Vatican City, 4 May 2015 (VIS) -
“'Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life
for his friends'. In the history of the Church, many men and women
have heeded the call of this great love. The Swiss Guards who fought
during the Sack of Rome and who gave their lives in defence of the
Pope responded to this call. And answering this call with devotion
means following Christ”, said the Holy Father as he received in
audience the new recruits to the Pontifical Swiss Guard who will take
their oath of loyalty tomorrow, 6 May.
“In the Spiritual Exercises, St.
Ignatius of Loyola, who in his youth was a soldier, spoke of the
'call of the Christ the King', who wishes to build His Kingdom and
choose his collaborators. The Lord wishes to build His Kingdom with
the collaboration of men. He needs decisive and courageous people. …
At the same time, Ignatius compares the world to two military camps,
one with the standard of Christ, the other under the flag of Satan.
There are only these two camps. For the Christian the choice is
clear: he follows Christ's standard”.
“Christ is the true King. He Himself
goes ahead and His friends follow Him. One of Christ's soldiers
participates in the life of His Lord. This is also the call that is
addressed to you: to take on the concerns of Christ, to be His
companions. In this way you learn, day by day, to 'feel' with Christ
and with the Church. A Swiss Guard is a person who truly seeks to
follow the Lord Jesus and who loves the Church in a special way; he
is a Christian with genuine faith”, emphasised the Pontiff. “You
too, like every Christian, must live all this through the Sacraments
of the Church: with diligent participation in Mass and frequent
Confession. You can live this by reading the Gospel every day. What I
say to all, I repeat to you: keep a pocket-sized Gospel close to
hand, so you can read it whenever you have a free moment. Your
personal prayer, especially the Rosary, will also help you, during
your guards of honour. And it will help you in your service to the
poor, the sick, to those in need of a good word”.
The Pope remarked that when the Swiss
Guards meet people and pilgrims they transmit to them, with their
“kindness and competence”, this “great love” that comes from
their friendship with Christ. Indeed”, he exclaimed, “you are a
banner for the Holy See! I thank you and encourage you in your work”.
“I know that your service is
demanding. When there is extra work to be done, we are always able to
count on the Swiss Guard. I thank you with affection and express my
great appreciation for all that you do for the Church and for me, as
the Successor of Peter”, he concluded.
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