At 9:30am this morning, the Holy Father, Pope Francis received in audience His Holiness, Mar Gewargis III, Catholicos-Patriarch of the Oriental Assyrian Church.
After a private meeting, the Patriarch introduced the members of his delegation to the Pope; then His Holiness, Mar Gewargis III and Pope Francis delivered their respective speeches before exchanging gifts. Finally, in the Redemptoris Mater chapel, there was a moment of common prayer.
Your Holiness, beloved brother in Christ,
It is a great joy and an occasion of grace to meet you here, near the tomb of Saint Peter. With affection, I give you my welcome, thanking you for the courteous words which have been offered to me. Through you, I wish to extend my cordial greetings in the Lord to all the Bishops, priests and faithful of the Oriental Assyrian Church. With the words of the Apostle Paul, who spilled his blood in this city for the Lord, I wish to say to you: Grace to you and peace from God, our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ (Rm 1:7).
This meeting and the prayer which we will raise together today to the Lord invokes the gift of peace. In fact, we are dismayed by what continues to happen in the Middle East, especially in Iraq and in Syria. There, the terrible violence of bloody conflict which no purpose can justify or condone is being unleashed upon hundreds of thousands of innocent children, women and men. There, our Christian brothers and sisters, as well as various religious and ethnic minorities have unfortunately grown accustomed to suffering great trials on a daily basis.
In the midst of such suffering, of which I implore an end, every day we see Christians who are walking the way of the cross, meekly following in the footsteps of Jesus, uniting themselves with Him, who reconciled us through his cross, removing all hostility in himself (Eph 2:16). These brothers and sisters are models who encourage us to remain with the Lord in all circumstances, to embrace his cross, to confide ourselves to his love. They show us that at the centre of our faith, there is always the presence of Jesus, who invites us, even in the midst of adversity, not to grow tired of living his message of love, reconciliation and forgiveness. This we learn from the martyrs and from those who still today, even at the cost of their own lives, remain faithful to the Lord and with Him, overcome evil with good (cf Rm 12:21). We are grateful to our brothers of ours who impel us to follow the way of Jesus in order to defeat all enmity. In the same way as the blood of Christ, poured out in love reconciled, united and continues to make the Church fruitful, the blood of martyrs is the seed of unity among Christians. It calls us to expend our efforts with fraternal charity for the sake of communion.
I thank God for the firm fraternal bonds which already exist between us and which this visit, so pleasing and precious, further strengthens. Many significant steps have already been taken. Your beloved predecessor, Catholicos-Patriarch Mar Dinkha IV, who I had the joy of meeting two years ago, signed a common Christological Declaration with Saint John Paul II. It enables us to confess the same faith in the mystery of the Incarnation. This historic milestone has paved the way for our pilgrimage toward full communion, a journey which I long to continue. In this perspective, I confirm the commitment of the Catholic Church, so that our dialogue, which is already fruitful may continue to advance. In the future, it will help to re-establish full harmony, to the mutual benefit of our communities, which often already live in close contact with each other. I therefore hope very much that the Joint Commission for theological dialogue between the Catholic Church ad the Oriental Assyrian Church may help us to pave the way toward that long-awaited day, when we will be able to celebrate the Lord's Sacrifice at the same altar, as a real sign of fully restored ecclesial communion.
At the same time, we have an opportunity to take a few steps, to grow in mutual awareness and to witness together to the gospel. May our closeness be a leaven of unity. We are called to work together in charity wherever possible, so that love may point out the way toward communion. In baptism, we have rediscovered the foundation of real communion between us. Catholics and Assyrians, all have been baptized in the same Spirit (1 Cor 12:13): we belong to the one Body of Christ, we are brothers in Him. With this certainty we continue, journeying together in trust, feeding - in prayer and especially at the Lord's altar - the charity that unites in a perfect way (Col 3:14). This charity reassembles fractures and heals wounds. Let us never grow tired of asking the Lord, the divine medic, to heal the wounds of the past with the soothing ointment of his mercy.
It would also be good for us to renew the common memory of our evangelizing activity. It is rooted in the communion of the early Church. From that point, the spread of the gospel began, at the dawn of faith; it reached Rome and the lands of Mesopotamia, the cradle of ancient civilizations, and gave light to the growing Christian communities. May the great evangelists of the time, the saints and the martyrs of every time, all the citizens of the heavenly Jerusalem encourage and accompany us now as together we open fruitful paths toward communion and witness.
Your Holiness, beloved brother, with joy and affection I wish to express my gratitude for your visit and for the gift of being able to pray together today, each of us for the other, to invoke the protection and the care of the Lord, to ask that his merciful will may be abundantly welcomed by us and that it may bear witness in our fraternity.
