Vatican City, 14 June 2014 (VIS) –
This morning in St. Peter's Square the Holy Father met with the
National Confederation for Mercy and the Fratres, Italian groups of
blood donors. “All your service takes its meaning and form from
this word: 'mercy', a Latin word whose etymological root is 'miseris
cor dare', 'to give one's heart to the poor'. This is what Jesus did:
he opened his heart wide to man's suffering”. The Pope underlined
that the Gospel shows clearly “the gratuity of His love for the
suffering and the weak”, and “the closeness, goodness, the
tenderness with which Jesus drew alongside the suffering and consoled
them, brought them relief, and often healed them”.
He went on to emphasise that we too are
called upon “to be close to and to share the conditions of the
people we encounter. Our words, gestures and attitudes must express
our solidarity, the desire not to remain removed from the pain of
others, and must do so with fraternal warmth and without descending
to any form of paternalism”. He continued, “there is the risk of
being spectators, highly informed but detached from these realities,
or of making beautiful speeches that conclude with verbal solutions
but a lack of commitment with regard to real problems. Instead, we
are required to let ourselves get involved in the human hardships
that call out to us every day. Let us imitate Jesus: He went out on
the streets and did not plan His encounters with the poor, or the
sick, or the incapacitated who crossed His path; however, He stopped
with the first He saw, offering succour, a sign of God's closeness
which is goodness, providence and love”.
Pope Francis commented that the
activity of the Association is inspired by the seven works of
corporal mercy: to feed the hungry, to give drink to the thirsty, to
clothe the naked, to shelter the homeless, to visit the sick, to
visit the imprisoned, to bury the dead. “I encourage you to carry
forth your activity with joy and to model it on that of Christ,
ensuring that those who suffer may encounter you and depend upon you
in their moment of need”.
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