Vatican City, 22 November 2014 (VIS) –
Conserve the freshness of charism, respect freedom and always seek
communion were the three directions that Pope Francis outlined at the
Third World Congress of Ecclesial Movements and New Communities,
organised by the Pontifical Council for the Laity and based on the
theme “The joy of the Gospel, a missionary joy”.
“The movements and communities you
represent are now being projected into the phase of ecclesial
maturity, which requires a vigilant attitude of permanent conversion,
to render the evangelising impulse increasingly alive and fruitful”,
said the Holy Father, who received the participants in the congress
this morning in the Clementine Hall. Conversion and mission he said,
are “intimately connected. Indeed, without an authentic conversion
of heart and mind, the Gospel cannot be proclaimed; at the same time,
if we are not open to mission, conversion is not possible and faith
becomes sterile”.
With regard to the first indication,
conserving the freshness of charism, Francis remarked that “as time
goes by, there is a greater temptation to become comfortable, to
become hardened in set ways of doing things, which, while reassuring,
are nonetheless sterile. However, realities are more important than
ideas; even if a certain institutionalisation of the charism is
necessary for its survival, we ought not delude ourselves into
thinking that external structures can guarantee the working of the
Holy Spirit. The newness of your experiences does not consist in
methods or forms, which are important, but rather in your willingness
to respond with renewed enthusiasm to the Lord’s call”.
A further issue is how to welcome and
accompany people today, especially the young. “Men and women today
experience serious identity problems and have difficulty making
proper choices; as a result, they tend to be conditioned and to
delegate important decisions about their own lives to others. We need
to resist the temptation of usurping individual freedom, of directing
them without allowing for their growth in genuine maturity. Moral or
spiritual progress that manipulates a person’s immaturity is only
an apparent success, and one destined to fail. Christian education
instead requires a patient accompaniment which is capable of waiting
for the right moment for each person, as the Lord does with each one
of us. Patience is the only way to love truly and to lead others into
a sincere relationship with the Lord”.
Finally, movements must not forget that
“the most precious good, the seal of the Holy Spirit, is
communion”. ... For the world to believe that Jesus is Lord, it
needs to see communion among Christians. If, on the other hand, the
world sees divisions, rivalries and back-biting, regardless of the
cause, how can we evangelise? Remember this further principle: 'Unity
prevails over conflict', because our brothers and sisters are always
of greater value than our personal attitudes; indeed, it is for our
brothers and sisters that Christ has shed his blood. In addition,
real communion cannot exist in Movements or in New Communities unless
these are integrated within the greater communion of our Holy Mother,
the hierarchical Church. The whole is greater than the part, and the
part only has meaning in relation to the whole. Communion also
consists in confronting together and in a united fashion the most
pressing questions of our day, such as life, the family, peace, the
fight against poverty in all its forms, religious freedom and
education”, concluded the Holy Father.
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