At 11:45am today, in the Papal Hall at the Apostolic Palace, the Holy Father, Pope Francis received in audience a delegation from the International Centre for the Deaconate on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of their institution.
Dear brothers and sisters,
I am pleased to welcome you on the occasion of the fiftieth anniversary of the International Centre for the Deaconate, which you celebrated at the end of last year. Your visit takes place during the Holy Year of Mercy, a spiritual context that aims to renew within us the awareness of the importance of mercy in our lives and in our ministry. I thank you for your presence, and I extend a special word of gratitude to Monsignor Fürst and to Professor Kießling for their courteous words.
The Lord Jesus confided to the Apostles a new commandment: That you love one another; as I have love you, so you should love one another (Jn 13:34). Jesus himself is this novelty. He gave us an example so that, as He himself had done, we can also do (cf Jn 13:15). That commandment of love is the ultimate will of Jesus, passed on to the disciples in the Upper Room after the washing of the feet. And He pointed it out again another time: This is my commandment: that you love one another, as I have loved you (Jn 15:12). In loving one another, the disciples continue the mission for which the Son of God came into the world. With the help of the Holy Spirit, this commandment implies service to our brothers and sisters. In order to actually care for people and their needs, the Apostles chose some deacons, that is to say servants. Deacons demonstrate in a particular way the commandment of Jesus: imitate God in service to others, imitate God who is love and who willingly even serves us. God's way of acting, his patience, his kindness, his compassion and his availability to make us better must also distinguish all his ministers: Bishops who are successors of the Apostles, priests, their collaborators, and - in concrete service at the table (Acts 6:2) - deacons. Deacons especially are the face of the Church in everyday life, the face of a living community that lives and walks among people and where those who command are not great, but rather they seek to serve (cf Lk 22:26).
Dear deacons, I hope that your pilgrimage to Rome during this Jubilee will be an intense experience of the mercy of God, one that will help you to grow in your vocation of Christ's ministry. May the Lord support you in our service and may you come to an ever-deepening faith in his love, so that you will be able to live his love with joy and dedication. Know that my prayer and my blessing always accompany you; and, please - please: this is a deaconal service that I ask - do not forget to pray for me.
Speech of the Holy Father, Pope Francis
to members of the International Centre for the Deaconate
Dear brothers and sisters,
I am pleased to welcome you on the occasion of the fiftieth anniversary of the International Centre for the Deaconate, which you celebrated at the end of last year. Your visit takes place during the Holy Year of Mercy, a spiritual context that aims to renew within us the awareness of the importance of mercy in our lives and in our ministry. I thank you for your presence, and I extend a special word of gratitude to Monsignor Fürst and to Professor Kießling for their courteous words.
The Lord Jesus confided to the Apostles a new commandment: That you love one another; as I have love you, so you should love one another (Jn 13:34). Jesus himself is this novelty. He gave us an example so that, as He himself had done, we can also do (cf Jn 13:15). That commandment of love is the ultimate will of Jesus, passed on to the disciples in the Upper Room after the washing of the feet. And He pointed it out again another time: This is my commandment: that you love one another, as I have loved you (Jn 15:12). In loving one another, the disciples continue the mission for which the Son of God came into the world. With the help of the Holy Spirit, this commandment implies service to our brothers and sisters. In order to actually care for people and their needs, the Apostles chose some deacons, that is to say servants. Deacons demonstrate in a particular way the commandment of Jesus: imitate God in service to others, imitate God who is love and who willingly even serves us. God's way of acting, his patience, his kindness, his compassion and his availability to make us better must also distinguish all his ministers: Bishops who are successors of the Apostles, priests, their collaborators, and - in concrete service at the table (Acts 6:2) - deacons. Deacons especially are the face of the Church in everyday life, the face of a living community that lives and walks among people and where those who command are not great, but rather they seek to serve (cf Lk 22:26).
Dear deacons, I hope that your pilgrimage to Rome during this Jubilee will be an intense experience of the mercy of God, one that will help you to grow in your vocation of Christ's ministry. May the Lord support you in our service and may you come to an ever-deepening faith in his love, so that you will be able to live his love with joy and dedication. Know that my prayer and my blessing always accompany you; and, please - please: this is a deaconal service that I ask - do not forget to pray for me.
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