Pope Francis says the "...most important bond for us Christians is no longer that of blood, but the love of Christ." to Pilgrims
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SPEECH OF THE HOLY FATHER FRANCIS
TO THE PILGRIMAGE OF THE DIOCESE OF ASTI
Clementine Hall
Friday, May 5, 2023
________________________________________
Dear brothers and sisters, good morning and welcome!
I thank the Bishop and I am happy to welcome your pilgrimage, which renews in me the memories and feelings of the visit to Asti last November for the feast of Christ the King.
That day and a half that I spent among you was a consolation for me, a bit of a return to my roots. A moment of great human warmth – made with Piedmontese wood, which does not heat up immediately, but after a while and then lasts! –. A moment of family, in the broadest sense: family of origin, roots, meetings with my relatives; family of the Church, the celebration in the Cathedral, with the participation of all the people of God; and then the family of the civil community, collaboration with the Authorities, the presence of the people. This sense of human warmth that I was saying is not just an emotion, no, it's Asti human warmth, it's your thing! It lit up in me looking at your joyful faces, feeling your affection, seeing that there is a family that goes forward, that walks the path of the Gospel, with all the limitations and difficulties. And I also saw this in the letters that the people of Asti wrote to me, many letters, and some told of the problems and how they could be solved. A very large neighborhood. For me, these letters too were a consolation. I hope I have answered all, not sure.
And then we can stop for a while on this word: family. Because it is a reality that has changed so much, and is changing, yet the family remains a key value. But do you know when the real "revolution" of the family took place? Do you know who did it? It's easy to answer, because the news, the real ones, brought to this world by only one: Jesus Christ. He made the real revolution of the family. And he too renewed the family, transformed it. In what sense? An episode of the Gospel tells us this, where there is one of those words of Jesus that leave us baffled, put us in crisis. The three synoptics Matthew, Mark and Luke tell it. Jesus is preaching in the midst of his disciples and other people and at a certain point they tell him: "Your mother and your relatives are out here looking for you". Do you remember what Jesus replies? He turns his gaze to those around him and says: "Here are my mother and my brothers!". And he adds: "Because whoever does the will of my Father is my brother, sister and mother" (cf. Mt 12:46-50; Mk 3:31-35; Lk 8:19-21). This word of Jesus, if we think about it, generates a new way of understanding the family.
Do you see? At the beginning I addressed you as "brothers and sisters". It's not just a formula, a conventional way of saying. No. It is a reality, a new reality generated by Jesus Christ. And as I told you, this word of Jesus has radically renewed the family, for which the strongest, most important bond for us Christians is no longer that of blood, but the love of Christ. His love transforms the family, frees it from the dynamics of selfishness, which derive from the human condition and from sin, frees it and enriches it with a new bond, even stronger but free, not dominated by the interests and conventions of kinship, but animated by gratitude, by gratitude, by mutual service.
Brothers and sisters from Asti, I wanted to share this reflection with you because the paternal roots of my family are in your land. Roots are important! And we give thanks to God for the gift of life and for those who gave it to us. But above all we give thanks because Jesus Christ has called us to be part of his family, in which what matters is to do the will of the Father who is in heaven. And this new family of Jesus, while it gives a new meaning to family relationships - between spouses, between parents and children, between siblings - at the same time also makes the life of the ecclesial and civil communities "leave". For example, it makes gratuity, respect, acceptance, and other human values grow.
And here I rediscover the meaning of the expression "Fratelli tutti", which you have chosen as the name for the new clinic intended for the most disadvantaged people. "Fratelli tutti" means that there, in that environment, the family will be formed by the people who will be treated together with the doctors, nurses and all the other volunteers who will work. A family for this job of caring for the sick.
And so in the city, in the villages, in the parishes, the word "fraternity" is not only a nice way of saying, an ideal for dreamers, but it has a foundation, Jesus Christ, who has made us all brothers and sisters, and has a road, the Gospel, that is, the way to walk in love, in service, in forgiveness, in carrying one another's burdens.
Here, dear friends, is a food for thought that I share with you, thinking back to the experience lived in Asti. Thank you so much for coming; bring my greetings to those who were unable to come.
And now I invite you to pray the "Our Father" together, and then I give you the blessing, to you and to the entire diocesan community. And please, don't forget to pray for me! Thank you.
