Nuovo tweet del Papa: Maria è la donna del «Si». Maria, aiutaci a conoscere sempre meglio la voce di Gesù e a seguirla.
(23 aprile 2013, festa liturgica si san Giorgio martire)
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Cappella Paolina. Testo dell’omelia di Papa Francesco nella Messa presieduta oggi in occasione del suo onomastico
"L’identità cristiana è un’appartenenza alla Chiesa, perché tutti questi
appartenevano alla Chiesa, alla Chiesa Madre, perché trovare Gesù fuori
della Chiesa non è possibile".
Ringrazio Sua Eminenza, il signor Cardinale Decano, per le parole:
grazie tante, Eminenza, grazie. Ringrazio anche voi che avete voluto
venire oggi. Grazie! Perché io mi sento bene accolto da voi. Grazie! Mi
sento bene con voi, e a me piace questo. La prima lettura di oggi mi fa
pensare che, proprio nel momento in cui scoppia la persecuzione, scoppia
la missionarietà della Chiesa. E questi cristiani erano arrivati fino
alla Fenicia, a Cipro e ad Antiochia, e proclamavano la Parola (cfr At
11,19).
Avevano questo fervore apostolico dentro; e la fede viene diffusa così!
Alcuni, gente di Cipro e di Cirene – non questi, ma altri che erano
diventati cristiani – giunti ad Antiochia, incominciarono a parlare
anche ai Greci (cfr At 11,20). E’ un passo in più. E la Chiesa va
avanti, così. Di chi è questa iniziativa di parlare ai Greci, cosa che
non si capiva, perché si predicava soltanto ai Giudei?. E’ dello Spirito
Santo, Colui che spingeva di più, di più, di più, sempre. Ma a
Gerusalemme, qualcuno, quando ha sentito questo, è diventato un po’
nervoso e hanno inviato una Visita apostolica, hanno inviato Barnaba
(cfr At 11,22). Forse, con un po’ di senso dell’umorismo, possiamo dire
che questo sia l’inizio teologico della Congregazione per la Dottrina
della Fede: questa Visita apostolica di Barnaba. Lui ha osservato, e ha
visto che le cose andavano bene (cfr At 11,23). E la Chiesa così è più
Madre, Madre di più figli, di molti figli: diventa Madre, Madre, Madre
sempre di più, Madre che ci dà la fede, Madre che ci dà l’identità. Ma
l’identità cristiana non è una carta d’identità. L’identità cristiana è
un’appartenenza alla Chiesa, perché tutti questi appartenevano alla
Chiesa, alla Chiesa Madre, perché trovare Gesù fuori della Chiesa non è
possibile. Il grande Paolo VI diceva: è una dicotomia assurda voler
vivere con Gesù senza la Chiesa, seguire Gesù fuori della Chiesa, amare
Gesù senza la Chiesa (cfr Esort. ap. Evangelii nuntiandi, 16). E quella
Chiesa Madre che ci dà Gesù ci dà l’identità che non è soltanto un
sigillo: è un’appartenenza. Identità significa appartenenza.
L’appartenenza alla Chiesa: questo è bello! La terza idea che mi viene
in mente – la prima: era scoppiata la missionarietà; la seconda: la
Chiesa Madre – è che quando Barnaba ha visto quella folla – dice il
testo: “E una folla considerevole fu aggiunta al Signore” (At 11,24) –
quando ha visto quella folla, ha avuto gioia. “Quando questi giunse e
vide la grazia di Dio, si rallegrò” (At 11,23). E’ la gioia propria
dell’evangelizzatore. E’, come diceva Paolo VI, “la dolce e consolante
allegria di evangelizzare” (cfr Esort. ap. Evangelii nuntiandi, 80). E
questa gioia incomincia con una persecuzione, con una tristezza grande, e
finisce con la gioia. E così la Chiesa va avanti, come dice un Santo,
fra le persecuzioni del mondo e le consolazioni del Signore (cfr S.
