Pope to Egypt's priests and religious: be sowers of
hope and dialogue
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Saturday told Egypt’s
priests, religious and seminarians to be sowers of hope, builders of bridges
and agents of dialogue, despite the many difficulties they face.
The pope’s words came during his final encounter, a prayer
service at the seminary in Cairo at the end of his two day visit to
the North African nation.
Pope Francis began by thanking and encouraging the leaders
of this tiny Catholic community for their daily witness “amid many challenges
and often few consolations”.
The Catholic Coptic Church, the largest of seven different
rites, counts less than 200.000 members, or less than half a percent of the
population. The Pope said despite the many negative and despairing voices,
priests and religious there are called to be a positive force within society.
Resist temptations
Pope Francis then urged the Catholic leaders to resist the
many temptations they encounter, beginning with the desire to be led, rather
than to lead the Church. A pastor, he said, is creative and always “share the
caress of consolation, even when he is brokenhearted”.
The Pope also warned against the temptation of complain, to
gossip, to compare oneself to others and to harden one’s heart, presuming to be
served, rather than to serve others.
Coptic Catholic identity
Finally he urged them to avoid the temptations of
individualism and losing their sense of direction. Your identity, he told them,
“is to be Copts – rooted in your noble and ancient origins – and to be
Catholics – part of the one and universal Church”.
Treasure of monastic life
Pope Francis concluded by recalling the great treasure of monastic
life which has enriched the Church in Egypt since the first centuries. He urged
today’s priests and religious to follow the examples of St Paul the Hermit, St
Anthony, the Desert Fathers, and all monks and nuns who by their lives have
been “salt and light” for the whole of society, especially for the poorest and
those most in need.
Please see below the full address of Pope Francis to
Priests, Religious and Seminarians at Saint Leo the Great Patriarchal Seminary,
Maadi
Your Beatitudes,
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
As-salamu alaykum! Peace be with you!
“This is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice in him! Christ is
forever victorious over death, let us rejoice in him!”
I am happy to be with you in this house of formation for priests, which
represents the heart of the Catholic Church in Egypt. I am pleased to
greet you, the priests and consecrated men and women of the small Catholic
flock in Egypt, as the “leaven” which God is preparing for this blessed land, so
that, together with our Orthodox brothers and sisters, his Kingdom may increase
in this place (cf. Mt 13:13).
I wish first of all to thank you for your witness and for the good that you do
every day amid many challenges and often few consolations. I want
to encourage you! Do not be afraid of the burdens of your daily service
and the difficult circumstances some of you must endure. We venerate the
Holy Cross, the instrument and sign of our salvation. When we flee the
Cross, we flee the resurrection!
“Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the
kingdom” (Lk 12:32).
This, then, demands believing, witnessing to the truth, sowing and cultivating
without waiting for the harvest. In fact, we reap the fruits of so many
others, whether consecrated or not, who have generously worked in the Lord’s
vineyard. Your history is filled with such people!
Although there are many reasons to be discouraged, amid many prophets of
destruction and condemnation, and so many negative and despairing voices, may
you be a positive force, salt and light for this society. Like the engine
of a train, may you be the driving force leading all towards their
destination. May you be sowers of hope, builders of bridges and agents of
dialogue and harmony.
This will be possible if consecrated men and women do not give in to the
temptations they daily encounter along their way. I would like to
highlight some of the greatest of these temptations.
1. The temptation to let ourselves be led, rather than to
lead. The Good Shepherd has the responsibility of guiding the sheep (cf.
Jn 10:3-4), of bringing them to fresh pastures and springs of flowing water
(cf. Ps 23). He cannot let himself be dragged down by disappointment and
pessimism: “What can I do?” He is always full of initiative and
creativity, like a spring that flows even in the midst of drought. He
always shares the caress of consolation even when he is broken-hearted.
He is a father when his children show him gratitude, but especially when they
prove ungrateful (cf. Lk 15:11-32). Our faithfulness to the Lord must
never depend on human gratitude: “Your Father who sees in secret will reward
you” (Mt 6:4, 6, 18).
