Pope Francis says "Even today there is no shortage of challenges! Therefore, starting from pausing before Jesus in the Eucharist..."
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SPEECH OF THE HOLY FATHER FRANCIS
TO PARTICIPANTS IN THE PILGRIMAGE PROMOTED BY
SISTERS DISCIPLES OF THE EUCHARISTIC JESUS
Paul VI Hall
Friday, August 25, 2023
_______________________________________________
Dear brothers and sisters, welcome!
I greet the Superior General, the Council, all of you consecrated women and you lay associates of the Institute of Disciples of Jesus in the Eucharist. I am pleased to meet you on the centenary of the foundation of the Congregation, which took place on 4 October 1923 by the Venerable Bishop Raffaello Delle Nocche and two courageous and generous young women, Linda Machina and Silvia Di Somma.
The Holy Spirit inspired their action through the concrete and pressing appeal of a local Church: that of Tricarico, in the heart of Lucania. A Church of living and suffering stones, tried by centuries of misery, long without a Pastor and marked, like much of Europe and the world in those years, by the scars of the First World War and a devastating pandemic - the "Spanish ”, as it was called. The Spirit sent to that land a Bishop in love with God and with the people, with a solid interior life and great sensitivity to the needs of the people.
And when, faced with the many needs encountered in his Diocese, Archbishop Delle Nocche did not find any male or female religious congregation willing to come and work there, he was not discouraged: accepting the invitation of Pope Pius XI, he himself founded a new institute which could help him in the service of the least.
Thus were born the Sisters Disciples of Jesus in the Eucharist, poor servants of a poor people, supportive in sharing their efforts and prophetic in promoting their human and religious redemption. At the center of their life was the Eucharist: "Sacrament of love, sign of unity, bond of charity" (Sacrosanctum Concilium, 47), as the Second Vatican Council teaches us.
Love, unity and charity. What does this mean? To adore, to serve and to repair, that is, to fill with tenderness. Let us not forget that tenderness is one of God's traits: God's style is closeness, compassion and tenderness. Let's not forget this. To fill the wounds and voids produced by sin in man and in society with tenderness, beginning with kneeling before Jesus in the Consecrated Host, and remaining there for a long time, as the good Bishop recommended, even when it seems to us that we do not feeling nothing, in quiet and trusting abandon, because «Magister adest», «the Master is there!» (Jn 11:28), to repeat an expression particularly dear to him.
By the standards of the world, this strategy of action appeared absurd: in the face of immense needs and with almost no resources available, what sense could it have to tell the nuns to get on their knees to "adorate and make amends"? And yet, as always, even in this case the path of faith and self-giving worked!
The prayers of those courageous women in fact generated a contagious force, which soon led them to undertake and promote works of material, cultural and spiritual redemption far exceeding all expectations. They have reawakened the faith and commitment of families and parish communities, they have founded schools of various types and levels, they have rekindled devotion and a sense of their own dignity in many people, men and women, young people, adults and the elderly, too often and oppressed for too long by inhuman living conditions and by the contempt and indifference of the surrounding world, which saw in them nothing but the scraps of society. Even today this is true: how often there are people who are thought of as rejects of society! And therefore the Lord continues to call you, to go there, like the first ones. They have unleashed a different "war": the one against poverty, against injustice; and they spread a different epidemic: that of love. In the face of the First World War, a different war against poverty and injustice; in the face of the epidemic – the “Spanish” – the epidemic of love. This has been your way.
Dear sisters, you are witnesses and heirs of all this, but also continuers, with your presence on the five continents, with the Eucharistic Centres, schools, missions and all the services you carry out. Even today there is no shortage of challenges! Therefore, starting from pausing before Jesus in the Eucharist, Bread broken and Master who washes the disciples' feet (cf. Jn 13:3-15), you too learn to look at your brothers and sisters through the magnifying glass of the consecrated Host. The Eucharist "focal point, blinding and illuminating" (St. Paul VI, General Audience, May 31, 1972) of every Christian vision of man and of the world, urges you to take care of yourself, as did Archbishop Delle Nocche and the young Linda and Silvia, especially of the poorest, most despised and marginalized members of the Body of Christ; encourages you to promote paths of inclusion and redemption of the dignity of people in the works entrusted to you.
TO PARTICIPANTS IN THE PILGRIMAGE PROMOTED BY
SISTERS DISCIPLES OF THE EUCHARISTIC JESUS
Paul VI Hall
Friday, August 25, 2023
_______________________________________________
Dear brothers and sisters, welcome!
