Pope Francis says Think of "Final Judgement: the Lord will not ask us: “What did you study? How many degrees did you have?"

Audience with participants in the General Chapters of:, 12.08.2024
Dominican Missionary Sisters of San Sisto, Sisters of the Society of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, Sisters of the Presentation of Mary Most Holy in the Temple and Society of Divine Vocations (Vocationalist Fathers)
This morning, in the Vatican Apostolic Palace, the Holy Father Francis received in audience the participants in the General Chapters of: Dominican Missionary Sisters of San Sisto, Sisters of the Society of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, Sisters of the Presentation of Mary Most Holy in the Temple and Society of Divine Vocations (Vocationalist Fathers).
FULL TEXT speech of the Holy Father gave to those present during the Audience:
Four Chapters! Four Chapters together… it seems that the Prefect knows how to save time – eh? – and puts them together. This is the era of Chapters…
I welcome you, all of you, and I greet you, the Superiors, all of you. I am happy to meet you: Dominican Missionary Sisters of San Sisto, Sisters of the Society of the Sacred Heart of Jesus – who was your founder or foundress? Margherita Sofia Barat: well done, that woman! Well done, well done! –, Sisters of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the Temple and the Society of Divine Vocations (Vocationist Fathers).

With the Chapter, you always have the grace and also the responsibility to live a fundamental moment not only for the life of your institutes, but for the whole Church: a moment in which to listen to the Holy Spirit, to continue to make the charismatic inspirations given one day to your Foundresses and Founders flourish today. Let us then stop for a moment to reflect together on three existential and apostolic dimensions common to your different realities, three aspects: discernment, formation and charity.
First: discernment. It is the “matter proper” of the charism of the Vocationist Fathers; it is for everyone, but it is their own matter, but obviously it concerns in a broader sense every religious congregation and every person. Discernment is part of life, both in the solemn moments of great choices and in the everyday moments of small daily decisions. It is linked to our being free and therefore expresses and brings to completion, day by day, the common human vocation and the particular and unique identity of each of us. Of course it is a tiring job, of listening to the Lord, and to ourselves and to others; it is also a tiring moment of prayer, of meditation, of patient waiting, and then of courage and sacrifice, to make concrete and operational what God, without ever imposing on us – He never imposes His will on us, He does not impose Himself – without ever imposing His will on us, suggests to our heart. Think, reflect, let us feel the emotions that touch the heart. At the same time, however, it is also a great experience of happiness, because “making a good decision, a right decision” gives joy (see General Audience, 31 August 2022). And our world is in great need of rediscovering the pleasure and beauty of deciding, especially with regard to definitive choices, which determine a decisive turning point in life, such as a vocational one. It therefore needs fathers and mothers who help, especially young people, to understand that being free does not mean remaining eternally at a crossroads, making little “escapades” to the right and left, without ever truly taking a path. Being free means betting – betting! – on a path, with intelligence and prudence, certainly, but also with audacity and a spirit of renunciation, to grow and progress in the dynamic of giving, and to be happy, loving according to God’s plan.
And so we come to the second point: formation. This too is a trait that, in different ways, unites you. First of all because religious life, in itself, is a path of growth in holiness that embraces all of existence, and in which the Lord constantly shapes the hearts of those he has chosen. And in this regard I recommend to all of you assiduity in prayer, but that prayer that is a relationship with the Lord, personal, that listens, that waits; prayer both communal and also personal, and also sacramental life, and also – I dare say – adoration: today we have lost the sense of adoration, we must take it back. Adoring… And also the care of all those moments that make the relationship of a consecrated man and woman with Christ alive and daily.
Only those who humbly and constantly recognize themselves as “in formation”, in fact, can hope to be a good “formator” for others, and education, at any level, is always first of all sharing paths and communicating experiences, in that joyful search for truth, “which makes the heart of every man restless until he encounters, dwells in and shares with all the Light of God” (Apostolic Constitution Veritatis gaudium, 1). And please, be careful of the restlessness of the heart, eh? "No, my heart is at peace!” It is one thing to be at peace, and another thing to be restless. We must be at peace, but restless. In this sense too, your mission is decidedly prophetic today, in a social and cultural context characterized by the whirlwind and continuous circulation of information, but on the other hand dramatically poor in human relationships. In our times, we urgently need educators who know how to lovingly become companions on the journey for the people entrusted to them.
And this brings us to the third point: charity. All four of your foundations were born to support and educate young people in need who, without the necessary help, would not have been able to access an adequate education for their future, nor even respond to their own vocation. Saint Magdalene Sofia Barat, Saint Justin Maria Russolillo, the Venerable Maria Antonia Lalia and Mother Caterina Molinari saw in them a sign from God for their mission. Likewise, it will do you good, especially in these days of community discernment, to keep the faces of the poor constantly before your eyes and to be vigilant so that, under their gaze, in your assemblies, the momentum of generosity and disinterested love, thanks to which your presence in the Church began, is always alive and pulsating. Jesus speaks to us in our neediest brothers and sisters (see Mt 25:31-45), and in every gift given to them there is a reflection of God’s love. And let us not forget what will happen in the Final Judgement: the Lord will not ask us: “What did you study? How many degrees did you have? How many works did you bring …?”. No, no: “Come, come with me,” the Lord will say, “for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink; I was persecuted and you protected me.” This is the theme of the final exam on which we will be judged. Here is the light for our journey and here too is the effective antidote to overcome, in us and around us, the throwaway culture: please, do not discard people, do not select people with worldly criteria: how important they are, how much money they have… These worldly criteria: out! Do not discard, but receive, embrace everyone, love everyone. This culture comes from individualism, from fragmentation, which unfortunately dominates our times (see Message for the XXVII World Day of the Sick, 25 November 2018).
Dear sisters, dear brothers, thank you for what you do! Continue your mission with confidence, and please, do not forget to pray for me: but pray for, not against, eh! It is very important.
… the Blessing, and after the Blessing come closer one by one, so I can have the joy of greeting you personally.
[Blessing]
Source: https://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/it/bollettino/pubblico/2024/08/12/0610/01241.html