After a private meeting, the Patriarch introduced the members of his delegation to the Pope; then His Holiness, Mar Gewargis III and Pope Francis delivered their respective speeches before exchanging gifts. Finally, in the Redemptoris Mater chapel, there was a moment of common prayer.
Speech of the Holy Father, Pope Francis
offered to His Holiness, Mar Gewargis III
Your Holiness, beloved brother in Christ,
It is a great joy and an occasion of grace to meet you here, near the tomb of Saint Peter. With affection, I give you my welcome, thanking you for the courteous words which have been offered to me. Through you, I wish to extend my cordial greetings in the Lord to all the Bishops, priests and faithful of the Oriental Assyrian Church. With the words of the Apostle Paul, who spilled his blood in this city for the Lord, I wish to say to you: Grace to you and peace from God, our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ (Rm 1:7).
This meeting and the prayer which we will raise together today to the Lord invokes the gift of peace. In fact, we are dismayed by what continues to happen in the Middle East, especially in Iraq and in Syria. There, the terrible violence of bloody conflict which no purpose can justify or condone is being unleashed upon hundreds of thousands of innocent children, women and men. There, our Christian brothers and sisters, as well as various religious and ethnic minorities have unfortunately grown accustomed to suffering great trials on a daily basis.
In the midst of such suffering, of which I implore an end, every day we see Christians who are walking the way of the cross, meekly following in the footsteps of Jesus, uniting themselves with Him, who reconciled us through his cross, removing all hostility in himself (Eph 2:16). These brothers and sisters are models who encourage us to remain with the Lord in all circumstances, to embrace his cross, to confide ourselves to his love. They show us that at the centre of our faith, there is always the presence of Jesus, who invites us, even in the midst of adversity, not to grow tired of living his message of love, reconciliation and forgiveness. This we learn from the martyrs and from those who still today, even at the cost of their own lives, remain faithful to the Lord and with Him, overcome evil with good (cf Rm 12:21). We are grateful to our brothers of ours who impel us to follow the way of Jesus in order to defeat all enmity. In the same way as the blood of Christ, poured out in love reconciled, united and continues to make the Church fruitful, the blood of martyrs is the seed of unity among Christians. It calls us to expend our efforts with fraternal charity for the sake of communion.
I thank God for the firm fraternal bonds which already exist between us and which this visit, so pleasing and precious, further strengthens. Many significant steps have already been taken. Your beloved predecessor, Catholicos-Patriarch Mar Dinkha IV, who I had the joy of meeting two years ago, signed a common Christological Declaration with Saint John Paul II. It enables us to confess the same faith in the mystery of the Incarnation. This historic milestone has paved the way for our pilgrimage toward full communion, a journey which I long to continue. In this perspective, I confirm the commitment of the Catholic Church, so that our dialogue, which is already fruitful may continue to advance. In the future, it will help to re-establish full harmony, to the mutual benefit of our communities, which often already live in close contact with each other. I therefore hope very much that the Joint Commission for theological dialogue between the Catholic Church ad the Oriental Assyrian Church may help us to pave the way toward that long-awaited day, when we will be able to celebrate the Lord's Sacrifice at the same altar, as a real sign of fully restored ecclesial communion.
At the same time, we have an opportunity to take a few steps, to grow in mutual awareness and to witness together to the gospel. May our closeness be a leaven of unity. We are called to work together in charity wherever possible, so that love may point out the way toward communion. In baptism, we have rediscovered the foundation of real communion between us. Catholics and Assyrians, all have been baptized in the same Spirit (1 Cor 12:13): we belong to the one Body of Christ, we are brothers in Him. With this certainty we continue, journeying together in trust, feeding - in prayer and especially at the Lord's altar - the charity that unites in a perfect way (Col 3:14). This charity reassembles fractures and heals wounds. Let us never grow tired of asking the Lord, the divine medic, to heal the wounds of the past with the soothing ointment of his mercy.
It would also be good for us to renew the common memory of our evangelizing activity. It is rooted in the communion of the early Church. From that point, the spread of the gospel began, at the dawn of faith; it reached Rome and the lands of Mesopotamia, the cradle of ancient civilizations, and gave light to the growing Christian communities. May the great evangelists of the time, the saints and the martyrs of every time, all the citizens of the heavenly Jerusalem encourage and accompany us now as together we open fruitful paths toward communion and witness.
Your Holiness, beloved brother, with joy and affection I wish to express my gratitude for your visit and for the gift of being able to pray together today, each of us for the other, to invoke the protection and the care of the Lord, to ask that his merciful will may be abundantly welcomed by us and that it may bear witness in our fraternity.
No comments:
Post a Comment