TO THE PILGRIMAGE OF THE DIOCESE OF ASTI
Clementine Hall
Friday, May 5, 2023
________________________________________
Dear brothers and sisters, good morning and welcome!
I thank the Bishop and I am happy to welcome your pilgrimage, which renews in me the memories and feelings of the visit to Asti last November for the feast of Christ the King.
That day and a half that I spent among you was a consolation for me, a bit of a return to my roots. A moment of great human warmth – made with Piedmontese wood, which does not heat up immediately, but after a while and then lasts! –. A moment of family, in the broadest sense: family of origin, roots, meetings with my relatives; family of the Church, the celebration in the Cathedral, with the participation of all the people of God; and then the family of the civil community, collaboration with the Authorities, the presence of the people. This sense of human warmth that I was saying is not just an emotion, no, it's Asti human warmth, it's your thing! It lit up in me looking at your joyful faces, feeling your affection, seeing that there is a family that goes forward, that walks the path of the Gospel, with all the limitations and difficulties. And I also saw this in the letters that the people of Asti wrote to me, many letters, and some told of the problems and how they could be solved. A very large neighborhood. For me, these letters too were a consolation. I hope I have answered all, not sure.
And then we can stop for a while on this word: family. Because it is a reality that has changed so much, and is changing, yet the family remains a key value. But do you know when the real "revolution" of the family took place? Do you know who did it? It's easy to answer, because the news, the real ones, brought to this world by only one: Jesus Christ. He made the real revolution of the family. And he too renewed the family, transformed it. In what sense? An episode of the Gospel tells us this, where there is one of those words of Jesus that leave us baffled, put us in crisis. The three synoptics Matthew, Mark and Luke tell it. Jesus is preaching in the midst of his disciples and other people and at a certain point they tell him: "Your mother and your relatives are out here looking for you". Do you remember what Jesus replies? He turns his gaze to those around him and says: "Here are my mother and my brothers!". And he adds: "Because whoever does the will of my Father is my brother, sister and mother" (cf. Mt 12:46-50; Mk 3:31-35; Lk 8:19-21). This word of Jesus, if we think about it, generates a new way of understanding the family.
Do you see? At the beginning I addressed you as "brothers and sisters". It's not just a formula, a conventional way of saying. No. It is a reality, a new reality generated by Jesus Christ. And as I told you, this word of Jesus has radically renewed the family, for which the strongest, most important bond for us Christians is no longer that of blood, but the love of Christ. His love transforms the family, frees it from the dynamics of selfishness, which derive from the human condition and from sin, frees it and enriches it with a new bond, even stronger but free, not dominated by the interests and conventions of kinship, but animated by gratitude, by gratitude, by mutual service.
Brothers and sisters from Asti, I wanted to share this reflection with you because the paternal roots of my family are in your land. Roots are important! And we give thanks to God for the gift of life and for those who gave it to us. But above all we give thanks because Jesus Christ has called us to be part of his family, in which what matters is to do the will of the Father who is in heaven. And this new family of Jesus, while it gives a new meaning to family relationships - between spouses, between parents and children, between siblings - at the same time also makes the life of the ecclesial and civil communities "leave". For example, it makes gratuity, respect, acceptance, and other human values grow.
And here I rediscover the meaning of the expression "Fratelli tutti", which you have chosen as the name for the new clinic intended for the most disadvantaged people. "Fratelli tutti" means that there, in that environment, the family will be formed by the people who will be treated together with the doctors, nurses and all the other volunteers who will work. A family for this job of caring for the sick.
And so in the city, in the villages, in the parishes, the word "fraternity" is not only a nice way of saying, an ideal for dreamers, but it has a foundation, Jesus Christ, who has made us all brothers and sisters, and has a road, the Gospel, that is, the way to walk in love, in service, in forgiveness, in carrying one another's burdens.
Here, dear friends, is a food for thought that I share with you, thinking back to the experience lived in Asti. Thank you so much for coming; bring my greetings to those who were unable to come.
And now I invite you to pray the "Our Father" together, and then I give you the blessing, to you and to the entire diocesan community. And please, don't forget to pray for me! Thank you.
Source: Vatican.va with Screenshot
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