At 11:45am this morning (5:45am EDT), in the Consistory Hall at the Vatican Apostolic Palace, the Holy Father, Pope Francis received in audience the participants taking part in the 47th General Chapter of the Congregation of the Passion of Jesus Christ (Passionists) which is taking place in Rome from 6 tu 27 October 2018.
Dear brothers,
I am pleased to meet you on the occasion of your General Chapter and I thank your Superior for his words. In these days, your reflections have been guided by the theme Renewing our mission: Gratitude, Prophecy and Hope. These three words: gratitude, prophecy and hope express the spirit with which you wish to stimulate your Congregation for a renewal in the mission. In fact, in addition to electing the government of the Institute, you propose to undertake a new path of ongoing formation for your communities, rooted in the experience of daily life; and you also intend to conduct a discernment on the pastoral methodology in your approach to younger generations.
Your Founder, Saint Paul of the Cross, adopted for himself and for his companions this motto: May the Passion of Jesus Christ be always in our hearts. His first biographer, Saint Vincent Maria Strambi, said of him: It seemed that God Almighty had chosen Father Paul, in a special way, to teach people how to look for Him in the interiority of their hearts. Saint Paul of the Cross wanted your communities to be schools of prayer, where you could experience God. His holiness was experienced between darkness and desolation, but also with joy and peace that touched the heart of those who encountered him.
At the centre of your life and your mission is the Passion of Jesus, which your Founder described as the greatest and most beautiful work of the love of God (Letters II, 499). The vow that distinguishes you, with which you are committed to keep alive the memory of the passion, places you at the foot of the Cross, from which flows the healing and reconciling love of God. I encourage you to be ministers of spiritual healing and reconciliation, so necessary in today's world, marked by ancient and new wounds. Your Constitutions call you to dedicate your whole self to the evangelization and re-evangelization of peoples, preferring the poor in the most abandoned places (Constitution, 70). Your closeness to people, traditionally expressed through popular missions, spiritual direction and the sacrament of Penance, is a precious testimony. The Church needs ministers who speak with tenderness, listen without condemning and welcome with mercy.
The Church today feels a strong appeal to come out of itself and go to the peripheries, both geographic and existential. Your commitment to embracing the new frontiers of mission implies not only going to new territories in order to proclaim the Gospel, but also facing the new challenges of our time, such as migration, secularism and the digital world. This means being present in those situations where people perceive the absence of God, and try to be close to those who are suffering in any way or form.
In this age of change, which is rather a change of era, you are called to be attentive to the presence and action of the Holy Spirit, reading the signs of the times. New situations require new answers. Saint Paul of the Cross was very creative in responding to the needs of his time, recognizing - as he says in the Rule - that the love of God is very ingenious and does not show itself so much with words, as with the works and examples of those who love (XVI). A creative fidelity to your charism will allow you to respond to the needs of the people of today, staying close to the suffering Christ in order to bring his presence to a world that is suffering.
Your Congregation has given many examples of holiness to the people of God; we can think of Saint Gabriel of Our Lady of Sorrows, a young man whose joyful following of Christ still speaks to today's youth. The testimony of the saints and blesseds of your religious family manifests the fruitfulness of your charism and represents models to inspire your apostolic choices. The strength and simplicity of your message, which is the love of God revealed on the Cross, can still speak to today's society, which has learned not to trust words alone but rather to be convinced only by facts. For many young people who are looking for God, the Passion of Jesus can be a source of hope and courage, showing them that everyone is loved personally and to the end. May your testimony and your apostolate continue to enrich the Church, and may you always remain close to Christ crucified and his suffering people.
May the Apostolic Blessing, which I now warmly impart to you as Chapter participants and to the whole Passionist family accompany you on your journey. Please do not forget to pray for me. Thank you.
Speech of His Holiness, Pope Francis
addressed to the General Chapter of
the Congregation of the Passion of Jesus Christ
Dear brothers,
I am pleased to meet you on the occasion of your General Chapter and I thank your Superior for his words. In these days, your reflections have been guided by the theme Renewing our mission: Gratitude, Prophecy and Hope. These three words: gratitude, prophecy and hope express the spirit with which you wish to stimulate your Congregation for a renewal in the mission. In fact, in addition to electing the government of the Institute, you propose to undertake a new path of ongoing formation for your communities, rooted in the experience of daily life; and you also intend to conduct a discernment on the pastoral methodology in your approach to younger generations.
Your Founder, Saint Paul of the Cross, adopted for himself and for his companions this motto: May the Passion of Jesus Christ be always in our hearts. His first biographer, Saint Vincent Maria Strambi, said of him: It seemed that God Almighty had chosen Father Paul, in a special way, to teach people how to look for Him in the interiority of their hearts. Saint Paul of the Cross wanted your communities to be schools of prayer, where you could experience God. His holiness was experienced between darkness and desolation, but also with joy and peace that touched the heart of those who encountered him.
At the centre of your life and your mission is the Passion of Jesus, which your Founder described as the greatest and most beautiful work of the love of God (Letters II, 499). The vow that distinguishes you, with which you are committed to keep alive the memory of the passion, places you at the foot of the Cross, from which flows the healing and reconciling love of God. I encourage you to be ministers of spiritual healing and reconciliation, so necessary in today's world, marked by ancient and new wounds. Your Constitutions call you to dedicate your whole self to the evangelization and re-evangelization of peoples, preferring the poor in the most abandoned places (Constitution, 70). Your closeness to people, traditionally expressed through popular missions, spiritual direction and the sacrament of Penance, is a precious testimony. The Church needs ministers who speak with tenderness, listen without condemning and welcome with mercy.
The Church today feels a strong appeal to come out of itself and go to the peripheries, both geographic and existential. Your commitment to embracing the new frontiers of mission implies not only going to new territories in order to proclaim the Gospel, but also facing the new challenges of our time, such as migration, secularism and the digital world. This means being present in those situations where people perceive the absence of God, and try to be close to those who are suffering in any way or form.
In this age of change, which is rather a change of era, you are called to be attentive to the presence and action of the Holy Spirit, reading the signs of the times. New situations require new answers. Saint Paul of the Cross was very creative in responding to the needs of his time, recognizing - as he says in the Rule - that the love of God is very ingenious and does not show itself so much with words, as with the works and examples of those who love (XVI). A creative fidelity to your charism will allow you to respond to the needs of the people of today, staying close to the suffering Christ in order to bring his presence to a world that is suffering.
Your Congregation has given many examples of holiness to the people of God; we can think of Saint Gabriel of Our Lady of Sorrows, a young man whose joyful following of Christ still speaks to today's youth. The testimony of the saints and blesseds of your religious family manifests the fruitfulness of your charism and represents models to inspire your apostolic choices. The strength and simplicity of your message, which is the love of God revealed on the Cross, can still speak to today's society, which has learned not to trust words alone but rather to be convinced only by facts. For many young people who are looking for God, the Passion of Jesus can be a source of hope and courage, showing them that everyone is loved personally and to the end. May your testimony and your apostolate continue to enrich the Church, and may you always remain close to Christ crucified and his suffering people.
May the Apostolic Blessing, which I now warmly impart to you as Chapter participants and to the whole Passionist family accompany you on your journey. Please do not forget to pray for me. Thank you.
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