11151982 JPII Address to the Franciscans in Rome

For two weeks, a popular mission was held in Rome by 600 male and female religious of the Franciscan Family, as a gift to the Pope on the occasion of the VIII centenary of the birth of Saint Francis. On November 15, 1982, the Holy Father granted them an audience, which was also joined by representatives of other religious Congregations that are dedicated to preaching missions, and in the course of it he addressed them the speech that we reproduce below, translated into Spanish; We take the text from L'Osservatore Romano, weekly edition in Spanish, dated 12-XII-82.

Gozzoli, B., Saint Francis and InnocentDearest Brothers and Sisters,

1. Welcome to the house of the Pope, of the Bishop of Rome!

In a spirit brimming with joy, I address my cordial greetings to you at this meeting which, due to the circumstances in which it is taking place, is of particular importance. You have started the "mission to the people" of the City.

The Franciscan families of Italy could not offer a more welcome gift to this diocese and to me, on the occasion of the eighth centenary of the birth of Saint Francis of Assisi. You undertake a pastoral effort that, due to its great scope and the methodology with which it is carried out, imposes itself on the astonished attention of all those who are interested in the Christian life of Rome. From this generous and brilliant initiative of yours, useful guidelines will certainly emerge for the evangelization of our local Church.

2. Your "gift" is a "prophetic gesture" of exquisite Franciscan flavor. A marvelous page in the history of your Order and the history of the Church comes to mind. When, in the year 1210, Saint Francis went to see Innocent III for the approval of his "form of life", the Pope recalled a dream he had had a few days before, and, illuminated by the Holy Spirit, affirmed that it had come true. precisely on it. Indeed, he had dreamed that the Lateran basilica was about to collapse and that a religious, small and despicable, was propping it up with his shoulders, so that it would not fall. "Certainly," he said, "it is he who with works and teachings will sustain the Church of Christ" (2 Cel 17). Continue reading after advertisement

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3. Your «gift» is inserted in the constant commitment to evangelization that, in recent years, with greater incisiveness and enthusiasm, the Church is developing, «sent by God to the people to be the "universal sacrament of salvation"» (Ad people, 1). Living and eloquent testimony of this are, among other things, the III General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops (Sept. 27 - Oct. 26, 1974), gathered to study the problem of evangelization in the contemporary world; the IV General Assembly of the same Synod of Bishops (October 1977), which addressed the issue of catechesis directed above all to children and young people; the Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii nuntiandi of my venerable predecessor Paul VI; the Catechesi tradendae [of John Paul II], which was born from the same pastoral concern.

Your initiative is a concrete testimony of this missionary path of the Church

Proclaim Christ "and him crucified"

4. The missions to the people, as you know, have shining pages of beauty in the history of the Church, written by great figures, such as Saint Charles Borromeo, Saint Ignatius of Loyola, Saint Vincent de Paul, Saint Leonardo of Porto Mauricio, Saint Paul of the Cross, Saint Gaspar del Búfalo, Saint Alphonsus Maria de Liguori, Blessed Eugene De Mazenod and so many other indefatigable apostles. The Church owes much to the Orders and Congregations that promote this type of evangelization.

The traditional missions, "so often abandoned in too much haste", as I observed in the Catechesi tradendae, are in reality "irreplaceable for a periodic and vigorous renewal of Christian life: they must be renewed and renewed" (no. 47), and «to propose them again with updated and adapted methods and criteria in the dioceses and in the parishes, in agreement with the local Churches» (Address to the participants in the congress of «Misiones al pueblo para los años 80», in L'Oss. Rom., Spanish ed., 8-III-81, page 2).

However, one thing must be made clear: the catechetical task is not about adapting the Gospel to the "wisdom of the world" (cf. 1 Cor 2:6). That is, it is not the analysis of reality, or the use of the social sciences or the use of statistics, or the perfection of organizational methods and techniques -certainly useful means- that have to determine the contents of the Gospel received and professed. You must proclaim Christ Jesus "and him crucified." Let your words not be based "on persuasive speeches of wisdom, but on the manifestation of the Spirit and of power" (1 Cor 2,4). «The method and language used must remain truly instruments to communicate the whole and not a part of the "words of eternal life" (Jn 6,69) or the "way of life" (Acts 2,28)» ​​( Catechesi tradendae, 31). Continue reading after advertisement

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The family, “domestic church”

5. A clear indication for the incisive pastoral action of the missions in our days is the option for the family, "domestic church" (Lumen gentium, 11; Apostolicam actuositatem, 11), as a privileged place for the proclamation of the Gospel. Paul VI said in Evangelii nuntiandi: “The family, like the Church, must be a space where the Gospel is transmitted and from which it radiates. Within, therefore, a family aware of this mission, all its members evangelize and are evangelized. Parents not only communicate the Gospel to their children, but they can in turn receive from them this same Gospel that has been deeply lived... Such a family becomes an evangelizer of many other families and of the environment in which they live” (no. 71 ).

Also the part of the Church where you announce the Good News, my dear diocese of Rome, is making every effort for family ministry, as witnessed by the "Unitary Diocesan Congress", which was held on October 18-20 last the theme «The family, sign and instrument of communion for the community». Faced with the situation of many Christians today, tempted by agnosticism, rationalism, hedonism, consumerism, a sociological Christianity without dogmas and without objective morality, "the catechetical action of the family has a peculiar character and in a certain sense irreplaceable" (Catechesi tradendae, 68).

