org. We publish sentences of Pope Francis every Monday (or Tuesday…) as the “Door to the Week”, so that they may accompany us every step of our pilgrim way in everyday life. These are statements made in the previous week, they are words that inspire us to increasingly become missionary pilgrims who live in solidarity, as poor, joyful, open and simple Pilgrims – in and with the Church – and ask for renewal in the genuine spirit of the covenant. Without humility there is neither effective service, nor genuine renewal. Actually it is very simple, because Pope Francis speaks about the grace of 2014. Let us pray for this grace.
WEEK 30/2013
In our Christian life too prayer and action are always profoundly united. Prayer that does not lead to concrete action toward a brother who is poor, sick, in need of help, the brother in difficulty, is a sterile and incomplete prayer. But, in the same way, when in ecclesial service we are only concerned with doing, we give greater weight to things, functions, structures, and we forget the centrality of Christ; we do not set aside time for dialogue with him in prayer, we are in risk of serving ourselves and not God present in our needy brother. St. Benedict took up the way of life that he summed up for his monks in 2 words: “ora et labora,” pray and work. It is from contemplation, from a strong relationship of friendship with the Lord that there is borne in us the capacity to live and bear God’s love, his mercy, his tenderness to others. It is also our work with our needy brother, our labor of charity in works of mercy, that brings us to the Lord because we see the Lord in our needy brother and sister.
Angelus, 21 July 2013 (Zenit)
St. Benedict took up the way of life that he summed up for his monks in 2 words: “ora et labora,” pray and work. It is from contemplation, from a strong relationship of friendship with the Lord that there is borne in us the capacity to live and bear God’s love, his mercy, his tenderness to others. It is also our work with our needy brother, our labor of charity in works of mercy, that brings us to the Lord because we see the Lord in our needy brother and sister. Let us ask the Virgin Mary, the Mother of listening and service – who teaches us to meditate on the Word of her Son in our heart – to pray with fidelity, to be always more concretely attentive to the needs of our brothers.
Angelus, 21 July 2013 (Zenit)
Letter to the President of Uruguay
God is always on the side of those who love, and allows himself to be found by those who out of generosity and selfless love make service to others the criterion of their lives. The Church wants no privileges of any kinf, tries to do her own work in freedom, and in the process to work together with all who promote the values that constitute human dignity … Both of us, who are of the same age, have learnt from life that we can greatly benefit from speaking frankly and respectfully to one another, and together seeking the truth and the good of the people. I bear the people of Uruguay in my heart and pray for you all.
(Unauthorised translation)
Letter to a three-year-old girl from Bergamo, who had written to him.
“The Holy Father thanks you for your kind thoughts and invokes upon you the heavenly intercession of Blessed John XXIII, so that you can grow up happy and serene in friendship with Jesus and, while asking you to pray for him, imparts from his heart to you, to your parents and to your grandmother the Apostolic Blessing, gladly extending it to your dear ones, with a particular thought for your friends and teachers at the daycare.”
Letter to Patricio “Pato” Fontanet in answer to a letter the Band Leader of Callejeros had written to him. On account of complicity in the fire at a discothèque Cromanon he had been sentenced to seven years in goal.
Pato, I received the letter you sent me three days ago. Thank you for your gesture …
I want to say to you that, although far away, I’m close to you and the band, as if listening from a distance what they feel and say. I would like to be closer to support you better.
I don’t want to give you advice because, at present, you don’t need it: you are a man who knows well what has to be done and how to do it. I’m confident of this.
You will have days of discouragement, but don’t be afraid. Everything passes. Be strong.
When you are able, please pray for me. A hug. Fraternally, Jorge (Francis).
(Zenit)
Letter to the people of Campo Gallo for the feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel
First of all I want to greet the elderly. Grandfathers and grandmothers are the wisdom of our people. Please continue to give young people your advice and help them.
I great the fathers and mothers, the whole family; I pray that no one may lack bread, work and joy in God.
I also greet the youth: Look with confidence into the future and allow nothing to rob you of hope; this hope is a treasure for which it is worthwhile fighting with courage and daring.
And I greet all the children; never stop being the smile of our people.
(Unauthorised translation)
I ask you to accompany me spiritually with prayer on the trip that I will start tomorrow. As you know, I will travel to Rio de Janeiro in Brazil for the 28th World Youth Day. There will be many young people down there from every part of the world. And I think that you could call this Youth Week, yes, indeed, Youth Week! The young people will be the protagonists of this week. All of those who come to Rio want to hear Jesus’ voice, to listen to Jesus: “Lord, what should I do with my life? What it the road I should take?” You too – I don’t know if there are young people here in the piazza today! Are there young people? Aha! You young people too who are in the piazza, ask the Lord the same questions: “Lord, what should I do with my life? What it the road I should take?” Let us entrust these questions to the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, much loved and venerated in Brazil: those that the young people will ask there and those that you will ask today. And may Our Lady help us in this new stage of pilgrimage.
Angelus, 21 July 2013 (Zenit)
Sources: hwww.vatican.va, Radio Vaticana, AICA, R; Translation: Mary Cole/schoenstatt.org
Translastions from these sources or Mary Cole, Manchester, England
See all texts in “Francis for the Pilgrims 2014”
The aim of the pilgrimage
is the renewal of the covenant of love
as a missionary and unifying creative force,
i.e. internally the renewal of the Schoenstatt Family
and externally the shaping of covenant culture.
