Pope Francis says "I urge you to remain faithful to Christ, Master and Lord, to go forward by bringing his message of healing to the sick and of consolation..."
.png)
SPEECH OF THE HOLY FATHER FRANCIS
TO PARTICIPANTS IN THE GENERAL CHAPTER OF THE SOVEREIGN MILITARY ORDER OF MALTA
Hall of the Consistory
Monday, January 30, 2023
_______________________________________
Dear brothers and sisters!
I thank Cardinal Silvano Tomasi for his kind words, and I take this opportunity to express my gratitude for all the work he has done as my Special Delegate, together with the Working Group that has accompanied him in recent years. I thank Fra 'John Dunlap, Lieutenant of the Grand Master, for the expressions of fidelity and hope that he addressed to me on behalf of all of you.
I greet with pleasure the new High Offices and the members of the new Sovereign Council, elected during the General Chapter you have just concluded. From here, take up your commitment of tuitio fidei and obsequium pauperum with renewed impetus, giving freely what you have freely received and testifying that following Christ in service to the poor and the sick is a path that fills the soul. In fact, it allows you to encounter the Lord in every face of a brother in need, in every hand you shake in welcoming, in every circumstance in which you relive the ideal that Blessed Gerard, your founder, achieved by giving his life in the service of " Poor of Our Lord”.
He gladdened me to learn that the people appointed last September 3 in the provisional government have found the trust of the great majority of the Capitulars. They, coming from different territorial realities on the five continents, expressed satisfaction and trusted those who "ferried" the Order towards this new path, to faithfully apply the new Constitutional Charter and the new Melitensi Code. I am also happy to know that there was a good discussion on the issues addressed. Dialectic will certainly not be lacking, but, as I wrote to you in the message I addressed to you at the beginning of the General Chapter, the path to follow is the one that comes to us directly from Christ: ut unum sint, so that the world may believe (cf. Jn 17.21). Ever more united to bear witness to your faith and belonging to the Order; increasingly consistent with the octagonal cross that you proudly wear. I am sure that in the election of the Grand Master you will find a sure guide, guarantor of the unity of the whole Order, in fidelity to the Successor of Peter and to the Church.
In the Chapter of the Professed, which preceded the General Chapter, in response to my invitation and to what was established in the Constitutional Charter and in the Melitensi Code, you addressed the theme of the re-establishment, according to the original inspiration, of community life and of the full observance of the solemn vow of poverty. You have also concretely evaluated the methods for sustaining community life and the commitment that the Order assumes in this regard. For this I congratulate you! I also consider the choice not to oblige to community life those who, making their profession, knew they were not obligated to be right and prudent, and to affirm at the same time that everyone is invited to embrace it. Therefore, those who make solemn profession from now on, aware that it involves community life, will assume the obligation with full freedom.
I appreciate the decision to reopen one novitiate and hope that more can be added soon. I pray the Lord, and I invite all of you to do so with me, to send abundant vocations to your Order, not only for religious profession, but also to the second class, first collaborator of the professed, and to the third class. To keep so many meritorious works alive, it is necessary to pray that the Lord sends "good workers", arousing vocations in every class, especially to religious profession, which lives and fully expresses the Johannine vocation.
You have also dealt with the theme of the initial and ongoing formation of the members, indicating some guidelines that can favor its implementation. In particular, an adequate formation of the professed, as well as of the knights of the second class, is necessary in the concrete meaning of the promise of obedience issued. Furthermore, the formation of the third class should not be overlooked, from which I hope solid vocations can arise for the different dimensions of service in the Order.
Dear brothers and sisters, you have written a very important page of history for the Order of Malta, thank you, you can be proud of it. I urge you to remain faithful to Christ, Master and Lord, to go forward by bringing his message of healing to the sick and of consolation to the afflicted throughout the world. One day we will give an account of this to God the Father: having been faithful witnesses of him, close to our neighbor, not animated by worldly aspirations, but ardent in the service and witness of the Risen One.
From my heart I bless all of you, your families, members, employees, volunteers, the people you assist and your works scattered throughout the world and in many existential peripheries. And I ask you please: do not forget to pray for me. This job is not easy! Thank you!
