Today, in the Paul VI Hall at the Vatican, the Holy Father received in audience the members of the Shalom Catholic Community which is marking the 35th anniversary of its existence. Formed in Brazil in the early 1980s with a pizza restaurant and a library next to the main building for the reception and evangelization of young people, it received the recognition of the Pontifical Council for the Laity in 2007 as an International Congregation of the Faithful.
The meeting began with a series of testimonials which were given by Justine Lafeffèrrie, a 25 year old from France; Juan Jose, a 26 year old Chilean missionary; and Matteus Patricio, a 22 year old Brazilian. Following the testimonials, the Holy Father delivered an impromptu address. The Shalom Community is holding a special conference in Rome from September 3-9, 2017.
Thank you very much for the testimonials. I asked whether I would be able to speak in Spanish ... (Everyone in the Hall responded: Yes!) and not in Italian, so that I can better express thoughts. But if I speak in Spanish, we also speak a bit of potuñol and a bit of cocoliche, which is a bit of Italian and Spanish mixed together ... So, we will manage with Spanish.
Juan, you found meaning in your life through prayer, in fraternal living in community and in evangelization, didn't you? Through prayer, sharing and evangelization, you realized that your life had meaning. Notice that the three verbs you used to explain this are verbs that express movement, going out of yourself. You moved outside of yourself in order to meet God, you moved outside of yourself in order to share in fraternity, to encounter your brothers, and you moved outside of yourself in order to evangelize, to proclaim the good news. The good news - you used the word - is mercy, in a world marked by despair and indifference. It's funny that mercy is absolute. You cannot merely speak about mercy, you need to bear witness to it, you have to teach it, people need to see mercy being practiced in your actions. In order to speak about mercy, we need to put the meat on the grill; if not, our words will not be understood correctly: it will be seen as closed in upon itself, if it is not seen as outward focused. It has to be outward focused, pointing toward God. It is not easy to point to God, it's a journey. Going out and sharing with others - not playing the part of a privileged child who keeps all his toys to himself - and going out to tell others that God is good, that God is waiting for you even in the worst moments of life. And perhaps this is the message of mercy that we can share with others, no? Remember the scripture passage about the son who comes back home. In the gospel of Saint Luke, chapter 15, we find the phrase that explains that the father saw him coming from afar. He had left a few years before, and he had spent all the money he had. He saw him coming from afar. That makes me think that this father, every day and maybe even at all moments of the day, would climb up to the rooftop of his house to see if his son was coming. This is the way God is with us, even in moments of sin, in the most difficult moments of our lives. The gospel account continues: The father saw him from afar off and was moved - with this verb which in Hebrew means his guts were stirred up, the paternal and maternal heart of God - and went running out toward him to embrace him. This son was the worst of sinners, he was in the worst of situations and when he said: I'm going to my father, the father was already waiting for him. This is mercy, never fear. Moreover, it seems that our god has a special preference for sinners, including those who are most insistent: he waits for us. So I would suggest that you should keep coming out of yourself and trying your best to help others understand that we always have a Father who is waiting for us with tenderness and affection if only we would make the first steps. This is what I have to share with you. Thank you.
Justine, you were baptized during the Jubilee of Mercy, good! You realized that having encountered God, you needed to strip yourself of the habit of focusing on yourself and to turn outward, toward the joy of living for God and through God's grace. One of the things - that happens to young people, including you who are young the second time around, all youth, even those who are young the second time around - one of the things that characterizes youth and eternal youth is God (because God is forever young) is happiness, joy, happiness. Joy is the opposite of sadness, the sadness that you left behind. You came out of something that produces sadness, the habit of being self-centred, self-referential. A young person who turns in upon him or herself, who lives only for him or herself, ends up - and I hope that you understand this verb because it is an Argentinian word - ends up empachado (embarrassed) by self-reference, totally centred on him or herself. There is an image that comes to me now: this culture in which we live, how egotistical it is, very (gesture) focused on itself, it is heavily dosed with narcissism, too busy contemplating itself and therefore unable to pay attention to others. Narcissism produces sadness because we become more and more worried about putting makeup on our own souls every day, about appearing better than others, too busy contemplating whether we possess more beauty than others ... this is the sickness of the mirror. Young people, break the mirror! Don't look into the mirror because this mirror deceives; look outward, look toward others, escape from the world, from this culture in which we are living - to which you made reference - a culture that is consumeristic and narcissistic. And if you ever want to look in the mirror, I'll give you some advice: look in the mirror in order to laugh at yourself. Test this theory one day: look in the mirror and laugh at what you see there, your soul will be refreshed. Know how to laugh at yourself, that's what will give us joy and save us from narcissism. Thank you Justine.
