is essential to life; so in the contemporary world there are innumerable signs, often manifested in implicit or negative signs, the thirst for God, the ultimate sense of life. And in the desert, we need above all, persons of faith who, with their own lives, point the way toward the promised land and therefore keep hope alive (Homily at the Mass commemorating the opening of the Year of Faith, October 11, 2012).
Pope Francis invites us to collaborate, even with the Meeting for Friendship Among Peoples, with this return to the essentials, which are found in the gospel of Jesus Christ. Christians have a duty to proclaim this truth without excluding anyone, not as someone who is imposing a new obligation, but rather as people who share a joy, pointing out a beautiful horizon offering a desirable banquet. The Church does not grow through proselytizing but through attraction (Evangelii gaudium, 14). that is through personal witness, a story, a gesture or the form that the same Holy Spirit can inspire in a practical circumstance (Evangelii gaudium, 128).
The Holy Father points out to those responsible for this gathering, and to all those who participate in this Meeting two particular points of attention.
First, he invites you to never lose contact with reality; on the contrary, to be lovers of reality. This too is part of Christian witness: before a dominant culture which puts prime importance on appearance, which is superficial and provisional, the challenge is to choose and to love reality. Father Giussani has left you a plan for life as your inheritance. He used to say: The only thing necessary in order to always truly be religious is to always intensively live reality. The best way to be real is to live in reality, no holds barred, without denying or forgetting anything. In fact, it would not be human, that is to say reasonable, to limit our consideration of experience to a superficial examination, as though it were merely the crest of a wave, without delving to the depth of its motivation (The religious sense, p. 150).
In addition, he calls upon you to keep your eyes fixed on the essentials. The most important problem appears in fact when the Christian message is identified with secondary aspects which do not express the heart of the message. In a world such as this, after two thousand years, Jesus has become a stranger in too many countries of the West. We need to be realistic and not assume that our audience understands the full background to what we are saying, or is capable of relating what we say to the very heart of the Gospel which gives it meaning, beauty and attractiveness (Evangelii gaudium, 34).
For this reason, a world in such rapid transformation needs Christians to be willing to seek forms and ways of communicating in understandable language the perennial freshness of Christianity. Here too, we must be realistic. Often it is better simply to slow down, to put aside our eagerness in order to see and listen to others, to stop rushing from one thing to another and to remain with someone who has faltered along the way (Evangelii gaudium, 46).
His Holiness offers these reflections as a contribution to the week of your Meeting, to all those who will participate, in particular to those who are leading your deliberations, to the organizers and to presenters who have come from various corners of the world and of existence to bear witness that God our Father never leaves his children alone. The Pope hopes that many of you will relive the experience of the first disciples of Jesus, who, encountering him on the banks of the Jordan, heard him ask: What are you looking for? May this question posed by Jesus always be part of the journey of those who take part in the Meeting for the Friendship Among the Peoples.
While asking you to pray for him and for his ministry, Pope Francis invokes the maternal protection of the Virgin Mother and willingly imparts his Apostolic Blessing upon Your Excellency and to all those participating in this Meeting.
Assuring Your Excellency also of my personal best wishes, I take this opportunity to confirm my highest esteem
Pietro Cardinal Parolin
Secretary of State
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