Pope Francis addressed priests, seminarians, deacons, and religious and consecrated persons, in the prayer meeting held on 2 February in the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Congo, in Kinshasa. Here is the full text of the speech delivered by the Holy Father.
Dear brother priests, deacons and seminarians, dear consecrated women, dear consecrated men: good afternoon and a happy holiday. I am glad to meet you precisely today, on the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord, a day on which we pray in a special way for the consecrated life.
All of us, like Simeon, wait for the light of the Lord to illuminate the darkness of our lives and, even more, we all would like to live the same experience that he did in the Temple of Jerusalem: to hold Jesus in his arms . Take him in your arms, to be able to have him before your eyes and close to your heart.
In this way, putting Jesus in the center changes our perspective on life and, even in the midst of work and fatigue, we feel enveloped by his light, consoled by his Spirit, encouraged by his Word, sustained by his love.
I say this thinking of the words of welcome pronounced by Cardinal Ambongo, for which I am grateful. He has spoken of the “enormous challenges” that must be faced to live the priestly and religious commitment in this land marked by “difficult and often dangerous conditions”, and therefore suffering.
And yet, as I pointed out, there is also great joy in the service of the Gospel and there are numerous vocations to the priesthood and to the consecrated life. There is the abundance of God’s grace, which acts precisely in weakness (cf. 2Co 12,9) and which makes you capable, together with the faithful law, of generating hope in the often painful circumstances of your people.
Speech of Pope Francis in meeting with victims in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
It is God’s faithfulness that gives us the certainty that he accompanies us even in difficulties. He, through the prophet Isaiah, says: “I will make a road in the desert and rivers in the steppe” (43,19).
I have thought of proposing to you some reflections that are born, precisely, from these words of Isaiah. God opens his paths in our deserts and we, ordained ministers and consecrated persons, are called to be a sign of this promise and to carry it out in the history of the holy People of God.
But, specifically, what are we called to? To serve the people as witnesses of God’s love. Isaiah helps us understand how. Through the mouth of the prophet, the Lord comes to his people from him in a dramatic moment, while the Israelites had been deported to Babylon and reduced to slavery. Moved by compassion, God wants to comfort them.
This part of the book of Isaiah, indeed, is known as the “Book of consolation”, because the Lord directs his people words of hope and promises of salvation. And the first thing he does is remember the bond of love that unites him with his people: «Do not be afraid, because I have redeemed you, I have called you by name, you belong to me. If you cross through the waters, I will be with you, and the rivers will not drown you; if you walk through the fire, you will not burn, and the flames will not burn you» (43,1-2).
In this way, the Lord reveals himself as a God of compassion and assures us that he will never leave us alone, he will always be by our side, being a refuge and strength in difficulties. God is compassionate. The three names of God are mercy, compassion and tenderness. He is a compassionate, merciful and tender God.
Dear priests and deacons, consecrated men and women, seminarians: through you the Lord also wants to anoint his people today with the oil of consolation and hope.
And you are called to echo this promise of God; to remember that He has formed us and to Him we belong, to encourage the path of the community; and to accompany her in faith to meet the One who already walks with us.
God does not allow the waters to submerge us, nor the fire to burn us. Let us feel bearers of this announcement in the midst of the sufferings of the people. This is what it means to be servants of the people: priests, religious, missionaries who have experienced the joy of the liberating encounter with Jesus and offer it to others.
Let us remember that if we live to “serve” the people instead of “serving” the people, the priesthood and consecrated life become sterile. It is not about a job to earn money or have a social position, nor to resolve the situation of the family of origin, but it is about being signs of the presence of Christ, of his unconditional love of him; of the forgiveness with which he wants to reconcile us; of the compassion with which he wants to take care of the poor.
We were called to offer our lives for our brothers and sisters, leading them to Jesus, the only one who heals the wounds of the heart.
To live our vocation in this way we will always have challenges to face, temptations to overcome. I would like to dwell briefly on these three: spiritual mediocrity, worldly comfort, and superficiality.
Above all, overcome spiritual mediocrity. Ace? The Presentation of the Lord, which in the Christian East is called the “feast of the encounter”, reminds us of the priority of our life: the encounter with the Lord, especially in personal prayer, because the relationship with Him is the foundation of our action.
Let us not forget that the secret of everything is in prayer, because the ministry and the apostolate are not, in the first place, our work and do not depend solely on human means. And you will tell me: yes, it is true, but commitments, pastoral urgency, apostolic efforts, fatigue threaten to leave us neither time nor energy sufficient for prayer.
That is why I would like to share some advice: first of all, let us be faithful to certain liturgical rhythms of prayer that accompany the day, from Mass to the breviary. The daily Eucharistic celebration is the beating heart of priestly and religious life.
The Liturgy of the Hours allows us to pray with the Church and on a regular basis; let us never neglect it. And let us not forget the Confession either; we always need to be forgiven in order to offer mercy.
Another piece of advice: as we know, we cannot limit ourselves to the mere formal recitation of the prayers, but it is necessary to set aside an intense time for prayer each day, to be with our Lord, heart to heart. A prolonged moment of adoration, of meditation on the Word, the Holy Rosary; an intimate encounter with the One we love above all things. In addition, when we are in full activity, let us also resort to the prayer of the heart, to brief “jaculations”, which are a treasure, words of praise, thanks and invocation that we can repeat to the Lord in any place where we are.
