Vatican City, 20 September 2015 (VIS) –
After spending the night in the apostolic nunciature in Havana, the
Pope began his second day in Cuba by greeting the thousands of people
who lined the streets on his journey by popemobile to Plaza de la
Revolucion Jose Marti, dedicated to the poet and writer who fought
for Cuban independence. The square, where the Holy Father celebrated
Holy Mass attended by more than 200,000 faithful, is a strongly
symbolic location for the island, and has provided the backdrop to
important demonstrations.
Francis, who before the Eucharistic
celebration met with the representatives of other Christian
confessions present in Cuba in a provisional sacristy, devoted his
homily to the importance of serving the weakest and frailest among
us. “Let us not forget the Good News we have heard today: the
importance of a people, a nation, and the importance of individuals,
which is always based on how they seek to serve their vulnerable
brothers and sisters. Here we encounter one of the fruits of a true
humanity. Whoever does not live to serve, does not ‘serve’ to
live”.
The Pope commented on the Gospel
passage in which Jesus asks a seemingly indiscreet question of His
disciples: “What were you discussing along the way?” to which
they did not answer because on the way they had been arguing about
who was the most important, and were ashamed.
“Who is the most important?”,
continued the Pope. “This is a life-long question to which, at
different times, we must give an answer. ... The history of humanity
has been marked by the answer we give to this question. Jesus is not
afraid of people’s questions; He is not afraid of our humanity or
the different things we are looking for. On the contrary, He knows
the 'twists and turns' of the human heart, and, as a good teacher, He
is always ready to encourage and support us. As usual, He takes up
our searching, our aspirations, and he gives them a new horizon …
He somehow finds an the answer which can pose a new challenge,
setting aside the 'right answers', the standard replies we are
expected to give. As usual, Jesus sets before us the 'logic' of love.
A mindset, an approach to life, which is capable of being lived out
by all, because it is meant for all”.
“Far from any kind of elitism, the
horizon to which Jesus points us is not for those few privileged
souls capable of attaining the heights of knowledge or different
levels of spirituality. The horizon to which Jesus points us always
has to do with daily life, also here on “our island”, something
which can season our daily lives with eternity. Who is the most
important? Jesus is straightforward in His reply: 'Whoever wishes to
be the first among you must be the last of all, and the servant of
all'. Whatever wishes to be great must serve others, not be served by
others”.
“Here lies the great paradox of
Jesus”, emphasises the Pope. “The disciples were arguing about
who would have the highest place, who would be chosen for privileges
... in order to stand out in the quest for superiority over others.
Who would climb the ladder most quickly to take the jobs which carry
certain benefits. Jesus upsets their 'logic', their mindset, simply
by telling them that life is lived authentically in a concrete
commitment to our neighbour. That is, in serving”.
But the call to serve “involves
something special, to which we must be attentive. Serving others
chiefly means caring for their vulnerability. Serving means caring
for the vulnerable of our families, our society, our people. Theirs
are the suffering, fragile and downcast faces which Jesus tells us
specifically to look at and which He asks us to love. With a love
which takes shape in our actions and decisions. With a love which
finds expression in whatever tasks we, as citizens, are called to
perform. People of flesh and blood, people with individual lives and
stories, and with all their frailty: these are those whom Jesus asks
us to protect, to care for, to serve. Being a Christian entails
promoting the dignity of our brothers and sisters, fighting for it,
living for it. That is why Christians are constantly called to set
aside their own wishes and desires, their pursuit of power, and to
look instead to those who are most vulnerable”.
“There is a kind of 'service' which
truly 'serves' others, yet we need to be careful not to be tempted by
another kind of service, a 'service' which is 'self-serving'. There
is a way to go about serving which is interested in only helping 'my
people', 'our people'. This service always leaves 'your people'
outside, and gives rise to a process of exclusion. All of us are
called by virtue of our Christian vocation to that service which
truly serves, and to help one another not to be tempted by a
'service' which is really 'self-serving'. … Without looking to one
side or the other to see what our neighbour is doing or not doing.
Jesus tells us: Whoever would be first among you must be the last,
and the servant of all. He will be the servant of all. He does not
say: if your neighbour wants to be first, let him be the servant! We
have to be careful to avoid judgemental looks and renew our belief in
the transforming look to which Jesus invites us. This caring for
others out of love is not about being servile. Rather, it means
putting our brothers and sisters at the centre. Service always looks
to their faces, touches their flesh, senses their closeness and even,
in some cases, 'suffers' in trying to help. Service is never
ideological, for we do not serve ideas, we serve people”.
“God’s holy and faithful people in
Cuba is a people with a taste for celebration, for friendship, for
beautiful things”, he concluded. “It is a people which marches
with songs of praise. It is a people which has its wounds, like every
other people, yet knows how to stand up with open arms, to keep
walking in hope, because it has a vocation of grandeur. This is how
it raised its heroes. Today I ask you to care for this vocation of
yours, to care for these gifts which God has given you, but above all
I invite you to care for and be at the service of the frailty of your
brothers and sisters. Do not neglect them for plans which can be
seductive, but are unconcerned about the face of the person beside
you. We know, we are witnesses of the incomparable power of the
resurrection, which 'everywhere calls forth the seeds of a new
world'”.
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