circulate the joy of the Gospel

The meeting with the clergy, religious and pastoral agents closed this morning the apostolic trip to Bahrain. “It is beautiful to belong to a Church made up of different stories and faces that find harmony in the one face of Jesus.” Mentioning the countries of origin of the faithful of the Vicariate, Francis dedicated a thought to the Lebanese “so tired and tried”. The peace agreement in Ethiopia offers hope.

Manama () – “Let’s circulate the joy of the Gospel” because “Christian joy cannot be kept to oneself, and when we circulate it, it multiplies”. Pope Francis said this this morning in Manama, in the last speech of his apostolic trip to Bahrain, before leaving for Rome. Bishops, priests, consecrated men and women, seminarians and pastoral agents of the Apostolic Vicariate of North Arabia, who work at the service of the approximately 2 million Catholics present in Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar and Saudi Arabia, listened to his words.

Francis wanted to say goodbye to this Church of immigrants, made up almost exclusively of foreign workers, devoting “a thought to the people to which you belong, to your families – which you carry in your hearts with a little nostalgia -, to your countries of origin”. . Seeing that the faithful of Lebanon were present, the Pope assured his prayers and closeness “to that beloved country, so tired, so tried, and to all the peoples who suffer in the Middle East. It is beautiful to belong to a Church made up of different stories and faces.” who find harmony in the unique face of Jesus”.

Addressing this Church that lives and works far from the limelight, in a Muslim context, Pope Francis recalled the image of cool water flowing silently underground, irrigating it. “It is a beautiful image of what you are -he commented- and, above all, of what faith works in life: on the surface our humanity emerges, parched by so many fragilities, fears, challenges that must be faced, personal ills and of various kinds; but in the subsoil of the soul, precisely within us, in the depths of the heart, the sweet water of the Spirit flows calmly and silently, which irrigates our deserts, restores vigor to what is in danger of drying up, it washes away what exhausts us, it quenches our thirst for happiness.”

Next, the Pontiff dwelled on three gifts that the Holy Spirit grants to the Church:to joy, unity and prophecy. “In the first place,” he explained, “the Spirit is source of joy. The joy of the Spirit is not an occasional state or an emotion of the moment; much less is that kind of consumerist and individualistic joy so present in some cultural experiences today. Instead, the joy in the Spirit is that which comes from a relationship with God, from knowing that, even in the struggles and dark nights that we sometimes go through, we are not alone, lost or defeated, because He is with us. And with Him we can face and overcome everything, even the abysses of pain and death.”

The Holy Spirit is thus drive source, an especially important sign in a Church made up of people from so many countries. “Let us be custodians and builders of unity,” Francis said, “in order to be credible in dialogue with others, let us live fraternity among us. Let us do it in the communities, valuing the charisms of all without mortifying anyone; let us do it in religious communities. , as living signs of harmony and peace; let us do it in families, so that the bond of love of the sacrament translates into daily attitudes of service and forgiveness; let us also do it in the multi-religious and multicultural society in which we live: always in favor of dialogue, always, weavers of communion with brothers of other creeds and other confessions”.

Referring to the third gift, Francis said that the Spirit is source of prophecy. “We can’t pretend we don’t see the works of evil,” she warned, “staying in the ‘quiet life’ so we don’t get our hands dirty.” A Christian must, sooner or later, get his hands dirty to live his Christian life and bear witness. In fact, we have received a Spirit of prophecy to make the Gospel known with our testimony of life”. And quoting the words he heard from a nun – Sister Rosa – about the ministry among detained women, the Pope added: ” Do you know what I think when I enter a prison? Why them and not me? It is the mercy of God. But taking care of prisoners is good for everyone, as a human community, because it is by how the last ones are treated that the dignity and hope of a society is measured.”

Finally, before praying the Angelus at the end of the meeting, Francis again urged everyone to pray for peace. “In this context”, he added, “the agreement that has been signed on the situation in Ethiopia is a source of hope. I encourage everyone to support this commitment to lasting peace, so that, with God’s help, the paths of dialogue continue and the people will soon find a serene and dignified life. And I also don’t want to forget to pray and tell them to pray for the tormented Ukraine, so that this war ends”.