Pope in Peru: Combat violence against women
In the Marian celebration in Trujillo, Francis speaks of Mary, "a mestiza Mother, because in her heart all races find a place, for love seeks out every possible way to love and to be loved". He recommends priests and consecrated to remember the moment of their vocation to be, like the apostles, bearers of joy and builders of community.
Lima (AsiaNews) - Look to Mary – who "will always be a mestiza Mother, because in her heart all races find a place, for love seeks out every possible way to love and to be loved" - to have gratitude for our mothers and grandmothers and fight the scourge of femicide (in 2017 in Peru there were 368 murders or attempted murders of women). There were 35 images of Mary in the Plaza de Armas of Trujillo, yesterday afternoon, brought from every place in the region for a Marian celebration that led Pope Francis to say that he was in "an open-air sanctuary".
Francis dedicated a Marian celebration (in the photo) the third and last appointment of his day in Trujillo, where he celebrated mass, and which was preceded by a meeting with priests and consecrated persons whom he recommended to remember the moment of their vocation to be, like the apostles, bearers of joy and builders of community.
"Our vocations - he said - will always have that double dimension: roots in the earth and hearts in heaven. When one of these two is missing, something begins to go wrong and our life gradually withers". Memory, therefore, first of all, " in order to discover the sap that nourished the hearts of disciples for centuries, and thus comes to recognize God’s presence in the life of his people".
In his speech, Francis first made reference to the Baptist, the one who knew he was only one who "announces". " knew that his mission was to point the way, to make beginnings, to open up spaces, to proclaim that “another” was the bearer of God’s Spirit. To be a people of remembrance frees us from the temptation of thinking that we are messiahs. We can fight this temptation in many ways, but also with laughter. Yes, learning to laugh at ourselves gives us the spiritual ability to stand before Lord with our limitations, our mistakes and our sins, but also our successes, and the joy of knowing that he is at our side.”
And because this role does not make you feel too important, "Learning to laugh at yourself", which "gives us the spiritual ability to stand before the Lord with our own limits, errors and sins, but also with our own successes, and with the joy of knowing that He is by our side. Two tablets: very now and again, look in the mirror ".
And "do not forget, let alone despise, the simple and faithful faith of your people. Know how to welcome, accompany and stimulate the encounter with the Lord. Do not turn into professionals of the sacred who forget their people, from where the Lord has drawn you. Do not lose your remembrance of and respect for those who have taught you to pray ".
Pointing to the example of Andrew, Francis emphasized that joy which "is a constant in the heart of the Apostles, and we see it in the strength with which Andrew confides to his brother: 'We have encountered him!'. Therefore 'the joy of the Gospel fills the heart and the whole life of those who meet with Jesus' ". Here, then, is "the challenge" of contrasting "in this fragmented world", isolation, loneliness. "The challenge for us is to be architects and community prophets. Because nobody is saved alone. And in this I would like to be clear. Fragmentation and isolation is not something that occurs 'outside', as if it were only a problem of the 'world'. Brothers, divisions, wars, isolation, we also live in our communities, and how bad they make us! ".
Finally, Mary, "Mother who does not abandon her children" and who "continues to defend us and to show us the Door that opens the way to authentic life, the Life that does not rot". To the faithful gathered in the square the Pope defined the Madonna " She walks beside every one of her children, in order to lead them home. She accompanies us all the way to the Gate that gives Life, for Jesus does not want anyone to remain outside, in the cold".
" Looking to Mary, I do not want to conclude without asking all of us to think of the mothers and grandmothers of this nation; they are a true driving force for the life and the families of Peru. What would Peru be like, without its mothers and grandmothers! What would our lives be like without them! Our love for Mary must help us to feel appreciation and gratitude for women, for our mothers and grandmothers, who are a bastion in the life in our cities. Almost always in silence, they carry life forward. It is the silence and strength of hope. Thank you for your witness. Appreciation and gratitude. But in thinking of our mothers and grandmothers, I want to invite you to combat a scourge that affects our American continent: the numerous cases where women are killed. And the many situations of violence that are kept quiet behind so many walls. I ask you to fight against this source of suffering by calling for legislation and a culture that repudiates every form of violence”.
“Brothers and sisters, Our Lady of the Gate, Mother of Mercy and Hope, shows us the way and points out the best defence against the evil of indifference and insensitivity. She brings us to her Son and encourages us to promote and spread a “culture of mercy based on the rediscovery of encounter with others, a culture in which no one looks at another with indifference or turns away from the suffering of our brothers and sisters".
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21/01/2018 18:56