AGOSTINO, De Civitate Dei, 18,51,2: PL 41, 614). Così è la vita della
Chiesa. Se noi vogliamo andare sulla strada della mondanità, negoziando
con il mondo – come volevano fare i Maccabei, che erano tentati in quel
tempo – mai avremo la consolazione del Signore. E se noi cerchiamo
soltanto la consolazione, sarà una consolazione superficiale, non quella
del Signore, sarà una consolazione umana. La Chiesa va sempre tra la
Croce e la Risurrezione, tra le persecuzioni e le consolazioni del
Signore. E questo è il cammino: chi va per questa strada non si sbaglia.
Pensiamo oggi alla missionarietà della Chiesa: questi discepoli che
sono usciti da se stessi per andare, e anche quelli che hanno avuto il
coraggio di annunciare Gesù ai Greci, cosa in quel tempo scandalosa,
quasi (cfr At 11,19-20). Pensiamo alla Madre Chiesa che cresce, cresce
con nuovi figli, ai quali dà l’identità della fede, perché non si può
credere in Gesù senza la Chiesa. Lo disse Gesù stesso nel Vangelo: Ma
voi non credete, perché non fate parte delle mie pecore (cfr Gv 10,26).
Se non siamo “pecore di Gesù”, la fede non viene; è una fede all’acqua
di rose, una fede senza sostanza. E pensiamo alla consolazione che ha
avuto Barnaba, che è proprio “la dolce e consolante allegria di
evangelizzare”. E chiediamo al Signore questa parresia, questo fervore
apostolico, che ci spinga ad andare avanti, come fratelli, tutti noi:
avanti! Avanti, portando il nome di Gesù nel seno della Santa Madre
Chiesa, come diceva Sant’Ignazio, gerarchica e cattolica. Così sia.
Al termine della Celebrazione Eucaristica, nel Cortile di San Damaso,
la Banda Musicale della Guardia Svizzera ha offerto al Santo Padre
Francesco, alla presenza dei Cardinali, un breve intrattenimento
musicale in segno di augurio per la sua festa onomastica.
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“Il Sole 24 Ore”- Rassegna "Fine settimana"
(Franco Cardini) Uno dei "luoghi comuni" più diffusi e radicati a proposito dell'elezione di un nuovo papa, fino al 13 marzo scorso, era che fosse impossibile (se non addirittura occultamente "proibito") scegliere un gesuita. Fummo in tanti, nel 2005, a predire che (...)
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(Vatican Radio) “It is not possible to find Jesus outside the Church”: this was Pope Francis’ message as he marked his name day, the Feast of St. George, this Tuesday celebrating Mass in the Pauline Chapel with the Cardinals present in Rome.
In his homily, the Pope thanked the cardinals for coming to concelebrate with him: "Thank you - he said - because I really feel welcomed by you". Commenting on the readings of the day, the Holy Father highlighted three aspects of the Church: Its missionary activity, born of persecution; the fact that it is a Mother Church which gifts us the faith that is our identity and that you cannot find Jesus outside of the Church; the joy of belonging to the Church bringing Jesus to others. In short the joy of being an evangelizer:
Below we publish a Vatican Radio transcript and translation of the Holy Father’s Homily for Mass with the Cardinals in the Pauline Chapel.
I thank His Eminence, the Cardinal Dean, for his words: thank you very much, Your Eminence, thank you.
I also thank all of you who wanted to come today: Thank you. Because I feel welcomed by you. Thank you. I feel good with you, and I like that.
The [first] reading today makes me think that the missionary expansion of the Church began precisely at a time of persecution, and these Christians went as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus and Antioch, and proclaimed the Word. They had this apostolic fervor within them, and that is how the faith spread! Some, people of Cyprus and Cyrene - not these, but others who had become Christians - went to Antioch and began to speak to the Greeks too. It was a further step. And this is how the Church moved forward. Whose was this initiative to speak to the Greeks? This was not clear to anyone but the Jews. But ... it was the Holy Spirit, the One who prompted them ever forward ... But some in Jerusalem, when they heard this, became 'nervous and sent Barnabas on an "apostolic visitation": perhaps, with a little sense of humor we could say that this was the theological beginning of the Doctrine of the Faith: this apostolic visit by Barnabas. He saw, and he saw that things were going well.
