Pope to Rome’s Venerable
English College: Banish fear. Build friendships.
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| Pope Francis receives students and staff of the Venerable English college in Rome. - ANSA |
Pope Francis meets with staff and students of the English
Seminary in Rome and tells them “love of God and love of neighbour” are the
foundation stones of their lives.
By Seàn-Patrick Lovett
The Venerable English College in Rome was
founded in 1579 as a seminary to train priests for England and Wales. This year
marks what Pope Francis himself called “a series of significant
anniversaries in the life of the Church in England and Wales”. These include
the 900th anniversary of the birth of St Thomas Becket, the
founding of the first English Seminary in Douai in 1568, and
the restoration of the English College itself 200 years ago.
Love of God
Reminding the seminarians that a deep “relationship with the
Lord” must be their first priority, Pope Francis admitted that it is “harder
for you than it was for me”. This, he explained, is because of today’s “culture
of the temporary”. And this is precisely why it is so important “to nurture
your interior life”, he continued, “learning to close the door of your inner cell
from within”. In this way, he said, “your service to God and the Church will be
strengthened”.
Love of Neighbour
We serve others, said Pope Francis, “not out of mere
sentiment, but in obedience to the Lord”, and always in cooperation with
others. Confirming that loving our neighbor is not always easy, the Pope
suggested we need to be “firmly grounded in God who loves and sustains us”.
This “inner strength”, he said, is what characterized the lives of the 16th
century English College martyrs. All forty-four of them.
Banishing fear
Pope Francis identified “fear” as one of the major obstacles
we face in life, including fear of oneself. “But we can overcome it with love,
prayer, and a good sense of humour”, he added, referencing his most recent
Apostolic Exhortation, Gaudete et Exsultate. Holding up the example of the
College Patron, St Thomas of Canterbury, the Pope affirmed that, when we
succeed in overcoming our own fears, we are able to help others overcome their
fears as well.
Building friendships
The Pope’s “words of encouragement”, spoken, as he said,
“like a father, directly from the heart”, concluded with an invitation to the
seminarians to nurture “good and wholesome relationships that will sustain you
in your future ministry”. Friends are not just those people who agree with us,
he said: they are gifts “to help us on the journey to what is true, noble and
good”.
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