Yesterday morning, during a meeting with a delegation of directors from the Salvation Army, the Holy Father, Pope Francis shared the following speech.
Dear friends,
I wish to cordially welcome you, directors of the Salvation Army who I know very well through your mission of evangelization and volunteerism. Your visit is one of the good fruits of frequent and productive contact which has developed in recent years between the Salvation Army and the Pontifical Council for the promotion of Christian Unity; contacts through which a series of theological discussions have taken place, discussions which have favoured the promotion of better reciprocal understanding, mutual respect and regular collaboration. I thank you once again for this book of conversations. I wish with all my heart that Catholics and members of the Salvation Army will continue to bear common witness to Christ and to the gospel in a world which needs so badly to experience the mercy of God. We all need this!
Catholics and members of the Salvation Army, together with other Christians, recognize that those in need have a special place in the heart of God, so much so that our Lord Jesus Christ made himself poor for our sakes (cf 2 Cor 8:9). Consequently, we frequently meet in the same human peripheries and my sincere hope is that common faith in our Saviour Jesus Christ, the only mediator between God and man (cf 1 Tim 2:5) will help us to build an increasingly solid foundation of friendship and cooperation between us.
The Church which goes forth is a community of missionary disciples who take the first step, who are involved and supportive, who bear fruit and rejoice. An evangelizing community knows that the Lord has taken the initiative, he has loved us first (cf 1 Jn 4:19), and therefore we can move forward, boldly take the initiative, go out to others, seek those who have fallen away, stand at the crossroads and welcome the outcast. Such a community has an endless desire to show mercy, the fruit of its own experience of the power of the Father’s infinite mercy (Apostolic Exhortation, Evangelii Gaudium, 24).
I pray that in the world today, all disciples of Christ may offer their contribution with the same conviction and the same dynamism that the Salvation Army exhibits in its devoted and valued service. The differences between Catholics and members of the Salvation Army on theological and ecclesiological matters should not be obstacles to bearing witness to our shared love for God and for our neighbour, a love which is able to inspire energetic efforts in our commitment to restoring the dignity of each person who lives on the margins of society.
I need the translator ... And now I wish to recall an anecdote: to thank you and to recall an anecdote. When I was four years old - it was in 1940, none of you were born! - I was walking in the street with my grandmother. At the time, the thought was that all protestants would go to hell. On the other side of the street, along the sidewalk, two women of the Salvation Army were approaching, with the hats that you used to wear ... Have you ever used them? I remember as though it were today, I said to my grandmother: Those people; who are they? Monks, Sisters? And my grandmother replied: No, they are Protestants, but they are good. She was like that, my grandmother, because of your good witness, she opened a door for me to ecumenism. My first experience of ecumenical preaching took place in your presence. Thank you very much.
Dear friends, I pray to God for the work which is being done by the Salvation Army: may many people in difficulty continue to count on your action which allows the light of Christ to shine in the most darkened corners of their lives. May you and your brothers and sisters in the Salvation Army be filled with the gifts of the Holy Spirit - with wisdom, discernment, strength, peace ... in order to bear witness to the Kingdom of God in our suffering world. And I trust that you will also pray for me: I need your prayers. Thank you.
Speech of the Holy Father, Pope Francis
during a meeting with directors from the
Salvation Army
Dear friends,
I wish to cordially welcome you, directors of the Salvation Army who I know very well through your mission of evangelization and volunteerism. Your visit is one of the good fruits of frequent and productive contact which has developed in recent years between the Salvation Army and the Pontifical Council for the promotion of Christian Unity; contacts through which a series of theological discussions have taken place, discussions which have favoured the promotion of better reciprocal understanding, mutual respect and regular collaboration. I thank you once again for this book of conversations. I wish with all my heart that Catholics and members of the Salvation Army will continue to bear common witness to Christ and to the gospel in a world which needs so badly to experience the mercy of God. We all need this!
Catholics and members of the Salvation Army, together with other Christians, recognize that those in need have a special place in the heart of God, so much so that our Lord Jesus Christ made himself poor for our sakes (cf 2 Cor 8:9). Consequently, we frequently meet in the same human peripheries and my sincere hope is that common faith in our Saviour Jesus Christ, the only mediator between God and man (cf 1 Tim 2:5) will help us to build an increasingly solid foundation of friendship and cooperation between us.
The Church which goes forth is a community of missionary disciples who take the first step, who are involved and supportive, who bear fruit and rejoice. An evangelizing community knows that the Lord has taken the initiative, he has loved us first (cf 1 Jn 4:19), and therefore we can move forward, boldly take the initiative, go out to others, seek those who have fallen away, stand at the crossroads and welcome the outcast. Such a community has an endless desire to show mercy, the fruit of its own experience of the power of the Father’s infinite mercy (Apostolic Exhortation, Evangelii Gaudium, 24).
I pray that in the world today, all disciples of Christ may offer their contribution with the same conviction and the same dynamism that the Salvation Army exhibits in its devoted and valued service. The differences between Catholics and members of the Salvation Army on theological and ecclesiological matters should not be obstacles to bearing witness to our shared love for God and for our neighbour, a love which is able to inspire energetic efforts in our commitment to restoring the dignity of each person who lives on the margins of society.
I need the translator ... And now I wish to recall an anecdote: to thank you and to recall an anecdote. When I was four years old - it was in 1940, none of you were born! - I was walking in the street with my grandmother. At the time, the thought was that all protestants would go to hell. On the other side of the street, along the sidewalk, two women of the Salvation Army were approaching, with the hats that you used to wear ... Have you ever used them? I remember as though it were today, I said to my grandmother: Those people; who are they? Monks, Sisters? And my grandmother replied: No, they are Protestants, but they are good. She was like that, my grandmother, because of your good witness, she opened a door for me to ecumenism. My first experience of ecumenical preaching took place in your presence. Thank you very much.
Dear friends, I pray to God for the work which is being done by the Salvation Army: may many people in difficulty continue to count on your action which allows the light of Christ to shine in the most darkened corners of their lives. May you and your brothers and sisters in the Salvation Army be filled with the gifts of the Holy Spirit - with wisdom, discernment, strength, peace ... in order to bear witness to the Kingdom of God in our suffering world. And I trust that you will also pray for me: I need your prayers. Thank you.
No comments:
Post a Comment