Pope Francis says "be humble disciples of the Eucharistic Christ and revealers with Him of the face of the Father" to Mercy Association - FULL TEXT
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Pope Francis commends the Apostolic Fraternity of Mercy for their 25-year-long commitment to serving people in need. On Monday he addressed members of the Apostolic Fraternity of Mercy and the community of the Little House of Mercy in Gela, Sicily, to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Apostolic Fraternity and the 10th anniversary of the Little House. The Holy Father Francis received them in audience this morning, in the Vatican Apostolic Palace, the group of the Piccola Casa della Misericordia Association of Gela (Caltanissetta) and addressed them:
Greeting from the Holy Father
Dear brothers and sisters, welcome!
I am happy to meet you on the occasion of the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Apostolic Fraternity of Mercy and the tenth anniversary of the Little House of Mercy of Gela. I greet the Bishop of Piazza Armerina, Monsignor Rosario Gisana: well done, this Bishop, well done. He was persecuted, slandered and he was firm, always, just, a just man. For this reason, that day when I went to Palermo, I wanted to stop first in Piazza Armerina, to greet him; he is a good Bishop. I greet the priests and deacons present, the Sisters of Mary Immaculate, the members of the Fraternity and the "Raphael" cooperative, the volunteers and the people welcomed, young and faithful. And also the father [Pasqualino] of God... Who is he, the father of God?... Thank God that he doesn't call you "of the devil"!
You have come here as a large family, in which each one has different and complementary gifts and tasks; and this rich variety speaks for itself of the path through which, in recent years, you have developed an articulated and concrete project of good. Starting from situations of hardship, you have tried to embrace all people and the whole person in charity, addressing multiple needs and promoting various initiatives: from the daily canteen for the poor to craft workshops, from scholastic recovery services to spaces for dialogue for families in difficulty. You can see that there is movement there, and that's nice; we can see that you have allowed yourselves to be provoked and disturbed by the needs of the brothers and sisters that God has placed on your path, especially the least, the most needy: there are many! In front of them you did not "pass over", but you stopped, becoming close to them and taking care of them (see Luke 10,25-37), with creativity, courage and generosity, like the good Samaritan who did not go further, and this it's nice.
I encourage you to continue all this. And at the same time I also want to invite you to cultivate and increasingly strengthen the foundation that has given solidity and strength to all your work from the beginning: the spirituality of Mercy and the One Bread. It wants you to be humble disciples of the Eucharistic Christ and revealers with Him of the face of the Father (see John 14:8), just as Saint John Paul II recommended, whose teachings inspire you (see Encyclical Letter Dives in Misericordia, 1) . Reveal, in the service and gift of yourselves, the tenderness of the Father's face: dear brothers and sisters, in the many occupations in which you spend yourselves every day, never forget that this is the ultimate meaning of your actions and your primary vocation . Imitate God who is close, compassionate and tender; be close to people too, compassionate, with great compassion and tenderness. We need tenderness in the Church.
Do everything with a single desire: that the people who meet you come to know Him. Try, in doing good, to disappear, with humility, so that in what you do the Lord alone appears and everyone comes to Him. Saint Faustina Kowalska, another inspirer of your work, said that a humble soul influences the fate of the entire world (see Diary, IV notebook, 29.IX.37), and this because humility makes one close to God and to one's brothers, capable of charitable delicate, discreet and silent which makes giving noble, receiving easy and sharing natural.
Therefore, always have, towards the people the Lord entrusts to you, a reserved and gentle trait, and a style of concealment, like those parents, or friends, or brothers and sisters whose presence, where there is need, is so spontaneous and "normal" to go almost unnoticed. Being there without being seen: this is not easy, this too is holiness. After all, God loves us in this way: with humble magnanimity, moment by moment, giving us everything without expecting anything in return!
Here are therefore two important attitudes with which I encourage you to continue your journey: a holy creative restlessness - like children, who are always restless - and a lot of humility, to be ready and concrete in responding to the needs of our brothers and, at the same time, to bring all at a personal encounter with the merciful face of the Father. Keep it up! And I recommend you, don't forget to pray for me. Thank you!
Greeting from the Holy Father
Dear brothers and sisters, welcome!
I am happy to meet you on the occasion of the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Apostolic Fraternity of Mercy and the tenth anniversary of the Little House of Mercy of Gela. I greet the Bishop of Piazza Armerina, Monsignor Rosario Gisana: well done, this Bishop, well done. He was persecuted, slandered and he was firm, always, just, a just man. For this reason, that day when I went to Palermo, I wanted to stop first in Piazza Armerina, to greet him; he is a good Bishop. I greet the priests and deacons present, the Sisters of Mary Immaculate, the members of the Fraternity and the "Raphael" cooperative, the volunteers and the people welcomed, young and faithful. And also the father [Pasqualino] of God... Who is he, the father of God?... Thank God that he doesn't call you "of the devil"!
You have come here as a large family, in which each one has different and complementary gifts and tasks; and this rich variety speaks for itself of the path through which, in recent years, you have developed an articulated and concrete project of good. Starting from situations of hardship, you have tried to embrace all people and the whole person in charity, addressing multiple needs and promoting various initiatives: from the daily canteen for the poor to craft workshops, from scholastic recovery services to spaces for dialogue for families in difficulty. You can see that there is movement there, and that's nice; we can see that you have allowed yourselves to be provoked and disturbed by the needs of the brothers and sisters that God has placed on your path, especially the least, the most needy: there are many! In front of them you did not "pass over", but you stopped, becoming close to them and taking care of them (see Luke 10,25-37), with creativity, courage and generosity, like the good Samaritan who did not go further, and this it's nice.
I encourage you to continue all this. And at the same time I also want to invite you to cultivate and increasingly strengthen the foundation that has given solidity and strength to all your work from the beginning: the spirituality of Mercy and the One Bread. It wants you to be humble disciples of the Eucharistic Christ and revealers with Him of the face of the Father (see John 14:8), just as Saint John Paul II recommended, whose teachings inspire you (see Encyclical Letter Dives in Misericordia, 1) . Reveal, in the service and gift of yourselves, the tenderness of the Father's face: dear brothers and sisters, in the many occupations in which you spend yourselves every day, never forget that this is the ultimate meaning of your actions and your primary vocation . Imitate God who is close, compassionate and tender; be close to people too, compassionate, with great compassion and tenderness. We need tenderness in the Church.
Do everything with a single desire: that the people who meet you come to know Him. Try, in doing good, to disappear, with humility, so that in what you do the Lord alone appears and everyone comes to Him. Saint Faustina Kowalska, another inspirer of your work, said that a humble soul influences the fate of the entire world (see Diary, IV notebook, 29.IX.37), and this because humility makes one close to God and to one's brothers, capable of charitable delicate, discreet and silent which makes giving noble, receiving easy and sharing natural.
Therefore, always have, towards the people the Lord entrusts to you, a reserved and gentle trait, and a style of concealment, like those parents, or friends, or brothers and sisters whose presence, where there is need, is so spontaneous and "normal" to go almost unnoticed. Being there without being seen: this is not easy, this too is holiness. After all, God loves us in this way: with humble magnanimity, moment by moment, giving us everything without expecting anything in return!
Here are therefore two important attitudes with which I encourage you to continue your journey: a holy creative restlessness - like children, who are always restless - and a lot of humility, to be ready and concrete in responding to the needs of our brothers and, at the same time, to bring all at a personal encounter with the merciful face of the Father. Keep it up! And I recommend you, don't forget to pray for me. Thank you!
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