MESSAGE OF THE HOLY FATHER FRANCIS AT THE MEETING FOR FRIENDSHIP AMONG PEOPLES

MESSAGE OF THE HOLY FATHER FRANCIS
AT THE MEETING FOR FRIENDSHIP AMONG PEOPLES

[RIMINI, 24 to 30 August 2014]

  

To His Excellency
Mons. Francesco Lambiasi
Bishop of Rimini

Your Excellency,

at the XXXV Meeting for friendship among peoples , I am pleased to convey to you, the organizers, the volunteers and all those who will participate in the cordial greetings and the blessing of His Holiness Pope Francis, along with my personal desire of all good for this important initiative.

The theme chosen for this year - Towards the margins of the world and of existence - echoes a constant solicitude of the Holy Father. Since its episcopate in Buenos Aires, he realized that the "suburbs" are not just places, but also and above all people, as said in your speech during the general congregations before the conclave: "The Church is called to come out of itself and to go to the suburbs, not just geographical ones, but also those existential those of the mystery of sin, pain, injustice, ignorance and the absence of faith, those of thought, that of all forms of misery "(9 March 2013).

So Papa Francesco thanked the leaders of the Meeting to have accepted and spread His invitation to walk in this perspective. A Church "output" is the only possible according to the Gospel; it shows the life of Jesus, who went from village to village proclaiming the kingdom of God, and sent his disciples ahead of him. For this reason the Father sent him into the world.

Fate did not leave man alone is the second part of the theme of the Meeting : an expression of the Servant of God Fr Luigi Giussani, who reminds us that the Lord has not abandoned us to ourselves, has not forgotten us. In ancient times chose one man, Abraham, and put him on a journey to the land that he had promised. And in the fullness of time he chose a young woman, the Virgin Mary, to become flesh and come to dwell among us. Nazareth was really an insignificant village, an "edge" on both political and religious; but God has looked right there, to fulfill his plan of mercy and faithfulness.

The Christian is not afraid to decentralize, to go to the suburbs, because it has its center in Jesus Christ. He frees us from fear; we can advance in his company safe anywhere, even through the dark moments of life, knowing that wherever we go, the Lord always before us with his grace, and our joy is to share with others the good news that He is with we will. The disciples of Jesus, after completing a mission, they returned enthusiastic about the successes. But Jesus said to them, "But do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you; rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven "( Lk  10.20 to 21). Are we not to save the world, it is only God who saves him.

The men and women of our time are at great risk of experiencing a sadness individualistic, isolated in the midst of a quantity of consumer goods, from which, however, many remain excluded. Often prevail lifestyles that lead to put their hope in economic security or power or success purely ground. Even Christians run this risk. "It's obvious - the Holy Father states - which in some places has produced a" desertification "spiritual fruit of the project companies that want to build without God" (ibid., N. Evangelii gaudium , 86) . But this should not discourage us, as we recalled Benedict XVI inaugurated the Year of Faith: "In the desert you return to discover the value of what is essential to life; so in today's world there are countless signs, often manifested in the form implied or negative, the thirst for God, the ultimate meaning of life. And in the desert there is particularly in need of people of faith who, with their own life, can point the way to the promised land, and so keep hope alive "( Homily at the Mass of the opening of the Year of Faith , October 11, 2012 ).

Pope Francis invites us to collaborate, even with the Meeting for Friendship among Peoples , this back to basics, which is the Gospel of Jesus Christ. "Christians have a duty to proclaim without excluding anyone, not as one who imposes a new obligation, but rather as people who share a joy, signals a beautiful horizon, offers a banquet desirable. The Church does not grow to proselytize but "attraction" "( Evangelii gaudium , 14 ), that is, "through a personal testimony, a story, a gesture, or form that the same Holy Spirit can inspire in a practical situation" ( ibid . , 128 ).

The Holy Father points to the leaders and participants of the Meeting two special attention.

First, invites you to never lose touch with reality, or rather, to be lovers of reality. This is also part of Christian witness: in the presence of a dominant culture that gives top priority to the appearance, what is superficial and temporary, the challenge is to choose to love and reality. Don Giussani has left a legacy as a program of life when he stated: "The only condition to be always and truly religious life is always intensely real. The formula for the meaning of reality is to live the real no holds barred, that is, without denying and forgetting anything. It would not be human, that is reasonable, considering the limited experience to its surface, at the crest of its wave, without descending into the depths of his motion "( The Religious Sense , p. 150).

In addition, calls to keep his eyes fixed on the essentials. The most serious problems, in fact, arise when the Christian message is identified with secondary issues that do not express the heart of the ad. In a world in which, after two thousand years, Jesus has returned to being a stranger in too many countries of the West, "it pays to be realistic and do not assume that our interlocutors know the full background of what we say or they can connect our discussion with the core of the Gospel that gives it meaning, beauty and attractiveness "( Evangelii gaudium , 34 )

For this reason, a world in rapid transformation so asks Christians to be willing to seek forms or ways to communicate in a language understandable to the perennial newness of Christianity. Again, be realistic. "Many times it is better to slow down the pace, put away the anxiety to look into my eyes and listen, or give to the urgent needs to accompany those left at the roadside" ( ibid. , 46).

His Holiness offers these reflections as a contribution to the week of the Meeting , to all those who participate, in particular managers, organizers and speakers who come from the suburbs of the world and of existence to testify that God the Father does not abandon his children . The Pope hopes that many can relive the experience of the first disciples of Jesus, who, meeting him on the bank of the Jordan, were heard to ask: "What do you seek?". May this question of Jesus always accompany the journey of all who visit the Meeting for Friendship among Peoples .

While asks us to pray for him and for his ministry, Francis Pope invokes the maternal protection of the Virgin Mother and the heart sends to Your Excellency and to the entire community of the Meeting Apostolic Blessing.

In pray Your Excellency to ensure even my personal wish, take this opportunity to confirm with distinct treat

Your Excellency Excellency
most devoted Pietro Card. Parolin