Pope Francis says "It's your turn!". This is what the hands of the Risen One say: to all of you and to you!"
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SPEECH OF THE HOLY FATHER FRANCIS
TO RECTORS, LECTURERS, STUDENTS AND UNIVERSITY STAFF
AND ROMAN PONTIFICAL INSTITUTIONS
Paul VI Hall
Saturday, February 25, 2023
[Multimedia]
________________________________________
Mr. Cardinal,
illustrious Rectors and Professors,
dear brothers and sisters, good morning and welcome!
I thank Prof. Navarro for his words and all of you for your presence. As the Apostolic Constitution Veritatis gaudium recalls (see Proemio, 1), you belong to a vast and multiform system of ecclesiastical studies, which has flourished over the centuries thanks to the wisdom of the People of God, spread throughout the world and closely linked to the mission of evangelization of the whole Church. You are part of a wealth that has grown under the guidance of the Holy Spirit in research, dialogue, discernment of the signs of the times and listening to many different cultural expressions. In it you stand out for your special closeness - even geographically - to the Successor of Peter and to his ministry of joyful proclamation of the truth of Christ.
You are women and men dedicated to study, some for a few years, others for a lifetime, with various backgrounds and skills. This is why I want to tell you first of all, in the words of the holy bishop and martyr Ignatius of Antioch: commit yourselves to "joining chorus" [1]. Chorus! In fact, the university is the school of agreement and consonance between different voices and instruments. It's not the school of uniformity: no, it's the agreement and consonance between different voices and instruments. St. John Henry Newman described it as the place where different knowledge and perspectives express themselves in harmony, complete, correct and balance each other [2].
This harmony asks to be cultivated first of all in yourselves, between the three intelligences that vibrate in the human soul: that of the mind, that of the heart and that of the hands, each with its own timbre and character, and all necessary. Language of the mind that is combined with that of the heart and that of the hands: what you think, what you feel, what you do.
In particular, I would like to dwell for a moment with you on the last of the three: the intelligence of the hands. It is the most sensorial, but by no means the least important. In fact, it can be said that it is like the spark of thought and knowledge and, in some ways, also their most mature result. The first time I went out to the Piazza, as Pope, I approached a group of blind boys. And one said to me: “Can I see you? Can I look at it?” I didn't understand. Yes – I told him. And with his hands he was looking for… he saw me touching me with his hands. This struck me so much and made me understand the intelligence of hands. Aristotle, for example, said that hands are "like the soul", for the power they have, thanks to their sensitivity, to distinguish and explore [3]. And Kant did not hesitate to define them as "the external brain of man" [4].
The Italian language, like other neo-Latin languages, underlines the same concept, making the verb "take", which indicates a typically manual action, the root of words such as "understand", "learn", "surprise", which indicate instead acts of thought. While the hands take, the mind understands, learns and lets itself be surprised. And yet, for this to happen, sensitive hands are needed. The mind will not be able to understand anything if the hands are closed by avarice, or if they are "hands with holes", wasting time, health and talents, or even if they refuse to give peace, greet and shake hands. He will be unable to learn anything if the hands have fingers pointing without mercy at the brothers and sisters who err. And nothing will be surprising if the same hands cannot join and rise to Heaven in prayer.
We look at the hands of Christ. With them he takes the bread and, having recited the blessing, breaks it and gives it to the disciples, saying: "This is my body". Then he takes the cup and, after giving thanks, he offers it to them saying: "This is my blood" (cf. Mk 14:23-24). What do we see? We see hands that give thanks as they take. The hands of Jesus touch the bread and the wine, the body and the blood, life itself, and give thanks, take and give thanks because they feel that everything is a gift from the Father. It is no coincidence that the Evangelists, to indicate their action, use the verb lambano, which indicates at the same time "to take" and "to receive". Let us therefore make harmony within ourselves, also making our hands "Eucharistic" like those of Christ and accompanying touch, in every contact and grip, with a humble, joyful and sincere gratitude.