Matteus, you speak Portuguese, you are Brazilian. I have to ask you a question: Who is better, Pelé or Maradona? (Laughter and applause from the crowd). For a long time, you were passing through the tunnel of drugs and this is one of the instruments that the culture in which we live uses to dominate us and, on the other hand, we need to experience such challenges in order to learn subtle lessons which appear invisible to us, as though we were merely part of the air. Drugs lead us to deny everything that we know about our roots: about family roots, about historical roots, about problematic roots, whatever part of us is rooted. They take away our roots and cause us to live in a world without roots, uprooted from everything. Uprooted from projects, uprooted from the present, uprooted from our past, from our history, uprooted from our country, from our family, from whatever we love, from everything. The person lives in a world without any roots and this is the drama of drugs. Young people totally uprooted, without any real commitment, that is to say, without truly tangible commitments because in the midst of drugs, you can't even sense the reality of your own body. And after having passed through that experience of invisibility, and after having returned to consciousness, you realized all the rootedness that was present in your heart. I want to ask each one of you: Are you conscious of the true rootedness that you possess in your heart, are you aware of your roots, are you aware of the people you love, are you aware of your plans, are you aware of your capacity for creativity, are you aware that there are poets in the universe who can create new and beautiful things? That's what it means to rise up out of drugs, to become aware of all that, to be aware of someone who comes, that's why we ask these questions that I have just asked. Perhaps one of you may answer: I am aware of having my feet on the ground, with all that that means for my historical and social roots, rootedness in wisdom, love and plans as well as creative ability? And you want to be part of the plan of God and you realize that for you, it's a matter of consoling others who are facing the pains of everyday life, and you want to discern your vocation as you walk this path. In the midst of this synodal path, we must all discern our vocation - as you said - to discover what the Lord is trying to say and the mission he has for you. I will say to you, with one simple word, something that is not my own: give with a grateful heart. If you are here, if we are here, it is because our paths have crossed and for this we must be grateful. Please give freely that which you have freely received. Give freely that which you have received. And give freely all that fills your soul, it rewards you, makes you larger than yourself, teaches you to embrace and to be embraced, makes you smile, frees you from every self-centred interest. Are you willing to give freely that which you have freely received? This is the teaching that He is inviting all of us to learn. (They answer weakly: Yes!) Oh, my God, what's happening! It seems that instead of giving them some encouragement, I'm putting them to sleep. (Applause)
What more do the adults, the elderly of the Shalom Community have to do? What service is the world asking of us today, of this charism, of this community? Here, there is something that is lovely: the oldest and the youngest members: The service that you are being asked for is dialogue, dialogue between yourselves, pass the torch, pass on the inheritance, pass on the charism, pass on the interior life within each one of you. But I want to go further, and one of the challenges that the world asks of us is dialogue between young people and the elderly, in this way I rely on your testimony: Yes father, we've already heard you say that ... and you will hear me say it many times more: dialogue between the young and the elderly. Young people need to listen to their elders and elders need to listen to the young. And what do you want me to do? ... a young person might ask: What should I do, speak with an elderly person? How boring that will be! I have the experience of having seen this many times in other dioceses: going, for example, to a home for the elderly or a shelter and playing a guitar for the elderly. Ok, yes, they begin by playing the guitar and then the dialogue begins, it is spontaneous, it happens on its own and all of a sudden, young people don't want to leave because the elderly are wise, with a wisdom that touches the heart and inspires them to keep going. For you young people, the elderly are not things that you should or could put into a closet. The elderly should not be kept hidden, the elderly are waiting for young people to go to them, to speak with them, to help them dream. And you, young people, need to receive from these men and women the hopes and dreams that will help you to live. That would be my response to the experience of the elders in dialogue with the youth of the Shalom Movement. Teach and help the dialogue between the youth and the elders. Yes, I speak with my mother, with my father. No, your father and your mother are not the elderly. Speak with your grandfather and your grandmother, or perhaps with an even older generation, they have wisdom and they, more than you might think, need you to help them keep their hearts beating so that they can share their wisdom with you. This is the encouragement I have to offer you, encourage, encourage this dialogue, this dialogue is the promise of the future, this dialogue will help us go forward. I don't know whether I've answered your question.
