Pope to Sister Disciples of the Divine Master: 'be
prophets of hope'
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Monday
greeted the Sister Disciples of the Divine Master and
encouraged them to go forward in their mission to bring the Gospel to the men
and women of today with joy in unity, giving voice to plurality and respecting
each other’s differences.
The Pope words came as he addressed the Sisters who are
holding their 9th General Chapter in Rome (10 April-28 May) on
the theme “New wine in new wineskins.”
First of all, Pope Francis said to the Sisters, always be
open the Holy Spirit, Master of diversity, Master of unity within differences.
“Walk together in communion, he said, respecting plurality
and tirelessly weaving your legitimate differences into unity, taking into
account you are present in different Countries and cultures”.
Basing his discourse on the many fruits yielded by communion,
the Pope encouraged the Sisters to allow each other to express themselves
freely, to be accepted with their own special gifts, and to become fully
co-responsible.
He urged them to cultivate mutual attention and practice
sisterly correction and respect the weakest members.
“Grow in the spirit of living together, banish divisions,
envy, and gossip from your communities, speak frankly and with charity” he
said.
The Pope noted that the Sister Disciples of the Divine
Master share Fr. Giacomo Alberione as father and founder with the Pauline
family, as well as the mission to bring the Gospel to the men and women of our
time.
He spoke of the fruits of communion born from collaboration
with other charisms saying it is the time for synergy between all consecrated
persons who are called to welcome the riches of other charisms and put them all
in the service of evangelization, remaining faithful to their identity.
“No one, he said, builds the future by isolating themselves
or on their own strength alone” and he invited them to cultivate dialogue and
communion with other charisms, and to combat self-referentialism in every way.
The Pope also mentioned the importance of the fruits
produced by communion with the men and women of our time: “Our God is the God
of history and our faith is a faith that works in history. In the questions and
expectations of today's men and women, there are important indications for our
pursuit of Christ”.
Pope Francis said the Chapter is a time to listen to the
Lord who speaks to us through the signs of the times.
He said it is also a time for peaceful and unbiased
confrontation which requires the opening of mind and heart, and he urged those
present never to tire of the practice of listening and sharing with the men and
women of today.
“In this time of great challenges, which require devoted
creative fidelity and passionate research, listening and sharing are more than
ever necessary if we want our lives to be fully meaningful to ourselves and to
the people we meet” he said.
Pope Francis then told the Sisters that to this end it is
necessary to maintain a climate of discernment, to recognize what
belongs to the Spirit and what is contrary to it.
He said that a world of possibilities is open before us and
that “the culture in which we are immersed presents them all as valid and good,
but if we do not want to fall victim to the culture of zapping and
sometimes to a culture of death”, we must always be discerning and never tire
of asking the Lord “What do you want me to do?”
The Chapter, the Pope said, is also a time in which to renew
our docility towards the Spirit that animates prophecy. This, he
said, is an indispensable value for consecrated life which itself is a special
form of participation in the prophetic mission of Christ.
“As consecrated women, you live the prophecy of joy, that
joy that comes from your encounter with Christ through a life of personal and
communal prayer” he said, as well as in a joyful life of fraternity within the
community and in your embrace of Christ’s flesh when you minister to the poor.
Joy, the Pope said, is a beautiful reality in the
lives of many consecrated persons, but it is also a great challenge for all of
us because joy must be of the authentic kind, never self-referential or
self-satisfied.
“This joy, Francis continued, which fills your hearts and
shows on your faces will lead you to go out to the peripheries and participate
in the joy of the Church that is evangelization, convinced that Jesus is the
Good News and is joy for all. This joy distances you from the cancer of
resignation, the fruit of sloth that withers the soul”.
Pope Francis concluded his address encouraging the Sisters
to be prophets of hope with eyes turned to the future, and to let themselves be
guided by the Spirit in order to continue to do great things.
Trusting in Christian hope and in the strength it gives you,
he said: “fortify your vocation of morning sentinels in order to announce the
coming of the dawn: Wake up the world, light up the future”.
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