Vatican City, 25 September 2015 (VIS) –
Pope Francis arrived at John Kennedy Airport in New York at 5 p.m.
(11 p.m. in Rome), where he was received by the cardinal archbishop
Timothy Michael Dolan and Bishop Nicholas A. Di Marzio of Brooklyn,
accompanied by Archbishop Bernardito C. Auza. The governor of New
York State, Andrew Cuomo and the mayor of the city, Bill de Blasio,
were also present. The Holy Father transferred by helicopter to
Manhattan, where he boarded the popemobile to travel to Cathedral of
St. Patrick, where he celebrated Vespers with clergy and men and
women religious.
“I have two thoughts today for my
Muslim brothers and sisters. First, my good wishes as you celebrate
today the day of sacrifice. I wish my greetings could have been
warmer. Second, my closeness, on account of the tragedy which your
people experienced today in Mecca. In this moment of prayer, I join,
and all of us join, in praying to God, our almighty and merciful
Father” he said.
He went on to refer to the Cathedral of
St. Patrick, “built up over many years through the sacrifices of
many men and women, can serve as a symbol of the work of generations
of American priests and religious, and lay faithful who helped build
up the Church in the United States. ... Many did so at the cost of
extraordinary sacrifice and with heroic charity. I think for example
of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, who founded the first free Catholic
school for girls in America, or St. John Neumann, the founder of the
first system of Catholic education in the United States.
“This evening, my brothers and
sisters, I have come to join you – priests and men and women of
consecrated life – in praying that our vocations will continue to
build up the great edifice of God’s Kingdom in this country. I know
that, as a presbyterate in the midst of God’s people, you suffered
greatly in the not distant past by having to bear the shame of some
of your brothers who harmed and scandalised the Church in the most
vulnerable of her members. In the words of the Book of Revelation, I
say that you 'have come forth from the great tribulation' I
accompany you at this moment of pain and difficulty, and I thank God
for your faithful service to His people”.
Then, “in the hope of helping you to
persevere on the path of fidelity to Jesus Christ”, he offered
reflections on two aspects: the spirit of gratitude and of hard work.
Regarding gratitude, he observed that
“the joy of men and women who love God attracts others to Him;
priests and religious are called to find and radiate lasting
satisfaction in their vocation. Joy springs from a grateful heart.
Truly, we have received much, so many graces, so many blessings, and
we rejoice in this. It will do us good to think back on our lives
with the grace of remembrance. … Remembrance of the amazement which
our encounter with Jesus Christ awakens in our hearts. … Let us
seek the grace of remembrance so as to grow in the spirit of
gratitude”.
“A grateful heart is spontaneously
impelled to serve the Lord and to find expression in a life of
commitment to our work”, he continued. “Once we come to realise
how much God has given us, a life of self-sacrifice, of working for
Him and for others, becomes a privileged way of responding to his
great love. Yet, if we are honest, we know how easily this spirit of
generous self-sacrifice can be dampened. There are a couple of ways
that this can happen; both ways are examples of that 'spiritual
worldliness' which weakens our commitment … to serve, and
diminishes the wonder, the amazement, of our first encounter with
Christ”.
“We can get caught up measuring the
value of our apostolic works by the standards of efficiency, good
management and outward success which govern the business world. Not
that these things are unimportant! We have been entrusted with a
great responsibility, and God’s people rightly expect
accountability from us. But the true worth of our apostolate is
measured by the value it has in God’s eyes. To see and evaluate
things from God’s perspective calls for constant conversion in the
first days and years of our vocation and, need I say, it calls for
great humility. The cross shows us a different way of measuring
success. Ours is to plant the seeds: God sees to the fruits of our
labours. And if at times our efforts and works seem to fail and
produce no fruit, we need to remember that we are followers of Jesus,
and His life, humanly speaking, ended in failure, in the failure of
the cross”.
“The other danger comes when we
become jealous of our free time, when we think that surrounding
ourselves with worldly comforts will help us serve better”, he
warned. “The problem with this reasoning is that it can blunt the
power of God’s daily call to conversion, to encounter with Him.
Slowly but surely, it diminishes our spirit of sacrifice, our spirit
of renunciation and hard work. It also alienates people who suffer
material poverty and are forced to make greater sacrifices than
ourselves, without being consecrated. Rest is needed, as are moments
of leisure and self-enrichment, but we need to learn how to rest in a
way that deepens our desire to serve with generosity. Closeness to
the poor, the refugee, the immigrant, the sick, the exploited, the
elderly living alone, prisoners and all God’s other poor, will
teach us a different way of resting, one which is more Christian and
generous”.
Gratitude and hard work: these are two
pillars of the spiritual life which I have wanted, this evening, to
share with you priests and religious. I thank you for prayers and
work. … In a special way I would like to express my esteem and my
gratitude to the religious women of the United States. What would the
Church be without you? Women of strength, fighters, with that spirit
of courage which puts you in the front lines in the proclamation of
the Gospel. To you, religious women, sisters and mothers of this
people, I wish to say … a big thank you, and to tell you that I
love you very much”.
“I know that many of you are in the
front lines in meeting the challenges of adapting to an evolving
pastoral landscape”, he concluded. “Whatever difficulties and
trials you face, I ask you, like St. Peter, to be at peace and to
respond to them as Christ did: He thanked the Father, took up His
cross and looked forward!”.
This brought to a close the Pope's
first day in New York. Today, 25 September, Francis will address the
Assembly of the United Nations, will attend an interreligious meeting
at Ground Zero, will visit migrant families in Brooklyn and will
celebrate Mass in Madison Square Garden.
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