TO PARTICIPANTS IN THE GENERAL CHAPTER OF THE SOVEREIGN MILITARY ORDER OF MALTA
Hall of the Consistory
Monday, January 30, 2023
_______________________________________
Dear brothers and sisters!
I thank Cardinal Silvano Tomasi for his kind words, and I take this opportunity to express my gratitude for all the work he has done as my Special Delegate, together with the Working Group that has accompanied him in recent years. I thank Fra 'John Dunlap, Lieutenant of the Grand Master, for the expressions of fidelity and hope that he addressed to me on behalf of all of you.
I greet with pleasure the new High Offices and the members of the new Sovereign Council, elected during the General Chapter you have just concluded. From here, take up your commitment of tuitio fidei and obsequium pauperum with renewed impetus, giving freely what you have freely received and testifying that following Christ in service to the poor and the sick is a path that fills the soul. In fact, it allows you to encounter the Lord in every face of a brother in need, in every hand you shake in welcoming, in every circumstance in which you relive the ideal that Blessed Gerard, your founder, achieved by giving his life in the service of " Poor of Our Lord”.
He gladdened me to learn that the people appointed last September 3 in the provisional government have found the trust of the great majority of the Capitulars. They, coming from different territorial realities on the five continents, expressed satisfaction and trusted those who "ferried" the Order towards this new path, to faithfully apply the new Constitutional Charter and the new Melitensi Code. I am also happy to know that there was a good discussion on the issues addressed. Dialectic will certainly not be lacking, but, as I wrote to you in the message I addressed to you at the beginning of the General Chapter, the path to follow is the one that comes to us directly from Christ: ut unum sint, so that the world may believe (cf. Jn 17.21). Ever more united to bear witness to your faith and belonging to the Order; increasingly consistent with the octagonal cross that you proudly wear. I am sure that in the election of the Grand Master you will find a sure guide, guarantor of the unity of the whole Order, in fidelity to the Successor of Peter and to the Church.
In the Chapter of the Professed, which preceded the General Chapter, in response to my invitation and to what was established in the Constitutional Charter and in the Melitensi Code, you addressed the theme of the re-establishment, according to the original inspiration, of community life and of the full observance of the solemn vow of poverty. You have also concretely evaluated the methods for sustaining community life and the commitment that the Order assumes in this regard. For this I congratulate you! I also consider the choice not to oblige to community life those who, making their profession, knew they were not obligated to be right and prudent, and to affirm at the same time that everyone is invited to embrace it. Therefore, those who make solemn profession from now on, aware that it involves community life, will assume the obligation with full freedom.
I appreciate the decision to reopen one novitiate and hope that more can be added soon. I pray the Lord, and I invite all of you to do so with me, to send abundant vocations to your Order, not only for religious profession, but also to the second class, first collaborator of the professed, and to the third class. To keep so many meritorious works alive, it is necessary to pray that the Lord sends "good workers", arousing vocations in every class, especially to religious profession, which lives and fully expresses the Johannine vocation.
You have also dealt with the theme of the initial and ongoing formation of the members, indicating some guidelines that can favor its implementation. In particular, an adequate formation of the professed, as well as of the knights of the second class, is necessary in the concrete meaning of the promise of obedience issued. Furthermore, the formation of the third class should not be overlooked, from which I hope solid vocations can arise for the different dimensions of service in the Order.
Dear brothers and sisters, you have written a very important page of history for the Order of Malta, thank you, you can be proud of it. I urge you to remain faithful to Christ, Master and Lord, to go forward by bringing his message of healing to the sick and of consolation to the afflicted throughout the world. One day we will give an account of this to God the Father: having been faithful witnesses of him, close to our neighbor, not animated by worldly aspirations, but ardent in the service and witness of the Risen One.
From my heart I bless all of you, your families, members, employees, volunteers, the people you assist and your works scattered throughout the world and in many existential peripheries. And I ask you please: do not forget to pray for me. This job is not easy! Thank you!
Source: Vatican.va
Comments