Pope Francis Reveals 3 People who Need Special Attention saying "The other deserves to be welcomed not so much for what he has...but for what he is." FULL TEXT
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SPEECH OF THE HOLY FATHER FRANCIS
TO PARTICIPANTS IN THE MEETING PROMOTED BY
"FRATERNAL DOMUS" OF SACROFANO
Hall of the Consistory
Thursday, March 9, 2023
________________________________________
Dear brothers and sisters, good morning and welcome!
I thank Sr. Milena Pizziolo for her words and I greet all of you who are taking part in the training conference for the Chair of Hospitality, promoted by the sisters of the Fraterna Domus. And first of all I want to congratulate you, dear sisters, on this initiative, with which you have placed your charism, your experience and also your structures at the service of those who work in the field of hospitality in different ways: an area rich in values and spirituality, but also crossed by the dramas of our time. Thank you for your commitment; and I also thank the other associations, institutes, foundations and communities that collaborate on the Hospitality Chair.
I share with you some reflections referring to the encyclical Fratelli tutti (FT).
Hospitality is one of the traits that characterize what I have called "an open world" (cf. FT, chap. III). The Encyclical is an appeal to "think and generate an open world" (ibid.) - against the "sacristy" closure, which we sometimes have! –; and you respond to this appeal: you do it with the work you carry out every day, without fanfare, without turning on the spotlight, and you also do it with these formative meetings. In fact, in order to be able to operate, in order to be able to generate hospitality, it is also necessary to think about hospitality. Here is the great value of moments like this one that you are experiencing, in which together you deepen the different aspects: anthropological, ethical, religious, historical, and so on. But your "Chair" is not an aseptic laboratory in which abstract formulas are elaborated: it is a moment of reflection inseparable from field work, they go together. While you listen and study, you keep in mind the faces, the stories, the concrete problems and you share them with the speakers and in the comparison groups. And this is so important.
Let's go back to the Encyclical. There are two passages that I think may be particularly interesting for you. I focus on these.
The first can be found in the third chapter, under the title of the "progressive opening of love". I quote: “Love makes us tend towards universal communion. No one matures or reaches their fullness by isolating themselves. By its very dynamics, love requires progressive openness, a greater capacity to welcome others, in a never-ending adventure that brings together all the suburbs towards a full sense of mutual belonging. Jesus told us: "You are all brothers" (Mt 23,8)» (FT, 95). Welcome is an expression of love, of that dynamism of openness which drives us to pay attention to the other, to seek the best for his life (cf. FT, 91-94) and which in its purity is charity infused by God. To the extent that it is permeated by this attitude of openness and acceptance, a society becomes capable of integrating all its members, even those who for various reasons are "existential foreigners" or "hidden exiles", as sometimes, for example, people with disabilities or the elderly are found to be (cf. FT, 97-98). The fundamental reference on this aspect of love is the first Encyclical of Benedict XVI Deus caritas est (December 25, 2005).
The second passage from Fratelli tutti that I am proposing to you is number 141. I quote it in full: «The true quality of the various countries of the world is measured by this ability to think not only as a country, but also as a human family, and this especially in critical periods. Closed nationalisms ultimately manifest this incapacity for gratuitousness, the erroneous persuasion that they can develop on the sidelines of the ruin of others and that by closing themselves off to others they will be better protected. The immigrant is seen as a usurper who offers nothing. Thus, we naively think that the poor are dangerous or useless and that the powerful are generous benefactors. Only a social and political culture that includes free hospitality can have a future". We are in the fourth chapter, entitled "A heart open to the whole world", where we speak of the "gratuity that welcomes" (see nn. 139-141). The aspect of gratuitousness is essential for generating fraternity and social friendship. For you, I emphasize the last sentence: "Only a social and political culture that includes free hospitality can have a future" (n. 141). Free reception. We often talk about the contribution that migrants give or can give to the societies that welcome them. This is true and it is important. But the fundamental criterion does not lie in the usefulness of the person, but in the value in itself that he represents. The other deserves to be welcomed not so much for what he has, or what he can have, or what he can give, but for what he is.
In the Old Testament, I have always been struck by the recurrence - in the Prophets, in the historical Books - of the three people for whom special attention must be paid: the widow, the orphan and the migrant. And it is repeated in Deuteronomy, in Exodus - in Exodus not so much, but in Deuteronomy - in Leviticus, this is repeated: attention, care for widows, for migrants, for orphans. It's recurring. For example: "If you are harvesting, do not pass again: what remains there, what is left over there, leave it for the widow, the orphan, the migrant". There is always this. It is important to resume this tradition of welcome, of the way of welcoming those who do not have or who are experiencing a difficult situation.
Dear brothers and sisters, I leave you with these points of reflection, and I encourage you to continue your journey of formation, in order to be able to live hospitality ever better and promote a culture of hospitality. Our Lady accompany you. I bless you from my heart, and I ask you please to pray for me. Thank you!