The most suitable «sacred space» for the psychology of modern man seems to be the house, as in apostolic times, when the Apostles «in the temple and in the houses did not stop all day teaching and announcing Christ Jesus» (Acts 5,42; cf. Acts 12,12; 20,20). The roots of the "domestic church" must be sought precisely in the missionary activity of Jesus, who did not have a home of his own (cf. Mt 8:20), but frequently visited houses to converse with his listeners about the Word of God (cf. Lk 19,9-10; 5,19; 10,38; 7,36).

Just as the home remains the ideal place to safeguard the human dignity of the person against the indiscreet and often disastrous invasion of a consumer society, so can "domestic walls" become an ideal space to rekindle faith. , where parents, aware of their common priesthood, must be for their children, by word and example, "the first preachers of the faith" (Lumen gentium, 11). "Family catechesis therefore precedes, accompanies and enriches all other forms of catechesis" (Catechesi tradendae, 68).

“In whatever house you enter, first say: Peace be with this house. If there be a son of peace there, your peace will rest on him; if not, it will return to you” (Lk 10:5-6). In the family atmosphere, a spontaneous "dialogue" can be established, which can start from afar and take unforeseeable routes, but in the end it always comes to establish a confrontation with the Word of God and frequently turns into fervent prayer, when those present become to discover as the People of God, ready to insert themselves anew, renewed, in the parish community, which "must continue to be the animator of catechesis... (and) an important reference for the Christian people, even for those who do not practice it" (Catechesi tradendae, 67). In the parish, the synthesis, indispensable for salvation, between evangelization and the sacraments takes place: «Sacramental life becomes impoverished and very soon becomes empty ritualism, if it is not founded on a serious knowledge of the meaning of the sacraments. And catechesis becomes intellectualized, if it does not come to life in sacramental practice» (Catechesi tradendae, 23).

6. Dearest children, do not remain only in houses, but expand your apostolate to universal spaces, as the Lord wants: «Go into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature» (Mk 16,15); be aware that "the effort to announce the Gospel to the men of our time, sustained by hope but at the same time often disturbed by fear and anguish, is undoubtedly a service rendered to the community Christian and even all humanity» (Evangelii nuntiandi, 1). Go towards that "great number of people who received baptism but live outside the Christian life" (Ibid., 52). Go "reveal Jesus Christ and his Gospel to those who do not know them" (Ibid., 51). Go, you who are the "brothers of the people", to the heart of the masses, to those scattered and exhausted crowds "like sheep without a shepherd", for whom Jesus felt compassion (Mt 9:36). Your seraphic Father preached before the Pope, the cardinals (1 Cel 73), the Saracens (1 Cel 55) and even to the birds (1 Cel 58-59) and to the expanses of meadows and flowers (1 Cel 81), and invited all creatures to praise God.

Go, then, you too to the men and women of our time. Don't wait for them to come to you! Try yourselves to reach them! The love of Christ impels us to this. Love must search. “Caritas Christi urget nos” (2 Cor 5:14), “The charity of Christ impels us”. The whole Church will thank you.

Itinerant evangelization marked by "Franciscan joy"

7. The words of Jesus: "Go into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature" (Mk 16:15), which give evangelization a universality without frontiers, find an admirable response even in your spirituality, characterized by the traveling style.

Saint Francis, a passionate imitator of Jesus, preferred evangelical "itinerantism" to the traditional structure of religious life of his time, founded on the axis of "stabilitas loci", the stability of the place. "Obtained the investiture by the Pope, Francis, going through cities and towns, began to preach everywhere" (cf. TC 54; 1 Cel 62; 2 Cel 17), and sent his brothers around the world as "pilgrims and strangers» (cf. 2 R 6; EP 10).

May your itinerant evangelization be marked by the unmistakable "Franciscan joy". Remember how your seraphic Father had as his supreme and main desire “to continually enjoy interior and exterior spiritual joy even outside of prayer and the divine office. And he wanted the same in a special way in his brothers; He even scolded them many times when he saw them outwardly sad and in a bad mood”, because it is not for the servant of God to show melancholy or an afflicted aspect before his brothers or before others (cf. EP 95).

Repeat in your preaching the words of the Apostle: “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I tell you: rejoice. May your kindness be known to all men» (Phil 4:4-5). Witness this with your behavior. May your life be a "testimony of your joy, a joy that can be read in your eyes and in your attitude, as well as in your words, and that clearly reveals to those who see you, your certainty that you possess the "hidden treasure" , "the precious stone", whose acquisition admits no regrets for having renounced everything, according to the evangelical counsel (cf. Mt 13,44-45)» (Address of John Paul II to the nuns of Rome, November 10, 1978 ).

«The technological society has been able to multiply the occasions of pleasure, but it finds it very difficult to generate joy, because joy has another origin. It is spiritual. Money, comfort, hygiene, material security are not often lacking; however, tedium, affliction, sadness are unfortunately part of the lives of many”, noted Paul VI in the Apostolic Exhortation Gaudete in Domino, 1.

May the Virgin Mary, Mother of the Word, who saw Jesus "grow in wisdom and age and grace before God and men" (Lk 2,52), help you to "form Christ" (Gal 4,19) in the souls of those who approach you.

May my affectionate and propitious blessing accompany you for this.


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