2. The temptation to complain constantly. It is
easy to always complain about others, about the shortcomings of superiors,
about the state of the Church and society, about the lack of
possibilities… But consecrated persons, though the Spirit’s anointing,
are those who turn every obstacle into an opportunity, and not every difficulty
into an excuse! The person who is always complaining is really someone
who doesn’t want to work. It was for this reason that the Lord said to
the pastors: “Lift your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees” (Heb
12:12; cf. Is 35:3).
3. The temptation to gossip and envy. It is a
great danger when consecrated persons, instead of helping the little ones to
grow and to rejoice in the successes of their brothers and sisters, allow
themselves to be dominated by envy and to hurt others through gossip.
When, instead of striving to grow, they start to destroy those who are growing;
instead of following their good example, they judge them and belittle their
value. Envy is a cancer that destroys the body in no time: “If a kingdom
is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. And if a house is
divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand” (Mk
3:24-25). In fact, “through the devil’s envy death entered the world”
(Wis 2:24). Gossip is its means and its weapon.
4. The temptation to compare ourselves to
others. Enrichment is found in the diversity and uniqueness of each one
of us. Comparing ourselves with those better off often leads to grudges;
comparing ourselves with those worse off often leads to pride and
laziness. Those who are always comparing themselves with others end up
paralyzed. May we learn from Saints Peter and Paul to experience the
diversity of qualities, charisms and opinions through willingness to listen and
docility to the Holy Spirit.
5. The temptation to become like Pharaoh, that is to
harden our hearts and close them off to the Lord and our brothers and
sisters. Here the temptation is to think that we are better than others,
and to lord it over them out of pride; to presume to be served rather than to
serve. It is a temptation that, from the very beginning, was present
among the disciples, who – as the Gospel tells us – “on the way argued with one
another who was the greatest” (Mk 9:34). The antidote to this poison is:
“If anyone would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all” (Mk
9:35).
6. The temptation to individualism. As a
well-known Egyptian saying goes: “Me, and after me, the flood!” This is
the temptation of selfish people: along the way, they lose sight of the goal
and, rather than think of others, they are unashamed to think only of
themselves, or even worse, to justify themselves. The Church is the
community of the faithful, the Body of Christ, where the salvation of one member
is linked to the holiness of all (cf. 1 Cor 12:12-27; Lumen Gentium, 7.)
An individualist is a cause of scandal and of conflict.
7. The temptation to keep walking without direction or
destination. Consecrated men and women can lose their identity and begin to
be “neither fish nor fowl”. They can live with a heart between God and
worldliness. They can forget their first love (cf. Rev 2:4).
Indeed, when they lose clear and solid identity, consecrated men and women end
up walking aimlessly; instead of leading others, they scatter them. Your
identity as sons and daughters of the Church is to be Copts – rooted in your
noble and ancient origins – and to be Catholics – part of the one and universal
Church: like a tree that, the more deeply rooted it is in the earth, the higher
it reaches to the heavens!
Dear consecrated friends, resisting these temptations is not easy, but it is
possible if we are grafted on to Jesus: “Abide in me, and I in you. As
the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither
can you, unless you abide in me” (Jn 15:4). The more we are rooted in
Christ, the more we are alive and fruitful! Only in this way can we
preserve the wonder and the passion of our first encounter with God, and experience
renewed excitement and gratitude in our life with God and in our mission.
The quality of our consecration depends on the quality of our spiritual
life.
Egypt has enriched the Church through the inestimable value of monastic
life. I urge you, therefore, to draw upon to the example of Saint Paul
the Hermit, Saint Anthony, the holy Desert Fathers, and the countless monks and
nuns who by their lives and example opened the gates of heaven to so many of
our brothers and sisters. You too can be salt and light, and thus an
occasion of salvation for yourselves and for all others, believers and
non-believers alike, and especially for those who are poor, those in need, the
abandoned and discarded.
May the Holy Family protect and bless all of you, your country and its entire
people. With all my heart, I invoke God’s blessings on you, and through
you I greet the faithful whom the Lord has entrusted to your care. May he
grant you the fruits of his Holy Spirit: “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness,
goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control” (Gal 5:22).
You are always in my heart and in my prayers. Take heart and keep moving
forward with the help of the Holy Spirit! “This is the day that the Lord
has made, let us rejoice in him!” And please, don’t forget to pray for
me!
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