This Monday, June 3, the Press Office of the Holy See spread Pope Francis’ message for this year’s 110th World Day of Migrants and Refugees, which will be celebrated on September 24 under the title “God walks with his people.”
Below is the complete message from the Holy Father:
Dear brothers and sisters:
On October 29, 2023, the first Session of the XVI Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops ended, allowing us to delve deeper into synodality as an original vocation of the Church. “Synodality is presented mainly as a joint journey of the People of God and as a fruitful dialogue of the charismas and ministries, at the service of the event of the Kingdom” ( Synthesis Report, Introduction).
Emphasizing the synodal dimension allows the Church to rediscover its itinerant nature, as the people of God on its way through history, a pilgrim, we would say “emigrant” towards the Kingdom of Heaven (cf. Lumen Gentium, 49). The reference to the biblical story of the Exodus, which presents the people of Israel on their way to the promised land, is evocative: a long journey from slavery to freedom that prefigures that of the Church towards the final encounter with the Lord.
Similarly, it is possible to see in the emigrants of our time, as in those of all times, a living image of the people of God on the way to the eternal homeland. Their journeys of hope remind us that “we are citizens of heaven, and we ardently wait for the Lord Jesus Christ to come from there as Savior” ( Phil 3:20).
The two images – that of the biblical exodus and that of the migrants – have certain similarities. Like the people of Israel in the time of Moses, migrants often flee situations of oppression and abuse, insecurity and discrimination, and lack of development projects. And just like the Hebrews in the desert, emigrants also encounter many obstacles on their way: they are tested by thirst and hunger; they are exhausted by work and illness; They are tempted by despair.
But the fundamental reality of each exodus is that God precedes and accompanies the journey of his people and all his children at any time and place. The presence of God among the people is a certainty of the history of salvation: “The Lord, your God, accompanies you, and he will not abandon you or leave you helpless” ( Dt 31:6). For the people who left Egypt, this presence is manifested in different ways: the pillar of cloud and the pillar of fire show and illuminate the way (cf. Ex 13:21); The Tent of Meeting, which guards the ark of the covenant, makes the closeness of God tangible (cf. Ex 33:7); the staff with the bronze serpent ensures divine protection (cf. Nm 21:8-9); Manna and water are God’s gifts to the hungry and thirsty people (cf. Ex 16-17). The tent is a form of presence that is particularly pleasing to the Lord. During David’s reign, God refused to be locked up in a temple to continue living in a tent so he could walk with his people, and he went “from tent to tent and from dwelling to dwelling” ( 1 Chron 17:5 ). ).
Many emigrants experience God as a travel companion, guide and anchor of salvation. They entrust themselves to Him before leaving and they turn to Him in situations of need. In Him they seek comfort in moments of despair. Thanks to Him, there are good Samaritans along the way. To Him, in prayer, they entrust their hopes. Let’s imagine how many Bibles, gospels, prayer books and rosaries accompany emigrants on their journeys through deserts, rivers and seas, and the borders of all continents.
God not only walks with his people but also in his people, in the sense that he identifies with men and women in his journey through history – especially with the last, the poor, the marginalized – as an extension of the mystery. of the Incarnation.
Therefore, the encounter with the migrant, as with every brother and sister in need, “is also an encounter with Christ. He told us Himself. It is He who knocks at our door hungry, thirsty, stranger, naked, sick and imprisoned, asking that we find Him and help” ( Homily of the Holy Mass for the participants in the meeting “Free from fear”, Sacrofano, February 15, 2019). The final judgment narrated by Matthew in chapter 25 of the Gospel leaves no room for doubt: “I was passing through, and they took me in” (v. 35); and again, “I tell you the truth, every time you did it to the least of my brothers, you did it to me” (v. 40).
Therefore, each encounter, along the path, is an opportunity to find the Lord; and it is an opportunity full of salvation because Jesus is present in the sister or brother who needs our help. In this sense, the poor save us, because they allow us to encounter the face of the Lord (cf. Message for the Third World Day of the Poor, November 17, 2019).
Dear brothers and sisters, on this Day, dedicated to migrants and refugees, let us unite in prayer for all those who have had to abandon their land in search of decent living conditions. Let us feel ourselves on the journey together with them, let us make a “synod” together and let us entrust them all, as well as the next synodal assembly, “to the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, a sign of sure hope and consolation on the path of the faithful People of God.” ” ( Synthesis Report, To continue the path).
Prayer
God, Almighty Father,
we are your pilgrim Church
who walks towards the Kingdom of Heaven.
Each of us lives in our own homeland,
but as if we were foreigners.
Every foreign region is our homeland,
However, every homeland is a foreign land for us.
We live here on earth,
but we have our citizenship in heaven.
Do not allow us to become masters
of the portion of the world
that you have given us as a temporary home.
Help us never stop walking
together with our migrant brothers and sisters
towards the eternal abode that you have prepared for us.
Open our eyes and our hearts
so that every encounter with those in need
It also becomes an encounter with Jesus,
Your son and our Lord.
Amen.