(Matteus responds: Yes) Very good, thank you.
I do not know what is next on the program but I had a doubt at the end of the final question of our dialogue between the young and the elderly: Is Matteus young or old?
(The coordinator responds: He is like you, Holy Father, he is like you)
Those in attendance then sang a song together and the Holy Father gave them his blessing, then the Pope concluded:
And please, I ask you not to forget to pray for me. Thank you.
Here is the description of the Shalom Catholic Community which appears in the Directory of International Associations of the Faithful, published by the Pontifical Council for the Laity.
Official name
Shalom Catholic Community
Established
1982
History
The Shalom Catholic Community was established at the initiative of a group of undergraduates headed by Moyses Louro de Azevedo Filho.
With the encouragement of the archbishop of Fortaleza, Brazil, they opened a sandwich bar and an annexed bookshop to welcome and evangelize young people. This was the first Shalom Center. Very soon the movement spread to families, children and people from all social-cultural backgrounds.
In 1985 the first group of young people formed themselves into life communities and in 1986 the first covenant community was established, made up of young people and adults.
In 1998 the community received canonical recognition from the archbishop of Fortaleza. The association is a member of the Catholic Fraternity of Charismatic, Covenant Communities and Fellowships.
Identity
The Shalom Catholic Community is made up of married couples, consecrated men and women, young people and adults seeking their vocation, priests, all united by the call to live the charism of Shalom. Its distinctive features are contemplation, unity and evangelization.
The community’s commitment to evangelization and Christian instruction gives emphasis to the world of education, culture and the arts, scientific environments, the media, and human development.
The formation of its members, based on a personal encounter with Jesus Christ, is nurtured by the study of the Word of God and the magisterium of the Church, prayer, participation in the liturgy and the sacraments, fraternal and missionary life, filial love for Our Lady, union with Our Lord according to the model of life shown by St. Francis of Assisi and the model of prayer shown by St. Teresa of Avila.
Organization
Membership of the Shalom Catholic Community is through the life communities, which are cells made up of consecrated men and women following a radical calling to give up their own human plans (cf. Luke 14:25-37) to follow the Lord Jesus Christ unconditionally by devoting themselves totally to the Community; and the covenant communities, made up of people who live fully within the world and live this same vocation in their professions and in family life.
The community also comprises those who play an active part in its work by belonging to groups under its guidance.
Membership
The Shalom Catholic Community has some 2,300 members and is present in eight countries in Europe, the Middle East, North America and South America. About 30,000 people have connections with the community.
Works
In addition to numerous prayer groups, evangelization and catechetical instruction centers for young people, families and children have also sprung up at the initiative of the Shalom Catholic Community.
There are spiritual retreat houses; art centers in which music, dance, drama and fine art are placed at the service of evangelization; a school; a human development association which manages kindergartens; homes for the elderly and services for the sick and inmates; and projects to recuperate drug addicts, to rescue street children, for the prevention of abortion, and to take in the homeless and help restore their dignity.
The community has also set up four radio stations, a publishing house and the Gaudium et Spes Institute which provides training for social and political commitment according to the principles of the Church’s social teachings.
