Pope
prays with homeless people in Washington D.C
(Vatican
Radio) In a meeting with homeless men and women in Washington D.C., Pope
Francis said that faith can help us all to face unjust and painful situations.
His words came during a visit to the parish of St Patrick in the City, the
oldest Catholic parish in Washington, founded in 1794 to provide pastoral
support for Irish labourers working on the construction of the White House and
Congress buildings.
In
his words to the street people, Pope Francis said they reminded him of St
Joseph, the figure to whom the Pope said he turns whenever he is “in a fix”.
Joseph faced some difficult situations, he said, especially when he found
himself homeless with Mary about to give birth to her son, Jesus. The Bible
notes clearly there was no room for them in the inn, the Pope said, so the Son
of God came into this world as a homeless person.
Like
St Joseph, the Pope told his listeners, many of you may ask yourself daily “Why
are we homeless, without a place to live?” and it’s a question which all of us
might well ask: “Why do these, our brothers and sisters, have no place to
live?
We
can find no social or moral justification, no justification whatsoever, the
Pope said, for lack of housing but we know that God never abandons us in our
suffering. Faith also makes us know that God is knocking on our door and
calling us “to love, to compassion, to service of one another”. Pope Francis
concluded the encounter by praying together with the homeless people, saying
through prayer we learn to see one another as brothers and sisters.
Below
please find the prepared text of Pope Francis’ words to the homeless in
Washington D.C.
Meeting
with the Homeless at Saint Patrick in the City, Washington
Dear
Friends,
The first word I wish to say to you is “Thank you”. Thank you for
welcoming me and for your efforts to make this meeting possible.
Here I think of a person whom I love, someone who is, and has been, very
important throughout my life. He has been a support and an
inspiration. He is the one I go to whenever I am “in a fix”. You
make me think of Saint Joseph. Your faces remind me of his.
Joseph had to face some difficult situations in his life. One of them was
the time when Mary was about to give birth, to have Jesus. The Bible
tells us that, “while they were [in Bethlehem], the time came for her to
deliver her child. And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped
him in bands of cloth, and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for
them in the inn” (Lk 2:6-7).
The Bible is very clear about this: there was no room for them. I can
imagine Joseph, with his wife about to have a child, with no shelter, no home,
no place to stay. The Son of God came into this world as a homeless
person. The Son of God knew what it was to start life without a roof over
his head. We can imagine what Joseph must have been thinking. How
is it that the Son of God has no home? Why are we homeless, why don’t we
have housing? These are questions which many of you may ask daily.
Like Saint Joseph, you may ask: Why are we homeless, without a place to
live? These are questions which all of us might well ask. Why do
these, our brothers and sisters, have no place to live? Why are these
brothers and sisters of ours homeless?
Joseph’s questions are timely even today; they accompany all those who
throughout history have been, and are, homeless.
Joseph was someone who asked questions. But first and foremost, he was a
man of faith. Faith gave Joseph the power to find light just at the
moment when everything seemed dark. Faith sustained him amid the troubles
of life. Thanks to faith, Joseph was able to press forward when
everything seemed to be holding him back.
In the face of unjust and painful situations, faith brings us the light which
scatters the darkness. As it did for Joseph, faith makes us open to the
quiet presence of God at every moment of our lives, in every person and in
every situation. God is present in every one of you, in each one of us.
We can find no social or moral justification, no justification whatsoever, for
lack of housing. There are many unjust situations, but we know that God
is suffering with us, experiencing them at our side. He does not abandon
us.
We know that Jesus wanted to show solidarity with every person. He wanted
everyone to experience his companionship, his help, his love. He
identified with all those who suffer, who weep, who suffer any kind of
injustice. He tells us this clearly: “I was hungry and you gave me food,
I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink; I was a stranger and you
welcomed me” (Mt 25:35).
Faith makes us know that God is at our side, that God is in our midst and his
presence spurs us to charity. Charity is born of the call of a God who
continues to knock on our door, the door of all people, to invite us to love,
to compassion, to service of one another.
Jesus keeps knocking on our doors, the doors of our lives. He doesn’t do
this by magic, with special effects, with flashing lights and fireworks.
Jesus keeps knocking on our door in the faces of our brothers and sisters, in
the faces of our neighbors, in the faces of those at our side.
Dear friends, one of the most effective ways we have to help is that of
prayer. Prayer unites us; it makes us brothers and sisters. It
opens our hearts and reminds us of a beautiful truth which we sometimes
forget. In prayer, we all learn to say “Father”, “Dad”. We learn to
see one another as brothers and sisters. In prayer, there are no rich and
poor people, there are sons and daughters, sisters and brothers. In
prayer, there is no first or second class, there is brotherhood.
It is in prayer that our hearts find the strength not to be cold and
insensitive in the face of injustice. In prayer, God keeps calling us,
opening our hearts to charity.
How good it is for us to pray together. How good it is to encounter one
another in this place where we see one another as brothers and sisters, where
we realize that we need one another. Today I want to be one with
you. I need your support, your closeness. I would like to invite
you to pray together, for one another, with one another. That way we can
keep helping one another to experience the joy of knowing that Jesus is in our
midst. Are you ready?
Our Father, who art in heaven…
Before leaving you, I would like to give you God’s blessing:
The Lord bless you and keep you;
the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to
you;
the Lord lift up his countenance upon you, and give you peace
(Num 6:24-26).
And,
please, don’t forget to pray for me.
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