Francis leads Mass at Jakarta stadium, urges the faithful to dare to hope
In front of thousands of people crowded at a local sports facilities, the pontiff called on the local Church to “to put out to sea.” Since “The word of the Lord cannot remain a fine abstract idea,” we are asked “to change our gaze” despite “fears and mediocrity”. Tomorrow morning Francis will bid farewell to Indonesia and depart for Papua New Guinea.
Jakarta (AsiaNews) – Pope Francis spoke this afternoon to the Catholic community of Indonesia gathered in Jakarta for the solemn Eucharistic liturgy, the high point of his visit to the country.
In his address, the pontiff urged the faithful, “do not grow weary of setting sail, do not grow weary of casting your nets, do not grow weary of dreaming, do not grow weary of building again a civilization of peace.”
About 100,000 people crowded the Gelora Bung Karno Stadium and the Madya Stadium (which the pontiff crossed before the service in popemobile, accompanied by Card Suharyo), while thousands more followed the rite in live-streaming in their parishes.
As he had promised, Indonesian President Joko Widodo also took part in the most important event for the Catholic community, which was also the pontiff’s last public engagement before tomorrow morning's farewell ceremony at Sukarno-Hatta airport and departure for Papua New Guinea, the second stop on this trip.
Inspired by the passage from the Gospel of Luke in which Peter, listening to the word of Jesus, puts out into the deep again after a fruitless night and catches a multitude of fish (Lk 5:1-16), Francis invited the Indonesian Church to take a risk, betting on the Word of Jesus.
“The word of the Lord cannot remain as a fine abstract idea or stir up only a passing emotion. It asks us to change our gaze and allow our hearts to be transformed into the image of Christ’s heart,” Francis said.
“The Lord, with the burning power of his word, also asks us, brothers and sisters, to put out to sea, break away from the stagnant shores of bad habits, fears and mediocrity and dare to live a new life.”
Inviting the faithful not to be discouraged by hardships, Francis cited Saint Teresa of Kolkata (Calcutta), whose liturgical feast falls today.
“‘When we have nothing to give, let us give that nothing. And remember, even if you reap nothing, never tire of sowing’,” she said. Indeed, “Always dare to dream of fraternity, which is a real treasure among you,” the pope told Indonesian Catholics.
“Guided by the word of the Lord, I encourage you to sow seeds of love, confidently tread the path of dialogue, continue to show your goodness and kindness with your characteristic smile. [. . .] Please, do not lose your smile, and keep moving forward! And be builders of peace. Be builders of hope!
In the morning, at the headquarters of the Bishops' Conference, after his visit to the mosque, the pontiff met privately with a group of sick people, people with disabilities, and the poor assisted by various charities.
One of the invited guests was Mikail Andrew Nathaniel, an 18-year-old man with autism spectrum disorder who said he was happy to be selected to participate in the local Paralympic Swimming Games.
Pope Francis congratulated him and invited everyone to become “’champions of love’ in the great ‘Olympics’ of life!”
“Dear friends, we all need one another, and that is not a bad thing. It helps us to understand more and more that the most important thing in our lives is love and to realize how many good people there are, all around us.
“It also reminds us how much the Lord loves us, each and every one of us, even with our limitations and difficulties (cf. Rom 8:35-39). Each one of us is unique in his eyes and he never forgets us, never. Let us always remember that, to keep our hope alive and to strive in turn, without ever tiring, to make of our lives become a gift for others.”
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27/06/2016 18:12
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