Publication
Shalom Maná, monthly magazine
Web site
www.comunidadeshalom.org.br
Headquarters
Comunidade Católica Shalom
Rua Gonçalves Ledo, 501 — Praia de Iracema
60.110-260 Fortaleza – Ceará – Brazil
Tel. (55) 85.231.8894 — Fax 85.253.7534
E-mail
shalom@comunidadeshalom.org.br
The meeting began with a series of testimonials which were given by Justine Lafeffèrrie, a 25 year old from France; Juan Jose, a 26 year old Chilean missionary; and Matteus Patricio, a 22 year old Brazilian. Following the testimonials, the Holy Father delivered an impromptu address. The Shalom Community is holding a special conference in Rome from September 3-9, 2017.
Greetings of His Holiness, Pope Francis
addressed to members of the
Shalom Catholic Community
Thank you very much for the testimonials. I asked whether I would be able to speak in Spanish ... (Everyone in the Hall responded: Yes!) and not in Italian, so that I can better express thoughts. But if I speak in Spanish, we also speak a bit of potuñol and a bit of cocoliche, which is a bit of Italian and Spanish mixed together ... So, we will manage with Spanish.
Juan, you found meaning in your life through prayer, in fraternal living in community and in evangelization, didn't you? Through prayer, sharing and evangelization, you realized that your life had meaning. Notice that the three verbs you used to explain this are verbs that express movement, going out of yourself. You moved outside of yourself in order to meet God, you moved outside of yourself in order to share in fraternity, to encounter your brothers, and you moved outside of yourself in order to evangelize, to proclaim the good news. The good news - you used the word - is mercy, in a world marked by despair and indifference. It's funny that mercy is absolute. You cannot merely speak about mercy, you need to bear witness to it, you have to teach it, people need to see mercy being practiced in your actions. In order to speak about mercy, we need to put the meat on the grill; if not, our words will not be understood correctly: it will be seen as closed in upon itself, if it is not seen as outward focused. It has to be outward focused, pointing toward God. It is not easy to point to God, it's a journey. Going out and sharing with others - not playing the part of a privileged child who keeps all his toys to himself - and going out to tell others that God is good, that God is waiting for you even in the worst moments of life. And perhaps this is the message of mercy that we can share with others, no? Remember the scripture passage about the son who comes back home. In the gospel of Saint Luke, chapter 15, we find the phrase that explains that the father saw him coming from afar. He had left a few years before, and he had spent all the money he had. He saw him coming from afar. That makes me think that this father, every day and maybe even at all moments of the day, would climb up to the rooftop of his house to see if his son was coming. This is the way God is with us, even in moments of sin, in the most difficult moments of our lives. The gospel account continues: The father saw him from afar off and was moved - with this verb which in Hebrew means his guts were stirred up, the paternal and maternal heart of God - and went running out toward him to embrace him. This son was the worst of sinners, he was in the worst of situations and when he said: I'm going to my father, the father was already waiting for him. This is mercy, never fear. Moreover, it seems that our god has a special preference for sinners, including those who are most insistent: he waits for us. So I would suggest that you should keep coming out of yourself and trying your best to help others understand that we always have a Father who is waiting for us with tenderness and affection if only we would make the first steps. This is what I have to share with you. Thank you.
Justine, you were baptized during the Jubilee of Mercy, good! You realized that having encountered God, you needed to strip yourself of the habit of focusing on yourself and to turn outward, toward the joy of living for God and through God's grace. One of the things - that happens to young people, including you who are young the second time around, all youth, even those who are young the second time around - one of the things that characterizes youth and eternal youth is God (because God is forever young) is happiness, joy, happiness. Joy is the opposite of sadness, the sadness that you left behind. You came out of something that produces sadness, the habit of being self-centred, self-referential. A young person who turns in upon him or herself, who lives only for him or herself, ends up - and I hope that you understand this verb because it is an Argentinian word - ends up empachado (embarrassed) by self-reference, totally centred on him or herself. There is an image that comes to me now: this culture in which we live, how egotistical it is, very (gesture) focused on itself, it is heavily dosed with narcissism, too busy contemplating itself and therefore unable to pay attention to others. Narcissism produces sadness because we become more and more worried about putting makeup on our own souls every day, about appearing better than others, too busy contemplating whether we possess more beauty than others ... this is the sickness of the mirror. Young people, break the mirror! Don't look into the mirror because this mirror deceives; look outward, look toward others, escape from the world, from this culture in which we are living - to which you made reference - a culture that is consumeristic and narcissistic. And if you ever want to look in the mirror, I'll give you some advice: look in the mirror in order to laugh at yourself. Test this theory one day: look in the mirror and laugh at what you see there, your soul will be refreshed. Know how to laugh at yourself, that's what will give us joy and save us from narcissism. Thank you Justine.