In the custody of inner harmony, I then invite you to "chorus" also among the different components of your communities, and among the various institutions you represent. Over the centuries, the generosity and foresight of many religious orders, inspired by their charisms, have enriched Rome with a notable number of Faculties and Universities. Today, however, even in the face of the smaller number of students and teachers, this multiplicity of study centers risks wasting precious energies. Thus, instead of favoring the transmission of the evangelical joy of study, teaching and research, it sometimes threatens to slow it down and tire it. We have to take note of it. Especially after the Covid 19 pandemic, it is urgent to start a process that leads to an effective, stable and organic synergy between academic institutions, to better honor the specific purposes of each and to promote the universal mission of the Church [5]. And don't go arguing among us to take a pupil, an extra hour. Therefore, I invite you not to settle for short-lived solutions, and not to think of this growth process simply as a "defensive" action, aimed at dealing with the decline in economic and human resources. Rather, it should be seen as an impetus towards the future, as an invitation to accept the challenges of a new era in history. Yours is a very rich inheritance, which can promote new life, but which can also inhibit it, if it becomes too self-referential, if it becomes a museum piece. If you want it to have a fruitful future, its custody cannot be limited to maintaining what has been received: it must instead be open to courageous and, if necessary, even unprecedented developments. It is like a seed which, if it is not sown in the earth of concrete reality, remains alone and bears no fruit (cf. Jn 12:24). I therefore encourage you to start a confident process in this direction as soon as possible, with intelligence, prudence and audacity, always bearing in mind that the reality is more important than the idea (cf. Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii gaudium, 222-225). The Dicastery for Culture and Education, with my mandate, will accompany you on this journey.
Dear brothers and sisters, hope is a choral reality! Look behind me at the sculpture of the Risen Christ, the work of the artist Pericle Fazzini, commissioned by Saint Paul VI to dominate this stage and this hall. Observe the hands of Christ: they are like those of a choir master. The right hand is open: he directs all the choristers together and, tending upwards, seems to ask for a crescendo in the execution. The left hand, on the other hand, while facing the whole choir, has the index finger pointed, as if to summon a soloist, saying: "It's your turn!". The hands of Christ involve the choir and the soloist at the same time, so that in the concert the role of one accords with that of the other, in a constructive complementarity. Please: never soloists without a choir. “It's your turn!” and at the same time: "It's your turn!". This is what the hands of the Risen One say: to all of you and to you! As we contemplate his gestures, let us then renew our commitment to "chorus", in the harmony and agreement of the voices, docile to the living action of the Spirit. This is what I ask in prayer for each one of you and for everyone. I bless you from my heart, and I recommend you: do not forget to pray for me.
TO RECTORS, LECTURERS, STUDENTS AND UNIVERSITY STAFF
AND ROMAN PONTIFICAL INSTITUTIONS
Paul VI Hall
Saturday, February 25, 2023
[Multimedia]
________________________________________
Mr. Cardinal,
illustrious Rectors and Professors,
dear brothers and sisters, good morning and welcome!
I thank Prof. Navarro for his words and all of you for your presence. As the Apostolic Constitution Veritatis gaudium recalls (see Proemio, 1), you belong to a vast and multiform system of ecclesiastical studies, which has flourished over the centuries thanks to the wisdom of the People of God, spread throughout the world and closely linked to the mission of evangelization of the whole Church. You are part of a wealth that has grown under the guidance of the Holy Spirit in research, dialogue, discernment of the signs of the times and listening to many different cultural expressions. In it you stand out for your special closeness - even geographically - to the Successor of Peter and to his ministry of joyful proclamation of the truth of Christ.
You are women and men dedicated to study, some for a few years, others for a lifetime, with various backgrounds and skills. This is why I want to tell you first of all, in the words of the holy bishop and martyr Ignatius of Antioch: commit yourselves to "joining chorus" [1]. Chorus! In fact, the university is the school of agreement and consonance between different voices and instruments. It's not the school of uniformity: no, it's the agreement and consonance between different voices and instruments. St. John Henry Newman described it as the place where different knowledge and perspectives express themselves in harmony, complete, correct and balance each other [2].
This harmony asks to be cultivated first of all in yourselves, between the three intelligences that vibrate in the human soul: that of the mind, that of the heart and that of the hands, each with its own timbre and character, and all necessary. Language of the mind that is combined with that of the heart and that of the hands: what you think, what you feel, what you do.
In particular, I would like to dwell for a moment with you on the last of the three: the intelligence of the hands. It is the most sensorial, but by no means the least important. In fact, it can be said that it is like the spark of thought and knowledge and, in some ways, also their most mature result. The first time I went out to the Piazza, as Pope, I approached a group of blind boys. And one said to me: “Can I see you? Can I look at it?” I didn't understand. Yes – I told him. And with his hands he was looking for… he saw me touching me with his hands. This struck me so much and made me understand the intelligence of hands. Aristotle, for example, said that hands are "like the soul", for the power they have, thanks to their sensitivity, to distinguish and explore [3]. And Kant did not hesitate to define them as "the external brain of man" [4].