TO PARTICIPANTS IN THE MEETING PROMOTED BY
"FRATERNAL DOMUS" OF SACROFANO
Hall of the Consistory
Thursday, March 9, 2023
________________________________________
Dear brothers and sisters, good morning and welcome!
I thank Sr. Milena Pizziolo for her words and I greet all of you who are taking part in the training conference for the Chair of Hospitality, promoted by the sisters of the Fraterna Domus. And first of all I want to congratulate you, dear sisters, on this initiative, with which you have placed your charism, your experience and also your structures at the service of those who work in the field of hospitality in different ways: an area rich in values and spirituality, but also crossed by the dramas of our time. Thank you for your commitment; and I also thank the other associations, institutes, foundations and communities that collaborate on the Hospitality Chair.
I share with you some reflections referring to the encyclical Fratelli tutti (FT).
Hospitality is one of the traits that characterize what I have called "an open world" (cf. FT, chap. III). The Encyclical is an appeal to "think and generate an open world" (ibid.) - against the "sacristy" closure, which we sometimes have! –; and you respond to this appeal: you do it with the work you carry out every day, without fanfare, without turning on the spotlight, and you also do it with these formative meetings. In fact, in order to be able to operate, in order to be able to generate hospitality, it is also necessary to think about hospitality. Here is the great value of moments like this one that you are experiencing, in which together you deepen the different aspects: anthropological, ethical, religious, historical, and so on. But your "Chair" is not an aseptic laboratory in which abstract formulas are elaborated: it is a moment of reflection inseparable from field work, they go together. While you listen and study, you keep in mind the faces, the stories, the concrete problems and you share them with the speakers and in the comparison groups. And this is so important.
Let's go back to the Encyclical. There are two passages that I think may be particularly interesting for you. I focus on these.
The first can be found in the third chapter, under the title of the "progressive opening of love". I quote: “Love makes us tend towards universal communion. No one matures or reaches their fullness by isolating themselves. By its very dynamics, love requires progressive openness, a greater capacity to welcome others, in a never-ending adventure that brings together all the suburbs towards a full sense of mutual belonging. Jesus told us: "You are all brothers" (Mt 23,8)» (FT, 95). Welcome is an expression of love, of that dynamism of openness which drives us to pay attention to the other, to seek the best for his life (cf. FT, 91-94) and which in its purity is charity infused by God. To the extent that it is permeated by this attitude of openness and acceptance, a society becomes capable of integrating all its members, even those who for various reasons are "existential foreigners" or "hidden exiles", as sometimes, for example, people with disabilities or the elderly are found to be (cf. FT, 97-98). The fundamental reference on this aspect of love is the first Encyclical of Benedict XVI Deus caritas est (December 25, 2005).
The second passage from Fratelli tutti that I am proposing to you is number 141. I quote it in full: «The true quality of the various countries of the world is measured by this ability to think not only as a country, but also as a human family, and this especially in critical periods. Closed nationalisms ultimately manifest this incapacity for gratuitousness, the erroneous persuasion that they can develop on the sidelines of the ruin of others and that by closing themselves off to others they will be better protected. The immigrant is seen as a usurper who offers nothing. Thus, we naively think that the poor are dangerous or useless and that the powerful are generous benefactors. Only a social and political culture that includes free hospitality can have a future". We are in the fourth chapter, entitled "A heart open to the whole world", where we speak of the "gratuity that welcomes" (see nn. 139-141). The aspect of gratuitousness is essential for generating fraternity and social friendship. For you, I emphasize the last sentence: "Only a social and political culture that includes free hospitality can have a future" (n. 141). Free reception. We often talk about the contribution that migrants give or can give to the societies that welcome them. This is true and it is important. But the fundamental criterion does not lie in the usefulness of the person, but in the value in itself that he represents. The other deserves to be welcomed not so much for what he has, or what he can have, or what he can give, but for what he is.
In the Old Testament, I have always been struck by the recurrence - in the Prophets, in the historical Books - of the three people for whom special attention must be paid: the widow, the orphan and the migrant. And it is repeated in Deuteronomy, in Exodus - in Exodus not so much, but in Deuteronomy - in Leviticus, this is repeated: attention, care for widows, for migrants, for orphans. It's recurring. For example: "If you are harvesting, do not pass again: what remains there, what is left over there, leave it for the widow, the orphan, the migrant". There is always this. It is important to resume this tradition of welcome, of the way of welcoming those who do not have or who are experiencing a difficult situation.
Dear brothers and sisters, I leave you with these points of reflection, and I encourage you to continue your journey of formation, in order to be able to live hospitality ever better and promote a culture of hospitality. Our Lady accompany you. I bless you from my heart, and I ask you please to pray for me. Thank you!
Source: Vatican.va
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