Prayer makes us leave the self, opens us to God, puts us back on our feet because it places us in his hands; create in us the space to experience the closeness of God, so that his Word from him is familiar to us and, through us, to everyone we meet.
Without prayer you don’t go far. Finally, to overcome spiritual mediocrity, let us never tire of invoking the Virgin Mary, our Mother, and learning from her de ella to contemplate and follow Jesus.
The second challenge is to overcome the temptation of worldly comfort, of a comfortable life, in which things are more or less resolved and we continue forward by inertia, seeking our comfort and letting ourselves go without enthusiasm.
But in this way the heart of the mission is lost, which is to leave the territories of the self to go towards the brothers and sisters exercising, in the name of God, the art of closeness. There is a great risk linked to worldliness, especially in a context of poverty and suffering: that of taking advantage of the role we have to satisfy our needs and our comforts.
It really is very sad when we withdraw into ourselves, turning into cold bureaucrats of the spirit. So, instead of serving the Gospel, we worry about managing finances and running a business that is advantageous to us.
Brothers and sisters, it is scandalous when this happens in the life of a priest or religious, who, on the contrary, should be models of sobriety and interior freedom. Instead, how beautiful it is to remain upright in intentions and free from compromises with money, joyfully embracing evangelical poverty and working alongside the poor.
And how beautiful it is to be luminous signs of total availability to the Kingdom of God, living celibacy. Let us not allow those vices, which we would like to tear from others and from society, to be well rooted in us. Please, let us be alert to worldly comfort.
Finally, the third challenge is to overcome the temptation of superficiality. Given that the People of God expect to be reached and comforted by the Word of the Lord, priests, religious, prepared, formed, and passionate about the Gospel are needed.
A gift has been placed in our hands and, on our part, it would be presumptuous to think that we can live the mission to which God has called us without working on ourselves every day and without adequately forming ourselves, both in spiritual life and in life. theological preparation.
The people do not need officials of the sacred or professionals distant from the people. We are obliged to enter into the heart of the Christian mystery, to deepen the doctrine, to study and meditate on the Word of God; and at the same time to remain open to the concerns of our time, to the increasingly complex questions of our times, in order to understand life and the demands of people; to understand how to take them by hand and accompany them.
Therefore, the formation of the clergy is not optional. I say this to the seminarians, but it is valid for everyone: formation is a path that must always continue, throughout life. It is called permanent formation.
If we want to serve the people as witnesses of God’s love, we must face these challenges that I have told you about, because service is effective only if it happens through witness. Do not forget this word: testimony. In fact, after having pronounced the words of consolation, the Lord says through Isaiah: “Who among them had announced these things? Who predicted to us what happened in the past? You are my witnesses» (43,9.10).
Witnesses, because to be good priests, deacons, consecrated men and women, words and intentions are not enough; what really counts is life itself. Dear brothers and sisters, looking at you I thank God, because you are signs of the presence of Jesus who passes through the roads of this country and touches the lives of the people, the wounds of his flesh. But young people are still needed to say “yes” to the Lord; more priests and religious who allow their beauty to shine through with their own lives.
In their testimonies they reminded me how difficult it is to live the mission in a land rich in natural beauties and resources, but wounded by exploitation, corruption, violence and injustice. They also talked about the parable of the good Samaritan; it is Jesus who passes through our paths and, especially through his Church, stops and takes care of the wounds of the oppressed.
Dear brothers and sisters, the ministry to which you are called is precisely this: to offer closeness and consolation, like a light always on in the midst of darkness. Let us learn from the Lord that he is always close. And to be brothers and sisters to all, be among yourselves in the first place.
Witnesses of brotherhood, never at war; witnesses of peace, learning also to overcome the particularities of each culture and ethnic origin, so that, as Benedict XVI affirmed when addressing the African priests: «your witness of a peaceful life, beyond tribal and racial confines, can touch the hearts» ( Apostolic Exhortation Africae munus, 108).
A proverb says: “The wind does not break what knows how to fold.” The history of many peoples on this continent has unfortunately been folded and riddled with wounds and violence, and for this reason, if there is a desire that comes from the heart, it is not having to do it anymore; that of no longer having to submit to the arrogance of the strongest; that of no longer having to lower our heads under the yoke of injustice.
But we can accept the words of the proverb mainly in a positive sense: there is a yielding that is not synonymous with weakness but with strength; what it means to be flexible, overcoming strictness; it means cultivating a docile humanity that does not close itself off in hated and resentment; it means being available to let ourselves change, without stubbornness in our own ideas and positions.
If we bow before God, with humility, He will make us like Him, workers of mercy. When we remain docile in God’s hands, He models us and makes us reconciled people, who know how to open up and dialogue, welcome and forgive, put rivers of peace in the arid steppes of violence.
And so, when the winds of conflict and division blow violently, these people cannot be broken, because they are filled with the love of God. Be like this too, docile to the God of mercy, without ever allowing yourself to be broken by the winds of divisions.
Heartfelt thanks, brothers and sisters, for what you are and what you do; for the witness they give to the Church and to the world. Don’t get discouraged, we need you. You are valuable, important, I tell you this on behalf of the entire Church.
I hope that they will always be channels of the Lord’s comfort and joyful witnesses of the Gospel; prophecy of peace in the spirals of violence; disciples of Love willing to heal the wounds of the poor and those who suffer.
Thank you once again for your service and for your pastoral zeal. I bless you and carry you in my heart. And you, please, always pray for me.