At 12:30pm today, in the Sala Clementina in the Apostolic Palace, te Holy Father, Pope Francis received in audience the members of the National Council of the Italian Union of the Blind and the Visually Impaired on the occasion of the Feast of Saint Lucy.
Dear brothers and sisters,
I welcome you and thank you for this gathering. I thank your President, Doctor Mario Barbuto for the words with which he introduced our meeting.
He referred to Saint Lucy, as the patron of people deprived of their sight. This truth is not something obvious since your association is non-denominational; and yet you asked for our meeting to take place today, confirming that the tradition holds a certain significance for you.
Therefore, I would like to mention some human values that the figure of Saint Lucy suggests. I must emphasize: human values. Lucy lived them in an exemplary manner, thanks to her faith in Christ, but they are values that are shared by all people.
First, Lucy suggests a value which seems to be very important, also for you: courage. She was a young woman, helpless, but she faced torture and a violent death with great courage, a courage came from the risen Christ, to whom she was united and to the Holy Spirit who lived within her.
We all need courage to face the trials of life. Especially people who are blind and visually impaired need courage to not remained closed in on themselves, not to think of themselves as victims but on the contrary remain open to reality, to others, to society: to learn about and to appreciate the capabilities that the Lord has placed within each one of us, truly in everyone, no one is excluded! This is why you need courage, fortitude.
Another value which is suggested by Saint Lucy is the fact that she was not alone; she was part of a community, she was a member of a body of which Christ is the Head, the stone of a building which has Christ as its foundation. This aspect is also reflected on the human level. You are an association, and this is a value! An association is not merely the sum of individuals, it is much more. Today we need more than ever before to live the associative dimension with joy and commitment, for in this moment in history, such joy is on the decline, it is not strongly felt. To create a group, to be in solidarity, to meet one another, to share our resources ... all this is part of the civil patrimony of a people. Often, people living with disadvantages and disabilities can tell everyone, through their experience, that we are not monads, we are not made to be isolated, but to be in relationships with others, to complete one another, to help one another, to accompany one another, to support one another. The presence of people with disabilities challenges everyone to live in community, even to be a community: to welcome others and to be close to others, including with each person's limits. We all have this ability, we are all capable of doing this!
Finally, Lucy says that life is meant to be given. She lived this truth in an extreme form of martyrdom, but the value of this gift of self is universal: this is the secret of true happiness. Man is never fully realized through having or doing; he reaches his full potential through loving, that is through giving of himself. And this can also be understood as the secret to the name Lucy: a person gives light to the extent that he or she is a gift to others. And every person, in truth, is a precious gift!
Dear friends, living according to these values can also lead to misunderstandings; it takes effort to go against the tide, but this should not be surprising: bearing witness always requires payment in person. Today's society which focuses on the rights of individuals runs the risk of forgetting the dimension of community and of the gift of gratitude for others. There is still a need for continuing the fight, imitating the example of and through the intercession of Saint Lucy! I hope that you will do this with courage and with the joy of doing it together.
Merry Christmas to you and to all your members!
Speech of the Holy Father, Pope Francis
for the meeting with the National Council
of the Italian Union of the
Blind and the Visually Impaired
Dear brothers and sisters,
I welcome you and thank you for this gathering. I thank your President, Doctor Mario Barbuto for the words with which he introduced our meeting.
He referred to Saint Lucy, as the patron of people deprived of their sight. This truth is not something obvious since your association is non-denominational; and yet you asked for our meeting to take place today, confirming that the tradition holds a certain significance for you.
Therefore, I would like to mention some human values that the figure of Saint Lucy suggests. I must emphasize: human values. Lucy lived them in an exemplary manner, thanks to her faith in Christ, but they are values that are shared by all people.
First, Lucy suggests a value which seems to be very important, also for you: courage. She was a young woman, helpless, but she faced torture and a violent death with great courage, a courage came from the risen Christ, to whom she was united and to the Holy Spirit who lived within her.
We all need courage to face the trials of life. Especially people who are blind and visually impaired need courage to not remained closed in on themselves, not to think of themselves as victims but on the contrary remain open to reality, to others, to society: to learn about and to appreciate the capabilities that the Lord has placed within each one of us, truly in everyone, no one is excluded! This is why you need courage, fortitude.
Another value which is suggested by Saint Lucy is the fact that she was not alone; she was part of a community, she was a member of a body of which Christ is the Head, the stone of a building which has Christ as its foundation. This aspect is also reflected on the human level. You are an association, and this is a value! An association is not merely the sum of individuals, it is much more. Today we need more than ever before to live the associative dimension with joy and commitment, for in this moment in history, such joy is on the decline, it is not strongly felt. To create a group, to be in solidarity, to meet one another, to share our resources ... all this is part of the civil patrimony of a people. Often, people living with disadvantages and disabilities can tell everyone, through their experience, that we are not monads, we are not made to be isolated, but to be in relationships with others, to complete one another, to help one another, to accompany one another, to support one another. The presence of people with disabilities challenges everyone to live in community, even to be a community: to welcome others and to be close to others, including with each person's limits. We all have this ability, we are all capable of doing this!
Finally, Lucy says that life is meant to be given. She lived this truth in an extreme form of martyrdom, but the value of this gift of self is universal: this is the secret of true happiness. Man is never fully realized through having or doing; he reaches his full potential through loving, that is through giving of himself. And this can also be understood as the secret to the name Lucy: a person gives light to the extent that he or she is a gift to others. And every person, in truth, is a precious gift!
Dear friends, living according to these values can also lead to misunderstandings; it takes effort to go against the tide, but this should not be surprising: bearing witness always requires payment in person. Today's society which focuses on the rights of individuals runs the risk of forgetting the dimension of community and of the gift of gratitude for others. There is still a need for continuing the fight, imitating the example of and through the intercession of Saint Lucy! I hope that you will do this with courage and with the joy of doing it together.
Merry Christmas to you and to all your members!
No comments:
Post a Comment