Pope
Francis receives John XXIII Community
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis received nearly 8
thousand members and associates of the Pope St. John XXIII Community on
Saturday. Now recognized as an Association of Lay Faithful, the Pope John
XXIII Community was founded by Fr. Oreste Benzi of the clergy of the Diocese of
Rimini in 1968, on the basis of his decade of experience with young people –
mostly teenagers – who had accepted his invitation and participated in his
initiatives encouraging what he called, “A friendly encounter with Christ,”
especially through service to and with the disabled, marginalized, the
excluded, and forgotten.
The work of the foundation has involved numberless teens who had
drifted away from the Church, offering them the chance to have a truly
liberating experience and choose to live the way Christ calls them to
live. In remarks prepared for the participants in the audience in Paul
VI Hall on Saturday, Pope Francis said, "Providence has made you grow,
proving the vitality of the charism of your Founder, who liked to say, 'In
order to stand on your feet, you must get on your knees.'"
Indeed, the centrality of prayer to the life of Christian
service has been a keystone of the Community’s ethos from the beginning.
The vocation of the members of the Community is to shape their
lives in the image of Christ who constantly does the will of the Father.
Prompted by the spirit to follow Jesus in his poverty and service, they
undertake to share the lives of the least of their brothers and sisters by
sharing their experiences and helping them to bear their plight. They place
their shoulders under the Cross borne by others. Love for their poor brothers
and sisters must urge them to try to eliminate the causes of need, and lead the
Community to make a commitment to build up a more just world, and to speak out
for those without a voice. This vocation requires space for prayer and
contemplation, living the life of the poor, being led by obedience, and
practicing fellowship according to the Gospel.
The John XXIII Community officially became an association of the
faithful of Pontifical right in 1998, and is now present in 34 countries around
the globe.
Không có nhận xét nào:
Đăng nhận xét