JPII address on the opening the Portiuncula
August 20, 1999: John Paul II, Message to the Minister General of the Friars Minor, on the occasion of the opening of the Porziuncola
To the Most Reverend Fr. Giacomo Bini, Minister General of the Franciscan Order of Friars Minor.
1. The reopening of the Basilica and the Chapel of the Porziuncola, after the restoration for the wounds of the 1997 earthquake, gives me the pleasant opportunity to address an affectionate greeting to you, beloved brother, and to the Franciscan community that in Assisi provides a valuable ecclesial service and takes care of the decorum of those places linked to the memory of the Poverello of Assisi, so dear to the faithful and pilgrims who come to the land of Francis and Clare for an intense spiritual experience. The footsteps of the faithful stop at the gates of Assisi, which, due to the many wonders performed there, is often called, with good reason, "The particular city of the Lord." Continue reading after advertisement
Today the Chapel of the Porziuncola, and the patriarchal basilica where it is preserved, reopen their doors to welcome crowds of people attracted by nostalgia and the fascination of the holiness of God, which was abundantly manifested in his servant Francis.
The Poverello knew that “divine grace could be bestowed on God's elect anywhere; In the same way, he had experienced that the place of Santa María de la Porziúncula overflowed with abundant grace (...), and he used to say to the friars (...): "This place is holy, it is the dwelling place of Christ and of the Virgin, his Mother "» (EP 83). The humble and poor Church had become for Francis the icon of Mary Most Holy, the "Virgin made Church" (SalVM 1), humble and "small portion of the world", but indispensable to the Son of God to become man. That is why the saint invoked Mary as a tabernacle, house, garment, slave and Mother of God.
Precisely in the Chapel of the Porziuncola, which he had restored with his own hands, Francis, enlightened by the words of the tenth chapter of the Gospel according to St. Matthew, decided to abandon his previous and brief experience as a hermit to dedicate himself to preaching in the midst of the people. , "With the simplicity of his word and the magnificence of his heart", as his first biographer, Tomás de Celano, testifies (1 Cel 23). Thus began his unique itinerant ministry. And in the Porziuncola the taking of the habit of Saint Clare took place later, and in it the Order of the "Poor Ladies of San Damiano" was founded. There also Francis asked Christ, through the intercession of the Queen of Angels, the great forgiveness or "indulgence of the Porziuncola", confirmed by my venerable predecessor Pope Honorius III as of August 2, 1216. Since then the missionary activity, which took Francis and his friars to some Muslim countries and to various nations of Europe. There, finally, the Saint welcomed by singing "our sister bodily death" (Song 12).
2. From the experience of the Poverello of Assisi, the church of the Porziuncola preserves and spreads a message and a peculiar grace that still endure today and constitute a strong spiritual appeal for all those who feel attracted by his example. In this regard, the testimony of Simone Weil, daughter of Israel fascinated by Christ, is significant: «While I was alone in the Romanesque chapel of Santa María de los Ángeles, incomparable miracle of purity, where Saint Francis prayed so often, something stronger that I forced myself, for the first time in my life, to kneel down »(Spiritual Autobiography).
The Porziuncola is one of the most revered places of Franciscanism, not only very endearing for the Order of Friars Minor, but also for all Christians who there, captivated by the intensity of the historical memories, receive light and encouragement for a renewal of life, with a view to a more deeply rooted faith and a more authentic love. Therefore, I am pleased to underline the specific message that comes from the Porziuncola and the indulgence attached to it. It is a message of forgiveness and reconciliation, that is, of grace, that divine goodness pours out on us, if we are well disposed, because God is truly "rich in mercy" (Eph 2,4).
How can we not daily rekindle in us the humble and trusting invocation of God's redemptive grace! How can we fail to recognize the greatness of this gift that he has offered us in Christ, "once for all time" (Heb 9:12), and that he continually proposes to us again with his unchanging goodness! It is about the gift of free forgiveness, which disposes us to peace with him and with ourselves, infusing us with renewed hope and joy of living. The consideration of all this helps us to understand the austere life of penance of Francis, at the same time that it invites us to accept the call to a constant conversion, which alienates us from selfish behavior and decisively directs our spirit towards God, the focal point of our existence.
3. The sanctuary of the Porziuncola, tent of the encounter of God with men, is a house of prayer. "Here, whoever prays with devotion, will obtain what he asks for", Francis used to repeat (1 Cel 106), after having personally experienced it. Within the ancient walls of the church, each one can taste the sweetness of prayer in the company of Mary, the Mother of Jesus, and experience her powerful intercession.
The new man Francis, in that sacred building restored with his hands, listened to Jesus' invitation to model his life "after the form of the holy Gospel" (Test 14), and to walk the paths of men, announcing the kingdom of God and conversion, with poverty and joy. In this way, this holy place had become for Saint Francis a "tent of encounter" with Christ himself, the living Word of salvation. The Porziuncola is, in particular, "land of encounter" with the grace of forgiveness, matured in an intimate experience of Francis, who, as Saint Bonaventure writes, "one day, while (...) he wept, reflecting bitterly on his past He felt overwhelmed by the joy of the Holy Spirit, who assured him that all his sins had been fully forgiven ”(LM 6). He wanted everyone to share in his personal experience of God's mercy, and he requested and obtained the plenary indulgence for those who, repentant and confessed, would come as pilgrims to church, in order to receive the forgiveness of sins and the superabundance of the divine grace.
4. To all those, with an authentic attitude of penance and reconciliation, who follow in the footsteps of the Poverello of Assisi and welcome the indulgence of the Porziuncola with the required interior dispositions, I wish them to experience the joy of meeting God and the tenderness of his merciful love . This is the "spirit of Assisi", a spirit of reconciliation, prayer and respect, which I heartily desire constitutes for each one a stimulus to communion with God and with the brethren. It is the same spirit that characterized the prayer meeting for peace with the representatives of the world's religions, whom I welcomed in the Basilica of Santa María de los Ángeles on October 27, 1986, an event of which I keep a vivid and fond memory.
With these sentiments, I too go on a spiritual pilgrimage to that celebration of the indulgence of the Porziuncola, which takes place in the restored basilica of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Heavenly Queen, already on the threshold of the great jubilee of the Incarnation of Christ. To the Virgin, chosen daughter of the Father, I entrust those who, in Assisi and in any other part of the world, want to receive the "pardon of Assisi" today, to make their hearts a dwelling place and a tent for the Lord who comes. I impart my blessing to all.
Castelgandolfo, August 1, 1999, the twenty-first of my pontificate.
Comments
Post a Comment