From the window of the Apostolic Palace, a new call for peace, at the time when Cardinal Parolin is in Ukraine: ‘War is a defeat’. The Olympic and Paralympic Games in Paris will be “a sign of the inclusive world we want to build”. The word of the day: Rest is essential for compassion.
Vatican City () – While the Secretary of State of the Holy See, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, is in Ukraine to bring the Pope’s closeness and prayers for a long-awaited peace to this “tormented” land, Bergoglio, who appeared from the window of the Vatican Apostolic Palace at 12 noon for the Angelus, exclaimed for the umpteenth time: “War is a defeat!” From Rome, too, the invitation to pray for harmony in the world was renewed. In addition to kyiv, Palestine, Israel, Myanmar and other countries crushed by violence were mentioned. Today, during the Mass presided over at the Marian shrine of Berdychiv, Parolin invited the faithful, who have been at war for more than two years, “not to lose faith even if it seems that evil is winning.”
In the week of the opening of the Paris Olympic Games (July 26-August 11), which will be followed by the Paralympics, Pope Francis, after reciting the Angelus, said that “sport also has a great social force, capable of uniting peacefully people of different cultures.” Hence another appeal for peace. “I hope that this event will be a sign of the inclusive world that we want to build and that athletes, with their sporting testimony, will be messengers of peace and valid models, especially for young people,” he added. Following the example of the original Olympics, the Pontiff also asked that the next Games “be an opportunity to establish a truce in wars, demonstrating a sincere desire for peace” between the nations of the world.
Before the Marian prayer, Francis shared with the faithful listeners the commentary on the Gospel of the day (Mk 6:30-34). The passage tells of Jesus’ invitation to the apostles to go away and rest, because “they did not even have time to eat.” Despite moving to a deserted place, many people followed them and preceded them. At that moment Jesus “had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd,” and began to teach. In his speech, the Holy Father focused on the invitation to rest and compassion, two things that seem “irreconcilable.” By inviting the disciples to rest, Christ “is capturing a danger that can also affect our life and our apostolate,” he said: that of worrying too much about doing things and about the results.
“What happens is that we get agitated and lose sight of what is essential, running the risk of exhausting our energies and falling into fatigue of body and spirit,” added the Bishop of Rome. For this reason, Jesus’ invitation is also addressed to today’s society, “often a prisoner of haste,” but also to the Church. “Let us beware of the dictatorship of doing!” he exclaimed. This tyranny can also be identified in the relational dynamics within families, especially when people are forced to “take time off for work, thus having to sacrifice time to devote to the family.” This dynamic has been described by Bergoglio as “social injustice.” “Let us think about what we can do to help people who are forced to live like this,” was the invitation addressed to the listeners, in a sunny St. Peter’s Square packed with pilgrims from all over the world.
“The rest proposed by Jesus is not an escape from the world, it is not a retreat into personal well-being,” the Pontiff explained. “On the contrary, rest is indispensable for turning a “compassionate gaze” towards the world. Rest “can understand the needs of others only if our heart is not consumed by the anxiety of doing, if we know how to stop and, in the silence of adoration, receive the Grace of God,” he added. The commentary on the Word concluded with an invocation for help addressed to the Blessed Virgin. “Help us to rest in the Spirit even in the midst of all our daily activities, and to be available and compassionate to others,” were the words pronounced by the Pope.
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