10021981 JPII Radio message Franciscan vigil

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H.H. John Paul II, Radio message to the participants in the Franciscan vigil on the VIII centenary of the birth of Saint Francis of Assisi

(Friday, October 2, 1981)

 The solemn celebrations of the VIII centenary of the Saint's birth began in Saint Peter's Basilica with a prayer vigil on the night of October 2, 1981. More than ten thousand men and women religious and lay people from all the Franciscan families gathered around the tomb of the Prince of the Apostles. They came from many countries around the world and had come to the city fulfilling the slogan proposed eight centuries ago by Saint Francis: "Let us go to the Holy Mother Roman Church to be able to continue our experience according to her indications." To all those gathered in Saint Peter's Basilica, as well as to the faithful who were gathered in Assisi for an identical celebration, John Paul II, from Castelgandolfo, through Vatican Radio, addressed the following message, the original of which is published by L 'Osservatore Romano del 4-X-81.

Sarcophagus of St. FrancisDear Brothers and Sisters,

To all of you who have gathered in Saint Peter's Basilica, and to those who have come to the Cathedral of Assisi for a special vigil of prayer and reflection, which is meant to be the first act of the solemn celebrations of the eighth centenary of the birth of the great saint and son of the Church, Francis, I am happy to address my words of greeting and encouragement to you, assuring you of my spiritual participation.

I know that in San Pedro more than 5,000 brothers from all over the world have gathered, belonging to the 4 Franciscan families, to which is added a large number of young religious from feminine institutes, young members of the Secular Franciscan Order and many Franciscan-inspired youth groups, while in the cathedral of Assisi, where Francis also knelt and prayed, many people have gathered under the presidency of the bishop.

LOVE FOR CHRIST AND THE CHURCH

With these words I want to address first of all the young people, because it is precisely for them that a world chapter of Franciscan youth has been convened, which ends in a prayerful assembly around the tomb of the Prince of the Apostles, the cornerstone of the great ecclesial construction: « You are Peter and on this rock I will build my Church» (Mt 16:18).

The message of the Seraphic Brother Francisco, because it is profoundly evangelical, is always eloquent and rich in teachings. There is above all one aspect that I am trying to propose for your reflection at this time: that of the great love for the Church, the Mystical Body of Christ, which in the Saint was confused with love for Christ Himself. Pietro Bernardone's son was a man of the Church, he gave himself to the Church and for the Church, which he never separated from Christ the Lord, he committed, even in pain, even the most intimate heartbeat of his soul, confirmed in this by the invitation of the Crucified in San Damiano: «Go, and repair my house». This love characterized his vocation as a reformer and, even before that, as a convert, as a new man.

It is well known that in the times in which his testimony and that of his movement began, ecclesial heresies prevailed, always old and always new, which, pretending to be inspired by the origins, introduced divisions and schisms, opposed the Gospel to the hierarchical Church and to their authority, and, relying on a subjective interpretation of Holy Scripture, they established a free examination, to which they resorted already before it was known by this precise name.

Now, the charism and the prophetic mission of Brother Francis were to show concretely that the Gospel is entrusted to the Church and that it must be lived and incarnated primarily and exemplarily in the Church and with the assent and support of the Church itself. He, in the silence of obedient humility, made a luminous image of redeemed man, who has defied the centuries.

Christ has delegated to the Church the continuity of his work of redemption, and even when the influence of this work goes beyond the confines of the visible Church, to reach those of all humanity, inspiring and sustaining every valid and authentic attempt at love and surrender, it falls to the Church herself, and therefore to her faithful, to be a conscious sign of salvation, as the Council affirms with incisive words: "Christ... by means of the life-giving Spirit made his Body, which is the Church, universal sacrament of salvation; Being seated at the right hand of the Father, he constantly acts in the world to lead men to the Church and, through her, to unite them more closely to himself and... make them sharers in his glorious life” (Lumen gentium, 48) .

The mystery of salvation has been revealed to us and is continued and realized in the Church (cf. Apostolicam actuositatem, 2; Presbyterorum Ordinis, 22; Gaudium et spes, 40) and from this genuine and unique source comes, like "humble" water, useful, precious and chaste» to everyone. It is a question, dear young people and faithful, of being aware, of taking charge, like Brother Francis, of this fundamental revealed truth, contained in the phrase consecrated by tradition: "There is no salvation outside the Church". Indeed, from the Church alone springs surely and fully the life-giving force destined, in Christ and in his Spirit, to renew all humanity, and for this, to lead each one of the men to form part of the Mystical Body of Christ.

Ignoring, therefore, all superficial criticism, frequently motivated only by the own lack of commitment, it is necessary to renew in depth a responsible desire, which is configured in two aspects.

EVANGELIZING ACTION

On the one hand, you are called to courageously bear witness to Christ, precisely by virtue of your Franciscan profession, through docile fidelity to the Church, assuring filial obedience and collaboration to your Pastors and seeking the most adequate insertion of your apostolate in the mission and therefore, in the pastoral care of your local churches. On the other hand, you must propose to increase a valid response to the needs, to the aspirations, and to the crucial challenges, with which the reality of the most needy neighbor challenges your evangelizing action of young people and children of Francis of Assisi.

The tasks are broad and urgent; let us pray together for the courage and love that animated the Poor Little One of Assisi. The VIII centenary of his birth serves as a stimulus to intensely live the ideals that he still points out to humanity, so much in need of salvation. On your resolutions, on your commitment, I invoke the assistance of the Lord while, on this blessed night, I repeat with you the prayer that flowed from my spirit when, a few days after my election to the pontificate, I came to Assisi to pray over the tomb of the Seraphic Father:

“Help us, Saint Francis of Assisi, to bring Christ closer to the Church and to the world of today.

“You, who have carried in your heart the vicissitudes of your contemporaries, help us, with our hearts close to the heart of the Redeemer, to embrace the vicissitudes of the men of our time; the difficult social, economic, political problems; the problems of contemporary culture and civilization, all the sufferings of today's man, his doubts, his denials, his despair, his tensions, his complexes, his anxieties... Help us to translate all this into a simple evangelical language and useful. Help us to resolve everything in an evangelical key, so that Christ himself can be "Way-Truth-Life" for the man of our time» (John Paul II. Teachings to the People of God I, 1978, 157-158).

I accompany you with my blessing.

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