Matteus, you speak Portuguese, you are Brazilian. I have to ask you a question: Who is better, Pelé or Maradona? (Laughter and applause from the crowd). For a long time, you were passing through the tunnel of drugs and this is one of the instruments that the culture in which we live uses to dominate us and, on the other hand, we need to experience such challenges in order to learn subtle lessons which appear invisible to us, as though we were merely part of the air. Drugs lead us to deny everything that we know about our roots: about family roots, about historical roots, about problematic roots, whatever part of us is rooted. They take away our roots and cause us to live in a world without roots, uprooted from everything. Uprooted from projects, uprooted from the present, uprooted from our past, from our history, uprooted from our country, from our family, from whatever we love, from everything. The person lives in a world without any roots and this is the drama of drugs. Young people totally uprooted, without any real commitment, that is to say, without truly tangible commitments because in the midst of drugs, you can't even sense the reality of your own body. And after having passed through that experience of invisibility, and after having returned to consciousness, you realized all the rootedness that was present in your heart. I want to ask each one of you: Are you conscious of the true rootedness that you possess in your heart, are you aware of your roots, are you aware of the people you love, are you aware of your plans, are you aware of your capacity for creativity, are you aware that there are poets in the universe who can create new and beautiful things? That's what it means to rise up out of drugs, to become aware of all that, to be aware of someone who comes, that's why we ask these questions that I have just asked. Perhaps one of you may answer: I am aware of having my feet on the ground, with all that that means for my historical and social roots, rootedness in wisdom, love and plans as well as creative ability? And you want to be part of the plan of God and you realize that for you, it's a matter of consoling others who are facing the pains of everyday life, and you want to discern your vocation as you walk this path. In the midst of this synodal path, we must all discern our vocation - as you said - to discover what the Lord is trying to say and the mission he has for you. I will say to you, with one simple word, something that is not my own: give with a grateful heart. If you are here, if we are here, it is because our paths have crossed and for this we must be grateful. Please give freely that which you have freely received. Give freely that which you have received. And give freely all that fills your soul, it rewards you, makes you larger than yourself, teaches you to embrace and to be embraced, makes you smile, frees you from every self-centred interest. Are you willing to give freely that which you have freely received? This is the teaching that He is inviting all of us to learn. (They answer weakly: Yes!) Oh, my God, what's happening! It seems that instead of giving them some encouragement, I'm putting them to sleep. (Applause)
What more do the adults, the elderly of the Shalom Community have to do? What service is the world asking of us today, of this charism, of this community? Here, there is something that is lovely: the oldest and the youngest members: The service that you are being asked for is dialogue, dialogue between yourselves, pass the torch, pass on the inheritance, pass on the charism, pass on the interior life within each one of you. But I want to go further, and one of the challenges that the world asks of us is dialogue between young people and the elderly, in this way I rely on your testimony: Yes father, we've already heard you say that ... and you will hear me say it many times more: dialogue between the young and the elderly. Young people need to listen to their elders and elders need to listen to the young. And what do you want me to do? ... a young person might ask: What should I do, speak with an elderly person? How boring that will be! I have the experience of having seen this many times in other dioceses: going, for example, to a home for the elderly or a shelter and playing a guitar for the elderly. Ok, yes, they begin by playing the guitar and then the dialogue begins, it is spontaneous, it happens on its own and all of a sudden, young people don't want to leave because the elderly are wise, with a wisdom that touches the heart and inspires them to keep going. For you young people, the elderly are not things that you should or could put into a closet. The elderly should not be kept hidden, the elderly are waiting for young people to go to them, to speak with them, to help them dream. And you, young people, need to receive from these men and women the hopes and dreams that will help you to live. That would be my response to the experience of the elders in dialogue with the youth of the Shalom Movement. Teach and help the dialogue between the youth and the elders. Yes, I speak with my mother, with my father. No, your father and your mother are not the elderly. Speak with your grandfather and your grandmother, or perhaps with an even older generation, they have wisdom and they, more than you might think, need you to help them keep their hearts beating so that they can share their wisdom with you. This is the encouragement I have to offer you, encourage, encourage this dialogue, this dialogue is the promise of the future, this dialogue will help us go forward. I don't know whether I've answered your question.
