Pope
celebrates closing Mass of African Journey
(Vatican
Radio) Pope Francis on Monday celebrated Mass at Bangui's Barthélémy
Boganda Stadium for thousands of the faithful from the Central African
Republic.
Speaking
of Paul's missionary zeal in the Letter to the Romans, Pope Francis in his
final Mass in the Central African Republic reflected on the great missionary
effort which first brought the Gospel to the people of Central Africa.
Times
of difficulty, trial and suffering remind all of the Lord's call to come
together and "to rejoice in his presence and in the new life and the
salvation which he offers us."
"Looking
towards the world to come," he said, "has always been a source of
strength for Christians, of the poor, of the least, on their earthly
pilgrimage. Eternal life is not an illusion; it is not a flight from the
world. It is a powerful reality which calls out to us and challenges us
to persevere in faith and love."
He
then reminded them of the more immediate ‘other shore’: the life of faith.
"Those who believe, he said, receive the very life of Christ, which
enables them to love God and their brothers and sisters in a new way and to
bring to birth a world renewed by love."
The
Holy Father continued, saying "Yet the fact is that we have not yet
reached our destination. In a certain sense we are in midstream, needing
the courage to decide, with renewed missionary zeal, to pass to the other
shore. How easy it is to be led into selfishness, distrust, violence,
destructiveness, vengeance, indifference to and exploitation of those who are
most vulnerable…"
Concluding
his homily, Pope Francis told the faithful that, despite the difficulties of
the present, "the other shore is at hand, and Jesus is crossing the river
with us. He is risen from the dead; henceforth the trials and sufferings
which we experience are always opportunities opening up to a new future,
provided we are willing to follow him."
Below,
please find Pope Francis' full homily:
Homily
of His Holiness Pope Francis
Bangui,
Barthélémy Boganda Stadium
30
November 2015
We
might be astonished, listening to this morning’s first reading, by the
enthusiasm and missionary drive of Saint Paul. “How beautiful are the
feet of those who bring good news!” (Rom 10:15). These words inspire us
to give thanks for the gift of the faith which we have received. They
also inspire us to reflect with amazement on the great missionary effort which
– not long ago – first brought the joy of the Gospel to this beloved land of
Central Africa. It is good, especially in times of difficulty, trials and
suffering, when the future is uncertain and we feel weary and apprehensive, to
come together before the Lord. To come together, as we do today, to
rejoice in his presence and in the new life and the salvation which he offers
us. For he invites us to cross over to another shore (cf. Lk 8:22).
This
other shore is, of course, eternal life, heaven, which awaits us. Looking
towards the world to come has always been a source of strength for Christians,
of the poor, of the least, on their earthly pilgrimage. Eternal life is
not an illusion; it is not a flight from the world. It is a powerful
reality which calls out to us and challenges us to persevere in faith and love.
But
the more immediate other shore, which we are trying to reach, this salvation
secured by the faith of which Saint Paul speaks, is a reality which even now is
transforming our lives and the world around us. “Faith in the heart leads
to justification” (Rom 10:10). Those who believe receive the very life of
Christ, which enables them to love God and their brothers and sisters in a new
way and to bring to birth a world renewed by love.
Let
us thank the Lord for his presence and for the strength which he gives us in our
daily lives, at those times when we experience physical and spiritual
suffering, pain, and grief. Let us thank him for the acts of solidarity
and generosity which he inspires in us, for the joy and love with which he
fills our families and our communities, despite the suffering and violence we
sometimes experience, and our fears for the future. Let us thank him for
his gift of courage, which inspires us to forge bonds of friendship, to
dialogue with those who are different than ourselves, to forgive those who have
wronged us, and to work to build a more just and fraternal society in which no
one is abandoned. In all these things, the Risen Christ takes us by the
hand and guides us. I join you in thanking the Lord in his mercy for all
the beautiful, generous and courageous things he has enabled you to accomplish
in your families and communities during these eventful years in the life of
your country.
Yet
the fact is that we have not yet reached our destination. In a certain
sense we are in midstream, needing the courage to decide, with renewed
missionary zeal, to pass to the other shore. All the baptized need to
continually break with the remnants of the old Adam, the man of sin, ever ready
to rise up again at the prompting of the devil. How often this happens in
our world and in these times of conflict, hate and war! How easy it is to
be led into selfishness, distrust, violence, destructiveness, vengeance,
indifference to and exploitation of those who are most vulnerable…
We
know that our Christian communities, called to holiness, still have a long way
to go. Certainly we need to beg the Lord’s forgiveness for our all too
frequent reluctance and hesitation in bearing witness to the Gospel. May
the Jubilee Year of Mercy, which has just begun in your country, be an occasion
to do so. Dear Central Africans, may you look to the future and,
strengthened by the distance you have already come, resolutely determine to
begin a new chapter in the Christian history of your country, to set out
towards new horizons, to put out into the deep. The Apostle Andrew, with
his brother Peter, did not hesitate to leave everything at Christ’s call:
“Immediately they left their nets and followed him” (Mt 4:20). Once
again, we are amazed at the great enthusiasm of the Apostles. Christ drew
them so closely to himself, that they felt able to do everything and to risk
everything with him.
Each
of us, in his or her heart, can ask the crucial question of where we stand with
Jesus, asking what we have already accepted – or refused to accept – in
responding to his call to follow him more closely. The cry of “those who
bring good news” resounds all the more in our ears, precisely when times are
difficult; that cry which “goes out through all the earth... to the ends of the
earth” (Rom 10:18; cf. Ps 19:4). And it resounds here, today, in this
land of Central Africa. It resounds in our hearts, our families, our
parishes, wherever we live. It invites us to persevere in enthusiasm for
mission, for that mission which needs new “bearers of good news”, ever more
numerous, generous, joyful and holy. We are all called to be, each of us,
these messengers whom our brothers and sisters of every ethnic group, religion
and culture, await, often without knowing it. For how can our brothers
and sisters believe in Christ – Saint Paul asks – if the Word is neither
proclaimed nor heard?
We
too, like the Apostles, need to be full of hope and enthusiasm for the
future. The other shore is at hand, and Jesus is crossing the river with
us. He is risen from the dead; henceforth the trials and sufferings which
we experience are always opportunities opening up to a new future, provided we
are willing to follow him. Christians of Central Africa, each of you is
called to be, through perseverance in faith and missionary commitment, artisans
of the human and spiritual renewal of your country.
May
the Virgin Mary, who by sharing in the Passion of her Son, now shares in his
perfect joy, protect you and encourage you on this path of hope. Amen.
Không có nhận xét nào:
Đăng nhận xét