And so the Church was a Mother, the Mother of more children, of many children. It became more and more of a Mother. A Mother who gives us the faith, a Mother who gives us an identity. But the Christian identity is not an identity card: Christian identity is belonging to the Church, because all of these belonged to the Church, the Mother Church. Because it is not possible to find Jesus outside the Church. The great Paul VI said: "Wanting to live with Jesus without the Church, following Jesus outside of the Church, loving Jesus without the Church is an absurd dichotomy." And the Mother Church that gives us Jesus gives us our identity that is not only a seal, it is a belonging. Identity means belonging. This belonging to the Church is beautiful.
And the third idea comes to my mind - the first was the explosion of missionary activity; the second, the Mother Church - and the third, that when Barnabas saw that crowd - the text says: " And a large number of people was added to the Lord" - when he saw those crowds, he experienced joy. " When he arrived and saw the grace of God, he rejoiced ": his is the joy of the evangelizer. It was, as Paul VI said, "the sweet and comforting joy of evangelizing." And this joy begins with a persecution, with great sadness, and ends with joy. And so the Church goes forward, as one Saint says - I do not remember which one, here - "amid the persecutions of the world and the consolations of the Lord." And thus is the life of the Church. If we want to travel a little along the road of worldliness, negotiating with the world - as did the Maccabees, who were tempted, at that time - we will never have the consolation of the Lord. And if we seek only consolation, it will be a superficial consolation, not that of the Lord: a human consolation. The Church's journey always takes place between the Cross and the Resurrection, amid the persecutions and the consolations of the Lord. And this is the path: those who go down this road are not mistaken.
Let us think today about the missionary activity of the Church: these [people] came out of themselves to go forth. Even those who had the courage to proclaim Jesus to the Greeks, an almost scandalous thing at that time. Think of this Mother Church that grows, grows with new children to whom She gives the identity of the faith, because you cannot believe in Jesus without the Church. Jesus Himself says in the Gospel: " But you do not believe, because you are not among my sheep." If we are not "sheep of Jesus," faith does not some to us. It is a rosewater faith, a faith without substance. And let us think of the consolation that Barnabas felt, which is "the sweet and comforting joy of evangelizing." And let us ask the Lord for this "parresia", this apostolic fervor that impels us to move forward, as brothers, all of us forward! Forward, bringing the name of Jesus in the bosom of Holy Mother Church, and, as St. Ignatius said, "hierarchical and Catholic." So be it. (E. Mc Carthy)
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“Il Sole 24 Ore”- Rassegna "Fine settimana"
(Franco Cardini) Uno dei "luoghi comuni" più diffusi e radicati a proposito dell'elezione di un nuovo papa, fino al 13 marzo scorso, era che fosse impossibile (se non addirittura occultamente "proibito") scegliere un gesuita. Fummo in tanti, nel 2005, a predire che (...)
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“La Croix”- Rassegna "Fine settimana"
(Frédéric Mounier) L'Università gregoriana ha proposto, nella serata di venerdì, un'analisi della filiazione gesuita dipapa Francesco. Eletto papa, il cardinal Bergoglio testimonia il proprio carisma ai figli di Sant'Ignazio. Mantenendo una reale vicinanza personale con (...)
(Frédéric Mounier) L'Università gregoriana ha proposto, nella serata di venerdì, un'analisi della filiazione gesuita dipapa Francesco. Eletto papa, il cardinal Bergoglio testimonia il proprio carisma ai figli di Sant'Ignazio. Mantenendo una reale vicinanza personale con (...)
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(Vatican Radio) “It is not possible to find Jesus outside the Church”: this was Pope Francis’ message as he marked his name day, the Feast of St. George, this Tuesday celebrating Mass in the Pauline Chapel with the Cardinals present in Rome.