(Matteus responds: Yes) Very good, thank you.
I do not know what is next on the program but I had a doubt at the end of the final question of our dialogue between the young and the elderly: Is Matteus young or old?
(The coordinator responds: He is like you, Holy Father, he is like you)
Those in attendance then sang a song together and the Holy Father gave them his blessing, then the Pope concluded:
And please, I ask you not to forget to pray for me. Thank you.
Here is the description of the Shalom Catholic Community which appears in the Directory of International Associations of the Faithful, published by the Pontifical Council for the Laity.
Official name
Shalom Catholic Community
Established
1982
History
The Shalom Catholic Community was established at the initiative of a group of undergraduates headed by Moyses Louro de Azevedo Filho.
With the encouragement of the archbishop of Fortaleza, Brazil, they opened a sandwich bar and an annexed bookshop to welcome and evangelize young people. This was the first Shalom Center. Very soon the movement spread to families, children and people from all social-cultural backgrounds.
In 1985 the first group of young people formed themselves into life communities and in 1986 the first covenant community was established, made up of young people and adults.
In 1998 the community received canonical recognition from the archbishop of Fortaleza. The association is a member of the Catholic Fraternity of Charismatic, Covenant Communities and Fellowships.
Identity
The Shalom Catholic Community is made up of married couples, consecrated men and women, young people and adults seeking their vocation, priests, all united by the call to live the charism of Shalom. Its distinctive features are contemplation, unity and evangelization.
The community’s commitment to evangelization and Christian instruction gives emphasis to the world of education, culture and the arts, scientific environments, the media, and human development.
The formation of its members, based on a personal encounter with Jesus Christ, is nurtured by the study of the Word of God and the magisterium of the Church, prayer, participation in the liturgy and the sacraments, fraternal and missionary life, filial love for Our Lady, union with Our Lord according to the model of life shown by St. Francis of Assisi and the model of prayer shown by St. Teresa of Avila.
Organization
Membership of the Shalom Catholic Community is through the life communities, which are cells made up of consecrated men and women following a radical calling to give up their own human plans (cf. Luke 14:25-37) to follow the Lord Jesus Christ unconditionally by devoting themselves totally to the Community; and the covenant communities, made up of people who live fully within the world and live this same vocation in their professions and in family life.
The community also comprises those who play an active part in its work by belonging to groups under its guidance.
Membership
The Shalom Catholic Community has some 2,300 members and is present in eight countries in Europe, the Middle East, North America and South America. About 30,000 people have connections with the community.
Works
In addition to numerous prayer groups, evangelization and catechetical instruction centers for young people, families and children have also sprung up at the initiative of the Shalom Catholic Community.
There are spiritual retreat houses; art centers in which music, dance, drama and fine art are placed at the service of evangelization; a school; a human development association which manages kindergartens; homes for the elderly and services for the sick and inmates; and projects to recuperate drug addicts, to rescue street children, for the prevention of abortion, and to take in the homeless and help restore their dignity.
The community has also set up four radio stations, a publishing house and the Gaudium et Spes Institute which provides training for social and political commitment according to the principles of the Church’s social teachings.
Publication
Shalom Maná, monthly magazine
Web site
www.comunidadeshalom.org.br
Headquarters
Comunidade Católica Shalom
Rua Gonçalves Ledo, 501 — Praia de Iracema
60.110-260 Fortaleza – Ceará – Brazil
Tel. (55) 85.231.8894 — Fax 85.253.7534
shalom@comunidadeshalom.org.br
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