Pope in Thailand: Churches of Asia, "small instruments in the creative hands of the Lord"

In the meeting with priests, religious and bishops, Francis underlined the significance of mission which “before being a project or activity to be implemented, requires a vision and 'flair' to educate".

Bangkok AsiaNews) - “Do not give in to the temptation to think that you are few; think rather that you are small, small tools in the creative hands of the Lord. He will write the most beautiful pages of the history of salvation on this earth with your life ". This was Pope Francis’ call to the priests and religious of Thailand, but certainly extensible to all Asian Christians, faithful of a Church that is a minority almost everywhere on the continent. The Pope dedicated the morning of his third day in Bangkok to the Asian Church, as he also met the bishops of the Federation of Asian Bishops Conferences (FABC).

Francis spoke to priests, religious and bishops about mission, the "missionary roots that have marked these lands". And the first missionaries "did not look for land with guarantees of success; on the contrary, their "guarantee" consisted in the certainty that no person and culture was incapable of receiving the seed of life, of happiness and especially of the friendship that the Lord wishes to give them a priori. They did not wait for a culture to be similar or to tune in easily with the Gospel; on the contrary, they plunged into those new realities convinced of the inherent beauty they carried within- Every life is worthy in the eyes of the Master ".

 "I like to highlight - he said later - that mission, before being a project or activity to be implemented, requires a vision and 'flair' to educate; it requires a paternal and maternal concern, because the sheep is only lost when the shepherd gives it up for lost, never before”.

One of the "most beautiful points of evangelization - he underlined - is to realize that the mission entrusted to the Church does not consist only in the proclamation of the Gospel, but also in learning to believe in the Gospel and let oneself be transformed by it".

 "A Church in movement, without fear of taking to the streets and confronting the lives of the people who have been entrusted to it, is capable of humbly opening itself to the Lord and with the Lord living the wonder of the missionary adventure, without the conscious or unconscious need of wanting to appear first of all herself, occupying or pretending who knows what place of pre-eminence ”.

Mission, Francis said, is not just a matter for consecrated persons: "Let us not lose sight of the fact that many of your lands have been evangelized by lay people. They had the opportunity to speak the dialect of the people, a simple and direct exercise of non-theoretical or ideological enculturation, but the fruit of the passion of sharing Christ ".

There was also a direct witness to mission. In the meeting with priests and religious, Benedetta Jongrak Donoran, a 44-year-old Xaverian postulant, of Buddhist origin, baptized in 2012, spoke. We publish her story, here, which was also marked by the presence of a PIME missionary.

In a country where different religions coexist peacefully, Pope Francis also met with exponents of other faiths (in the photo). In the afternoon, he went to Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok where, at 15.20 local time (8.20 GMT) he met Christian and leaders of other religions.

"The need for recognition and mutual esteem, as well as the cooperation between religions, is even more urgent for contemporary humanity" which is facing complex problems, "like economic-financial globalization and its serious consequences in development of local societies" and "the tragic persistence of civil conflicts: conflicts over migrants, refugees, famines and war conflicts", in addition to "degradation and destruction of our common home ".

“Today it is time to imagine, with courage, the logic of encounter and mutual dialogue as a path of common collaboration, as conduct and mutual knowledge, as a method and criterion; and, in this way, offering a new paradigm for conflict resolution, contributing to understanding between people and safeguarding of creation ”. It is a field in which religions, like universities, "have much to contribute and offer".

 "These times demand that we build solid foundations, anchored on respect and recognition of people's dignity, on the promotion of an integral humanism capable of recognizing and claiming the defence of our common home; on a responsible administration that protects the beauty and exuberance of nature as a fundamental right to existence. The great religious traditions of the world bear witness to a spiritual heritage, that is transcendent and widely shared, which can offer solid contributions in this sense, if we are able to venture to meet each other without fear”.

"All of us are called not only to pay attention to the voice of the poor around us: the marginalized, the oppressed, the indigenous peoples and religious minorities, but also not to be afraid of generating instances, as are already timidly beginning to develop, where we can join forces and work together. At the same time, we are required to take on the duty to defend human dignity and to respect the rights of conscience and religious freedom, to create spaces where we can offer some fresh air in the certainty that "all is not lost, because humans beings, while capable of degrading themselves to the extreme, can also surpass themselves, by once again choosing thegood and regenerate themselves, beyond any psychological and social conditioning that is imposed on them "(Enc. Laudato si ', 205)".