Pope Francis: Allocution at Consistory for Creation of
Cardinals
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis delivered an allocution on
Wednesday at the Ordinary Public Consistory for the Creation
of New Cardinals in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. The prelates
to be created Cardinals during the Consistory are: Jean Zerbo,
Archbishop of Bamako, Mali; Juan José Omella, Archbishop of
Barcelona, Spain; Anders Arborelius, Bishop of Stockholm, Sweden; Luis
Marie-Ling Mangkhanekhoun, Apostolic Vicar of Paksé, Laos; Gregorio
Rosa Chávez, Bishop of Mulli, Auxiliary of the Archdiocese of San Salvador,
El Savador. Below, please find the full text of Pope Francis'
prepared remarks, in their official English translation...
******************************************
“Jesus was walking ahead of them”. This is the
picture that the Gospel we have just read (Mk 10:32-45) presents to
us. It serves as a backdrop to the act now taking place: this Consistory
for the creation of new Cardinals.
Jesus walks resolutely towards Jerusalem. He knows
fully what awaits him there; on more than one occasion, he spoke of it to his
disciples. But there is a distance between the heart of Jesus and the
hearts of the disciples, which only the Holy Spirit can bridge. Jesus
knows this, and so he is patient with them. He speaks to them frankly
and, above all, he goes before them. He walks ahead of
them.
Along the way, the disciples themselves are distracted by
concerns that have nothing to do with the “direction” taken by Jesus, with his
will, which is completely one with that of the Father”. So it is that, as
we heard, the two brothers James and John think of how great it would be to
take their seats at the right and at the left of the King of Israel (cf. v.
37). They are not facing reality! They think they see, but they
don’t. They think they know, but they don’t. They think they
understand better than the others, but they don’t…
For the reality is completely different. It is what
Jesus sees and what directs his steps. The reality is the cross. It
is the sin of the world that he came to take upon himself, and to uproot from
the world of men and women. It is the innocent who suffer and die as
victims of war and terrorism; the forms of enslavement that continue to violate
human dignity even in the age of human rights; the refugee camps which at times
seem more like a hell than a purgatory; the systematic discarding of all that
is no longer useful, people included.
This is what Jesus sees as he walks towards Jerusalem.
During his public ministry he made known the Father’s tender love by healing
all who were oppressed by the evil one (cf. Acts 10:38).
Now he realizes that the moment has come to press on to the very end, to
eliminate evil at its root. And so, he walks resolutely towards the
cross.
We too, brothers and sisters, are journeying with Jesus
along this path. I speak above all to you, dear new Cardinals.
Jesus “is walking ahead of you”, and he asks you to follow him resolutely on
his way. He calls you to look at reality, not to let
yourselves be distracted by other interests or prospects. He has not
called you to become “princes” of the Church, to “sit at his right or at his
left”. He calls you to serve like him and with him. To serve the
Father and your brothers and sisters. He calls you to face as he did the
sin of the world and its effects on today’s humanity. Follow him, and
walk ahead of the holy people of God, with your gaze fixed on the Lord’s cross
and resurrection.
And now, with faith and through the intercession of the
Virgin Mother, let us ask the Holy Spirit to bridge every gap between our
hearts and the heart of Christ, so that our lives may be completely at the
service of God and all our brothers and sisters.
Không có nhận xét nào:
Đăng nhận xét