I greet the Superior General, the Council, all of you consecrated women and you lay associates of the Institute of Disciples of Jesus in the Eucharist. I am pleased to meet you on the centenary of the foundation of the Congregation, which took place on 4 October 1923 by the Venerable Bishop Raffaello Delle Nocche and two courageous and generous young women, Linda Machina and Silvia Di Somma.
The Holy Spirit inspired their action through the concrete and pressing appeal of a local Church: that of Tricarico, in the heart of Lucania. A Church of living and suffering stones, tried by centuries of misery, long without a Pastor and marked, like much of Europe and the world in those years, by the scars of the First World War and a devastating pandemic - the "Spanish ”, as it was called. The Spirit sent to that land a Bishop in love with God and with the people, with a solid interior life and great sensitivity to the needs of the people.
And when, faced with the many needs encountered in his Diocese, Archbishop Delle Nocche did not find any male or female religious congregation willing to come and work there, he was not discouraged: accepting the invitation of Pope Pius XI, he himself founded a new institute which could help him in the service of the least.
Thus were born the Sisters Disciples of Jesus in the Eucharist, poor servants of a poor people, supportive in sharing their efforts and prophetic in promoting their human and religious redemption. At the center of their life was the Eucharist: "Sacrament of love, sign of unity, bond of charity" (Sacrosanctum Concilium, 47), as the Second Vatican Council teaches us.
Love, unity and charity. What does this mean? To adore, to serve and to repair, that is, to fill with tenderness. Let us not forget that tenderness is one of God's traits: God's style is closeness, compassion and tenderness. Let's not forget this. To fill the wounds and voids produced by sin in man and in society with tenderness, beginning with kneeling before Jesus in the Consecrated Host, and remaining there for a long time, as the good Bishop recommended, even when it seems to us that we do not feeling nothing, in quiet and trusting abandon, because «Magister adest», «the Master is there!» (Jn 11:28), to repeat an expression particularly dear to him.
By the standards of the world, this strategy of action appeared absurd: in the face of immense needs and with almost no resources available, what sense could it have to tell the nuns to get on their knees to "adorate and make amends"? And yet, as always, even in this case the path of faith and self-giving worked!
The prayers of those courageous women in fact generated a contagious force, which soon led them to undertake and promote works of material, cultural and spiritual redemption far exceeding all expectations. They have reawakened the faith and commitment of families and parish communities, they have founded schools of various types and levels, they have rekindled devotion and a sense of their own dignity in many people, men and women, young people, adults and the elderly, too often and oppressed for too long by inhuman living conditions and by the contempt and indifference of the surrounding world, which saw in them nothing but the scraps of society. Even today this is true: how often there are people who are thought of as rejects of society! And therefore the Lord continues to call you, to go there, like the first ones. They have unleashed a different "war": the one against poverty, against injustice; and they spread a different epidemic: that of love. In the face of the First World War, a different war against poverty and injustice; in the face of the epidemic – the “Spanish” – the epidemic of love. This has been your way.
Dear sisters, you are witnesses and heirs of all this, but also continuers, with your presence on the five continents, with the Eucharistic Centres, schools, missions and all the services you carry out. Even today there is no shortage of challenges! Therefore, starting from pausing before Jesus in the Eucharist, Bread broken and Master who washes the disciples' feet (cf. Jn 13:3-15), you too learn to look at your brothers and sisters through the magnifying glass of the consecrated Host. The Eucharist "focal point, blinding and illuminating" (St. Paul VI, General Audience, May 31, 1972) of every Christian vision of man and of the world, urges you to take care of yourself, as did Archbishop Delle Nocche and the young Linda and Silvia, especially of the poorest, most despised and marginalized members of the Body of Christ; encourages you to promote paths of inclusion and redemption of the dignity of people in the works entrusted to you.
Bishop Raphael asked the Sister Disciples to be vasa Domini, that is, "chalices and patens" in which the humble offering of the poor could be accepted and presented to God. It seems to me a beautiful image of your mission: to strip oneself of oneself, to have "the purse always empty", as your founder often repeated, to be open and spacious "vessels", ready to welcome everyone and to bring everyone into the heart before God, so that everyone in turn can make a gift of their life.
Be like this, sisters: vasa Domini, "welcoming chalices", on your knees before the Tabernacle and with your arms always wide open towards your brothers! May Our Lady always guide you on this path, and my blessing accompany you. And please don't forget to pray for me. Thank you!
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