The life of Sister Luisa, murdered in Haiti, was “a delivery to the point of martyrdom.” In the Angelus, the episode of the village of Samaritans and the invitation to avoid revenge, favoring “merciful love”. Yesterday afternoon, in the homily at the closing Mass of the X World Meeting of Families, she praised the “value of getting married” and “going out to welcome the other”.
Vatican City () – In Ukraine “the bombings continue” causing “death and destruction and suffering to the population: please, let us not forget this people afflicted by war, let us not forget it in our hearts and with our prayers” . Taking the example of the flags that were in the crowded St. Peter’s Square, Pope Francis called again today at the Angelus for an end to the conflict at the gates of Europe that has triggered the Russian invasion of Ukraine. At the end of the Marian prayer, the pontiff said that he is following “with concern” what is happening in Ecuador and urged the parties to “abandon violence and extreme positions” in order to recover “dialogue” and “social peace”, paying attention to the “marginalized and poor populations” and respecting the “rights of all and the institutions of the country”.
The Pope then expressed a deep “closeness” to the family of Sister Luisa Dell’Orto, of the fraternity of the Little Sisters of the Gospel, murdered yesterday in Port-au-Price – the capital of Haiti, where she had lived for more than 20 years – for the purpose of robbing him. The 65-year-old nun, the Pope recalled, cared “especially for street children. I entrust her soul to God,” he continued, “and I pray for the Haitian people, especially for the children” so that they can enjoy “a more peaceful future. Regarding Sister Lucia, he added that she “made her life a gift for others, even to the point of martyrdom.”
In the introduction to the Marian prayer, the pontiff recalled Jesus’ “great journey” to the holy city that is spoken of in today’s Gospel of Luke, which “requires a special decision because it is the last.” “The disciples – he explained – filled with an enthusiasm that is still too worldly, dream that the Master is heading towards triumph, but Jesus knows that rejection and death await him in Jerusalem”, he is aware that “he will have to suffer a lot” and that requires a “firm decision”.
He then reflected on the episode narrated by the evangelist in relation to a village of Samaritans that “does not welcome” Jesus because they know that he is going to Jerusalem, an “adversary” city. “The apostles James and John, outraged, suggest that Jesus punish those people” with fire, but “the ‘fire’ that He came to bring to earth is the merciful Love of the Father” and to make it grow you have to have “ patience and perseverance”.
“Santiago and Juan, on the other hand, let themselves be carried away by anger. This also happens to us, when we do good, even with sacrifice, and instead of feeling welcome we find a closed door. Then comes the anger: we even try to involve God himself in it. […]. Jesus – the Pope affirmed – follows another path, that of firm decision which, far from being harsh, implies calm, patience, long-suffering, without in the least loosening the commitment to do good.
Because this way of being and acting “does not denote weakness but, on the contrary, a great inner strength.” The same strength that we must ask Jesus to be like him and “follow him with firm decision. In order not to be vengeful and intolerant – he explained at the end of the reflection – when difficulties arise, when we give ourselves for the good and others do not understand ”.
Yesterday afternoon Pope Francis concelebrated the closing Mass of the X World Meeting of Families in Saint Peter’s Square. The ceremony was presided over by Card. Kevin Farrell, prefect of the Dicastery for the Laity, Family and Life, and the pontiff delivered the homily, in which he recalled the need to defend the “beauty” of the family, preserving it “from the poisons of selfishness, individualism, the culture of indifference and discard”. Today the “courage to get married” is more necessary than ever and he asked couples “not to use your freedom for yourselves, but to love the people that God has placed by his side.”
He then addressed the young people and pointed out that God “loves” them but “this does not mean that He does not spare them all the risks, challenges and sufferings”. God is not anxious or overprotective; on the contrary, he trusts them and calls each one to the highest level of life and mission”. The family, he concluded, is “a meeting place, a place to share, to go out of oneself to welcome the other and be close to him” and it is also “the first place where one learns to love”.
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