At 12:20pm today, in the Paul VI Hall, the Holy Father, Pope Francis received in audience the Pope John XXIII Community Association.
Dear brothers and sisters,
I welcome you with joy and thank you for your warm welcome. I wish to thank your coordinator Giovanni Paulo Ramonda, for the words he has addressed to me and to all of you; and thank you very much to all those who shared your testimonials.
Your stories speak of slavery and liberation, about the selfishness of those who consider constructing their existence by exploiting others and about the generosity of those who help others to overcome the effects of material and moral degradation.
These are experiences that bring to light the many forms of poverty from which unfortunately our world is wounded; and the most dangerous suffering is revealed: a distancing from God, and the presumption that we can live without Him. This is the suffering of blindness that considers only the dimension of material wealth, the search for power and for pleasure, even to the point of willingness to enslave the lives of others in order to attain these objectives.
Yes, friends, it is the presence of the Lord that makes the difference between the freedom of goodness and the slavery of evil, that can enable us to do good work and to discover intimate joy, capable of radiating this joy even toward those who are close to us. The presence of the Lord broadens our horizons, heals our thoughts and emotions, gives us the strength we need to overcome difficulties and trials. Where the Lord is present, there is resurrection and life because he is the resurrection and the life.
Faith truly moves the mountains of indifference and apathy, of indifference and of sterile withdrawal into oneself. Faith opens the door of charity making us desire to imitate Jesus. It incites us to do good, furnishing us with the courage to act on the example of the Good Samaritan.
Don Oreste Benzi, founder of your Association, knew this well. His love for the little ones and for the poor, for the excluded and the abandoned, was rooted in the love of Jesus crucified, who made himself poor for our sake. His courageous determination in giving life to so many initiatives of sharing in different countries flowed from his trusting abandonment to God’s Providence, it flowed from faith in the risen Christ, alive and operating, capable of multiplying the little strength and resources available, as He once multiplied the loaves and fishes to feed the crowds.
From the mission to involve adolescents and to interest them in the person of Jesus was born in Don Oreste Bensi the idea of organizing for them a pleasing encounter with Christ, that is to say a vital and radical encounter with Him as a hero and as a friend, through the witness of a life lived that would show the Christian message in all its fullness, but in a joyful and even playful way. Thus your Community was born, present today in 34 countries with its Family-Homes, social and educational cooperatives, Houses of Prayer, services to support problematic maternities and other initiatives. Providence has made you grow, proving the vitality of the Founder’s charism, who liked to repeat – as the Director General said – to stand it is necessary to kneel first.
Dear brothers and sisters, I make my own the invitation that Saint John Paul II made to you to take care of your spiritual formation and of the assiduous frequenting of the Sacraments and, in particular, to make the Eucharist the heart of the Family-Homes and of every other social and educational activity (cf Insegnamenti XXVII, 2, 2004, 632). It is from a heart filled with the love of God that charity for brothers sand sisters flows.
I ask you, please, to pray for me. I entrust you all to Our Lady, may she grant you a Christmas full of love and joy, and I bless you with all my heart.
Let us pray all together to Our Lady and then receive the blessing: Hail Mary …
(Blessing)
Greetings of His Holiness, Pope Francis
for members of the Pope John XXIII
Community Association
Dear brothers and sisters,
I welcome you with joy and thank you for your warm welcome. I wish to thank your coordinator Giovanni Paulo Ramonda, for the words he has addressed to me and to all of you; and thank you very much to all those who shared your testimonials.
Your stories speak of slavery and liberation, about the selfishness of those who consider constructing their existence by exploiting others and about the generosity of those who help others to overcome the effects of material and moral degradation.
These are experiences that bring to light the many forms of poverty from which unfortunately our world is wounded; and the most dangerous suffering is revealed: a distancing from God, and the presumption that we can live without Him. This is the suffering of blindness that considers only the dimension of material wealth, the search for power and for pleasure, even to the point of willingness to enslave the lives of others in order to attain these objectives.
Yes, friends, it is the presence of the Lord that makes the difference between the freedom of goodness and the slavery of evil, that can enable us to do good work and to discover intimate joy, capable of radiating this joy even toward those who are close to us. The presence of the Lord broadens our horizons, heals our thoughts and emotions, gives us the strength we need to overcome difficulties and trials. Where the Lord is present, there is resurrection and life because he is the resurrection and the life.
Faith truly moves the mountains of indifference and apathy, of indifference and of sterile withdrawal into oneself. Faith opens the door of charity making us desire to imitate Jesus. It incites us to do good, furnishing us with the courage to act on the example of the Good Samaritan.
Don Oreste Benzi, founder of your Association, knew this well. His love for the little ones and for the poor, for the excluded and the abandoned, was rooted in the love of Jesus crucified, who made himself poor for our sake. His courageous determination in giving life to so many initiatives of sharing in different countries flowed from his trusting abandonment to God’s Providence, it flowed from faith in the risen Christ, alive and operating, capable of multiplying the little strength and resources available, as He once multiplied the loaves and fishes to feed the crowds.
From the mission to involve adolescents and to interest them in the person of Jesus was born in Don Oreste Bensi the idea of organizing for them a pleasing encounter with Christ, that is to say a vital and radical encounter with Him as a hero and as a friend, through the witness of a life lived that would show the Christian message in all its fullness, but in a joyful and even playful way. Thus your Community was born, present today in 34 countries with its Family-Homes, social and educational cooperatives, Houses of Prayer, services to support problematic maternities and other initiatives. Providence has made you grow, proving the vitality of the Founder’s charism, who liked to repeat – as the Director General said – to stand it is necessary to kneel first.
Dear brothers and sisters, I make my own the invitation that Saint John Paul II made to you to take care of your spiritual formation and of the assiduous frequenting of the Sacraments and, in particular, to make the Eucharist the heart of the Family-Homes and of every other social and educational activity (cf Insegnamenti XXVII, 2, 2004, 632). It is from a heart filled with the love of God that charity for brothers sand sisters flows.
I ask you, please, to pray for me. I entrust you all to Our Lady, may she grant you a Christmas full of love and joy, and I bless you with all my heart.
Let us pray all together to Our Lady and then receive the blessing: Hail Mary …
(Blessing)
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