In his homily, the Pope thanked the cardinals for coming to concelebrate with him: "Thank you - he said - because I really feel welcomed by you". Commenting on the readings of the day, the Holy Father highlighted three aspects of the Church: Its missionary activity, born of persecution; the fact that it is a Mother Church which gifts us the faith that is our identity and that you cannot find Jesus outside of the Church; the joy of belonging to the Church bringing Jesus to others. In short the joy of being an evangelizer:
Below we publish a Vatican Radio transcript and translation of the Holy Father’s Homily for Mass with the Cardinals in the Pauline Chapel.
I thank His Eminence, the Cardinal Dean, for his words: thank you very much, Your Eminence, thank you.
I also thank all of you who wanted to come today: Thank you. Because I feel welcomed by you. Thank you. I feel good with you, and I like that.
The [first] reading today makes me think that the missionary expansion of the Church began precisely at a time of persecution, and these Christians went as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus and Antioch, and proclaimed the Word. They had this apostolic fervor within them, and that is how the faith spread! Some, people of Cyprus and Cyrene - not these, but others who had become Christians - went to Antioch and began to speak to the Greeks too. It was a further step. And this is how the Church moved forward. Whose was this initiative to speak to the Greeks? This was not clear to anyone but the Jews. But ... it was the Holy Spirit, the One who prompted them ever forward ... But some in Jerusalem, when they heard this, became 'nervous and sent Barnabas on an "apostolic visitation": perhaps, with a little sense of humor we could say that this was the theological beginning of the Doctrine of the Faith: this apostolic visit by Barnabas. He saw, and he saw that things were going well.
And so the Church was a Mother, the Mother of more children, of many children. It became more and more of a Mother. A Mother who gives us the faith, a Mother who gives us an identity. But the Christian identity is not an identity card: Christian identity is belonging to the Church, because all of these belonged to the Church, the Mother Church. Because it is not possible to find Jesus outside the Church. The great Paul VI said: "Wanting to live with Jesus without the Church, following Jesus outside of the Church, loving Jesus without the Church is an absurd dichotomy." And the Mother Church that gives us Jesus gives us our identity that is not only a seal, it is a belonging. Identity means belonging. This belonging to the Church is beautiful.
And the third idea comes to my mind - the first was the explosion of missionary activity; the second, the Mother Church - and the third, that when Barnabas saw that crowd - the text says: " And a large number of people was added to the Lord" - when he saw those crowds, he experienced joy. " When he arrived and saw the grace of God, he rejoiced ": his is the joy of the evangelizer. It was, as Paul VI said, "the sweet and comforting joy of evangelizing." And this joy begins with a persecution, with great sadness, and ends with joy. And so the Church goes forward, as one Saint says - I do not remember which one, here - "amid the persecutions of the world and the consolations of the Lord." And thus is the life of the Church. If we want to travel a little along the road of worldliness, negotiating with the world - as did the Maccabees, who were tempted, at that time - we will never have the consolation of the Lord. And if we seek only consolation, it will be a superficial consolation, not that of the Lord: a human consolation. The Church's journey always takes place between the Cross and the Resurrection, amid the persecutions and the consolations of the Lord. And this is the path: those who go down this road are not mistaken.
Let us think today about the missionary activity of the Church: these [people] came out of themselves to go forth. Even those who had the courage to proclaim Jesus to the Greeks, an almost scandalous thing at that time. Think of this Mother Church that grows, grows with new children to whom She gives the identity of the faith, because you cannot believe in Jesus without the Church. Jesus Himself says in the Gospel: " But you do not believe, because you are not among my sheep." If we are not "sheep of Jesus," faith does not some to us. It is a rosewater faith, a faith without substance. And let us think of the consolation that Barnabas felt, which is "the sweet and comforting joy of evangelizing." And let us ask the Lord for this "parresia", this apostolic fervor that impels us to move forward, as brothers, all of us forward! Forward, bringing the name of Jesus in the bosom of Holy Mother Church, and, as St. Ignatius said, "hierarchical and Catholic." So be it. (E. Mc Carthy)
