Here is the text of the homily I shared with the people who came to pray this weekend: some thoughts about what we are seeing as the Holy Father travels throughout Cuba and the United States and how we can benefit from his wisdom.
Always the teacher
One of the titles used for the Pope is Pontiff: which is derived from the Latin word Pontifex - bridge builder. Pope Francis
is in the United States at the moment.
The Latin American Pope has come home in order to do here what all Popes
have done since the time of the Apostle Peter: to build bridges. This week’s journey has been carefully
planned so that every encounter and every speech can furnish another
opportunity for the important task of establishing connections, strengthening
faith and encouraging brothers and sisters to continue along the path that we
are meant to walk together.
Ever since Pope Saint John Paul II began his Apostolic Voyages, there has been a team of people in the Vatican who are part of an advance team. They go to each of the places where the Pope intends to visit, planning every detail of the upcoming voyage. Details of Papal voyages are often published a few weeks or a month in advance, but the work of this advance team can take as long as two years. They examine in meticulous detail every step of the journey, and try to anticipate any problems that might arrise, and to propose solutions so that such challenges might be minimized.
Ever since Pope Saint John Paul II began his Apostolic Voyages, there has been a team of people in the Vatican who are part of an advance team. They go to each of the places where the Pope intends to visit, planning every detail of the upcoming voyage. Details of Papal voyages are often published a few weeks or a month in advance, but the work of this advance team can take as long as two years. They examine in meticulous detail every step of the journey, and try to anticipate any problems that might arrise, and to propose solutions so that such challenges might be minimized.
The Book of Numbers recounts a moment at which one of
Moses’ assistants - Joshua comes to him and points out (like the Vatican advance team does) what he considers to be a
problem: two unknown men are speaking about God to others in the camp, and
Joshua is concerned that they should be stopped. Moses’ answer must have stunned him: Are you jealous? Would that all the Lord’s people were
prophets (Num 11:27-29). It takes
great wisdom and discernment to be a bridge builder; sometimes you even need to
be an outsider in order to point out the work that needs to be done.
The principal reason for the Pontiff's visit to the United States this week is in response to an invitation to participate in the World Meeting of Families that is taking place in Philadelphia, but it is not by coincidence that Pope Francis chose to visit
the island of Cuba as part of this trip, and that he chose to visit there
before coming North to the United States.
The island of Cuba is strategically placed between North and South
America. The Pope who was born on the
American continent knows only too well, the need to build bridges between North
and South America, between brothers and sisters who too often seem to be living
in different worlds, but in order to do this, he needs to also include Cuba as
part of the moorings for the bridge that he is building. In order to do
this, he has come to encourage the Cuban people; he has entered into a conversation with his brother bishops of that nation, and with Raúl Castro, Cuba's President; he has visited with
Raúl’s brother Fidel, and the negotiations are ongoing.
The delicate work of diplomacy can only happen when jealousies are put aside so that we can begin to see that Jesus’ words, spoken to the disciples, are also addressed to us: no one who does a deed of power in my name will be able soon afterward to speak evil of me (Mk 9: 39). In our lives too, we should always strive to be aware of the need for building and strengthening bridges: in our family relationships, with our colleagues in the workplace and among our friends. Even between those who find it most difficult to get along, there is always the possibility of putting down footings. Remember: whoever is not against us is for us (Mk 9:40).
The delicate work of diplomacy can only happen when jealousies are put aside so that we can begin to see that Jesus’ words, spoken to the disciples, are also addressed to us: no one who does a deed of power in my name will be able soon afterward to speak evil of me (Mk 9: 39). In our lives too, we should always strive to be aware of the need for building and strengthening bridges: in our family relationships, with our colleagues in the workplace and among our friends. Even between those who find it most difficult to get along, there is always the possibility of putting down footings. Remember: whoever is not against us is for us (Mk 9:40).
The Pope has also come to visit in the land of the free and the home of the brave. In the past days, he has addressed a joint
session of the US Congress, spoken to the assembly at the United Nations, met
with his brother bishops, and shared some very special moments with the
ordinary folk who have come in great numbers to see him. This weekend, he is attending the World
Meeting of Families, taking place in Philadelphia, and tonight, he will return to Rome.
His Holiness is well aware of the immense wealth that is to be found in the global north, but he is also aware of the fact that the global north is increasingly suffering from a prevailing attitude of individualism and entitlement. These attitudes tie our hands, bind our feet, and blind us to the needs of others (cf Mk 9:47-48), but Pope Francis is not shy to speak with the words of Saint James: Come now, you rich people … the wages of the labourers … cry out, and their cries have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts (Jas 5:4). While the privileged need these words to remind us of our need to be generous, we also can learn valuable lessons from our brothers and sisters of the global south, including a lesson about the value and the importance of families as the preferred places of encounter This is a lesson which some of us may once have known, but which we have all but forgotten at the expense of our perceived privilege.
Jesus himself came to build bridges between God and His people. Even today, the work continues. These bridges are built day by day, brick by brick, each time we recognize a brother or a sister in need, each time we reach out in love, each time we give someone even a cup of water to drink (Mk 9:41) because we recognize in him or her the face of Jesus Christ who calls to us.
His Holiness is well aware of the immense wealth that is to be found in the global north, but he is also aware of the fact that the global north is increasingly suffering from a prevailing attitude of individualism and entitlement. These attitudes tie our hands, bind our feet, and blind us to the needs of others (cf Mk 9:47-48), but Pope Francis is not shy to speak with the words of Saint James: Come now, you rich people … the wages of the labourers … cry out, and their cries have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts (Jas 5:4). While the privileged need these words to remind us of our need to be generous, we also can learn valuable lessons from our brothers and sisters of the global south, including a lesson about the value and the importance of families as the preferred places of encounter This is a lesson which some of us may once have known, but which we have all but forgotten at the expense of our perceived privilege.
Jesus himself came to build bridges between God and His people. Even today, the work continues. These bridges are built day by day, brick by brick, each time we recognize a brother or a sister in need, each time we reach out in love, each time we give someone even a cup of water to drink (Mk 9:41) because we recognize in him or her the face of Jesus Christ who calls to us.
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