Vatican City, 2 May 2015 (VIS) –
Today the Pontifical North American College holds a day of reflection
dedicated to “Friar Junipero Serra, apostle of California, witness
of holiness”, with the aim of spreading knowledge of the life,
mission and witness of holiness of this blessed who will be canonised
in Washington on 23 September during the Holy Father's apostolic
journey to the United States. The day, organised by the Pontifical
Commission for Latin America and the Pontifical North American
College, with the sponsorship of the archdiocese of Los Angeles,
culminated with the celebration of a Holy Mass at the college at
midday, at which Pope Francis officiated.
In his homily, the Pope emphasised
three aspects of the life of the future saint: his missionary
impulse, his Marian devotion and his witness of holiness.
“First of all, he was a tireless
missionary”, the Pontiff affirmed. “What made Friar Junipero
leave his home and country, his family, university chair and
Franciscan community in Mallorca to go to the ends of the earth?
Certainly, it was the desire to proclaim the Gospel ad gentes, that
heartfelt impulse which seeks to share with those farthest away the
gift of encountering Christ: a gift that he had first received and
experienced in all its truth and beauty. Like Paul and Barnabas, like
the disciples in Antioch and in all of Judea. … These missionary
disciples who have encountered Jesus, the Son of God, who have come
to know him through his merciful Father, moved by the grace of the
Holy Spirit, went out to all the geographical, social and existential
peripheries, to bear witness to charity. They challenge us! Sometimes
we stop and thoughtfully examine their strengths and, above all,
their weaknesses and their shortcomings. But I wonder if today we are
able to respond with the same generosity and courage to the call of
God, who invites us to leave everything in order to worship him, to
follow him, to rediscover him in the face of the poor, to proclaim
him to those who have not known Christ and, therefore, have not
experienced the embrace of his mercy. Friar Junipero’s witness
calls upon us to get involved, personally, in the mission to the
whole continent, which finds its roots in Evangelii Gaudium”.
Secondly, “Friar Junipero entrusted
his missionary activity to the Blessed Virgin Mary. We know that
before leaving for California, he wanted to consecrate his life to
Our Lady of Guadalupe and to ask her for the grace to open the hearts
of the colonizers and indigenous peoples, for the mission he was
about to begin. … Since then, Our Lady of Guadalupe has become, in
fact, the Patroness of the whole American continent. You cannot
separate her from the hearts of the American people. She represents
our shared roots in this land. Indeed, today's mission to the
continent is entrusted to her, the first, holy missionary disciple, a
constant presence and companion, our source of comfort and hope. For
she always hears and protects her American children”.
Thirdly, the Pope invited those present
to contemplate the witness of holiness given by Friar Junipero, “one
of the founding fathers of the United States, a saintly example of
the Church’s universality and special patron of the Hispanic people
of the country. In this way may all Americans rediscover their own
dignity, and unite themselves ever more closely to Christ and his
Church”. He went on to cite the example of many American saints,
who have distinguished themselves through their various charisms:
contemplatives like Rose of Lima, Mariana of Quito and Teresita de
los Andes; pastors who bear the scent of Christ and of his sheep,
such as Toribio de Mogrovejo, Francois de Laval, and Rafael Guizar
Valencia; humble workers in the vineyard of the Lord, like Juan Diego
and Kateri Tekakwitha; servants of the suffering and the
marginalised, like Peter Claver, Martin de Porres, Damian of Molokai,
Alberto Hurtado and Rose Philippine Duchesne; founders of communities
consecrated to the service of God and of the poorest, like Frances
Cabrini, Elizabeth Ann Seton and Katharine Drexel; tireless
missionaries, such as Friar Francisco Solano, José de Anchieta,
Alonso de Barzana, Maria Antonia de Paz y Figueroa and Jose Gabriel
del Rosario Brochero; martyrs like Roque Gonzalez, Miguel Pro and
Oscar Arnulfo Romero, and so many other saints and martyrs, whom I do
not mention here, but who pray before the Lord for their brothers and
sisters who are still pilgrims in those lands. There ha been so much
holiness in America, so much holiness sown”.
“May a powerful gust of holiness
sweep through all the Americas during the coming Extraordinary
Jubilee of Mercy!” exclaimed the Holy Father. “Confident in
Jesus’ promise, which we heard today in the Gospel, we ask God for
this special outpouring of the Holy Spirit. We ask the Risen Jesus,
Lord of all ages, that the life of our American continent may be
rooted ever more deeply in the Gospel it has received; that Christ
may be ever more present in the lives of individuals, families,
peoples and nations, for the greater glory of God. We pray too that
this glory may be manifested in the culture of life, brotherhood,
solidarity, peace and justice, with a preferential and concrete love
for the poor, through the witness of Christians of various
confessions and communities, together with believers of other
religious traditions, and people of upright conscience and good will.
Lord Jesus, we are merely your missionary disciples, your humble
co-workers so that your Kingdom may come!”
“With this heartfelt prayer”, he
concluded, “I ask Our Lady of Guadalupe, Friar Junipero and all the
American saints to lead me and guide me during my approaching
apostolic journeys to South America and North America. I ask all of
you to keep this intention in your prayers, and to continue to pray
for me”.
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