The Italian language, like other neo-Latin languages, underlines the same concept, making the verb "take", which indicates a typically manual action, the root of words such as "understand", "learn", "surprise", which indicate instead acts of thought. While the hands take, the mind understands, learns and lets itself be surprised. And yet, for this to happen, sensitive hands are needed. The mind will not be able to understand anything if the hands are closed by avarice, or if they are "hands with holes", wasting time, health and talents, or even if they refuse to give peace, greet and shake hands. He will be unable to learn anything if the hands have fingers pointing without mercy at the brothers and sisters who err. And nothing will be surprising if the same hands cannot join and rise to Heaven in prayer.
We look at the hands of Christ. With them he takes the bread and, having recited the blessing, breaks it and gives it to the disciples, saying: "This is my body". Then he takes the cup and, after giving thanks, he offers it to them saying: "This is my blood" (cf. Mk 14:23-24). What do we see? We see hands that give thanks as they take. The hands of Jesus touch the bread and the wine, the body and the blood, life itself, and give thanks, take and give thanks because they feel that everything is a gift from the Father. It is no coincidence that the Evangelists, to indicate their action, use the verb lambano, which indicates at the same time "to take" and "to receive". Let us therefore make harmony within ourselves, also making our hands "Eucharistic" like those of Christ and accompanying touch, in every contact and grip, with a humble, joyful and sincere gratitude.
In the custody of inner harmony, I then invite you to "chorus" also among the different components of your communities, and among the various institutions you represent. Over the centuries, the generosity and foresight of many religious orders, inspired by their charisms, have enriched Rome with a notable number of Faculties and Universities. Today, however, even in the face of the smaller number of students and teachers, this multiplicity of study centers risks wasting precious energies. Thus, instead of favoring the transmission of the evangelical joy of study, teaching and research, it sometimes threatens to slow it down and tire it. We have to take note of it. Especially after the Covid 19 pandemic, it is urgent to start a process that leads to an effective, stable and organic synergy between academic institutions, to better honor the specific purposes of each and to promote the universal mission of the Church [5]. And don't go arguing among us to take a pupil, an extra hour. Therefore, I invite you not to settle for short-lived solutions, and not to think of this growth process simply as a "defensive" action, aimed at dealing with the decline in economic and human resources. Rather, it should be seen as an impetus towards the future, as an invitation to accept the challenges of a new era in history. Yours is a very rich inheritance, which can promote new life, but which can also inhibit it, if it becomes too self-referential, if it becomes a museum piece. If you want it to have a fruitful future, its custody cannot be limited to maintaining what has been received: it must instead be open to courageous and, if necessary, even unprecedented developments. It is like a seed which, if it is not sown in the earth of concrete reality, remains alone and bears no fruit (cf. Jn 12:24). I therefore encourage you to start a confident process in this direction as soon as possible, with intelligence, prudence and audacity, always bearing in mind that the reality is more important than the idea (cf. Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii gaudium, 222-225). The Dicastery for Culture and Education, with my mandate, will accompany you on this journey.
Dear brothers and sisters, hope is a choral reality! Look behind me at the sculpture of the Risen Christ, the work of the artist Pericle Fazzini, commissioned by Saint Paul VI to dominate this stage and this hall. Observe the hands of Christ: they are like those of a choir master. The right hand is open: he directs all the choristers together and, tending upwards, seems to ask for a crescendo in the execution. The left hand, on the other hand, while facing the whole choir, has the index finger pointed, as if to summon a soloist, saying: "It's your turn!". The hands of Christ involve the choir and the soloist at the same time, so that in the concert the role of one accords with that of the other, in a constructive complementarity. Please: never soloists without a choir. “It's your turn!” and at the same time: "It's your turn!". This is what the hands of the Risen One say: to all of you and to you! As we contemplate his gestures, let us then renew our commitment to "chorus", in the harmony and agreement of the voices, docile to the living action of the Spirit. This is what I ask in prayer for each one of you and for everyone. I bless you from my heart, and I recommend you: do not forget to pray for me.
[1] Cfr Lettera agli Efesini, 2-5.
[2] Cfr L’idea di università, Roma 2005, 101.
[4] Antropologia pragmatica, Roma-Bari 2009, 38.
[5] Cfr Discorso ai partecipanti alla Plenaria della Congregazione per l’Educazione Cattolica, 9 febbraio 2017.
Source: Vatican.va
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