Pope calls on Christians to build one human family
In his message for next Sunday’s World Day of Prayer for Vocations, the pontiff warns against “the mentality that would separate priests and laity, considering the former as protagonists and the latter as executors”. Citing a proverb from the Far East, he says that God calls on everyone to put their “potential at the service of the common good’ noting that this “is no utopian vision”.
Vatican City (AsiaNews) – The Holy See Press Office published a message by Pope Francis titled Called to Build the Human Family to mark the 59th World Day of Prayer for Vocations next Sunday.
In it the pontiff explains that, in the Church, vocations are not a personal thing, but a way to make God’s dream come true. He writes that “At the time when the cold winds of war and oppression are blowing and when we frequently encounter signs of polarization, we as a Church have undertaken a synodal process: we sense the urgent need to journey together, cultivating the spirit of listening, participation and sharing. Together with all men and women of good will, we want to help build the human family, heal its wounds and guide it to a better future.”
To this end, “We must beware of the mentality that would separate priests and laity, considering the former as protagonists and the latter as executors, and together carry forward the Christian mission as the one People of God, laity and pastors. The Church as a whole is an evangelizing community.”
The word “vocation” should not be limited to those who follow the Lord in a specific form of consecration. In fact, “All of us are called to share in Christ’s mission to reunite a fragmented humanity and to reconcile it with God.”
As “We are called to be guardians of one another, to strengthen the bonds of harmony and sharing, and to heal the wounds of creation lest its beauty be destroyed,” our fate is “to become a single family in the marvellous common home of creation, in the reconciled diversity of its elements. In this broad sense, not only individuals have a ’vocation’, but [so do] peoples, communities and groups of various kinds as well.”
Each individual vocation is thus part of a broader process. “According to a proverb from the Far East,” Francis writes, “‘a wise person, looking at the egg can see an eagle; looking at the seed he glimpses a great tree; looking at the sinner he glimpses a saint’. That is how God looks at us: in each of us, he sees a certain potential, at times unbeknownst to ourselves, and throughout our lives he works tirelessly so that we can place this potential at the service of the common good.”
Thus, “Everything becomes a vocational dialogue between ourselves and the Lord, but also between ourselves and others. A dialogue that, experienced in depth, makes us become ever more who we are. In the vocation to the ordained priesthood, to be instruments of Christ’s grace and mercy. In the vocation to the consecrated life, to be the praise of God and the prophecy of a new humanity. In the vocation to marriage, to be mutual gift and givers and teachers of life.”
Christians are therefore called to act together, not only individually. “Each is lovely in itself, but only when they are put together do they form a picture.” Therefore, “it is not just about choosing this or that way of life, devoting one’s life to a certain ministry or being attracted by the charism of a religious family, movement or ecclesial community. It is about making God’s dream come true, the great vision of fraternity that Jesus cherished when he prayed to the Father ‘that they may all be one’ (Jn 17:21).”
In the Church and in society, each vocation “contributes to a common objective: to celebrate among men and women that harmony of manifold gifts that can only be brought about by the Holy Spirit. Priests, consecrated men and women, lay faithful: let us journey and work together in bearing witness to the truth that one great human family united in love is no utopian vision, but the very purpose for which God created us.”
Lastly, “Let us pray, brothers and sisters, that the People of God, amid the dramatic events of history, may increasingly respond to this call. Let us implore the light of the Holy Spirit, so that all of us may find our proper place and give the very best of ourselves in this great divine plan!”
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16/01/2014
